Customer Service: Is It a Service of the Past?

What Does Inconsistent Customer Service Cost a Company in the Age of Social Media?

Day 2 - Part 3 - When a Customer Starts Wondering, “Was It Me?”

There was another dimension to the experience that deserves a thoughtful conversation.

I am an African American woman, and the dismissiveness of the original interaction left me wondering whether my race had anything to do with the way I was treated.

Notice the wording carefully.

I am not saying that I know race caused the treatment.

I don't.

I did not witness a comparable situation in which a customer of another race made the same request and was treated differently. I cannot know what another person was thinking, and it would be unfair for me to claim that I do.

But I can describe the impact of the interaction.

It left me wondering.

For businesses, that distinction should matter.

There is an important difference between accusing someone of intentionally discriminating and telling an organization that an interaction created a perception of possible bias.

Good organizations should want to know about both.

Leaders ask Yourself and provide your Thoughts as it pertains to your organization.

1. Could anything about your employees' words, tone, body language, or responsiveness leave a customer wondering whether their race, age, gender, appearance, or background affected how they were treated?

2. When a customer raises a concern about possible bias, does your organization become defensive—or does it examine what happened and why the interaction created that perception?