I said something yesterday that nearly brought my date with my wife to a halt.
“What you just said really upset me,” she replied.
She was emotionally triggered.
For the record, so was I.
Even When I’m Triggered, I Need to Protect My Beloved.
As the primary protectors of our Beloved’s triggers, it is our responsibility to know and protect them from direct affronts, especially from ourselves.
But our customers deserve no such treatment.
Our Customers Are Also Special
It’s not that we don’t care about our customers.
We do.
Our customers are humans, and we need to love them as we would anyone & everyone (that’s what Jesus taught me, anyway).
But protect them from their own emotional reactions?
That’s not our job.
Our Job Is Getting Our Job Done
“Will you please get me that logo file?”
Actual sentence I wrote in an email to a customer.
“Will you please send me the login info for…?”
Actual sentence I wrote in an email to a customer.
Questions to customers need to become statements.
“Will you please send me…?” becomes, “Send me [thing] by [date].”
“Are you able to meet next week to discuss…?” becomes, “Click here to add this mandatory call to my calendar.”
Reframe conversations to be direct and don’t worry about hurting feelings with your directness.
Directness is good. Indirectness is bad.
Except when it comes to your Beloved. Tred lightly with them.
