sender and a receiver and a message that is understood by both. The interference (lack of understanding or distraction) that garbles the message becomes a barrier between the sender and receiver. In this case, the receiver should ask for a repeat or explanation. Misunderstood information may be worse than no information. It can result in disappointment, frustration, missed opportunities, or improper actions by the receiver. Following are some causes of interference that the AK should know: l l l l l l l The customer was vague about the particulars of the problem. The AK used unfamiliar terms, acronyms, or slang. Because the AK understood the subject so well, it was not explained as thoroughly as it should have been. The AKs attitude inferred that the customer and the problem are not important. Other problems were bothering the customer. The customer felt rushed. The customer lacked the confidence in the AKs ability to provide correct information. Since you serve as the single point of contact to provide aviation supply support and services, the customers have no other place to go for answers. You should ensure that the customer understands the message. Language barriers also exist with the contact point representative. Wherever the barriers exist, you should make a conscious effort to eliminate them or to compensate for them. To compensate, you should speak slowly and give listener time to follow and interpret what was said or to ask questions. There are several types of language barriers that interfere with communications. Some are cultural, some are physical, some are habit, and some are intended to confuse. Cultural and physical barriers are the most difficult for the speaker to overcome. Individuals for whom English is a second language often have difficulty with pronunciation, meaning, and sentence structure. Speech impediments also cause misunderstandings. Some speech habits that interfere with understanding are slurred pronunciation, running words together, speaking too fast, exaggerated drawl or brogue, and profanity. When a customer with one of these speech defects comes for service, concentrate on WHAT is being said—not HOW it is said. This will reduce distractions to a minimum. The inability to differentiate between routine and priority will keep you from fulfilling responsibilities to customers. Routines or procedures will enable you to do jobs easier, faster, and more accurately. Thus, they are the methods used to achieve the contact point goal-service to customers. If routines are allowed to become the goals, the effectiveness of the contact point will suffer. In the AK billet, routines are to serve people, not people to serve routines. Satisfying Customer Needs As previously discussed, a customer’s needs can be satisfied either by you or through referral to other units that perform the job required by the customer. In large activities where specialization is implemented, it is difficult for the customer to find the right desk or office. When you refer a customer to another location, be courteous. Always give good directions or take the customer to the area, if possible. If additional action will have to be taken later, you and the customer should agree on who will initiate the future action. The customer should have no doubts about WHAT must be done, WHEN it should be done, and WHO is to get it started. It may help to repeat basic information just before the customer leaves. Answering questions requires a sizeable amount of patience. Some of the questions are repeats by the same customer or another customer. In all cases, questions deserves the courtesy of an answer. You must provide correct and up-to-date informa- tion to the customers. People obtain information from many sources. Even when they have heard and interpreted it correctly, it may not be correct. This incorrect information is usually revealed through conversation with the customer. Regardless of where this incorrect information was obtained, you should correct it. The filing system and record keeping help provide good customer service. You use them as a proof for material delivery, signature of the person that accepted the material or service, history of events, and so on. When good customer service is provided, the PROBLEM that was countered by a solution becomes a TEMPORARY SITUATION. 2-16