Employee Engagement | By Virginia “V” Fairchild PERFORMING ARTS:
A Holistic Approach to Customer Service:
for some readers, so let’s get something out of the way right at the be- ginning: you will not have to align your chakras, consult your crystals, or burn sage throughout your entire venue to start giving everyone involved with your organization better customer service. All you have to do is care. I know you do. You are all good people. You are all charming, kind,
personable, funny, and intelligent. How do I know this? You’re read- ing this article, which means you are also probably tired, overworked, stressed about the constantly changing dynamics surrounding live to keep your organization’s reputation and brand loyalty strong. How do you do this?
All you have to do is care. About everyone. All the time.
I’m sure you already care about the audience walking through the
doors. You’ve walked the paths they will take through your venue. venue for a three-day weekend of Something-palooza and fried foods. But to really give them your best customer service, you have to also care about Mary in Housekeeping who’s singing Uptown Funk while she bangs grease-covered popcorn kernels out of the trashcan. You are caring about Davis, sitting in the backstage hallway for the third guards the costumes of the show in the house. You are caring about Niko, scanning tickets and worrying about the homework assignment due at 11 pm. You are caring about Julie in Finance, Carlos in Devel-
36 Facility Managery Magazine
opment, and Adam in Programming. You have to care about all of them more than I know you already do. If that sounds like a lot of work, it is. Customer Service has never
been for the faint of heart. However, when you are making sure your right into place. Lucky for you, there are a lot of easy, small ways you can do this.
Your aim should be authentic conversation and active listening. You probably won’t get to everyone every event, but if you do this for a few events, not only will you soon see all the faces, and word will spread and motivated. You will also be teaching them a soft skill: customer service isn’t about “being on stage” all the time. It’s about actually caring about other human beings. THAT is good customer service, not an act. If you are truly listening and being open and authentic yourself,
you’re going to learn a lot, too. You’ll learn faces and names of course (great for increased security of the building), but you’ll also start learn- ing what motivates them. Why are they working here? What do they brilliant customer service idea right there in front of you, only hiding your organization. Maybe things aren’t as smooth as you thought or hoped. Embrace that aspect too. The challenges they present to you are a chance for the organization to grow! Another easy way to engage with your employees is to create oppor-
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