The “Games Makers” at the London 2012 Olympics have become synonymous with excellent customer service. Indeed, these volunteer helpers have been highlighted in speeches at the Opening and Closing Ceremonies and have received rapturous applause and a standing ovation from 80,000 people in the Olympic Stadium. Every ounce of press coverage about these smiling, happy people seems positive.
At the same time, everyone who has visited the London 2012 Olympics or the Paralympics appears to be immensely positive too. Each time some member of the public is interviewed on the radio or TV and they get a chance to talk about the Games Makers they simply sing their praises. On the radio you an even hear them smiling. It seems that the whole Olympic experience is just amazingly positive, vibrant and happy.
Of course, behind the scenes there is bound to be concern, worry and mistakes. On top of this, you cannot possibly have hundreds of thousands of people who are all simply wonderful; there are bound to be grumpy people asking directions, rude individuals who don’t say thank you and downright nastiness. Yet, the Games Makers smile away, being positive and charming.
It is sometimes tough being positive when your customers are not so nice. Ask anyone who works in retail. However, as the Games Makers show us, when you are positive and smiling for the most part your customers also end up being positive and happy. And when they are positive and happy, guess what, it makes you smile and fell good.
Indeed, new research shows that good customer service has a significant impact on the sales person. When sales staff provide good customer service it turns out that customers feel positive emotions towards the company. But the outpouring of those emotions lead the sales person to also feel good and positive.
In essence, what this research shows is that when you provide good customer service you not only make your customers feel good, but you boost the performance of your staff. That means if you focus on providing good customer service you will increase your sales because happy sales people sell more.
Take a tip from the Games Makers – provide great customer service and you will also feel wonderful yourself.
Related articles
- Customer service is an emotional experience (eurekalert.org)
- Great Customer Service is Greater Marketing. (jlwatsonconsulting.typepad.com)
- Learning from the Olympics (eptica.wordpress.com)
