Customer service

Can You Hear Me Now?

Posted on July 13, 2015 by Scott

My wife and I were reminiscing recently about the early days of our marriage. In November, we’ll have been married 24 years and we’ve both changed a lot since saying “I do.” Sure, the physical changes are the most obvious; but most significant are the changes in how we treat each other. I must admit though, I’ve had to change a lot more than she has.

For example, I distinctly remember a conversation we had one afternoon just a few months after our wedding. I came home from work late and still had events of the day on my mind as I walked through the door. Susan immediately began telling me about her day. She followed me through the house as I pulled off my jacket and tie, quickly moving to put on comfortable clothes.

Suddenly it dawned on me that the pace of Susan’s speech was increasing. She talked faster and faster until the words practically jumbled together into nonsense. She finally stopped to inhale, gasping for breath. I looked at her and asked “Why are you talking so fast?” Her response hit me like a ton of bricks. “I have a lot to tell you, but I know that any second you’re going to tune me out.”

Wow. Before me stood the person that most mattered to me in the world and within weeks of promising to give her everything, I’d managed to renege on that promise. All she needed was for me to listen – to give her a few minutes of undivided attention – and already I’d proven unable to do it.

We humans have a listening problem. Our ears work; we hear just fine. It’s listening – an activity that takes place in the brain – that seems difficult.

Listening is often touted as a key sales skill; but it goes much further than that. Listening is a key customer service skill. It’s a key leadership skill. It’s a key relationship skill. It’s a key life skill. And as simple as it sounds, we struggle to get it right.

We live in a busy world. Information bombards us from every direction. People and email and social media all vie for our attention and there just doesn’t seem to be enough time in the day to get it all done. So we multi-task. We eat lunch while we read through email while we listen in on the conference call while we “listen” to the person that just walked into the office. But we’re fooling ourselves. Multi-tasking makes us feel better by allowing us to cross off more items on the to-do list. It helps us “get things done.” But it doesn’t help get things done right. Studies have actually shown that dividing our attention makes us less efficient than focusing on one task, or one person, at a time.

The real victims are those on the other end of the exchange. People can sense when they don’t have your full attention, just like my wife did. They can tell you’re preoccupied. And it makes them feel horrible. You’ve been there. Remember the last time you tried talking to someone who wasn’t really listening? How did it make you feel? Unwanted? Unwelcome? Unworthy?

So how do you practice listening? How do you let me know that you’re really paying attention? Let’s start with three small steps:

Make time for me. Is now not a good time for us to talk? Then tell me so. Suggest a time when we can speak without interruption. I want your attention. I need you to listen to me. And if I’m as important to you as you say then you’ll make one-on-one time a priority.
Look at me. Put down your cell phone. Turn away from the computer. Stop pacing around your office searching for a file related to the next meeting on your calendar. Scrape the daydream glaze off of your face and point it in my direction. If your eyes aren’t focused on me, then your brain isn’t either.
Participate with me. Listening is not a passive exercise. It involves asking questions, clarifying, and even offering information. Body language and nonverbal matter. Head nods and robotic “uh huhs” are sure signs that your attention is elsewhere. Listening requires involvement.

I am your customer. I am your employee or coworker. I am someone significant. And what I have to say is very, very important. Are you listening? Do I have your attention? Can you hear me now?

Runnin’ With the Devil (In the Details)

Posted on June 8, 2015 by Scott

In just a few weeks rock legends Van Halen kick off their North American tour. This is their first round of shows in several years and features original lead singer David Lee Roth. As you can imagine, fans of the original lineup are exited (even though bassist Michael Anthony has been replaced with Eddie Van Halen’s son Wolfgang). Tickets are selling fast and the band has already had to add additional dates to the tour.

As a child of the seventies and a fan of rock & roll, I grew up with Van Halen playing on the radio. It’s with only a small amount of embarrassment that I admit I was part of the band’s official fan club back in the day (I think I may actually still have my membership card somewhere). So I was pretty well versed in all things Van Halen.

