Dealing with Personal Emotions while offering Good Service

The last time I traveled, I met Peace, this flight attendant who was as usual all smiles. It’s always a joy meeting her onboard as she is always very friendly. She will have a pleasant word with most passengers especially during long hour flights. During one of our chats, she explained to me that she is was a mother of two children. That fateful day, one of her kids was not feeling well when she was leaving home. When I asked her how she manages to smile and be so friendly, her response amazed me “this is me at work and I have to carry on my job with a smile even if I am sad inside me, when I finish here, I will take back my role as a worried mum but for the meantime my passengers have paid for my smile”As many go through this difficult period of mourning, I have a deep thought for all those who have tocontinue to work even with the trauma they are going through. These coming weeks will be undeniably very challenging for service people who are supposed to be friendly, enthusiastic, smiling and excited as requires their job.Yes, we all in one way or the other have to go through personal emotions and yet continue to move on. These past few days have been very difficult for me because of a denied cherished hope. When we are sad, worried, devastated, shocked, angry, scared, confused, cheated, destroyed, guilty, exhausted, physically and emotionally traumatized or simply just empty, life still continues and so does our work.Even if we deal daily with customers, we have no choice than to try and move on and build a positive thinking that will create positive attitudes in us. If we decide to think positive, our mindset will become positive and so will our attitudes. We can chose to make our words and actions expand and extent to positive attitudes.The powerful thing about our mind is that, it is like a bank account. If we deposit in it positive thoughts, this will help us move forward even if obviously, dealing with difficult emotions is not a simple matter. But we can handle our emotions professionally if we are able to make a difference between our personal lives and the role we are playing as service people. I often say that it is not the customer’s fault if I have personal problems.Actors have their “concentration time” before going on stage. It is a psychological gymnastic whereby they are able to picture themselves in the role and completely forget who they really are.This makes them leave personal problems and emotions somewhere in the corner of their hearts or stage so that they can adopt new mindset for the role they need to play.You can also choose to start your day with Peace, spend it with Peace, fill it with Peace and end it with Peace. It is a personal decision. Most of the people we serve everyday also have their own personal challenges. If you offer them a smile, you can be sure that they will appreciate it. It is said that “If someone is too tired to give you a smile, leave one of your own, because no one needs asmile as much as those who have none to give”.Remember you can only bounce back positively if you chose to keep only positive thoughts because our thought process will reflected in our daily attitude. In my low moments, I have learnt to withdraw and be by myself for some time to look at the bright side of life, to remain optimistic, to read inspiring stories and finally to associate myself with happy people who can help me see a bigger picture of things around me. As Oprah Winfrey says, “Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough.” These are some of the inspiring messages that help me deal with my emotions, remain professional no matter the circumstances and move forward.The author is a Customer Service Consultant and the Publisher of The ServiceMagwww.theservicemag.com