On ‘Getting It’ and Customer Service
At first this may not read as ‘Positive’, but bear with me.
Many people won’t see my message in this post,
but this is for the few who will………..
I walked into my local neighbourhood copy/mail/business service store and walked over to use the photocopying machine.
I lifted the lid to the copier, and before I could put my original sheet on the glass, I heard a terse voice to my right…..
“Do you know what you’re doing there ?” A harsh male voice demanded.
I looked calmly and there he was, the small business owner of the establishment. A man in his middle (late middle….) years, who had put all of his life savings into this venture. A man who came to work with his wife, early in the morning until late in the day, every day, because the business couldn’t afford to hire employees.
A frustrated man who had admitted to me, on a previous visit, that he was struggling . A man who blamed the economy, angry customers, and poor profit margins on his ever growing struggle just to stay afloat in this turbulent time.
And here he was, standing in an aggressive manner, speaking harshly to me as if I were some street thug threatening to rob him, not seeing me as a customer who might need help. His question, body language and tone of voice made it clear that he percieved me as a nuisance who threatened to destroy his property. Remember that he had confided in me on a previous visit? His eyes showed no recognition at this moment.
“Yes,” I replied, “I do know what I’m doing, thanks.”
“Why?” he said gruffly. “Have you used this machine before?”
“Umm, yes I have.” I ignored him and made my copy. Then looked back at him.
“Oh, ok then. Do you want anything else today or is that it?”
I told him that was it for the day, went to the cash register, paid him his money, and left.
This exact scenario repeats itself every single time a customer walks into his establishment.
Is it just him? Oh no ! His wife repeats the same type of accosting as well. It’s almost as if they attended a training session on ‘how to make people uncomfortable in as little as 3 seconds.’
Imagine if he ‘Got It’ . What if he said something more pleasant instead. What if he viewed his customers as capable people and was actually glad to see them come into his store. Yes, sometimes they might only spend 30 cents on a photocopy….. but it all adds up,….. and this is his business….. and they could choose to spend that money elsewhere, but he is glad they came here to spend it.
But he doesn’t ‘Get It’. He goes home at the end of the day and talks with his wife about all the morons that came into the store. They don’t stop to think of all the people that come in once…. get the treatment they give, and then never, ever come back. Instead he sits and laments that his business is failing…. through no fault of his own.
One small change ( a pleasant, non-combative greeting) could go a long way to transforming his business. But the thought won’t occur to him. He will eventually go out of business, because of bad customer service.
And no one will be upset about it. Nor should they be.
Extreme Choices
So you won’t try the advice from yesterday.
That’s ok, most people will agree with you.
They will say it’s too difficult to not look at either/or choices.
Try this instead then ( a different road to get to the same destination)
- Make your second choice painful
File my taxes today…… or else I will go to jail !
Work out today…….. or I will die a painful death tomorrow!
Get up now…….. or I will be fired from my job !
Now at first glance you might say I’m being over dramatic. But when do most people submit their taxes? that’s right….. when a penalty is imminent.
I admit the second choice you present yourself with has to be extreme, because it needs to force you into action.
The real trick isn’t coming up with the extreme choice, it’s fooling your mind into believing the story you tell it !
Talking to Walls
I know a man who trains people to be speakers. During his training, the instructor gave a very friendly, but implicit warning; Don’t train people who are from a specific industry. These people will only cause trouble and in the end, they won’t be able to become speakers or trainers.
The man heard the advice and made certain to follow it until, there came a day, when one of these people approached him and made a very convincing, heartfelt plea to train them. It went against everything he had been taught, but he figured there was always an exception to the rule and this person must be it! He decided to train her.
It was a nightmarish experience. The entire weekend of training was the worst he had ever been a part of. Not only did it take up so much of his time (which was wasted in the end) but it also took away from those who were there and getting something out of the training.
There are people out there who just don’t get it. I’ve seen people spend years (decades even) trying to show these people the world in a different light. It will never work.
Most people see negative only. Any situation could contain 100 positive things about it, but they focus on, and can only see, the negative aspects.
Words don’t work on walls, so save your breath for those that can hear.
It really is that simple.
We love to complicate things. Maybe because, from an uninformed perspective, things look really complicated.
We hate to appear stupid. Rather than admit our short comings…… we console ourselves by saying topics and skills are so complicated, that only an expert can understand .
What am I talking about specifically? Pick a topic. Love, how to play the guitar, the stock market, real estate, customer service, marketing, tooth decay, ,,,,,, anything.
Everyone shrugs.
The novice who quits, shrugs and claims it’s too complicated.
The master shrugs and says things are so simple.
Who’s right?
They both are.
Everything is complicated when you first see it. Do you want to spend enough time and effort to understand your topic ? If do, then things will change from complicated…… to simple.
It’s magic……yet it works every time.
If you’re content to see things as complicated; then you will remain frustrated and a novice.
If you continuously struggle to see things as simple; you will be on your way to becoming a master.
the life long novice accomplishes nothing.
Teachers needed …… Desperately !
Are you a teacher?
Before you answer , let me clarify the question……
I’m not asking if your job title is “Teacher”.
I’m not wondering if you happen to work in a school and children refer to you as their teacher.
I’m not asking what you are called…… I’m asking what you do.
There are very few people working at schools who are actually Teachers. Before you disagree with me take a look at this generation of young children actually graduating school with a lower level of education than the previous group. Sit in a classroom for half a day ( I have). Watch how many of the adults charged with the responsibility of teaching our children fail miserably at their given task.
