Service with Purpose

Bob

2011-07-22T15:54:00.001+10:00

Bob Jane CallRecording-200711-024829.mp3 Listen on Posterous

How to Create Presentations that Don't Suck - Lifehacker

2011-06-10T14:43:00.001+10:00

via m.lifehacker.com

A great article which goes beyond dissing bullet points and font size.

This is a core skill every manager needs to learn.

How to Create Presentations that Don't Suck - Lifehacker

2011-06-10T14:35:00.001+10:00

http://m.lifehacker.com/5810271/how-to-create-presentations-that-dont-suck

The Customer Isn’t Always Right - In Charge - WSJ

2011-06-09T15:36:00.001+10:00

By Emily Maltby
In Wednesday’s WSJ story, “How to Fix a Customer-Service Flub,” six entrepreneurs agree that the mea-culpa approach is best when dealing with a cranky customer.

Fessing up is popular for a reason: It’s the most effective way to win back the customer, the entrepreneurs say. But not all business owners apologize to patrons who voice complaints, even if it ultimately means losing the customer and his or her friends.

Alamo Drafthouse Cinema

A screenshot of the PSA aired at the Alamo Drafthouse, which pokes fun at the angry customer.

Take, for instance, the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, a movie theater in Austin that received an angry voicemail from a customer who was thrown out for using her cellphone during a film. It didn’t plead forgiveness, nor did it offer the happy patron free tickets to a future movie.

Rather, the theater turned the customer’s profanity-laden message into a public-service announcement that will be shown to audiences of R-rated films before the featured movie starts. (Censored version here.) While listening to the voicemail, viewers see the theater’s written interpretation of the message, which pokes fun at the customers’ usage (and misusage) of the English language, such as the “Magnited States of America.”

The closing remarks of the cinema’s PSA.

The message demonstrates how serious the establishment is about its no-phone policy. The founder and chief executive of the theater, Tim League, stands by the PSA. He posted a note on the company’s website explaining the theater’s unconventional move:

“Recently, we had a situation where a customer persisted in texting in the theater despite two warnings to stop. Our policy at that point is to eject the customer without a refund, which is exactly what went down that night.”

Readers, what do you think? How should business owners handle customers who aren’t always right?

via blogs.wsj.com

The Customer Isn’t Always Right - In Charge - WSJ

2011-06-09T15:26:00.001+10:00

http://blogs.wsj.com/in-charge/2011/06/08/the-customer-isn%E2%80%99t-always-r...

Steven Di Pietro
Sent from my iPhone

Covert customers run surveillance on the bright side of the law

2011-06-07T14:22:00.001+10:00

’’Hi, gimme five’’... Superintendent Mark Wright with a young resident. Photo: Brendan Esposito

LOOK no further than the public servants carrying guns if you want service with a smile.

More than two years into a ''secret shopper'' program testing police treatment of the crime-reporting public, the NSW Police Force was given a score of almost 89 per cent.

Police even outperformed some of the country's biggest retailers, whose primary goal is to lure customers to their stores and keep them coming back.

Advertisement: Story continues below

Friendly faces ... Sergeant Wendy Johnson on the beat in Blacktown. Photo: Brendan Esposito

Mystery shoppers, drawn from the suburbs around each police station, test front-line officers' greetings, farewells and attentiveness and make note of the station environment.

Using fabricated scenarios - and taking care not to break the law by reporting a non-existent crime - the ''shoppers'' even measure the officers' level of eye contact.

''We do it for about 60 different businesses and companies, and [police are] up there in the top five,'' Steven Di Pietro, the

executive director of Service Integrity, which runs the program, said.

''It might be something like, 'My son's having an 18th birthday. I want to know what to do about potential gate-crashers,''' he said. If an officer tried to ''fob them off'' or was not helpful, the shopper would give the station a poor result.

''If they don't look them in the eye or they take a long time to serve them, then that's when the results are lower.''

Eye contact is clearly a strong point for police officers.

''Their results are really right up the top there,'' Mr Di Pietro said. ''They compare with some of Australia's top retailers.''

Since September, 2009 Mr Di Pietro's pretend customers have ''shopped'' 1120 different times at 124 police stations across the state, either in person or by phone.

While the scores were generally high, Penrith came out on top of the 80 local area commands in 2009-10, with an average result of 98 per cent. This year, Botany Bay and Eastern Beaches wear the broadest grins.

Despite resoundingly good results, the police force has no plans to ditch the $40,000-a-year program.

''We want to maintain those high standards and this is a good way of doing that,'' Deputy Commissioner Catherine Burn said. ''Commands who improve on a bad report take pride in getting those better results.''

via smh.com.au

We got some nice positive publicity about our work with NSW Police Force. You can Mystery Shop almost any industry.

The Cost of Bad Customer Service

2011-04-18T10:36:00.001+10:00

Bad customer service has got to be the fastest way for a business to lose customers. Everyone has had a really bad experience at some time or another whether in a restaurant, when buying a car or even when buying from an online retailer. The graphic below will show you the actual cost of all this bad customer service that we experience. Stats You Sh ..read more..

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Customer Service the Disney Way

2011-04-16T06:07:00.001+10:00

I just returned from the Happiest Place on Earth in a foul mood. I’m not mad at Disneyland. As always they did everything right, providing an exceptionally magical experience for my family. I’m angry at other customer-facing merchants and businesses who fail to do the simplest things to improve customer satisfaction. You must understand th ..read more..

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How to deal with angry online customers

2011-04-14T07:53:00.001+10:00

No matter how hard any of us try to deliver the best products and the best service, something can always go awry. For instance, there’s the online florist who sent Valentine flowers on February 16, or the online dress boutique who sent a little black dress in a size 14 instead of the ordered size 4.

If similar mistakes had been made while shopping at the local mall, it’s a pretty simple procedure just to go there and work out the details for an exchange or adjustment, but the online business can be a bit trickier, and if you’re a new online business, the effect of unresolved customer service issues could irreparably hurt your future success. Keep in mind, for online issues, there’s no compassionate sales manager to speak with an angry customer to calm them down, nor is there an immediate way for a customer to find a resolution – that is unless you, as an online business, takes the responsibility of dealing with angry customers as a number one priority. Here are a few suggestions:

Always start out with a FAQ. The more answers you can provide on your website, the easier it will be for customers to understand your policies, but remember that competition is keen for online businesses, and you will want to compare your policies with your competition.

Don’t make excuses. Take responsibility when something goes wrong. If flowers were meant to be delivered on Valentine’s Day, there should not be the excuse that “it was a very busy day.” What husband, boyfriend, or son wants to hear that the special bouquet he ordered was not delivered when it should have been? Take steps to resolve the problem in the future, but do something to assuage the anger and frustration of the customer. Begin the process as soon as possible, and if you don’t have an immediate solution, then follow-up with an email or phone call as soon as you do.

Communicate with your customers. Offer relevant information. Have blogs for timely information. If you’re a florist, why not blog about planting and seasonal flowers in different parts of the country? Make your information useful, so customers and potential customers will want to return to your website. Offer discounts and coupons after you have resolved the customer’s problem.

Answer complaints within one day. Imagine how insignificant and angry a customer could become if they don’t hear from the online organization? There’s no one they can face personally and no store they can visit.

Ask for feedback. Make customers feel appreciated. In turn they will show their appreciation by clicking on your website again.

No one is immune from making mistakes, but keeping your head and appreciating customers in an honest, upfront manner promises success.

photo credit: Simone Lovati

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via serviceuntitled.com

I’d add two more:
1) Give the benefit of the doubt – because customers feel they cannot project themselves (eg scream, plead, cry, argue).
and
2) Tell the truth – related to your point 2.

Service Untitled» Blog Archive » How to deal with angry online customers

2011-04-13T23:08:00.001+10:00

via serviceuntitled.com

Dealing with angry online customers

2011-04-13T22:56:00.001+10:00

http://www.serviceuntitled.com/how-to-deal-with-angry-online-customers/2011/0... Steven Di Pietro Sent from my iPhone

Seth's Blog: Who's responsible for service design?

2011-04-06T23:14:00.001+10:00

How many people should be answering the phone at Zappos on a Saturday? What’s Southwest Airlines policy regarding hotel stays and cancelled flights? Should the knobs on the shower at the hotel go side by side or one above the other? Can I turn it on without getting sprayed with cold water? How many steps from the front of the hotel to the registration desk?
Too often, we blame bad service on the people who actually deliver the service. Sometimes (often) it’s not their fault. Sadly, the complaints rarely make it as far as the overpaid (or possibly overworked) executive who made the bad design decision in the first place. It’s the architecture of service that makes the phone ring and that makes customers leave.
Three quick tips for anyone who cares about this:
1. Require service designers to sign their work. Who decided to make it the way it is?
2. Run a customer service audit. Walk through the building or the software or the phone tree with all the designers in the room and call out what’s not right.
3. Make it easy for complaints (and compliments) about each decision to reach the designer (and her boss).
In my experience, most of the problems are caused by ignorance and isolation, not incompetence or a lack of concern.

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7 Life Changing Lessons You Can Learn from Mark Twain - by Dumb Little Man

2011-03-28T13:16:00.001+11:00

via dumblittleman.com

7 Life Changing Lessons You Can Learn from Mark Twain - by Dumb Little Man

2011-03-28T13:15:00.001+11:00

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Poor customer service means more complaints on social media: study | Econsultancy

2011-03-19T17:36:00.001+11:00

Posted 18 March 2011 09:26am by Graham Charlton with 2 comments

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According to a survey, while 83% of consumers expect businesses to work harder to keep them since the recession, just 5% of think that customer service has improved over the last three years.

The channels that customers are using to complain are changing too. While 41% of people will make a complaint by phone and 63% by email, 20% take to social media sites to have a good old moan to friends and family.

This means more negative comments about companies and highlights the need for customer service improvements, as well as policies to monitor and respond to complaints on social media channels.

The YouGov survey, commissioned by technology provider Avanade, surveyed 1,998 UK consumers about their attitudes to customer service, as well as the types of company they tend to complain about most.

Satisfaction with customer service

Just 2% said that their interactions with customer service staff were 'typically enjoyable' while 35% proclaimed themselves as satisfied.

On the flip side, 9% said they tend to 'pull their hair out' when dealing with customer service staff, 33% said their experiences were frustrating, and 14% unsatisfactory.

Just 14% of adults in Great Britain think companies live up to the customer service promised by businesses in their marketing campaigns.

Types of company complained about

While 39% hadn't complained to a company in the past year, financial services firms and utilities are the most common targets of people's ire.

17% said financial services companies were the ones they complained about most, followed by utilities on 14% and retailers on 13%.

So how do people complain?

41% of people still use the telephone to complain to a company and 63% of people use email, but a significant proportion (20%) will use social media to sound off to friends and family.

This is a trend that looks set to continue, as the figure rises to 36% for 18-24 year olds.

I've been looking at Twitter for customers' opinions on brands' customer service, searching for name of brand 'customer service' for several financial brands, and the results highlights the value of great customer service.

While I found the odd complaint for most of the major banks, Santander seemed to be the target for the most vitriol:

This is not so surprising given both my own experience of trying to get through to someone from the company by phone, and the FSA's findings that it was the most complained about bank last year.

It's interesting that, in a sector that has a bad reputation already and has had plenty of negative press thanks to the recession, a firm can stand out by providing good customer service.

While looking at various Twitter complaints, the name of first direct was mentioned several times in a positive light. Here's another example:

This underlines the importance of customer service, not only for customer satisfaction and therefore improved retention rates, but also for great word of mouth marketing.

As Scott Woodhead wrote in a recent guest post on relationship capital in customer services, 'the future lies with companies who can be a friendly face in the crowded and anonymous online market place'.

Graham Charlton is Editor at Econsultancy. Follow him on Twitter or connect via Linkedin.

via econsultancy.com

Are these the five reasons the UK High Street is dying?

2011-03-15T07:31:00.001+11:00

New figures show that 1 in 7 shops on Britain’s high streets are now closed. The 14.7% figure is up from 12.0%, just one year ago. This is the average figure, with some towns, such as Margate, Leigh Park, Lee Green and Runcorn above 30%.

So, what is causing all this?

Undoubtedly, the recession is a big reason; all parts of the economy has shrunk and retail has suffered in the same way as other businesses have, as well.

But, retail in the High Street, has problems unique to the business model.

For most of retail, the customer has to visit a shop to make a purchase. And, there lies the weakness; It is easier to go online and order the same product to be delivered, without the customer leaving their home. The internet has taken a large part of the retail pie.

Weather is also a factor - rain, snow and wind always dampens demand and the weather in December 2010, highlighted this, with depressed sales for many retailers.

Rentals are also too high with landlords demanding rents in excess of what can be afforded.

One other factor has been local councils’ need and desire to impose pay metres into the high street and to raise car park tariffs, way above inflation. Previous free or cheap parking has been taken away and this has had a big impact.

And, another factor has been ‘out of town’, shopping areas, where there is free and ample parking, convenient access and a good selection of large retailers. These have taken footfall away from the high street.

Now, I have been a retailer for more than 30 years and I see many other problems with many high street businesses.

In short, many retailers do NOT KNOW how to retail and they don’t bother to find out. And, many of these retailers are guilty of FIVE BIG MISTAKES.

MISTAKE 1: The biggest mistake is that retailers do not make enough effort to talk to their customers. Very often, you don’t even get a ‘hello’, when you enter a shop.

In all my retail businesses, I and my staff have always made a real effort to talk to my customers. In that way, the customer is put at ease and then is more likely to return and buy more. Also, by talking to my customers, I can find out, from them, exactly what their needs and wants are. By doing this, I have been able to extend the range of products in my businesses, enormously, and because the new products, I introduce, have been requested by the customers, I know they will sell and they do.

The result is greater sales and profits.

MISTAKE 2: Another mistake is many retailers do not understand customer service, and they do not bother to find out. Often, the customer is made to feel they are a nuisance. This is wrong.

The customer deserves undivided attention, while they are in the shop. In my businesses, I always try to go the ‘extra mile’ and ‘over-deliver’ on customer service. Most customers appreciate this, especially, as this is something, they do not get from the large retailers in the ‘out of town’ shopping areas.

MISTAKE 3: One other big mistake is that many shops are a ‘mess’.

The products are poorly arranged and the shops do not look attractive and appear disorganised. A ‘messy’ shop puts customers off.

MISTAKE 4: The next mistake is that many retailers do not know how to make their customers visit them, and they do not bother to find out.

I have always given my customers a good reason to visit; this could be the products, I offer, or the quality of the products or the prices, to list just three ideas. If customers are to be attracted back to the high street, shops must offer better and more specialised products, and possible products that are more niche, than offered by the larger retailers in ‘out of town’ areas.

MISTAKE 5: The last mistake is that many retailers do not know how to market their businesses, and they do not bother to find out. Retail is one of the easiest businesses to market.

The High Street might be dying, but many retail and non-retail businesses will still operate, within walking distance of the High Street. These businesses could be solicitors, accountants and other retail outlets, for example.

Hand-delivered flyers to these businesses will often encourage people, working in these businesses, to visit the high street shops, especially if the retailer has products or services, that will be in demand. This form of marketing can be very successful, if done right.

I have always found that ‘word of mouth’ can be a strong force for retailers.

If your shop is very friendly, delivers a superb customer service, and looks well organised and attractive, ‘word of mouth’ will work strongly in your favour. But, be unfriendly, deliver short on customer service and have a ‘messy’ shop and ‘word of mouth’ will work strongly against you.

If you run a retail business on the High Street, don’t be guilty of the FIVE MISTAKES, I highlight, above, instead you should:

be friendly

offer superb customer service

make your shop look good

offer great ideas to visit

market your business well

make ‘word of mouth work’

By making you business different to those on-line and in the large retail parks, you will attract a multitude of appreciative customers to your business.

