For Customer Service

You Made A Mistake Now I Am Your Biggest Fan

2009-03-04T01:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Laurie Brown

Pearl chose to celebrate her 94th birthday with her family and friends at a local restaurant. Although she had always enjoyed the restaurant, she specifically chose it because she was a member of its frequent diner program and was entitled to free desserts for all her guests on her birthday.

She graciously offered each guest whatever dessert they wanted "on the house." The waitress overheard Pearl and asked for the card that was sent to her announcing this offer. Pearl hadn't brought the card with her. The waitress apologized, but refused to offer the desserts saying "There's nothing that I can do. It's policy." Pearl was embarrassed, not only for forgetting the card, but also for putting her guests in an uncomfortable position.

One of the guests asked for a manager hoping that someone would do the right thing. No such luck. The manager repeated the same mantra, "Sorry, there's nothing I can do. It's policy." The manager "allowed" the guest to call the corporate headquarters. Two phone calls later; a corporate manager said, "No problem!"

Of course, there was a problem. A big problem! Pearl was humiliated and angry. No one left the restaurant feeling fondly about what had been a great meal celebrating a momentous occasion. It will be a long time before Pearl or any of her guests return to this restaurant, if ever.

What had been accomplished? In an effort to "save money" by not allowing people to take advantage of the dessert offer, the restaurant had lost five good and loyal customers. Doesn't seem to be a smart business move, does it?

But it wasn't just five customers that were lost. This lunch was such a bad experience for Pearl and her guests that they've been telling this story over and over and over.

People love to tell stories. They especially love to tell horror stories. Interestingly enough, customers won't tell stories about satisfactory experiences. Too boring what would be the point? But they will tell stories about exceptionally bad or exceptionally good service.

Consider these three examples:

You order a new door for your home. The company comes on time and replaces your door. Are you going to share that story with anyone? Doubtful. You are a satisfied customer. End of story.

You order a new door for your home. They come to install it and find that the frame was measured incorrectly. This is the third wrong door delivered. Are you going to share THIS story? You betcha! Every friend and family member will know the name of the company and they will tell their friends and family to stay away!

You order a new door for you home. They come to install it and find that the frame was measured incorrectly. The installer apologizes sincerely, telling you that he understands what a waste of time this has been for you. He promises that he will personally make sure you have the right door in a week. Then he asks, "Would that satisfy you?" When you say "yes", he sets the day and time.

The installer comes the next week as promised and installs your door. You are now a satisfied customer. But he wants you to be more than a satisfied customerhe wants you to be thrilledso he takes 20% off your bill to compensate you for your trouble. The following week the owner gives you a call to see if everything is okay.

Are you going to share this story? Without a doubt! In so doing, you will become the company's cheapest and most effective form of advertising!

So, how can you turn your disgruntled customer into your biggest fan?

Customers enter into every transaction with a set of basic expectations. When you create a problem for your customers by failing to meet these expectations you're faced with meeting a new set of even more challenging expectations.

There are simple steps that will work to not only meet these expectations, but exceed them. Imagine the following scenario: Mr. Jones has arrived at your dealership to pick up his car at the promised time; however, his vehicle is still being worked on. Mr. Jones is becoming irate. What should you do?

Step One: Empathetic apology. It isn't sufficient to mumble the word "sorry" and expect it to have a positive effect. Your apology needs to show your customer that YOU understand how YOUR mistake has negatively impacted his or her life.

Step Two: Take ownership. You want the customer to understand that you are the person who will fix their problem. Ask the customer what you can do to "make it right". Often people are afraid to ask their customer this question. They don't want to become obligated to meet an unrealistic demand. You needn't be afraid of their answer, because simply asking does not obligate you. Most customers are reasonableat worst, you have the beginning of a negotiation.

Step Three: Fix the problem immediately. In the case of Mr. Jones, you would want to get his car to him ASAP. Sometimes you can't fix the problem immediately, in which case you need to show him that you're making a sincere effort to resolve the problem.

Step Four: Get your customer's buy in. Asking for the customer's agreement will ensure that he will at least leave satisfied.

Try something like, "I am so sorry Mr. Jonesnot having your vehicle ready at the promised time must have really inconvenienced you. I will personally make sure that your vehicle is ready in the next 20 minutes. Will that be satisfactory?"

With small problems, these four steps should satisfy your customer. But remembera "satisfied" customer doesn't talk about his experience. Now, take the opportunity to add value, so that your customers will talk about how great you are. To do this, you need to take two additional steps.

Step Five: Symbolic atonement. You need to go the extra mile to show that you are truly sorry. A small token can go a long way to ease the pain your mistake caused. In the case of Mr. Jones, an offer of a free oil change might be appropriate. This gift shows that you understand that an apology alone cannot fix the problem. Reflect on what you know about this customer and choose something that has meaning and value to him.

Step Six: Follow up. This is where you can really shine! After a short period of time, call, e-mail or write your customer and make sure they are satisfied with your efforts. This is also an opportunity to ask for more business and referrals.

None of these steps take an inordinate amount of time or money, but they can really create delighted customerscustomers who will tell stories that promote you to their friends and family.

Now, let's go back to Pearl's birthday lunch. Why wasn't the permission to provide the free desserts enough to turn it into a "good story?" The weight of the damage that was done was so much more than the effort it would have taken to make it right at the beginning.

What should this restaurant have done? An empathetic apology would have been a start. "Mrs. Grey, we are so sorry that we ruined your birthday. We hope these desserts will make it a little better." (Steps 1-3 in action) But they needed to go the extra mile. She should have been sent a letter apologizing again and offering a free meal to compensate her for her discomfort. (Step 5) The final touch that could turn this nightmare into an opportunity to create a loyal customer would be a phone call after she redeemed the free meal to make sure that it was good experience. (Step 6)

People are telling stories about you and your business. What kind of stories are they telling? View every customer problem as an opportunity to produce a cheerleader for your business. Turn your potential nightmare into a great story. Do the right thing.

Laurie Brown is an international speaker, trainer and consultant who works to help people improve their sales, service and presentation skills. She is the author of The Teleprompter Manual for Executives, Politicians, Broadcasters and Speakers. Laurie can be contacted through http://www.thedifference.net, or 1-877.999.3433, or at lauriebrown@thedifference.net.

Waitress At Marks Amp Spencer Saves Customers Life

2009-03-03T01:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Derek Williams

This story appeared in the national papers last year and is so amazing that I wanted a share it with you too.

Pensioner Annie Bates regularly has breakfast at her local Marks & Spencer store.

In fact, she has been having breakfast there every morning for the past two years. And, despite being 96 years old, she walks the 3 mile round trip for her toasted teacake and a cup of fresh coffee every morning.

But waitress Julie Nightingale was worried and knew that something was wrong when Annie failed to turn up for two days running.

Julie rushed to Annie's house where she found Annie collapsed on the floor. Annie had taken a fall and had been lying on the floor for quite a while. She could not stand up and she didn't have a phone.

Thanks to Julie's prompt action Annie was taken to hospital where she received treatment for her injuries.

Sometimes people ask me what lengths they should go to, to look after their customers. If everyone were to leave their place of work to go and check on the customer then surely the business is going to suffer.

My answer to this is that you have to do what you believe is right. Sometimes customer service goes beyond all the normal business boundaries. After all, we are only human.

Derek Williams is creator of The WOW! Awards and Chief Executive for the Society of Consumer Affairs Professionals in Europe.

For more information about Derek Williams visit http://www.MrWow.co.uk For The WOW! Awards (including access to a FREE customer service newsletter) visit http://www.TheWowAwards.com

The Language We Speak Here Is Quotcustomer Servicequot

2009-03-02T01:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Dr. Gary S. Goodman

I walked into a restaurant, the type with crisp white tablecloths and napkins, and along with the menu the waiter brought the wine list.

Not seeing anything special or even tasty, I asked: "What's the House wine?"

"These are our wines," he replied, pointing to the wine list in my hands.

"I know, but do you have a House wine?" I repeated, hoping he would get it the second time.

Seeing his perplexed look, I tried to ask the question another way.

"If someone comes in and asks for a glass of Cabernet, which wine will you pour?"

"A Cabernet," he answered, not at all getting my drift, but growing visibly irritated with my questions.

"I'll tell you what," I said with resignation, "Bring me an iced tea, please."

In a huff, he rumbled off.

On my way to wash my hands I saw a waitress, and I decided to ask her the same question.

"Pardon me, but if I asked you 'What's the House wine?' would you know what I'm talking about?"

"I don't know, but I'll be happy to find out," she replied with a smile.

Now, that's a better answer.

Anyway, all of this banter bothered me and I was quickly losing my appetite. Also, I didn't want to continue with the original waiter so I asked the host if I could substitute another one. I explained the first guy and I were having a communication problem and I doubted he would get my order right.

"Uh, I don't know" he responded weakly. "I'll have to ask the manager."

Returning to my table the original waiter defensively said, "Yes, you can have a waiter who speaks English," and then he stormed off.

That did it.

It was time to leave.

Before I did, I said to him in his native language, with a flawless accent and perfect vocabulary and syntax that I could ask the very same question in ANY language about House wines and still, he wouldn't be able to answer it.

I've spent thousands of dollars over the years in that restaurant, and in a matter of five minutes our relationship was destroyed.

I won't go back.

Customer service isn't a frill, an extra bonus that we decide to give, like a gift, to patrons.

It is the business we're in, no matter what our business happens to be.

Train your people, and then monitor, measure, and actively manage them.

If you don't, the good will that has been developed over a decade or more can be thrown away, and with it, the future of your enterprise.

Best-selling author of 12 books and more than 800 articles, Dr. Gary S. Goodman is considered a foremost expert in telephone effectiveness, customer service, and sales development. A top-rated speaker, seminar leader, and consultant, his clients extend across the organizational spectrum, from the Fortune 1000 to small businesses. He can be reached at: gary@customersatisfaction.com.

Loyal Customers Take Commitment

2009-03-01T01:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Patricia Twitchell

In today's competitive world of retail, many stores are implementing external marketing programs designed to attract new business.

Unfortunately, the cost can be very high with little return on investment. What is often lost in the mix is the fact that it can be much more cost effective to have a loyal customer base that returns again and again rather than constantly seeking the next new customer. Not that there is anything wrong with new customers, but if that is you primary focus you may be missing a great opportunity with your existing clients. When you put attention on your current customers and they feel appreciated they tend to be more loyal. Loyal customers are often willing to spend more and tell others about the experience they have with you.

In the ten years I have owned and operated Just Bears and Stuff, a specialty gift shop located in Myrtle Creek, Oregon, I have learned a great deal about customer service.

Even though some of it was from books, tapes and articles such as you are reading right now, much of my insight came from my customers.

Not only have I managed to stay in business, I have a very high percentage of repeat customers. I don't say this to impress anyone, but to impress upon you how important great not just good but great customer service is.

Here are some of the primary aspects of customer service that has allowed me to not only survive, but thrive in business for the last decade.

1. The customer has to feel like they are getting something special. Remember their name and use it often. Get to know something about them. The more special they feel the more they will want to return to see you. Guaranteed.

2. Be willing to go the extra mile. By going the extra mile they do feel they are the most special person to us. Something we offer is beautiful gift-wrapping at no extra charge. From the time I was a child I loved to wrap gifts. Now I have the opportunity to do this on a daily basis. This is an added value I provide. What added valued can you add to let you customers know you are going the extra mile?

3. Never make a customer feel as if what they are asking for is ridiculous. Although there may be occasion that what they are asking for is more than you can do, it is in the way you let them know this that determines the feeling they get from the experience.

4. Be knowledgeable about your product or service and industry. When my customers look to me to make suggestions they feel a sense of security in knowing that I know my product line extremely well. I pride myself in helping my customers select just the right gift for whomever they are choosing it for.

5. Realize you are dealing with real people with real needs. Regardless of the business you are in, people make the choice to do business with you. If they feel like their needs are being met, they tend to return again and again. Interestingly, there are some customers I have never met face-to-face. Many find me on the Internet. I have customers all over the world and each one is so special to me and they know it. You can have a great relationship with your customers face-to-face or over the phone.

6. Make the experience pleasant. When my customers feel that the experience was so pleasant more times then not they will return for their next gift giving needs. Again, whether it is over the phone or face-to-face I want my customers to know how important they are to me. And I will do whatever is humanly possible to let them know this.

As you think about your experiences with customer service, what is it that makes the experience so special? And do people feel your level of service is the best it can be? You will find that by building a loyal customer base you will be able to thrive in your business for years to come.

About The Author

Patricia Twitchell is the proprietor of Just Bears and Stuff, a unique gift shop located in Myrtle Creek, Oregon. Nestled in the scenic mountains, it is a favorite place to visit for people from all over the country. Receive "Beary Special Moments" a free online teddy bear facts and tips e-zine by visiting www.justbearsandstuff.com. Call 1.541.863.6037

manager@justbearsandstuff.com

How Memorable Is Your Company

2009-02-28T01:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Lori Saitz

Lots of companies claim to understand the importance of creating a memorable customer experience, but few of them actually put that knowledge to use. Today, let's take a look at five organizations that do "get it" and see how you can incorporate their practices into your business.

1. The Ritz-Carlton is a classic benchmark organization when you talk about customer service. Their motto is, in part, "we are ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen." Everyone within their organization is treated with respect and they in turn show great respect to their guests.

After checking in to the Ritz-Carlton Pentagon City in Virginia, we noticed that our room lighting was much brighter than in other hotels. The mattress, padding and pillows were more comfy and the little card next to the bed claimed they were "allergy-free" and "hyperclean." Indeed, Ed did sleep better than he typically does in hotel rooms. I needed a nail clipper and a toothbrush and both were provided for no charge. But the one thing that really impressed me was that my husband had mentioned in passing to the woman at the front desk that it was my birthday. We returned to our room after dinner to find a plate of chocolate covered strawberries, a bottle of champagne chilling in a bucket and a handwritten note card of birthday wishes, "on behalf of the ladies and gentlemen of the Ritz-Carlton" and signed by the front desk agent. How cool is that? I've been telling people about that experience all week.

All of these "little" details add up to an outstanding overall experience. What can you do in your business? Pay attention to all the seemingly insignificant details. People do notice and the small stuff can make a huge difference.

2. Southwest Airlines is an anomaly in an industry that has recorded losses throughout its existence. They've been in business for more than 34 years and have been profitable every year since 1972, and every quarter since September 11, 2001. Sure a business model that was built around low costs and low fares, their ontime record and excellent customer service are key factors to their success. But the most distinguishing characteristic is their people. Heard that one before? This is one company that walks their talk. Unlike at most companies, Southwest's employees seem to like coming to work; they make their jobs fun and they transfer that feeling to the passengers. They joke around with passengers, dress more casually than their competitors and create as enjoyable an experience as you can have in air travel these days.

How can you transfer this to your business? Lighten up, have fun with your customers. Business doesn't have to be so deadly serious all the time.

3. USAA is an insurance and financial services company that serves only military personnel, their families, former spouses and adult children. They refer to their customers as "members" and once you become a member, you are eligible to use their services for life. In 2005, "Fast Company" magazine's "Customer First" awards recognized USAA as an "employee innovator," a company that most understands the link between happy employees and happy customers. (seeing a trend here?)

Based on personal experience, USAA's service reps are knowledgeable, courteous and efficient. They make helpful recommendations, even if it's more in my best interest than their bottom line, and they go out of their way to do what they say they're going to do. I probably pay more for my car insurance than I could, but I'd rather work with a company I know will take care of me when I need them.

What can you take away and use? Always do what you say you're going to do (and maybe even a little more).

4. Starbucks started out with the purpose of bringing the Italian coffeehouse experience and fresh roasted coffee to Seattle. They made sure each new hire (or partner as they call their employees) became a knowledgeable barista who could answer customers' questions about the coffee and make recommendations. Along the way they learned that people were coming not only for the java, but for the community atmosphere as well. They recognized this trend and capitalized on it, making the environment even more inviting with comfortable chairs, hip music, wireless internet access, etc.

Starbucks has become a great meeting place, a work space or a relaxation zone for lots of people who may not even like their coffee (that would include me). Today Starbucks is more of an experience vs. just a place to pick up coffee.

What can you do with this info? Remember that more than selling a specific product or service, you're creating an experience for your customers.

5. Moe's Southwest Grill serves fresh burritos, tacos, fajitas and other southwestern fare with a flare that you don't find in other fast food fresh mex places. First of all, every time someone opens the door to enter, at least one person from behind the counter yells, "Welcome to Moe's!" Check out the menu and you'll see items with names like "Joey Bag of Donuts" (a burrito), "The Full Monty" (a taco) and "Blabbermouth Soup" (a frozen lime margarita). You can't help but laugh when you order "The Ugly Naked Guy" with black beans and chicken.

The customer acknowledgement doesn't stop at the front door. As one of the country's fastest growing franchises, Moe's uses franchisee and customer input to drive store and product planning.

What can you take out from Moe's? Go out of your way to acknowledge clients and their ideas.

Work any and all of these "lessons" into your business and you'll find you're clients will be more loyal and your business will be stronger.

Lori Saitz, The Guru of Client Loyalty, is the founder and president of Zen Rabbit and creator of the 24-Carrot Client Loyalty SystemTM. With her countless years of training and practice in consumerism and marketing, she can easily help you determine what your clients want and how you can quickly make lots more money this year by giving it to them. To sign up for the FREE ezine, "Keeping Clients," with articles on multiplying your sales, building a stronger business and breaking free of industry competition, visit http://www.24-Carrot.com.

3 Common Customer Objections What They Mean And How You Should Respond

2009-02-27T01:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Tom Richard

Just because a customer questions your price or a feature of your product DOESN'T mean that they aren't interested in buying it! As a salesperson, you must learn the meaning behind your customers' objections in order to respond appropriately and turn each objection into a personalized sale!

Objections are usually a GOOD thing.

Your customer's objections are signs that they want to learn more about you and your product and are interested in buying! If they weren't interested, they probably wouldn't want to continue talking with you and would be happy walking away with just a brochure.

Your response to an objection could determine whether or not you make the sale. Make sure that your tone and demeanor reflect the positive attributes of a customer's objection.

As a salesperson, your initial response to an objection may sound programmed or defensive. You may go into a spiel about your product or list statistics to prove that your company and product is better than the competition.

Stop! This isn't about you and this isn't about the competition: it's about your customer. To make the sale, you must learn to focus on the customer and learn how to address their specific needs and questions.

Your customer IS interested in buying from you; they just want to know more. The question is "what do they want to know more about?" Once you get to the root of their objection, you will address the concerns and questions that are keeping them from acting on their interest to buy from you.

Getting to the root of the objection

Objection: Price

"Is that the best price you can offer?"

Your customer might as well say, "Your price is too high," right? Not necessarily.

A question regarding pricing is often about more than just the price of the product. The customer may just be testing the waters to see if this is the type of situation where they are expected to haggle, or maybe they are really interested in your product and want to make sure that they are getting the best deal (not necessarily the lowest price).

Immediately offering to lower the price may actually make them reconsider buying from you. They may wonder what your product is really worth and question why you are charging more than the true value of your product. As strange as it seems, sticking to the original price will probably give you a better chance at getting the sale. Show them that the price of your product matches its true value.

But don't just leave it at that! If the customer wants to ensure that buying your product is the best deal, do everything you can to assure them that it is.

Objection: Product Features

"Does that treadmill have small rollers?"

Be careful how you answer questions about product features. Your customer may have heard of a different feature on a competitor's model that seemed more appropriate for their use, or they could just be curious about the feature of your product.

DON'T assume that you know the motive behind your customer's question. You may end up talking them out of the sale by continuously blabbing about something they aren't interested in and showing them what a bad listener you are.

So, before you go into a long speech about roller size and why it is or isn't important in the operation and enjoyment of the treadmill blah, blah, blah try keeping your answer short and sweet. A simple, "yes" is more effective because it allows the customer to further explain their question.

Your response will show them that you are upfront and willing to answer all of their questions. They will feel comfortable talking with you and, later, buying from you.

Objection: Unrelated Factor

"I really need to check with my spouse before making a decision."

I know that I would NEVER make a thousand dollar purchase before getting the go-ahead from my wife. And I would certainly question anyone who tried to make me. Wouldn't YOU?

Customers have other factors in their lives that may prevent them from making a decision about your product. This type of objection has NOTHING to do with you. Trying to close the sale may make your customer feel uncomfortably pressured into making a decision and less likely to trust your business.

If you don't know the circumstances behind the objection, try to further the process without forcing your customer to make a decision. Aim to solidify the relationship and rapport you have built with that customer. This will encourage them to return to you once they have made a decision.

All objections are different because they all stem from unique motives. Keeping your responses short and sweet will allow them to ask more specific questions and explain their concerns. Getting to the root of the objections will help you personalize your approach for each customer and eliminate their concerns about purchasing your product, leading you closer to that sale!

Tom Richard is the author of a weekly electronic magazine titled Sales Muscle. To subscribe to this free magazine on selling skills send a blank email to subscribe@tomrichard.com

Your Voice Print

2009-02-26T01:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by John Di Lemme

"Mountains are built one pebble at a time and climbed one step at a time." This is a quote of mine that I personally put into practice each day as I progress towards fulfilling my WHY in life.

The word pebble in this quote means that each action you take needs to be productive toward building your mountain of success. As I was retrieving a message today from someone who called me, I had to play the message 5 times to finally understand the phone number he left for me to call him back. We have always heard the smallest things the pebbles - in life are the most important. Well, this week's tip from me is the importance of the quality of your phone messages, which I call your voiceprint.

When you leave a voicemail message for someone, it is your "voiceprint." It may sound a little crazy that my motivating tip for the week is "How to Leave a Message", but I'll bet that numerous people right now can relate to this. Everyone has had someone who called him or her and prior to calling them back they had a pre-determined feeling about the person before they even spoke to them live. The key is to have positive energy and confident words. Words are your #1 tool that God has given you to produce a super abundant life. Energy means to speak with conviction and confidence in your tone when you leave your message. You need to picture the person retrieving your message and ask yourself,"Will your message make them listen or just press fast forward?"

The following tip alone will earn you a million dollars! When you leave your phone number, speak in 2 second increments leave the area code first, pause 2 seconds, then the next 3 numbers pause 2 seconds and finally the last 4 numbers. You need to practice this! I guarantee that you will see results right away when you put this tip into action. They will remember you as the person who actually spoke clearly and slowly enough that they were able to write down your message the first time they played it. As a person who receives numerous calls daily, I can tell you that I cannot understand the message or phone number in 8 out of 10 messages, nor can I determine WHO THE CALLER IS!

Remember this "pebble of action" is one of the most important. Due to technology, your "voiceprint" is becoming the first introduction you have to many people. Also, do not assume that the person you are calling knows it is you. Always state your name and the best number for the receiver to return your call. You need to leave a clear, precise message, which reflects who you are...a person who knows their WHY in LIFE!

Find Your WHY and FLY!

John Di Lemme, a Former Clinically Diagnosed Stutterer, now the World's Leading Motivational Expert *shocks millions globally* by exposing the truth they've been searching for in order to achieve monumental life success through his Award Winning Live Seminars, Power-Packed Training Programs, Live Tele-Classes, Motivational Club and Weekly E-zine. Take action now and join tho.usands of others that have used John's proven methods to live their life to the Maximum! Visit http://www.FindYourWhy.com and discover how you can finally create monumental success in your life today and achieve all your goals, dreams and desires.

