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Quality Service Key Terms and Concepts

active listening

This is a form of listening where the listener ensures the person speaking is being listened to and is being understood. This is achieved by using appropriate body language and clarifying points with the speaker.

colleague

A person you work with, particularly in a skilled or professional job.

Communication process

The communication process happens when information is conveyed from one person to another. The process is successful if the person receiving the information gives feedback which shows understanding for meaning. This process can involve both verbal and non verbal techniques.

Complaint handling

Most businesses have a complaint handling policy which is designed to ensure the customer receives satisfaction, that there is written evidence of complaints and that the same problem doesn’t recur.

Conflict resolution techniques

Ways in which disagreements can be worked out. This could include discussion, mediation or any variety of ways to enable both parties to reach a consensual agreement.

customer The person to whom you are selling goods or a service.

customer service skills and practices

Customer service skills and practices are the everyday tools used to ensure customer satisfaction by workers in any customer service industry. They include having a positive attitude towards the customer, knowing your product and company procedures, positive body language, good questioning skills, the use of active listening and good interpersonal skills.

Effective communication techniques

Successful ways of sharing information, meaning and understanding between the customer and the Entertainment Industry worker.

Interpersonal skills

Interpersonal skills are the techniques people use to successfully relate and communicate with each other.

needs, preferences and expectations

These are the customer wants but may have difficulty communicating these requirements to the employee. Ways to establish a customer’s needs, preferences and expectations are:

Ask the customer what product or service they require or what they want a product to do.

Do they have any particular feature, characteristic or price range in mind?

What outcome do they expect the product or service to provide?

Personal presentation

Personal presentation is your actual physical appearance. This includes personal hygiene, clothing, hair style, body language and overall neatness of

appearance.

Product

What you are actually selling (for example a CD player or an actual service) (providing a lighting rig for an event).

quality service

The ability to meet the needs and expectations of the customer and to follow through with appropriate after sales service.

Questioning techniques

Ways of asking questions which enable the asker to gain the information needed in its most concise form.

service

Work performed for somebody else. For example a company may provide an audio system service where they provide and operate a PA system at an event for a client. A service could also be selling a customer product they require.

special needs

“Special needs” refers to people with disabilities such mobility problems, hearing or sight impaired, aged and psychological disorders. Small children can also be considered to have special needs as they may need more assistance and supervision than adult customers.

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Personal Presentation

When you are working in a service industry your personal appearance and presentation are very important. People tend to make judgements about people in the first few seconds of meeting them and this judgement is mainly based on their appearance and presentation.

Hair

Your hair should be neat and clean. If you have long hair it should be tied back for safety as well as neatness reasons. If you work in a food preparation area you will have to wear a cap over your hair to prevent it contaminating the food. It is very important that your hair is away from your eyes. If your hair covers your eyes it becomes a barrier to

communication. People don’t like to deal with people if they can’t see their eyes. Generally, ‘radical’ hair colourings are not appropriate for most areas of the customer service industry. If you are working as a hairdresser or at a trendy night club you might be required to have ‘radical’ hair colouring or styling.

Deportment

If you have poor posture, hang your head or slouch in your chair you will make a poor impression regardless of your impeccable grooming. Good posture helps to give the customer the impression that you are interested in talking to them. When speaking to a customer, look them in the eyes, don’t fiddle with a pen or your phone, and show interest in what they have to say. Use Active Listening techniques to ascertain their needs. Use appropriate language, don’t use slang and be polite. Use body language to show you are interested in what the customer is saying.

Personal Hygiene

Customers are easily put off by a sales person with ‘bad breath’. The customer will tend to end the discussion quickly and often not buy the product as they would prefer their shopping experience to be more pleasant. Likewise a sales person with unpleasant body odour will have the same effect on the potential customer. Customers are also unimpressed with dirty hands or fingernails (unless the person is a mechanic who has just finished working on their car).

Simple personal hygiene habits such as always wearing fresh clothes and showering before work, using a deodorant, good dental hygiene and using a breath freshener each day ensure your personal hygiene will not turn away potential customers. Be aware though that wearing strong smelling deodorants or perfumes can also be offensive to some people, so don’t overdo it.