Robert Viney is the founder of Prestige Business Coaching. His website www.business-startup-coaching.com offers free advice and help to all business owners.

via mycustomer.com

7 reasons your service may be unspectacular service, and to make it spectacular

2010-10-26T18:43:00.001+11:00

I am in the middle of a whirlwind tour of Australia. Every day is a different plane (sometimes more than one plane). Everything is so – the same.

Your industry might be like the airline industry. Everything may seem to be the same. It’s so hard to win in the airline service game, yet so easy lose.

Here are 7 reasons why.

1) The product is hidden.

Sure you can see the plane, but you don’t see the team of people who make flight possible. From schedulers to re-fuelers, they all have a critical role in your service experience, yet they are hidden.

Same for banks and postal services.

2) Everyone uses the same raw materials.

Everyone uses the same planes, and the same catering, and same pilots. Most low cost airlines operate using the Boeing 737, and long haul operators use a 737 or an A380. Not much choice there.

Same for bakers and consultants.

3) The process is controlled by regulators.

The regulators dictate how many staff you need on board and the places where you can fly. Not much choice there either.

Your industry may its own rules.

Same for liquor stores and TV stations.

4) The process has little room for originality.

Everyone has a similar food trolley, smile and service disposition. Some airlines try to funk it up a little, but they are doing the same thing.

Same for shopping malls.

5) The product is a conduit, a transitional purchase towards buying something else.

The flight is necessary to get to a destination as wrapping paper is necessary to conceal a gift. Rarely is the flight the product itself (unless you are flying over the South Pole on a New Years excursion).

Same for online stores.

6) The product is a consumable with no residual value.

Once you land, it is done. Whether you travel 1st class or economy you arrive at the same place. There is no residual memory or asset.

Same for car fuel stations.

7) People don't want it.

Most people would rather wave a magic wand a teleport straight to their destination than consume your product.

Same for Doctors and Chemists?

Now what?

The airlines have a product no-one wants with no residual value, and no way to differentiate. So why even bother with service?

Airlines should obsess with service for exactly those 7 reasons.

Most customers know what to expect. When airlines get it wrong there is nowhere to hide. Lost bags? Knarly staff? Late arrivals? These are the moments that define the airline. By either dealing with them well, or preventing them altogether.

Those extreme moments define most brands.

When an airline does not offer this predictable service, it is slated as being a poor service airline.

1) Reaching the minimum standard every single time is tough.

2) When the minimums are not reached, it is the real opportunity for the brand to be defined.

How was a lost bag handled? A delayed flight? Seat assignments spreading a family over a plane?

3) The paradox is that because service standards are so tough to achieve, standing out just a little gets exaggerated and you look like a star.

4) Brand and Soul are important. Building a Brand persona can create a differentiation, and if the staff can live the soul of the Brand, the differentiation will live and thrive.

Is your business really that different to the airline industry?

Seat the extremes and don’t underestimate the power of constant delivery.

Delivering unspectacularly consistency is the building block of a spectacular brand.

Why most loyalty programs are M.A.D. (in the nuclear war sense)

2010-10-20T16:54:00.001+11:00

Many loyalty programs are M.A.D. but not in the mental sense, but the cold war sense. Many readers will know that M.A.D stands for Mutually Assured Destruction.

Nuclear powers will not initiate a war against each other because it will assure their own destruction from retaliation. So the immense nuclear powers have cancelled each other out.

Loyalty programs have become so prevalent they too cancel each other out.

If you and all your competitors have a loyalty program, which will the consumer use, the one with the biggest benefits or the easiest one to use?

Loyalty programs have created a new field of competition. You no longer compete on just product, price, place, and people, but also programs. So all of a sudden it all just got harder.

If the product, prices, and place of business are the same and the loyalty programs similar. It leaves one place for competition. People. And people = service.

The ultimate loyalty program is based on delivery. All you have to do is deliver what the customer wants - every single time. There is no need to deliver more, and certainly not less. But deliver to the customers what they want and expect every single time to create loyalty.

Loyalty built on service is lasting, but when built on a scheme it will only last as long as the scheme.

One thing which is more important than Sales training

2010-10-16T07:44:00.001+11:00

Some things are more important than Sales techniques. Many of my Mystery Shopping clients sped countless hours teaching each employee simply sales techniques.

There are the six steps to selling, or the 9 steps the selling, the Friedman method and so on. These usually involve some form of closing technique and or up-sell. All completely valid, but there is something even more important.

You have got to know your product.

In the car industry it is knowing the towing capacity, warranty, service intervals and options. In a café it is about having the knowledge to make the product.

In a study completed by my mystery shopping company in 2005, we found that in terms of importance, they chose knowledge over service as follows:

Knowledge 59%

Service 41%

Most selling processes are built of service, but don’t forget knowledge as a more important component.

Why you shouldn't always be a leader

2010-10-13T19:16:00.001+11:00

Who says we always have to be a leader? Do appointed leaders even have to lead all the time?

As a child I used to follow certain friends but my mother used to tell me to ‘stop following’. The same happens in our jobs. Lead lead lead, is the cry, and we all paradoxically follow in the call to lead.

But following has some advantages. Even now I follow some friends to vacation locations I would never dream of visiting, eating strange foods, meeting different people. If you always lead, you follow your own path of predictability.

The same applies in business. Following leaders in your industry or others gives a new perspective. I follow people such as Matt Church, Seth Godin, and Chris Brogan. In fact, Social Media is built on the concept of ‘following’.

Being a leader is no more superior than North is to South. It’s just one f the ways to live your life or career. It’s not the only way.

Even appointed leaders have to follow. They have to be humble and listen to a Board, or they have to follow market forces. We all follow, and need to follow at times. Why is it such a bad thing?

I agree we all have a time to lead, but we also have a time to follow.

When price is more important than service

2010-09-29T17:29:00.001+10:00

If you have recently gone shopping for electronics, you would think this to be true.

Rows and rows of goods are presented with splashy “sale” prices.

Most sales staff don’t engage too heavily, they just give you a price, you play the bargaining game, they reduce the price a little, but you don’t buy.

What do most people do? They compare prices.

Price doesn’t kill service, people do

With the same product, same store layout, similar prices, you would think the lowest price gets the sale. Wrong, the best service still gets the sale, as long as the price is competitive.

The normal shopping pattern – is not normal

The normal pattern is to:

1. Find a cluster of stores.

2. Walk around, and receive varying levels of service.

3. Narrow down to a product, or two.

4. Revisit the earlier stores and compare prices for the specific products.

5. Perhaps look online.

6. Buy the cheapest price.

All correct except the last point.

The customer will buy from the last store to give a ‘good’ price and the best service.

Too many of my clients think that price is the most important thing. The customer thinks it is; they say it is; they act like it is; but it isn’t.

What do you think?

How to Buy Loyalty - a simple example

2010-09-26T06:46:00.001+10:00

Every business wants loyalty. Improving loyalty is one of the greatest leverage tools in business. My upcoming eBook will explore how to get loyalty, but this example got me a little excited.

You could consider buying loyalty with pre-paid pricing. The customers can purchase their own loyalty by paying upfront to be a ‘member’ in order to receive discounts.

Asking customers to pay for loyalty is different to earning it because 1) it creates greater perceived value of the benefits, 2) it allows you to give more immediate benefits, and 3) you get money up-front.

E.g. Perisher Blue ski resort allows customers to pay $48.00 upfront and the first six days skiing in the season are reduced by $20 each, days 7-9 are discounted $60.00 each. In a competitive market, competition is removed.

Is your customer service in the toilet?

2010-09-07T14:25:00.001+10:00

Do you ever get the feeling the service you received was a façade, a big act? The service was OK, but it just didn’t gel.

The same happens when I go into companies to help them with staff engagement. There is a feeling that all is not well, but it can’t be pinpointed.

Here is a simple piece of advice. Go to the toilet/bathroom.

Customer service is about the whole part of the experience, including the bathroom. The way an establishment maintains its bathroom says a lot about their respect for customers and staff.

Are the bathrooms an inconsistent style to the front?

Are the bathrooms a consistent style to the front but poorly maintained?

Are they consistent with the front?

Either way, it reflects on how you are perceived by customers, and how you perceive them.

The same applies for staff.

Whenever I enter a business to talk about staff engagement, my first visit is to the bathroom. It instantly gives me a signal about how the staff (or customers) are considered by the organisation.

Cheap toilet paper, grimy washbasins, old cracked tiles, dishevelled locks, broken taps, and so on. It says a great deal about how your respect staff as human beings.

It’s no wonder why so many of my Mystery Shopping clients ask for the bathrooms to be evaluated. It’s important.

Good Ol' Advertising Still Works

2010-08-30T15:43:00.005+10:00

Sometimes we get a little too clever in our marketing. We want word-of-mouth, we want social media engagement, we want a social media viral campaigns.

On a recent road trip to Canberra, Australia my eye was attracted to a simple sign on the freeway saying “The Daily Pie – fresh make everyday”.

I was in the car with a friend, his son, and my son, so hunger is never too far away.

Although we knew the location of the next McDonalds, we decided to take the turnoff to the small town of Collector, about 1km off the highway.

Along the way to the turnoff, we came across more signs – good old fashioned marketing. Exposure, Size and Frequency.

The Pie shop is in the middle of nowhere and charges prices double those expected in a city like

Sydney. But the flavor and generous sized pies compensated. They were amazing.

Here was a store located in the wrong spot, selling high priced goods yet with plenty of happy customers.

It was a humbling experience. Sometimes perhaps we are a little too fancy by half.

Blog Moving

2010-07-01T15:18:00.000+10:00

Dear readers.

Just another reminder that this blog has moved to
www.servicewithpurpose.net

If you are a subscriber, you can automatically subscribe to the new feed here.

Subscribe feed

Role plays are tough - an alternative

2010-06-03T21:41:00.001+10:00

For many people role plays are tough and uncomfortable. The thought of sitting with a peer pretending to be a customer is scary and intimidating. As a result, we avoid the activity.

Very few people will argue that role plays are not beneficial. In fact most expert professions are built on proactive simulations.

· Airline pilots use a simulator.

· Doctors may practice on dummies.

· Sportsmen practice in training drills.

And yet in customer service environments, it is avoided. Rather than move to the uneasy role-play, customer service staff and sales people could use the wisdom of others.

Here’s what you could do:

1) Sit with new staff and explain some likely scenarios:

a. What upsets customers,

b. Shortcuts,

c. Likely demands

2) Explain how you felt when this happened. This is important because when experienced by the staff member it won’t feel as foreign.

3) Explain what you did to fix it.

4) Explain where you have previously failed.

If you are not going to role-play, then share your wisdom, because leaders have a big role to play.

Related post – What we can learn from Yoda

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Trying is not good enough - what we can learn from Yoda

2010-06-02T20:10:00.002+10:00

When leading staff, we sometimes get caught asking them to ‘try’ and then to ‘try harder’.

Asking staff to try gives them an excuse not to accomplish. Avoid asking people to try a new skill. Teach them and then ask them to ‘do’ the job. There is a difference.

Trying is judgmental. How can you know if the staff member tried enough? How do they know themselves? When other people learnt the skill, did they try harder?

If I attempt a task for the first time and get it wrong, was it because I didn’t try hard enough or was it something else? Was it perhaps the teacher, the learning style, or some other factor?

There is not try, there is only do - Yoda

Ask staff simply to ‘do’ the job. If it needs to be broken down, then do so. If they fail, then let them learn, and do it again.

Trying is experimental, doing is final.

The first time an airline pilot is asked to fly a commercial airliner, they are not asked to try. It is expected that they ‘do’. The learning and failing can happen somewhere else (in a simulator).

A Doctor operating for the first time is not asked to try.

A Plumber cannot try to fix a problem, it must be fixed.

So why is it that in service environments we think it is OK to ‘try’ to serve the customer, or to try to solve their problem. Is it OK to try to keep the store clean? Is it OK to try to be attentive to the customer’s needs?

Attempting to stack shelves is really just about not stacking shelves. Once you do the stacking, trying is irrelevant.

Don’t ask staff to try, that way they won’t perceive you as judgmental, and they simultaneously know that you need completion every time.

There are five things we can do to move staff away from ‘try’.

Give them instructions
Give them the tools
Set the expectation
Simulate
Do

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Beware of Customer Service Snake Oil and Silver Bullets

2010-06-01T17:46:00.001+10:00

Every now and then someone presents me with the latest and greatest ‘cure all’ customer service program, idea, or system. There is no silver bullet in Customer Service.

I am the founder of a Mystery Shopping Company but do not purport it to be the silver bullet to solve all your service ills. It is a critical part of the solution, but not the sole solution.

Just doing training is not the answer, because it needs to be measured.

Customer complaint cards are not the answer because they are not frequent an tend to measure extremes.

The latest trend of Social Media listening posts (we started doing those two years ago) are also only telling you part of the picture.

Combining all the metrics in the one place is also not the only answer, because it misses the important point of mentoring, leading and managing staff.

Next time someone gives you the ‘cure all’ solution, don’t bite. But likewise, if you are only using one or two programs or processes, then equally you remain exposed.

It is unlikely you can do it all, but likely you can do more.

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10 things I learnt after 1 week in Europe

2010-05-31T17:32:00.001+10:00

Here are some observations after a week of travelling in Europe.

1) Old European airports like Rome have a lot to learn from Asian airports

2) Not many companies remain specialists. Almost all the companies I spoke to had alternative income streams.

3) Find a way to remove fear from the purchase process. We had some ordinary conference speakers which (as a conference organizer and speaker) makes me wonder how to remove fear from an un-testable purchase? See article Buyers remorse before you buy - how it can be avoided.

4) How revenue can be killed by efficiency. The cost of loyalty is often more than the benefits.

5) I can see why Italy and Greece are in such a parlous financial state. Wastage is rampant and normalized. You cannot get away with saying “Oh that’s just the way we do it around here”. I wonder if your company is also guilty of the same thinking.

6) Queue times in Europe have doubled. Is this because of the GFC? Is your business guilty of this? Do you measure queue times?

7) You cannot beat face-to-face networking. But don’t just go to an event once. You need to repeat visits. The second time you attend is easier because you start getting introduced – you become an insider.

8) Bring spare luggage on the plane. I arrived two days before my luggage and lost half a day buying essential supplies. What a waste.

9) The Italian airline Alitalia? Not worth mentioning.

10) Ask questions of others. They are almost always happy to share information.

I am continually amazed by the awesome and wonderful people I meet in my travels. Thank you to all of you who entered my life this week. You all know who you are.

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Buyers remorse before you buy - how it can be avoided.

2010-05-29T00:42:00.001+10:00

How do you overcome fear in buying?

I have just attended a conference in Istanbul both as a participant, and a future buyer for my own conference. It’s scary. I was feeling buyers remorse even before I bought the product.

One of the main products of a conference is the speakers. Lets face it, great speakers = great conference.

But how can some speakers be so bad or irrelevant?

Having now seen the speakers at this conference, I know the ones I will use, and the ones I will not. But not everyone has the same luxury.

Many of the speakers came ‘recommended’ or they may have won an award (eg Toastmasters).

But...

Have you ever seen a speaker who ticked all these boxes, and yet failed to deliver?

The problem for speakers is to remove the fear. I now have fear arranging speakers for my next conference. Here’s what they could do to make me feel more comfortable:

Provide a video
Provide references
Show my last three talk rankings compared to average (even better if they are independently published online)
Provide a summary of what I will discuss
Show how the talk will link to the conference theme.
Invite the organiser to talk to me over the phone
Show some published works or white paper.

In your own business, have you identified the fear factors? Have you found ways to reduce the fear?

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Queue times in Europe have doubled

2010-05-27T22:43:00.001+10:00

In draft findings of the Mystery Shopping Providers Association it was revealed that queue times across Europe have increased from 5 to 10 minutes and the average number of people in queues has grown from 3.4 to 4.4 people.

So what is driving this? Is it the GFC? Is it general cost cutting? Is it real?