Like many music celebrities, the band was known for their extravagant shows and eccentric behaviors. Stories abounded about the odd demands found within their appearance contracts. One of the more notorious involved their choice of snacks. Hidden within the detailed instructions regarding stage setup and light rigging was often a requirement that a bowl of M&Ms be placed in the dressing room – with all of the brown M&Ms removed. If a single brown piece of candy was found in the bowl, the band would demand a step by step review of every aspect of the show’s set and equipment. Rumor has it that Roth once trashed a dressing room, causing thousands of dollars in damage, after brown M&Ms were discovered.

It sounds like just another example of diva-like behavior from self-absorbed musicians, right? Or was it?

As Roth explains in his autobiography, this specific contract rider served an important purpose. Van Halen put on a complex show that involved lots of heavy equipment with very specific setup parameters. Sloppy work by venues at some early shows had led to several accidents, some of them nearly fatal. The M&M request became the band’s way of verifying crews had followed the necessary specifications. If the bowl of M&Ms was missing, or included brown candies, then something more critical was likely to have been overlooked as well.

How you handle the little things determines how you handle the big things. Indeed, the little things often are the big things. But unless you have some way of measuring attention to these details, problems may not surface until it’s too late. Attention to detail only makes sense if the details are taken care of. So you have to inspect what you expect.

What are the small things your team needs to execute well? What are the seemingly insignificant details that make a big difference in providing superior experience or achieving growth goals? And most importantly, how will you inspect what you expect?

The Price of Apathy

Posted on May 25, 2015 by Scott

Every day, managers struggle with problems caused by employee turnover. Finding and keeping good people is hard. Vacant positions put a strain on the rest of the team as they work to pick up the slack. Of course the problem isn’t solved once a hire is made. Getting a new member of the team up to speed takes time. They have to learn not only the mechanics of the job, but related policies and procedures – not to mention the culture of the team. In some cases, turnover is so high that it feels like you can never get caught up.

It hurts when good people quit and leave. It hurts worse when they quit and stay.

Apathy is a silent killer lurking inside just about every organization. It’s deadly because it drains the life out of anything and anyone it touches. Projects and presentations fall flat. Communication stops. Customers and coworkers languish in a sea of confusion and frustration. Forward momentum halts and business suffers.

I’m not talking about the occasional case of burnout. We all have experienced burnout from time to time. The disengagement I’m referring to goes deeper. Author Kristi Hedges reports that almost half of all US workers say they don’t even like their job, and 18% of leaders are actively disengaged.

Recently, this last statistic was hammered home with me. I was involved in a conversation with a manager whose business is losing customers like crazy. Through the first four months of the year, his territory has lost millions of dollars in revenue. When presented with the suggestion to seek out assistance with developing a strategic plan, his response was “I don’t care.”

So what causes good people to check out? Hedges offers these eight common workplace demotivators.

Micromanagement
Lack of progress
Job insecurity
No confidence in leadership
Lack of accountability
Poor communication
Unpleasant coworkers
Boredom

As today is Memorial Day, the day set aside to honor those who gave their life while serving our country, I can’t help but think about the men and women this day commemorates. Talk about engaged. Talk about the opposite of apathy.

How petty of me to mentally check out from my work when they bought my freedom by going “all in.” What better way to honor their sacrifice by giving my all to the work I have chosen.

Will you join me? Will you shrug off whatever negative feelings are keeping you from doing your best? Will you instead commit to fully engaging in making the world around you a better place?

Your organization needs you. Your team members need you. Your customers need you. They need you to wake up and plug in. They need you to care.

I hope you enjoyed your holiday weekend. I also hope you returned to work refreshed, refocused, and recommitted to do your best.

May the Force Be With You: Lead Like a Jedi

Posted on May 4, 2015 by Scott

Today is Star Wars Day; an unofficial holiday celebrated by science fiction fans across the globe. For the uninitiated, look at the calendar while you say this phrase out loud: “May the fourth be with you.”

