Customer Service Part Time – [COMPANY] CENTRE MORLEY

seeking a Part Time Customer Service Staff member for our branch in Melbourne.

The one job requires you to work on opposite sides of the country?! They must have a special portal door in their office, perhaps.

Use more 'you'

My grandfather was a really smart dude. I never got to have a really strong relationship with him, largely because he died when I was 8, but through stories that others have told me, I’ve learned a lot about him and what made him so successful.  He used to say to his friends all the time:

“Your business  only benefits when your customer benefits first.”

I really believe in that saying, not just for my own business, but as something I believe should be a fundamental concept of business and marketing as a whole. Focusing on other people means focusing your communications to speak to the customer. Not at the customer.

In marketing, there’s only one word you need to know: “You”.

Every post/ad/web site/blog/white paper/brochure should be purposefully aimed at the needs and wants of others. After all, you only benefit when the customers benefit first, right? When it comes down to it, “you” is by far the most compelling word in the English language. In the end, people are most interested in fulfilling their own needs. It might sound rough, but unless you give people real value with your marketing collateral, don’t expect them to care about you at all.

But when they do start to care, look out, because amazing things begin to happen. People spread your word for you.  Create content that is focused on the person who is reading your piece. Use ‘you’ as often as possible while taking great lengths to eliminate the ‘me, me’s’ from your collateral.

I know you’ve read a thousand ‘about us’ sections on the internet that start with the good-old, generic “Since 1884, we have….”. No one cares that you have been in business forever. No one cares that you’re an industry leader’ because everyone says that. Focus on the people that matter: your customers.

When you’re done writing, read it over and look at the number of times you said ‘you’ as opposed to “I” or “me”. If there is more of the latter, consider re-focusing your work.

Our customers or members have goals.  What are we doing TODAY to help them achieve their goals?

An enlightening exercise is to contact 30 random customers or members and ask each, “what can we do for you?”

Be remarkable, not replaceable.

We are wrapping up the biggest shopping weekend of the year and while numbers are still being calculated, we can take a look at some of the good things that happened with the seasonal frenzy.

1 – Stores used all avenues to reach their Customer.  Online sales went on all week as companies embraced technology and online sales rose, by some estimates 35%.

2 – Everywhere you turned, there was someone to help you.  Stores staffed up and trained their people, and as a result, there was help everywhere. Lines flowed quickly and money was able to change hands.

All in all, it seems to have been a good weekend for business, and much attention was paid to Customers.  However, there is still a month left until Christmas and we want to make sure that we continue to treat our Customer right. Or else…this may happen.  Enjoy the video below and thanks for watching.

Brandon

Here’s the quick setup: I had a customer ask me to do something that is not legally allowed in my state (one of my jobs is in a liquor store, so there are lots of rules and regs we have to follow). When I told him this, he told me it was ridiculous (understood), and that he was going to start going to a different store. Here’s where I get irked.

If I have a miserable experience somewhere, I may tell the owner/propietor/manager/shift leader the same, but I do not use it as a bargaining chip. When a customer tells me this right off the bat, I believe he is expecting me to say, “Oh, no, Mr. Customer, I would never let that happen! Here, let me violate local and state laws, put my job and my boss’s liquor license on the line, and make sure you’re happy!”

Which leads me to my question: If a customer or client tells you they are going elsewhere, do you make exceptions to get them to stay? Or, if you are the customer or client in question, do you use this tactic to get a favorable condition, such as a price discount or refund that is not readily available to other customers?

Here are my thoughts and observations: I believe anyone who tries this trick right off the bat is assuming that every business owner is desperate to have as much business as possible. Therefore, if I have to spend more money or put my business at jeopardy, it would still be worth it because any business is good business. Now, I may not be a business owner myself, but from what I’ve seen this is not always the case. If I do not make a profit on your purchases, or if your presence in my store causes a conflict, it doesn’t really bother me that you want to shop elsewhere.

Somewhere along the line, someone came up with the marketing slogan that the customer is always right. I’d like to find the business owner that came up with that one, and I’d like to know how well his business did after that. I certainly understand how important customer service is, but to let customers believe that is an invitation to failure.

In this particular case, I may have made an exception and bent the rules. But since he took that route so early in the discussion, I lost quite a bit of respect for him. Either he was using this as a bully tactic, or he was already planning on going someplace else if he does not get his way here. Either way, this is not the kind of customer I would want in my store.

My family has not heard a word about the dogs we have applied for four days ago.  I do realize that it is the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, but I was hoping to hear something, anything from someone, anyone who could grant my family the wish of a dog.  One gal only needed to reply to an e-mail message!  But, it was not meant to be. I guess that by not hearing anything, I have my answer, but I am deeply disappointed in the level of customer service in this day and age. After all, I am a living, breathing prospect. Shouldn’t the sellers be courting me with, “Gee, I see you applied for Sophie. She’s not available, but we have Frank who has similar qualities. Do you want to come see?  We are open from 10-3 today.”  How hard is that?