The final results yet to be released, but the trend is disturbing. It seems our advances in technology and self-service and being outdone by the cuts in service.

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You are not special, or deserving.

2010-05-26T20:52:00.001+10:00

You are not special
You are not the best
You are not unfortunate
You are not jinxed.
A tornado has no favorites or enemies.
A sickness has no reason.
A stranger in the street is as invisible as the next.
We are how we act.

We are bought up to believe we are special. Many are also raised to believe they deserve the best life can bring.

Unfortunately, mother nature is not so accommodating. Do you really believe that in nature, you are more special than your neighbor? The moment you are born, are you more deserving than all the other babies in the world?

Within small communities, you are special and all communities protect their own. To a community, you are more special than people in other communities. In a family, you are more special than people in other families. In clubs, you are more special than people in other clubs. However, in nature, you are no more special than anybody else.

You may hold a special place in someone’s heart, but you are not special.

When you walk down a street full of strangers you probably don’t consider one person to be more special than another. To you they are just another person.

This is not meant to depress you, for you are more than an anonymous robot. As a person, you have individual talents to do the greatest things possible. You can truly change the world. The only problem is, everyone else is equally qualified, and may be even more motivated.
In our work lives, the moment we are employed, we are anonymous. We are protected and considered special only after we are accepted. We become special through our actions. We become special if we have (or learn) a unique skill.

To customers, a service representative is not special. At the Supermarket checkout or an airline check-in, you don’t go looking for the ‘special one’.

The server only truly becomes special through their actions. If they treat you well, perhaps you will seek them out in future.

Equally, your business is not special, but can have a special place in the customer’s heart and mind through its actions.

Stop running your business, career or you life as if you are entitled. You are not special, but can hold a special place in people’s hearts through action. So act.

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What Rome Airport can learn from Asia

2010-05-25T18:36:00.001+10:00

Having travelled extensively around our beautiful planet, sometimes unnecessary poor service strikes you like a sledge hammer.
After arriving at Rome airport for a flight to Istanbul, I was struck by the poor service, and how it compares to those in Asia, or the Middle East. In this case the poor service had nothing to do with people, but the facility.

Here are some observations which are so obvious, I wonder how if miss them in our own businesses.

If I were running Rome airport and conducted a mystery shop, comparing it to the best, I would make the following observations. I am biased because I have Italian parents, and visit annually. So if anything, I am being a little gentle and parochial.

1.    Signage driving into the airport is confusing. You don’t see the Rental Car return sign until you actually arrive at the right place (very Italian).

2.    Signage for Customs is in Italian. At the very least they could have an international sign depicting Customs and boarding gates.

3.    The lineup for security screening is marshaled through a room with little air conditioning, made worse by massive florescent advertising signs covering the walls to give the effect of being in a commercial microwave oven.

4.    They obviously think they care about service, because there are many signs apologizing for renovation inconvenience (although they are always renovating).

5.    No free wifi.

6.    The paid wifi directs you to an Italian website.

7.    No small trolleys for the carry-on bags.

8.    Appalling air conditioning.

9.    No powerpoints for laptop/phone recharging. Dubai has recharging stations that are always well utilized. Obviously there is a demand at airports.

10. No airport ambassadors to help people navigate the airport. Sydney does this very well.

Ten observations is sufficient, though I have not yet boarded my flight.

My takeaway is this. Go visit your absolute best competitor, purchase something and experience the service. If you don’t know the best, try many. Do your own Mystery Shopping.

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A manager is not a leaning pole, but should remove the need to lean.

2010-05-24T17:23:00.001+10:00

The Role of Managers is not to give people someone to lean on, but to remove the need for people to lean.

Some managers seem to believe they need to be the ‘go to’ person for their staff, or to be the expert. Other managers believe that they should be the emotional leaning pole if not the technical support.

Other managers believe they should be the traffic director, the person to clear allocate work and clear up conflict.

These dependent characteristics block staff from being totally capable and motivated to do their work.

If the manager is required to motivate staff, then how will staff act when the manager is not there?

If the manager is required to ‘lead by example’, then how will staff be led when the manager is not present?

A great manager:

1.    Creates an environment for the work
2.    Teaches staff how to do the work.
3.    Works quietly in the background to give staff the environment they require.
4.    Lets staff take kudos for their efforts.
5.    Knows that they must be the first to offer trust

A great manager is not a leaning post. A great manager takes away the need to lean.

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Why Managers are like gardeners

2010-05-22T14:11:00.001+10:00

Why Managers are like market gardeners.

As a manager, you cannot force your desires on your staff. Sure you want them all to give amazing service as soon as possible. Sure you want them to be proficient as soon as possible. But it cannot be forced.

Just like a market gardener, the role of a manager is to cultivate, and create an environment for the growth of their employees. A market gardener cannot force a plant to grow faster than it is designed to grow.

The gardener plants a seed, fertilizes the soil, protects the plant from extreme weather, and waits. If the gardener tills the soil too often, it damages the roots and slows growth. Eventually, it grows best when left alone.

A manager is no different.

After all, the laws of nature apply to everything. Plants and people all live and die, they are all subject to gravity, they all need water, and they all come from nature.

Great managers are like the market gardener. They find the seed, plant, create an environment (fertilize with knowledge), protect, and wait.

Just as a gardener should not overly till the soil, a manager should not constantly interrupt and meddle in the growth of an employee.

A manager has no more likelihood of ‘accelerating’ someone’s customer service skills than the gardener has of making a tomato plant grow and ripen overnight.

Create the environment, and provide rich food, but then get out of the way.

[Mobile post]

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Not everyone reads English

2010-05-21T20:01:00.001+10:00

When travelling overseas I am still surprised that hotels make it hard for a guest to find the hotel. I am currently travelling to the Hotel Movenpick in Istanbul. How do I say that to a Turkish cab driver?

Some hotels allow guests to print a card for the cab drivers, in their local language. Perfect. Why don't more?

Although I am reading an English website, the cab driver can't read what I print. What little obstacles can you remove for customers?

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What Mountain Biking has to do with Business - Part 4

2010-05-20T16:27:00.001+10:00

Last weekend I entered my first endurance mountain bike ride. An 8 hour race through the Australian bush doing laps with my neighbour. See Part 1 of 4, here and Part 2 here, and Part 3 here.

19. Be polite - When being overtaken on a narrow track, I would pull over an let people pass. I 'always' got thanked and it made me feel better. It also gave me someone to chase for a few moments, and to perhaps learn a new technique. If I was doing the passing, I would tell the person in front not to rush pulling over because I had all day. They would then thank me when I overtook them. Go figure. Are you being polite and courteous in the middle of battle, in a tough negotiation or uncomfortable staff interview?

20. Smile - the easiest face of all is the grimaced race face. There was a crowd near the finish line, and people scattered over the track. It was easy to ignore them and keep concentrating. Whenever I smiled at the crowd, or another rider, it took a great effort, but then I'd lose the pain. Remember to smile.

21. Rest - the 35 minute break between laps was all about recuperation. Managing the breaks was critical. sit, drink, eat, chat, wonder. It may seem unproductive, but it was critical to a successful day. We progressed by going no where and resting.

22. Knuckle down - At one stage I had to back-up for a repeat consecutive lap. My partner wasn't there for the transition so I went around for another lap. It was tougher and slower, but I enjoyed the thought of carrying the extra load. Are you really doing all you can in your business? Will you step-up when required?

23. Disaster - Disaster can strike at any time. My partners son broke his thumb 3/4 through the day. We had to abandon the race and get him home for x-rays. No matter what you do, uncontrollable circumstances can wreck your plans.

24. Enjoy the ride - pun intended. I kept thinking to myself that I was lucky to be doing what I love on a glorious day, with my son and good friends in a unique part of the world I would never have known. I was having fun, though sometimes I had to remind myself. Enjoy the ride.

I hope you enjoyed the series.

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What Mountain Biking has to do with Business - Part 3

2010-05-19T14:09:00.001+10:00

Last weekend I entered my first endurance mountain bike ride. An 8 hour race through the Australian bush doing laps with my neighbour. See Part 1 of 4, here and Part 2 here.

13. Trust your equipment - In a particularly treacherous section the bike descends over loose rocks and soil. You have to trust the equipment. If you fight, it will throw you off. This is the most difficult concept to grasp. Do you have a machine or department you need to trust, but just can't. It's actually safer to trust.

14. Have support - my 13 year old son came to run support. At first it was to just make him feel part of the day. He became a critical team member from the moment we arrived. Do you have the support you need both physical and emotionally? Overestimate the support, because we tend to underestimate the need.

15. Stay focused - as I tired, my mind wondered. As it wondered, I made mistakes, little mistakes which caused me to lose momentum. During a long hard slog, is your organisation (or you) losing focus, getting distracted, and losing momentum?

16. It gets harder - of course it got harder and harder, and the hills got steeper. I didn't expect it to get as hard as it did. Next time I'll be ready. When you start, the energy levels are higher. Are you prepared for the drop of energy and enthusiasm?

17. People overtake - being a competitive person, it was difficult to see 20 year old riders overtake me. Sure they were semi-professional and half my age, but their speed surprised me. I couldn't let it get me down. I knew we all had different goals, and I knew there weren't many 40 year old people who could do this. I had my own race, and goals. As a side point, some of them burnt out (the tortoise rocks!) They were on the same same track, and same division, but somehow in a different race. Are you getting disheartened by speeding competitors? Are they really running the same race? Are they there for a quick sell? Glory? Something different to you? Perhaps you should ignore them, and occasionally get inspired.

18. Get inspired - the quicker competitors inspired me to keep going, especially the middle aged housewife I couldn't shake for a few minutes. Even the people pushing me from behind inspired me to keep going. Do you see anything good in your competition? Can you go beyond watching what they do to be inspired to be better?

In the final instalment tomorrow we will be looking at smiling, rest, and disaster.

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What Mountain Biking has to do with Business - Part 2

2010-05-18T21:09:00.001+10:00

Last weekend I entered my first endurance mountain bike ride. An 8 hour race through the Australian bush doing laps with my neighbour. Yesterday I posted Part 1 of 4, here is Part 2.

7. Little goals - Set little goals such as to; catch the guy in front, sprint the next hill, do a sub 40 minute lap, keep the heart rate under 160. Does your business focus too much on the big goals? Big goals are hard to grasp. See related blog post on doubling your revenue in 3 years.

8. Time accelerates - Despite the pain, the day went quicker than expected. But the breaks were also quicker. Everything was rushed. All projects seem to go quicker. Have you accounted for compressed time?

9. Respect - one of the more important things was to respect my teammate. We had to respect each others skills, nuances, and lap times. No excuses, and no questions. For such a lonely sport, teamwork was important. Are you respecting your teammates? Do they respect each other?

10. Plans ahoy! - plans get washed away. My partner was missing at one transition. I had to do another lap. Do you have a plan B? Are you ready to 'dig in"?

11. Commit - This is more than committing to a team. This is about committing in a single moment. During the race, when I was first faced with a tricky log jump, I knew I had two choices, commit or stop. You cannot stop half way over a log when your feet are locked into the pedals. Are you ready to push through and commit when you need to?

12. Follow - It seemed anyone could break the 4 minute mile after Roger Bannister did in 1954. During my first lap I sat back and learned. I watched slow riders who were in front on the start line, and I watched the pro's jump logs, and traverse rocky outcrops (different to slow riders). If their bikes could do it, so could mine. And it did. Following others was a great learning experience, and great for my confidence. I love winning and being in front, but you cannot learn from anyone when you are in front. Are you learning from other people or other organisations? Are you stuck behind someone? Can you still learn, even if they are slower?

Tomorrow we look at Focus, Inspiration, and being overtaken.

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What Mountain Biking has to do with business Part 1

2010-05-17T23:25:00.001+10:00

Last weekend I entered my first endurance mountain bike ride. An 8 hour race through the Australian bush doing laps with my neighbour. This is not a self-indulgent post about personal triumph, but there were many parallels with business. Here is Part 1 of 4.

1. Prepare - Everything had to be in shape, from our bodies to our equipment. How often do you go into a business venture (or situation) unprepared? Are you really ready to face a troublesome client? Have you done all your homework? Do you know the outcome you are expecting?

2. Shared goals - We agreed that we were not going for a win, nor was it social. We would push ourselves beyond the normal, but not extremes. Do you and your staff know what the 'end' looks like? Is it to be No.1? To learn? To support?

3. Sacrifice - We gave up small things to prepare. No booze for days leading up. Early to bed on Saturday night. Are you willing to give up a few small things for the big picture? Skip lunch? Miss a useless meeting? Don't check emails?

4. Anticipation - We looked forward to the event and yet were worried. Is there a sense of healthy nervousness about the job? Don't confuse it with self-doubt.

5. Start - I thought I was being smart and would start at the front of a field of 300. As I got ready the marshal asked us to turn around, we were headed the other way. In an instant, I went from the front to the back, and the race hadn't started. But it didn't matter, it was an enduro. Have you started after the competition? It's an enduro, keep going. As Seth Godin tells us - 'you gotta ship'. Just start regardless.

6. Expect Confusion - Things didn't go to plan. Our transitions got muddled. But we took the confusion in our stride. After all, we were not in it to win, so the odd mistake was OK. Have you prepared for confusion? It will be there.

Tomorrow goals crash, commitment, and respect.

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Survey Fraud - beware of how you collect customer data

2010-05-15T20:50:00.001+10:00

After I bought my current car I received a call from the dealer asking what I thought of the car, my opinions on the dealership and the Salesperson. Being a self confessed customer service junkie, I was was pleasantly surprised. The dealership cared enough to call and follow-up.

The dealer went on to ask if I had received the customer service survey form from Holden. They then made me an offer that stopped me in my tracks (paraphrased below):

"Mr Di Pietro, when you bring your car in for it's first service, why don't you bring the survey form in and we'll complete it for you..... we'll even throw in some free fuel"

Incidentally, the service I received was OK but nothing fantastic. They were OK on the relationship side but terrible on the follow-up (eg expected delivery time). That aspect of their business needs work, but Holden will be receiving responses completed by the dealer on behalf of customers. The point is, Holden will be deluding themselves into thinking everything is fantastic and miss opportunities for improvement. Incidentally I later discovered that these responses have a financial impact on dealers.

I saw the same happen at Auckland airport. Staff were completing handfuls of Customer Feedback forms and dropping them into the special chute.

Don't believe what your customers are telling you. Supplement your customer feedback forms with other data such as mystery shopping, and look for possible fraud, otherwise you might be missing opportunities to fix what's broken.

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Why I finally bought a Mac

2010-05-14T20:50:00.001+10:00

Today I bought a Mac again after many years, and the reasons have more to do with functionality over form.

Sure they a beautiful sassie machines full of style. However my reasons were simpler, and it says a lot about matching your market.

I am on the road, a lot. If it’s not a plane, it’s a train. What I need from a laptop is:

Great battery life
Light weight, and
Speed.

That’s about it. Now sure I can buy something cheaper from the PC world, but when I heard of a 10 hour battery life, I was sold. My typical day in the city (once a week) involves a 90 minute train ride each direction with presentations during the day.

Now I can leave for the day and not have to worry about power, and the machine is light.

I am expecting some annoyances with some programs, but I’ll live with that.

As for service, there is something special about going in to a store owned by the manufacturer. No third parties, not middle-men but straight to the source.

Here’s what they taught me about my business.

Find out exactly what the client wants (of course)
Focus only on those things, and remove distractions, and
Be as close to the customer as possible, beyond third parties or even employees.

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When a leader loses it - Kevin Rudd shows how not to lead

2010-05-13T11:14:00.001+10:00

Our political leaders are normally calm and (try to be) stately, and we expect our business and personal leaders to be the same.

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd "lost it" during a TV interview on the current affairs show The 7:30 Report. It showed again that leaders have to be careful with their emotions. Sure leaders have to be themselves, but you being yourself does not mean losing control.