Whether you like the films or not, there’s no denying the impact they have made on the world. Little did George Lucas know that his story would become such a phenomenon, sparking a revolution in filmmaking and introducing a mythology that has touched multiple generations. I remember when Star Wars came out. The films still fascinate me today (of course I’m talking about the original trilogy – not the prequels) and my children love them as well.

Central to the Star Wars universe are the Jedi – fierce warriors who master the Force in pursuit of wisdom and peace. They serve the galaxy and educate others while protecting the weak against the evil Sith. The Force is a mystical power – an energy that flows around and through all living things. Once harnessed, it provides a Jedi with the ability to influence other people and objects around them.

Jedi are widely respected and admired. There are many who aspire to become Jedi, but only a handful have the discipline and focus to achieve master status. I don’t know about you, but that sounds a lot like the workplace I find myself in every day. Wouldn’t it be great if we could master the Force? Wouldn’t it be exciting to have such a powerful influence on our coworkers and customers?

In honor of Star Wars Day and the highly anticipated seventh movie currently in production, here is a trilogy of quick tips for tapping into the Force around you along with some illustrations from the making of the Star Wars films.

1. Always bet on your own success. George Lucas wasn’t very optimistic about Star Wars. He felt that Close Encounters of the Third Kind, directed by his friend Steven Spielberg, would be the box office hit of the year. Spielberg felt that, while his movie would be successful, Star Wars would prove to be something special. So the two agreed to give each other 2.5% of the proceeds from their movies. Lucas’s reservations about his own success has earned Spielberg millions of dollars every year since.

2. Let mistakes become part of your story. Mark Hamill, who played Luke Skywalker (one of the story’s central characters) was injured in car wreck just prior to the filming of the trilogy’s second movie, The Empire Strikes Back. He sustained severe trauma to his face that significantly altered his appearance. Rather than let the incident derail the entire film, Lucas wrote a new scene for the beginning. Luke, out on patrol on the ice planet Hoth, is attacked by a Wampa beast; making his facial scarring and altered appearance part of the story.

3. Listen to your fans. Some of the ideas Lucas had for his movies didn’t make it into the final version. Technology had not advanced enough for some of the more demanding scenes he’d envisioned. Years after their release, however, Lucas decided to go back and adjust the films; adding in these missing scenes and cleaning up some of the “wonkier” effects shots. The fan base went nuts and claimed he had ruined the movies with his “fixes.”

We all want to be part of something successful. We want things to go our way and for our customers to react enthusiastically to what we offer. I believe that by treating every aspect of our job as a masterpiece, working through the inevitable problems we face, and viewing our customers as partners, we can tap into the forces that guide us to success.

May the Force be with you!

How to Sell a $25 Doughnut

Posted on March 9, 2015 by Scott

What does a doughnut cost these days?

A dollar? Maybe less?

Would you believe I once paid $25 for one?

Now before you get the wrong idea, let me stress that there was nothing special about this doughnut. It wasn’t some gourmet creation made with organic ingredients or a super-secret recipe. No, this was just an ordinary, run of the mill, twelve-to-a-box doughnut. It didn’t even have sprinkles on it.

So why would I pay $25 for something so boring; something that’s essentially a commodity?

Here’s a hint: It wasn’t about the doughnut.

You see, this particular doughnut was provided by my oldest son’s school several years ago. The annual Grandparents Day Celebration was coming up and they needed items to offer at an associated fund-raising auction. In exchange for $25 (or an auction item worth at least $25), I could join Andrew for a parent/child doughnut breakfast.

Obviously, I could have taken my entire family out for doughnuts and spent a fraction of the money. But as I’ve already mentioned, this purchase wasn’t about the doughnut. It was about the experience.

There are a handful of organizations selling truly unique products out there. They have the luxury of letting the uniqueness of their product or service speak for itself. The rest of us sell – in one form or another – a commodity. And when you sell the same thing any number of competitors do, you have to approach things differently. The challenge isn’t how to explain your product. The challenge is how to explain what makes your product different; what makes it better.