Marketing Relationships Customer Service 8 Ways You Can Build Deeper Customer Relationships

2009-02-25T01:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Adrian Pepper

As I work with small businesses, I find many entrepreneurs as remarkably ignorant about the current value of the relationships they have with their customers. In my experience, it is far cheaper to get business from clients who already know you than to find new clients and close the same sized sale with them.

So here are eight ways you can build your customer relationships:

1. Think long-term.

When you build consistent relationships with your clients over time, your competitors will struggle to dislodge you. Unless you offend them, your satisfied clients will just keep buying from you and your delighted clients will recommend you to their business colleagues and contacts.

2. Be thoughtful and give help.

Personal touches show your clients that they mean more than an income source to you. Since you have expertise and knowledge in your business, giving advice is an easy way for you to build up credit that will eventually become sales. When you have a reputation for helping with problems and supplying innovative ideas, your clients will prefer you for the value you give them.

3. Listen, listen, listen.

Listening to your clients makes them feel good and gives you important clues about their hopes and fears. Listen to the hints they give about their organisation so you can speak to their business needs. As you get to understand what your customers want, you will easily position yourself to pick up new work before your competitors even hear about it.

4. Make them heroes.

Finding ways of removing stress from a client's job and giving them credit for doing a good job means they will love working with you. If you are seen as a solution-provider for difficult problems in their life, they will pay a premium for the excellent service you give them.

5. Keep them informed.

For all orders placed, keep talking to your customers and avoid giving them surprises about delivery dates or quality. When things do go wrong, ensure your client is the first to know and give them several options for how you can remedy any problems you might have caused. You will find that clients love to participate in choosing the way forward so the pain of bad news is reduced or even removed.

6. Lead opinion.

Where you feel your client has made a mistake, challenge them constructively, showing them why you think they should change their decision. Good friends say when you are going wrong and so do good advisers.

7. Make introductions.

Introduce your client to people who could benefit them. Help them to hear about opportunities, especially where you have no resulting gain. Use your network for your customer's good and you will get a name for being a generous and helpful business contact, bringing you future business.

8. Stay in touch in low periods.

Fair-weather advisers tend to evaporate so if you maintain contact when your client goes through a sales dip, you will be treated with affection. You will also be trusted for the bigger and more important deals when the good times return.

Nothing beats doing a good job.

These are eight excellent ways to build deeper relationship with your clients but the best way is to always insist on delivering your promises and provide consistently good products and services. Remember that customers like to buy dependable and valuable goods and you will find your sales will keep rising.

Adrian Pepper specialises in helping small business to sharpen their marketing, increase their sales and grow their income. You can contact him through Help4You Ltd, through his website at http://www.help4you.ltd.uk or by phone +44-7773-380133. At http://feeds.feedburner.com/help4you, you can listen to his podcast for small businesses.

Practicing Leading Edge Marketing A Guide To Recognizing The Five Customer Types

2009-02-24T01:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Tom Samus

Every year the consumer spectrum grows more and more sophisticated in both their shopping habits and the way they interact with products and services. Each different type of customer requires a different outlook from sales, marketing, and customer support perspectives. This article will cover the five different types of customers allowing you to better understand how to tune the marketing message for your product.

The transactional customer is a sophisticated consumer who is willing to take part in transactions at any time in any location. This type of customer does not care if they must communicate with a particular device or platform, as long as it allows a certain amount of convenience.

The traditional customer is one who is at home with handling, maintaining and repairing products they've purchased. These types of consumers take no issue with ordering parts for a broken or malfunctioning product rather than calling in service or sending a product back to the manufacturer for free repair.

A conventional customer is one that is somehow involved in creating value of a product. This type of customer can often be found using and contributing to leading edge community websites such as Flickr. Flickr offers a photographic archiving service that comes alive when the customer (subscriber) takes part in the social functionality of the website.

The intentional customer is someone who would like to take part in the design of products they purchase. Examples of businesses that cater to intentional customers are those that allow any type of customization prior to shipping. Apple's iPod sales were stimulated by allowing intentional customers to choose a custom engraving on the back of their iPods prior to shipping.

Finally there is the radical customer. A radical customer is one that will take a product that is originally intended to solve one problem, and somehow use it to solve a completely new one. This may be as simple as changing the output of the product, or as complicated as creating an entirely new industry around an application. An example of a radical customer's influence on products is the small but enthusiastic extreme sport of snowmobile skimming. Here we have a product that was intended for use on the snow, but radical customers created a sport out of running them over open water.

Each of the customer types above have clear and different personal goals when they consider a product or service and should be marketed to and handled differently. By understanding each of these different types you can be more effective in tuning your marketing message.

Tom Samus is a retired legal clerk and writer for a shopping information site and a Kiosk Software information site. He is a father of two children and husband of Clara Parks.

What You Need To Know About Crm

2009-02-23T01:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Frank Dazerton

1. It's all about the customer. Some companies focus too much on expensive CRM programs and elaborate IT departments and not enough on what is at the core of CRM. CRM programs need to be designed to appeal to the business' customers. The best Call Centers are the ones which customers find easy to navigate. The best CRM vendors have the customer satisfaction in mind when designing their CRM applications.

2. On-demand is the way to go. Many vendors offer traditional CRM programs and service. I believe, however, that On-demand CRM is the way to go. On-demand CRM is different from traditional methods in that instead of requiring companies to hire new IT people, and use extensive resources to implement elaborate CRM programs, the software comes with support. On-demand CRM is no longer the "bring your own IT department" approach. Many vendors like Salesforce.com, Siebel, and NetSuite offer On-demand solutions that are great for businesses just getting into the CRM market.

3. Customer Relationship Management is not just software. Some businesses would like it to be simply software, but it will never be as simple as that. Customer Relationship Management is an ongoing learning process. The business must learn from the customer and change accordingly. The closer a business gets to its customer, the better. CRM applications and strategies are the methods through which the business can access, analyze, and learn from customer Data. Knowing what CRM applications are actually for is a very important step in understanding how to be successful when implementing CRM practices.

4. It is important to understand that there are hundreds of CRM vendors out there. Many of the vendors claim to be number one, but if you look closely, they may be number one in only one category. Other companies say that they are number one in CRM, but there is no basis for their statement. It is important for companies to choose the right vendor that will attend to all of their CRM needs. This may not always be the most expensive, "number one" company. On the contrary, some simple companies offer CRM solutions that are highly effective. Some of the major CRM providers are Siebel, Salesforce.com, NetSuite, IBM, Microsoft, and SAP.

5. The best CRM technology can be very helpful for any business. Some CRM applications can now be accessed via BlackBerry devices. Major vendors are constantly updating their software and improving their service. It is a good idea to stay as current as possible in terms of CRM technology. However, always remember to balance technology with customer service. There is no substitute for old-fashioned customer service, the most basic of all CRM ideals.

Customer Relationship Management can be very beneficial for a business if it is carried out properly. It is important to keep the customer in mind at all times when you are implementing CRM practices into your business. Remember that there are quite a few CRM vendors out there, and it is important to choose the vendor that is best for your company. Customer Relationship Management seems like a very daunting idea for someone who has never used it before, but if you follow these steps, you will surely see the benefits of successful CRM.

Frank Dazerton is very interested in Customer Relationship Management and writes for CRM Lowdown.

When 20 Bucks Amp Ego Is More Important Than A Decade Of Customer Loyalty

2009-02-22T01:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Ed Rigsbee

When are 20 bucks and a store manager's ego more important than a decade of loyalty from a customer? Never! Little things can be much more costly than one might imagine.

I recently had an experience that clearly demonstrated the crucial need for better training at all levels, from entry-level employees to management. This situation occurred at a local tire store, one that is part of a national chainof which will go unnamedbut claims in their name to be pros with tires. The store manager made the decision that $20 in his cost on labor, and his need to be right was more important to him than a loyal 10-year customer.

Let's Review the Benefit of from 10 Years of Customer Loyalty:

New tires (sets of four) on 3 carsapproximately 8 sets at an average of $300 per set equals a minimum of $2,400 in retail sales. Satisfied customer recommendations to friends and business acquaintancesin this particular case the bare minimum is referral benefit is a fleet of 18 cars and trucks that moved their account to this particular store five years ago based on my recommendation. This referral has resulted in approximately 9 sets of car and truck tires purchased yearly by the company. At an average of $400 (truck & SUV tires are more expensive), the yearly sale to this company is $3,600. The bare bones minimum value this store received from one customer's loyalty and referrals for 10-years is $20,400.

Let's Review What the Store Will Most Assuredly Lose in the Coming Decade from the Manager's Seemingly Inconsequential $20 Decision:

Within the next 2 months, the store will lose the sales on sets of tires for both a minivan and an SUV equaling a minimum of $700.

Over the coming decade the store will also lose, not accounting for inflation, at the very least the same $2,400 from my 3 cars, and most likely more.

After telling the above-mentioned fleet manager that I had recommended to this store five years prior, the one that claims to be pros with tires, this store will most likely also lose my friend's fleet account. The fleet account loss over the next 10 years will be at least $36,000. Lost sales in the community of Thousand Oaks, CA where I live. While for a decade I had recommended these pros with tires to a number of friends, now I will, as would most people in this situation, make it a point to tell anyone that will listen how poorly I was treated by the store manager. How many dollars do you think will be lost? National Brand Damage:

I'm sure you would agree that it is not a good idea to treat any customer poorly, but to treat a heavily published author and busy professional speaker poorly is purely lunatic, as I will now use this story about the brand that claims to be pros with tires at many of my seminars across the country. Will people discontinue using this company that claims to be pros with tires just because I tell the story? I don't think so. But, what will happen is that the next time they do business with this chain and a problem occurs, as is bound to happen, they will remember my story. Now that chain, and the particular store, has an additional strike against itperhaps their last? All of the above lost, and potentially lost business, because a chain store manager let's his ego and 20 bucks get in the way of making good customer satisfaction decisions. This is a common mistake that many managers and owners make, and not exclusive to retail.

Learning From the Situation:

1. My teenage son took his car in to get the tires rotated and balanceda free service from the pros with tires, for the life of one's tires.

2. Driving away from the store, my son noticed the car now pulled to one side.

3. He returned to the store where they are pros with tires and asked them to fix the problem.

4. They said they aligned the front end and charged him for the service without his approval (something that is illegal in the state of California). He did not argue the issue as it was the end of the evening and other customers were also trying to get out of the store too.

5. Driving away again, he noticed the car still pulled.

6. The next day I went to the store and spoke with the manager, we'll call him Dan because that's his name. In private, I explained to Dan my displeasure in the situation and asked him to remedy the problem. He said he would.

7. Upon returning to pick up my son's car, Dan personally guaranteed that the car now drove straight. And scribbled on a scrap of paper how he claimed one of the front tires wore unevenly because of the car being out of alignment.

8. When I asked for Dan to refund the charge to my son since my son did not knowingly authorize work to be done that would incur a charge, he got in a huff and started to process a credit.

9. While processing the credit, Dan asked what I did for a living. I told him that I help businesses to be profitable. He snidely asked if I would do work for free. I told him that up to that point, his customer service had been acceptable and cautioned him not to go further. He then told me that he did not want me to ever return to his store.

10. Leaving the store, I noticed that the tires were rotated back to the position they were in when my son originally brought the car in for the rotation. The manager lied to me about remedying the problem. All this resulting in the car back to how it was when my son first came in and the store firing a 10-year customer.

To answer Dan's questionI would absolutely do something for free for a 10-year loyal customer if I even had a hint that my organization or I might have even partly been responsible for a situation that made a customer unhappy. Waiting to speak to Dan that evening, I overheard a customer congratulate Dan on his promotion, I assumed to a district manager position. Just think what's going to happen to the stores that he oversees if he takes this antagonistic attitude with customers that are rightfully, or even unrightfully, dissatisfied with the service delivered by the pros with tires. Receiving a promotion is not a justifiable reason to let your ego control your customer satisfaction decisions.

What Can Be Learned From Dan's Foibles?

Do what your marketing material, advertising material and sales invoices clearly state that you will do. If your business card has the picture of a doctor checking out a tire and your advertising brags that you inspect all tires when rotated, be consistent in your actions with both your branding position. This will most assuredly mean that you have to better train your employees, even the entry-level ones. Too frequently entry-level employees execute complementary services that are offered in marketing materials but are executed poorly or incompetently. If the employees of this store did their job consistent with their company's national branding position, and there was in fact uneven tire wear, they would have told my son about the problem rather than letting him drive away believing they damaged his car.

If a customer believes you caused a problem, either fix it or if you believe it was not your fault, take the time to educate and show them on the actual product what you believe to be true. Don't take advantage of teenagers lacking the life experience of mature adults, even if it is legal to do so. Besides losing me as a customer, the pros with tires, also lost my teenage son. How many tires might he have bought from this national chain in his lifetime? I can assure you that he will never buy a tire from the pros with tires.

Do the job right the first time. In this situation they charged my son for a service they did not competently perform. Had they have correctly aligned the front the first time; my son most likely would have accepted the unauthorized charge. If they in fact executed the service properly, with the rear tire in front and a competent mechanic doing the alignment, the car would have driven straight. When a customer comes into your store and asks to speak privately they do this for two reasons. First, as not to embarrass you in front other customers. And second, because they are very seriously dissatisfied yet want to continue the relationshiphoping that you care enough about them as a customer to take care of the problem.

If you truly believe you are not at fault in a situation, take the time to demonstrate on the product why you believe the problem was customer caused and still offer to cover the cost. If you explain your position convincingly, more times than not, your customer will accept accountability and not ask you to completely cover the cost.

Why in the world would you want to get in a huff with a customer? One thing that Sears and Nordstrom have in common is that they have extremely liberal return policies. They know the value of keeping a customer for life. They know that the buck or two they lose here and there is nothing compared to the lifetime dollar value of a single customer.

Before you fire a customer, determine how much business that customer has done with you and could potentially do with you. If it economically unintelligent to do business with a customer, by all means fire them. But why would you give up income because your ego might have been bruised a little? In my situation, Dan's company has a computer system sophisticated enough to look up customers by last name, but unfortunately, Dan was simply too lazy to check the facts and fired a 10-year loyal customer based on his ego needs.

Don't lie to your customers as Dan lied to me. He told me he had fixed the car when he had not. His store must have been unable to properly align the car as he stated it needed to be, or why would he have put the tires back to how they were positioned when my son brought the car into the pros with tires in the first place?

It's the little things, the seemingly inconsequential decisions, that when extrapolated out into the marketplace that can cost a local store, a national chain, or any business both huge lost sales dollars and agonizing damage to the brand.

While I'm sure you are not guilty of the above situation, it bears repeating: When are 20 bucks and a store manager's ego more important than a decade of loyalty from a customer? Never!

Adapted from Rigsbee's forthcoming book titled, Customer Service Screw Ups--Learn from the Mistakes of Others. In this book, Rigsbee rants about the crummy customer service he has received and offers suggestions on how you can truly partnering with your customers.

Ed Rigsbee, CSP is the author of PartnerShift, Developing Strategic Alliances and The Art of Partnering. Rigsbee has over 1,000 published articles to his credit and is a regular keynote presenter at corporate and trade association conferences across North America. He can be reached at 800-839-1520, ed@rigsbee.com, or visit http://www.rigsbee.com.

Information Needed For Shipping Cost Estimates

2009-02-21T01:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Dr. Alfred Savio

If you are interested in getting an estimate for shipping a package, the following information will be needed:

1. The approximate weight of the package. Weight is an important component of the shipping cost calculation. Weights are usually measured to the hundredth of a pound. Rounding is up from the hundredth of a pound; therefore, a 10.01 pound package is rated at 11 pounds.

2. The approximate size of the packaging. Measure the length, width, and height of the package to the quarter of an inch. In most cases, round up to the next inch if the dimension you are measuring exceeds the inch marker on your tape measure; therefore, a dimension of 13.25 inches is generally rounded up to 14 inches.

3. The destination zip code. Knowing the destination zip code helps rate the package since the country is generally broken down into zones by the shipping companies. The further the origin zone is from the destination zone, the more the package will cost to ship.

4. Commercial versus Residential. It is easier for shipping companies to locate businesses. Businesses generally display their address on the building, whereas many residences do not. Businesses are generally located in the center of town, while residences can be situated out in the "boon docks," or remote areas. Shipping companies generally charge more for residential deliveries than commercial destinations. A home-based business is considered a residence if the owner sleeps at that location. The same holds true for shipping items to a hotel/motel guest. Shipping to a guest classifies the shipment as residential; shipping to the hotel staff (e.g., hotel manager) in the office classifies the shipment as commercial.

5. How quickly you need the package delivered. Since shipping companies have divided the country, and even the world, into various zones, the guaranteed delivery days and times vary by zone. Be prepared to pay a hefty premium for an overnight delivery to a far-away destination.

There are various on-line tools that can be utilized to estimate the cost of shipping a package. At www.theupsstore.com, www.ups.com, and www.usps.com there are cost calculators that utilize the information detailed above to estimate the cost of shipping your package. You can also utilize the services of your friendly, local The UPS Store location via a quick telephone call. Have the listed information available for a fast estimate for your shipment.

Fred Savio is a multiple center owner of The UPS Store franchise in southern New Jersey. Visit Fred's shipping blog at http://shippinginfo.blogspot.com/ or his store websites http://www.theupsstoreeggharbortownship.com or http://www.theupsstoremayslanding.com. You can email him at fredsinfo2006@yahoo.com.

Knowing Whos Who Where What And When 10 Tips For Good Customer Relationship Management

2009-02-20T01:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Nick Howard

I have been serving customers, guests, clients, friends and family for over 23 years. Serving customers has brought me more and more into the realm of technology where I have been blown away by what I can buy to help me "manage" those relationships better, more effectively, faster.

With new Customer Relationship Management (CRM) technology I can cross reference data until my imagination becomes tired, extract a myriad of reports, know in detail who is saying what to whom and when in my organization. In different organizations I have seen staff spend hours and hours typing up phone calls, meetings and other interactions - I have also seen these system unused, these entries unread. As much as organizations like to believe their CRM software will keep their staff informed in reality people like to talk to people about people. This is why I see a return to human customer relationship management, the return of the Relationship Manager - the point of contact for the customer and the organization.

23 years ago, as a student, I started out working with a famous hotel chain and they taught me something very valuable - good customer relationship management. Now this was never based on needing to know everything about the guest in fact respect for privacy was always a priority, no, good customer relationship management was about the human touch, the relationship between the customer and me.

10 Good Customer Relationship Management Tips

Respect your customer and that means respecting their right for you not to know everything about them.
Show genuine interest and learn to actively listen, aim to always help.
Trust is everything.
No surprises. Do not let your customer or client find out about something that impacts on them from another source.
Give notice, if something is going to change let your customer know in advance and prepare them for the change.
Be professional, never talk about other clients or customers to others,
Put the customer first; even if you do not agree actively try and come to a good solution.
Stay in touch.
Always say hello, if you are at an event or just walking down the street, always acknowledge with a smile.
Ah yes, always acknowledge with a smile.

For further tips on maintaining good customer relationships go to www.contactcenter.in

Nic Howard is a website planner and lover of excellent customer service.

Can You Profit From A Mail Order Help Line

2009-02-19T01:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by DeAnna Spencer

A lot of people are constantly thinking about starting their own business. A large majority of these people will choose mail order because of its intrinsic advantages.

Newcomers to the mail order industry normally ask the same types of questions. Who can help us? Someone, somewhere has to help a newcomer in mail order to become successful. It's inevitable! A lot of people think only large businesses can succeed in mail order. This is just one of the many misconceptions newcomers have toward the mail order industry. Another misconception is that mail order is a rip-off world - which is entirely untrue! Some of the best products and services are obtained through the mail!

The general public entering mail order for the first time cannot understand how the concept works. They are used to going into a store, looking at an item and purchasing it. Mail order (as we all know) is quite different. In fact - it's so simple to start a mail order business that most people can't believe they can do it. But with the proper education, these people can become thriving, money-making companies - ones that will remember YOU as introducing them to the market.

The Idea -If someone started a National Help Line for questions and answers for newcomers it would not only be a big help - but a fantastic money-maker for its owner. In fact, you might use the service to direct business to other mail order dealers by having them submit monthly dues in order to have business referred to them.

Suppose a newcomer wanted to get involved in publishing their own booklets. Several competent mail order publishers would buy the right to have this type of business referred to them. The newcomer calls the "HelpLine". If handled honestly and legitimately - this could turn into a pot-of-gold for you and help our entire mail order and small business industry as a whole!

The only thing left to do now is advertise the HelpLine phone number service you have. Initially, you will have to invest into advertising; and with something of this magnitude you should advertise in some national publications as well as adsheets and tabloids.

Another benefit to the person who would be establishing the 1-900 hotline would be that he or she could promote their own products and services, as well as obtain names and address of hot prospects; in which they could sell in the form of mailing lists.

DeAnna Spencer is a virtual assistant that helps entrepreneurs run a successful business by providing affordable administrative help. She also publishes a blog for small business owners. Visit this small business resource today.

Follow Up Tips For Computer Services Part 1

2009-02-18T01:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Joshua Feinberg

Follow up is an incredibly important aspect of your marketing and contact management systems. You need to be diligent but not aggressive with your follow-up, though. Your follow up should be creative and customized for each lead or prospect but never so overwhelming that you are perceived as a pest. You want your follow up to appeal to people; not drive them away.

Here are some tips for delivering excellent propsect follow up:

Send a follow up letter announcing that you're speaking at an event and invite them to attend.

Advise that you are exhibiting at a trade show. Use your follow up to give them a free pass for the show.

Send a follow up survey asking if anything has changed since the last time you spoke or met.

Ask for a referral in the form of a follow call, email, letter, etc...

After a natural disaster, send a follow up letter offering your assistance.

If you hear about a promotion they've had, some kind of award that they've won, some kind of new business that they obtained, or some positive media coverage, follow up with a congratulatory call.

If appropriate, discuss a joint venture opportunity like a joint trade show, seminar, etc...

Use major holidays as a natural follow up point by sending a card and best wishes.

Bottom Line on Follow Up

Follow up provides a legitimate reason to stay in touch with your prospects. You want to vary the type of follow up you provide. This keeps your name in your prospects' minds but does not become so overwhelming that you turn them off. Use the tips above to start creating some interesting follow up calls and letters. Stay tuned for more follow up tips next time...

Copyright MMI-MMVI, Small Biz Tech Talk. All Worldwide Rights Reserved. {Attention Publishers: Live hyperlink in author resource box required for copyright compliance}

Joshua Feinberg can help you grow your computer consulting business, the RIGHT way! Sign-up now for your free audio training program that features field-tested, proven Computer Consultants Business Tools.

A Different Approach To Sending Holiday Cards To Your Customers

2009-02-17T01:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Liz Ryan

Want to be startled? Don't send a holiday card to one of your clients, but ask him, a week after New Year's, "Did you get my holiday card?"

"Why, sure," your client will say. "Thanks for that." What else can he say? He got dozens of holiday cards from vendors. He figures he got yours, too, but it didn't stand out in his mind, because....vendor holiday cards never do.