Maybe I have spent too many hours reading books about customer service, public relations, and marketing, and I know how these people “should” behave, but see that maybe my values newly acquired from various authors are not shared by the rescue organizations. Sure, they’re great at push advertising (putting dogs and cats on TV morning shows and on Craig’s List), but where are their social marketing skills in this new era of marketing and retaining customers?

New Rules of Marketing & PR

I learned the most relevant and easy-to-apply skills from David Meerman Scott who wrote The New Rules of Marketing and PR: How to Use News Releases, Blogs, Podcasting, Viral Marketing & Online Media to Reach Buyers Directly.  I have quoted Mr. Scott so often that his ears must be burning nonstop.  He is also one of the most prolific posters on Facebook, and he is a real, down-to-earth, guy.  He lives and breathes what he writes about.  I e-mailed him and he e-mailed me back personally.  I tweeted the fact that I was reading his book, World Wide Rave, and he actually contacted me to find out if I liked the book.  And I don’t mean a day later, or a week later, he responded within hours.  I wasn’t even looking for a response to my tweet, but there it was.  And what reaction does Mr. Scott have on me?  I am a raving fan!

This is how the animal rescue societies should deal with live leads; they might even send fewer dogs to their deaths.  Just something to think about.

McDonald's FAIL

Yesterday I emailed McDonald’s UK to ask them why, incredibly,  I am not able to submit positive feedback via their website. I found this a few months ago after using a restaurant and wanted to let them know about a great member of staff.

If I can’t submit positive feedback about their people, where do they get their feedback from? How do they manage performance – through mystery shopper programmes alone?

I am interested is for two reasons;

1. I began my career at McDonald’s 16 years ago and remember what it was like to work there..
2. I have led cultural change programmes and am passionate about employee engagement. It is important for people to feel valued and get recognition for what they do.

Their response (if I get one) will be shared on this blog.

Customer Service Training Video

See Also : DIY businessopportunitienetwork.blogspot.com fundraising.blogs.thaihealth.net

At some level, working in a call center should be a good job.  You’re out of the weather and there is no heavy lifting.  That doesn’t mean that it is a bed of roses, however.  Imagine that you worked for a company for which there are web sites whose URLs pair the company’s name with “suck” or “must die”.  That is, imagine you work for Comcast.  (To be fair, comcastmustdie.com has morphed into customer-circus.com into an all-purpose site on customer service and support.)

The Chicago Tribune recently had a pair of articles on Comcast customer service (So you think you can be a customer service agent? and Coaching sessions help calls go more smoothly Both Nov 15).  The stories are written by the paper’s “Problem Solver” columnist.  His motivation was that

I have written about Comcast a dozen times, dinging the communications giant repeatedly for crimes against customer service. Almost weekly, I receive a letter or e-mail complaining about Comcast.

That lands him in a Comcast training class, hearing a myriad of technical jargon and umpteen rate plans.

But mostly I learned that taking customer service calls isn’t as easy as it seems. “Sometimes it’s hard, but we’re learning to just put ourselves in the customer’s shoes,” said Carla Woodson, a trainee who had transferred to the Woodridge facility after spending two years answering calls for Comcast in Peoria. …

“I think the front-line people answering the phones (have) the toughest job here because you don’t know what you’re getting,” said Tim Nemec, a customer care manager who oversees almost 100 employees. Customers, he said, “are not calling because they love us, right? They’re calling because they have an issue. Our job is to put a smile on their faces.”

The second article (on coaching) relates to the vague threat that “your call may be recorded for training purposes.”  At Comcast, every agent gets two coaching sessions a month.  You would think that such sessions would focus on really unique calls with extremely complicated transactions or really irate customers.  Those are what I would expect to deliver teachable moments.  But apparently that ain’t necessarily so.  This video shows a service reps and managers listening to a call:

It seems so banal.  I as a customer didn’t see what was so wrong about the call.  Of course, I as a baseball fan don’t necessarily see when a pitcher is missing the release point on his curve ball.  This review apparently went on for an hour.  Some of the advice makes sense (avoid technical jargon) but some seems trite.  The rep in question apparently has been working on showing empathy.  He is consequently encouraged to say “I see,” and “I understand” instead of “OK.”  It reminds me of David Spade saying “Buh-Bye” to passengers as they file off the plane.  At what point does robotically echoing a phrase that grown ups don’t use in everyday conversation become corporate double speak as opposed to a meaningful attempt to show caring?

One way out of empty words of empathy may be Twitter.  When you have only 140 characters to burn, OK is much more efficient than “I understand.”  That gets us to Best Buy’s Twelpforce. (See What Best Buy Learned About Service as Marketing and Empowering Employees, Advertising Age Nov 24.)

