This month, we asked employees who were promoted in September to tell us about an important lesson they’d learned, who taught it to them, and how it’s helped them. Here’s what they said.

“An important lesson I’ve learned is that not everyone fits into the mold you’re expecting them to fit into. You need to tailor your verbiage and demeanor to each person, and you have to understand their expectations of you — whether it’s a customer or an employee. This has translated into a skill of being able to read people better, which I obviously use in my job every day. I’ve learned this from the various managers I’ve had at NSB over the last eight years.”
—Tavie Folk, Howard/Suamico, promoted from Assistant Branch Manager–Sales to Branch Manager

“I used to work for Sprint (when they were considered a long distance company) in the Quality Assurance Department. They had us go to many meetings and seminars about customer service. I learned a lot there: how to greet the customer, actively listen, say the customer’s name, solve the problem, diffuse the customer if they are angry — and if you said you were going to resolve something, make a commitment and follow through with it, and then finally end the conversation with ‘Is there anything else I can help you with?’ These basics have helped me throughout my career and even personally.

“The part about diffusing someone who is angry has come in so handy. We learned words not to use, such as: I can’t, but, and you (as in “You shouldn’t have done that”). They taught us to let the customer speak freely and let them get it all out, and then to say something that tells them you agree with them (even if you don’t). Be understanding, as if you were the customer. Don’t use acronyms or company jargon that they won’t understand. Let them know that you are taking care of the problem and that it will be taken care of by a certain date. Then stay on top of that commitment you made to make sure it’s done, and follow up with a phone call.

“Here at the bank, if a customer (or maybe an ATM customer) comes in angry and I follow these guidelines, I would say no one walks away angry. (Well, I’m not perfect — maybe one person has walked away mad.)”
—Dawn Conley, McHenry, promoted from Teller Supervisor to Assistant Branch Manager–Operations

Other promotions:
Sharesa Desotelle, Northland, promoted from Teller to Teller Supervisor
Cliserio Gonzalez, Information Systems, promoted from Assistant Branch Manager–Operations at Jackson Park to Help Desk Technician
Lacee Kalepp, Northland, promoted from Universal Banker to Personal Banker
Shamika Parish, Silver Spring, promoted from Teller Supervisor to Assistant Branch Manager–Sales
Laura Pier, Loan Administration, promoted from Senior Secondary Market Specialist to Senior Residential Loan Specialist