This year, save your money. Don't send holiday cards to your clients at all.

Do this instead: pick a DIFFERENT time of year to send cards to your clients. Pick a holiday that makes sense for your business (buy a copy of Chase's Holiday Guide at any bookstore to search for a relevant holiday) or make one up. Send a card that says, "Today is national [here's where you get creative] day, and I was thinking about you."

Or, send your clients a card on their birthdays. That'll stand out. You can use Plaxo to find our your clients' birthdays. Or send them a card on the anniversary of the day you met them. Or send them a card on the anniversary of their founding date! That will be appreciated.

Do something different. Don't let your standard holiday card end up in a pile of recycling. Take the opportunity to put your own stamp on the holiday-greeting thing - and make an impact.

Liz Ryan is a former Fortune 500 corporate executive, an entrepreneur and the founder of WorldWIT, the world's largest online network for professional women (http://www.worldwit.org). She lives in Boulder, Colorado.

Cross Selling Shouldnt Be Crass

2009-02-16T01:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Dr. Gary S. Goodman

The other night I phoned to activate a charge card, expecting it would take a minute or two, and I'd be on my way.

Instead, I was held hostage by a representative who immediately launched into a talk-a-thon about balance transfers and perhaps five more topics that had nothing to do with the purpose of my call.

If I didn't interrupt, I might not have found the time to write this article.

Of course, I was being cross-sold, but it was being done so flagrantly, so crudely, and so insensitively, that even I, an ardent advocate of cross-selling (and up-selling--a kindred art), found the effort offensive.

What ticked me off about it?

(1) There was no attempt to weave this announcement into the fabric of the call. It came across simply as an impediment to keep me from getting what I wanted.

(2) It was a monologue, written as a one-way speech. The best speeches aren't easy to write because they are built on the expectations, needs, and values of the audience. So, even if one person does all the talking, everyone feels involved. But a bad speech can be penned by anyone. Bad speeches sound selfish, like the banter of a five year old. Clearly, this talk-a-thon was written by someone who hasn't a clue about communication.

(3) It was a bitter blast from the past. In the old days of telemarketing, it was common for representatives to do everything they could to keep people on the phone, even against their will. Every objection in the book would be either be ignored or crushed with a canned reply, and a high percentage of sales were consummated only after consumers were worn-down and felt they could resist no longer. Not wanting to seem rude, many buyers would dutifully listen, not out of interest, but because of politeness. These sorts of calls have been curtailed by the national Do-Not-Call Registry and accompanying legislation, but because I initiated the card activation call, and was technically an ongoing customer, the CSR was empowered to offend me, the old-fashioned, outbound telemarketing way.

There ARE alternatives to the techniques that were used on me. Cross-selling and up-selling can actually serve the interests of our customers by informing them about products and services that they might like to use.

There are several requirements for effective selling through customer service calls:

(1) The customer should feel, immediately, that his purpose for the call will be fulfilled, and that receiving great service isn't contingent upon having to listen to a canned pitch. Only then, will he relax and be receptive to an offer.

(2) The cross-sold products or services need to seem relevant to the customer and to the purpose of the call. For instance, when I designed a cross-selling program for a famous camera company, we scoured a list of 38 auxiliary products for the ones that would be most attractive and fitting to callers. We settled on 3 of them, and our campaign was a spectacular success.

(3) The customer should ASK for the information, and not have it foisted upon him. This is where communication expertise is essential in crafting a sales presentation that is seamlessly woven into the conversation. A customer who ASKS to be sold will really persuade himself to buy, and doesn't need to be pressured. Moreover, he'll be happier with his buying decision because he'll feel he made it voluntarily, and he'll be less likely to back-out of the agreement later on.

In a word, great selling feels like buying to the customer. And if you have helped them to buy, and have made the process pleasant, fast, and easy, well, you've then performed great customer service, as well.

If there's any trick to cross-selling and helping everyone to profit, that's it!

Dr. Gary S. Goodman, President of Customersatisfaction.com, is a popular keynote speaker, management consultant, and seminar leader and the best-selling author of 12 books, including Reach Out & Sell Someone® and Monitoring, Measuring & Managing Customer Service. A frequent guest on radio and television, worldwide, Gary's programs are offered by UCLA Extension and by numerous universities, trade associations, and other organizations in the United States and abroad. Gary is headquartered in Glendale, California. He can be reached at (818) 243-7338 or at: gary@customersatisfaction.com.

Good Customer Service Is Not Upselling Customers Into Oblivion

2009-02-15T01:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Lance Winslow

The new buzz-word in the Auto Industry for customer service is; Right-Selling, your customer. In other words do not sell your customer something they do not need or up-sell them into oblivion. The problem starts industry consultants continually talk about; dollars per customer sale.

In other words how much money did you make on average for each person it came in to purchase something? This is a bad way to judge your business especially if you are in a business which requires a repeat business to ensure success.

Oil change facilities, car washes and many other automotive service businesses work very hard and even pay extra commissions to their service writers when they up-sell the customer. But overselling the customer makes the customer think that they have paid too much and are over budget on their auto expenditures.

One industry analyst says; if the customer's butt is sore when they leave they are liable not to come back. But I believe it gets even worse than this, because a customer who feels that they have paid too much for service is when the only win in for an $8.99 carwash or a $19.99 oil change and in some paying $24.99 for a super deluxe carwash and hot wax or $149.00 oil change, transmission fluid change, engine flushing and several other ancillary services is not likely be happy.

This is why the term has been developed; Right-selling. And that means giving the customer services within their budget and immediate needs rather than up-selling them into oblivion. By right-selling the customer, you get a steady repeat customer and referrals too. Over selling means you lose the customer and that is just not good business. Please consider this in 2006.

"Lance Winslow" - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/

Is Bad Customer Service Killing Your Business

2009-02-14T01:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Tim Knox

It's time to beat the old bad customer service drum again. I know, I'm sick of beating the drum, too, but as long as bad customer service runs rampant through so many businesses I feel it is my entrepreneurial duty to bring it to your attention. So grab a pew and prepare to listen to the sermon I've preached before: bad customer service is the bane of business. If the Almighty smote down every business that dispenses bad customer service the world would be a much friendlier, albeit much sparser place. Consider a world without malls and fast food joints would it really be so bad?

What puzzles me most is if bad customer service is such a death knell for business, why do so many businesses allow it to go on? Don't they read my column, for Pete's sake? I think the problem is that most bad customer service is doled out (or at least condoned) by business owners and managers who have ceased caring what their customers think. When you stop caring what your customers think it's time to close the doors. Go find a day job. You'll make someone a wonderfully disgruntled employee. My latest parable of lousy customer service was actually experienced by my better half while attempting to buy my daughter a pair of basketball shoes. I won't mention the name of the sporting goods chain store in which the bad customer service took place, but I will tell you that its name is similar to the sound a frog with hiccups might make.

As my wife waited for someone to assit, the four or five teenagers who had been charged with manning the store stood in a clump at the cash register giggling and flirting with one another as if they were at the prom instead of at work. When my wife pointed out this fact, one of the employees, a cheeky lass of 16 or so, put her hands on her hips and said, "How rude!" The males in the group didn't react at all. They were too busy arguing over who could take a break so they could chase other cheeky lasses about the mall.

Needless to say my lovely bride, who has the ability to instill fear into the hearts of even the most worthless employees, left the gaggle of giggling teen idiots standing with their mouths open in disbelief. How dare a customer tell them to do that with a pair of basketball shoes?

As much as I bemoan bad customer service I celebrate good customer service. It should be applauded and the purveyor of said good customer service should be rewarded for actually delivering satisfaction to the customer above and beyond the call of duty.

So let me tell you the story of my new hero, Ken. I won't tell you the name of the store in which Ken works, but let's just say they started out selling radios in a shack somewhere long, long ago.

I first met Ken when I went into the store to buy a mixing board for my business that records audio products for the Web. In a nutshell, you plug microphones into the mixing board then connect it to the computer and you can record audio directly to digital format. Totally beside the point of this article, but I didn't want you thinking that I was purchasing non-manly cooking utensils.

When I got the mixer installed it didn't work. So I boxed it up and headed back to the store to return it. When I told Ken my problem he didn't just grunt and give me my money back as so many bad customer service reps would do. Instead he asked, "Do you mind if I try it?"

"Knock yourself out," was my reply, confident that if I couldn't get it to work, neither could Ken. Ken took the mixer out of the box and went about hooking it up to one of the computers on display. He started pulling power cords and cables off the display racks and ripping them open and plugging them in. He tore open a new microphone and an adapter and kept going until he had the mixer hooked up and working. Yes, I said working. It turns out the mixer was fine. I just had the wrong power adapter.

Ken could have just given me my money back and been done with me. Instead he spent 15 minutes and opened a number of other packages that I was under no obligation to buy just to help me get the thing working.

I was so impressed that I not only kept the mixing board, I also bought another $50 worth of products. And the next time I need anything electronic guess where I will buy it? Even if it costs twice as much, I'll buy it from Ken.

Now here's the moral of the story: if you are a business owner who has a gaggle of teenagers in charge of customer service at your store you would be better off replacing them with wild monkeys.

At least monkeys can be trained.

Tim Knox
Entrepreneur, Author, Speaker
Tim Knox is a nationally-known small business expert who writes and speaks frequently on the topic.

For more information or to contact Tim please visit one of his sites:
http://www.dropshipwholesale.net
http://www.smallbusinessqa.com
http://www.timknox.com

What Every Manager Should Know About Seeing The World From Where The Customer Is Standing

2009-02-13T01:00:00.001-08:00

Writen by Etienne Gibbs

It is important to remember that the customer doesn't necessarily see things in the same way we do. This point was brought home to me one day while I was shopping with my daughter, Stefanie, who was two years old at the time.

As I stooped down to tie her shoelaces, I immediately realized why she was becoming so irritable. She could not adequately see the toys that were displayed on the shelf above her head. At this point, I decided to pick her up and to continue shopping with her in my arms. The pleasant change in her behavior was quite apparent and welcomed.

Stefanie's experience taught me two lessons that I am passing on to you today:

* In dealing with children, with customers, and with people in general who may be from different cultures, we do them and ourselves a great service when we take the time to see their uniques situation from their very special viewpoint.

* Developing an emphatic attitude means listening, really listening, to what they are say. (I'm not referring to the superficial listening we are so prone to do by mouthing words to someone while our eyes and ears are glues to the TV. I'm referring to emphatic listening: listening with our eyes.) They might just happen to be our neighbors, friends, customers, co-workers, or employees are saying. And it means trying to feel as they feel. It's like the song says, "Walk a mile in my shoes."

To help you get into their frame of mind, imagine yourself in their limited experience and highly dependent situation. This will enormously increase your satisfaction and enjoyment of living and, at the same time, make you much more attractive to others as they recognize your sincere attempts to understand them and help them with meaningful solutions.

We all need strong egos to cope successfully with our world, but we need empathy, too. If we want to be successful in business as we are in life, then we must get into the other person's shoes and see the world from where he is standing.

Remember: When you maximize your potential, everyone wins. When you don't, we all lose.

PERMISSION TO REPUBLISH: This article may be republished in ezines, newsletters, and on web sites provided attribution is provided to the author, and it appears with the included copyright, resource box and live web site link. Although advance permission is not required, please notify us at execandgroup-consulting@yahoo.com when you use this article.

Etienne A. Gibbs, MSW, Management Consultant and Trainer, conducts seminars, lectures, and writes articles on his theme: ... helping you maximize your potential. He offers management, marketing, and parenting resources at his Maximizing Your Potential blog.

Three Myths Of Customer Service

2009-02-12T01:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Joe Love

At one time or another, all of us have been aggravated by bad customer service. The complaints are familiar: the dry cleaner who refuses to accept responsibility for staining your shirt; the salesperson who talks to a friend on the phone while handling your transaction; the hotel clerk who treats you like a trespasser instead of a guest.
The list goes on. And it happens all the time. Poor customer service is so rampant in this country that we've come to expect it.
Maybe that explains why most disgruntled customers don't bother to complain to organizations that don't give them quality service, they simply take their business elsewhere. They'd rather walk than talk.
Yes, I know, you've heard this before. Just as you've heard about the research revealing that unhappy customers do talk to their friends and family. According to customer satisfaction research studies, the average unhappy customer will tell nine or ten people about the poor service he or she received. In other words, large numbers of dissatisfied customers are routinely deserting organizations that displease them and are encouraging their friends to do likewise.
It's a familiar message. You've heard it, your children have heard it, your dog has heard it; for the past few years everybody has heard it. Service excellence! That's what consumers need!
Companies have certainly heard it. All sorts of organizations are striving to improve their customer service orientation. Hotels, hospitals, airlines, and online businesses now flood their customers with service quality surveys. Everywhere you look you see customer-contact people with service theme buttons on their lapels. Companies spend millions on training programs aimed at improving their employees' service skills. Customer service has been woven into the fabric of so many corporate credos you'd think abrasive employees would be an extinct species by now.
Yet despite all of this, only a handful of organizations have managed to achieve a standard of consistently excellent service. For some reason, it just isn't as easy as it sounds.
I think the problem is this: A lot of companies operate on the basis of some pervasive myths that make it difficult if not downright impossible, to achieve first-rate customer service.
1. The quality myth
"Pay attention to quality, and customer service will take care of itself." Many organizations focus a lot of effort on manufacturing quality. Quality gurus like W. Edwards Deming, Philip Crosby, and Genichi Taguchi have helped hundreds of companies use techniques such as statistical processes control to increase the quality of their products dramatically. But these efforts are often thought to be the sole answer to remaining competitive.
Reality: Quality and service are interdependent. It's impossible to describe quality adequately without considering it from the customer's point of view. If your product can't do what your customer wants it to do, it doesn't matter if your engineering department is proud of its innovative design and your manufacturing department can boost a terrific production record.
Even if you measure product quality from the customer's point of view, however, that alone does not ensure customer satisfaction. A superbly manufactured product with poor sales and service support will breed aggravated customers. How many products have you vowed never to buy again because of the poor service you associate with them?
Organizations that pursue quality improvements as the answer to all their problems are misguided. It is only part of the answer. Without superior customer service, efforts to improve product quality will be wasted.
2. The complaint myth
"Good customer service is a matter of knowing how to handle complaints." "Call 800-111-2222 or contact us at www. customerservice.com if you have any complaints." "Let us know if you're unhappy with your room; we'll change it." "Please fill out this form. We want to hear from you."
Companies have poured millions of dollars into making sure their customers have a chance to complain, complain, complain. The problem is, many of these companies never make strategic use of the complaints. And more often then not, they fail to provide complainers with satisfactory responses.
Reality: Without resolution, or at least some response, customers' complaints are just so much hot air. A company that focuses solely on complaint handling may win a few battles, but it will lose the war to keep customers satisfied. And this approach is no solution for the great majority of dissatisfied customers who never complain, but simply walk away.
Superior customer service involves much more than handling complaints. It means striving to provide customers with no reason to complain in the first place. Strategies aimed at consistently meeting and exceeding customer expectations are a must for achieving service excellence.
None of this suggests that you can forget about complaint handling, but it must be an integral part of a broader service strategy. Well-managed companies see customer complaints as a way to learn: What lesson can we derive from this complaint that will improve our service in the future? Successful companies also see complaints as opportunities to impress customers by going to any lengths necessary to resolve the situation to the customer's satisfaction. In other words, successful companies pay attention to complaints, but dedicate most of their efforts to preventing whatever caused the complaints in the first place.
3. The quick-fix myth
"Good service is simply good common sense." Many organizations try to take the easy road to improving service. They believe that by adopting a new service policy, introducing a new training program, or giving stirring pep talks to their employees, they'll become known for their excellent service.
Reality: This is the most lethal myth of all. As we've seen, it's not easy to achieve service excellence. There are no shortcuts or quick fixes. Organizations that build their reputations on service do so by observing not just one, but every "reality" there is to providing excellent customer service.
Good training without adequate selection is a waste of time and money. Carefully selected and well-trained service employees who are not empowered to look for ways to improve customer service quality are a waste of precious resources. Good service comes only from a well-executed, coherent strategy. All the pieces of the puzzle need to be in place.
The way we treat customers, listen to their needs and strive to meet their expectations will make the critical difference. We can continue to perpetuate the myths. Or we can face the realities, and take action to change.
Copyright© 2005 by Joe Love and JLM & Associates, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide.
Joe Love draws on his 25 years of experience helping both individuals and companies build their businesses, increase profits, and achieve total success. He is the founder and CEO of JLM & Associates, a consulting and training organization, specializing in personal and business development. Through his seminars and lectures, Joe Love addresses thousands of men and women each year, including the executives and staffs of many of America's largest corporations, on the subjects of leadership, self-esteem, goals, achievement, and success psychology.
Reach Joe at: joe@jlmandassociates.com
Read more articles and newsletters at: http://www.jlmandassociates.com

Computer Service Contracts Moving From Customer To Client

2009-02-11T01:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Joshua Feinberg

Computer service contracts are the butter of a computer services business. The difference between having a computer service contract and not having one, is what defines the difference between a customer and a client. As a business owner you want clients - people who are on long term computer service contracts.
Your goal is to move your customers into computer service contracts and begin a long term, stable relationship with them. The customers that you are in contact with several times a year should be very receptive to at least a small computer service agreement.
These are the customers you should spend time trying to convert. Make sure you keep in contact with them on a monthly basis. Let them know of special offers you are making and any discounts you have on computer service contracts. If a customer is calling you several times per year then they should benefit from a computer service contract. Outline to them what their savings would be.
Ultimately, you would like to have computer service contracts with everyone. That won't be possible. But even a $500 computer service contract gets them to raise their hand. They are indicating a willingness and ability to pay on a regular basis. This is what your business will thrive on - one regular, paying customer at a time.
Bottom Line on Computer Service Contracts Computer service contracts are golden to your computer services business. When you set up a computer service contract you are solidifying a long term relationship. For customers who aren't on a computer service contract but very easily could be - it is wise for you to keep in regular contact with them. These customers have the potential to turn into clients so you need to do whatever it takes to make that conversion happen.
Copyright MMI-MMVII, Computer Consulting 101. All Worldwide Rights Reserved. {Attention Publishers: Live hyperlink in author resource box required for copyright compliance}
Joshua Feinberg, co-founder of Computer Consulting 101, helps computer consulting business owners get more steady, high-paying clients. Learn how you can too. Sign-up now for your free access to field-tested, proven computer consulting secrets at Computer Consulting 101.

Dealing With Patient Objections

2009-02-10T01:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Carla Rieger

Do patient objections create discomfort in you or your staff? Ironically, if you welcome objections, they can inspire you to grow and thrive. In other words, patient objections can actually be the turnkey to creating excellent service and satisfied patients! The trick is to get to the heart of the matter and meet your patient's true needs. Every objection can be managed, even though not all of them can be overcome.
The good news is that you don't have to argue with patients or pressure them. Once a patient raises an objection, the key is to ask questions to identify the objection. Don't assume you know their concern right away, even if you've heard that objection many times before.
Invite Patients to Look at Your Eyewear
Here is a sample way to invite a patient to consider buying from you:
"Hi Linda, I know there are lots of other choices for eyewear in this town, and shopping around is a valid thing to do. And, goodness knows I love to shop! I also want you to know that we have the kind of styles and quality you can't get anywhere else in town. So, I'd love you to take a few minutes to try a few pair on and see how they look and feel. You might be really amazed."
Empathize
The patient might say, "I can't afford to get my glasses here." Instead of saying, "that's fine" and letting them go -- say,
"I appreciate your concern for the costs, Linda. Before I worked here, I suddenly needed reading glasses so, I got my first pair from the dollar store! They weren't bad, but they definitely caused me problems. They looked very wonky, among other things. I looked like Dr. Ruth on a bad day.
I just want to make sure you are as educated as you can be, because you are our patient and I want you to feel taken care of. whether you get your eyewear here or somewhere else."
It is important to empathize with the patient without necessarily agreeing to the validity of the objection. Be sure they are aware that you're concerned with what the patient needs and that you respect his or her opinion.
Determine Real Objection
Next determine if it is a true objection or is there is something deeper.
Ask open questions that require more than a YES or NO answer, such as:
"What gives you the impression that our eyewear is too expensive?"
"What is important to you in a pair of glasses?"
"Is there anything else that is in the way?"
"What kind of budget are you working with?"
"What prompted you to get an eye exam?"
"Who is your favorite glasses-wearing celebrity?" (just for fun)
Summarize
Once you have empathized and determined the real objection --- it's important to summarize and make sure you got it right. Do not refer to it again as an objection, use language that is positive. For example, "It sounds like your previous glasses were uncomfortable and that you are concerned about losing new ones. I also understand that you don't like the way your older pair looked and that your prescription is different now. And most of all it sounds like your arms are just not long enough anymore. Is that correct?"
Neutralize Objections
Now that you have a deeper understanding of their needs, you can more easily neutralize their concerns. Take this opportunity to show benefits or clear up misunderstandings. Reply with:
"If I can address your concerns to your satisfaction, would you consider taking a look at what we offer? You may be surprised about what's available now. Many people get amazed when they try a few pairs on. In fact, this may be the best trip to an Optometrist's trip you've ever had! (tongue-in-cheek, of course)"
If you get a "Yes", proceed to build value in the patient's mind. List the pros and cons of buying here versus elsewhere. This helps establish trust and that you are mainly concerned for what is best for the patient. Include pros and cons on both sides. True objections fall into one of two categories. They are either a misunderstanding or they are a disadvantage. If the objection results from a misunderstanding, do clear it up by giving accurate facts and benefits. For example,
"We offer certain guarantees and replacement insurance that you can't find elsewhere, and our opticians are very well trained to ensure you get the kind of frames that are most comfortable and best suited to your face shape. In addition, we offer a 20% discount if you buy your glasses the same day you receive an eye exam. At that discount, and when you factor in all the extras, a typical pair of reading glasses is about the same price as what you'd find at ________________. Plus, we have some new styles in from Europe that you won't find anywhere else in town that even look flattering on me! Does that answer your concerns?"
Reassure
"It will only take a few minutes. If, after you've tried a few pairs on, you still aren't sure, then go home and think about it or shop around. No problem."
Patient objections are challenging. When you use this method you can manage the objection so you are in control. You can step up to the challenge and grow through it to more satisfied patients.
Carla Rieger is an expert on creative people skills at work. If you want a motivational speaker, trainer, or leadership coach to help you stay on the creative edge, contact Carla Rieger.
Web site: http://www.carlarieger.com
Tel: 1-866-294-2988
Email carla@carlarieger.com

How Do I Love You Let Me Count The Ways Heres How I Do It At Solutions Ink

2009-02-09T01:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Steven Schneidman

Having been in business for over 20 years I sit marvelling at the change of business. I first started out of University working for a large Canadian Bank. Each account manager had a secretary and the norm was seeing many bank employees with ten, twenty and even thirty years of dutiful service to their employer. Most of the account managers got nominal raises each year and for the most part they were very uncomfortable with computers or technology. If you look around at bank employees today, there are very few employees with over 5 years of experience. All employees are very comfortable with technology and computers. E-commerce and internet banking are very common. There are very few secretaries, and account managers do all their typing for correspondences by themselves. Stock options and performance bonuses are the norm. We have turned into the me generation, where we'll stay with the company as long as it's good for me. Like wise the companies today keep their employees until it doesn't suit their needs, quickly offering severance packages rather than being saddled with an unwanted employee.
Is this really the wave of the future? Having left the large corporate world to start my own business in printing and promotional products, I watch as entrepreneur after entrepreneur tell me that the hardest thing to find, is good people to work for them. Being in this business I interact with all types of businesses both large and small in industries like education, fashion, finance, manufacturing, technology, accounting, medicine, pharmaceutical as well as the appliance industry. Technology is plentiful and you can find a multitude of softwares to run your business properly. Finding and retaining quality employees is the challenge. I decided that if I found that individual that I would do what I could to retain them. This mean't flexible hours, understanding personal problems and listening to constructive criticism. Giving the possibility for advancement to make employees look at their jobs as careers and not transient stops along the way, has also helped me retain my employees. Bosses today must treat their employees with respect and look at them as part of the puzzle rather than the last piece of the totem pole.
Now that we have dealt with employees, how should we deal with customers or clients? The answer in my opinion is listen to them. Don't push something down their throat. What's good for one may be totally wrong for someone else. Don't be dogmatic. Flexibility and speed to react are key to any growing business. Service, service and service will help you retain accounts. As loyalty has become a relic term, and competitive pricing has become the norm, service and the ability to make your customers feel that they are special, will play an increasing important role in growing your business. Rest assured that the only guarantee you have in business is that no matter how hard you try, no matter how right you are in decision making, customers will come and customers will go. Learn to utilize your time effectively. If you lose a customer a wise business practice would be to try to find out why? Once you assertained the reason, see if you can rectify the problem. If after a couple of unsuccessful attempts you have made no progress, Move On. Wasting too much time could devistate your business further. Regroup and try to figure out how you can replace this customer and attract even more new ones. Business is business, try not to take it personally. Living and learning is your best education. If you need help or advice give me a call at 514-337-2238 or visit my web site at Solutions Ink, if I can help it would be a pleasure to help others as many people have helped and advised me.
Steven Schneidman
Steven Schneidman has a B.A. in Psychology and an MBA in finance. He has worked a s a University Professor of Finance and worked for a large Canadian Bank before launching a successful printing and promotional product company.