This is the viral army of 2,200 Best Buy employees who answer questions and solve customer problems via the customer-care channel we know as Twitter. Self described as “a collective force of Best Buy tech pros offering tech advice in Tweet form,” the program has nearly 15,000 “followers” and it’s growing. Think Apple Genius Bar but without the physical counter. …

How does it work? Employees sign up to participate in the program and are empowered to respond and engage with online consumers, primarily through Twitter (and to a lesser extent Facebook), who have service questions or problems or seek knowledgeable recommendations about the potential purchases. Think of it as a social media concierge service designed to ensure you really do make the best buy. According to Bernier, any employee is eligible, but there are protocols, guiderails and principles in place to balance employee passion and “authenticity” with branding objectives.

The article goes on to observe:

In many respects, Best Buy is pushing the boundaries of what me might typically call the “call center” to a much more expansive, and inclusive, frontier of consumer need and participation. Along the way they are dramatically raising the bar of expectations. …

Interestingly, with or without bold commitments along these lines, most brands on Twitter or Facebook — even those with more “promotional” objectives — are inevitably defaulting to acting as a de facto call-center. A recent Nielsen study we conducted for USA Today found that nearly two-thirds of brand Twitter accounts deal with some level of customer service, and over half are interacting with consumer in off-hours, including the weekend.

This is just an interesting development.  If short, quick responses can substitute for long calls, this opens up a whole new realm for managing customer service.  It seems to hit a sweet spot between the traditional call center and pure self-service.  I suspect that much of what the Twelpforce is tweeting about can be found in on-line FAQs or a PDF manual.  The human interaction sending you to the right FAQ or manual gives a touch of personalization at much lower cost than a call center.  The one caveat is how many people will avail themselves of this.  I know that I am not a cutting edge technology hipster (I follow only one person on Twitter) but I am a reasonably savvy in some ways.  I would definitely look at web sites etc before calling Best Buy for help.  However, I cannot imagine tweeting for twelp.

Westfield recently started a Facebook campaign. (Or did they?)

To summarise the online chatter about the campaign here are a few typical snippets of conversation:

• Tweet 1: 12,349 Westfield mentions in statuses. 67,423 Westfield mentions in comments. Westfield top of mind in xmas season. Job done.
• Tweet 2: Westfield Facebook Promotion a Hoax? http://bit.ly/5tYKXY
• Tweet 3: Angry about the Westfield spam on facebook. Support local traders this Christmas! Make the big guys pay for their own ads
• Facebook Status Update: I joined the group All I Want For Christmas Is To Shove That Westfield Giftcard Up Your A***.
• A Google search for “westfield facebook campaign” reveals only 8 or so mentions and that includes the duplicates.

I can’t comment about the actual campaign. But it raises some interesting points/questions about social media marketing generally.

Thought #1

Is ‘being mentioned on the websites’ the same as achieving top-of-mind?

Thought #2

Despite the campaign being simple and clear (as far as the marketers go) there is always subsequent ambiguity in the mind of the customer. Even when we are conducting ‘old media’ campaigns we should anticipate this and plan for it.

Thought #3

If you embark on a social media campaign, there will be negative feedback – even to the extent of campaign sabotage.  Being prepared isn’t all that much help, because what can you really do about it if anonymous people snipe from the sidelines?

Social Media has made this negative feedback loop visible. It has always been there – social media has simply made it visible – as unpleasant as that may seem. Not everyone loves your brand the way you do.

Thought #4

Twitter is more active and more immediate as a gauge of public response as opposed to Google which is a useful but quaint archive. Twitter almost plays a role of a meta-system that governs the conversations, which may or may not direct you to the ‘archives’ for a more detailed check.

Thought #5

But (to me) the most interesting question is:

Is achieving top-of-mind a meaningful measure of success? This goes to the age-old question: Is brand awareness an appropriate objective (of itself) or is a sales increase the only measure that counts?

It may surprise some people, but I am not a fan of brand advertising for the sake of brand advertising. Unless advertising also converts into sales (and sometimes that may take a while, I think there are better uses for your money.) Check out www.adcontrarian.com for a blog that expounds this philosophy better than I can.

I would love to hear your thoughts on this campaign.

There is a tremendous amount of hubbub around the D.C. socialites who crashed a White House Party this week.  It seems that Tareq and Michaele Salahi just showed up at the White House, gave the Secret Service their IDs and Social Security numbers so they could be run through quick background checks, and then shook hands with President Obama while enjoying his first (and theirs) State Dinner.

So….what is the problem?

Well, it turns out that they weren’t on the guest list and after she posted numerous photos on her Facebook page, the Secret Service was extremely embarrassed.

Because…..well……um…..this is a head scratcher.

What exactly do you do with uninvited guests?  What do we do with unwanted Customers.