A short transcript of the exchange follows, but an extract of the video can be found [here].

"(Climate Change Minister) Penny Wong and I sat up for three days and three nights with 20 leaders from around the world (in Copenhagen) to try and frame a global agreement," he said.

"It might be easy for you to sit in 7.30 Report land and say that was easy to do. Let me tell you mate, it wasn't.

"We are fundamentally committed to climate change.

It might not sound like much but the tone was aggressive and defensive.

We can learn a lot from this exchange in both Customer Service and Leadership positions:

All your actions are exaggerated
All your emotions are amplified
Be yourself, but keep control
Don't try to 'win' the argument. You may be able to pull rank over employees, but not customers
Don't rationalise (eg we sat up for 20 hours working on the problem) because no-one cares

Kevin Rudd is lucky, he can look over the video and learn, but most people don't have that luxury. One solution: use your phone to record an interaction you have with an employee under stress (with their permission), then listen to yourself. it's uncomfortable, but there is nothing like learning from yourself.

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Customer service is not intangible

2010-05-12T22:35:00.001+10:00

Customer Service is often described as an intangible. In many organisations, being intangible seems to suggest customer service is less important than the tangibles sides of business such as production, wastage, and finance.

The discussion about whether tangibles or intangibles are more important can be addressed another time, however customer service is not intangible.

For something to be intangible, it must be either small or ephemeral. Customer service is certainly not a small issue, and it is not ephemeral.

The feelings you get from excellent or poor customer service can have a physiological impact.

When you wait in line for a bank teller, but see there are 2 staff waiting for the shift to start, you feel anger, real anger.

If you are stressed about the way an agent is handling a real estate transaction for a new home you feel stress and perhaps even agitate an ulcer.

Sometimes you suffer financial loss, and financial loss is certainly not ephemeral. If your plane arrives late and you miss a meeting to close an important deal, you feel financial loss. Real loss.

Customer service is real.

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The problem with being too efficient - customers get tired

2010-05-11T23:48:00.002+10:00

So what do Qantas and Elvis have in common?
The answer is in the economic Supply and Demand curve, which does not always work as it should.
The theory is that as supply decreases, then prices increase. If you are the only person selling Elvis memorabilia on eBay, you can fetch a high prices.
Some airlines such as Qantas are using the same philosophy. When executives are rewarded on efficiency of stock price and resources, then crazy things can happen.
Using Qantas as an example. From Sydney Australia, they used to fly all over Europe to places like Rome, Paris, London and Frankfurt. Like all airlines, in order to be efficient, they have codeshare deals with other airlines. All flights now go to Frankfurt or London for connections.
So to fly to Istanbul, Turkey you fly over Istanbul to Frankfurt, then connect to Turkish airlines for a 3-4 hour flight back. Oh and instead of paying $2,500.00 you get to pay an extra $1,000.00 for the privilege.
Loyal frequent flyers who are prisoners of their programs are paying more money, for a more torturous flight, for worse in flight service, and get to pay an extra 40% for the privilege. And the flights are packed – in fact a last minute booking through London (not that anyone would want to) is impossible.
Sounds like good business. What’s the problem? Flights are full and they are charging a premium. The executives would be thrilled because they are meeting KPI’s. However, there is a big problem.

Eventually whole groups of loyal customers (I am on the second highest tier) stop flying. Eventually it gets to be too much. Last year a similar situation caused me to fly Singapore airlines (wow!) and in two weeks I am taking Emirates.
My (forced) loyalty has been broken. Eventually you cannot take anymore. An the drop in business comes suddenly, without warning. A point is reached when you have the most efficient business in the world, but you are doing the least business.
Higher price does not mean higher service. Sometimes higher price is just… higher price. When value is lost, the business follows.

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Why Too Much Choice Was Bad for Goldilocks - A Customer Service Story

2010-05-10T22:53:00.001+10:00

Some people would argue that choice is good, so more choice is better. They say the same about wine. A little is good, but more is not better. Everything reaches an optimal limit.

I recently confronted this situation in a food court. For most people approaching a food court at lunchtime, the choices are daunting. Chinese or Indian? Thai or Hamburgers, Pizza or Pasta?

This retailer made the choices all the more difficult with a Small. Medium, Large and Family take-out container.

In this case, the price differences were minimal, so the consumer is left with the option of being unsatisfied. Just like Goldilocks, if you order too small, you are unsatiated, order too big and you are either too full, or guilty at the waste.

Most people don't have time for all this, it's only lunch, so give people less choices. Dump the Family - it's too big, and dump the small. Perhaps the retailer could consider Medium and Large. Perhaps even be daring, rename the large to Maxi, and price it between the current Large and Family price.

Margins increase, store simplicity increases, and customer satisfaction increases.

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Customer Service - Sunday Blog Summary

2010-05-09T17:01:00.001+10:00

Time for another Sunday Summary of this week's postings.

1, Good customer service is always optional

This was a post from another blogger detailing how your staff can easily and simply choose whether or not they should engage with customers. In the example, a cashier is scanning dog food. and asks the Customer

What kind of dog do you have"

"A Golden Retriever" replies the customer

And with that optional exchange starts a wonderful discussion.

2. Twitter is not a silver bullet for customer service

Organisations cannot just set up a twitter account and amuse their service will improve because they are 'closer to the customer'. In fact it can make things worse.

3. What Madonna, Shakespeare and Anthony Robbins have in common

You can throw Lady Gaga and TV show Glee into the same mix. They are all examples of what happens when your goals are bold, and you go large, very large with your bets.

4. KLM Airlines - How to run a good Twitter Account

This is an example doing some very simple but effective things on Twitter.

5. 6 Reasons why Google has awesome customer service

Google is often lambasted over their lack of accessibility. But they also show that if you execute right, you don't have to be too accessible.

6. If you aren't serving the customer, then you don't know the customer

We all know the adage that if you are not serving the customer then you are serving someone who is. Well I'm not so sure about that. Statements like that do nothing for the person in the boiler room, or the Janitor. Do they have customers?

Look forward to more next week.

Posted via email from Service with Purpose

Good customer service is always optional

2010-05-08T23:35:00.001+10:00

From a great customer service blogger below. Most of us acknowledge that when we’re performing our jobs, we are working. But what many employees don’t often consider is that their jobs are made up of both mandatory actions that fulfill job functions (i.e., the bullet points on a job description) as well as optional behaviors that fulfill job essence—their highest priority (which, for most service-based businesses, is creating delighted customers). Most work environments reinforce mandatory job functions through job descriptions, standard operating procedures (SOPs), checklists, etc., and pay little attention to the optional behaviors that, in the end, are the difference between an ordinary transaction and a memorable experience. Here’s a quick example from the retail industry: A couple of weeks ago, while in the checkout line at the supermarket, I had a chance to observe the cashier’s interaction with the customer ahead of me. Typically these interactions are transactional: a screen displays the total, the customer swipes a bank card and signs for her purchases, the cashier presents a receipt, and the customer (9 times out of 10) thanks the cashier—presumably for accepting her money. The cashier has completed a set of mandatory actions that fulfill her job function. But nothing stood out. No impression was made. An opportunity to make a connection was lost—forever… But on this particular day, as she scanned a bag of dog food, the cashier asked, “What kind of a dog do you have?” With that, the cashier and the customer had an enthusiastic exchange about their mutual love of Labrador Retrievers. The exchange wasn’t long—maybe all of 20 seconds—while the customer swiped his bank card and signed for his purchases. The cashier, by simply posing a question, expressed genuine interest in the customer and transformed a bland and uneventful transaction into a unique and memorable experience. An impression was made. A connection was established. The cashier’s question was optional and fulfilled the essence of her job: to create a delighted customer. And because questions like these are optional, as customers we don’t always receive them. But when we do, they tend to leave a lasting positive impression. Perhaps when the customer returns to the store, he will quickly scan the checkout lanes to see whether or not his “friend” is working and, if so, may go out of his way to queue in her line. The cashier may even recognize him and, recalling their previous conversation, ask about his dog. This is how customer loyalty is earned. This is how relationships form. Customers don’t establish relationships with stores, they establish relationships with the people inside the stores. Good customer service is rarely the result of perfectly executed mandatory job functions. Rather, it is most often the result of optional behaviors such as expressing genuine interest (e.g., “What kind of a dog do you have?”) and offering sincere and specific compliments (e.g., “You couldn’t have picked a breed with a better disposition.”) that fulfill job essence. http://amazingserviceguy.com/3097/good-customer-service-is-always-optional/

Posted via email from Service with Purpose

Twitter is not a silver bullet for customer service

2010-05-07T21:29:00.001+10:00

Unfortunately, many companies are starting to believe that Social Media (especially Twitter and Facebook) are the silver bullet to solve all their customer service problems. Even if you have set up an account, and are monitoring your social media chatter, it doesn't mean that you will solve your problems.

Even if you have Twitter set up. it won't fix all. What you need.

1) Fix the problem

If you are getting overwhelmed with traffic, perhaps you have real world problems.

2) Track Patterns

If you see patterns of comments, work on identifying the pattern.

3) Talk back

If you r customers are talking about your brand, talk back to them. It's OK to track and find patterns, but you need to talk back (and not just to positive comments).

4) Apply 'old school' rules of interaction

Eventually the interaction comes down to one human being with another. Social media is no different.

5) It's just another conversation

In the end, social media is just another form of conversation. Telephone extended face-to-face conversation, the phone extended that conversation, and the internet went another step. Social media is just and amplification of old conversations, nothing magic.

Social media is not a passive pursuit for organisations. Although it s new, it is the same.

Are you your social media strategy active?

Posted via email from Service with Purpose

What Madonna, Shakespeare and Anthony Robbins have in common

2010-05-06T21:24:00.001+10:00

We like things big.

Tonight I watched Glee (American TV) for the first time, and it confirmed something I have suspected for a while. Many of the most successful people and projects happen when the makers go large. And I mean Large.

Glee is big, brash, and has massive production qualities. Then I thought of other big successes which are outrageous and redefining:

Shakespeare

Michael Jackson

There is no pulling back. Everything is total commitment. Full steam ahead.

Today during a keynote speech I really let go, and it was a smashing success. The more I let go and commit, the better I get. Makes me wonder how much further I can commit. How much further I can invest. How much bigger and bolder I can be.

Have a think about your own company, or yourself. Like me - are you still holding back? Even just a little?

Posted via email from Service with Purpose

KLM Airlines - How to run a good company twitter account

2010-05-05T14:30:00.001+10:00

I came across a company with a pretty good and growing Social Media presence on Twitter. That company is KLM airlines.

Their Twitter account is refreshing because it ticks quite a few boxes from a Social Media perspective.

The Good:

1) They find customer who are talking about them.

@gabemac Welcome to Munich, did you have a good flight? Have a beer! RT On my way to Munich klm flight. :-)less than a minute ago via TweetieRoyal Dutch Airlines
KLM

In this tweet you can see that the customer just made an innocent post to say they were on their way to Munich. KLM picked it up and asked if they had a good flight. If I were the customer, I'd be impressed. Wouldn't you?

2) They confront

They confront bad situations head-on

@kestero Can we be of any help? RT Wonders why KLM is so full of disappointments! (@KLM_UK)less than a minute ago via TweetieRoyal Dutch Airlines
KLM

The customer vents their disappointment, and KLM come in to ask what happened. It will be an interesting conversation to watch.

3) They don't over promote themselves

Many organisations cannot help but talk it up for themselves, or keep promoting their own products. KLM seem to be letting the customers do the promotion by finding positive tweets and reposting (RT) them.

4) They provide relevant information

Travellers want travel information. What do your customers want? Are you providing it like this?

We are happy to announce that the Irish airspace is open again since 2pm (Amsterdam time).less than a minute ago via webRoyal Dutch Airlines
KLM

Where they could improve

1) Social Media never sleeps

People outside your home state or country don't care about public holidays or working hours. You have to always be there.

Tomorrow, on our national holiday May 5th, KLM is closed. We will check twitter incidentally. We’ll be happy to help you again on Thursday!less than a minute ago via webRoyal Dutch Airlines
KLM

2) The Website does not have links

The KLM website does not have direct links to Social Media. I realise real estate is scarce on any homepage, but KLM don't even have it on their Customer Support page.

3) Missing Personalities

They say the site is hosted by two people called Jochem and Catharine but their personalities don't seem to come through. They seem hidden. If they are to be hidden, then hide their names, otherwise get them to use their names in the posts.

How does your organisation measure up to the KLM twitter account. It is a very good start, and there are a few minor tweaks required, but overall, they are doing a great job.

Posted via email from Service with Purpose

KLM Airlines - How to run a good company twitter account

2010-05-05T14:24:00.001+10:00

I came across a company with a pretty good and growing Social Media presence on Twitter. That company is KLM airlines.

Their Twitter account is refreshing because it ticks quite a few boxes from a Social Media perspective.

The Good:

1) They find customer who are talking about them.

<style type='text/css'>.bbpBox{background:url( ) #ffffff;padding:20px;}p.bbpTweet{background:#fff;padding:10px 12px 10px 12px;margin:0;min-height:48px;color:#000;font-size:18px !important;line-height:22px;-moz-border-radius:5px;-webkit-border-radius:5px}p.bbpTweet span.metadata{display:block;width:100%;clear:both;margin-top:8px;padding-top:12px;height:40px;border-top:1px solid #fff;border-top:1px solid #e6e6e6}p.bbpTweet span.metadata span.author{line-height:19px}p.bbpTweet span.metadata span.author img{float:left;margin:0 7px 0 0px;width:38px;height:38px}p.bbpTweet a:hover{text-decoration:underline}p.bbpTweet span.timestamp{font-size:12px;display:block}</style> <div class='bbpBox'><p class='bbpTweet'>@gabemac Welcome to Munich, did you have a good flight? Have a beer! RT On my way to Munich klm flight. :-)<span class='timestamp'><a title='Tue May 04 20:47:33 +0000 2010' href='http://twitter.com/KLM/status/13383564838'>less than a minute ago</a> via Tweetie</span><span class='metadata'><span class='author'><a href='http://twitter.com/KLM'><img src=' ' /></a><strong><a href='http://twitter.com/KLM'>Royal Dutch Airlines</a></strong><br/>KLM</span></span></p></div>

2) They confront

They confront bad situations head-on

<style type='text/css'>.bbpBox{background:url( ) #ffffff;padding:20px;}p.bbpTweet{background:#fff;padding:10px 12px 10px 12px;margin:0;min-height:48px;color:#000;font-size:18px !important;line-height:22px;-moz-border-radius:5px;-webkit-border-radius:5px}p.bbpTweet span.metadata{display:block;width:100%;clear:both;margin-top:8px;padding-top:12px;height:40px;border-top:1px solid #fff;border-top:1px solid #e6e6e6}p.bbpTweet span.metadata span.author{line-height:19px}p.bbpTweet span.metadata span.author img{float:left;margin:0 7px 0 0px;width:38px;height:38px}p.bbpTweet a:hover{text-decoration:underline}p.bbpTweet span.timestamp{font-size:12px;display:block}</style> <div class='bbpBox'><p class='bbpTweet'>@kestero Can we be of any help? RT Wonders why KLM is so full of disappointments! (@KLM_UK)<span class='timestamp'><a title='Tue May 04 20:40:01 +0000 2010' href='http://twitter.com/KLM/status/13383228570'>less than a minute ago</a> via Tweetie</span><span class='metadata'><span class='author'><a href='http://twitter.com/KLM'><img src=' ' /></a><strong><a href='http://twitter.com/KLM'>Royal Dutch Airlines</a></strong><br/>KLM</span></span></p></div>

The customer vents their disappointment, and KLM come in to ask what happened. It will be an interesting conversation to watch.

3) They don't over promote themselves

4) They provide relevant information

Travellers want travel information. What do your customers want? Are you providing it like this?