The key is not to sell a product, but an experience.

Life is made up of experiences. And any interaction with you – your products, your staff, your brand – is an experience. How can you make each one of those experiences not just positive; but desirable? How can you create an experience that people won’t just pay for, but will pay a premium for?

That’s the challenge.

I didn’t pay $25 for a doughnut. I paid $25 for breakfast with my son. I paid a premium for the experience this particular doughnut provided. And I paid it gladly.

Survey Says …

Posted on March 2, 2015 by Scott

This weekend I received a package from The Nielson Company. They’re the ratings company that provides TV stations, advertisers with information about consumer viewing habits. I’ve been asked to provide information about my family’s media consumption.

Surveys like those conducted by Nielson are important. A well designed survey can provide a company with valuable insight into what its customers are thinking. Customer feedback is helpful in a number of ways.

Feedback lets you know what your customers WANT in the way of new products and services.
Feedback lets you know what your customers THINK about the products and service you already provide.
Feedback lets you know what your customers FEEL about your pricing structure and their perception of value.
Feedback lets you know what your customers SAY to others about the way your employees treat them.
Feedback lets you know what your customers BELIEVE about the policies and procedures that govern how they do business with you.

Happy customers lead to repeat business, longer relationships, positive word of mouth, and referrals. Happy customers lead to innovation, revenue, and growth. In short, happy customers lead to a happy business.

But surveys aren’t just helpful for learning about your customers. They can be a great way to gather information about the opinions of employees about a whole host of internal topics. Management can learn about new ideas, ineffective procedures, restrictive policies, and internal service problems before they become too problematic and impact the business. In many cases, employee surveys serve as advance warning signs – allowing you to act before customers are impacted.

Of course; in order for surveys to work, people have to participate. A handful of surveys aren’t enough to represent large customer or employee groups. So you have to design your survey in such a way that people feel compelled to participate. You can’t assume anyone wants to share their opinion with you. That’s why the best surveys …

… are short and to the point. You can’t waste participants’ time.
… are easy to complete. Easy to understand questions and a simple submission process are a must.
… are actively promoted. You have to remind people that their opinions are important and invite them to participate. … are anonymous. Most people aren’t comfortable providing negative feedback (often the kind you most need to hear) if they feel there’s a chance they’ll be mistreated as a result of speaking their mind.

It’s easy to dismiss the average survey. They’re all around us and most aren’t very well put together. But they can play an important role in the development of the businesses closest to us – those we work for and frequent. So as consumers and service providers we should take them seriously. Take advantage of the opportunity when you’re asked to provide feedback. And take care to study the feedback your customers have chosen to share with you.

Good business is a partnership between the organization, its customers, and its employees. By working together, we can bring more value to everyone involved. Make sure to do your part when given the opportunity.

I’m looking forward to participating in the Nielson surveys. I’m a fan of TV and am happy to provide my feedback. It’s nice to know that – at least in some small way – my voice makes a difference.

In Appreciation of the Humble Checklist

Posted on February 23, 2015 by Scott

There I was.

Out of town.

In a hotel.

And about to step into the shower.

That’s when I realized there was no soap.

It was the morning of an important meeting. Having stayed up late with an upset stomach, I’d hit the snooze button one or two times too many. There was no time to contact the front desk and wait for someone to bring a bar to the room. So I set aside my frustration and made good use of the shampoo.

Later on, as I reviewed the trip, I couldn’t help but think about the missing soap. It was a small oversight, but obviously a pretty significant one. How could something so critical to a guest’s stay be overlooked?

When you think about it, it’s really not that hard to understand. Today’s businesses have become increasingly complex. There can be hundreds of components to get right in order for things to work out perfectly. And with so many moving parts it’s very easy to miss one or more of the small ones. But it’s typically the smallest service misses that cause the most customer frustration.

So it’s no wonder that occasionally the soap is missing from a hotel room. From time to time a fast-food order is filled incorrectly. Every once in a while you open a box to find a part is missing. As hard as we try, every service provider is destined to miss something eventually.