There are many great teachers in schools….. but not nearly enough to even garner attention in most cases.
Are you a teacher?
No matter what job title you actually possess, are you able to impart knowledge to others around you? In a fun and relaxed and specific way, do you naturally help people to learn ?
- Are you a technician who not only fixes the computer problem, but your customers also learn more about their computers because you have helped to educate them about it?
- A jewellery sales person who educates a young man about what to look for in a diamond engagement ring, then encourages them to go look elsewhere before deciding to buy…..even though the young man wants to buy now from you.
- A sales manager who challenges his young sales people to read books, listen to tapes, or attend seminars in order to learn about their new craft of sales ……
- A real estate investor who talks in detail about 20 of her last deals with new people so that they can learn how to be successful also.
We need teachers who ask the questions and don’t have to look the answer up in a master book.
We need teachers who help people to learn.
Are you one of the rare people who teach?
Many of these types of teachers are Gold Apples.
We need to find you.
We must value you more than we currently do.
The future depends on it
The Naturals
A friend of mine in grade school had a unique ability. He could bend his hand back in such a way that his fingertips would touch the top of his forearm (if you’re picturing it correctly then you’re likely getting a bit queasy). He was double jointed. No matter how hard the rest of us tried, or how badly we wanted to, we couldn’t bend our hand back that way.
It’s the same for all naturals.
Is everyone Michael Jordan? Can everyone become as good as him in basketball? No.
Truth: Some people are “Naturals” at providing Customer Service .
Another Truth: These Naturals don’t understand why everyone else can’t do what they do ( It’s simple, common sense to them).
yet more Truth: There’s no good reason, most just can’t.
If I take 1000 people and give them identical training, most just won’t be any good at it. Some will be pretty good. A few will be excellent. If I’m lucky …… one or two naturals will be in the mix. They will be amazing at it.
of the 1000 people, all of them can get better at customer service with practice and conscious effort.
When it comes to Customer Service, improving even slightly can dramatically increase the success and happiness a person experiences in their life.
My next blog will deal with “How Everyone Can Improve at Customer Service”
Appreciate Good Customer Service
At one of my sales jobs, I spent the day with my manager on the road visiting customers.
As the day ended, He shook my hand. “That was a great day of visits, Terry, I want to thank you.”
I shook his hand and shrugged. “It was just a normal day on the road,” I replied.
“Maybe for you,” he said. “A normal day for me though is sitting in the office, talking to angry people who are upset about prices, or deliveries, or product failing out in the field. My normal days have been pretty miserable lately, and it was refreshing to go out and meet the customer who are happy. It was nice to see people smile when they think about our company.”
“Are the complaining customers from my territory?” I asked with concern.
He laughed. “No they aren’t. Your territory is a treat. Everyone is happy and if they have concerns, you handle them better than I could. You do a great job, and I want you to know it helps me alot that you do. Thanks Terry!”
Where’s the good customer service in that story?
I knew he was having some tough times and so I invited him on the road for him to see the happy customers. He felt better at the end of the day…… and that was my goal.
His positive comments were not expected, but they were appreciated.
The next time you get good customer service, doing a simple thing like showing appreciation will go a long way .
I include a cool card with my thanks …. you can see what it looks like at www.thegoldapples.com
Customer Service – Add some light to the darkness !
“Watch this, kids.” my Dad’s voice whispered out of the darkness from behind me.
We were on a family vacation and had taken a tour of one of the coal mines. Deep in the bowels of the earth, with nothing but ocean all around us, the tour guide had just turned off the small lamps to show us how dark it would be in the event of a cave in.
It was so dark you could feel it, like a heavy blanket slowly smothering you. Even with my hand touching my nose, I was unable to see a hint of it.
But then my Dad had whispered to watch something. My first impulse had been to tell him we couldn’t watch anything in this darkness. But even his whisper had seemed like a shout, and so I kept quiet and watched.
Suddenly the world became visible! No, they hadn’t turned the lights back on. My dad had pressed the cheap little light on his digital watch. It was the 80’s and normally that light didn’t work even on the darkest nights at home. But here, shrouded in blackness, it worked very well!
It didn’t light up the whole cave, just a portion of us, and my dad’s face. He was smiling as he whispered, “See? Even a tiny little bit of something can make a big difference sometimes. Imagine if everyone here had a small light and turned it on. We could light the place up.”
It’s like that with customer service. Even a small amount of it can make a big difference. Everyone has the ability to add their light to the experience.
Do your part so we can light the place up!
Bad News Sells….But Great Customer Service Can Sell Too !
Do a Google search for “Bad Customer Service”.
Now do a search for “Good Customer Service”.
The links for Bad Customer Service are plentiful, while the websites dedicated to showcasing great customer service are not as easy to find….. the bad news is always more entertaining right?
Sure, we all get a big kick out of reading the horror stories of some poor stranger ( as long as no one gets hurt, of course).
But for my own day to day experiences…. I would much rather get good or even great customer service than receive bad.
Admittedly alot of the customer service I get is bad. But so much of it is good too.
Great customer service stories can be even more entertaining than the bad ones. I will continue to read about both the good … and the bad customer service out there.
I just wish it was as easy to find the good exmples online as it is to discover the bad.
Terry
www.thegoldapples.com
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