Go ahead and gasp, but we all know that we have all had Customers that we don’t want.

They may be the ones that complain about every little thing.  They could be the ones that are never satisfied.  Perhaps they are the ones that take up all of your time (hello, Mr. Pareto!)

Whatever the case is, what do you do with them?

Do you kill them with kindness?  Do you lavish attention on them and work tirelessly to make them happy? Or do you tell them to go away, as did Southwest Airlines co-founder and former CEO Herb Kelleher when a long-complaining Customer once threatened to leave?

Whatever the case, I would suggest that you find out what they want and then determine if it is reasonable and can be achieved.  Do they feel like they are not getting enough TLC?  Is our product simply flawed and they are unhappy?  Or are they perpetual complainers and we may have to actually fire them (a la Herb).

However, I would not suggest arresting them…especially if it takes a week to figure out exactly if what they did was wrong.

I’d love to hear your stories about Customers that you wished would go away…and your thoughts on the D.C. Party Crashers.  By the way, in case the White House is interested, I am still available to consult as the Customer Service Czar!

Thanks for reading,

Brandon

Air travel used to be fun, or at least tolerable. Friendly Skies and all that. Now it’s confusing, to say the least.

First we encounter security bullies who make passengers go through the x-ray multiple times, exposing you to three times the normal radiation. They pull out a scanning wand as if to violate you with it.

Nothing beats the strip-search before you go through the machine.  Forced burlesque, men and women stiffly remove coats, hats, shoes, belts.  We shuffle like chain-gang inmates, hands protecting our pitifully exposed selves. The shame is palpable.

Those automated faucets are helpful, except when the water won’t go on.  You squint to locate the electric eye. Move your hands in different rhythms, fast and slow as if playing the bongos.  No dice, you move to another faucet, dragging your baggage behind you.

On United Airlines’ safety video, actors demonstrate how to don the orange flotation vest as jazzy ”Rhapsody in Blue” plays  in the background.  ”When using the escape slide, make sure to jump with your legs in front of you.”  I picture the results if you don’t, rolling and tumbling end over end, right into the drink.

When taking off, the pilot informs us that there are three planes waiting ahead of us for take off, when I can clearly see five planes from my seat.  They must think that we can’t count.

Some flight attendants resemble second-grade teachers, treating passengers like unruly students.  ”Turn off cell phones, or anything with an on-off button.”  Oh, I get it.  The English skills of some flight attendants sounds like drunkeness:  ”Eef you shesh gifreus a frew mirrets ofyourtime.”

When not cranked up LOUD, the sound system cuts out, making it impossible to hear announcements.  ”We have coke, sprite, !@#$%^, coffee, tea, cranberry *&^%$#, beer and wine $&^%@#.  We are now a cash-free cabin, so !@#$%^%.”

Everyone knows that there’s no food on most flights anymore, so I bring a snack.  When I do this, nearby passengers have a tendency to watch me eat. They stare gimlet-eyed at my food as if that will make me give them some. Such passengers need to plan ahead more.

Have you tried to insert a tampon in an airplane lavatory?  Good night!  You can’t bend over far enough to get it up there.

I never used to fear landing the plane until I witnessed several one-wheeled taxis to the terminal.  You know it’s hairy when passengers clap after the Captain grounds the airship.  Thanks for not flipping the plane, Cap’n, yo.

Passengers know what we want, why can’t we get it?  I suggest we form an air passengers’ union, like the flight attendants.  I’m through with flying on Disheveled Air.

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Contingency Planning For Lean Organizations – Part IV – Crisis Management

In a previous post we eluded that lean organizations are likely to be more susceptible to disruptions or adverse conditions and may even have a greater impact on the business.  To some degree this may be true, however, in reality, Lean has positioned these organizations to be more agile and extremely responsive to crisis situations to mitigate losses.

True lean organizations have learned to manage change as normal course of operation.  A crisis only presents a disruption of larger scale.  Chapter 10 of Steven J. Spear’s book, ”Chasing the Rabbit”, exemplifies how high velocity, or lean, organizations have managed to overcome significant crisis situations that would typically cripple most organizations.

Problem solving is intrinsic at all levels of a lean organization and, in the case of Toyota, problem solving skills extend beyond the walls of the organization itself.  It is clear that an infrastructure of people having well developed problem solving skills is a key component to managing the unexpected.    The events presented in this chapter demonstrate the agility that is present in a lean organization, namely Toyota in this case and it’s supplier base.

Training is a Contingency

Toyota has clearly been the leader in Lean manufacturing and even more so in developing problem solving skills at all levels of the organization company-wide.  The primary reason for this is the investment that Toyota puts into the development of people and their problem solving skills at the onset of their employment with the company.  The ability to see problems, correct them in real time, and share the results (company-wide) is a testament to the system and it’s effectiveness has been proven on many occassions.