But what if there was a simple tool you could use to make sure those little things weren’t overlooked? Would you use it?

Airline pilots use it; so do astronauts and quick-service oil change companies. Chances are you have one on your desk or in your computer or on your phone.

I’m speaking of the humble checklist.

When service providers perform the same steps over and over again, you’d think that things would become automatic; that nothing would be missed. But it’s for precisely this reason that small missteps happen. When service steps become routine, they can be taken for granted. And that’s when the details stand the greatest chance of slipping your mind.

In his book The Checklist Manifesto, Atul Gawande, a surgeon at Harvard Medical School tells how implementing a simple pre-surgery checklist reduced complications and deaths by 35 percent. If highly skilled professionals like surgeons and airline pilots rely on checklists to get the little things right, why shouldn’t the rest of us?

The process is simple:

Map out your service delivery process.
Draft a checklist to document each step.
Use the checklist religiously.

Think you don’t need one? Gawande didn’t either. After, all he’s a Harvard-trained surgeon. But he wrote the book and felt compelled to practice what he preached. He says not a single week has passed at the hospital that his checklist hasn’t caught something.

What could a checklist help you catch?

A Simple Service Delivery Model

Posted on February 9, 2015 by Scott

A customer’s perception of your service can be made or broken by how you handle a single request for help. And providing superior service isn’t hard. In fact, it’s a lot easier than providing poor service. The best thing about providing excellent service is that both parties win. While the customer receives the benefit of your efforts, you receive the satisfaction of having done your best. To ensure you’re providing excellent service with every interaction, follow this simple three-step model.

1. Ask questions to identify or clarify the customer’s needs. Asking questions shows your customer that you are interested in helping them and are really listening to what they say. Effective questioning can also save you time and effort. Most importantly, asking questions leads to better service. While in the process of gathering information from your customer, you often uncover other needs or opportunities you can address; leading to a more memorable experience.

– Make sure to ask enough questions in order to fully understand the issue at hand, but not so many that you unnecessarily delay providing service.

– Start with open-ended questions – questions designed to gather a great deal of information.

– Use active listening skills such as taking notes, using body language that shows interest, and verbal encouragement.
2. Suggest a course of action. After you have gathered as much information as possible, recommend next steps.

– Clearly state your recommendation for next steps.

– Reinforce your suggestion with any supporting information.

– Ask for agreement.

– Do what you say you are going to do.
3 Build trust by adding value. To complete the service experience, add value by using one or more of these tactics.

– Provide information that enhances the customer’s understanding of the situation.

– Assist with other issues or questions uncovered during your interaction.

– Follow up to make sure things turned out as expected and offer additional help.

– Communicate any operational or process enhancements that came about as a result of the customer’s question or issue.

Service excellence isn’t difficult, but it does require intent and focus. By following this simple model, you’ll be sure to address every aspect of a customer’s request. And in the end, you’ll be rewarded with a stronger, more profitable relationship. That’s something we could all use more of.

A Prescription for Dealing with Difficult Customers

Posted on February 2, 2015 by Scott

I’m regularly asked to provide tips for dealing with difficult customers. You know the type – irate, demanding, and practically impossible to please. No matter how good your service is, you are guaranteed to encounter someone who just isn’t happy. Every business has them and employees dread waiting on them.

So, how do you handle these “difficult” customers?

The answer, I think, begins with understanding why the customer is upset or demanding in the first place. You see, most people don’t want to be difficult. They don’t want to be regarded as a problem customer. On the contrary, most of us want things to be easy. We want to get along with others and exist in harmony.

But sometimes this harmony is disrupted. Somewhere along the way, the customer’s trust in the organization is broken. The relationship is damaged. Perhaps a mistake was made, or perhaps something was miscommunicated. It may not even be your organization’s fault. But nevertheless, there they are, standing in front of you and being “difficult.”