Uniform

If you are supplied with a uniform you should keep it clean, well ironed and neat. Wear it how you are expected to wear it. If the company policy is to have T shirts tucked in, do it. Standard Entertainment Industry uniform is black trousers, black leather shoes or boots and a black or white collared shirt (black if you are a technician, white if you work Front of House). If you working on staging or are bumping in or out a show, high visibility clothing is often worn for safety reasons.

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Interpersonal skills

To work successfully in any service industry (including Entertainment) an employee must have strong

interpersonal skills.

Managing conflict

Within any workplace there is a strong likelihood of a conflict situation arising.

Sometimes it can be between colleagues and sometimes it can be between employees and customers. A customer related conflict is usually related to poor service or goods not meeting their expectations.

Use of effective interpersonal skills can prevent a customer conflict from occurring.

Using respectful language, good manners, questioning and active listening skills and appropriate body language often can defuse a potential conflict. Find out what the customer’s problem is and then resolve it if possible.

A customer may come in angry about faulty goods, offer to replace them immediately.

Apologise to the customer for the inconvenience and let the customer know that the company will be informing the manufacturers about the poor quality control. If possible offer the customer something extra such as a discount on their next purchase, a small complimentary gift. This will ensure the customer comes back again. The customer knows that they can buy with confidence because if there is a problem will be fixed.

Language Skills

Clear communication is extremely important to interpersonal skills. To achieve this, clear and concise language should be used. At all times the employee must be courteous, not use slang and be purposeful in conversation. It doesn’t matter if you think the customers questions are stupid, a quality service industry employee will always answer politely and not embarrass the client because of their lack of knowledge. If the customer feels put down or stupid they will probably not buy the product and they certainly won’t come back for other products.

If a customer has a complaint it is even more important to speak to them courteously. If you are rude to them it will aggravate the situation, whereas if you display good manners the problem can often be resolved with a minimum of fuss and the customer will probably buy your products or service again. It is also important to be culturally sensitive to the customer which means speaking them appropriately for their culture. When speaking to people from different cultures avoid using sarcasm or irony as it can easily be misunderstood.

Sensitivity to other cultures

To be successful in serving people from different cultures the employee should research some of the different cultures found in our country. Simple things like learning the greetings and farewells from other countries make customers feel valued.

When speaking to a person whose native tongue is not English speak as clearly as possible, but don’t shout. Some people shout when they are speaking to a person from a non-English speaking background. Do not use slang or make jokes, they probably won’t understand them and might be offended. Sometimes a customer might recognise the words you are using but not really understand their meaning particularly if slang or expressions are used such as “kick off is at six”. A person brought up in an English speaking household and immersed in the Australian culture would immediately know that this meant that the event starts at six o’clock. Be patient, you may have to repeat things for them and they might have to repeat things for you. When you repeat something say it again exactly as you said it the first time, don’t paraphrase it as often the customer has translated some of the words the first time and if you say it again exactly the same they will be to translate more of what you said. If you change the wording you will confuse the customer. A person who speaks English as a second language has to translate what you say into their own language, work out an answer and then translate that answer back into English. It takes time, so by being patient and not rushing the customer they should be able to communicate their needs to you.

Be aware of body language and giving proper personal space. Some cultures are not aware of the concept of personal space and can be offended if you lean away from them. Other cultures, particularly Americans believe in a large amount of personal space. Let the customer determine the personal space by how close they come to the employee.

Don’t criticise a customer’s religion in any way, it best to avoid talking about religion unless it is intrinsic to the sale or to the service being requested. If religion needs to be discussed in the context of the service, be very respectful and ask questions only relevant to the job. If you accidently offend the person, apologise for your lack of understanding and ask how you can remedy the situation.

Take care when using gestures as certain gestures we commonly use in Australia can have different meanings in other countries and can be considered quite offensive. Different cultures have different ideas about the importance of time. American and Australian culture is very focussed on time.

Customers from other cultures are often not quite so focussed on time. They think it is rude to simply walk in and state their business. They usually engage in small talk and gradually work their way around to their reason for their visit. A quality customer service provider should be able to gauge from the customer’s initial conversation how quickly the conversation should turn to business.

