Be respectful to others by refraining from Wonging.
What is Wonging? Wonging is the act of pushing your way into a conversation you did not create. It is a behavior that disrupts the natural flow of a conversation often resulting in unnatural and uncomfortable silence. A conversation should feel organic, and in a customer service interaction the focus must remain on the client. They are the center of the universe, and they need to be able to feel it. If you have started a conversation with a client no other employee should push their way into it. When others force themselves into a conversation, they make themselves the center of the conversation.
There are two exceptions to this rule:
- If you overhear a conversation that you are an expert in and your contributions would without a doubt enhance the conversation for the customer, then you may interject. Simply thinking you know a lot of stuff is not enough, it must be over the top incredible. Let’s say Rich and Shawn are talking about Nascar and Tim wants to get involved in the conversation. Even if he has driven in Nascar he should refrain from getting involved. No one wants to hear about his story. If Tim suddenly starts talking about his Nascar adventures he will derail the conversation and make the focus on him. If Tim is a customer, this is fine. If he is an employee, it isn’t. What then would we consider expert level relevance? Tim would have to be Dale Earnhardt Jr, or his son. His contribution would have to be something so spectacular that the customer becomes entrances and inspire. It has to be something so great that it gives the customer an experience he would want to share with his friends. Anything less is not enough.
Refraining from Wonging encourages Humility
- The second way you could Wong without being disrespectful is if you hear an employee sharing information that is clearly wrong, represents the brand in a negative light, or may lead to do something dangerous. In this instance it is your ethical responsibility to get involved. However, when you do so, be respectful, humble and polite. Do not disparaged your teammate and make sure you give them an out. Don’t force people into the corner.
In our personal lives Wonging happens all the time. It often occurs when we are talking to someone new, and another person pushes their way into our conversation. Wonging is one of the laziest disrespectful conversation tactics. When someone Wongs they are stealing all the work of breaking the ice, establishing the conversational framework for a conversation by jumping in last minute to indulge their own personal desires.
By adapting an anti-Wonging policy you will appear humbler, reduce your perceived arrogance and encourage a more harmonious environment.
