I’m amazed by most of the people I’ve known or worked with in the customer service department. They are expected to know EVERY detail about their products and services, the inventory status at ALL times, plus have a working knowledge how EVERY OTHER department in their company works, not to mention possessing the ability to articulate all this information to customers as well! Some talented folks indeed!

These pro’s interact with customers, hear things from customers, and see what customers are doing much more than any other department. They truly have their finger on the pulse of the company. When I’ve asked, they’ve reported often feeling like the other departments in the company are un-interested in hearing about their experiences with and unique perspective on customers

Did you ever see the 1994 movie re-make of ‘Angels in the Outfield’ (distributed by Walt Disney)?  I love that movie! It gave me goose bumps then when I first saw it, and still does every time I see it again.

The simple story plot is that a set of angels helps the hapless California Angels pro baseball team through much of a season.  Angles are dashing about, swooping around and helping out unaware players make BIG plays.  There’s lots of fun, humor, suspense, evil, stupidity and of course ultimately ‘the good guy wins’. In a way, this concept of being behind the team holds true for a Customer Service Rep’s job as well.

Just think about what could happen if every department in your company knew, understood and supported the people in all the other departments that work daily with customers, there would be MUCH greater success for all!  If the people working in the Customer Service Department felt that all the people in other departments ‘had his/her back’ it’d make every customer experience much more successful.

Here’s a great interdepartmental exercise companies can use to expand their employee’s knowledge of the way things work outside of their own department. It’s a fun learning experience for everyone involved!

n Coordinate with other department staff members get them to join your customer service reps for an hour training to introduce them to the multitude of calls/questions/comments/situations that arise on a daily basis.  Or, to REALLY have some fun, have them role-play customer service rep, it’ll be an ‘eye-opener’ for them!

n Then have your customer service reps work for an hour in different departments to learn about their opportunities/constraints, and gain an appreciation for the breadth/scope of those areas.

n Develop life-lines of communication between all customer service reps, and key staff members, so when tricky customer situations do arise, the reps have immediate resources to go to. Your customers will love that EVERYONE on your team works together for them!