Are You A Coward I Was

2009-02-08T01:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Colin Shaw

Over the last month, I have come to hate emails and answerphones; not because I get 100 emails every day but because emails and answerphones are fast becoming the tool of the coward. At Beyond Philosophy we worked with a client a while ago whose account managers and sales teams never used to speak to anyone! They just used to send emails. If the customer called in they were greeted by answerphones which were kept on all day. You see the sales teams were all busy doing "real" work. The customers were just interrupting them. Surely this must be the height of "inside out" behaviour.
But why do people do this?
Primarily, it is because we all feel we can say things in emails that we would never say face to face. In my experience this never works how people would expect. No matter how hard you try, you think you have written one thing and the person reads something else. Before you know it you have lost a customer or lost a friend. We seem to forget that that all important 'relationship' with the customer is built on human contact, not emails!
One example springs to mind a few years ago when I worked in a multinational organisation and was involved in a large internal project. Things were not going well. I decided to send a "broadside" to the party who were driving me nuts! I took great delight in constructing the email. It was actually quite therapeutic. I worked on it to get the right message across so they would absolutely read between the lines and understand what I thought. I pressed the button and off into the ether it went. I remember thinking, 'Great I have told them what I think'. COWARD! How stupid I was, how naive, how self-righteous I was, and how wrong I was!
I lived to regret it. The email caused a big argument. I had said things that were misinterpreted despite my best attempts to be clear. I ended up upsetting a lot of people. I ended up regretting sending it. I was wrong. Since that day I now have adopted a few rules with emails that I would like to share with you.
1. Insist that all calls are answered by people and answer phones are banned other than outside office or opening hours.
2. Never reply to an email when you are emotionally charged. DO NOT type a reply and press the send button, until you have had a cooling off period. Put it in your "Draft" emails and look at it the next day. I always end up changing mine.
3. When you think "Shall I talk to them or shall I send them an email? It is at that moment when that little voice in your heads says; "No, just send them an email that'll be simpler, you don't want to talk to them it may be embarrassing.." That is exactly the time I know I MUST talk to them. So pick up the phone and talk! It's never as bad as you expect and people always appreciate it.
4. Finally a plea. When anyone sends you an email, please reply. Don't just ignore it. Reply even to say "GO AWAY". I find it amazing that you can send an email to someone and they don't even have the courtesy of replying. What's your thought? If you have a view, drop me a line!
Colin Shaw Founding Partner, Beyond Philosophy © Beyond Philosophy 2004 - Ref. QR
Colin Shaw is the Founding Partner of Beyond Philosophy and guru of the Customer Experience Management. He has also produced two most successful books on customer experience which are now available in market. His first book, Building Great Customer Experiences sold out within just eight weeks, is on a third reprint and available in paperback.
Colin's second book, Revolutionize Your Customer Experience released in September 2004 and considered as Bible in Customer managment business world.
Colin has enjoyed over 20 years of experience working in blue chip companies, including Mars Ltd., Rank Xerox and BT. Colin's final position was Director of Customer Experience for one of the world's largest global companies. In his career, he has held senior positions in a number of different functional areas including Sales, Marketing, Customer Service and Training.
Ask Colin A Question
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Ten Customer Service Secrets To Win Back Customers

2009-02-07T01:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Ed Sykes

Recently I was facilitating an Outstanding Customer Service program and broke for lunch. Knowing that the restaurants in the area left much to desire as far as service I gave the students an extra fifteen minutes for lunch.
Sure enough a group of four students came rushing into the classroom with their lunches in hand. They apologized and quickly explained that they received poor service at a restaurant (This restaurant is part of a national chain. Hint: The restaurant's name references a day in the week. I can't give you the complete answer). They explained that after the waiter initially took their order, they waited 45 minutes before their food finally arrived. During the wait, no one came to check on them.
Finally, when the food arrived, it was time for the group to return to class. They were not happy, so they asked to speak with the restaurant manager. The manager approached and asked, "What was the problem?" One of my students explained the situation to which the restaurant manager replied, "The food ticket only shows you were waiting for eleven minutes." My students were still not satisfied and said as much to the manager. She asked them, "Would you like dessert?" My students re-emphasized their dissatisfaction. Each time my students expressed their unhappiness, the manager would say she was sorry. But my students weren't buying it. The manager then left without explaining where and what she was doing. The manager returned and told my students that their meals were free. Even though the manager gave them free meals my students said they will never go back to that restaurant or any other restaurant in that chain.
So why weren't these customers happy? The restaurant had an opportunity to turn a difficult customer service experience into a winning situation for all and squandered it. Not only will these patrons never go back to any restaurant in that chain, but they will tell others about their unhappy experience. The unhappy customer, on average, will tell 27 other people about their experience. With the use of the internet, whether web pages or e-mail, that number can increase to the thousands, if not millions with the click of a button. However, according to the Department of Consumer Affairs, 82-95% of unhappy customers will come back if impressed and actually refer five new customers.
Let's take a look at the ten secrets that will not only win back your customer in any situation, but have them referring new customers that will add more money to your bottom line revenue.
1. Smile
Nothing can turn a hostile situation into positive moment faster than a sincere smile. A smile that says, "I want to help you." It communicates that you are positive about the interaction with the customer. A sincere smile enhances the communication process so that you can find the solution faster.
2. Introduce Yourself as the Solution Creator
Make sure you introduce yourself, find out the customer's name, and let your customer know your position and why you are there. This lets the customer know you are taking responsibility for finding a solution. You might say something like:
"Hello, my name is Mike. I am the manager at this location. I am here to assist you in this situation, please tell me about it."
Notice I didn't say, "What's the problem?" By using "What's the problem?" you start the customer service situation in a negative note. The customer is thinking "You're the problem," "This establishment is the problem," "The whole world is the problem," etc. By starting your conversation with "I am here to assist you in this situation, please tell me about it" you are setting up a "verbal agreement" in the customer's mind to move to a solution. Note: If possible, please use the customer's name throughout the conversation.
3. Listen
Customers to want tell their side of the story and feel like they are not only heard but that you listened to them. Mentally take a step back and dedicate yourself to actively listening to the customer's story with an open mind so that you can find a solution. In the above situation, the manager stood silently while my students were explaining their story. Be active in your listening and create empathy ("put yourself in the customer's shoes") with statements such as:
"I can appreciate what you're saying."
"I can understand how you'd feel that way."
"I can see how you'd be upset."
"It sounds as if we've caused you inconvenience."
"What I understand the situation to be"
Please stay away from communication that alienates the customer such as:
"I don't know why you are so upset."
"That's the first complaint we ever got on that."
"I know how you feel." (Because you don't) "Boy, you're sure mad"
In the above story, the students told the manager that they weren't happy with the service because they didn't have time to eat their meals. The manager, not listening, said, "Would you like dessert?" The solution was not more food. Listen for the solution!
4. Be Sorry for the Right Reasons
Be sincere in your concern for the customer and say sorry the correct way. Many times in the heat of the customer service situation we want to show some sign of concern so we do the following:
The first words of the interaction are with the words, "I'm sorry." First, you didn't find out any information from the customer to be sorry.
When saying you are sorry, say exactly what you are sorry for.
The students, even though the manager kept repeating she was sorry, didn't think the manager was sincere in her apology. The correct way to say you are sorry is:
"I'm sorry you had to wait so long for your food."
"I'm sorry that you were treated that way."
"I'm sorry that our employee said that to you."
"I'm sorry this situation happened to you."
Let the customer know exactly why you are sorry. The students thought the manager's "sorrys" were insincere because she never mentioned why she was sorry.
5. Give Your Personal Assurance
Let the customer know you will personally create a solution for them. It could be as simple as saying, "I'm taking personal responsibility for this."
6. Ask Them What They Want
One of the fears that we have when trying to satisfy the customer is that we think they want something out of our reach. Ask the customer, "What would you like me/us to do?" or "What would make this situation right for you?" You will be surprised that in most cases the customer will ask for less than you were expecting.
7. Use Statements of Conviction
Say the following to gain the confidence of the customer:
"We're going to do something about that!"
"We will make a change right now!"
8. Present a Clear Plan of Action
Make sure the customer knows what you are going to do to correct the situation for them. Ninety-five percent of making things right for the customer involves making them aware that you are taking action to make a difference for them. Explain to them the actions and timelines you need to take to make things right for them. If you need to leave or make a telephone call to obtain additional information, say:
"Excuse me while I make a telephone call to obtain the best solution for you. This will take five minutes, can you please wait?
"Excuse me, I need to ask the person with the missing piece of information so that we can quickly resolve this for you. Do you mind waiting five minutes?"
Note: Make sure you get back to the customer before the time you specified. If you promised ten minutes, get back to the customer before ten minutes. Rule of thumb, double the time it would normally take to get the information. If you know it will take ten minutes to get the answer for the customer then tell the customer you will get back to them within twenty minutes.
9. Move Quickly to the Solution
If you applied steps 1-8 you are ready to give the customer the solution they wanted for a win-win situation. You can confirm this by saying the following:
"Would this be agreeable for you?"
"Is this the solution you were looking for?"
"Will this make things right for you?"
10. Ask for the Business
If you did everything right this is the perfect time to ask the customer to come back and do business with your organization. You showed that you were professional, caring, sincere, positive, and proactive. Why wouldn't they do business with you again?
Some of the way you can say this include the following:
"We would appreciate the opportunity to serve you again in the future."
"Please come back and I will personally guarantee you receive outstanding service."
"Here is a 20% coupon. Please use it on your next visit to our establishment."
It's important that you let the customer know that you appreciate their business and want them to come back. Remember, if you did everything right, not only will they come back but they will tell other people to do business with you. Use challenging customer service situations to win back your customers and build your business.
Ed Sykes is a professional speaker, author, and success coach in the areas of leadership, motivation, stress management, customer service, and team building. You can e-mail him at mailto:esykes@thesykesgrp.com, or call him at (757) 427-7032. Go to his web site, http://www.thesykesgrp.com, and signup for the newsletter, OnPoint, and receive the free ebook, "Secrets, Stories, and Tips for Marvelous Customer Service."

5 Ways To Avoid The Biggest Bottleneck In Your Business

2009-02-06T01:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Paul Speziale

What's the biggest bottleneck in any business? Besides sales, this often overlooked feature of any business could be causing you lost sales and your long term success. Use these tips to reduce the most costly (and annoying) bottleneck with businesses today.
Imagine for a moment that you have just spent a small fortune on marketing...you have a sale that you want to advertise and you have produced full page ads in the local newspaper setting you back $20,000 a day, sent out thousands of flyers, produced signs, sent out press releases and you even went on TV.
The big day arrives and a flood of people enter your store. You look at the people clawing at each other to buy your goods, while you eagerly wait to count your profits.
Then something bad happens...
A cashier decides to take a break to talk to his girlfriend on his cell phone. She breaks up with him on the phone and he comes back 15 minutes later, right into the heat of the crowded store and decides he doesn't care about anything anymore. He starts being rude to the customers, taking his time and tells some off.
Disgusted, your customers leave the store, and the profits you were counting in your head have vanished into the smoke they came from.
So what happened?
What happened is what many believe is one of the biggest problems of any business today...the people that interface to your customers.
Usually they are the most underpaid, under trained people in your business. And they are relied upon to handle all customer inquiries, complaints, joys and questions and basically close the sales.
It's not just in retail either. Any business that has prospects phoning and asking questions or placing orders has this problem.
If I had a nickel for every time I heard a story from a disgruntled long-time customer of some business that was driven away because the customer service person couldn't accommodate their request, I would have lots of nickels.
And you know, the people that represent your business, the ones that interface with the customer everyday ARE your business to the customer. If they are mad because of some "7 dollar an hour can't wait to get home to go drinking" customer service representative, they will lump you and your product right along into their mental state. If you receive a brick in the mail one day, you may be having this problem.
So how do you avoid this bottleneck?
First, isolate who is having any contact whatsoever with your customers.
1. Who's answering your phones?
2. Who's on the floor greeting your customers?
3. Who's answering the emails?
4. Who is responding to your white mail?
5. Who is placing the order?
6. Who is making the sales?
Second, you need to be constantly educating them and training them as to your specials, new products, etc. Make sure you have a networked computer system to take notes for telephone operators. There is nothing more frustrating then phoning one customer service person, only to have to retell your problem to another one 10 minutes later after they mistakenly hang up on you.
Third, educate them on how to deal with people. Once they know why certain customers behave the way they do, they might not be rude with them or they can adapt their behaviour to build rapport and guarantee the sale.
Fourth, give them a little negotiating power. Some customers will try to negotiate. Give the person some room with that just to appease the customer's desire to "get a good deal". Often people will warm up when there is some negotiating room.
Lastly, perhaps give the people that deal with customers a spiff, or small reward for their excellent people handling skills (in other words, closing the sale). It doesn't have to be money. In fact, chances are it will be material things, not money. Find out what your employees want the most. It can be an IPOD, or a trip, your own products, or something to encourage them that maybe they should make an effort with your customers.
Paul Speziale is a direct marketing consultant / entrepreneur based out of Toronto, Ontario. He has served all industries from manufacturers to retailers, from entrepreneurs to professionals. Besides helping clients, he is working on his own projects. He also volunteers his time for several worthy causes both local and global. You can reach him at: http://www.AnelloSolutions.com: Growing Your Business Through Low-Risk, Optimized and Results Based Marketing

Quality Of Customer Service Is Most Important

2009-02-05T01:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by James Hunt

For those of you who are working in a customer service industry, the quality of that customer service itself is the most important aspect of the job. People respond positively to good customer service. IF you are a business owner then you know how the saying goes, it's easier to keep a customer, as it is to get a new customer. In order to keep your customers and build up some form of clientele that feels loyal to your company. Therefore you must put in the time and effort to keep your customers and your level of customer service up to where it should be.
In most areas of customer service there will be some time on the phone. If your job requires you to place and receive phone calls, you must ensure that you are always polite and customers. This is a great time to strengthen the relationship between the owner and the customer. Customer's respond better to a business owner who is approachable and interested in their lives then someone who seems bothered and rushed. However, there are those that can become annoyed when the customer service representative becomes too personal. For those people who are in the customer service area, they should attempt to find a happy medium between being too friendly and not friendly at all.
At times in the customer service industry you will come into contact with less than satisfied customers. These people may become angry and they may yell. Sometimes it is hard to contain yourself and you might want to argue back. However, when you are working as a customer service representative then you must be able to control yourself. You should never interrupt an irate customer. If they are getting angry with you then you should just let them vent. Let them have their say and once they are done you can begin explaining what you can do to help solve the problem. The key to customer service is to always be obliging and polite.
James Hunt has spent 15 years as a professional writer and researcher covering stories that cover a whole spectrum of interest. Read more at http://www.customer-service-central.info

Customer Service A Chickens Way

2009-02-04T01:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Holly Powers

Anyone who knows me knows my favorite fast food restaurant is Chick-fil-A. Aside from the fact their chicken is especially good and I can always get sweet tea, I have a valuable business reason for eating there they serve up amazing customer service. And these lessons aren't just served in my nearest location. But in any city, any town, any time I have been to a Chick-fil-A, I have left feeling like the most valuable Customer.
Now you may wonder what you can learn for your business, from a fast food restaurant. In short, plenty. Just because your business is different does not mean you can't take someone else's ideas or techniques and make them applicable to what you do. So I challenge you to be open to what you can learn from a chicken.
They are focused.
Chick-fil-a knows their expertise is making good chicken. You don't drive up to their window with options such as beef, pork or fish. Their focus stays on what they know. No empty promises of the best steak in town or a delicious oriental creation, just chicken. We should do the same for our Customers.
Don't pretend to have expertise where you can't deliver. Customers are good at sniffing us out. If you promise something you can't deliver just to get their business; you will be without a Customer.
They give me what I want.
I love Polynesian sauce (dipping sauce for nuggets) for my French fries. Chick-fil-A never charges me extra even though I don't order their nuggets. They are happy to give me what I want.
How many times to we charge our Customers all these added fees if they want something that is not the standard? When your Customer is hungry for something different make it easy for them to eat.
They rest.
I often crave chicken on lazy Sunday afternoons but Chick-fil-A is never open for business due to clear company values and beliefs. They choose Sundays as a day to rest. They are never open, no exceptions, and according to their business plan they never will.
So often we cheat our Customers by not breaking from our work. Too much work can lesson our ability to concentrate, cloud our focus, and leave a bitter taste in our mouth. How much help are we to Customers if we are burned out?
They train their employees.
At a Chick-fil-A visit you will hear things like, "It is my pleasure to serve you." "Please." "Thank you." "I look forward to seeing you at the window." The atmosphere includes smiles, laughter, and happy workers who appear to love their job. And I doubt their happiness is based on a love for chicken they have been trained to value the Customer.
If you want to excel as a business, hire superstars that believe the Customer writes their paycheck. Set expectations with your employees and staff that outstanding Customer Service is expected, not optional. Add Customer Service as a major part of an employee's orientation. And most importantly lead by example. S.Truett Cathy, chose to do things his way by taking care of Customers and employees by hiring operators and managers that believed in his philosophy. To date, Chick-fil-A, the company he founded has more than a billion in sales annually.
I encourage you to visit a Chick-fil-A when you get the chance. I will continue my weekly visits to reaffirm my Customer service beliefs (and to get a chicken sandwich, no pickle with a large sweet tea!). p.s. You will notice in both articles the word Customer and Client are capitalized. Capitalizing the word is just one way we can remind ourselves of the great importance Customers have for our businesses. After all, without them, we wouldn't be in business.
Holly Powers is passionate about Customer Service in her role as the Client Development Princess for The Kevin Eikenberry Group. She is also the editor of Unleash Your Potential, an electronic newsletter devoted to helping leaders, professionals and organizations reach their full potential. To learn more about Unleash Your Potential or subscribe go to http://www.KevinEikenberry.com/uypw/index.asp.

