The 5 Ts: Can Rugby Teach You About Customer Service?
Rugby demands many things, some of which prove costly (teeth, crooked noses and fancy boots for example), but discipline and dedication are among its more admirable traits. In this respect, rugby reflects successful business, and discipline and dedication are crucial to both the oval ball and world-class customer service alike.
Here are our five Ts comprising the star qualities common to both; be it headgear or headset.
Training is integral to establishing a robust workplace structure and inspiring customer confidence. Customers finance the business, they’re important. They shouldn’t be passed about like a pig’s bladder from one person to the next. Adequate training (and ongoing development) gets everybody up to speed and able to tackle whatever comes their way.
Teamwork is a no-brainer. Whether it’s rookies getting up to speed learning from experienced colleagues, or interaction between management and staff, teamwork promotes support and strength.
Trust Good operations stand and fall on their ability to depend on systems and the people entrusted to make them work. Trust your team to catch the ball, bank on them tackling their player, and slap each other on the back for a job well done. Likewise, the customer has to trust the product, depend on the service, and presume it will continue without a hiccup.
Tenacity, because let’s face it, there’ll be hurdles, there’ll be glitches, and contingency will conspire against you. Tenacity empowers you to dust yourself off, take on water and get straight back into the action. How a business bounces back from adversity says as much for its history as its future. A business which has ignored or avoided problems in the past rather than acknowledging and fixing them immediately is one fast running out of a future altogether.
Talk The Wright Brothers didn’t invent the stealth bomber and Thomas Edison can’t claim floodlights, but each had a hand in the finished product. Take stock and test your products, discuss your theories and don’t be afraid to tweak them. Even the very good, can probably get better.
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