Invest in Customer Service
How much money and time do you invest in customer service training ( books, seminars, cd’s etc) to improve your skills ?
The average answer is “Nothing. I go to work and learn while I’m there”
Would you feel comfortable visiting a doctor who had that philosophy? or a dentist?
and knowing that a large majority of customer service and sales people have the above philosophy……..
are you surprised that most customer service is very poor ? or that many many sales people are not good at their craft?
Read a book, buy a cd.
Please improve, even if you’re very good……. there’s still so much more to learn !
15% from Seth Godin
Short, sweet, and to the point….. but a very powerful message in today’s blog by Seth Godin.
I recommend you subscribe to this daily blog. It takes only a minute or two to read and Seth has some great insights.
Enjoy !
Perfect Customer Service…….
Doesn’t exist.
Yes, I know, no surprise here.
But trying your best each time to make a customer’s experience as good as it can possibly be…….. That’s admirable, and a worthwhile goal.
Try, learn from your attempts, get better, and try again.
A great way to approach Customer Service……. and so many other aspects of life !
Customer Service and Thank You !
The two really do go together, don’t they?
I heard a very dynamic speech from a lady named Heidi Brown the other day.
She said that customer service is a rare thing ( true customer service). Heidi also stated that in her opinion, saying Thank You in the form of a gift is a very powerful tool to use when delivering great customer service.
“Every industry has a need to give a gift” – I couldn’t agree more.
Do you say ‘Thank You’ to customers ( both internal and external) by giving gifts to them?
If so I would love to know what you do?
If not I would encourage you to do so….. the cost is minimal compared to the price.
Decide…..
A very successful car salesman told me this;
The single toughest thing for a person to do…… is to decide. Take car shopping for example. They can easily go on the internet, read reports, compare models, narrow things down. Then they can go to a multitude of car lots, test drive cars, get detailed pricing, and move on to do the same exercise at the next car dealership.
But when it comes time to make a decision….. to actually pull the trigger and buy one car? Most people find this very difficult to do.
It’s not limited to cars, think about why most people do nothing. They can get close, but when it comes time to shut up and put up…… to decide….. they can’t won’t do it.
Everyone has this issue. Even very successful people. If you think about it, the successful people may have only made one or two real decisions in their lifetime…… but it is one or two more than almost everyone else.
Look at the potential rewards of deciding …. truly deciding.
Give it a try.
Persistence…..
Many people believe that Persistence is the single greatest reason for success.
I agree !
Think of anything that has ever been done….. Success doesn’t lie in the first, second, or often 1000th attempt.
Persistence is the key.
But don’t take my word for it, look in the mirror.
Are you able to walk ? talk? play an instrument? drive a car? chop onions without cutting yourself?
yep. thanks persistence.
Practice What You Teach…..
I have taught people to do some truly difficult things.
These people had heard most of the info I shared with them before.
So why was I successful at teaching when others had failed ?
Well there are likely a few reasons, but I think a key factor was this;
People watch you and, if you walk the walk……they are more apt to learn from you.
Who would you rather learn about making money from?
-Someone who has made money with the methods they are teaching?
-Someone who has made no money from te methods they are teaching?
Point number two….don’t teach what you don’t know.
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 !
Given the Choice…….
Given a choice, most everyone chooses the easy path.
- Work out now or work out later ? most say later.
- Get up now or sleep for another 10 minutes? most sleep.
- File my taxes now or wait until tomorrow ? most wait.
The list goes on and on……. the results are the same.
So how does a person avoid this trap?
Here’s one solution; Don’t give yourself choices.
Stop the either/or cycle.
Do this.
Do it now.
There is no later.
Treat your actions as a first impression…… you only get one chance to do it right.
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