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Critical Thinking in Customer Service

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Submitted By supersoprano
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Critical Thinking in Customer Service:
Making Rational Decisions for Conflict Resolution
Introduction
At one time in their lives or another, most people in the United States of working age have held employment positions where customer interaction was a necessity. While it can be argued that some personality types are better suited to human interaction than others, customer service positions maintain some of the highest turnover rates of any industry. Customer service positions expose employees to a wide range of people with unique personalities and motivations, often mixing in feelings of disappoint and/or anger regarding their particular situation (Ivancevich, 2010, p 392). Employees in customer service positions often perceive themselves as being “ineffective, unwanted or unneeded, without the tools needed to truly service customers.” As many customer service representatives are faced with the daily task of providing conflict resolution to often angry customers, it is very important that they feel empowered and trusted to make decisions that not only impact a company’s bottom line, but that also satisfies the customer’s original request or complaint (Ivancevich, 2010, p 393).

Discussion of the Literature
While many individuals utilize some type of customer service on nearly a daily basis, the majority of people do not understand the job competencies and necessary qualifications that are needed to be able to effectively handle inquiries and diffuse tense situations on a daily basis. In "An Empirical Study of Job Design in the Australian Call Centre Industry’ Bowden argues that the majority of customer service employees in call centers lack the necessary autonomy and authority needed in order to solve an issue directly without involving upper management. By providing employees with more direct individual authority, he argues that customers will receive

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