My good friend, Mike, owns a BMW R80/7 motorcycle and recently needed some repairs. “Last time I took it to ‘XYZ Cycle Service’, but I just can’t get myself to go back there,” he groaned. “They’re supposedly the best in town, but they were downright rude. They said they were ‘extremely busy’ and to just leave it—they would get to it when they could. On top of that, they acted as if even the simplest question was a huge imposition.”
That’s a prime example of the gap that can exist between hard and soft skills. Many a professional—from your dentist to car mechanic to the tech support agent on the phone—may be highly skilled. But that’s only one side of the coin. Given a choice, most of us would rather take our business to someone who is a treats us as human beings and values our business.
Tags: Blog • Customer Service • Technical Support • training