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Provide quality service to customers

Without customers, there is no reason to have a business. Some people in the Entertainment Industry become so involved with the technical aspects of their job that they forget about the customers. Customers are the reason businesses exist so they must be treated as a valuable resource and looked after. Customers’ needs must be central to any business’s policies. The Entertainment Industry is a very competitive industry and businesses with

excellent customer service will attract more customers. Often in the retail sector many shops will have the same goods for sale for the same price. The shop that gets the sale will be the one that offers excellent customer service as well as a good product.

Quality Service Characteristics

Providing quality service is one of the most effective ways businesses can retain their customers and

attract new customers. Staff who can deliver quality service to the customers are sought after in all

industries. Some of the characteristics of quality customer service are:

Customer focussed service

All businesses should be customer focussed. If the business is not customer focussed, they will lose

their customers to businesses with better customer relations. When a customer first makes contact with

an organisation it is important they are made feel welcome and are that their needs are of great

importance to the organisation. If a customer has to wait a short while before speaking to the person

they need to see. Let them know they will have to wait a few minutes to see the person. If it is going to

be a long time let them know and suggest you book an appointment for them to come back in hour. If

they decide to wait, offer them somewhere to sit and a cup of tea or coffee. This way they know they

are valued and not ignored.

Customer specific language

Ensure use of the correct terminology for the equipment or service being supplied. Don’t offer the

client some ‘light bulbs’ to go with the ‘lights’. Offer the client ‘lamps’ to go with the ‘lanterns’. Also

be aware of some of the common Entertainment Industry names for commonly used products. For

example a customer might ask for some bubbles for their 650 watt Selecons. Don’t hand them a bottle

of bubble fluid for a bubble machine. What they really want are lamps for their Selecon lanterns.

When asked to quote for equipment hire for a lighting job the hirer might ask for two domes. A dome

is a commonly used name for a followspot.

If the client uses terminology you think is wrong. Don’t correct them; they won’t like being made feel

stupid. But, clarify what they mean to ensure you give them the correct product.

Friendly and courteous manner

Customers don’t come back to a business if they are treated rudely or feel uncomfortable in their

dealings with a business. Repeat business is very important to any company and there are plenty of

other companies who would like to take your customers if your business can’t deliver satisfaction. Try to develop a rapport with the customer. Ask them their name, if they give you their surname refer to

them as Mr. Mrs, Miss or Ms “Smith”. They may then suggest you use their first name and if this requested, do it. Otherwise use the more formal approach. Ensure the customer is greeted with a smile and pleasant tone of voice. The customer should be made to feel that you are happy to see them. Avoid slang and use customer specific language.

It is a good idea after a customer has left to write down their name, their company, their request and their name preference. This means that next time they come in they will feel more valued when you show you remember them.

Professionalism

Professionalism is extremely important in this industry. The customer is trusting you to provide a professional service or product and they will feel confident you can deliver if you have a professional attitude.

An employee must know about the products offered. Consider this situation. The customer goes to a shop and looks at a product. When the customer asks the sales assistant a question about a product, the sales assistant picks up the box and reads the information back to the customer. It implies that you, as the customer can’t read and the sales assistant doesn’t know anything about the product. What would usually happen after that example of poor service is the customer then leaves the shop and buys a similar product at another shop. A shop where the sales assistant is able to explain the difference between the two different products being looked at.

The ability to know your product or service in depth enables the employee to offer the product or service most suited to the customer’s needs. A customer might think they need a large Public Address

(PA) system for their concert but a well-informed industry professional can save the customer money by suggesting a smaller and more compact system which is more suited to their venue. Customers appreciate this type of advice and even though they could have been charged more for a bigger system, they will be back the next time they need a PA system. They will also tell others about the ‘great deal’ they got.

Consider this situation. The customer walks into a shop selling computer games. When the sales assistant is asked about a particular game she is able to explain that this particular game has never been made for a computer but was made for a games console four years ago. They are out of production but there might be one in the second hand part of the shop. Upon not finding one the assistant then suggests a number of similar computer games and sells the customer two games instead of the one game the customer came in for. While paying for the games the sales assistant asked the customer for a contact number in case a second hand game came into the store. This is an example of professional customer service and excellent product knowledge. The customer will be a repeat

customer even though the product requested wasn’t available.

