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Had some issues to settle at work today. Every experience is a precious lesson. Today I learnt that no problem cannot be solved, as long as you have the right attitude, and the courage to admit your mistakes. Empathy is very important too. People in the service line, I think you'll know what I mean. Most of the time when we meet difficult customers, we get angry right back at them. "Why is this person so unreasonable?" "Why can't they understand?" "Why are they so unfair to me?" "It's their fault not mine!" I am not a saint and I do get angry and feel indignant sometimes too. But that's human nature. Customers are not always right, but they complain for a reason. And we, as service providers, need to understand that reason. Why are they unhappy? What caused it? How can we make them feel better? Sometimes when I read messages trust me blood rushes to my head and I want to type very very bad things. I am only human come on. But eb always tells me to leave it. Leave the message there, do other things, cool down, come back to it later. I thank her for that. While I get over the initial rage and think about it, I put myself in my customer's shoes and try to understand where they are coming from. This is where empathy comes in. Sometimes all they need is an explanation, sometimes pacification, sometimes more. While thinking of a way to handle my work problem today, I was reminded of this lesson I had in poly (I did Hospitality & Tourism Management), something about service recovery. Service recovery is not offering a refund. It's showing customers that you value them. They want to know that they are important and that we care about how they feel. Not only before or during the 'service' but after too. Long story short, I spent a huge amount of time dealing with an unhappy customer but at the end of the day, she sent me this:  All I needed. 😌 Sincerity is all it takes. Another lesson where I learnt to control my emotions and truly understand the root of the problem. It would be convenient to say "Heck la, without you I still have 518 customers waiting" but that would be irresponsible. There are also hundreds of bakeries out there, but they chose me. That's why I tell myself never to take any order for granted. It is my privilege to bake every single cake because customers trust in me. They are the only reason I am doing what I'm doing, I cannot deny that. In fact I value all our customers (regardless of whether you buy a large kek or one cupkek or just ask a question) and I believe in maintaining friendly relationships with every one of them because ultimately, I still want to bake for them. Again and again. Not trying to 'air dirty laundry' here. Decided to share this episode cos it's good reflection for me and I learnt things from it, plus I thought it might be useful if you find yourselves in similar situations. Hopefully not often haha. In an ideal world, it would be 你开心 我开心 but this is the real world. Setbacks and challenges make me stronger, so I welcome them. Most importantly with an open mind. 😌  This is what I go to work for. Thankful for every cake, every customer, every day.
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