Prevention, preparation, and training (which is also a form of prevention) are as much an integral part of  contingency planning as are the actual steps that must be executed when a crisis situation occurs.  Toyota has developed a rapid response reflex that is inherent in the organization’s infrastructure to rapidly regain it’s capabilities when a crisis strikes.

Crisis Culture

We highly recommend reading Steven J. Spear’s “Chasing the Rabbit” to learn and appreciate the four capabilities that distinguish “High Velocity” organizations.  The key to lean is creating a cultural climate that is driven by the relentless pursuit of improvement and elimination of waste.  Learning to recognize waste and correcting the condition as it occurs requires keen observation and sharp problem solving skills.

Creating a culture of this nature is an evolutionary process – not revolutionary.  In many ways the simplicity of the four capabilities is it’s greatest ally.  Instilling these principles and capabilities into the organization demands time and effort, but the results are well worth it.  Lean was not intended to be complex and the principles demonstrated and exemplified in Chasing the Rabbit confirm this to be true.  This is not to be construed as saying that the challenges are easy … but with the right team they are certainly easier.

Until Next Time – STAY Lean!

"Click"

“Die Nacht ist vorgedrungen,
der Tag ist nicht mehr fern,
so sei nun Lob gesungen
dem hellen Morgenstern!
Auch wer zur Nacht geweinet,
der stimme froh mit ein.
Der Morgenstern bescheinet
auch Deine Angst und Pein”

J. Klepper, EG 16, 1

Kanzelschwalbe wünscht allen Leserinnen und Lesern eine gesegnete und von Gottes Liebe beschienene Adventszeit!!!

It has been my opinion for quite some time that there is no such thing as a “good” corporation. Some are less evil than others, and I might give a pass to the really small corporations that have incorporated only to get the same shield from legal liability that the larger corporations enjoy (although that legal shield itself is often misused for evil purposes).  It is my belief that no country will ever be truly great that treats corporations as we do under our legal system, giving them all of the rights of individuals (and more, because they can afford to hire a whole team of lawyers and you may not be able to afford even one), but virtually none of the responsibilities (EDIT: Other than taxation, of course. The government is more than happy to take their money, although the large corporations can afford to hire a whole team of accountants to make sure they don’t pay one red cent more than they are absolutely required to, and often they don’t even pay all of that).

Today’s example comes to us from The Consumerist.  In an article entitled Delta Airlines: You Need To Pay A Fee To Pay This Fee we are told the story of how an unaccompanied minor is allegedly kept off a flight (and away from Thanksgiving with her family) because a heartless, soulless corporation was apparently more interested in making sure that a certain fee had been paid than in making sure that a five year old child was home for Thanksgiving.

As it turns out, the fee had indeed been paid, but the agent at the counter couldn’t immediately discover that (and I suspect that there was a considerable level of incompetence at that point). And that brings us to the comment by Consumerist reader Chris V, who after reading the above article wrote this:

If a company provides a service and you don’t pay, that’s called theft of service. Companies will call the cops to haul you off to jail if you do that.

However, when you pay good money for a service and the company doesn’t provide it, that’s called tough luck. Just try calling the cops on a company. They’ll laugh in your face. Or, they’ll come and take YOU to jail for wasting their time.

Supposedly we’re all guaranteed equal protection under the law. If they can haul us off to jail for not paying, then we should be able to call the cops for companies not providing the paid service. Someone SHOULD be punished for taking their money and NOT providing the agreed-upon service. Anywhere else, that’d be called THEFT.

And that, folks, is exactly why corporations should not exist in their present form.  When you make a contract with a corporation, and you don’t uphold your end, you can go to jail, or they can ruin your credit. When they don’t uphold their end, the best you can usually hope for is that if you go to court, you might get a refund of what you paid. If they lose, the vast majority of the time no one will go to jail, and their credit rating won’t be touched.

That’s why I think it is so wrong, and inherently evil, to treat corporations as persons under the law.  They are not “persons”, they are “super-persons.” They have all the rights you do, but when they do wrong, they don’t get the same punishments that you would.  Even in the most extreme cases, where someone does go to jail, it’s often the wrong person – usually a lower level flunky (because they didn’t have sense enough to keep their mouth shut and not talk to the cops before consulting a lawyer – that’s a YouTube video link, here’s part 2) rather than the person(s) actually responsible for the evil.

One reason the United States is so screwed up right now is because so many big corporations are using their “super-voices” (lobbyists, sock puppets, astroturf groups, etc.) to drown out the voices of individuals.  Not only to the drown out your voice, but sometimes they even steal it, by setting up or co-opting organizations that purportedly speak for you, but say the opposite of what you might say if given the chance.

If I had the opportunity to write only one constitutional amendment and see it ratified, it would read something like this:

No corporation, organization, association, or other group of individuals shall be granted the legal status of personhood, nor shall it be automatically granted the protections or rights afforded to persons by this Constitution, except for such rights as may be specifically granted by other articles.