Another aspect of professionalism is the undertaking of further training in your field of expertise and even broadening your areas of experience by learning skills in other areas such as a lighting technician learning the basics of audio reproduction. This makes the technician more employable and provides for the technician a deeper insight into the entire production process. An Entertainment sales personnel might go to product launches so that they become familiar with new and emerging technologies and can speak knowledgably about them to customers.

Personal presentation is another facet of professionalism. An Entertainment Industry service provider

not only needs to know how to do the job, but also needs to look like they know what they are doing.

Communication skills

To provide quality service strong communication skills are essential. To provide a service it is essential that the customer is communicated effectively with to ensure the exact service they require is delivered. Effective communication skills both verbal and non-verbal are skills all Entertainment Industry professionals must develop.

For example when discussing a show the technician will be providing technical support for, use questioning skills and active listening techniques to ascertain customer’s needs. Read the customer’s body language. Are they feeling confident in what they are asking for? Do they really understand what you can do for them? The customer might say they want a follow spot in three different parts of the stage, but with careful questioning what they really want is three pools of down light in three different parts of the stage. They would have been very disappointed with three follow spots. It is also important once a customer has communicated their needs that the information is written down. Later on if there is a problem, the technician can then refer to the notes and negotiate any changes with the customer. If it is not written down the customer might complain that their requests weren’t met.

Positive gestures and body language

Your body language shows the customer just as much information about your desire to serve them as your verbal language does. When you greet a customer offer to shake hands, unless it is not appropriate to their culture. Make sure your handshake is firm but not overpowering. A firm handshake gives the impression of a confident person who is in control. Maintain eye contact with the customer; look interested in what they say even if what they are talking about bears no relation to the sale and isn’t in any way interesting. Some customers like to approach their actual request in a more roundabout way, they may feel they are giving you some background information with will assist you in serving their needs more effectively. So, don’t look bored make appropriate remarks and try to

gently steer the conversation around to how you can help them.

Knowledge of enterprise products/services and policies

To be an effective employee, knowledge of the business’s product and service range is essential as well as knowledge of how the business operates (its policies). Before commencing work become familiar with the business’s refunds and returns policy, customer complaints policy and the limitations of level of authority within the organisation. Become familiar with the range of products or services offered. Are arena size PA systems available for hire or does the company limit itself to smaller events? Does the company provide simultaneous multi-screen presentations or is it limited to single screen presentations? If not who is recommended? Knowing this information in advance before a customer asks for a service shows professionalism and promotes good customer relations. The company may not be able to provide the customer a service this time but they know the company is genuine and competent and may come back for a different service. Be aware of what products your company has in stock and what it is able to be ordered in for a customer. Sometimes a customer might require a specific brand and the company might not have a sales arrangement with that particular company. In that case explain to the customer that you are unable to order that specific brand but can offer them an equivalent product in a brand that the company can supply.

Solutions-oriented approach

Customers often come to an organisation with a problem, if you can solve their problem, you can sell that solution to your customer. A customer may come to complain that whenever they plug their guitar amps into their PA they get a loud and distorted sound from the speakers, but they have to put them into the PA otherwise they have no control over their sound quality or volume. A simple solution you could offer the customer is a Direct Injection (DI) box to limit the signal going into the PA, making it more manageable. You have provided a cheap and effective solution for the customer.

When a customer asks for a specific piece of equipment it is worthwhile asking them what they need it for. Sometimes the customer knows exactly what they need and your inquiry can be interpreted as polite interest. Other times the customer has been told by someone else they need a specific piece of equipment but what they want may not be the best option. They might have been told a condenser microphone is the best so that’s what they ask for. Where in reality a dynamic microphone might suit their needs more and will be more robust and possibly cheaper.

Having a solutions oriented approach shows customers you really know what you are talking about and are providing them with excellent service. If there is a complaint about a product, again, a solutions based approach is best. If you provide a customer with a quick and satisfactory solution to the problem they will leave satisfied and be a repeat customer.

Prompt response to resolve complaints

No matter how good a business is there will always be customer complaints. How you handle them is the important thing. A well-handled complaint can ensure you have a repeat customer. A poorly handled complaint will lose you that customer and a number of others as ‘word of mouth’ from that customer spreads to others.