Develop Loyal Customers For A Lifetime Part 1 1 10

2009-02-03T01:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Alicia Smith

Traditional marketing strategies encourage business owners to continually grow their businesses by adding new customers. In today's competitive world of business, it is more important than ever to aim for more transactions with existing customers by using the power of customer follow-up and attention to good service.
These first ten tips will help you in turning your existing customers into walking billboards for your business and loyal customers for a lifetime. While we aren't advocating that you do all of them, choosing your favorite five and making sure they become a part of your marketing efforts will pay off handsomely.
1. Call your clients every Monday morning just to say "Good Morning," and to check in on how things are going. This extra ounce of attention will keep you forefront in the minds of your clients, and they will greatly appreciate your extended care and concern.
2. Keep a list of birthdays, special days of celebration, and upcoming special events in the life of your clients and their families. On these special days, send a card or small gift to let your clients know you are thinking of them. On the same note, keep a detailed list of hobbies, interests, favorite foods, preferred music, and the like. As you travel or are out and about, and you see a small token which you know your client would appreciate, buy the item, and ship it with a note that says "I thought of you when I saw this! Enjoy!" One of the most desirable "client perks" is tickets to a favorite sporting event or concert. Many companies purchase packages of sporting event tickets strictly for the purpose of entertaining champion clients and for building a long lasting relationship with the individual.
3. Be "Newsy" and a Trend Setter. One of the best ways to develop loyal clients is to become a trendsetter, continue your own education and training, and to become a forward thinker. By attending training events and reading cutting edge magazines such as Dwell, Futurist Magazine, FAST Company, Gourmet, Architectural Digest, and even Cosmopolitan Magazine, you will be able to follow trends which are current, allowing your clients to receive the newest and best information available on a variety of topics from business to fashion to design to travel to new foods on the market.
4. Attend conferences for your clients. For clients who are too busy to attend a conference, you can offer to attend a conference in their place. The best approach is to choose a conference that will benefit both you and your clients, and you pick up the tab (you will be able to deduct your cost as a business expense, so keep records and receipts for all expenses). While attending the event, collect a "goody bag" for each of your clients, that will include samples from the conference exhibit and any written materials, which you feel may be of benefit to your clients. When you return from the event, host a one-hour conference call or teleclass to update your clients on the latest/greatest in their industry.
5. Feature your clients or referral partners on your website or in your newsletter as your honored man or woman of the month/week. Contact your clients or people you often refer others to one month prior to publication, and invite them to be interviewed as your "guest expert" for the month/week. Record the interview, transcribe the interview, and post the recorded interview and transcription, along the client's photograph, biography, and contact information on your website or in your newsletter. The enhanced visibility will speak volumes to your clients about your support for their lives, and will show others that you are committed to the personal and professional improvement of others.
6. Invite your clients for a "sneak peek" to test a new product, service, or teleclass before the general public is invited to participate. Make this "sneak peek" unforgettable. If you are offering the preview in a live setting, provide wonderful food and drink. If this is an online event, teleclass, or virtual offering, make the sneak preview say "WOW" with fabulous graphics, distinct digital audios or videos, a dynamic power point presentation, and a copy of a 15-20 page document which will add value to the life of your clients.
7. One day each week, send your clients a special quote or a brief story of inspiration. A wonderful online free resource for quotes and stories of inspiration can be obtained through the www.cybernation.com. Cyber Nation is one of the largest online quote libraries celebrating the famous words of men and women from history, both past and present.
8. Adopt the philosophy of Fed-Ex. Do you know what Fed Ex says? "When it's a matter of hours, it's a matter for FedEx. We can pick up and deliver door-to-door 24/7/365 including weekends and holidays and give you immediate confirmation. Just pick a service and pick up the phone." Quick service, 24/7/365 is the number one reason that the majority of consumers in the United States choose Fed Ex over other parcel delivery companies. As a coach, you will develop loyal customers by being highly responsive and by delivering answers with lightning speed. When your customers expect a response, they usually expect it within 24 hours, so give them what they want, and you will develop a long list of "raving fans."
9. Be highly accessible. Provide your clients with multiple ways to contact you, including e-mail, fax, mobile phone, business phone, and home phone. If you travel, contact your clients in advance to let them know you will be away from the office for a few days and let them know how they can reach you in the event of an emergency. Simply letting your clients know that you are always available is very reassuring and will send the client the message that you care enough to be there for them at any time.
10. Open a private page on your website "For Clients Only." This special page on your website will be a private area which will include valuable resources not made available to the public at large. This page may include a free e-book, free audio course, free articles authored by you, or a growing list of resources you make available at no charge to those men and women who do business with you. The key to a successful private resource page is to continually update the page, adding new resources that are fresh and "cutting edge."
© Copyright 2004 by Alicia Smith and Bea Fields
Alicia Smith is a Coach and Trainer whose specialty is helping coaches to Make Money Now. This article is derived from just one of the 90 lessons contained in her e-course, 90-Day Marketing Marathon. To learn more about that course and her other products and services, please visit the following sites. (You also can email her at alicia@aliciasmith.com.) http://www.90DayMarketingMarathon.com http://www.discninja.com http://www.InternetAssessments.com

How Customer Call Centers Have Improved And Why They Are Crucial For Your Business

2009-02-02T01:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Gregg Hall

When it comes to call center support for customers, there are dual benefits seen for both the consumer and the company. There is a great need for the answering of questions or need for the necessary walkthrough in regards to a service or product that could occur at any hour of the day. This is when the call center for customer support becomes a much needed tool for all of the everyday, unexpected questions that may arise. Today, call centers handle a high volume of calls and depending on the ease and helpfulness of service, a customer will feel comfortable coming back to use these services.
Customer support is a vital tool for making a connection with a customer. The service helps to save money, as well as increase the potential profits of a business or company. The establishment of a call center allows service to reach a wide range of locations throughout the world. Call center maintenance and customer service availability is not only offered through telephone means, but also offered in other ways. Another popular mode of communication is through the Internet. There are numerous websites that feature customer and technical support. These websites are also built on the foundation of providing help to customers in an effort to keep the customer happy, as well as decrease common costs. For example, the shipping, handling and delivery of product review costs money. If you can provide the customer with the knowledge and tools to access and fix their product on their own, this may avoid additional costs, time, as well as manpower.
It is not uncommon to encounter call center services that offer customer support in the form of convenient, automated services. By pressing a few buttons, you could be well on your way to getting the answers you are looking for. This eliminates the cumbersome wait time to speak to an individual. It also cuts costs for the company by not having to employ a high amount of workers to handle calls. This is also more beneficial for customers because they can reach answers at any time of the day. The time it takes to receive assistance is reduced and the potential for finding a solution is increased. This form of call center help is quite convenient and cost efficient when the automated service is equipped to handle a wide range of common, as well as uncommon problems.
Some of the most common call center services offered include technical, online, billing and sales support. There isn't one answer to solve all problems; therefore, there is a need for different branches and levels of service provided from various call centers. When done efficiently, a customer support call center can lessen the void between companies and their customers. This can also promote better communication between different businesses, keeping all parties involved much happier and satisfied.
Gregg Hall is an author living in Navarre Florida. Find more about this as well as business communication at http://www.businesscommunicationsolution.com

Complaint Letters How To Respond In 7 Simple Steps

2009-02-01T01:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Robert Warlow

Ask many small business owners what goes into providing great customer service and you have answers such as, being polite, serving promptly, keeping your promises etc. But in this hi-tech age, we tend to forget that the humble letter has just as an important role in ensuring good customer service. Yet how many times have you received a 'letter of apology' which makes you even more dissatisfied? The message it conveys, the language used all designed to wind you up!
With some careful thought, a well-crafted letter can provide comfort to a complaining customer and enhance your reputation as a customer-focused business. In this article I am going to share some tips on how to write a great letter.
What are you writing for?
To write a great letter you have to be in the right frame of mind. Are you writing to handle a complaint, answer a query or to thank them for placing an order? Framing the letter in the right context means you will use the appropriate language and the tone will be right. Try writing a thank you letter as if you are responding to a complaint the message is totally different.
Before putting pen to paper, think for a minute and decide what your aim or goal is.
State your purpose
Start off by summarising why you are writing. Open your letter by saying that you are responding to a query, or to resolve a problem they have had. This set out to the reader why you are contacting them and puts them in the right frame of mind to accept your message. An opening summary will grab their attention.
Include a W.I.I.F.M.
No, this is not some obscure radio station! WIIFM stands for 'What's in it for me?' To truly engage your customer and get them on your side, you have to include a benefit for them. They have to get something out of your letter so they feel satisfied. What could their WIIFM be? Their complaint may be resolved; they may get a discount voucher; a priority service the next time they use you. If the compliant is a minor one, a simple, heartfelt apology may be enough!
Study your letter carefully and make sure you have a WIIFM moment.
Don't say 'I'
Wherever possible, avoid littering your letter with I's. The reader will find it hard to link with you if they receive 'me, me, me' letters. Review your letters and wherever possible substitute 'I' with 'you'. Change the focus to the reader. Make them feel valued.
Write as you speak
I forget the number of times I have received letters, which read as if they were written in the early 1900's! Packed full of boring, stiff and outdated language too formal. Your writing style should reflect the way you talk. After all, providing good customer service is partly down to how you interact or communicate with your client and letters play an important role.
So, review your letters and get rid of those phrases you learnt in school letter-writing lessons!
"Please do this"
Having written a great letter, you don't want it to tail off into nothing. Have a clear action-orientated close. Make sure your reader knows what you expect him to do next "call me so we can discuss this idea in more depth", "Fill in the attached form and pop it in the post", "send me an order" (a bit strong perhaps but certainly to the point!). A resounding call-to-action is a great way to finish a letter and leaves the customer in no doubt what he has to do next another element of good customer service.
Ask someone to check your letter
If you are writing a very important letter or one containing a complex message, it's wise to ask someone to proof read it. This is not just to check your spelling but also to check readability. Is the structure of the message you wish to convey clear and understandable? You'll be amazed by what someone else will pick up which you have completely missed!
So, there you have it. Some useful tips on how to write a superb letter, which will further enforce your image of providing exceptional customer service.
© Robert Warlow Small Business Success
Small Business Success is a resource dedicated to helping small business owners be more successful. If you are looking for a regular flow of ideas and tips then subscribe to Small Business Success a free newsletter, which provides you with quick tips, ideas and articles. Visit http://smallbusinesssuccess.biz

Stop Cancellations Returns And Buyers Remorse

2009-01-31T01:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Claude Whitacre

How would you like to never have to worry about refunds again? I'm not talking about the refund where someone buys the wrong $5 widget. I'm talking about the High End Sale that took you an hour (or two) to complete. I mean the sale that made your day. Would you like to know how to make sure that sale doesn't come back?
Why do customers cancel? Returns come in your door for one of a few reasons; 1) The customer saw your product for less somewhere else. 2) A competitor (or relative) talked them into bringing it back. Or.....
The number one reason you get returns is......... They don't know how to assemble (or more likely) use what you sold them. We used to have a salesperson named Roger. (This was In-Home sales). Some of the other salespeople called him "Next day return" Roger. Most of his sales showed up the next day, with the vacuum cleaner, for a refund. Eventually, curiosity got the better of me, and I went with him on a sales call. He was polite, demonstrated well, and got the sale. Then he handed them the instruction book & said "Here you are. Any problems, the book will help you". I said "Folks, let me show you how to get the most use out of your new machine. OK?" Then I spent the next 15 minutes showing them how to use it. When we got in the car, he asked me why I wasted all that time after we got the sale. He had no clue. Of course, they didn't cancel. A Miracle!
No customer is going to come in your store & admit that they can't figure out how to use your product. Ever. But they will return it and give you a perfectly logical reason (one crafted to be completely out of their control) why they have to return it. With in-home sales, it was Lay-offs. Everyone who cancelled just found out the night before, that they got laid-off from work. We caused more lay-offs!
The moral of the story? Show your new customer how to get the most from their purchase. If the product has a reset switch, show them where it is & explain that it may need to be pressed when the motor heats up. You get the idea.
There are several other things you can do to almost guarantee your customer doesn't return the item. For example;
Give the customer a free gift just before they leave. Make it something that they will value. Something you didn't mention before.
Send a gift after the sale. The same day as the sale, we send a coffee mug (or 2 if it was a couple). We include a $10 Gift Certificate. We even make a profit on the Gift Certificates.
We also include a $10 Gift Certificate for a Friend. It brings in new customers, at a profit.
If you sell something that needs quick assembly, do it for the customer. And don't charge them for it. If you charge them, it's not a favor. If there is any paperwork, help them fill it out. We always register the warranty for the customer. One less thing for them to worry about, and one less thing that can cause a cancellation. Registering the warranty for the customer, in front of them, also shows them that the sale is finalized. Don't leave these details to the customer. If they can't figure something out, they return it.
Don't let that happen to you.
"Sign-up now for my FREE Retail Marketing course "Unfair Advantage Retail Strategies". About once a week, I'll provide you with valuable retail marketing strategies that have been proven and tested,(mostly by me). http://www.claudewhitacre.com

How To Provide Exceptional Solutions Not Just Service To Your Clients

2009-01-30T01:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Donna Gunter

In 2003, I moved to Little Rock, AR, and I was amazed with how helpful my new property manager was. If you haven't moved recently, you may have forgotten all the joy associated with having to arrange to shut off your utilities, phone, cable, etc. and arrange to have them hooked up at your new location. Then, you have to deal with mail forwarding, finding new service providers for all aspects of your life, and then deal with the move itself. When I made a cross-country move in 1998 from MA to TX, I had the luxury of being able to quit my job and focus solely on the move and on selling unwanted items. Now, as a solo business owner, I no longer have that luxury, and the processed caused a meltdown or two.
However, my saving grace was my property manager.. The information and resources that she had available has greatly decreased the amount of time I'd need to find this info on my own, and in some cases, she had her own contacts with some of the companies. For example, upon my decision to rent from her company and completing the paperwork, she handed me a packet of info to help with my move. Within that I found contacts for the electric, gas, telephone and water companies, along with the deposit fees required and installation charges I could expect to pay. There was a brochure from the cable company with all the options available from them, along with the pricing of their services. All of this info was in a great folder from a moving company with moving tips, in addition to having mail forwarding cards that I could complete and return to my local post office. I was talking to her about my options for a mover, and she proceeded to open the Little Rock phone directory and found the name of a moving company she could recommend, as well as ripping out a discount coupon for them from the back of the book. When I decided that I wanted to rent a PO Box as a business address for my business, I called her and discovered the branches of the USPS that are close to my new home. I can honestly say that I've never had such a great one-stop shopping experience in my entire life!
And, it didn't end there! While in her office, I noticed that she had bookcases full of videos and DVDs. The residents of all of the properties owned by the company could drop by the office and check out videos at no charge. What an amazing array of resources I had at my disposal! I truly felt I had gotten exceptional service from this company because of all the resources that my property manager had at her disposal that provided solutions to the problems I was having.
The idea of being in the solutions business came to me when I read about an article in the Arizona Republic regarding a child care facility in Ohio that offers fresh Starbuck's coffee for the parents when they drop off their children in the morning, a dry cleaner drop-off service, as well as home-cooked and healthy meals that parents can take home with them when they pick their kids up. Now, isn't that a big jump from offering child care services to offering a solution for really busy parents?
So, how can you be a solutions provider instead of a service provider in your business?
The first way is to identify ALL of the problems that your clients may have. If you're not sure what those are, ask them! Your business may not be able to help solve all of them, but you may be able to help your client with those that are most pressing. Brainstorming these may cause you to have to think outside the box and figure out how you might best serve your client. You will probably discover that you'll need to have a list of tried-and-true reliable service professionals at your disposal.
If you don't have a list of professionals at hand, there's no time like the present to create this list. If you can create strategic alliances with other businesses who can service your client base, by how much might all of your businesses profit from such an alliance? There's strength in numbers, and truly the business owners with the biggest Rolodex and the greatest number of contacts wins!
Your clients are busy -- heck, we're all busy these days. Anything you can do to save them money, time, or energy will engender their lifelong loyalty to you, and lifetime referrals! Start providing solutions to your clients, and they'll become your most vocal referral agents!
Copyright 2006 Donna Gunter
Online Business Coach Donna Gunter helps self-employed professionals make more profit in less time online. To sign up for more FREE tips like these and claim your FREE ebook, TurboCharge Your Productivity: 50 + Tools To Help You Automate Your Business and Make More Profit in Less Time Online!, visit her site at http://www.OnlineBizCoachingCompany.com

It Consulting Providing Clients With Credit

2009-01-29T01:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Joshua Feinberg

In running an IT consulting business, do not be too quick to give new clients credit. Even when you give them credit, keep their lines of credit relatively low until they've built up some history with you.
Provide Low Lines of Credit
If you have new IT consulting clients, it may make sense to start them out, even if you get a credit application and send out some credit reference letters, with a $500 or $1,000 line of credit. Don't go allowing them to hang you up on a $5,000 or $10,000 leash before they've proven they're able to pay small invoices.
If they need a lot of work before that, it makes sense to get larger deposits and be able to accept credit cards, but do not be too quick to give new IT consulting clients credit. It's a way to get yourself in big financial trouble really fast.
Require Written Agreements
It's even worse if you're selling products like hardware, software and peripherals. Always insist on written agreements for your IT consulting business. Verbal promises are for amateurs and belong in an era of time that disappeared decades ago.
State what you're going to do, how you're going to do it, when you're going to do it, what it's going to cost and the payment schedule, in four to six sentences. Of course, on larger IT consulting projects you will need multi page proposals.
The Bottom Line about IT Consulting
Always insist on written agreements, even if it's a very small job. Just type up a couple sentences, a letter of understanding, to ensure you and the client are on the same page.
Copyright MMI-MMVI, PC Support Tips .com. All Worldwide Rights Reserved. {Attention Publishers: Live hyperlink in author resource box required for copyright compliance}
Joshua Feinberg helps small business technology providers get more steady, high-paying PC support clients. Sign-up now to get your free access to Joshua's field-tested, proven secrets for generating more monthly recurring service-contract-revenue with PC Support Tips.

What Exactly Is Customer Relationship Management

2009-01-28T01:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Ian Miller

The defintion of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) that I favor is "CRM is the business strategy that aims to understand, anticipate, manage and personalize the needs of an organization's current and potential customers"
From this we can learn that CRM is more than just a piece of software; CRM is a business strategy, one that puts the customer at the heart of the business.
"That's nothing new" I hear you say, and you would be right. Good business people have always understood the relationship between happy customers that come back again and again and creating long term, sustainable profitability.
You just have to think of the local shop owner who knew everyone of his customer's names, birthdays and particular ailments to prove that point. What is new is that there now exists the technology to enable this customer-centricity on a much larger scale.
It is said that a successful CRM implementation will allow your Customer Service, Sales and Marketing people (and anyone else in your organization) to have a holistic view of each and everyone of your customers. In theory this will enable them to make quick, informed decisions, create cross selling and up selling opportunities, measure marketing effectiveness and deliver personalized Customer Care.
Sound's great doesn't it!
The History of CRM
Following on from Enterprise Resource Planning or ERP (the business strategy that promised to automate the "back-office"), the term CRM was first coined in the mid-1990s. CRM in those days referred to the software used to help businesses manage their customer relationships. From sales force automation software (SFA) that focused on customer contact management to integrated knowledge management solutions, these were the early foundations of CRM.
The last couple of years have seen the term broaden to encompass a more strategic approach and the investment of billions of dollars worldwide into CRM solutions and services has followed.
First Things First
Successful CRM always starts with a business strategy, which drives change in the organization and work processes, enabled by technology. The reverse rarely works.
The key here is to create a truly Customer-Centric philosophy that touches every point and more importantly every person in the company. From CSR to CEO everyone must live and breathe customer focus for all of this to work.
At the same time you should look at your which processes could be re-engineered to make them more effective for your customers. Until you have done this, put away your chequebook!
The Right Technology
It is estimated that the global market for CRM services and solutions is currently worth $148 billion. That means a lot of choice when selecting your technology - from web-based solutions aimed at small businesses with less than 10 employees to solutions suitable for multi-national enterprises with millions of customers.
The Future
CRM has already made a big impact in the world of Customer Service and will continue to do so. As more and more companies become customer-centric those that fail to do so will lose competitive advantage. As technology increases to develop at a startling rate the key emphasis will be how we can fully utilise it within our business.
However let's not lose sight of the fact that Customer Relationship Management is about people first and and technology second. That's where the real value of CRM lies, harnessing the potential of people to create a greater customer experience, using the technology of CRM as the enabler.
CRM may or may not prove to be the answer to providing excellent customer care, but the philosophy of putting customers at the heart of our business is definitely a step in the right direction.
Ian Miller is Editor of The Customer Service Manager - An online resource for Customer Service Managers and professionals. On the CSM website you can read about the latest customer service trends, make use of useful management tools and sign up for a free customer service newsletter. Visit http://www.customerservicemanager.com for more details.

Whats Changing In Customer Service The Top 5 New Things That Customers Want

2009-01-27T01:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Jane-Michele Clark

We all know that good customer service is paramount to growing a business and increasing profitability. What many managers are failing to realize, however, is that rapid changes in technology have lead to equally rapid changes in the delivery of quality customer service.
In addition to the basics we all have heard time and again, there are five new areas of customer service that should be addressed to keep customers happy.
What do customers say?
1) Preserve me from auto-attendant hell! Customers are becoming increasingly annoyed and frustrated with having to sift through a multitude of options and press numerous buttons only to be told that the desired service is only available through the company's website. Worse is when the auto-attendant uses voice recognition but doesn't 'recognize' your voice.
It's understandable that companies want to reduce costs by using attendants and, there's no question that these are valuable tools. Yet, people want to connect with human beings; they don't want to listen to a long list of prompts especially not if they are having a problem (and let's face it, that's what usually triggers the call in the first place). To keep customers happy, here are few simple tips:
Always make it easy for customers to reach a human being.
Give people the option of voice prompt or touch prompt.
If you do use an auto-attendant, limit the number of menus to two rounds of choices before the customer reaches a human being.
If you have asked the customer to key in account information, transfer the profile along with the call.
If the call has been answered by a company rep, and needs to transfer the call to another department, do not put the customer back into a long queue.
Instead, let your customer service rep be able to jump the front of the line, and get them to stay on the call with the client until the next person has picked up. Once this happens, the first rep should introduce the caller and give rep #2 a précis of the situation so the customer doesn't feel like he or she is having to start all over again.
2) Don't make me wait more than a couple of minutes in a phone queue. Many companies are making clients wait 15 minutes or more in a phone queue. Anything more than 2-3 minutes is considered unacceptable by more than 80% of customers surveyed.
3) Don't make me quote chapter and verse about my account to get simple information. In these days of increased white collar crime, it is reasonable, and sensible, for companies to protect their customers by ascertaining that they are dealing with the correct person before discussing an account. However, 3 questions should be the limit. Beyond that, it takes up too much time (costing the company money) and only frustrates your client.
4) Give me more flexibility in how I contact you. As communication options increase, so should the options that customers have for contacting your company. Offer clients the choice of scheduling appointments by going on-line or using their PDA to access a special appointment site. Let customers send a text message or e-mail to request that customer service call them within the hour. Enable customers to access their accounts on-line and give them the ability to change billing and service options while there. Giving customers (who want it) the ability to interact more with their accounts will make them happier and has the added benefit of saving companies money and employee time.
5) Don't tell me how I have to deal with you. Right now there are multiple generations of customers which means multiple ways in which people want to interact with companies. Don't force everyone into the same mold, or you risk alienating at least one of the generational groups. It makes no sense to tell someone who is older and computer-phobic that they can only get their bills on-line (and yes, a large percentage of people 60 years and older does not trust on-line "banking" and "account management" in any form) just as it could cost you a customer if you were to tell a Gen Xer that there is no on-line access to their accounts. More than ever it's important to know how your customers want to be treated and do deal with them their way.
______________________________________________________________________
Jane-Michele Clark is president of The Q Group (http://www.theQgroup.com), a strategic positioning and marketing communications firm that has worked with many blue chip companies over the past 30 years. Jane-Michele also teaches MBA level marketing at the Schulich School of Business, is a corporate trainer and speaker, business coach and 4-time nominee for the Canadian Woman Entrepreneur of the Year Award. Jane-Michele can be reached at jmc@theQgroup.com or by calling 416-424-4233. All rights reserved.
For read, more free articles on a wide variety of professional and personal growth topics (or to submit your own), please visit http://www.ReallyGreatInfo.com

The Greatest Blind Spot Customer Perception

2009-01-26T01:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Julio Quintana