Short and to the point. Nothing saying that Congress cannot grant certain rights to various groups, and no reduction of rights specifically granted to certain groups (e.g. freedom of the press). But no corporation would be allowed to automatically claim the rights of persons, and their lobbyists could be limited to speaking only as interested individuals, on the same footing as any other citizen.

I actually think it’s only a matter of time (though not necessarily a time in any of our lifetimes) before corporations are stripped of their special rights (and their ability to avoid responsibility) – I just hope it doesn’t take something like another revolutionary war to accomplish it. But as corporations get bigger and more evil, eventually people are going to find an effective way to push back.  I’d much rather see that happen in a peaceful and orderly way (e.g. the aforementioned constitutional amendment) than through violent means, but that will likely be up to our children and grandchildren, or maybe even our great-great-[etc.]-grandchildren.

The one thing I cannot conceive is that corporations as a whole will become less evil absent any fundamental changes in our constitution and/or our legal structure. Just as our forefathers rebelled against overbearing and evil governments a couple of centuries ago, and against overbearing (and arguably evil) religious leaders before that, the day may come when future generations will rebel against overbearing and evil corporations.  Note that the previous rebellions did not result in the end of either religion or government, but both were improved by the process.

EDIT: One thing I want to make clear: Even though Delta is mentioned above, this article is not intended to single out Delta as being any more (or less) evil than any other large corporation.  Again, I think that ALL large corporations are evil to some degree – every single one of them can at times take actions that no reasonable person, acting on their own volition, would ever take.  The reason individuals behave differently when part of a corporation are many (and probably the subject of many studies and books), but the fact is that individuals working for corporations often do behave as they believe the corporation would want then to behave, putting aside their own conscience and sense of compassion in the process. I’m sure that heartless actions by employees occur at every airline, and at every other major corporation that now exists, or has ever existed.

Over a week ago, my sister returned from a mini-vacation to Orlando, FL. Only thing is her luggage did not arrive with her. She contacted Spirit Airlines, and apparently her bag was tagged with another passenger’s name and destination – The Bahamas. Several days went by and she had not heard from them and her calls went unanswered. When she finally reached someone she was told “there is a 5 day waiting period before you can contact the claims department.” It was only another day or so.

In the meantime she downloaded the “Customer Property Form” from their website. Apparently she needed to itemize and provide receipts for everything that was in her luggage. Now beside the fact she has clothes, shoes, a Coach bag that she bought years ago and not a prayer of having the receipt, there were clothes she bought for the nieces and nephews for Christmas while on vacation. And oh yeah, the receipts for those purchases were where? In her luggage. So she sent off a strongly worded letter on company letterhead (she works for a worldwide law firm).

After the 5th day she called the number on the form. She told the representative that answered the call the issue with her lost luggage. His reply was “I can’t help you from here.” Needless to say she started getting a little ticked off. Then she thought to ask the question “where are you?” … wait for it in 3, 2, 1 … “India” he replied. Now she was ticked off more than a little. “How in the world do you offshore the claims department to India?“, she thought to herself. The representative starts to give her a phone number to call where they can help her. “Excuse me sir“, she says … wait for it … “that is the phone number I just called and got you!” Now she was definitely ticked.

In the evening on Thanksgiving Day, she was informed by Spirit Airlines that her luggage had been found. Exactly one week after her flight back home. This was the first time, and needless to say the last time she will fly Spirit Airlines.

Sometimes you got to wonder what people are thinking when they offshore certain functions to India. The address on the form was in Texas but the calls go to India where the person can’t do a darn thing for you — from there.

The customer experience could make or break your brand longevity. So portends a recent survey conducted by Strativity and Service Experts, Inc.—a leading customer experience firm.
• More than 70% of consumers surveyed indicate they are willing to spend 10% or more with businesses if those businesses exceed their expectations.
• Loyal customers are almost three times as likely to expect to continue doing business with companies for another ten years or more than dissatisfied customers.
• 40% of loyal customers said they are willing to pay 10% or more to continue purchasing from companies delivering great experiences, in contrast with 9% of dissatisfied customers.

According to Strativity CEO Lior Arussy, “Consumers are very clear about what they are seeking from the experiences companies deliver.”

The catering industry is competitive, and this market is filled with many “wanna bes,” how will your clients pick a great caterer, or how do you set your company apart from the others?  I’ll share some insight into our experiences.

We have been in the catering industry for over 8 years, but professionally for over 4 years.  Every year we see a growing number of repeat customers, and every year, despite a challenging economy, we have witness double digit growth in our catering sales and services.  Why?  What are we doing right?  Here is a four step process.

