Why is Customer Service so Difficult?

Or for that matter serving anyone? Well if you think about a couple reasons come to mind. 1) We like ourselves - ALOT. No news flash there, but we need to acknowledge that because we tend to view ourselves as most important and others as less important, serving them becomes a bit more challenging.

A 2nd reason I believe involves a level of training. Because it's not natural to put others first, as Paul says in Galatians 5:13, we are to serve others in love. Love must be learned. When we begin to follow Jesus, the Spirit of God within begins to change us from the inside out. A few verses later Paul lets us know the Fruit of Spirit, or the byproduct of the Holy Spirit at work within us is... Love. And Joy. And Peace. And Kindness, gentleness. Patience with others. This is God at work in us.

So what are some practical ways we can serve others, whether we are in the customer service industry or not... and by the way, we are all in the people business.

A) Let's Listen Better. Ask questions. Seek to hear the other person, not just the words but also looking for feelings that are trapped beneath the layer of words.

B) I think we serve each other when we look for opportunities to lift a burden. In Galatians 6:1-5 Paul tells us while we all have to carry our own struggles, i.e. no one can take our challenges from us, we can help each other along the way. What can we do to light someone else's load today.

Jesus says the greatest among us are those willing to get their hands dirty on behalf of others. Willing to serve others. We are never more like Jesus than when we follow Him, the one who came not to be served, but to also give His life a ransom for the many of us. Mark 10:45.

Pastor Mike

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