In this edition:
- How to go from Now To WOW? Try asking those who know you!
- Go Great Customer Service! 5 Best Practices that get Customers saying “WOW”
- Useless Information for Water Cooler Conversations
|
 Now to WOW! Maximize Your Strengths and Minimize your Weaknesses!
What does it take to go from Now to WOW! in Business and in Life? It comes down to maximizing your strengths and minimizing your weaknesses! I can recall receiving D’s and F's in my first few years of elementary school due to my seeming lack of connection with mathematics. It only got worse with the Sisters in Catholic School, who would make me stand up at the blackboard until the problem was solved. Yikes, I remember the sweat on the back of my neck , standing there feeling like I was the dumbest person in the class. But just in time.... there was that one teacher who understood the concept of identifying strengths and working with them and noted my aptitude for oral communications. "Rosemary, you read stories out loud well--You should read the school detention announcements over the intercom" Remarkably, because she put a spotlight on my strengths and not a magnifying glass on my weaknesses, I found my niche, regained my lost confidence and worked toward a 4.0. average. I still credit that teacher for my entering college at the age of 16 by early admission.
Do you know your strengths and weaknesses? Want to find out from those who know you best?
Identify 7 people you know who you work with, do business with or live with . They should be individuals who you respect. Tell them you are doing a personal inventory and would like them to identify 5 of your greatest strengths and 5 of your greatest weaknesses. Here are the ground-rules :
You cannot challenge them, and may only ask these two questions. "Can you give me an example?" or "Can you explain that for me a little bit?"
You may do this in person (recommended) or if you prefer via email with a follow-up question asking for an example to be provided.
At the conclusion of your quick survey, you may find that you learn about some strengths you didn't even know you had and can shine a spotlight on those to move forward in your career, your relationships and your business.
You'll also have a map to work on or minimize the weaknesses. Yes, that may include working on yourself or delegating those tasks you're simply no good at. Thank goodness, I have a good accountant and Quick Books, since when it comes to Mathematics I'm still at that blackboard.
 Go Great Customer Service! 5 Best Practices that get your Customers saying “WOW”
1. Under-Promise/Over-Deliver. If you tell a customer the delivery will take 5 days, make sure you get it there in 4. If you provide an estimate for service, bring the final bill in slightly under your quotation. A pleasant surprise that you did more than you said you would is always a crowd pleaser.
2. Pay Attention to Wait Time! Customer’s hate to wait and it’s the leading source of customer complaints. Take the pain out of wait time on the phone, in waiting rooms, anywhere there’s a line, by entertaining and taking care of customers during these times. One business has customers begging to be put back on hold having developed a Unique and Fun Trivia Game. Customers are saying “Wait a minute. I have the answer to that put me back on hold”. I’m seeing more internet terminals, portable DVD players in customer waiting areas and yes, up to date magazines! Get rid of those magazines that are 8 years old! Enterprise Rental Cars has friendly attendants bringing bottled water out to clients waiting in line to see an agent . When you’re waiting for the ski-bus in Colorado, they bring you out hot cider and cookies. Hey, even Heinz Ketchup realized “anticipation” was not a good thing and invented the squeeze bottle. So figure out ways to cut that wait time and if customers have to wait, pamper them, entertain them and perhaps most importantly apologize..
3. Please, Thank you and “WOW you’re our Customer" Statements If the only time customers here from you is when you send them a bill , it’s simply not enough. PS: If the only time your mate hears you love them is on Valentine’s Day, that doesn’t cut it either. I am continually amazed by the increasing absence of "please" and "thank you" in the service industry. I stood in line at the party store and the cashier abruptly greeted me with “ZIP CODE”. I don’t think so! A waitress at a restaurant recently gave me the bill and curtly said “I’ll take that when you’re ready”. Hello, that’s not a thank you for your business and it’s certainly not a generous tip. I am delighted as a customer when I hear ”Mrs. Rein, I want to thank you for your business. Your relationship is important to us. Now, that’s Customer WOW!
4. Worst Case Scenario Recovery: List out every possible customer complaint that you receive in your business. What is your recovery strategy and scripting when this happens? A key rule of Customer Service is that you “Overcompensate with Correction”. This means you not only fix the problem quickly, you provide a small gesture to the customer to compensate them for their inconvenience. Even McDonald’s gives you coupons if you experience a wait time for your Big Mac. Some companies waive a shipping fee if delivery is late or provide a small courtesy gift. Recognizing the lost income from one customer, makes the price of a small compensation to your valued customers very affordable when a problem occurs .
5. Hire for Attitude/Train for Skill! Please tell me you don’t have people on the front line that “really hate people and have 0 in the personality department.” Personality counts in customer service , which is why Southwest Airlines hires for attitude and trains for skill. Since you can’t change attitude, isn’t it much better to start with a great one!
Rosemary is now scheduling “Go Wild! Go GREAT Customer Service SAFARIS” in the United States and Canada. Transform your customer service from Now to WOW! with this results driven training program, customized to address your organization’s specific customer service needs. Results and Client Satisfaction are guaranteed in this trademark protected program or you do not pay Rosemary’s Fee. Mention this EZINE in the next 6 months and receive a $500.00 training certificate toward your scheduled training program. PS: Be sure to forward this Ezine and Training Certificate to your Colleagues so they also receive the $500.00 training credit. Contact Rosemary Today
Finally, Water Cooler Trivia (So you too have a little wit and personality)
 From the Book of Useless Information---Produced by the Useless Information Society:
Under the category of Did you know? And do you Care? The following facts may however make you a great conversationalist at this week’s water cooler:
Highly Presidential
* Abraham Lincoln had a nervous breakdown in 1836
* In 1812, after being shot in the chest, Theodore Roosevelt finished a speech he was delivering before he accepted any medical help.
* William Taft got stuck in his bathtub on his Inauguration Day and had to be pried out by his attendants.
That’s Hollywood!
* Debra Winger was the voice of E.T
* When the movie, The Wizard of Oz first came out, it got bad reviews. The critics said it was stupid and uncreative.
Wild Things!
* The leech has 32 brains
* Male western fence lizards do push-ups on tree limbs as a courtship display for females.
* It is physically impossible for pigs to look up at the sky (yeah, but what about pigs that fly)
|