<style type='text/css'>.bbpBox{background:url( ) #ffffff;padding:20px;}p.bbpTweet{background:#fff;padding:10px 12px 10px 12px;margin:0;min-height:48px;color:#000;font-size:18px !important;line-height:22px;-moz-border-radius:5px;-webkit-border-radius:5px}p.bbpTweet span.metadata{display:block;width:100%;clear:both;margin-top:8px;padding-top:12px;height:40px;border-top:1px solid #fff;border-top:1px solid #e6e6e6}p.bbpTweet span.metadata span.author{line-height:19px}p.bbpTweet span.metadata span.author img{float:left;margin:0 7px 0 0px;width:38px;height:38px}p.bbpTweet a:hover{text-decoration:underline}p.bbpTweet span.timestamp{font-size:12px;display:block}</style> <div class='bbpBox'><p class='bbpTweet'>We are happy to announce that the Irish airspace is open again since 2pm (Amsterdam time).<span class='timestamp'><a title='Tue May 04 12:58:07 +0000 2010' href='http://twitter.com/KLM/status/13363293688'>less than a minute ago</a> via web</span><span class='metadata'><span class='author'><a href='http://twitter.com/KLM'><img src=' ' /></a><strong><a href='http://twitter.com/KLM'>Royal Dutch Airlines</a></strong><br/>KLM</span></span></p></div>

Where they could improve

1) Social Media never sleeps

People outside your home state or country don't care about public holidays or working hours. You have to always be there.

<style type='text/css'>.bbpBox{background:url( ) #ffffff;padding:20px;}p.bbpTweet{background:#fff;padding:10px 12px 10px 12px;margin:0;min-height:48px;color:#000;font-size:18px !important;line-height:22px;-moz-border-radius:5px;-webkit-border-radius:5px}p.bbpTweet span.metadata{display:block;width:100%;clear:both;margin-top:8px;padding-top:12px;height:40px;border-top:1px solid #fff;border-top:1px solid #e6e6e6}p.bbpTweet span.metadata span.author{line-height:19px}p.bbpTweet span.metadata span.author img{float:left;margin:0 7px 0 0px;width:38px;height:38px}p.bbpTweet a:hover{text-decoration:underline}p.bbpTweet span.timestamp{font-size:12px;display:block}</style> <div class='bbpBox'><p class='bbpTweet'>Tomorrow, on our national holiday May 5th, KLM is closed. We will check twitter incidentally. We’ll be happy to help you again on Thursday!<span class='timestamp'><a title='Tue May 04 15:01:10 +0000 2010' href='http://twitter.com/KLM/status/13368706924'>less than a minute ago</a> via web</span><span class='metadata'><span class='author'><a href='http://twitter.com/KLM'><img src=' ' /></a><strong><a href='http://twitter.com/KLM'>Royal Dutch Airlines</a></strong><br/>KLM</span></span></p></div>

2) The Website does not have links

The KLM website does not have direct links to Social Media. I realise real estate is scarce on any homepage, but KLM don't even have it on their Customer Support page.

3) Missing Personalities

How does your organisation measure up to the KLM twitter account. It is a very good start, and there are a few minor tweaks required, but overall, they are doing a great job.

Posted via email from Service with Purpose

6 Reasons why Google has awesome customer service

2010-05-04T13:35:00.001+10:00

Some people hate Google's customer service model mainly because there is no helpdesk, no phone numbers, no email address to send queries, no store, and so on.

However, I take a different view. Google has awesome customer service because:

1) It works

Google is about Search. Search is their service. They do this better than anyone else. So if you want a great search service, you go to Google. It's a match.

2) It is focused

Google do not please everyone. They have focused all energies on search. They don't have to worry about the 80% effort which will be required to please 20% of the people. As a result, they are cheap - free.

3) Consistent with Purpose

Google's purpose is not "Do no Evil", but rather "to organise the world's information to make it freely available to all". Their business lives the purpose. A customer service desk would not help organise the world's information.

4) Plenty of (outsourced) help

If you really need help, it can be found online, either on You Tube or on a Google search.

5) It's simple

The product is not complicated, so you don't need instruction. There are more complex functions and products, but none intrude on the core experience.

6) It's consistent

The user experience is driven by the most important thing - search. It is not determined by a few people in a call centre.

Sure this can be frustrating and annoying to some people, but it works well for the massive majority.

Do not confuse Customer Service with happy smiley people. It might be, but not always. Customer service has many forms. Find a way to satisfy the customer's needs and do it everytime.

Posted via email from Service with Purpose

If you are not serving the customer, then you don't know your customer

2010-05-03T22:35:00.002+10:00

We have all heard the saying that if you are not serving the customer, then serve someone who is serving the customer.

This is meant to say that if you are not directly in front of the customer, then you should be serving the person who is in front of the customer.

It strikes me that this is a long bow to draw for all staff.

Does this saying apply to the janitor, or the person in the bowels of Accounts Payable department?

Does it apply to the person washing dishes in the restaurant?

Does it apply to the CEO?

The statement should perhaps be re-framed to:

If you are not serving the Customer, then you don't know your Customer.

Everyone serves a customer directly. You are either serving the customer, or your boss, you team, or perhaps your subordinates.

Customer service is not about a loose causal effect, but an intimate relationship we have with each other.

Are you looking in the wrong places for your customers?

Posted via email from Service with Purpose

Last Week's Blog posts

2010-05-02T07:25:00.001+10:00

Here is what you may have missed last week.

Sales and Service are like Picking Fruit

Many businesses find that once the low hanging fruit has been picked, they have to work harder and harder at sales. More direct marketing, start making outbound calls, more training, more advertising. All this activity can get inefficient.

How to Sell with Customer Service - An Example

See how a humble Customer Service representative 'accidentally' sells real estate by engaging with customers.

When You Should Miss a Deadline

During the week I missed my first daily post in a long time. It was an intentional omission to ensure the job wasn't rushed.

When should you intentionally miss a deadline?

12 Ways Mystery Shopping Can Improve Service and Sales

Whether you use mystery shopping or not, this post shows ways it can be used to directly impact Sales and Service.

Are you getting full value out of your customer service measurements?

How to get a 2,750% ROI from Service and Sales Improvements

Astronomical ROI's are possible if you chunk down your problem areas and focus on a maximum of three issues. This post correlates service improvements with increased sales and includes an excel spreadsheet to make real-life calculations for your own business.

I had a great week, I hope you did too.

Posted via email from Service with Purpose

How to get a 2,750% ROI from Service and Sales Improvements

2010-05-01T12:07:00.002+10:00

Where do you start with Customer Service and Sales initiatives.

If you focus priorities, you can achieve great increases in sales.

Imagine a store with:

5,000 people walking through per month
80% of people buy
Average price of $60.

The store also has the following statistics:

greeting customers 68% of the time
commitment to purchase is asked 32% of the time
up-selling 34% of the time

If each of these is improved only 10% (ie from say 68% to 78% in greeting), and then only 10-20% of 10% then make an average purchase, the store will increase revenue by $10,500 per month. (see previous post on doubling income in three years). With a 50% margin that is $5,500 profit per month.

If you spent a mere $200.00 per month on Mystery Shopping and Training per store the Return on Investment is 2,750% per month. It is almost too high to even mention.

Download the excel spreadsheet to calculate for your own business [here].

Key points:

You need to measure first
You need to focus on a few (maximum three) key things
You need to take action for improvement (e.g. training).

Posted via email from Service with Purpose

12 Ways Mystery Shopping can Improve Customer Service and Sales

2010-04-30T14:20:00.002+10:00

</object><div style="padding:5px 0 12px">View more presentations from Steven Di Pietro.</div></div>

Mystery Shopping is something very dear to my heart.

You get the behaviour you measure

You get the behaviour you measure
Service becomes measurable in detail
Direct Behavioural change is possible
Staff Guidance on procedures
Specific actionable plans from results
Identify stars to spread the word
Actionable judgement from unbiased evaluators
Tap into competitiveness
Benchmark performance against other industries
Shows solid Commitment from the organisation
Enables you to calculate the financial impact of improvements
Staff are more alert.

Are you getting full value out of your customer service measurements? Can you think of any other benefits?

Mystery Shopping is something very dear to my heart.

If you don't have 5 minutes to watch the audio slidecast, here are the 12 ways mystery shopping can improve service.

You get the behaviour you measure
Service becomes measurable in detail
Direct Behavioural change is possible
Staff Guidance on procedures
Specific actionable plans from results
Identify stars to spread the word
Actionable judgement from unbiased evaluators
Tap into competitiveness
Benchmark performance against other industries
Shows solid Commitment from the organisation
Enables you to calculate the financial impact of improvements
Staff are more alert.

Are you getting full value out of your customer service measurements? Can you think of any other benefits?

When You Should Miss a Service Deadline

2010-04-29T11:09:00.002+10:00

A fruit picked before it ripens will never be ripe.

Yesterday was the first day in a long time I didn't post. It was one of those endless back-to-back days including two dinners and a late night drink with two friends.

After getting home at 11pm, thoughts turned to pumping out a last minute post. Although there were a few drafts stored away, the post would have been rushed.

Is it better to keep serving (a deadline) even when you know the job will be inferior?

Is it better to stop and make sure you do it right?

In other words, is it better to miss a customer deadline and get it right, or to push ahead with inferior quality?

Sometimes you have to push ahead, especially when the deadline is immovable, e.g. a musician with a set opening night. In most cases, it is better to be a little late.

Why it's good to stop.

Pumping out a second rate quality does not serve anyone.
Your job is not to tick boxes, your job is to serve.
Forcing service (a deadline) is more about satisfying the server, or their boss; it's not about the customer.
You get long term brand damage from mediocrity.
It's never 'that' urgent.
You know you will have more work to do cleaning up.

Look at it another way:

Would you like a pilot to take-off on time or intentionally be late so they can complete their checklist?
Would you like the Doctor to rush viewing your x-ray so the next patient can be on time?
Would you like waiter to rush serving your meal so the table can be re-sold for the next reservation?

This is not an excuse for procrastination and being late should be the exception, not the rule.

What do you think? Should you be draconian and just get it done regardless?

Photo Link

How to Sell with Customer Service - An Example

2010-04-27T11:26:00.003+10:00

When organsiations try to “ramp up Sales” they do what most companies try to do, they beat a path to Sales. More importantly, this involves making a massive noise, and then expecting customers to react and buy their magnificent, great value, hitherto unseen magnificent offer.

My ex-neighbour works in a Real Estate agency 3 hours South of Sydney. The area has wonderful beaches, and gorgeous weather. Being a tourist town , the real estate agency has an abnormally high proportion of holiday rentals. As a consequence, the office receives up to 100 calls per day. These calls are answered by three staff including my neighbour Gemma.

The real estate agency also had the usual Sales staff running all over the town trying to ply their wares. Each Monday there is a typical Sales meeting to which Gemma is not invited.

There is the obligatory whiteboard with the potential client on one axis and the ‘sales’ people on the other axis. Those in Sales will know either this matrix or something similar.

The Sales Manager (or as in this case) owner will get up front and give the Rah Rah Rah! talk. You may know it. “We are the Best! We are going to be Number 1! We have to protect being number 1. Rah Rah Rah!

Meanwhile in the corner is Gemma, one of the phone operators. Gemma quietly takes the calls from clients every day.

While all the rah rah rah is taking place around her, Gemma is helping clients who are not buyers of houses but renters of short term temporary holiday accommodation.

One day, a client called about renting a property for two seeks in the summer. After asking a few cursory questions, Gemma found out that the client was renting the same location he had rented the previous two years. The conversation went something like this.

I see you have rented the same property for two years

“Yes I have” replied the customer “In fact we love the area because the kids can play on a safe beach with a park and shopping nearby”

“Yes it’s a great area” continues Gemma.

“Have you ever thought of buying there?” she adds.

“Well no we couldn’t afford it” says the customer

“Oh well; I’m not aware of your financial position, nor do I pretend I am a salesperson, it’s just that I saw a newly listed property about three doors down going for about $325,000”.

“Oh that’s reasonable, is that the house with the big tree upfront?” he asks

“Yes it is” Gemma says.

He hesitates with “hmmmmm”

Then Gemma offers to have a professional sales person call him with more details. She writes a one sheet summary of the conversation and passes on the details to the sales staff.

Oh and she does this often. No cost, no gimmicks… nothing.

We can learn a secret from Gemma that she doesn’t even know she possesses. Gemma does not think she is selling and does not consider herself to be in Sales, yet she is massively successful.

Gemma knows that Sales IS Service.

In Gemma’s case neither the customer, nor Gemma knew or imagined a sale was possible. But just like Barry the Cabbie teaches us how to upsell 800%, with an inquisitive mind and care for the customer, so did Gemma.

Unremarkable people can do remarkable things. So can you, and so can your staff. Stop selling, just serve.

Related post: Why Sales and Service are like picking fruit.

Why Sales and Service are Like Picking Fruit

2010-04-26T13:38:00.001+10:00

Some business owners and Sales Managers approach selling like harvesting fruit. The manger explains the processes and ‘strategies’ he will employ to grow sales. Initially these strategies are like picking low hanging fruit off a tree. Reach up and grab the business.

Once the low hanging fruit has been picked, you have to reach further and further until the fruit is beyond your reach. The sales managers then adopt a technique taught to me by my father, shake the tree, then after that fruit has been harvested, you take a stick to the base of the tree and pick even more fruit. Although the fruit is not quite ripe you can shake it down.

After the first stick is used, my dad would say you hit the tree harder and harder. Don’t hit is too hard too soon or you will use or your energy he would say. So you hit the three, grab some fruit, hit it harder, grab some more, then you find you are hitting the tree with all your effort for a few measly pieces of fruit. High energy, and low return.

Then you grab a bigger stick, and the fruit starts to fall again. But the stick is heavy and you start to damage the tree and could compromise next year’s crop. But sometimes the temptation is too great so you hit the tree harder and harder with bigger and bigger for less and less return until either the tree breaks, or the fruit stops falling. Each time the tree is hit, it will provide some fruit, but also takes away from tomorrow’s harvest. Eventually the tree has no more to give.

The Sales meeting is the same. The rah rah manager tries to do different things each week. He hits the tree harder and harder, then gets a bigger stick.

You may recognise the pattern.

The answer is not for more effort, but for less effort. Start serving and listening to customers. The highest level of service and sales is the one with the least effort.

More posts to follow on Integrated Service and an example of how to avoid shaking the tree.

Posted via email from Service with Purpose

This Weeks Blog Summaries

2010-04-25T09:50:00.001+10:00

This week's Blog Post Summary

1) Selling is Not an Insult

Research shows that 56% of customers accept Cross Selling as part of retailing, and 25% are glad to be given the opportunity.

The Point: Don't presume you know what the customer wants. Let the customer decide.

2) The Guru in your Midst

How to get your unqualified, but experienced staff to sell to any customer so the customer cannot refuse.

The Point: Get staff to recognise that customers see them as the experts, and will listen.

3) Control Yourself

Customer service is the art of saying "I want to make you happy" when you really want to say "I want to drop you from a great height."

The Point: In a bad sales or service situation, you can only feel these emotions if you give yourself permission to feel them.

4) 8 Customer Service Implications of Facebook’s Social Plug-ins from #F8

Facebook just launched a new service allowing websites to put a “like” button on each page. It means that every time you click ‘like’ your Facebook friends will know.

The Point: It’s getting harder and harder o hide bad experiences, and good ones are amplified.

5) Is Your Customer Service Going Too Far?

In the race to be wonderful at Service, some organizations have gone too far with promotions, loyalty cards, surveys, and pestering questions during the service (e.g. dinner).

The Point: Service is about meeting the customer’s expectations every time. You don’t have to be great every time.

6) Service V Servitude

Explores the difference between serving your boss (or customer), and being a slave in servitude. There is a big difference, and it translates to the quality of the service.

