Poker Face Introverts
Customer service is no easy job, no matter what your personality type is. It takes real skill to handle angry customers, difficult questions, and complaints with grace and aplomb. Despite its reputation, customer service can be a rewarding job – you get to make someone’s experience better as it pertains to a product or service. You can turn someone’s day around. You can be the human at the other end of the phone call, the good experience in the store, and totally turn someone’s day around when they’re stressed.
But what does a customer service position mean for the introvert? After all, any job that requires an introvert to deal with people is not ideal, right? It’s not that simple – introverts can be some of the best customer service representatives, and here’s why.
The above chart again shows Architects, Logicians, Logisticians, and Virtuosos being relatively challenged when it comes to body language. However, Mediators (INFP), Defenders (ISFJ), and Adventurers (ISFP) are also notably less likely than Extraverted personality types to agree. The advantage of some introverts is their poker face. Your opponents will watch your reactions. It gives you a great advantage making you a bit unpredictable. The greatest advantage of this sport is that people make you feel welcome.
Why Introvert Can be Great at Customer Service
- They know when to keep their thoughts to themselves.
It takes a good dose of self-control to be in a customer service position. You might find your customers irritating, stupid, annoying, or overly sensitive. You might feel the need to tell them off or go give it to a punching bag. But the grace of the introvert doesn’t let this happen. The introvert has fantastic poker face. They will never let a customer know how they really feel, as they’re guarded and private and know how to put on a happy face.
- They’re excellent listeners
Good customer service doesn’t mean the customer is always right, but it means the customer is always heard. The introvert gives space for the angry customer so they can air their grievances and communicate what they need to say. This is essential in customer service. If the customer feels like they were heard and that the company is doing everything in their power to correct the situation, they’re more likely to leave with a better feeling.
Poker Face Introverts Meaning
- They represent the company well.
Introverts tend to have a more reserved personality, which means that they are excellent at professionally representing a company or service. They’re far less likely to say something they don’t mean, say something the customer will misinterpret, or misrepresent the company. Instead, introverts are wonderful stewardesses and stewards. They know how to fit inside a narrative, and they can present themselves with absolute class and grace.
- Introverts are patient.
Customer service takes stamina, because you have to deal with customer after customer, day after day. The introvert is typically a patient person who can ride the wave, listen through inquiries, and stay creative at problem solving with the customer. Most importantly, the customer is likely to sense the patience of the introvert, leading to a more relaxed customer service experience for both parties.
- Introverts are focused.
When you’re in customer service, you need to focus on the problem at hand. You need to be with the customer 100 percent so you can wrap your brain around the issue and actively work to solve it. Many introverts have the laser-sharp focus needed in a customer service position. You are unlikely to find an introvert slacking off with his coworkers, shirking his duties to chat it up with others, and wasting time. The introvert quietly stays on task and is an employer’s dream.
- They don’t dominate conversations.
In the same vein as being an excellent listener, introverts aren’t ones to dominate the conversation with a customer. We’ve all had that super extroverted customer service representative that made us feel on-edge. Often, we just want a customer service rep to help us solve a problem, so we don’t want a chatter box. The introvert facilitates trust with customers by tending to their needs instead of initiating gossip.
Why Customer Service Can be a Challenge for the Introvert
Despite the strengths that introverts bring to the customer service industry, it’s not an easy career. Even 30-year veterans in customer service still have very stressful days.
- Introverts with social anxiety might find themselves stressed out in a customer service position.
It’s not easy getting yelled at by customers, especially when you didn’t do anything wrong. Being in customer service feels like you’re the messenger that people are shooting, and it can wear down anyone with social anxiety and spill into their non-work life.
- Customer service requires excellent phone skills.
Many introverts hate phones. They hate when they ring, they hate picking them up, and they have a hard time holding a decent conversation when they can’t see the other person they’re talking to. It can be very anxiety-inducing for the introvert to always be answering calls. Often times, they will let the phone ring a couple times while they rehearse their greeting, putting the introvert constantly on edge.
- The introvert can feel extra stressed out when a customer gets angry with them.
Introverts tend to be very sensitive to the emotions of others, which makes anger a particularly strong and difficult emotion for introverts to handle well. They end up panicking and spiraling into anxiety, and they worry about what their boss is going to say, whether they’ll lose their job, and what their other coworkers are thinking. It can be hard to solve problems when you’re so deeply affected by the emotions of others.
Poker Face Introverts Game
- Sometimes introverts might feel like they have to talk to a customer, instead of genuinely wanting to engage with them.
Being an introverted customer service representative means feigning interest. These customer service reps are amazing actors. But there’s no harm in this as long as the customer can’t sense this. As long as the introvert stays engaged, keeps a smile in her voice, and remains as helpful as possible, they don’t necessarily have to be all-in.
Some companies actively look for more introverted people to hire as customer service reps. This is intriguing, and tells us that introverts are typically wonderful at handling customers. So if you’re interested in a customer service job and also happen to be an introvert, give it a shot! You might end up making someone’s day, over and over again.