Ever heard the expression "Perception is reality"? I am not sure how accurate that is about most things, but it is true when it comes to service. I was reminded of this truth while making hotel reservations for a recent trip to Washington DC. My decision was based solely on my perception of the quality of service I would receive, and that decision was based on their brand name.
The difference between the brand name hotels (or automotive companies for that matter) is that they have effectively leveraged people's perception of their brands. Not only do they capitalize on it, but spend millions of dollars to promote it. The result is that when you think about luxury driving, you don't think about Hyundai, you usually think about Lexus. Not so fair to Hyundai, who continues to build affordable, reliable cars every year.
By definition, perception is how we define our experiences. It is how we recognize and interpret stimuli. That applies to your customers, who are constantly making decisions about you and your brand based on what they perceive to be true about you. No two people perceive anything the exact same way. When it comes to customers, it is their perception of the quality of service you offer that determines success. The final measure of quality customer service is simply how the customer perceives it.
Your job is to make customers aware of what a great thing it is to do business with you. In their head, they are gagging what they are getting from you, compared to what they expect to get from you. The better you are at closing that gap, the better the perception customers will have about the quality and value of the services you provide. At times, you will have to remind them in many subtle ways that you add value to their lives, or business. Do not leave what customers think about you to chance. Here are some essentials to shaping a high-quality service image in the customer's eyes:
1. Create and Maintain Accurate Customer Profiles Do you know who your customers are? Companies spend a lot of time and exert a lot of effort on the wrong segment of the market. You cannot be all things to all people, but chances are that you are trying. Define as precisely as you can which customers you are trying to serve. Then develop an understanding of what is most important to them. Customer relationship management (CRM) tools can help you learn which types of customers are yielding the results you expect. Most CRM tools integrate marketing, sales, and support data and allow you to analyze your customer base and your efforts to give them great service from a broader perspective.
2. Look at your business through your customer's eyes Remember that the customer rates your service based on the way they see things. Take a step back to see things from their angle. Evaluate honestly everything the customer sees: your building, your website, and yourself. Don't forget to also evaluate all communications that the customer receives from you: letters, marketing material, and email. Every single contact the customer has with your business is shaping their perception for better or worse.
3. Keep Your Promises Reliability and responsiveness shape your customer's perceptions of you. Businesses like UPS, DHL, and FedEx would never stay in business if they did not keep their commitment to customers. Although customers are more forgiving about their service expectations for other types of businesses, they still expect you to deliver on what you promised and to deliver when you said you would.
4. Use problems as opportunities to demonstrate what you are about Customers judge the quality of service you deliver in two basic ways: First, based on how well you deliver what you promised. Then, on how you handle exceptions and problems. Problems will arise, and expectations will get muddy regardless of how good you are in your industry. Use those opportunities to show customers empathy: genuine concern for their needs and expectations. Use the tough times to show that you are truly committed to provide exceptional service.
5. Develop a unique relationship with your customers and treat each one as someone special One of the most missed qualities about service is the unique relationships businesses enjoyed with customers in the past. The "corner store" environment where the storeowner knew each customer by name. The hometown restaurant where you could ask for "the usual". Customers go where they feel appreciated. Never underestimate the power and influence of treating customers right. Know your customers sincerely. CRM is a great tool for storing the most intimate details about customers, but if you are using the information only to sell them, you are missing a great opportunity to make customers for life.
6. Keep in touch and keep them informed If you fail to stay in touch with your customers, they won't be aware of the good service you're giving them until something goes wrong. Use every opportunity and every means available to tell customers what you are doing for them. Similarly, proactively educate your customer on how they can make the best out of their investment with you. Every customer has a need to know, and the more you attend to this need, the more value they will perceive.
7. Remember that a large part of good service is "service" A.P. Giannini, founder, Bank of America was quoted as saying "Serving the needs of others is the only legitimate business in the world today." Be a "good host" to your customers. Do whatever it takes to make the customer feel good in as many ways as possible. When you are in the presence of a customer, you are the host and the customer is the star. Make them feel that way.
Leverage your customer's perception to your advantage. Correct blind spots in your perception of service quality. Above all, remember that, to stay in business, you must pay attention to how customers perceive you.
About the Author: Julio Quintana is a writer and speaker based in Atlanta, Georgia. He is the author of the upcoming book Learning How to Win & Keep Customers, a companion guide to the powerhouse classic, How to Win Customers & Keep Them for Life by Dr. Michael LeBoeuf. He writes regularly about client advocacy topics and customer relationship management practices and technology. www.julioquintana.com
CMC InsightExec, Sift Media - http://www.insightexec.com/item/132560

Write A Business Thankyou Note

2009-01-25T01:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Mike McDaniel

Have you seen that thing on TV where the gal tells the nerd she wonders why he never asked her to marry him and he stumbles and says "Thank You" and she turns to butter?
The point of the message is that "Thank You" goes a long way to making people feel better.
Personally and in business, develop the "Thank You" habit.
While it is generally expected to send a written thank-you for gifts and special favors, it is also appropriate to send one for employment interviews and new business contacts. However, the most powerful thank-you note is the one that's unexpected.
Here are some "Thank You" points to consider
You should hand write it. With the exception below, don't use your computer to print it, or to print the address label and please don't use email for this most personal communication.
If you have that nifty computer font that was made from your own handwriting, your could slip the card in your printer. Be sure the font really looks like the way you write. Didn't know about this? There are several companies that do it, here is a link to one as an example only: http://www.theory.org/~strthrwr/fonts/custom
You can use plain paper, or you can use a thank you card. Some folks have personalized cards created, some buy them at the Hallmark. You can use a fold over card, or a single hard card in an envelope or a post card. It's not the messenger, its the message.
Be brief. All you are saying is Thank You. And say it only once.
No need to gush, be personal, say thank you and why.
Be sincere.
When you send a thank you note, it will have a great impact, "Because no one else does it"
For more about advertising, get my article "Sales Lessons Learned from Bob Vila" Send a blank eMail to MailTo:BobVila@BigIdeasGroup.com
©2005 BIG Mike McDaniel All Rights Reserved
Mike@BIGIdeasGroup.com
BIG Mike is a Professional Speaker and Small Business Consultant with over 30 years experience, http://BIGIdeasGroup.com MailTo:subscribe-956603364@ezinedirector.net

Customer Service Done Right

2009-01-24T01:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Matthew Keegan

Are you a stickler about receiving top notch customer service? Do you routinely "come through" as a provider of exemplary services to your customers? Chances are you have been greatly disappointed at one time or another regarding the service you received from a salesperson, an internet hosting company, a hair colorist, or any one of thousands of different service providers. Frankly, customer service in many areas -- retail, for one -- isn't what it used to be. However, where there is poor customer service there is also a great opportunity. Read on and I will explain.
Let's say you are in a field that routinely provides so-so service to customers. It could be that customer expectations are low and no one expects top notch service. Maybe most customers are simply "price sensitive" and could care less about how fast or how well you deliver. However, you can bet that there are a percentage of customers out there who appreciate service that goes above and beyond the industry standard. These same customers typically will pay a little extra for service that really serves them. If you can tap into this customer base, you can create a niche, raise your prices, and make more money in the long run.
Depending on your industry, you could command a price premium of 10-25% over the average provider. That may not sound like a lot, but it could spell the difference between eating hamburger or eating steak. I don't know about you, but I would prefer eating steak!
Naturally, providing a high level of customer service means you will have to break a sweat. You may have to happily redo [its all in the attitude, baby!] or improve on an existing project in order to satisfy a good paying customer. This is what sets you apart from the pack.
If you are satisfied with the "status quo" then that's okay too. Just don't expect to have customers beat down your doors for work. At least the better customers will not!
Copyright 2006  For additional information regarding Matt Keegan, The Article Writer, please visit his blog for wit, quips, and freelance writing tips.

Build Strong Sustained Customer Relationships With Viagra

2009-01-23T01:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Terry Wisner

The bonds that tie long lasting customer relationships are very important in today's world. It is said that the average person has 50,000 thoughts go through their mind daily. As a sales person and supplier, you want a few of those to be about you. More importantly, you want those thoughts to be positive.
If you maintain strong customer relationships, you will;
Gain more business and make more money
Be respected and people will refer you
Enjoy your work (and personal) life
Building strong customer relations is easy. First, you need to have a high level of self-esteem and truly want to satisfy your customers. Then all you need to do is follow the six V.I.A.G.R.A. steps to long lasting customer relations.
V- VALUE THEM- Sincerely value them and their business. The most important thing is to show you care about them and their business. When you see them, always offer a "good" handshake. Always use their name and show genuine interest in them. It should go without saying, but a smile on your face will go a long way. As Groucho Marx said about acting, sincerity is important to sales; "once you can fake that, you've got it made."
I- INTEGRITY IS PARAMOUNT- Always do what you commit to do. Follow through with your commitments and if you cannot deliver, then let them know. If something goes wrong with their order, make sure they hear it from you. Remember, if you always do as you promise, your customer will trust you, and trust is the foundation for solid customer relations.
A- ASSESS NEEDS- Ask plenty of questionsthen listen. The old 80/20 rule fits well in the selling transaction. You should spend 80% of the time talking and 20% of your time listening. Truth be known, many sales reps exhibit just the opposite, they talk 80% of the time. It is important to note that customers are often, what I like to call, "informationally challenged." Therefore, the rep must ask questions to elicit vital information from the client in an effort to understand the need behind the need.
G- GIVE MORE- One of the biggest complaints customers site as to why they left a particular supplier is that they did not get what they expected. Disney World is the best example of exceeding customer expectations. Delight your customers by giving them what they want, and more. Now that doesn't mean giving away the store. Send them an email or better yet a hand written thank you note. Call them to see how pleased they are with their decision. Treat them the way you like to be treated or better yet, like Dr. Tony Alessandra says; "treat them the way they want to be treated."
R- RELATE TO THEM- One of the best ways to sustain great customer relationships is to get to know them on a personal basis. Remember their birth date and send them a card or give them a call. Whenever you transact with them, lighten things up with a little humor. Recognize important accomplishments they have made. Also sharing important personal things about you will help develop relationships, but don't forget the 80/20 rule.
A- AMELIORATE THEIR LIVES- To ameliorate means to improve or make better. Everything you do for your customer should improve their business or personal life. This is one of the biggest reasons successful sales people site as to why they enjoy being a sales person. As the old saying goes; sow so shall ye reap.
If you fail to maintain strong customer relationships, you will;
Lose business and money
Not be respected and get few (if any) referrals
Experience a miserable personal and professional life
So share V.I.A.G.R.A. with your friends and help them build strong, sustained customer relationships. Terry Wisner, of Partnering To Success, says; "Everyone wants to add value to their selling proposition," following these six steps on a consistent basis, will result in higher levels of customer satisfaction and loyalty. Terry delivers keynote speeches and seminars, like "Be A Customer Service Star" and other teambuilding, sales, and leadership topics.
Terry Wisner, the "Partnering Pro," International Speaker, Consultant, and author, shares his experience and knowledge through energetic, entertaining, and enlghtening presentations and seminars. Visit Terry at http://www.terrywisner.com or http://www.p2s.us and learn more about Partnering and how it can help you and your organization succeed.

How To Build A Profitable Business

2009-01-22T01:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Joanne Victoria

It's never too soon to start saying thanks to your clients, vendors and referral sources for what they contribute to your business. Everyone loves to be appreciated and acknowledged, so start now and do something every month.
Keep in contact with your clients and vendors by sending articles you have written or that would be of interest to them. Add a little "How are you?" note to these people and keep the lines of communication open. Include current information about any new value-added products or services, such as a newsletter, or tele-class you will be presenting.
Marketing doesn't have to be expensive. You just have to do it.
Communication and relationship are the keys to marketing. Attending numerous networking meetings may be worthwhile to some, but that strategy doesn't work for everyone because, as someone once told me, the people who love you will always refer business to you.
The people who are your advocates or supporters are the ones who require nurturing. Send them an e-mail, e-zine, note, or article at least once a month.
Gather your internal and external management teams in an informal meeting such as breakfast or lunch. Advise them of your upcoming plans, get feedback and give acknowledgement for all their support and advice.
Check in with former clients to see how they are doing. Don't be afraid to dispense free information to these people. Generosity is its own reward. If you keep a timer on your desk, you can be sure of keeping the conversation brief as well as focused. Then, send them more information.Follow up in about two weeks to see how the seeds of your generosity have blossomed.
Information is available to everyone, through the internet, magazines and newspapers. Only you can provide customized data to your clients that will be appreciated as well as remembered.
Review your brochures, marketing letters, and newsletters in a new light. Does this information speak to your "Ideal Client"? Do you know who your "Ideal Client" is? Reinvent these documents as needed after you have thoroughly defined this client. Give these documents to your management team and get their feedback.
Does your collateral material speak to what you do? Is the information clear or does it require interpretation? Spend time on this now and review it every ninety days.
If the cost of a new brochure is prohibitive, or if you think your business will be adding more products or services in the near future, create an Information Letter.With this type of document, you can update your advocate group as well as former and potential clients. Again, it's not costly and serves a specific purpose.
This letter can include updates on your particular industry or market. You also can advise them of your continuing education and how it will benefit them.
About those referral sources, they deserve a little extra attention. Remember, they thought of you first! Consider seasonal flowers, plants, a book or a special card.
You want them to keep remembering you! Nurture all these relationships and your business will grow and glow.
About The Author
Joanne Victoria works with independent professionals who want to simplify their lives and professional practice and small business owners who want to streamline their operations in order to achieve more.
Sign up now for Joanne's FREE monthly e-zine: Lighting Your Path!-Find Your Inner Truth at: mailto:JoanneVictoria-subscribe@topica.com
Joanne Victoria Coach, Speaker, Author
Tel:415-491-1344 mailto:joanne@joannevictoria.com
http://www.JoanneVictoria.com/programs.htm

Customer No Service How To Lose A Loyal Customer

2009-01-21T01:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Phil Gerbyshak

So today was the day where I almost stopped going to my favorite supermarket here in Milwaukee. If you're in Milwaukee, you know the one I'm talking about: the cool one downtown that has 1000 different types of produce, and a whole aisle dedicated to gourmet coffee and teas. The one with the free samples, the wine tasting and cooking courses. Yeah, that one.
Anyway, today I went to the market to buy a few things for dinner. I knew it was going to go wrong because my usual entrance to the parking lot was gated off by shopping carts lying on the ground to block my path. OK, I'm flexible, I'll drive around.
The second thing was when they were out of my favorite glass bottles of skim milk. It's the best way to drink milk, in my humble opinion. They had every flavor except for mine.
Next, I tried to check out by "paying by touch." Let me tell you, this can be the best system in the world, you just sign up with your driver's license number, your credit card number, your preferred customer number, and your phone number, and away you go. Notice I said CAN be the best. Many times, my preferred card number doesn't work in the system, and it doesn't take the savings off of the bill, and tonight was one of those nights.
Now this would have been okay, had the checker just used the house card and given me the lower price so my debit card would be billed the correct amount, however she did not know how to do this. Instead, she said to go over to the service counter and someone over there would help me out.
Skeptical, I walked over to the service desk to see 3 clerks talking to each other and cutting out something that was much more urgent than me and the 4 other people in line. For some reason, after a few minutes, one girl asked to help me. Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, I told her my dilemma, and she proceeded to go through my bags, re-scanning things and writing down what she thought was the correct cents off. I'm no cheapskate, but five dollars is 2 gallons of gas! Of course, she was doing all of this in her head, and didn't let me see the slip, and of course didn't do it correct, ripping me off to the tune of about 20 cents, plus I had to re-pack my own groceries.
To add insult to injury, there was no ramp open to go down to the parking structure I was forced to use, so I had to grab my bags and carry them, with my wife, down 3 flights of 10 stairs.
This is maddening to me! It's so easy to do things right. Here's how I would provide customer service.
Plainly mark the entrances that are closed, and advertise it on your stores website, thus alleviating some of your customers' frustrations, and provide the alternative entrances.
If you're out of something, put a sign up that lets me know when it's going to be back so I can return and buy it then, and apologize that you're out. A little sign is all I ask, not a big production.
Make the error in favor of your customers, and scan the house savings card whenever in doubt. And give your checkers the ability to fix this, instead of sending us over to the service desk.
Offer something extra to customers when your computer systems don't work as planned. It doesn't have to be a lot, but give me a coupon for a free loaf of bread, a free deli sandwich, or something nice. It's not my fault your preferred system doesn't work.
Use loyalty cards for EXTRA things, not to get the every day lowest price. Why am I going to scan my preferred customer card if I know I don't have anything that's on sale? I'm not, that's why.
That's all I've got. See, it wasn't so hard, was it? Making customer service great is a lot easier than you though. And oh yeah, you won't lose me as a customer if you at least try. Thanks!
Phil Gerbyshak publishes the Make it Great! blog at http://MakeItGreat.blogspot.com. It's updated many days with thoughts about how to take control of your life and stop letting it take control of you! He also has a personal website at http://Gerbyshak.com. Feel free to stop in anytime or give me a call at 414.640.7445 so I can help you make it a great day!

The Aces Model Of Exceptional Customer Service

2009-01-20T01:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Dr. Robert Schwarz

The A.C.E.S. model of exceptional customer service is a simple pneumonic and diagnostic tool that will help you evaluate your company's ability to deliver service to the customer. Once you have your diagnosis, you then know where to apply corrective measures if needed.
A.C.E.S. helps employees focus on the three component parts of customer service. This model complements my 4 (and 7) laws of exceptional customer service.
The ACES model is a simple formula Attitude + Competence + Empowerment = (exceptional) Service
The first component, Attitude, contains the attitudes and beliefs that are required to provide excellent customer service. These include the basic imperative of providing service to others (as oppose to oneself), of improving the customer's condition, that problems are opportunities to excel, that positive energy and good humor are essential, and so on. The attitude factor can be assessed at macro and micro levels including: the corporate culture, the overall workforce, the general tendency of a given person, or the specific communications during an interaction.
The second component is Competence. A positive attitude is only a consolation prize when competence is low. Many decades ago I was a new waiter at an upscale restaurant. A patron asked me if there was mayonnaise in the Caesar salad dressing. I checked with the chef and was told there was no mayonnaise in the dressing. He ordered it and proceeded to have a tremendous allergic reaction. I had a great attitude, but I was less than fully competent. The dressing was made from scratch. No mayonnaise was added, but it was made with the same ingredients, eggs and oil! A competent food server would have known better. For that matter the chef should have known better as well.
Employee competence is largely derived from intimate knowledge with all aspects of the product and/or services being offered. I live in Pennsylvania where you can only buy wine in state-owned liquor stores. While it has gotten somewhat better in recent years, most sales people in these stores could not describe the difference between a Chardonnay and Ripple! I therefore do most of my wine shopping in another state.
In certain jobs, competence in the job also requires the ability to handle people. I was on a USAirways flight that was fully booked. A man a few rows behind was angrily attempting to jam his suitcase into the overhead bin. He was so aggressive, that it looked like he was going to destroy the door. The other passengers watching him began to look a little nervous. The flight attendant arrived and, in the most perfect tone of voice (combining humor and boundary setting) said, "Are you trying to break my airplane?" The man immediately stopped and allowed her to take care of his suitcase. Not wanting to miss an opportunity at friendly jousting with such an obviously talented person, I said, "Excuse me, but are your planes that easy to break?" She smiled and retorted, "Don't worry honey. They give us lots of duct tape. You can use duct tape for everything." (short pause) They even use it at the Miss America Pageant." Now THAT is competence in handling people.
On a more macro level, it is important that the systems and procedures of a company are competently designed to provide the exceptional service. Netflix is an example of an incredibly competent system for renting DVDs. You do not have to leave your house. They come in the mail they are returned in the mail. If there is any problem, you simply contact Netflix on-line and it is taken care of (at their expense). The system is designed so that the incentive to get the most for your money actually supports the efficient returning of the DVDs.
The final component of A.C.E.S. is Empowerment. Generally this is a structural issue within the company. Employees must be empowered in terms of proper training as well as actual power to solve problems. The main question to answer here is, in what ways are employees able to resolve problems on the spot so that the customer feels like his or her needs come first (Dr Bob's 2nd law of exceptional customer service). Any employee at the Ritz Carlton is empowered to spend up to $2500 to solve a guest's problems. The result is that a guest feels like he or she is a queen.
As shown in the diagram on the right, there three possible situations where a person or company has only one quality. There are three possible intersections of two qualities, and one point where all three qualities intersect. The single quality points are self-explanatory. So, I will not describe them here. At intersection 1 we have a good attitude plus competence, but not empowerment. Here an employee knows how to do something and has a great attitude, but somehow is not empowered to do it. This situation can exist when there is a poor manager in charge of competent, motivated people. It is often depicted in movies of the hero who wants to do it, can do it, but is prevented from doing it by the system. In real life, this is the situation we have all faced when a service person says, "You are completely right, this is not fair, but the computer system will not let me fix your problem for you." If it is a chronic problem, people in position 1 generally become demoralized. Another scenario is more personal. An employee may not be assertive (self-empowered) enough or willing to take an appropriate risk, even if he or she really does have the competence and authority to do so.
Position 2 is a situation where an employee has a great attitude and the system actually does empower him or her, but the employee is not sufficiently competent. My recent tech support call to Dell is a good example. The tech had a wonderfully pleasant attitude and was empowered with wealth of technical resources close at hand. But he could not fix my problem in a timely manner. In the end, it took 2 hours to solve a problem that a more competent person could have solved in 20 minutes . I have been a loyal customer of Dell largely because of their tech support, but their competence is deteriorating, and I am beginning to re-evaluate this position.
If the employee is new, it may just be a matter of training. If training has been supplied and the employee is not becoming more competent, it is most likely a poor fit with the job.
Position 3 is common with people who are often labeled as having low emotional intelligence. In fiction, this is often the crotchety engineer who can fix anything, just keep him away from other people. A person who is often in this position may not be the most appropriate person for customer service. This type of person may benefit from personal coaching to help shift his or her attitude about the importance of Attitude. When someone is stressed and having a "bad day" they are often in position 3 for a brief period of time.
On a macro level, position 3 describes a company that values competence and empowers its people to succeed, but does not value customer service enough for people to experience Exceptional Customer Service. Now many companies talk about the importance of customer service, but go no further than platitudes. A colleague of mine worked at a major metropolitan hospital. There were many signs around the building touting the importance of the patient and the how the hospital was committed to delivering the highest quality of service. Unfortunately this was often an empty promise. For instance, on the oncology unit the doctors were rarely forthright with patients. Nurses had to go around doctors' backs to communicate more openly with patients and family. There was little teamwork and so on. Hardly the state-of-the-art in care.
Finally only at position 4 do we really attain high quality customer service. On a personal level, each individual must empower themselves to cultivate a positive attitude of service and competence. Empowerment also means being willing to take a few judicious risks. The flight attendant I mentioned earlier demonstrated a personal use of all three dimensions.
At the macro level, position 4 describes an organization with a true cultural attitude of service-to-others. It often requires significant corporate courage to move into this level. It requires facing the truth about how the organization is not implementing important values. IT requires spending near term money for longer term goals. The organization makes sure its staff and systems have the competence to act on the attitude, and that people are actually empowered to use their competence. Furthermore, the interaction effect of the convergence of these factors is highly self-reinforcing. Working in such an environment cultivates an even more positive attitude. Employees are motivated from within. Company morale is high. Companies that inculcate and empower their employees usually raise the bar of competence to higher and higher levels. Companies that would be examples of this are Disney World Theme Parks, Costco, and Enterprise rental car (see my article on comparing and contrasting recent experiences with Enterprise and Sears)
If customer service levels are not at the desired goals, the A.C.E.S. analysis provides a rapid way to zero in on the problem. You can ask yourself, "Where am I on this chart most of the time?" Do I need to update my competence in something? Have i gotten so focused on making the sale to make money that I am no longer focusing on the customer relationship? Do I feel dis-empowered to provide great service. The manager or leader can ask, "Where is my sales force most of the time?" What has changed in the ACES model that accounts for the drop in customer service in the XYZ department? Is there a change in the market place so that people are no longer competent? Is there a new manager that is dis-empowering people? Did we have a huge turnover of people so that now 34% of the department has not had the company training? Do we talk about an attitude of taking excellent care of our customers, but fail to take excellent care of our employees so the corporate attitude of excellence of customer service is not manifested in its employment practices? Customer Service is not rocket science. But, it is not necessarily easy to execute at high levels. It takes courage and honesty to look at where you are. And, once you know where the problem is you are halfway to a solution.
Dr Robert Schwarz is a consultant coach and speaker. He is passionate about improving the performance of individuals and companies. His mission is to sponsor and promote the creative potential and generative powers of individuals and organizations to maximize sustainable performance and well-being. CEOs, managers, business owners and line workers who are inspired perform better. Organizations and individuals that perform up to their true potential in providing value and service to others are more fulfilled and more profitable.
With 24 years of experience as a businessman, psychologist, consultant and coach working with thousands of people, Bob brings a wealth of experience in improving human performance. His trainings are full of energy, humor and thought provoking content for immediate use and long-term sustainable growth. He presents trainings internationally on topics including, leadership, creativity and gender communication differences, customer service, advanced approaches to stress management and work life balance to government agencies, businesses, and associations.