The Point: Service comes from wanting to serve the recipient, not from wanting to serve yourself, for your own interest.

Posted via email from Service with Purpose

Service V Servitude

2010-04-24T09:36:00.001+10:00

When you give all of yourself in service, are you a slave? Are you selling out by serving others?

When you serve your boss, are you a crawler, a Yes man, ingenuine?

Service is about giving a part of you to help another. That's it. Whether the recipient then grants you favour by giving you a promotion, or buying your product is irrelevant. Service comes from the intent to help another. Servitude comes when you help with the intent of return. Servitude is inwardly focused on return. In slavery, the internal return is self preservation. Do as the owner demands or you face dire consequences. Serving time in jail is the same. Do as you are told to survive. Servitude to a boss or customer is no different to jail or slavery. Service however come from wanting to serve the recipient, not from wanting to serve yourself.

Posted via email from Service with Purpose

Is Your Customer Service Going Too Far?

2010-04-23T18:27:00.001+10:00

Are you over-servicing your customers?

In sales situations, salespeople are happy to leave customers to 'roam', however in service situations they hover.

Have you been pestered when going for a simple meal?

Sometimes when we go for a meal, or for a simple retail transaction, we are bombarded with options, loyalty cards, and constant pestering about the current experience.

"Sir, is there anything I can do to make your experience great?"

When you hear this, you conscious thought might be to answer with "Yes - just leave me alone and it might be great". Your polite upbringing however causes you to say something like "No, No everything is OK"

The server then has fuel to keep going.

"OK? Only OK? What can I do to make it great?"

And the dialogue continues.

It is OK to just do OK. The service does not always have to be great.

If you "meet the customer expectation every single time", then you are great. Your greatness does not have to be defined by a single once off experience because it is too susceptible to variation.

As a server, just get out of the Customers way and let the customer do their thing.

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The Customer Service world just moved (again) – Implications of Facebook’s Social Plug-ins from #F8

2010-04-22T10:55:00.001+10:00

At the recent Facebook F8 conference in San Francisco, Mark Zuckerberg shared his plan to turn the Web into “instantly social experiences”. Facebook will do this through Open Graph and Social Plug-ins.

In practical terms, Facebook will enable websites to put an all conquering “Like” button on their web pages. Once the reader clicks “Like” or “Unlike”, their action will immediately update their Facebook Newsfeed.

Once this data is collected, it will be simple to aggregate the data through sites like Yelp or Foursquare.

The implication for Customer Service

1. No-where to Hide

Poor service and sales have becoming harder and harder to hide as transparency becomes the norm. If a customer clicks “Don’t Like” after visiting your store, all their friends will know. And it’s their friends who are probably in the same demographic, and in your target market. The implications of poor service through hyper-driven word of mouth are massive. So get you service right.

2. A Great Opportunity

Organisations have even more reason to shine. Get the service aspect right, and you can shine above your ordinary competitors.

3. Integrate with Other Metrics

Incorporate the aggregated data into other customer service metrics such as Customer Complaints, Customer Comment Cards, Mystery Shopping, and Customer Research.

4. Be Careful

It is tantalizing to use these simple measurements as your sole measurement of service.

The scores are still subject to competitor sabotage and extremes. There are no controls over a competitor’s staff posting negative comments about your product. Similarly, there is nothing stopping your staff madly clicking “Like”.

See a recent post about over simplifying measurements such as Net Promoter Score.

5. Consider Promotions

It is possible to provide Coupons or discounts to customers who post “Like” posts about your product. If you own a Pizza store, you may offer a 10% discount on their next visit if they click “Like”.

6. Deal with the Negatives

Find people who posted negative comments about your product and start a conversation. Ask them why they didn’t like your product. Perhaps you can turn them around. Perhaps they will click “Like” on their next visit, or post a comment on their feed.

7. Thank the Like’ers

Similar to the negatives but less intrusive. If someone liked your product, send a short note of thanks to build a stronger connection to your brand. Be careful not to overdo it, so be gentle and unobtrusive.

8. Incorporate into Reporting

Include your Like to Non-Like ratio in Management reports. Also include statistics on how many people have been contacted.

The implications of this move are undoubtedly massive because they continue the trend to hyper-driven word of mouth. But don’t be passive, use it as another reason to start a conversation and build stronger links to your brand.

Are you ready?

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Control Yourself

2010-04-21T16:26:00.001+10:00

Customer service is the art of saying "I want to make you happy" when you really want to say "I want to drop you from a great height." Andy Ihnatko

Service is about control.

It is not about anger, revenge, winning, proving, arguing or posing.

It's not the fault of the customer, your boss, the process, the economy, or your star sign.

In a bad sales or service situation, you can only feel these emotions if you give yourself permission to feel them. It's not the customer's fault that you are feeling these negative emotions, it is of your own making.

It is this skill, above all others, which helps the Sales and Service stars rise above the rest. It is these moments of torment that refine greatness. Think of the stars in your organisation. I can be certain that they didn't become stars by winning arguments with customers, nor by pomposity and self-congratulation. More than likely , they were defined by excellence in the most trying of circumstances.

Do you have control?

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The Guru in Your Midst

2010-04-20T21:11:00.001+10:00

We often get confronted by staff who don't seem to care. They are in a technical area of work but are still sometimes called to interact with customers.

Examples can be seen all over the automotive industry. You go to a tyre (tire) shop and are served by a fitter because no-one else is around. Often these people are shy and don't say much. They answer direct questions, but nothing else.

Although the fitter may have been in the business for over 5 years, they don't impart their knowledge.

But they are Gurus.

Who would know the appropriate tyre for your family better than a fitter? Who would know which tyres wear better, or are the best value for money? The fitter.

When you go to the Doctor with a sick child, you probably accept whatever medicine the Doctor dishes out, especially when it comes to your child's health.

A tyre fitter or mechanic is no less important than a specialist brain surgeon. Their work is just as important. If they speak, the customer will listen.

I suggest you talk to your unskilled (but experienced) staff and help them recognise how important they are in the Customer Service situation.

If the fitter tells me to buy a certain tyre and to get my brakes realigned (up-sell), I will do it. I will listen because he seems to know. I stop shopping.

If he just tells me the price of the tyres, I'll continue shopping around.

They are Guru's and people will listen. It's hard to say 'no' to a Guru.

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Selling is Not an Insult

2010-04-19T16:14:00.003+10:00

Many clients explain that staff have a mental block when it comes to cross selling. They used to think service was about cuddling the customer with "How's your father" type discussions.

While this may still be true, customers now expect to be cross sold.

We recently conducted a survey of 485 shoppers and asked the following:

How do you feel about up-selling where you are asked if you would like to buy a bigger version or complimentary product?

The answers were surprising!

5% said they would be insulted
14% are neutral
56% accept it as part of retailing
25% are glad to be given the opportunity

We also regularly correlate Mystery Shopping scores to shopper satisfaction. The results are clear. High Mystery Shop scores correlate to high satisfaction scores. Most Mystery Shopping questionnaires include a section on closing the sale and/or cross selling.

See full post here http://servicewithpurpose.squarespace.com/blog/2010/4/19/selling-is-not-an-insult.html

More is Less Again

2010-04-18T20:07:00.001+10:00

We collect so much in our lives, and build so many contingencies - just in case.

Accumulate things and save money for a rainy day.
Collect toys and luxuries,
Buy things to keep up with the Jones's.

Is there anything wrong with that? Without being judgemental, I will make an observation about a garden hose.

I used to have an extremely long garden hose just....well.... because I could (i.e. no real reason).

The thinking was that it 'could' be useful if I needed to water the extremities of my property, and no other reason. I would constantly be repairing holes, and whenever I used the hose I had to spend time untangling and reorganising it after use.

So one day I cut it by 60%.

Now it's simpler. I work quicker, have less maintenance, and have less annoyance.

How else do you clutter your life? Have you built extreme contingencies which simply tie up your organisation and cost you time and money?

Simplify, simplify.

See past post on Less is More.

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Win Without Money

2010-04-17T22:16:00.001+10:00

Have you ever had to cater for a child's birthday?

You have to buy a gift, cater for the kids, and then arrange entertainment.

When they are toddlers, in the US you may send them to Chucky Cheese, or a McDonalds party. Each year added to the Child's age seems to add $1 per child per year.

For my son's recent birthday, my son got an IPod Touch, and we started making plans for Lazer Skirmish at $35.00 per child with a minimum of 10 kids.

All of a sudden the birthday becomes a $1,000 extravaganza after catering.

The alternative? Spend nothing.

We invited 7 kids over, pitched a tent for a sleepover in the back yard, lit a fire and presto, a party. It was unique and the kids raved about the night.

It got me thinking. How often do we just throw money at problems because it's just what one does.

Kids Party? Theme catering

Staff problem? Training.

Leadership tension? A retreat

Motivation? Pay rise

Conference? Entertainers

Team work? Team Building exercises.

How often do we make sub optimal knee-jerk reactions? They are disguised as decisions, but there is no decision because most responses are automatic, as taught in business school.

Force yourself to think of a zero cost solution. You might be surprised by the solution, just like my son was surprised.

Posted via email from Service with Purpose

Why Gifts Create the Most Value

2010-04-16T11:44:00.001+10:00

If someone offered you $1 in exchange for $1 you would not complete the deal. It is not worth the trouble. If however you give $1 of your time for $1, the deal may eventuate if two conditions are met 1) the buyer has $1 but does not have time and 2) you have the time, but you do not have $1. The buyer may get what he perceives to be a discount, because unknown to you, he may have been willing to pay $1.20 for your time. Likewise, you may have supplied your services for $0.80, thus creating $0.40 in value ($0.20+$0.20). In other words, the seller was prepared to provide something for $0.80, and the buyer was prepared to pay up to $1.20. If the transaction takes place for $1, they are both happy. The buyer got a $0.20 bargain, and the seller got a $0.20 premium. In fact, the transaction will happen anywhere between $0.80 and $1.20. If the seller (e.g. of time) is willing to sell at $0.90, then the transaction will still take place, but value is redistributed to the buyer. Value is not created, but redistributed. The $0.40 spread is altered by perceptions, not price. If we had a more humble appreciation of ourselves we would create value. I may drop my price either because I’m more realistic, or my time is no longer as valuable as I thought. If I can do the job more efficiently (productivity), I may drop the price from perhaps $0.80 to say $0.70, thus giving the deal more chance to consummate. My perspective as the seller has changed, so the deal can now be done at $0.70. See my blog for more

Posted via web from Service with Purpose

How to Double Your Revenue in Three Years

2010-04-15T16:28:00.004+10:00

Business is flat. There are more competitors. We are holding our own, but not moving forward. The business doesn’t seem to be growing. Sound familiar? Now What?
Many businesses try marketing promotions, new product lines, new store layouts, loyalty programs, new training programs etc etc. The list quickly becomes overwhelming, and you never know which one will work. Sometimes you try them all.
So chunk it down.
Revenue is made up of only three key drivers: 1) Price, 2) the number of Customers, and 3) the number of transactions per Customer. That’s it.

Revenue = Price X No. Customers X Transactions per Customer.

Here’s where the math gets interesting. See the full post here (I'm moving my blog) http://servicewithpurpose.squarespace.com/;jsessionid=451772256749EE378AB092A08351EBE4.web120?SSScrollPosition=0

The difference Between People and Organisations is DNA

2010-04-14T17:24:00.001+10:00

As humans we cannot choose our physical form because it is pre-programmed in our DNA. We are born either short, tall, fast slow, black white. We cannot even choose our time of birth or death. Arguably, we cannot choose the purpose of our own lives.

Companies are similarly made up of cells, being people. We are made up of different departments which are organisations of people and systems with varying lifespans.

People and companies both have a purpose. The difference is that companies can decide their purpose. Organisations can choose their purpose, in fact organizations can choose their DNA.

It is liberating and somewhat daunting to consider that your organisation can choose to be and do whatever it chooses. Often however, organisations form and start a life but do so without any real understanding of their purpose.

An opportunity or need comes up, and an organization is formed. The company then changes and morphs to move with the market, always remaining opportunistic. This is not purpose. This is opportunity. Opportunities come and go, but purpose is long standing.

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Sales and Service Are the Same

2010-04-13T22:16:00.001+10:00

What’s the difference between Sales and Service? Aren’t they different skills?

The core selling skill also applies to customer service. Sales transactions can only occur if the seller provides something the buyer is willing to accept, in that way it is the same definition as service, being to “provide something someone needs – a match”.

Selling has some additional steps such as Prospecting, but the core skill is the same.

Sales is NOT about selling ‘to’ the customer. Selling is about the customer ‘buying’ something. So why the semantics? Because, the seller has to engage the customer in a sale just like they do in a normal customer service transaction, i.e. approach the interaction from the position of the customer, or potential customer.

The difference between Sales and Service is ‘potential’.

Sales – Service = Potential.

Both need to be treated the same, with the same attention, and the same perspective. The only difference is that one ‘is’ is customer and the other is a ‘potential’ customer.

Sales and service can predominantly be treated the same. Selling is a form of service. It’s the ultimate validation of great service, because it tells you where whether your service was successfully received.

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One Word We Should Never Use in Customer Service or Sales

2010-04-12T09:43:00.002+10:00

In Customer Service and Sales environments, we are often taught to be outward focused. We are taught to:

Look at situations from the Customer's perspective,
Stop worrying about ourselves, and to
Be empathetic.

These are all valid and worthwhile objectives, however they can sometimes be over-run by the way things are communicated, especially in confrontational environments.

The problem occurs when the word "you" is used in customer interactions. Here are some examples:

Prescriptive	You have to (do this or that)
Presumptive	You shouldn't (do this), or You want
Accusatory	You breached, or You yelled
Insulting	You didn't understand
Guilty	You hurt me when
Condescending	I understand you

The condescending 'you' is often used in Sales situations to summarise the staff member's understanding of the customer's position.

Try changing the focus by removing the word 'you' from your vocabulary. For example:

Instead of	Try this
You have to	I would suggest
You shouldn't	I would not
You breached	When the process wasn’t followed
You yelled	When the yelling started
You didn’t understand	Perhaps I didn’t make it clear
You hurt me when	I was hurt when
I understand you	I understand the need is

Try the same with business writing.
The ultimate way to be customer focused is to think about the customer, but internalise what’s going on. Talk from the first person: talk about yourself, but in the context of the customer.

Posted via web from Service with Purpose

Get the Elephant Out of the Room

2010-04-11T08:26:00.002+10:00

You go into a Sales meeting with all your sales tools in mind. You listen to the Customer's needs, look at the power dynamics in the room, present your wares, and so on.

All the while, the prospect is thinking one thing - "How much will this cost?"

The elephant is in the room. You both know it's there, it's obvious that you will talk about it, but for the time being it distracts you both.

You know the prospect is thinking price, and consequently, as the presenter, you are thinking about price. Although you are acting out the traditional role, in the back of your head you are wondering when you can pull out the price, whether it's too high, or too low.

The prospect is so distracted by the Elephant, that they fail to hear anything you say about the product, wondering about price.

The answer is obvious, but requires courage. Talk about the Elephant, talk about price. You can talk about price in 3 ways:

In qualifying calls and discussions, give a range of prices within 20% e.g. It will cost between $85 and $100.
Explain the price range e.g. The price can vary depending on ........
Explain when then price will be outside this range e.g. In some cases the price can be higher/lower depending on ......

Price is the ultimate prospect qualifying tool for both buyer and seller.

The puritans will argue this is presumptive, but understand the point.

Once the elephant is discussed, the seller and buyer are free to talk about the product/service in an open discussion. All of a sudden, as the seller, you can concentrate on matching your offer to the buyer.

If you still have doubts, look at almost any retail store. You see the product on the shelf at the same time as the price. Nothing is hidden.

I Am Better Than You

2010-04-10T08:24:00.001+10:00

I don't mean this in an arrogant or uppity way, but it's what I tell people to say in times of confrontation.