1.  Prioritize.  Every catering job, no matter its size, scope or menu is our top priority.  We want that customer to be satisfied yes, but truly, we want more than that.  We align our staff, services and menu in such a way for our client to give them what they seek.  Sometimes, it is helping them recognize just exactly what that is.  Our clients come to us for our expertise, and we seek never to fail them.  So we look at every catering job as an opportunity to showcase our talents, to market our company.

2.  Plan.  We work within a budget.  Whether or not our customers admit it, they have a budget.  Whether or not they fully realize what that is, they eventually pinpoint it.  The bottom line on budget is our client will at some point evaluate what they spent and what they received in exchange.  Our “product” MUST be viewed as valuable.  Did our customer get his money’s worth?

Here’s the rub.  It is our job to identify their budget.  Sometimes a customer will come straight out with their budget in dollars.  A lot of times they won’t.  Regardless, we must have a realm to work within, or all is lost.  Either the extra expense comes off our profit, or the client overspends, and they are never happy if that is their lot.  Asking questions is the quickest and most efficient manner to determine a budget.  I like to clarify what is most important to our clients.  Do they desire ease and convenience?  Is the quality and deliciousness of the food most important?  Those two areas of service are the most important aspects of identifying their budget.  Keep in mind, just because a client “wants” something, it does not mean that they  “get” it.  Be honest with them about the expenses associated with the services, and let them be the boss when it comes to expanding their bottom line.

3. Perform.  Be on time.  Be prepared.  Look sharp. Give them EVERYTHING you promised and even a few sparkles more.  Because I guaranty that if they have worked with caterers before, this will be a new, and delightful difference.  Not only will they notice it in stark contrast, they will tell their inner circle.

4. Wash. Rinse. Repeat.

I’m going to start this blog off with my current situation with Verizon Wireless. The company has built itself many layers of “customer service” each one built so that the customer gets lost in the shuffle, so that the customer is placed on hold, transferred about, but never once is a true customer complaint ever answered.

Here is the start of my fun. When I was officially switched over to Verizon Wireless from Alltel, I lost my government discount of 12%, when I called in about getting the Verizon government discount I was told “You are on an Alltel contract so we can’t apply your government discount.” Which gave me status as a 2nd class customer with Verizon. after many phone calls, more then needed, because no one from that company calls you back as promised, the company actually realized what they were doing to all former Alltel customers with government discounts(and I’m sure all company discounts) was wrong. They offered a compromise of ending my Alltel contract without penalty, if I agreed to sign up for a Verizon account, with new phone. Being the type of person I am, I also said I should get a bigger discount since I was put through so much, Verizon agreed, and I got my new Motorola Droid phone for $75.

If a company offers so much to a customer that points out an error, it means the customer caught the company doing something not right. I did.

This is poor customer service, because if pointing out being a 2nd class customer doesn’t alarm a company then they need to rethink how they approach customer service.

So, any other Alltel customer’s that are reading this, you can get a better discount by switching to a Verizon account, if they won’t let you, email me and I’ll tell you what you have to say and to whom to speak to.

 Since starting this blog I’ve already been asked, “Should you be blogging about your clients”?  and the answer is “Yes”! and here’s why.

We’ve all been clients; whether it’s going to the hairdresser, getting an SBUX coffee or checking out at Home Depot, and at one point or another, we’ve had a bad day, taken out our frustration on someone else, or even threatened someone serving us.  As I sit here and write this, I remember a time my bank made a very large error  and I called them all wankers and told them someone needed to lose their job over it.  They really felt my wrath.  Now I’m not saying they didn’t deserve it (considering the error they made); however, that person that I chewed into probably went home that night, sighed as he poured himself a shot of whisky and got shit-faced just to forget about his awful day.

No, this blog isn’t intended to grass-up all the people I come across that are “having bad days”.  It’s more for a bit of fun, but at the same time, I do want to point out how it makes us “servants” feel when relentless clients unload their life’s problems on us.

Being in a service industry we do try our best to correct all errors and we always apologize even if we aren’t in the wrong…I mean, I couldn’t tell you how many free grooms I’ve given away just to appease clients; however, there does come a time when you have to cut your losses and tell someone to bugger off.

In recent months I’ve come across probably one of the trickiest clients I’ve had in a long time. First the ears weren’t cut according to description. Client refused to leave the shop until client was given a discount – so we knocked off £15. (One shot of Whisky for that day). Client’s second visit was a bit more intense as client threw a tantrum on the floor. Client refused to pay full price because client’s first visit consisted of a £15 discount – we gave it to client for £10 less just so client would remove client’s self from premises (Two shots of Whisky for that day). Client’s third visit was similar to client’s second, so we caved and gave it to client Client’s most recent visit consisted of us telling client that we weren’t prepared to offer client any more deals and we would happily recommend a neighbouring spa (A celebratory round of drinks that night).