A prompt response is critical. Customers want the problem fixed immediately, they have been inconvenienced. The customer might have purchased a projector for an event that evening so they need a working replacement projector. If a replacement cannot be supplied immediately as a new projector of that quality has to be ordered, the customer could be loaned the shop demonstration projector until the replacement arrives. That way the customer has been shown that everything possible has been done to resolve their problem. The customer can walk out of the shop with a satisfactory solution and next time the customer needs to purchase some equipment they know they can buy with confidence.

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Types of customers

The Entertainment Industry is a wide and varied industry and attracts many different types of customers. Without these customers there wouldn’t be an Entertainment Industry.

External and Internal Customers

Within our everyday work life we deal with two types of customers; external customers and internal customers. We are very familiar with external customers as they are the people who buy services or products from us.

However there are another group of people with whom we interact on a regular basis but we don’t recognise as customers; these are internal customers. They are often the people who get the blame if something goes wrong “the guys in accounting must have forgotten to pay your bill” but rarely get the credit when everything goes well.

You don’t often hear the person at the front counter mentioning to the happy customer that the reason all the equipment worked so well was that it was prepped by the guys in the factory. Internal customers are the people in the different departments at your workplace. These people need to be treated with respect. If you want prompt assistance from the service department on a regular basis, they should be thanked and made feel valued. If you are standing at the counter with an irate customer you will appreciate a member of the service department appearing promptly. Your internal customers are the ones who make you look good, or if you don’t treat them with respect, bad.

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Customers with special needs

Special needs customers are just customers, they may require a little extra help and patience when serving them but like any other customer they wish to purchase a product or service and it is your job to serve them. Sometimes it is not apparent that they are a special needs customer as they might not like to draw attention to their disability and in some cases they might not consider themselves to have any special needs. Therefore when communicating with a person with special needs take care to treat them as a person and not a condition. If the person is escorted by a carer speak to the customer rather than the carer. The carer will intervene if appropriate.

Customers with speech difficulties

If customers have speech difficulties it may take some time to get a clear understanding of their needs.

Be patient and don’t try to help them by finishing their sentences for them. This will make them feel pressured may slow the communication process down further. Use a normal tone of voice, don’t shout and at all times speak respectfully.

If you can’t understand the customer, don’t pretend you can. Sometimes a notebook can be useful as you can ask the customer to write down their request. When sure of the details of the customer’s request repeat the request to ensure all details are correct.

Customers with a sight impairment

If you have a sight impaired customer offer to assist immediately as the sight impaired customer may not be able to see where the service provider actually is standing. Here are some tips to use when assisting a sight impaired customer

Tell the customer your name and ask how you can assist them.

They may ask you to tell them what products are offered and if they do describe them in detail.

Offer to guide them to the sales counter. If they wish for guidance allow the customer to put their hand on your arm (don’t grab the customer by the arm) that way they can decide how much guidance is needed.

When the sale is completed offer to guide the customer from the premises and thank the customer for patronising the business.

Don’t use an extra loud voice with a sight impaired customer, they are not deaf.

If they have a guide dog, don’t pat it, the dog is working and doesn’t need to be distracted.

Customers in wheelchairs

If a customer is in a wheelchair ensure you speak to the customer and not the person pushing the wheelchair. It is a common mistake many people make; they may assume that because the person can’t walk they have a communication disability as well. It is an easy trap to fall into as the carer is at the same eye level as the service provider. To avoid that happening the service provider should sit or squat down to be at the same eye level as the customer. Standing behind a counter can be a barrier to communication so the service provider should come out from behind the counter to serve the customer. A wheelchair constrained customer may require assistance with products on higher shelves and may have difficulty handling large or bulky objects. Offer to assist, but if the customer declines respect the customer’s wishes.

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Effective communication

Communication is the exchange of information, messages and thoughts. To be effective the information must be communicated to the right person, at the right time and in the right manner. The person receiving the information must also effectively listen, read and/or observe so they understand the communication.

Effective communication is vital in the workplace. It enables workers and supervisors to work together efficiently to meet both the goals of the enterprise and the needs of customers and clients.

