I can't believe the first two months of 2013 are gone! But somehow I have been able to post something - story, article or poem - every single day. It's not been easy but I'm proud of what I have accomplished so far. I hope you enjoyed at least some of my postings (if you have been following my jumbled train of thought these past two months). This month I have dabbled in poetry – well, more like feeble attempts at song lyrics. I’ve written so many customer service tips that I’ve started a separate website called Keys to Great Customer Service. I’ve even written a children’s story about Marge the Aardvark. Occasionally I do get ahead – I’ll write two or three days ahead, but the days seem to catch up to me. I also have a couple of pieces that I’m working on that are taking a lot longer than I thought to finish. Sometimes I’ll write the first sentence and stop. I save the file and hope that I’ll get back to it some day. I’ve got several customer service tips started this way. Starting is easy. A monkey with a typewriter can start a story. It’s the ending that’s always tough for me. I keep thinking I need to say more, that I haven’t made my final point. I keep looking over my writing and think I need to add more. That’s one reason why I’m writing one tip at a time. It’s easier to close the curtain on one thought. Hopefully, it’ll get easier with practice. So that’s what I’ll do – keep practicing every day. I’ll keep writing and you keep reading.
Waves are rolling always crashing in, I can’t help it I close my eyes again. I look once more and guess at what I see, A brand new day is right in front of me. The sun is high, I feel it shining down, The tide is in, my troubles slowly drown. And I’m so light I know that I can fly, All my problems slowly pass me by. The day is building and I know just what to do, I have to keep pushing just to make it through. All bets are off, the world is spinning round, The game is done, the winner has been crowned. I watch the sun set slowly in the west, The tide goes out against the night’s protest. The sky turns black, you wonder where you’ve been, Waves are rolling always crashing in. I’m standing on an edge, an edge I cannot see, Looking into the depths, I peel back history. I’m going back in time, To a time I used to know, Traveling through the ages, I know where I must go. Eternity surrounds me, The veils of time deceive. Living through the changes, I know I must believe. The end is fast approaching, The pages all unfold. The book is slowly closing, The story has been told. I see the rising miracle, The truth it has to be. It takes me to the edge, The edge inside of me. Ever have the same dream over and over? It’s estimated that almost 70% of women and 65% of men claim to have recurrent dreams. I fall into the 65% percent of guys that have recurrent dreams. My dream is a variation of one of the more popular themes of recurring dreams - being back in school. Most people have a recurring dream of being in class naked or in a final exam. In my dream, I didn’t graduate and I have to go back to school if I want my diploma. I find out (in my dream) that I’m either one class or one semester short of the necessary hours needed to graduate. Sometimes I decide to go back to school, sometimes I don’t – but I always wake up at this point. I’ve also had another variation of this recurring dream in which it’s the first day of classes and I’ve lost my class schedule. I have no idea which classes I’m attending or when they start. Again, once I realize my dilemma I wake up. Some experts claim that stressful events in our lives trigger these recurring dreams. I’ve researched a lot about recurring dreams and there is one thing that the experts do agree on – NOTHING. Every expert has a different opinion as to why we have recurring dreams and the meanings behind these dreams. They like to use the words security and unresolved issues. One expert points to school as a time of security while another claims it is a time of stress. I have my own theory as to why so many people have recurring dreams about school. School is one of the most common, lengthy experiences we all have in common. It’s our job, our profession when we are young to go to school. It’s the most stressful, protracted event to occur during the most formulative period of life. It’s a wonder that 100% of both men and women don’t dream about school every night. As for me, I have these dreams 2-3 times a year (that I can remember). I don’t mind the dream as much now as I used to simply because I recognize it as a dream fairly quickly, sometimes even while I’m dreaming. Who knows? Maybe one day I’ll realize it’s a dream while I’m dreaming and take control of it. When that happens I’ll write about my dream of winning the lottery, buying an island and running off with the girl of my dreams. Many years ago I was in a presentation by Scott Ragan on outstanding customer service when he said something I’ll always remember – “Happy employees equal happy customers.” Sounds a little too simple, doesn’t it? Almost Doctor Seuss-ish huh? Scott expanded this simple idea as he frantically paced the room. Employees that are getting their needs met (i.e., adequate salary and benefits, fulfilling work, opportunities for growth, etc.) are able to focus on the customer and not the company’s shortcomings. And you better believe that unhappy employees will eventually tell your customer about your company’s shortcomings. A natural corollary to this idea is employees that are treated well by their supervisors are more likely to reflect that positive behavior in their interactions with their customers. Think about that for a second – your employees will treat your customer they way they are treated. Is your company providing outstanding customer service or is there room for improvement? Do you want your employees to give great customer service? Great customer service starts with you. Treat your employees well and they will carry that positive interaction to the customer. I guarantee your retention rate will skyrocket as well. Great customer service has many shapes and forms, but there’s one common denominator regardless of the situation – behind the great service is a