Customer Service in the Time of TikTok

Comedian Scott Seiss went viral in 2021 with his TikTok video of a harassed and bitter Ikea worker. Parodying the comments from imaginary customers Scott's character gives voice to the comments many retail employees only express in their inner monologue.

Like many people that have worn a name badge during their work career I laughed, winced, cheered him on, and shared. It's so funny because it's so relatable. Now, though, I am thinking more about it and wonder about my reaction.

It hit home for me because I have been the person in the store keeping my voice carefully neutral, aware that I was the face of the company for this exasperating person with which I was interacting. Yes- I would relive the moment later during closing but I would never say any of the biting or quick-witted comebacks rolling through my brain aloud. This meant that I would handle a large number of customers that were ‘always right’ so the rest of the staff could move on with the day.

Basically- I was the opposite of the employee Scott parodies. No matter how cathartic it would be to say those words out loud I would never do it. One reason is that my father was in retail when I was a young child. He set an example for me about working with the public. Another reason is the training that our company gave their employees on customer service and communication. I took seriously the responsibility of protecting our brand and reputation.

What about your employees?

• Do they know how to respond to the 10,000th time they hear that something must be free if the price doesn’t scan during checkout?

• Do they know how to handle the ‘screamers’ that choose your place of business to let loose an emotions dump?

• Could they keep their cool when an angry customer berates them out of their own frustration for an error that they had caused themselves?

A company that deals with the public has a reputation that is only as strong as their weakest employee.

Reading that line caused you to instantly think of that employee, didn’t it? You already know the person most likely to actually interact with one of your customers the way Scott’s pretend worker did in the video. You winced inwardly because you’ve either seen or heard such an exchange before.

It doesn’t need to be that way.

Six Steps to Keep Your Customer Service Disasters Off of Social Media

1. Acknowledge that dealing with the public is HARD! More than one retail employee has said ‘work today would have been great if it wasn’t for all the customers’. Of course, that isn’t true- there would be NO WORK if there were no customers! What they mean is it would have been great if it wasn’t for the conflict and demands for which they are either not prepared or not supported when they occur.

2. Distill your customer service standards to clear and easily understandable non-negotiables. You simply can’t hold people responsible for something that they haven’t been taught and fully understand.

3. Give them the words to say in stressful situations. People revert to defensive stances when they are threatened. Scott’s video shows verbal defenses and aggressive tone combined with powerful eye contact and physical stances. You may notice the opposite in some employees: they tuck in their shoulders, look over the head of the customer, and speak in a barely-heard monotone.

Most people shy away from ‘roleplay’, so call it ‘put it into practice’ instead. Make sure that everyone on the team knows what to say for the most common situations and discuss new situations as they occur and determine a better response for the next time.

4. Give them permission to blow off steam out of the eyesight and earshot of the public. Make it clear that a one-time discharge of the tension is okay and then the expectation is that they move past the incident and get back to work. Dwelling on the exchange does no one any good and carries the negativity throughout the store.

5. Avoid using limiting language. Words such as ‘always’, ‘never’, ‘everyone’, and ‘no one’ color perceptions of other customers long after the unpleasant incident is over. Each interaction and problem is a new opportunity and past confrontations can be overcome. A customer that has lost their temper in the past may be embarrassed to return to your store but if they do, they deserve the same positive experience as the rest of the people that come in that day.

6. Ask your employees to share the good stuff. This can be as detailed and orchestrated as you (and they) can tolerate. It could be a whiteboard in the backroom where they record something positive that happened, or as casual as mentioning something you noticed as you get ready to leave for the day. Talking about the positive things can take the sting out of the unpleasantness that can crop up when humans interact.

If these steps are new to you and your company it could feel awkward introducing them to your team. It might make them defensive and wonder what you’ve seen them do instead of being open to the message.

Set the tone by sharing the video of Scott as the hapless, overworked, underappreciated, and ANGRY Ikea employee. Let them laugh in rueful recognition, them give them the tools they need to make sure your company isn’t in the next video.

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