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5 Key Reasons Face to Face is Better

 

“Electric communication will never be a substitute for the face of someone who with their soul encourages another person to be brave and true.”

~Charles Dickens

5 Key Reasons Face to Face is Better

1.  We are human.  We are all human, well most of us.  This is off topic, but there is a late night radio show from 2 to 5 am called Coast to Coast am where you can call and discuss UFO’s, alien visitors etc…  Don’t mean to intergalactically discriminate but sorry aliens, this post is for the human race not the alien race.

My preferred engagement route is face to face. Most of us prefer and enjoy being able to communicate directly with other people.  We gain the interpersonal connection that can satisfy our longings as a species.  Most of us weren’t meant to be isolated.  A few choose it, but most of us would prefer a friendly conversation and hospitable treatment.

As you might know, I love to tell a good customer service story.  I enjoy reading about them and receiving e-mails but, by far, my favorite avenue is by experiencing them firsthand.  A face to face encounter.  These are the most rewarding for me because I’m interacting as a part of the human experience, not some made up interpretation of an experience.  So I welcome my fellow earthlings in engaging me in a memorable customer experience that I can share on this podcast and beyond!

2.   Non-verbal cues.  This applies mostly to phone engagement.  If the customer service representative has not been trained to show emotion through their voice the call can result in a lack luster relationship during the call.  The inability to see one’s face for verbal cues can send the receiver of the message in the wrong direction.

I have been on a phone call where the person on the other side sounded indifferent, emotionally uninvolved, and complacent.  This based solely on their voice.  Without the support of non-verbal cues the mind can run wild as to what the agent may be thinking about or doing instead of focusing on our call.

Smiling while talking, utilizing voice inflection, and repeating to the customer what their concern is could help close the gap between a face to face interaction and a phone interaction.

3.  Tone – Ahh…tone.  Most of my marriage I have been accused of having tone.  I’d love to tell you that I’ve been accused of having a good tone, but truthfully, the accusation is that of having a bad tone.  I say it’s better to have tone then no tone, right!  That’s for a different day.

Communication is complicated.  So much going on: the sender, the receiver, background experiences, etc…  It’s amazing we are not all mad at each other!  With all these factors, any and every conversation is left open for interpretation.  My accusations of tone may be justifiable or not depending on the receiver.  But typically when people comment on a tone it’s not good.  For instance, one might say, “I don’t like your tone!†or “Don’t use that tone with me.”  Tone without a visual reference is usually not good.

Face to face contact helps to eliminate any doubt of the vocal tone.  If the person you are dealing with has an enormous smile on their face but their tone is a little flat, you will probably perceive the interaction as a positive one.  On the phone, however, the flat tone might come across as indifference, boredom, or disinterest.  If you’re accused of having tone, then practice good tone and you might sound as good as Tone Loc but don’t get carried away or you might just be accused of being a “Wild Thing.”

4.  No mistakes in interpretation.  When you can see the person, there are no mistakes made and the conversation is not left open to interpretation.  When using e-mail or other forms of written communication, unfortunately, the message can all too often be received incorrectly.

This happened to me after I purchased a car.  I received a letter from a local dealership in my area stating that they were sad to see me go out of town to purchase a car.  The letter also stated that my actions did not improve our local economy, but they’d love to win my business and show me how great they can be with a free oil change.

I actually became angry.  I felt like I was being lectured by the company.  I actually saved $4,000 on the purchase price of the car by buying out of town.  My thought was, “Why didn’t you give me the same deal?”  However, the truth was that they would not haggle.  Besides feeling like I was being lectured to, I also felt it was none of their business where I bought my car.  Was that their intention?  I highly doubt it, but that was my interpretation of the letter.  Had I heard a voice and seen a face with the exact same message, my reaction may have been different.

5.  Touch and a handshake.  If there is one thing that sets us apart from all other animals and species it’s our ability to shake hands.

By definition, in Wikipedia,  the handshake is commonly done upon meeting, greeting, parting, offering congratulations, expressing gratitude, or completing an agreement.  Its purpose is to convey trust, respect, balance, and equality.  If it is done to form an agreement, the agreement is not official until the hands are parted.

Phone calls and e-mails just don’t allow for touch and a handshake  That is why I prefer face to face contact.  In the previous generations, a handshake was as good as a written contract.  A man or woman’s word was as good as gold when sealed with a handshake.  Billion dollar deals in our current world are finished off with a handshake.  So, if you’re in customer service and you get the pleasure of being face to face with your customers, be sure to shake their hand.  The gesture will go a long way in solidifying that respect, friendliness, and agreement that a job has been well done.  (Yes, you can use antibacterial gel before and after if you’d like.)

So there you have it: 5 Key reasons face to face is better.  I want to give a super thanks to Brianna at PF Chang’s and Emily at On the Border for inspiring our shout-outs today.

What do you like best about face to face contact?  Please leave a comment below.

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