person with a great attitude. In some cases, the only difference between good and great customer service is a great attitude. At a recent presentation on how to provide outstanding customer service, the speaker shared an excellent example of a great attitude making a huge difference in the service he received. Flying in the night before the presentation, the speaker arrived late in the evening to his hotel. As he entered the front lobby, the speaker shared with us the tremendous reception he received from the person at the front desk. The young lady behind the desk saw him approaching the door and began waving and smiling. Stepping out from behind the counter, the young lady greeted him like a long, lost friend. The speaker felt special, caught up in the young lady’s infectious attitude. Her actions were not extraordinary – it was the extraordinary attitude in which she greeted him. Sometimes a great attitude is all that’s necessary to deliver great customer service. A person with a great attitude will transform good customer service into great customer service and are prone to go out of their way to help the customer. A person with a negative attitude is less likely to be as helpful, often seeing the request as something that interferes with their “real” work. A person with a negative attitude can do everything right and the customer will still feel like they received poor customer service. In service industries, it is critical to put the right person in the right job. Employers must select the most qualified candidate with the best attitude. Remember, it’s much easier to train the person in the skills needed to do the job than it is to change their attitude. Plus, a person with a great attitude is easier to train. If you are a leader, you must also realize that great attitudes need to be nurtured and allowed to develop. No matter how resilient, it is possible to crush a great attitude. Recognition is a wonderful way to reward the employee with a great attitude and to share a “best practice” with the rest of the workforce. Employees with great attitudes attract and help develop other employees with great attitudes. And in today’s highly competitive economy, you need as many employees with great attitudes as possible. No one goes to their job and says, "I'm going to do a bad job today." In fact I believe just the opposite. I believe that everyone wants to be good at what they do, to be successful at their job and their life. I also firmly believe that every person has an innate desire to make a difference in the lives of the people around them. If this is true, why do so many businesses continually struggle to offer good customer service? I think I can sum up the reasons in two words - Inconsistent and Unprepared. Most companies train their employees to provide outstanding customer service, but the training is either inadequate leaving the employee unprepared to handle the situation or the company's processes intervene preventing consistent delivery of great customer service. Inadequate training is the biggest underlying cause of poor customer service. I'm not attacking the trainers who teach customer service skills. I think they are doing as much as they can with the time allotted to them. The unfortunate truth is very few employers allow sufficient time for training. The aphorism so commonly expressed is "On the Job" training. In other words, learn as you go. Since trainers typically have all types of employees in "mandatory" customer service training classes for a limited time, the trainer will usually keep the class broad in nature so to include everyone. At the end of the class, participants leave with an excellent understanding of why providing excellent customer service is necessary and no idea how to deliver it. Smart companies take the training process to the next level - job specific training in how to provide outstanding customer service. Specific tactics are given and difficult situations are discussed so the employee will know what to do when faced with it on the job. Companies that excel at providing excellent customer service give their employees the tools to be successful. They train their employees to be prepared for any situation and to deliver consistently outstanding customer service. For more information on how to provide outstanding customer service, check out the new website - Keys to Great Customer Service I recently wrote an article about sweating the small stuff – in other words, excellent customer service is in the details. I ended the article with the thought, “Take care of your service pennies and the service dollars will take themselves.” In my opinion, there’s no company out there better at living this mantra than Disney. They are fanatical at paying attention to the details. I saw this dogged attention to details a few years ago when I went through their “Quality Service in HealthCare” training onsite at Disneyworld in Orlando. We covered so many ideas and tactics during the three day session. Some of the messages were global, referring to the overall culture of the organization. Other thoughts were more defined, tactical in nature. One tactic that had a huge impact on me was something the folks at Disney call the “Ten Finger Lean.” The lean was briefly mentioned and demonstrated (probably a minute or less during the presentation) to help illustrate the point that Disney wants their employees to always appear ready and inviting. Disney recognizes that their employees get tired and hot (it is Florida), but they do not want the visitors to see it. Most companies would tell their employees the importance of looking professional and advise them to stand up straight at all times, but that’s where it would end. Disney prefers to train their employees, to give them the tools necessary to be successful. The trainer placed both hands behind her back, spread her fingers against the wall and leaned back slightly. She explained that this position allowed her to rest without slouching, to maintain a professional appearance. That’s right – Disney teaches their employees how to lean. Disney sweats the small stuff. I’ve told this story a lot of times and I routinely hear people say “Well, we’re not