Top 7 Tips To Create A Customer Service Culture Of Professionalism And Excellence

2009-01-19T01:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Leanne Hoagland-Smith

One would think with all the resources provided by technology that customer service would not be an issue in today's business world. At any given moment, there is survey after survey showing what customers want and the impact when customers don't receive what they want. With outsourcing being rampant, having an organizational culture where excellence is a habit seems to be a no brainer.
Common sense suggests that if I want to keep my job that is based upon a continual stream of customers then it would be extremely beneficial to deliver professional customer service. Unfortunately, customer service still appears to be a significant issue and millions, if not billions, of dollars are being lost on a daily basis because organizations and employees still don't get it. These 7 tips may help you to stem the tide and create a customer service culture where the goal of professionalism and excellence is achieved each and every business day.

Define Your Core Values
The Ritz Carlton had a simple core values statement that was shared by everyone: Ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen. Whatever your core values are, they must begin at the top and cascade down throughout the entire organization.
Review and Reassess Internal Policies and Procedures
Many organizations set their people up to fail because the policies and procedures are not customer service friendly. For example, I recently returned a phone call to a manager of a national chain who left me his extension. I listened to the automated message and waited to hear the usual statement: If you know your party's 3 or 4 digit extension, please dial that at any time followed by the # sign. When the message wasn't heard, I hit the zero key and was told that it was not an appropriate key. I hung up and re-dialed. Then when prompted for "General Services," I hit the appropriate key and learned I was speaking to someone on the front desk. This automated procedure was not creating a customer service culture of professionalism.
Talk to Your External Customers
Many companies have now developed the habit of surveying customers using the Internet. Yet, communicating through technology doesn't allow for the organization to truly hear what is not being said. Remember what is seen is always heard before what is said. Take the time to conduct face to face interviews or at least telephone interviews. A good communicator can sense the tone and the nuances within the speech patterns of the person being interviewed.
Develop your Employees
Training is essential to performing any job. Yet, most people know how to answer the phone, but answering the phone consistently is really about development. When I called this hotel manager, 3 different individuals all of whom provided me with a different script greeted me. Knowing that consistency was a significant part of this hotel's training, I knew that only one of them had delivered the "trained" response. In speaking with the manager, he confirmed that all 3 were long time employees and should have spoken the same message. So the issue is not training or learning (the acquisition of knowledge), because the employees know what they need to say, but rather development or performance (the application of knowledge).
Align performance to quality criteria such as Baldrige
Just as the favorite cake from Aunt Emma or that delectable soup from your favorite restaurant, you know that every time you take a bite, you will receive exactly the same sense of utter enjoyment. Why? Because Aunt Emma or Chef Tony used the same proportions of quality food each and every time. To deviate from that recipe would spell disaster and create enormous disappointment for their favorite people.
The Baldrige criteria are one of the best predictors of organizational success. Employing such a criteria will help to create a customer service culture of professionalism.
Use Internal Customers Feedback
Checking with employees while they are employed and when they leave is a simple way to gauge what is happening within the company. Loyal internal customers or employees are what drive loyal external customers. Performance appraisals and exit interviews can be tremendous tools to elevate customer service.
Ask yourself "Would I Buy from My Company or Me?"
Finally, ask yourself this simple question: "Would I Buy from My Company or Me?" Do you find yourself going to other places to shop or eat? Why are you taking such action? Is it because of company policy, prices are too high, lines are too long? If you wouldn't buy from your company, then why should anyone else?
If you use these 7 basic tips, your company can create a customer service culture where professionalism is consistently high and loyal customers are the norm and not the exception.
Leanne Hoagland-Smith coaches small businesses to large organizations and high school students to entrepreneurs to double performance by closing the gap between today's outcomes and tomorrow's goals. Please feel free to contact Leanne at 219.759.5601 or visit http://www.processspecialist.com/ and explore how she can help you from the free articles to the improvement tips.
One quick question,if you could secure one new client or breakthrough that one roadbloack, what would that mean to you? Then, take a risk and give a call at 219.759.5601 to experience incredible business.
Mention that you read this article and receive a complimentary 60 minute coaching session.

Seven Ways To Make Your Customers Feel Important

2009-01-18T01:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Kevin Eikenberry

Two important pre-reading notes: Before you chose to read or not read this article, let make two things clear. Everyone has Customers. Even if you work in an internal staff department in a large firm, you have Customers. They are the people you provide work to. And second, don't be put off by the term Customer. Maybe you call them Clients, Students, Patients, or (heaven forbid!) Users. If one of those words works better for you, read that word every time you read Customer. Now that I have eliminated your reasons for not reading, please continue . . .
We can read lots of books and articles about Customer Service strategies and how to build processes that will serve Customers more successfully. All of these things are valuable, but if we put all of our focus on processes, systems, strategies and procedures we may lose track of something very important.
Customers are people first.
This means that each of your Customers, like everyone else, wants to feel important. It a universal truth - we all want that feeling, and will gravitate towards those that make us feel that way.
Hint: Having Customers gravitate towards you is a very good thing.
Here are seven ways that you as an individual, regardless of any corporate policies or systems, can make Customers feel more important, written from the Customer's perspective:
Please use my name. I know I may have a Customer or registration number and that I might need to give that to you. But I also know that once you put that number in the system, you know my name. Use it. If I hand you my credit card, now you know my name too. Please use it.
I want to be a part of the "in" crowd. That's why I like being invited into Frequent Flyer clubs, frequent buyer clubs or anything that provides me with discounts, special services, education or surprises. If you have this kind of club, invite me to join. If you don't have one yet, please think about starting one.
Ask me for my advice. I have an opinion, and if asked in the right way, at the right time, when I know you really care about the answer, I'll give you that advice. Opinion cards may be OK, but I would love to be asked personally. Give me the chance to tell you what I think, and I'll reward you with more of my business. I don't often get asked for my opinion and it feels good. And who knows, you might even get a great idea for a new product or service.
Acknowledge me. I know you are busy sometimes. I can see the line. I even understand that your system might be down, or that you have five people in the phone queue. I've been there, I work too. But when I call or come by, acknowledge that I am there and let me know you are glad I'm in the line. A smile and a hello, or a "We'll be with you shortly" will go a long way. Acknowledge me and I'll understand. Ignore me, and well, how do you feel when you've been ignored?
Surprise me. A little extra something with my order or a hand written note would be nice. A special discount "just because" or a free sample of dessert. It doesn't have to be a big thing, and it doesn't have to be every time. If you get a good surprise, do you want to share it with others? Me too.
Apologize. I hate it when people try to prove they were right, or don't mention that fact that the order is three days late, or the surcharge can't be removed, or the item is out of stock. But again, I know things do happen. When things do go wrong though, please give me a simple apology. Here's the funniest thing. When you make a mistake, and then apologize (perhaps even including a surprise of some sort) I'll love you more than ever. Apologies and good service recoveries are so rare that you can take my dissatisfaction and turn it into loyalty, if you will do this right.
Listen. Most all of the other things I've told you require you to listen. I can tell when you are really listening to me and that makes me feel very good because true listening is rare, sometimes even at home. Listen to my concerns. Listen to my ideas. Listen to my order, so we don't have any misunderstandings. When you really listen, you can't believe how good that makes me feel.
All of us can do most of these things each day. When we do we will make our work more enjoyable, easier, and quite likely will begin creating legions of loyal Customers immediately.
And before you go, read these seven things again, with the voice of one of your Customers in your head, as a reminder of how you can make each of your Customers feel more important.
Kevin Eikenberry is a leadership expert and the Chief Potential Officer of The Kevin Eikenberry Group (http://KevinEikenberry.com), a learning consulting company. To receive a free Special Report on leadership that includes resources, ideas, and advice go to http://www.kevineikenberry.com/leadership.asp or call us at (317) 387-1424 or 888.LEARNER.

Praying Passenger Removed From Plane

2009-01-17T01:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Rick Weaver

Although many people are known to pray before a flight, prayer by a Hasidic Jew resulted in his removal from a recent Air Canada Jazz flight from Montreal, Quebec, Canada, to Newark, New Jersey, USA.
According to press reports, the man was reading from a prayer book and rocking back and forth in his seat. A flight attendant approached the man to tell him that his prayer was bothering other passengers. The man did not speak either English or French so he did not understand them. The plane aborted its takeoff and returned to the terminal where the man was removed from the plane. Air Canada Jazz allowed him to take another flight 90 minutes later.
A passenger seated nearby, Yves Faguy, said that the man's action didn't seem to bother anyone prior to the man being approached by the flight attendant who announced out loud the man was not a Muslim but would have to leave anyways.
The actions of the airline were a direct insult to the Muslim community, Middle-Easterners, and Jews. In her explanation of the situation, airline spokeswoman, Manon Stewart, further exasperated the situation by saying, "the crew had to act in the interest of the majority of passengers," indicating the airline was justified in removing the praying passenger.
According to Stewart the removal was a safety issue as the crew could not verify the passenger understood the safety regulations. His removal allowed for the airlines to secure a translator to communicate the safety regulations. Others point out that airlines do not normally verify that individuals understand the safety instructions, which are typically available in illustrated form for the hearing impaired or for those that may not be proficient in the language used by flight attendants.
Organizations need to be proactive relative to providing cultural training to their employees. Culturally trained employees know how to better relate to other employees and customers based on cultural norms. Therefore they are better equipped to handle delicate situations resulting from culture-based misunderstanding.
Many businesses fail to provide cultural training because of the time and financial investment required. However current training methods allow organizations to provide excellent training at minimal cost without a major disruption in employee schedules. The total cost to an organization is much less than the loss experienced by an organization that receives cultural backlash for insensitive customer treatment.
Stewart reports that Air Canada Jazz will be adding a cultural awareness module to their flight attendant training program to enhance awareness in the future.
Once employees understand regional, religious, generational, and other cultures they are better equipped to work harmoniously with other employees and customers making cultural training an outstanding value.
======
Rick Weaver is an accomplished business executive with a wealth of experience in retail, market analysis, supply chain enhancement, project management, team building, and process improvement.
Rick career began in retailing as a stockclerk, eventually becoming the Director of Vendor Development at Kmart Corporation during it's heyday. In this position he worked with hundreds of Kmart's suppliers to improve mutual processes, procedures, and profits.
As a consultant, Rick has worked with companies in various industries to develop leadership and business strategies.
As an entrepreneur, Rick has founded or co-founded six successful organizations, including non-profit and for profit.
Now in his role as president of MaxImpact, Rick uses his vast experience helping individuals connect to their dreams and teams connect to a common vision.
Rick's presentation style of blending humor, real life examples, and easy to implement ideas has made him a popular speaker at seminars, workshops, and conferences in in 43 states, Canada, and Puerto Rico.
(c) Max Impact Corporation

Four Ways To Provide Customer Service On The Way Out

2009-01-16T01:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Jo Ann Joy

If your company is really about customer service, you do not want to stop providing service to customers just because they decide not to do business with you. Remember, many people visit more than once before they actually buy. Also, you will impress them by providing good service to them as they are leaving your business, and they are more likely to return and to refer you to others.
1. Be sure you have given them plenty of time to look around, and do not shadow them. When they decide not to buy, thank them for visiting your business and invite them to return. This is just simple courtesy, but it a good reminder.
2. Ask them if you can put them on your mailing or email list for future sales and discounts. If you ask their permission to stay in touch, they will appreciate the courtesy and the respect you show them. Also, you know that they are interested in what you have, because they came to your business. It just makes sense to find a way to follow up with them.
3. It is always a good idea to tell them you would appreciate knowing why they are leaving and whether their experience with your business was good or not. After they tell you the answer, ask them to tell you why it was good or bad and how it could be improved. You are showing them that their opinion and their satisfaction are important to you even though they are not making a purchase. No matter whether their response is positive or negative, always sincerely thank them for their answer and their time.
4. If you have any upcoming sales or promotion events, be sure to offer them a handout describing the event. A handout with a discount coupon is extremely effective and more likely to bring them back. If they are leaving because you do not have the item they are looking for, suggest some other places where that item may be available. Only suggest places that you know have good product and good service.
Part of good customer service is treating everyone who comes to your business with courtesy and respect. Show them that you appreciate the visit and they are important to you even though they did not make a purchase. Try to impress everyone every time with your commitment to customer service.
Jo Ann Joy, Esq., MBA, CEO Copyright 2006 Indigo Business Solutions. All rights reserved.
You may contact Jo Ann by phone at (602) 663-7007, by fax at (602) 324-7582, by email at joannjoy@Indigo Business Solutions.net, and by mail at 2313 East Ocotillo Rd., Phoenix, AZ 85016
About the author Jo Ann Joy is the CEO and owner of Indigo Business Solutions, a legal and business consulting firm. Indigo Business Solutions is a "one stop shop" for small businesses, because we offer both legal and business services. We can provide all the professional services that a business requires, and they won't have to be "referred out" and pay another professional.
Jo Ann has a law degree, an MBA, and a degree in Economics. She is a strategic business attorney who works closely with clients to greatly improve their chance of success. Her background includes commercial, corporate, contract and real estate law, and she has experience in accounting, financial planning, mortgages, marketing, product development, banking, and business planning and strategies. She ran a successful business for 10 years, and she has written and given presentations on many different legal and business subjects.
If you have questions about legal, business or tax topics, please visit our website http://www.IndigoBusinessSolutions.net Phone: 602-663-7007; Fax: 602-324-7582.

Faith And The No List Virus

2009-01-15T01:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Arthur Levine

The No List Virus is spreading rapidly at retail store check out counters across the country. Common responses to customer questions by store clerks are a follow:
1. No, you can't use that coupon. It has expired.
2. No, that item is not on sale. I don't care what the store flyer says.
3. No, we don't carry that here.
4. No, we can't order it for you.
5. No, you can't order less than a pound.
6. No, the manager is not available.
7. No, you can't have 2 flavors of ice cream in the small cup.
8. No, I can't do that.
9. No, I won't do that.
10. No, you can't substitute one item for another.
My fellow Americans, I beseech you, is this any way to run a country? What ever happened to customer service? What ever happened to faith in our fellow man or woman? What ever happened to the Yes List? What ever happened to Gods commandments to be kind and caring?
Yes List items that have been excluded include:
1. Yes, I would love to carry your packages to the car.
2. Yes, I can help you find that.
3. Yes, I can sell you half a loaf.
4. Yes, we can order that in your size for you.
5. Yes, you can have 2 flavors of ice cream in the small cup.
6. Yes, The manager will be right with you.
7. Yes, you can substitute that item for the other one.
8. Yes, you can buy less than a pound.
9. Yes, you can use that coupon even though the expiration date was last week.
10. Yes, I will be happy to do that for you.
Corporate Gurus wake up. Where is your faith in your customers? Where is your customer service? How about making the world a friendlier place to live in? Where is your faith in God?
As you can see, I have been having some problems in retail stores lately, how about you? How about being a little kinder when it's your turn to say yes or no? How about having a little faith in your fellow man or woman? You do want to be considered a person of faith, don't you?
Please help us get rid of the No List Virus. How about a return to civility? The world may be watching. It's not just the overhead cameras in retail stores that you have to worry about, God may be watching too.
© Copyright Arthur Levine 2006
Please feel free to use this article as long as credit is given to my resource box.
Arthur Levine is the author of The Magic of Faith. To discover 99 Magical Keys to finding your faith, please access: http://www.faith123.com

Are Your Customers Confused

2009-01-14T01:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Rick Parrott

Does your website increase confusion or does it reduce confusion.
Remember confused people do not buy; they go looking for more information.
Your job is to give them that information, or at least enough information to give them the confidence to buy your product. You must convince your customers that your product will solve their problem.
You do this by providing factual, focused web content and web copy. What's the difference between web content and web copy?
Web copy is the sales pitch, while web content educates or entertains your customer. That doesn't mean that your web copy can't or shouldn't educate your customer, just that web content shouldn't be a pure sales pitch.
A great example of this is a white paper. A white paper provides your customers with the information to understand what is needed.
They need to understand how your product benefits them, how it solves their problem. Your white paper may even identify a problem they didn't know existed.
If your white paper has identified a need, your web copy can make an emotional appeal for the sale.
Another example of this is a targeted marketing article published on your website. Where a white paper may tackle a complete subject and take several pages, articles cover a specific piece of the subject.
Breaking the subject into segments allows you to fully exploit each angle of the story, keeping your customer's attention while doing so. Short focused articles are perfect for the short attention spans of our web patrons.
Some of the benefits of articles and white papers are:
When posted online they can help drive traffic to your website.
Help establish your expertise.
Educate your customers.
They keep on working long after you post them.
Say you have a white paper explaining how your product works and how it solved a problem for a previous customer. By the end of the paper the reader should be able to say "I have the same problem. If it worked for that person, it should work for me!"
The saying "People buy on emotion, and then justify with logic" is true. However, logic can be used to prime the emotional pump.
White papers and articles are great tools for this! Show them they have a problem, and then show them how to fix it.
Since you included a link to your landing page, the customer can go directly to your product without going to the home page.
You did include a link, didn't you?
How many times have you wanted to look at a product, but couldn't find it after you arrived at the company's home page.
Don't do this to your customers, take them where they need to go, and then ask for the sale. Yes, ask them for the sale!
Tell them what you want them to do, and they'll do it.
Use logic to identity a problem.
Then emotionally build on your customers' need for your product or service.
Finally, ask for the sale.
Get all of the sales you deserve!
*** Parrott Writing Services, a San Antonio Texas company specializing in web content, ghostwriting, website optimization, online/offline ad copy and technical writing to small businesses.
http://www.rickparrott.com Visit to get your free eBook download)

Be A Resource

2009-01-13T01:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Ramona Creel

What is one of the greatest ways to add value to your business? Nope, it's not giving away free merchandise, offering special discounts, or even creating a preferred customer club. One of the most valuable commodities that you can provide your customers is INFORMATION.
WHAT'S THE PROBLEM?
Think about it. In this society, we are faced with an overwhelming sense of information OVERLOAD. There is so much "junk" out there cluttering up the landscape that it can be hard to find the one bit of data that is really useful to you. How many times have you gone onto the internet or searched through the database at your local library for one very specific piece of information -- only to come up with hundreds or thousands of documents that are completely unrelated to the topic at hand? All of this informational garbage has become known as DATA SMOG, and it clutters up our heads as much as atmospheric smog clogs up our air.
WHAT'S THE SOLUTION?
As a business owner, this is where you can really be of service to your clients. It doesn't matter if you sell life insurance or organize people's offices or prepare wills -- you can be a valuable RESOURCE to your clients. Just listen the next time that you are talking with one of your customers -- you will recognize a lot of comments that indicate a NEED. When you hear things like, "I'm having a problem with" or "I wish I could find a good" or "I really could use some help with" you are hearing an opportunity to help someone out.
WHY SHOULD I GET INVOLVED?
So what difference does it make if my client needs legal help or is looking for a good place to buy a used filing cabinet? That's not my business! Well, maybe not -- but you will immediately gain CREDIBILITY in your client's eyes. You are no longer seen as a mercenary business owner who is only interested in making the next sale. You are now a generous, caring person who goes out of his or her way to make sure all of your client's needs are taken care of. You have developed a rapport with your customers, and they will reward you with their LOYALTY -- as well as referrals to other potential clients. And it takes very little time or effort to locate a resource for your clients, as you will see a little later on.
GET TO KNOW YOUR CLIENTS
It's much easier to serve as a resource to your clients if you get to know them PERSONALLY. Ask about how their families are doing, what's happening in their businesses, and what new projects they've gotten involved in since the last time you spoke. The more you get your clients to open up, the more likely they are to mention a need that you can help them solve. And it's amazing how easy it is to get people to talk about THEMSELVES if you just ask -- it's most people's favorite subject!
MAKE NOTES
You might be thinking to yourself, "There's no way I can remember all of these 'needs' that each of my clients has!" And you are probably right -- unless you use some sort of a TRACKING SYSTEM for keeping notes about your customers. I always take a pad of paper with me to appointments for recording these "resource-related" to-do's. That way, when I get back to my office, I can respond quickly to my client's requests. Try to get into the habit of setting aside just a few minutes each day to take care of your "resource duties" -- just like you would do with making phone calls or returning e-mails or any other MARKETING activity. Because that's what this kind of customer care is -- marketing both you and your business.
SEARCH THE WEB
I find that, as a fairly computer-savvy individual, I have a talent that can benefit my less technically-inclined clients a great deal -- I know how and where to look for things on the INTERNET. When one of my clients mentions needing administrative help or a personal coach or even a good place to buy shelving, I can find an online resource for them quickly and easily. Rather than telling my customers, "I'm sure you can find this on the web," I send them an e-mail with LINKS to the appropriate sites. This not only helps my clients find the products and services they need, but I come out of it looking like a real hero.
DO YOU ACTUALLY IMPLEMENT CLIENT SUGGESTIONS?
It doesn't do any good to ask for a client's feedback if it's just going to get pitched into a file or left in your e-mail in-box. You actually have to move that idea into some form of ACTION -- clarify (or even change) your policies, implement a new follow-up program, offer specially-priced sale packages, make an addition to your marketing materials -- whatever it takes to keep your customer happy. And when you do follow-through with a bit of client feedback, be sure to send that customer a letter. Tell them how much you appreciated their opinions, and point out how you have put their suggestions into action. You will always come across as a hero.
CLIP AND SEND
I love flipping through a catalog, magazine, or newspaper and coming across something that I know a client of mine can use. I don't go out of my way to subscribe to tons of extra PERIODICALS -- I just keep an eye out for interesting subjects in my everyday reading. But if you have clients who always seem to need help in a specific area -- finances or technology or parenting -- you might consider getting a few additional SUBSCRIPTIONS (and count it as a business expense!) I've sent clients articles on everything from caring for elderly parents to creating a business plan, and I'm always clipping pages from catalogs that have new and interesting organizing products that meet a particular client's needs. It takes only a few minutes to tear a page out and pop it into an envelope, but the impression you make lasts forever!
MAKE CONNECTIONS
Finally, one of the easiest ways to serve as a resource for your clients is through NETWORKING. As you network, you will meet people in other fields who might be of use to your clients down the road. Remember, you never know what kinds of products and services your clients might require -- and the more people you get to know outside of your own industry, the more likely you are to say, "Hey, I know someone who does that!" when a client mentions a need. Nothing feels better than successfully connecting two people who can be of service to each other -- and in the process, you create two loyal sources of REFERRALS for your own business.
Ramona Creel is a Professional Organizer and the founder of OnlineOrganizing.com -- a web-based one-stop shop offering everything that you need to get organized at home or at work. At OnlineOrganizing.com, you may get a referral to an organizer near you, shop for the latest organizing products, get tons of free tips, and even learn how to become a professional organizer or build your existing organizing business. And if you would like to read more articles about organizing your life or building your business, get a free subscription to the "Get Organized" and "Organized For A Living" newsletters. Please visit http://www.OnlineOrganizing.com or contact Ramona directly at ramona@onlineorganizing.com for more information.