We sometimes feel negative emotions of hate, loathing, envy, jealousy, and revenge. When someone making you feel like this, it's often in a confrontation.

"Oh I'll show you!"

This also happens in Customer Service situations. The customer screams, and you scream back. Or the customer screams, and you just ignore them.

When this happens, ask yourself:

Do you want to be worse than this other person?

Do you want to be like the other person?

If not, then you have only one choice. You have to be better than them.

Grandma used to say that two wrongs don't make a right, and she was indeed right.

Posted via email from Service with Purpose

12 Ways to Save a Doomed Small Business

2010-04-10T07:04:00.001+10:00

A conversation with a Liquor Store owner ended like this.

“If things don’t change in the next six months, I’ll have to close up after 20 years”

This is a situation being experienced by many businesses. The context is as follows:

· It’s a long established business

· Big retail chains have opened up all around

· He buys beer from the retailers because they can sell cheaper than he buys wholesale

· The owner is working late at night because he can’t afford to pay people

· The owner looks dishevelled

· Parking out front is poor, though there is ample off street parking behind the store

· The store looks tired

· The owner has installed a poorly performing deli in the corner.

What can he do? What would you suggest?

Assuming he cannot sell the business, or easily move; and that he wants to stay and fight, I would do the following:

1. Consider a segment for focus (High end? Convenience? Product? Advice? Ethnic?)

2. Consider access - open the back entrance

3. Presentation - dress up employees and clean the store

4. Invest in ticketing and tasting notes (e.g. this wine would go great with Madras Curry)

5. Less is More (see my previous post)

a. Consider less stock so the store can be uncluttered.

b. Remove signage - If the signs are old and dated, just remove them

c. Consider what else could be removed because small retailers love jamming things in to every square foot

6. Consider ambiance such as background music and screen shots of vineyards on plasma screens

7. Give customers other reasons to visit by introducing wine tasting club/theme nights

8. An email mailing list with pre-releases and specials (he’s never asked for mine)

9. Introduce some complementary products which make sense such as

a. foods to accompany the wine e.g. Persian Fetta and Olives)

b. introduce the great snacks to go with Beer

c. sell wine books, poker sets and recipes

10. Start a Social media Strategy (See Mashable’s introductory strategies here and advanced strategies here), but I would start with:

a. A Squarespace promotion (no one else is doing it in the area)

b. A Facebook Fan Page – as opposed to a Friends Page

c. A blog to talk about new products (try Posterous or Blogger)

d. Get connected on LinkedIn and find affluent potential consumers, and give advice

e. A twitter account for regulars

f. An email newsletter – not talking about your business, but how customers can use the product

11. Learn from the experts – in wine retailing you cannot go past Gary Vaynerchuck

12. Choose action over anxiety – but not the same actions, different actions.

But the most important thing is this:

Do not stand behind the counter and wait for things to change. They will change, but not for the better.

This is hard work outside the comfort zone of most business owners.

If you don’t take control, someone else will.

Posted via email from Service with Purpose

Why Less is More – a Lesson from Apple’s iPad

2010-04-08T21:56:00.002+10:00

The temptation for many product designers and Sales people is to cram in as much product as possible.

When you buy a car you are confronted with never-ending checklists of features with ticks and crosses.

When you sell a product, you may prattle off feature after feature to impress the prospect.

When you conduct market research, you may jam in as many questions as possible (as I wrote about here)

In reality, less is more – as we can learn from Apple’s Chief Designer - Jonathan Ive. The new Apple iPad has been criticised for lacking some functionality such as a Camera and a USB Port. In a Time Magazine interview with Stephen Fry, Ive answered the criticism with the following statement:

"In many ways, it's the things that are not there that we are most proud of,"

This is not the statement you would expect. Steve Jobs explains later in the interview that he views Apple as being:

"at the intersection of the Liberal Arts and Technology."

Above all else, the technology simply works. They are very clear, they have Purpose.

When you give the prospect less, you are focused, and conversely end up giving them more. When you give a Child focused and undivided attention, you give them more. When you decide not to be all things to all people, you are more to some people.

It takes courage to stand against the tide and make a stand.

Are you cramming your products and prospects with ‘stuff’ or just focusing on people need?

Posted via web from Service with Purpose

Customer Service is Dead, Long Live Customer Service

2010-04-07T19:27:00.001+10:00

If you don't love reading, see the video post below

The origin of the quote “The King is dead, long live the King” is unknown. It is a perplexing statement which seems contradictory, yet seems to resonate. Is it a celebration, mourning, confusion, or something else?

In its simplest form, the statement is about death and continuity. A monarchical institution is a meme. A meme is an idea which can live longer than its originators and affect subsequent behaviour.

The quote has been attributed to many kings gone past, from Caesare to Elvis. In the case of Elvis, his physical body has expired but his music and vibrance will live beyond his death. Elvis could be considered a meme.

In biological terms, Richard Dawkins in his book The Selfish Gene defines certain ideas as memes. These are ideas which can live longer than their originators and affect subsequent behaviour. The authors of a country’s constitution essentially create memes. Leaders such as Martin Luther King create memes of justice. Mohamed created a meme for Islam as Jesus created a meme for Christianity. Elvis and Buddy Holly created memes for rock music. The idea lives beyond the originator and transforms.

The transformation is an important aspect of a meme. In the biological terms that Richard Dawkins describes, although genes are our hard wiring, memes are easily mutable. Culture as a meme will change before our biological makeup changes.

Monarchies created institutions allowing power to live beyond the mere flesh of an individual. Once the King dies, a new King is appointed and the institution continues. With every death, the characters change and the meme slightly alters. The individual will push their own agenda, their personality will change the institution in subtle or radical ways, all the time preserving the meme, the idea.

The biggest threat to memes is extinction through irrelevance. A meme must propogate through generations, each time better than the original. Although Kings and Queens often have massive power, they still bend and sway to to common ideas in the population. Why else would monarchs employ Public Relations firms? Irrelevance is death.

The king is dead, long live the King!

The same occurs in organisations with the replacement of CEO. The new CEO will plant their own authority through subtle or radical behaviour, but with most organisations, the idea, the meme, the culture, the Brand will continue.

In biological terms, Richard Dawkins explains that the meme is nature’s way of making modifications without redesigning a species every time. The changes are subtle but powerful.

One truth of business is that the Customer is King. This too is an unknown quote but has become an inaliable truth of business. The way organisations deal with customers is through their service. Customer service is the King of business, it is the holy grail, it is the most obvious goal, and yet the most perplexing element of business to control. Customer service is the ultimate business meme.

So what does it mean to say Customer Service is Dead, Long Live Customer Service ?

Customer service as we know it is in a massive state of flux, a state which has changed massively in the past 40 years, even two years. Customer service as we knew it somehow looks and feels diffeent to what we once knew. Customer service as we knew it is dead, yet customer service remains the same, it is a matching process, and remains the King of business.

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Customer Service is the New Marketing

2010-04-06T19:33:00.001+10:00

This quote comes from Aaron Magness, Marketing Chief at Zappos. Zappos is one of the world's leading internet retailers.

In essence he believes that there are five rules to marketing.

1. Customer Service is the new Marketing

2. Communicate with your customers, don’t market at them

3. Don’t try to be interesting, be interested

4. Try to WOW at every interaction - I have posted about this myself [here]

5. Your culture will dictate your success

An excerpt from the article is below:

What is marketing really about?

There are five principles that I try to focus on in everything that has to do with marketing:

· Customer service is the new marketing. The days of dictating your brand to the public are long gone. There is so much access to information; the customer is actually dictating your brand to you.

· Communicate with your customers, don’t market at them. Customers get bombarded with marketing messages every day (practically every second). Find ways to interact with them. Discussions drive loyalty, not one way messaging.

· Don’t try to be interesting, be interested. I first heard this phrase from our CEO, Tony Hsieh, and thought it was great. It is really spot on. A lot of companies try to launch a really creative campaign, but lack the follow up to the brand promise. Your campaign should highlight what your brand promise is, not try to invent one.

· Try to WOW at every interaction. This goes for working with employees, vendors and customers. Personal relationships and interactions drive everything. You need to capitalize on them. This is obviously something that is very true and important at Zappos. I don’t think I every put it into words until I worked here, but the importance and implications are great.

· Your culture will dictate your success. This goes back to building your team. Hire great people, treat them like adults and let them do great work. The rest should come naturally on its own.

Thanks to Custserve for finding the article.

Posted via web from Service with Purpose

Serving Non-Customers

2010-04-05T10:41:00.001+10:00

Every business has non-customers. A prospect is the closest a non-customer to being a customer. But what do you do if a non-customer needs something from you, but they won't or can't pay you. If you own a hardware store, would you give free advice? Would you invest time?

What if you choose not to take them on as a customer because they are too small, too big, or because you can't agree on price?

Should you still help?

If you want to be a market leader then help non-customers by referring them to your competitors or giving them free advice. You will not only be seen as a market leader, but it creates an interesting dynamic with your competitors. You stake the superior ground, and you get their respect. Oh and it does wonders for your own self-confidence. If you want to build a service culture, you need to help 'all' customers, including non-customers. Have you referred to you competitors to help non-customers?

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Why "Less is More" when it Comes to Customer Surveys.

2010-04-04T06:36:00.001+10:00

If you are paying a company to conduct customer research or Mystery Shopping, there is a tendency to jam in as much information as possible. After all, your probably paying on a per unit basis, so why not cram in as much information as possible.

I recently saw a questionnaire which asked the Mystery Shopper to do the following:

Identify which of 8 mobile phone manufacturers was on display.
Identify which product had a missing price tab
Identify which product had other promotional material showing.

And so on.

This type of questioning will lead to rubbish results because:

There is too much to remember
It was vague about what is considered 'other material'
It required the shopper to know product numbers eg Blackberry 9000 V Blackberry 8300

It is the same with many Customer surveys. I often see surveys which ask the Customer a pile of questions after the event. e.g. How long did you wait in line. This will be the subject of a separate post but the principle is the the same.

Less is More.

The more targeted your questioning, and the less information required to be remembered, the more accurate your surveys will become.

Look at your Customer Feedback systems. Are they overloaded? Could you reasonably expect to remember all the information yourself? Have you tried the survey yourself?

(I'm posting while on vacation, so no video)

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Birthdays and Service

2010-04-03T21:51:00.001+11:00

So today was my Birthday. It seems that Birthday wishes are now growing and growing as we have more and more people connected on Social Networks. Wishes are coming from people I hardly know. I've even received them from clients and prospects. It's necessary, but I kinda love it. It seems to me that birthday wishes are a free hit at connection. My guess is that this connection is never ignored, and always accepted. Send them, be nice because you will be remembered.

Posted via email from Service with Purpose

Are Some Leaders Doomed to Failure?

2010-04-02T07:16:00.001+11:00

Imagine a leader with these characteristics:

Screaming at staff,
Intimidation,
Threatening to fire them,
Showing favouritism,
Making erratic decisions,
Blaming others,
Taking credit from others,
Locking herself in her office,
Making staff accountable for things outside their own control,
Not listening to wise advice.

You get the picture.

Can this leader be saved? Can they be taught, shown, lead to be a better leader. Or - are some people just not cut out for leadership.

Not everyone can be a leader. If they are unwilling to learn, if they are unwilling to get out of their own way, then they are doomed to failure.

If a pilot is not willing to learn the craft, then they cannot become a pilot. Leaders are no different.

What do you think. Can anyone be made a leader?

Posted via web from Service with Purpose

The Secret of Sales and Service Secrets

2010-03-31T17:08:00.001+11:00

There is nothing magical or mysterious about secrets. Usually they are plain and boring. Magicians know the answer, so do politicians.

Have you ever seen a money market dealer at work? I used to be one, I know that it is mostly method and process, but from the outside it looks like magic. It’s usually nothing more than information and process. Does flying a plane look like magic? I’ve done that too, and can report it is nothing more than a few lessons and an instruction manual. Anyone can do it.
Have you ever performed magic? I have, and can report that it is again nothing more that following instructions and having a little confidence.

Do you have a special skill? Can you cook a meal from a few leftovers in the kitchen? Can you tell a joke in any environment? Can you draw pictures or write beautiful music? Whatever skill you possess, it is a mysterious secret to others. There are two things from stopping everyone else from processing the same skill 1) you ‘may’ have some innate ability, and/or b) you have learnt some tricks along the way. Most importantly though, you have probably had the commitment to develop those skills, we sometimes call this combination of skill and desire a hobby.

Anyone with a skill can teach another person. The student may not be as proficient as the teacher (or could become even more proficient) but the point is that skills can be learnt. Service is the same, sure some people have some innate ability beyond others, but everyone can learn the secrets.

Service is a little secret like everything else. Some people have an enate ability to serve or to sell, just like some people can immediately kick a ball or play poker from their first hand. Even if the skills are not natural, they can be taught, and once you know the secrets, they will be simple, and you may feel a little cheated for not having known them earlier.

But there is a different category of person, those who are shown the secrets (or know them) but choose not to use them.
Although you learn a magic trick you may choose not to use it. Service skills are the same.

Posted via email from Service with Purpose

How to Upsell 800%

2010-03-31T09:52:00.003+11:00

I recently spoke at a conference in Hobart when I was taught a wonderful lesson by a cab driver. Just before I entered the cab he came and opened the door for me. He then made conversation and asked where I was from. I asked the cab driver how he knew I was not from Hobart. He just replied with a simple answer "I'm a cab driver, it's my job"

The cabbie asked about my future movements. I replied that I was returning to the conference where he picked me up. He asked what I was doing the next day and I told him I was flying back. I happened to be flying home Fathers Day and was excited to see the kids.

The cab driver offered to have the car pick me up for each of my further three journeys. I added this in my head and he managed to sell a $7 fare three times and also a fare to the airport in the morning.

As I later found, not much happens in Hobart early on Sunday morning so he picked up a juicy fare without work. The total sale was $7 + $7 + $7 + $35 = $56 a whopping 800% higher than his original fare. How did he do this?

I asked Barry if he was personally picking me up. "No" he responded, he was about to knock off. So I asked him if it was his cab, and again he replied "No". So Barry the cabbie just up-sold 800% without any commercial gain to him. Was someone watching him? No.

Barry explained that he was 'just' a cab driver, and it was his job to make it easy for me. He also wanted me to go home with a good impression of his home state.

How do you get your employees to engage like Barry, to up-sell in unremarkable environments?

The answer is as simple as connection. Barry is connected with his job, it has a purpose. He also has a higher calling by considering himself to be somewhat an ambassador for Tasmania.

Barry teaches us that unremarkable people in unremarkable jobs can do remarkable things if they have a sense of purpose. It's the organisations responsibility to provide that purpose and the employees responsibility to take some self responsibility.

Remarkable results are possible for unremarkable people in unremarkable jobs.

How to Upsell 800% from Steven Di Pietro on Vimeo.

13 Things You Must Do to Manage People

2010-03-29T22:56:00.002+11:00

Your employees don't care. They have a dead end job. You know it and they know it. But you need them. How can you get them motivated long term. How can you get them to care.

If you want employees to care, then care for the employees.

The Gallup organisation in 2008 published a wonderful brochure showing that the ratio of Engaged V Disengaged employees if very different for World Class Companies and Average Companies. In World Class companies the ratio of Engaged to Disengaged employees is 8:1 whereas for average organisations, there are only 1.5 engaged people for every disengaged person.

So how do you change this? Here are 13 questions your staff should be answering in the affirmative to indicate they are very engaged - the last is mine.

I know what is expected of me at work.
I have the materials and equipment I need to do my work right.
At work, I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day.
In the last seven days, I have received recognition or praise for doing good work.
My supervisor, or someone at work, seems to care about me as a person.
There is someone at work who encourages my development.
At work, my opinions seem to count.
The mission or purpose of my organization makes me feel my job is important.
My associates or fellow employees are committed to doing quality work.
I have a best friend at work.
In the last six months, someone at work has talked to me about my progress.
This last year, I have had opportunities at work to learn and grow.
I know why my organization exists - it's purpose.