Disney,” rationalizing in their head that their business is not a theme park so they operate on a different playing field than Disney. But they have missed the point, a point the Disney sees all too clearly. Disney is a service industry, plain and simple. Their goal is to provide the best service possible, to make a “magical” experience for the customer. If you are in a service industry, you better believe that some aspect of your business is being compared to Disney. Are you making every moment magical? Every contact your company has with a customer, or potential customer, is a critical service moment. If you believe that, then every employee that interacts with the customer becomes an “official customer service representative” for your company. Most companies do not fully embrace this belief - some even deny it. It really doesn’t matter if a company believes it or not – customer service is a personal, intimate encounter between the person providing the service and the person receiving the service. Each encounter is an opportunity to strengthen or weaken the relationship with the customer. Smart companies train their employees to capitalize on each of these critical service moments. Smart companies empower their employees to think and respond to each customer’s unique needs. Unfortunately, most companies are not smart companies and fall well short of maximizing their employees’ potential. Customer service training often gets regulated into an annual mandatory requirement, a two hour credit that somehow convinces the employer their employees are adequately trained. Smart companies realize that customer service training has to take place every day. One industry that realizes the importance of excelling at each critical service moment is the healthcare industry. Although the need for customer service is recognized at every contact point, most industries including healthcare do not provide the necessary training or tools to be successful. Preaching the need for excellent customer service is only half the battle. Equally as important is selecting the right people and giving them the training they need to succeed. Several years ago I went through Disney’s Quality Service in HealthCare training seminar in Orlando. Disney has a fanatical devotion to detail and refuses to leave any encounter with a visitor to chance. Employees are given exact instruction and trained relentlessly. No detail is too small. Employees are taught how to point and how to lean. I also remember something the presenter told us during the seminar. Not everyone is fit for human contact he advised us. He was exaggerating of course, but his point was simple, we’re not all “people persons.” Training can help to some degree but, without an innate desire to connect with the other person, it’s superficial in most cases. This point was clearly illustrated to me during a recent visit to a grocery store. While picking up what I needed, I ran across something I wanted – cinnamon biscuit mix. All I needed to add was milk but I wanted to add another ingredient. I wanted a sugary glaze to pour over the biscuits while they were still hot. I looked in the baking section. I looked in the frosting section. I looked all over the store but I couldn’t find the glaze. Finally, after passing a couple store employees several times as I criss-crossed the store, I stopped and asked for their help. I’ve bought the glaze before, but it was in another store with the same chain. These two employees, however, seemed certain that this product didn’t exist. They didn’t bother to help me look or check with a manager. They didn’t budge. Instead, as if they had a running inventory of the store in their head, they quickly told me this product was unavailable if not non-existent. They quickly escalated my frustration when one of them actually told me that I should just make it myself. Defeated, I walked away and took the items out of my cart, put them back on the shelves and left the store. Now I’m sure both employees thought they were giving good customer service. They had stopped what they were doing and listened to my request. Not only did they answer my question, they had also given me a possible solution. In their minds, I’m sure they thought I was satisfied with their answers and service when I left. They’ll never know for sure, however, because they didn’t take the time to ask me. If they would have asked, I would have told them that they had weakened our relationship. I would have told them that they had failed to strengthen their bond with me during this critical service moment. I would have told them their lack of effort and disagreeable comments were destructive and contrary to providing excellent customer service. Will I ever return to this store? I’m sure I will because I have been pleased with the customer service I have received up to this point. All the good customer service I’ve received, however, has been nullified by my last encounter. In other words, we’ve reset the score back to zero. They have to start over in earning my brand loyalty. I know this may sound harsh, but companies don’t promise fair or inconsistent customer service – they promise excellent customer service every time. Smart companies succeed because they realize that every encounter with the customer or potential customer is a critical service moment and deliver outstanding customer service every time. Traveling down these back roads, Watching the miles roll by. Red tail lights in the distance, Lighting up against the sky. I’m getting closer by the minute, I know I’m going home. Town after town I drive through, They all look the same. Passing through these small towns, I don’t even know their name. Pushing harder now than ever, I know I’m going home. Out there in the distance, I know just where I’ll head. My driving will be over, I’ll no longer be mislead. Leaving the road behind me, I know I’m going home. It’s not too late for me now, This time it’s going to last. I’ll be this way forever, The time just goes too fast. It’s all behind me now babe, I know that I am home. |
Sam Murray
Award-winning Graphic Designer and Writer Archives
February 2015
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