It’s unfortunate I didn’t have a camera ready…

As anyone not in a coma knows, there is a great deal of debate in the US right now about Health Care Reform. During this debate, there are many references to the Canadian Health Care system, typically by Americans who have absolutely no idea what the hell they are talking about – including a former governor of Alaska. It is referred to as “socialized medicine”, and Americans argue that it reduces efficiency, costs the government great sums of money (note that the US government already spends more per capita on health care than the Canadian government does), reduces innovation, has longer wait times, and even leads to people dying while awaiting treatment.

I recently became ill while in Los Angeles for a conference. While being sick is never a fun experience, being diabetic and being sick while travelling in a foreign country by yourself is especially stressful.

However, this gave me an opportunity to experience the US health care system first hand, albeit a little superficially. Also, since my employer provides me with out-of-country health insurance, my experience is from the perspective of someone with health insurance, not someone without. In addition, my opinion of the US health care system is based on a single experience, not a broad sample.

Lets start with my arrival at the ER. I arrived at about 9 PM on a Tuesday evening.The first step was to fill out a little form with basic information – name, address, nature of my complaint. This form is passed through a little hole in the plexiglass partition, and my information is entered into their computer system. I then waited about an hour to see the triage nurse and be prioritized. Between myself, my wife and my kids, I have been at emergency rooms in New Brunswick, Ontario, and Alberta, and do not recall ever waiting more than a small number of minutes to be triaged. It should be noted that the triage process seemed to be mostly a “first in, first out” kind of process – I did not notice anyone being triaged faster based upon the nature of their complaint.

After being triaged, I guess I was ranked fairly low in terms of priority (hey, I was only vomiting up large amounts of blood), because I then sat from about 10 PM Tuesday evening until 4:30 AM Wednesday waiting to see a doctor. Many people came in, were treated, and left before I was seen, but I understand that once you are triaged, priority are based on who is at the most risk. I also understand that I was only seeing the “walk in” side of the ER – there was another whole flow of patients coming in through the ambulance entrance with a fair number of trauma patients. Still, 7 and a half hours of waiting to see a doctor is longer than anything I have seen in the Canadian health care system. And remember, I was at a private hospital in LA, not a public clinic. I would thus expect that this was on the good side with respect to performance.

Once I actually got to see the doctor, I was treated fairly quickly. Note that the goal was not to treat the root cause in my ailment, the primary intent was to stabilize my condition so that I could return to Canada for full treatment. At this, they were very efficient, and I was out in about 3 hours. It was also made much more smoothly because my out-of-country health coverage worked very well with the hospital’s admissions/accounting people with regards to payment. God only knows how the experience would have played out had I not had insurance.

In short, my visit to the ER in Los Angeles involved wait times which were significantly longer (for both triage and treatment) than anything I have ever experienced at a hospital in Canada.

To finish off the story, I will describe my follow-up treatment after returning to Canada. On the Wednesday following my return to Canada, I called my family doctor, and got an appointment to see her that afternoon. After that appointment, she referred me to a GI specialist, who I saw the next afternoon. He decided I needed an endoscopy, which happened the next day. Seems pretty efficient to me!

Perhaps Americans (especially American citizens) should educate themselves on the reality of the Canadian Health Care System rather than blindly believing the rhetoric of their politicians who are bought and paid for by the insurance companies and HMOs, or simply know nothing about the Canadian system which they are criticizing.

Mistake 1: Pretend you can do without it.

You may have already run into the Graying Skeptics, executives who can’t understand why they should devote employee time and company resources to social media, and who dismiss Facebook and Twitter as fads that amount to little more than a waste of time and money.

Well, social media is here to stay, and the rocketing growth of some outlets makes it foolish to ignore them. Facebook, the largest, recently reached 300 million users worldwide — roughly the population of the United States. And the largest demographic is the 35 to 49 set that most businesses are eager to reach. So listen to Sebastian Gard of social marketing firm Context Optional when he says bluntly: “You’re going to have a social-media strategy whether you do it or not. It’s not up to you.”

“You’re going to have a social-media strategy whether you do it or not. It’s not up to you,” says Sebastian Gard of social marketing firm Context Optional.

Mistake 8: Underestimate the power of seemingly small efforts

Embracing social media isn’t about achieving specific goals so much as it is establishing a real bond with your customers. Rick Karp, president and “keeper of the karma” for the San Francisco-based Cole Hardware chain, recently announced via Twitter (@colehardware) that the company would exchange a particular water bottle suspected of chemical contamination — no questions asked. Within two weeks, consumers returned about 1,000 of the bottles. “We lost money, but we gained so much [for our brand] by virtue of our doing it,” he says. “I will do a lot to build our brand, regardless of whether it pays off immediately economically or not.”

“We wanted to have conversations with our consumers, who were already having these conversations themselves,” says David Puner, a communications manager at Dunkin’ Donuts.