While visiting my grandmother in Oregon, we pulled into a gas station to fill up the tank. In Oregon, it is illegal to pump your own gas, and there are still service station attendants. My grandmother reminisced about when the attendants used to ‘give you the works.’ This would include checking your oil, tire pressure, and cleaning your windshield (for free!).

In today’s world of global ecommerce, things occur at a much quicker pace. Transactions are instant, no matter the distance. Somewhere in the evolution of business, one item seems to be missing: customer service.

As a fellow consumer who stands in line, waits on hold, or enters digits on my cordless phone carefully (one wrong touch and I’m forced to listen to the entire introduction again), I made a point of taking up the lost art of customer service. Should you wish to follow this ancient, mysterious art, there are guidelines:

· Be Respectful
The person you are speaking to is a human being, not a task to be dealt with and tossed aside. We all have good days and bad ones. Being respectful helps brighten every day.

· Be Polite
“Please” and “Thank You” are words that should be used as often as “Hello” and “Good Bye.”

· Take Interest
Ask how a person is doing… and actually listen to the response. Why ask a question if you could care less about the answer?

· See It Through
Don’t promise the moon if you can’t deliver. Be honest and don’t give broken promises. And above all else, whatever you have promised… see it through. Nobody likes to slip between the cracks and be  forgotten.

Follow these guidelines and you, too, can learn the ways of customer service. Give them ‘the works!’