Effective communication helps workers to:

complete a schedule of tasks

follow a set of instructions

learn correct procedures and improve work practices

solve problems

work as part of a team

follow the enterprise Occupational Health and Safety and environmental procedures.

There are three main modes of communication:

Verbal communication

In the Entertainment Industry a large proportion of communication is verbal or spoken. This may occur face-to-face or via telephones or two-way radios. For verbal communication to be effective both the speaker and the listener need to be actively engaged in the conversation.

The speaker should be clear, concise, and courteous and use a style of language that is appropriate to the situation and the audience. The information should be accurate to the best of the speaker’s knowledge. The tone of voice and body language used when speaking are often as important as the words themselves.

The listener should give the speaker their full attention and be sure that they clearly understand the message being conveyed. Again, body language is very important. Good listening skills are necessary when receiving instruction or being taught new procedures.

Questions should be asked by the listener to clarify the meaning and by the speaker to ensure that the information has been fully understood. There are three types of questions:

Closed questions are used to obtain a particular piece of information. They are usually answered with a yes or no or with a limited response. For example:

Have you operated and M7 before?

Open questions encourage people to discuss a situation and share information. They often require longer answers and begin with how, where, when, which, who, why or what. For example:

What types of consoles have you operated?

Reflective questions, also called mirror questions, are used to show the speaker that you have been actively listening to them. They are also helpful when encouraging a person to express their opinions clearly. For example:

So, you’ve operated this type of console before?

You’ve found this type of console to run reliably, haven’t you?

Good speaking, listening and questioning skills are essential when communicating via the telephone or two-way radios to ensure that the correct information has been received.

There are a number of barriers that reduce the effectiveness of verbal communication. These include:

inappropriate choice of language style

inappropriate body language

disruptions or noise in the proximity and/or a poor signal

relevance of the topic to the listener

assumptions made by both the speaker and listener.

Non-verbal communication

A significant aspect of face-to-face communication is non-verbal body language. This includes body posture, arm and hand positions, facial expressions, eye contact and hand gestures. Sometimes a conflicting message may be given because the words spoken do not match a speaker’s body language.

Good observation skills are needed to ‘read’ what is really being communicated. Being aware of cues and signals is a crucial skill in understanding people’s attitudes.

Personal presentation, dress and hygiene also contribute to the impression a person makes when they are communicating.

Other forms of non-verbal communication regularly found in the workplace include:

Signals, for example hand signals used when operating machinery; lights.

Signs, for example safety signs; workplace warnings; men’s, ladies and disabled toilets; first

aid posts.

Diagrams, for example venue maps; diagrams in operations manuals.

Symbols, for example poison; map legends; machinery gears and levers.

Written communication

Entertainment Industry work often requires workers to use written forms of communication. This may involve reading workplace notices and instruction such as:

Signs and labels

Notes, messages and memos

Rosters and work schedules

Safety material and notices

Invoices and dockets with customer information

Tables and simple graphs.

Employees may also be required to write down information, messages and material and tool requirements. They will need to fill out a variety of workplace forms.

To be effective, written workplace information must be:

Clear – the handwriting must be legible and the information written in a manner that will not be confusing.

Concise – the message should be written in simple language using short sentences or point form.

Unnecessary information and repetition should be avoided.

Correct – accuracy is very important when writing down information. If taking a phone message, read the details back to the caller, especially names, addresses and phone numbers. Use correct terminology where appropriate.

Courteous – as with verbal communication, the style of the language chosen should be appropriate to the situation and the reader.

Negative Subtext

Subtext is what you communicate with body language or a sigh. You might be saying positive things about a product but your body language clearly shows you think the product is not very good. When you tell someone that you are interested in what they are saying but you look away, examine your nails you give a very clear indication of not listening and not being interested in what the person has to say.

If you sigh when somebody is speaking, you will instantly let the person know you are not interested.

When you are communicating by phone, you only have your voice so you cannot use gestures to reinforce what you are saying. You cannot make a sigh sound positive, it always sounds negative to the listener. The sigh communicates to the customer

"I'm bored"

"I don't want to be here"

"I’m not interested in you and your problem"

Even though a sigh is a small thing, it can really affect the relationship you have with the customer.