Communicating in the Workplace

Communicating in the Workplace

Who was the sender?

A customer

Who was the receiver?

Myself

What was the message?

The message was that a specific type of automotive rim needed to be ordered.

What channel was used to send the message?

The channel was through a telephone call.

What was the misunderstanding that occurred?

The misunderstanding was that the gentleman received the incorrect rim when he previously placed an order. I thought he had received a damaged rim in the shipment and needed an undamaged replacement.

How could the misunderstanding have been avoided?

The misunderstanding could have been avoided if I had asked more questions to clarify and if the customer would have gotten straight to the point instead of small talking about other aspects of his ordering status.

This activity has taught me how important it is to consider the communication process when deciding how to proceed in a situation. In the situation I have mentioned here, I could have saved myself and the customer a lot of trouble by refining my line of questioning and paraphrasing exactly what the customer had told me before acting upon the request. This would have assured that there was a shared understanding of the information that was exchanged.

The main cause of the misunderstanding listed in the above chart was a mutual lack of communication. As a customer service representative, I should have spent more time getting to the bottom of the problem instead of using my assumptions. At this point in my career I was also trying to improve my call times so I found myself rushing calls instead of focusing on quality.

Who was the sender?

Myself

Who was the receiver?

A Co-Worker

What was the message?

The message was that an order that my co-worker was working on had been cancelled.

What channel was used to send the message?

E-mail

What was the misunderstanding that occurred?

The misunderstanding was that a co-worker had taken an order for an aluminum rim that...