Now do two things:

Ask yourself if you would like to be managed so you could answer Yes to all of these.
Ask yourself if you are managing in a way that your employees could say Yes to all of these.

Posted via email from Service with Purpose

13 Elements of Great Management from Steven Di Pietro on Vimeo.

Stop Making the Internet Difficult for Customer Support

2010-03-28T13:59:00.001+11:00

The hunt for databases is a fierce battle.

Organisations are trying to collect as much data as they can about customers.

One disturbing current trend is to ask for an Account Login / Signup before you can access Customer Support.

Most customers don't know their login details - especially if it's for a rarely used software product. In many cases it simply turns customers off, and they will go elsewhere if they can (like a Google search).

You want me engaged? Don't make it hard for me to engage.

Have your product knowledge base freely available for all. Make it easy to access. Even if organization collect information in those dopey forms, I'll bet they don't use it.

Posted via email from Service with Purpose

What is the Most Important Part Of Your Website?

2010-03-27T12:22:00.001+11:00

What do you think is the most important part of your website?

Is it:

Speed?

The domain address?

Navigation?

Content?

Links?

Design?

Search Engine Optimization?

Cash Register?

Checkout?

Live updating of products and prices?

Social networking?

Which is it?

None of the above. The most important part of a website is the "Contact Us" section. Csutomers need this to be prominent and easy to find because:

It shows that you are not hiding
It shows that you care about customer service
It means you have a process for handling real people - even if they don't need you right this moment.

The Contact us section should have as little information as possible. Less is More.

I recently wrote about an Australian Bank with 40 phone numbers in the Contact Us section. Contact Us was easy to find, but once there, it was a maze.

Some tips for Contact Us content:

Have as few phone numbers as possible.
Include Toll Free.
Do not have drop down bozes in the email forms (you know the ones which as for the Type of enquiry?). Someone in the office should categorize, not the customer.
Have an auto-responder to acknowledge the email.
Include a list of locations. Even if you only have one.
Remove all marketing material. I mean all of it.

What do you think? Is there anything else that should be included or excluded?

Posted via email from Service with Purpose

Service Is Not Just a Single Moment of Truth

2010-03-25T21:56:00.001+11:00

Jan Carlsson first popularly coined the phrase when he referred to the moments of truth in his Airline SAS. The term has been spectacularly misrepresented by many organisations as the expectation of miracles. As if those miracles, the wonder stories that are steeped in Service folklore are the ultimate definition of service.

Service is not about spectacular events, but about exactly matching the customer’s needs every single time.

His point was that ‘every’ customer interaction is a moment of truth, not just one spectacular event along the service chain. Furthermore, those moments extended to people in the service chain who never even see the customer.

So what can you do?

1) Explain the ‘full’ service process (the experience) to all staff,

2) Have staff map all the customer hit points, including the subtle ones such as keeping the store room well organised.

3) Have every single employee realise there is a Purpose to their job – which is ultimately to serve the Customer.

There is no need to chase the spectacular and no need for the Hail Mary pass if a customer complains. Just make sure everyone knows their role.

Posted via email from Service with Purpose

You Need More Than A Mission Statement

2010-03-24T15:02:00.001+11:00

In our personal lives, as in our organisations, we often confuse Purpose with the enablers. An enabler is something that helps you live your purpose, but is not the purpose.

Similarly, we often talk about Purpose in terms of goals, visions, or even a mission. Goals, vision and mission (statements) are destinations. No matter how lofty, they can be achieved, or perhaps not. It is easy to determine. Goals, visions and mission statements can are finite. The military breaks it purpose (protection) down to discrete missions. Each may be long and seem impossible, but they are finite. Goals are similar. They are achieved (or not) and new ones set. Visions are the same.

Purpose is more than that. Purpose is not a destination. Purpose is a state of being. Purpose is something that defines you, but is not an action. The actions allow you to live true to your purpose. Back to the Military analogy. The Purpose of the military (usually) is to protect citizens. When this purpose is broken down into actions, the difference is revealed.

Purpose: To protect our citizens.

Mission: To keep terrorists out of the country

Vision: A country where citizens rights are protected so they can freely move around, whilst terrorists are restricted.

Goals:

1) Restrict illegal immigrants, and

2) Take the fight off our shores

Tactics:

1) Improved airport security

2) Stricter Visa requirements.

Each of these elements must be consistent with the Purpose of protecting citizens but they should not be confused with the purpose. Each of the elements can also be defined as enablers.

Often organisations confuse their Mission, Vision and Goals with their Purpose. In fact, many organisations (and people) do not even know they need a Purpose, because they believe strong Mission, Vision and Goals is all there is.

Unless you understand 'why' you organization exists, then how can your customers or staff possibly know how to truly interact with you? You need to know your Purpose.

<p>You Need More than A Mission Statement from Steven Di Pietro on Vimeo.</p>

Posted via email from Service with Purpose

Should You Use a Net Promoter Score?

2010-03-23T17:46:00.003+11:00

Are you customers loyal? Do they drive business? Restaurants fret over this question, as do most organisations. Companies obtain their Net Promoter Score by asking customers a single question on a 0 to 10 rating scale: "How likely is it that you would recommend our company to a friend or colleague?"

Based on their responses, customers can be categorized into one of three groups: Promoters (9-10 rating), Passives (7-8 rating), and Detractors (0-6 rating). The percentage of Detractors is then subtracted from the percentage of Promoters to obtain a Net Promoter score. A score of 75% or above is considered quite high. There is a reasonable definition of Net Promoter Score (NPS) in Wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Net_Promoter
(On which the above definition was based).

So it's simple, easy to collate, and even easier to communicate to staff. But let's look further. I am a Qantas frequent flyer with high status and rarely buy my own ticket (because most of my travel is business) would I recommend? Some questions

Who would I be recommending to? My budget conscious parents or my CEO peer group?
Would I be treated the same as others? I know I'm treated better. What about smokers? Are they likely to recommend to non-smokers? What about other smokers who have been smoking a rival brand for 20 years? Of course not. Would you recommend you favourite nightclub to your family? Although you love the nightclub, you might not want your family there. If you are a Bank Manager, is it fair that you NPS is largely driven by Head Office policies which affect your customers?

You might have given awesome service deserving of a 10 score, but your customer's loan may have been unceremoniously declined by a computer program over a minor technicality. It's all about context. The moment you need to clarify context, the simplicity is lost. By all means, use NPS as part of your service matrix but not as the sole tool. And keep the salt handy, you may need a grain. [Blackberry post - sore fingers. Picture and video to follow]

Posted via email from Service with Purpose

Should You Use a Net Promoter Score? from Steven Di Pietro on Vimeo.

You Are Missing Your Sales Targets Because Customers Want to Buy - But You Won't Sell?

2010-03-22T21:35:00.001+11:00

The biggest problem facing Retailers is their ability to sell.

Below are some statistics from thousands of Mystery Shops collated through my company Service Integrity Mystery Shopping

The results are self explanatory. Closing the sale – or referring a Sale to someone else are the biggest problems facing our clients.

But I can hear your staff scream from here. “Ah that sounds like you’re pushing the Sale” or “That sounds like – Do you want fries with that?”

Well surprise surprise, that is exactly what the customers want.

Mystery Shop scores typically measure adhearance to process. E.g. cleanliness (presentation) through to closing the sale (including upsell and cross sell). When all these elements are ticked off, the store scores highest.

Our results show that when a store scores high Mystery Shopping scores (including selling), then the customer satisfaction scores are highest.

One client had ther top 10 stores record 98% in their Mystery Shopping and 100% Customer Satisfaction. The bottom 10 stores scored 66% in their Mystery Shopping and 43% Customer Satisfaction. This pattern is repeated for all clients. The higher the Mystery Shop score, the higher the Customer Satisfaction.

Put another way – Customers are happier when you sell to them. That’s why they are there.

You Are Missing Your Sales Targets Because Customers Want to Buy - But You Won't Sell? from Steven Di Pietro on Vimeo.

Posted via email from Service with Purpose

You Are Missing Your Sales Targets Because Customers Want to Buy - But You Won't Sell

2010-03-22T21:27:00.001+11:00

The biggest problem facing Retailers is their ability to sell.

Below are some statistics from thousands of Mystery Shops collated through my company Service Integrity Mystery Shopping

The results are self explanatory. Closing the sale – or referring a Sale to someone else are the biggest problems facing our clients.

But I can hear your staff scream from here. “Ah that sounds like you’re pushing the Sale” or “That sounds like – Do you want fries with that?”

Well surprise surprise, that is exactly what the customers want.

Our results show that when a store scores high Mystery Shopping scores (including selling), then the customer satisfaction scores are highest.

Put another way – Customers are happier when you sell to them. That’s why they are there.

Posted via email from Service with Purpose

Registered a New Website www.servicewithpurpose.net

2010-03-21T08:26:00.003+11:00

I just registered my new domain name as www.servicewithpurpose.net.

If you are following or subscribing on www.dipietro.com.au , please visit the new website and subscribe. It is the same blog content but includes my website.

I'll keep www.dipietro.com.au running.

By the way, I used www.foursquare.com to design the website. Amazing service because it removes the need for web developers and hosting servers. I can't wait to ramp up the presentation.

Posted via web from Service with Purpose

Cross Selling is Not an Insult - the Stats prove it.

2010-03-20T08:23:00.001+11:00

Many of our clients tell us their staff have a mental block when it comes to cross selling. They used to think service was about cuddling the customer with "How's your father" type discussions.

While this may still be true, customers now expect to be cross sold. We recently conducted a survey of 485 shoppers and asked the following:

How do you feel about up-selling where you are asked if you would like to buy a bigger version or complimentary product?

The answers were surprising!

5% said they would be insulted
14% are neutral
56% accept it as part of retailing
25% are glad to be given the opportunity

When you talk to your staff about cross selling, share these statistics. Often the customer is happy to hear about the offer. You are not doing them a disservice, but doing them a favour.

[Have reposted this from 2007]

Posted via email from Service with Purpose

How to Make Something Free and Valuable

2010-03-19T07:12:00.004+11:00

Although a very scarce resource, water is a commodity. Everywhere you turn, you will see water bottles for sale. How do you choose one over the other?

I was looking for food and drink while travelling to a speaking engagement away from home. The food hall had many many choices. Where should I go?

A small retailer grabbed my attention with the bottle pictured above. It was stacked with about 20 others in a generic refrigerator. I chose this store.

This bottle speaks to me (not in a small voice in the back of my head). The bottle tells me about the store. It tells me that someone has made an effort to stack this bottle. It allowed me to make a small connection with the staff. It stood out.

The bottles represented perfect imperfection. My daughter coined this phrase. Although they were all the same, they were all different - in the same way.

I bought the drink, but also bought my food there, expecting that it too may have a personal touch in preparation - which it did.

Here is the point.

In order to stand out, you do not need to spend money. It's just about effort.

What can you do to put in a little extra effort for your customers?

Is it a personal note to accompany a delivery?

Is it a random phone call to say hello to a client?

Is it a piece of insight?

Is it an article you read online?

None of this costs money. It's free but valuable - do it.

The True Cost of Service is Effort, Not Money

How to Make Something Free and Valuable from Steven Di Pietro on Vimeo.

http://vimeo.com/stevendipietro http://vimeo.com Posted via email from Service with Purpose

Jet Blue flies high with customer service perks

2010-03-18T17:35:00.001+11:00

Just check Terminal 5 at New York JFK airport for the state-of-the-art facility geared for efficiency and customer comfort. In 2009, JD Power & Associates, a global marketing information service which measures customer satisfaction based on millions of consumers annually, rated Jet Blue " Highest in Customer Satisfaction" among low-cost carriers in North America. Jet Blue serves 60 cities with 600 flights daily. All passengers have assigned seats; all fares are based on one way and an overnight stay is not required. They provide the most non-stop departures from JFK to Florida and rank as the 7th largest carrier in the US. Jet Blue delivers service differently than most low-cost carriers. Where other companies have decided to cut back and charge passengers to use blankets and pillows while flying, Jet Blue, in the quest to become America's Favorite Airlines, boasts their Customer Bill of Rights aimed at " bringing humanity back to air travel." On Valentine's Day, 2007 an ice storm in the northeast set the venue for a customer service disaster when hundreds of passengers were held captive on the tarmac and thousands of travelers were stranded in airports. In order to regain their credibility, instituting a Customer Bill of Rights now offers full refunds, re-accommodations due to Jet Blue cancellations within 4 hours and even refunds due to "controllable irregularities." There is now compensation for departure delays, overbookings and on board ground delays. If a customer is involuntarily denied boarding because of a Jet Blue overbooking, the company claims to reimburse a passenger $1,000. The airline brags about "lots of legroom" and for a small additional fee promises to provide " even more legroom." Attention getting promotions last week celebrating Jet Blue's ten years of service included $10 thank-you fares on all remaining seats between NY JFK and the airline' s first ten destinations. Complimentary in-flight email and instant messaging known as "Beta Blue", first checked bag free, 36 channels of Directv, 100 channels of XM Radio, and unlimited named snacks are advertised on their website. On overnight flights, the airlines supplies a "snooze kit" that contains an eye shade and earplugs. Before arriving at the morning destination, airline attendants hand out hot towels, coffee, tea, orange juice or water. Jet Blue's promise of "Happy Jetting" may indeed be a reality. photo credit: albertopveiga Possibly Related Posts:
Delta Gets Proactive About a week ago, I received a letter from Delta... Do toll-free numbers help customer service? I have often considered toll-free numbers to be part of... Amazon Thinks Ahead I like Amazon.com and I've never been ashamed to admit... http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ServiceUntitled/~3/MB4cNfQ-f8E/

Posted via email from Service with Purpose

How to Show Extreme Service Leadership

2010-03-18T11:16:00.001+11:00

It is the day after Christmas (Boxing Day). You have a client deadline due at the end of month. It can't get done the normal way. Just can't. What do you do?

This once happened to me in my Mystery Shopping Business. We had three Mystery Shops left to be done for a client with 900 stores. The stores were 2,446 kilometres (1,519) miles away. I now believe that what I did on that day, helped changed my business.

I rented a car, and drove for two days to get the Mystery Shops completed - then flew home.

This post is not to boast, but something interesting happened after I completed the mission.

Did the customer notice? No.

Did we tell the customer the lengths we went to, in order to complete the assignments? No.

So why do it?

At the time I did it simply because it 'had to be done'. But I think there is a better reason.

I didn't realise at the time, but I was building culture.

Service is about meeting the Customers Expectations, very single time. My staff in the office now know how important it is to do this. They know it just 'has to be done'. They no there are no excuses.

If you are in a customer service leadership position (and that's everyone), be occasionally extreme. Don't be extreme in exceeding expectations. Be extreme in meeting them. Culture will follow.

Have you had a similar experience?

Posted via email from Service with Purpose

How to Show Extreme Service Leadership

2010-03-18T11:14:00.001+11:00

<p><a href="">How to Show Extreme Leadership</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/stevendipietro">Steven Di Pietro</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>

It is the day after Christmas (Boxing Day). You have a client deadline due at the end of month. It can't get done the normal way. Just can't. What do you do?

I rented a car, and drove for two days to get the Mystery Shops completed - then flew home.

This post is not to boast, but something interesting happened after I completed the mission.

Did the customer notice? No.

Did we tell the customer the lengths we went to, in order to complete the assignments? No.

So why do it?

At the time I did it simply because it 'had to be done'. But I think there is a better reason.

I didn't realise at the time, but I was building culture.

If you are in a customer service leadership position (and that's everyone), be occasionally extreme. Don't be extreme in exceeding expectations. Be extreme in meeting them. Culture will follow.

Have you had a similar experience?

Posted via email from Service with Purpose