Once you realize that your customer’s behavior is most likely the result of broken trust than a personality trait, it changes your perspective. You can focus on rebuilding trust vs. defending your position. You can stop dealing with difficult customers and start mending the relationship. Here are four steps to help you DEAL with these situations.

DEVOTE your full attention to the customer. Before notifying you of the problem, your customer spent rehearsing the interaction in their head. They practiced what they were going to say and probably anticipated excuses or denials of responsibility. This puts them on edge and causes them to act in ways that are perceived as “difficult.”

As service providers, we need to let the customer say what they have to say. Avoid interrupting – even of you quickly ascertain what needs to be done to make things right. The customer needs the problem fixed; but just as importantly, they need to express themselves to someone who will listen. Even if you quickly ascertain what needs to be done, avoid the temptation to short-circuit the process by interjecting. Ask questions to clarify, but give them the chance to tell their story.

EMPATHIZE with their situation. Empathy is the ability to understand another’s position. It’s important to let the customer know that you’ve heard what they have to say and respect their feelings. This validation is a critical step in the healing process because it lets the customer know you are on their side.

Remember, the reason your customer is acting aggressively is because they have anticipated a struggle in receiving the service they feel they deserve. When you empathize with their situation, you establish yourself as their advocate. This simple step is often all it takes to change the customer’s behavior. Once they feel they have someone who understands their plight, they relax and allow you to go to work on their behalf.

ACT quickly and decisively. Now that you know what’s going on, and have established yourself as the customer’s agent, it’s time to get busy. Do what it takes to make things right. Educate the customer along the way so they feel comfortable. Leaving them in the dark only serves to reintroduce confusion and suspicion.

This is not the time for guessing or assumptions. Make sure each step required is accomplished and follow through with any commitments you make to the customer. Any slip up negates the healing that’s begun to take place.

LET the customer know you really care. If necessary, say following an especially egregious offense, make a goodwill gesture to compensate for the customer’s frustration and inconvenience. The key is to reinforce the idea that the customer is valuable to you and any misstep in service was an anomaly. Apologize and thank them for their patience and continued business.

Studies show that a customer whose negative experience has been resolved to their satisfaction is more loyal than one who never has a problem at all. That’s because responding to service failures is often your best opportunity to shine. Your customer is bound to share their side of the story with others. Just make sure it has a happy ending.

The Best You Can Give: 10 Tips for Top Notch Service

Posted on January 26, 2015 by Scott

Some people make customer service so hard. They devise all kinds of barriers that get in the way. Or they focus on just about everything but the customer. And day after day, service takes a back seat. But, hey – as long as customers aren’t complaining, then everything must be ok. Right?

Wrong.

Studies show the vast majority of customers never complain about the less-than stellar service they receive. Oh sure, if things get bad enough a manager will hear about it. But most service isn’t really bad. It’s just mediocre. And customers have become so used to it that they don’t even notice how far things have slipped until they compare your service to someone else’s.

And if your service is found to be lacking, they’re gone. Poor service remains one of the top reasons why customers choose to take their business elsewhere. You just don’t know it until it’s too late.

But there’s good news. Providing great service doesn’t have to be difficult. Here are 10 easy ways to improve the level of service you provide.

1. Stand to greet the customer and introduce yourself (if appropriate).

2. Shake hands with the customer and repeat their name.

3. Let the customer do the talking. You should spend 70% of your time listening and only 30% of the time talking.

4. Speak slowly and clearly to ensure customers can understand you.

5. Make appropriate small talk to make customers feel welcome.

6. Make frequent eye contact throughout the transaction. Avoid speaking to the customer while looking at the computer screen.

7. Use the customer’s name occasionally during the transaction.

8. Keep a positive, energetic inflection in your voice.

9. Avoid placing blame for mistakes on others. Focus on solutions.

10. If possible, walk the customer to the door or back to the common area after your transaction is concluded.

Here’s a bonus tip. Thank every customer for their business.

There you have it. No silver bullet. No magic formula. Just basic customer service tips sure to add a little extra to your next customer interaction and leave your competitor wondering why their customer is now yours.