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.
What do you want?
I asked an employee who was unhappy with their role this question;
“If you had your way, what is it that you’d want to do here?”
They thought about it for a few seconds, then proceeded to spend the next 10 minutes answering my question.
After 10 minutes I had to interrupt.
“You’re only talking about what you Don’t Want to Do. What are the things that you Do Want to do……..?”
The employee was silent. He had no idea what he wanted…… but lots of thoughts about what he didn’t want. All of his energy was focused on complaining and the negatives. He couldn’t even begin to search for positives in that state of mind.
You can’t get something until you define what something is.
It’s simple.
It’s cliche.
It’s common sense.
Yet so few are aware of it.
When Will They Learn……….?
When do you learn?
- Everyone is expected to learn when they attend a class or seminar…..
- We should learn from our mistakes…..
-But what about other peoples mistakes ? If you see a total stranger messing up in real life, do you attempt to learn from that?
You see a parent scold their child in a public store….. do you think to yourself, “Wow, what a bad parent. Freaking out on their kids in a public place and over reacting.” or, “That is one terrbile kid, the parents should be ashamed of themselves.”
Do you Judge or do you Learn?
It’s impossible to do both at the same time.
Learning will benefit you more.
How Everyone Can Improve at Customer Service
A fan had the chance to meet a world famous pianist after a concert. The fan was in awe as he said to the piano genius.
“You played incredibly! I’ve never seen or heard anyone play the piano with such skill, such feeling. You are utterly brilliant!”
The Pianist smiled politely and said, “Thank you for your kind praise.”
“Kind has nothing to do with it,” the fan exclaimed. “I’d give my life to be able to play the piano like you do.”
“That’s what I did,” The Pianist replied matter of factly. “I gave my life to be able to play like this.”
I heard that story from a seminar years ago. The speaker was talking about the importance of commitment and practice.
Here’s how you can improve at providing customer service. Practice. Then practice some more. Then learn from what you have experienced …… and practice some more.
No one is good at something the first, or 5 th time we try it.
Careful, though. Don’t do something 5 or 6 times and make the mistake of thinking you just practiced 5 or 6 times. Follow these simple steps to get more out of your practicing.
1. Be aware that you are practicing.
2. Critique your effort.
3. Identify what went well, and where you could have done better.
4. Pick an action to improve during the next practice attempt.
5. Keep written notes of how/what you have improved on.
6. Don’t identify or try to change more than one detail on a practice run.
7. Accept that you won’t be perfect …… ever. But also accept that you can get better each time you practice.
A little improvement each try adds up to big changes in quality much quicker than you would guess.
Tiger Woods still needs to practice to get better. We all do.
“The Unspoken Question” of Customer Service……..
Every person wants to be important. They want recognition from their peers. They want to be cared about.
“Do You Care About Me?” is a question that everyone subconsciously asks during their interaction with others.
If the answer is “Yes!”, the two people usually get along well together. The foundation for a good relationship is in place.
If the answer to this question is “No”, then it’s unlikely the people will ever really “hit it off”
The answer you receive to the subconscious question “Do You Care About Me”, determines the difference between customer service success, or failure.
Be careful ……I’m not saying “Pretend to care about someone”
I’m saying truly care. If you do, then it will come through in your questions, attention given, and a myriad of other ways.
The problem with saying “I’m Sorry” too much….
When you do something that requires an apology, you should sincerely and immediately apologize.
But what happens when you apologize too much…… and for things that don’t require an apology?
If a waitress apologizes every time she comes to your table, it will affect your overall perception of her service.
q.”Excuse me, could I get a refill on my drink please?”
a.”Oh, sorry. I’ll bring that for you right away.”
q.”Is it possible to get another fork? I dropped mine on the floor.”
a.”Oh, sorry about that. Sure I’ll go get you another one.”
q.”I changed my mind and decided to get a coffee after all please.”
a.”Sorry, I’ll be right back with one for you.”
Now the waitress/waiter didn’t have to be sorry for any of that. They are using the word as a filler. But the impact can be bad on their tips.
When it comes time to leave the tip, the customer might think something like this; “Well everything seemed fine about the service, but the waitress did say sorry alot. The service must not have been that great.:”
This example can be used for any customer service interaction.
IF you do apologize for something that isn’t your fault then be clear about it.
“I’m sorry the shipping company didn’t deliver your package on time.” is much different than saying “I’m sorry” when a customer calls to say the shipping company didn’t deliver their package on time.
The first sentence shows you are disappointed and on their side. The second sentence can leave them feeling it is your fault the package didn’t get delivered on time.
Apologize when you make a mistake. Don’t use “I’m Sorry” as a way to start a sentence with your customers,
or they might look back on the experience and think something was wrong……. even though there wasn’t.
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!
What does “Right Away” mean?
July 13, 2009
“How quickly can we get product shipped up North?” I asked my boss. It was my first big order and I was excited to get things rolling.
Steve, my boss, smiled calmly and asked me, “How quickly does your customer need it shipped up north?”
“They said they need it right away.”
“Great,” Steve replied. “What does ‘Right Away’ mean to your customer?”
I was a bit confused. Steve had seemed so intelligent when I interviewed with him, but here he was asking me a pretty stupid question.
“Well, right away means immediately.” I responded. “They want it for tomorrow, early morning if possible. Right away means now, or as close to now as we can be.”
Steve looked at me curiously. “That’s what the customer told you? Or are you giving me your definition of ‘Right Away’?”
“Well, the customer didn’t say exactly. So I guess I’m giving you my definition.”
Steve nodded. “I bet you’re right. But do me a favour and call the customer back to make sure. If the customer gets angry with you for asking just blame it on your senile old manager.”
I called the customer and apologized for wasting her time, and then I asked her what she had meant by ‘Right Away’.
Her answer surprised me. “Well, we’re pretty isolated up here. To get an overnight order is so expensive that we only ship standard. We order with enough time to wait, so if I get the order within the next two or three weeks I’ll be real happy. If it takes a week or two more than that, I guess I could live with it.”
If I had shipped the order out express, it would have arrived quickly….. but the shipping would have cost more than 10 times as much as the product. The customer would have been very unhappy.
Steve nodded when I told him this. “Always remember that ‘Right Away’ means something different to everyone,” He said.
I have remembered this lesson, and it’s helped me to give great customer service many, many times during my career.
Flash forward to a time that I’m the manager………
I have an inside sales person who claims that he is so swamped with orders he will never be able to get them all completed in time. He tells me that many of the customers will have to be disappointed and get their product late. There is simply no way he can get them all ordered by the end of the day.
A disappointed customer has never been acceptable to me, so I ask my overworked inside person a couple questions.
“When do all the orders have to ship?” I ask.
“Right away,” he replies.
I smile and ask, “What does ‘right away’ mean?” and I’m rewarded with the same look I must have given years ago.
We go over all the orders on his desk. Many of them don’t need to be entered today or even tomorrow, the requested delivery dates are weeks away. By the time we ask the question, ‘what is right away’ for each purchase order, the pile of orders that need to be entered before the day ends is very small. He has time to enter them all and also do some other sales activities.
Ask the question, ‘What does right away mean?” and you will be able to give better customer service as well as organize your time. This can translate into more happy customers and more sales.
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