How To Get Customers

2009-01-12T01:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Anandrahi JS

A satisfied customer brings ten more. This old law of business is often forgotten by business people to earn some quick buck. Many companies still believe in the policy of 'plunder with a tongue of honey'. Such companies are actually legal thugs and eventually earn the wrath of the customers. They publish juicy ads which make your tongue hungry with desire. Their marketing persons display all the charms they can just to hook you. Once you are hooked they don't leave a chance to make more and more money from you. A common customer always feels cheated with such tactics and starts hating the company. As soon as he gets an opportunity he wants to get away from the company. Some companies don't want to realise that dissatisfied customers are hitting them very hard. Seeds of future failure are being sown today. Such companies may succeed but only till there is a better and customer-friendly competitor. And to woo back the faith of a lost or angry customer is almost impossible.
UNDERSTAND YOUR CUSTOMER'S WISHES
It is true that a person generally ventures in business with an aim to earn money. When you invest a lot you expect a lot more in return. Businessmen never consider themselves social servants. They are in business to earn big money to meet their immense physical and psychological needs. But when your business is customer-oriented you must learn to have tight control over your wishes for money. Because a customer too has a wish of his own and if you don't satisfy it he won't like to shell money out of his picket. Then how will you be able to fulfil your dream of earning more and more. Concentrating too much on big profit may lead your business venture to breakdown. Your business can't afford the hatred of a customer. A customer neither knows nor wants to think about your wish. Instead he is obsessed with his own wishes. So never hurt the faith or the emotion of a customer with your greed.
GIVE MAXIMUM VALUE TO A CUSTOMER
Henceforward, forget your wishes and dreams and give top priority to the wishes of your customers. And you have got the secret of leadership in market. Make or sell a product that satisfies the emotional and physical needs of a customer. The customer will flock to you, and shower truckloads of money.
Every customer needs a good product. A product should not only have quality but it should also be wisely priced. A customer must be able to get maximum value out of it. Then comes the importance of service. If the service of a company is not good the customers hesitate to buy the products even if they are of super quality. Therefore a product must be customer-oriented in every way if it is to be sold successfully. In the jungle of business eventually only those persons survive who satisfy a customer like they satisfy their own hunger.
IMPRESSIVE BUT HONEST PUBLICITY
No one will argue with the fact that impressive publicity plays a good role in the sale of a product. The contents of an advertisement must be able to motivate a customer telling that he is getting a wonderful opportunity to get the best value for his hard-earned money. But advertisements aimed at fooling a customer prove very harmful in the long run. If a customer doesn't get promised value he definitely feels cheated and defame the company everywhere.
THREE STEPS TO DEAL WITH A TOUCH CCUSTOMER
To sell your product or service you need to be proficient in the art of convincing your prospective customers. You talk to them politely and help them change minds till they become inclined towards the thing you are selling. For a newcomer it seems a very difficult task and thus most of the persons like to opt for a comfortable office job. Marketing is really a challenging job in today's competitive atmosphere. It is also very remunerative.
The most difficult time for a salesperson is to convince someone who has already made his mind to buy a particular brand or thing. If a person has yet to decide you can sow the seed by highlighting the important features of your product or service. In brief you can easily make him willing to buy from you. Undecided customers also get interested in you once they get more information. But most of the salespersons want to know how to deal with a person who has already made up his mind, and constantly resists a sales talk.
1. Keep Patience
Many salespersons lose patience whenever they find a customer who has already made up his mind to buy a different product. Such customers often get irritated when they are pressurised with a sales pitch. At this moment a salesperson becomes hopeless and abandons his effort in the middle. If he ruthlessly tries he just ends up in severely antagonising a prospective customer. In this territory only those salespersons win who know how to keep their temperament cool under stressful situation. So the first step is to keep the hold of your patience.
2. Talk in his language
The second step is to understand the mind of a customer and talk in the language he likes. In marketing science it means talk on a subject he likes, appreciate his tastes, approve his decisions. Talk like a friend. If your customer is interested in cricket talk about it and admire his favourite cricket player. Admire his favourite movie star. Say a few words by appreciating his thinking and personality. As soon as you are able to create such rapport he will be able to respond in a positive manner. Now the ground of his mind is fertile and you can sow the seed of your idea.
3. What a Customer Wants
By acting according to the interests of your customer you are able to know what a prospective customer wants in a product. Then, as a final step, in casual manner (never press upon any thing) tell how your product or service is more valuable - cheaper, durable, of high quality whatever he needs. Slowly but surely the person will join you in your thinking as you have joined his. He will start showing his interest in your product. If a need arises be ready for a second, third or more visits.
Anandrahi
CEO: News of India Network
Director: LSE-India (for Communication
Skills and Personality Development)
Trained thousands of persons to get great jobs, improve personality and achieve goals in business.
Best-selling Books written by Anandrahi: 1. Think Your Way to Wealth and Power
2. Fire of Success in Your Mind
3. Speak English and Influence People The Writers Online - Submit Articles Earn Money

Customer Loyalty

2009-01-11T01:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Paul Hathaway

By nature loyalty is fleeting. It is built on the strength of the relationship between a customer and a business. Fill in the following blanks. My favourite drink is My favourite shirt colour is .. I would buy for a gift for my mother. I doubt if many of us would have the same three choices written down. We are spoiled for choice.
Some ways in which loyalty is derived
We, as customers, can make satisfactory purchases at a range of outlets. Sometimes we may gradually become fond of a particular brand. Maybe it is a clothing brand with styles that look good, feel comfortable and always seems to fit well. Brand loyalty is common for a variety of reasons that go beyond that just mentioned. It may be the prestige of wearing the label, driving the car or drinking the wine. It may also be associated with sporting teams, event memorabilia or club paraphernalia. These are strong loyalties but are not the only ones.
Customers change their mind and leave you
Do you still have the same favourite clothing label now as when you were a teenager; enjoy the same drink; even have the same partner? Few of us would answer 'yes' to all these. We change our mind; we change our priorities and we change our income. We change where, when, what, why and how we purchase goods and services because, as customers and consumers, we can, and do. As an online marketer, your shop is much more easily accessed by new customers and much, much more easily left by those same customers compared with our concrete-based brothers and sisters. Why? Because your customers and consumers have never met you, never grown to like you and so feel little guilt if they shift their loyalty to the shop next door (next click) where they can purchase exactly the same goods and services. Now they give their money to someone else and that is a bad thing.
Should I spend a lot of money to acquire and retain customers? How can we stop customers going next door? Many companies spend large portions of their budget trying to do exactly this. Do you have tens, even hundreds, of thousands of dollars to find out? Do you have even more money to fund loyalty programs, extensive giveaways or long term sales events? Can you match, dollar for dollar, advertising spend with international corporations? On this we finally have an area where we mostly agree. Microsoft, Apple, GEC, General Motors, Citibank and so on are probably able to spend a little more on customer acquisition and retention than we are. Is that a bad thing? Should we close our site, or forget about setting one up if we are just in the formative stages of building an online presence? Is competition from large corporations too great? They are sellers of goods and services just like we are. They have budgets to work within just like we do. They plan for success just as we should. In fact we find more similarities than differences, so we will ignore size, maturity, brand recognition and market penetration. These things do not happen overnight. We will start with our first customer, our first sale, rather than worry what 100, 1 000 or even 10 000 customers are doing. Then we will worry about customer 10, then 25 and so on, until we make a good income. And that is a good thing.
Approach with caution
We will explore the concept of loyalty some more. Why is it so important? Well, once we have our first customer inside and ready to buy, we do not want them moving next door to make purchases before we encourage our second customer into the store, do we? The more customers we keep, the more money we will have to spend on our favourite clothes, wine and car.
Thank you for your time.
WelcomeToTheMall.com is committed to online excellence. We hope you enjoy our series of articles. You have permission to publish this article electronically or in print, free of charge, as long as the bylines are included. A courtesy copy of your publication would be appreciated.
About the Author:
Paul Hathaway is a partner in the development of welcometothemall.com. welcometothemall.com is committed to excellence in the online shopping experience and is willing to share results of research undertaken to keep the online shopper's decision making as easy and familiar as possible. Visit our site to see the results. You can contact Paul at articles@welcometothemall.com.

How To Lose A Customer For Life

2009-01-09T01:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Ron Kaufman

My friend told me about a local restaurant that serves a variety of Chinese dim sum dishes. He went there with five friends for a business lunch and ordered widely from the menu. Each dish featured six bite-sized items, one per person.
Most of the food was delicious, but one tofu dish did not measure up. All six diners popped the tofu into their mouths. Then all six turned up their noses at the taste. The tofu had gone rancid.
Tofu disintegrates pretty quickly in the mouth, so everyone swallowed hard and reached quickly for their drinks to wash away the taste. The waitress apologized right away and promised to tell the owner. Better-tasting dishes soon followed.
But when the bill was presented at the end of the meal, the tofu dish was still included! The waitress apologized again and referred to the restaurant owner. The owner appeared and defended the bill. 'But you ate the tofu,' he said, 'so we still have to charge you. If the tofu was no good, why did you eat all six pieces?' Despite their protests, the tofu remained on the bill.
And that was the last bill ever paid at that restaurant by any of the six lunchtime dinersor their familiesor their friendsor their business associates.
Now, what should the owner have done? Provide free desserts or a round of free drinks for everyone at the table? Immediately remove the tofu from the bill? Apologize personally and thank the group for their valuable feedback? Promise to alert the chef immediately, and do so? Upon departure, give each of the six diners a business card from the restaurant with a hand-signed promise from the owner for 'Six delicious and fresh tofu dim sumfree anytime within the next two months'? All of the above?
This approach would help ensure that each diner returned in the near future, giving the restaurant and the tofu another chance. But no one eats just tofu. So there would be another round of lunchtime bills to pay by each dinerand their familiesand their friendsand their business associates.

Key Learning Point
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Occasionally things do go sour. When it happens to you, fix the problem fast. Make it your speed, generosity and concern that gets remembered. Not the trouble, or the tofu.

Action Steps
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Develop a service recovery policy and display it with pride. Let your customers know: if something goes wrong, you will make it right.
Ron Kaufman is an internationally acclaimed educator and motivator for partnerships and quality customer service. He is author of the bestselling "UP Your Service!" and founder of "UP Your Service College". Visit http://www.UpYourService.com for more such Customer Service articles, subscribe to his Newsletter, or to buy his bestselling Books, Videos, Audio CDs on Customer Service from his secure Online Store. You can also watch Ron live or listen to him at http://www.RonKaufman.com.

Bad Customer Service Says We Do Not Need Your Business

2009-01-08T01:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Lance Winslow

The opposite of good customer service is generally no customer service at all and this equates to many customers calling it bad customer service. But really the opposite of good customer service is indifference, that is to say treating the customer like they are not even there. You know some young gal talking to her friends on the phone while she rings you up, oh yah and have a nice day! Sure, I will do that indeed.
Bad customer service is when the business or employee literally goes out of their way to verbalize things. Such as NO, that is our policy, and we will not do business that way? It is basically the same as telling the customer; We do not want or need your business. Or like telling them where to go.
Indeed, it is without debate that bad customer service can ruin a business much faster than it takes to build it and an indifference to your customers only prolongs the inevitable death of your company. If you do not service your customers your competition will and if you send them away that is exactly where they will go next.
You need to train your employees to give good customer service to each and every individual customer and these employees must know that this is the minimum acceptable in your company. If you see your employees as indifferent to your customers or even worse giving them bad customer service you need to send your employees to your competition before they send your customers there. Please consider this in 2006.
"Lance Winslow" - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/

Customer Service Best Practices Referring Customers Properly And Professionally

2009-01-07T01:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Robert Bacal

When customers are referred to other members within an organization, they can feel frustrated and perhaps even become hostile if they feel they are getting the "run around". Read on for some great tips on handling the referral process so that your customer keeps on coming back.
If you deal at all with the public, it is probably a rare day when you don't have to refer a customer elsewhere for service. It may be that the person is in the wrong place, or the person is required to see several people in sequence and you are the first. Sometimes, the customer's issue needs to be dealt with by someone with a different authority level, such as a supervisor or manager.
It is a reality of business that some referring is necessary. Unfortunately, a common complaint on the part of members of the public is that they tend to be shuffled from person to person within the same company. On occasion one hears of situations where a person is moved from one person to another until he or she ends up back at the first person that was contacted.
Customers have come to expect this "shuffle of referral", but many times they prepare for it by behaving in a hostile manner towards you, even though, you may have never met. One common complaint that employees have is that when customers are referred to them, they are not given the information to appear informed and helpful to the customer. It can be embarrassing.
We are going to look at some ideas you can apply to help reduce customer frustration, and make the jobs of others a bit easier. Hopefully, others can do the same for you.
Tips
1. Do everything practical to ensure that the customer does not have to repeat his or her story to the next person.
2. When transferring a phone call to another staff member, make every effort to "fill in" that member about the particulars of the problem. Some phone systems allow conferencing, so you can have a brief 3-way conversation, to introduce the customer to the staff member.
3. Keep a list of names and phone numbers of other government employees to whom you might refer clients. You probably have a pretty good idea of the kinds of services your clients might need, so it is a good idea to learn a bit about who supplies those services. If possible, make personal contact with those people, and find out how they can help your customers.
4. Keep in mind that hostile customers may be best calmed down by referring to a supervisor. We know that people tend to behave less aggressively when they speak to a supervisor, regardless of level in the organization. However, you and your supervisor need to be clear when customers should be referred, and how they should be referred (e.g. number given, escorted to supervisor's office, supervisor calls customer, etc.)
5. Again, when referring to a supervisor, make sure the supervisor is aware of the problem, and the emotional state of the customer (hostile, angry, threatening, etc).
6. When referring to another member of your immediate organization, try to give some choices to the customer. For example, suggest that the person can take a seat for a moment, or offer to take the customer's phone number for a call back. Let the customer choose. It reduces hostility.
7. Before referring, make sure you understand the customer's situation and what he or she wants. A major error that employees make is to not listen well, or, not ask the right questions, and assume that a referral is in order. Good listening skills are important. If they are not applied, what can happen is that the customer is referred to the wrong place or person, resulting in frustration for everybody.
8. When referring, try to tell the person how long the wait will be, or what to expect. If there is a procedure to be followed, explain it if necessary. If the wait is longer than expected, make the effort to tell the customer (and apologize).
In conclusion
It is the little things that make the difference. Keep in mind that when referring you are trying to:
* reduce the need for the customer to repeat his or her story from the beginning,
* show the customer that you are making an effort to reduce his or her frustration,
* reduce waiting,
* appear knowledgeable by referring to the correct place the first time.
(c) 2005, Robert Bacal, Bacal & Associates. You are welcome to "reprint" this article online as long as it remains complete and unaltered (including the "about the author" info at the end) all links are made live, and this copyright notice and indication of authorship are included.
Robert Bacal has trained over 10,000 employees how to deal with difficult, hostile, angry, and just plain mean customers via his seminar "Defusing Hostile Customers". In addition, he is the author of "Perfect Phrases For Customer Service", published by McGraw-Hill, and "The Defusing Hostile Customers Workbook", which is designed to be a seminar in a book. Information about both of these books, including free excerpts is available at The Customer Service Zone at http://customerservicezone.com/products/index.htm
For free articles, hints, tips and help on all aspects of providing excellent customer service, visit The Customer Service Zone at http://customerservicezone.com
For s comprehensive directory of free help with a number of workplace issues, from conflict to team-work, go to http://work911.com/sitemaps/index.html .

Provide Exceptional Value Grow Your Business

2009-01-05T01:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Steve Brunkhorst

The primary objective of a business is to get and keep customers. Growing a profitable business requires providing exemplary customer service and products or services of exceptional value.
In the classic book, The Science of Getting Rich, Wallace D. Wattles writes that it is essential to provide customers with more in use value than you receive from them in cash value. Exactly what does that mean?
Imagine purchasing a training course contained on a set of CDs, and that its price is $1,200. Some would consider this rather expensive, especially if they are working with a small budget. The costs of copying a few CDs, and the packaging and shipping costs would not nearly be worth $1,200!
However, suppose you used the knowledge and resources contained in the course to generate several million dollars of income during your lifetime. In this case, you have obtained far more in use value than you paid in cash value. In fact, you might consider your purchase of $1,200 to be a real bargain.
The seller was not responsible for whether or not you would use the material. Nevertheless, he or she provided a product of extraordinary value.
This principle is easy to understand. It is also one of the most essential business practices in today's volatile economy. Just like you and me, our customers and clients are particular about how they spend their money. They deserve the most value possible for each dollar they spend.
Here is a little exercise that is fun to do, and provides some valuable insight. Think about all the companies you've done business with over the past year. Pretend you are holding a personal "Company of the Year Contest." Who would win, and why?
It would probably be the company whose product or service gave you far more in use value than you paid in cash value. It would be one whose product satisfied important wants or needsone you enthusiastically told your friends about.
Consider also that both you and your winning company benefited when you made the purchase. By using this simple value principle, you and your customers will benefit beyond expectations.
You'll grow a profitable business because you'll get and keep more customers over time. They'll keep coming back and keep giving you referrals because they know you'll give them truly exceptional value!
© Copyright 2005 by Steve Brunkhorst. Steve is a professional life success coach, motivational author, and the editor of Achieve! 60-Second Nuggets of Inspiration, a popular mini-zine bringing great stories, motivational nuggets, and inspiring thoughts to help you achieve more in your career and personal life. Get the next issue by visiting http://www.AchieveEzine.com

Customer Service For Car Wash Equipment Manufacturers

2009-01-04T01:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Lance Winslow

The show must go on as they say in show business and it is the same thing at a car wash. Those cars in line out front must be washed and these cars being dried off must be completed and moved out of the way for more. This assembly line cannot stop, as we are backing up traffic and cars are turning away due to the line. Oh no, the machine is on the Fritz. Now what? Quick emergency fix it, get the manual out and call the manufacturer while I trouble shoot this piece of; crap?
Well now you can see the need for Excellence in Customer Service from a Car Wash Equipment Manufacturer and without it the show cannot go on. It is the weekend all I get is the darn answering machine? Okay call the company who installed it and fast, we are upsetting customers. There goes our car wash customers and our customer service too.
The factory dealer is on another job and he will try to make it by 5 PM to fix it, he says he knows the problem at it will only take a few minutes to fix. But our car wash is in the middle of a $3500 day, we cannot simply tell all these customers that we are closed. Did he tell you what was wrong and how to fix it? No. Call him back. I can't his cell phone just went out of range? Oh great. Great customer service.
Customer Service for Car Wash Equipment Manufacturers is paramount and before you buy car wash equipment you will need to consider these truths. Will that equipment manufacturer be able to back up his products with service? After all if you are buying it you are the customer and there will be a day when you need great customer service.
"Lance Winslow" - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/

A Wellinformed Customer Is A

2009-01-03T01:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Ron Kaufman

When customers know what to do, how to do it, what to expect and why, they usually follow instructions.
When customers are uncertain about what, how or why, they will often hesitate in uncertainty and doubt.
This can be a major problem, especially when customer participation is essential to your success.
For example, medicines not taken on time will degrade the quality of a patient's recovery and healing. Automobiles with oil not changed will wear down before their time. Lawns not watered by owners after fresh fertilization will burn in the sun and die. Data backups not performed on time result in very angry customers when their hard drives unfortunately but inevitably crash.
Since customer performance and participation is so important (it's called compliance in medical terms), you'd think everyone would put more effort into educating customers about exactly what to do and motivating them to do it. Remarkably, this is often not the case.
Buy an inexpensive alarm clock and you'll get a 12-page user's manual on how to set the time, change the battery and work every feature of the alarm. But buy $96 worth of prescription drugs and you might get a little sticker on the bottle saying something cryptic like '1C 3X w/meals'.
A pharmacist will explain that '1C 3X w/meals' means 'Take 1 capsule, 3 times a day, with your meals.' A doctor may also advise if the medicine is best taken before or after your meals. (The cryptic code gives no clue.) They may even warn you of possible side effects and what you can do about them. (None of this useful information is found on the little sticker.)
How many people receive medication every day, but they are nervous or unwell when their doctor or pharmacist explains it to them? Back home they may forget what was said, and then they are left with only the little sticker reading '1C 3X w/meals'.
Under these circumstances, some patients will forget what to do, when to do it and why. They may feel uncertain and hesitate. In medical terms, they may not fully comply.
Consider the consequences for the doctor (an unwell patient), for the pharmacy (a dissatisfied customer), for the hospital (a complaint to be answered) and for the patient (a continued illness, discomfort or frustration). In short, a very bad situation.
How easily this could be avoided by making a better effort to inform, educate and motivate the customer! (Every company can find a way to do this better, including yours.)
For example:
The drug manufacturer could provide an easy-to-understand flyer or brochure with every medication. The doctor could create a simple list of what to take, what to expect and what to avoid. The pharmacy could design an attractive calendar to hang on the bathroom mirror or refrigerator door. The calendar could include space for you to 'check the boxes' and track your daily participation. The hospital could maintain a website with up-to-date information and helpful FAQs and print the website address right on the bottle's little sticker.
A smart computer company could send out an e-mail once a day with a simple reminder: 'Back up your data now!' They could send another reminder at the end of the week with a checklist of costs in time and expense to recreate your data from scratch.
A lawn care company could provide a simple notepad with every page reminding you of the next time and date to water your fertilized lawn. They could add two photographs to keep you motivated: one lush, green and beautiful; the other dry, parched and pathetic.
A car maintenance company could put a bright sticker on the cap of your gas tank asking: 'Is it time to change your oil?' They might even include a note like this: 'Bring your auto in on time and save 10%.'
The bank could send you an e-mail one week before your term deposit matures or when your checking account approaches the minimum required balance. A link in the message could take you to the right web page where you can extend your deposit, increase your balance or transfer funds as required.

Key Learning Point
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Customer participation is a key to achieving high levels of loyalty and satisfaction. Earn this participation by giving your customers the information, education and motivation they need. Do it at the right time, in the right amount, at the right place and in the most engagingly effective manner. (Hint to pharmacists and doctors: a little sticker on the bottle isn't it.)

Action Steps
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Improve the quantity, quality, consistency, frequency, accuracy and attractiveness of the information you provide to your customers this month.
Work on improving your handouts, flyers, e-mails, checklists, informative posters and brochures, stickers and decals, manuals, user guides, videos, web pages, guidelines and instructions.
Do a better job of telling customers what to do, bring, prepare, submit, copy, file, track, complete and expect. Tell them more about the time, steps, costs, input, output, problems, indicators and guarantors of success. Make them better informed, better educated and better motivated. In short, make them better customers.
Ron Kaufman is an internationally acclaimed educator and motivator for partnerships and quality customer service. He is author of the bestselling "UP Your Service!" and founder of "UP Your Service College". Visit http://www.UpYourService.com for more such Customer Service articles, subscribe to his Newsletter, or to buy his bestselling Books, Videos, Audio CDs on Customer Service from his secure Online Store. You can also watch Ron live or listen to him at http://www.RonKaufman.com.

This Call Requires Someone Else Now What

2009-01-02T01:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Ron Kaufman

Kumarie asked about a common service situation:
'Sometimes we handle calls on behalf of others when they are not around. Occasionally we can only help to a certain extent. If the query gets deeper than we can handle, we say "Sorry but I am only answering on behalf of so and so," or "I am covering the duty of someone else who is really the right person to help you."
'I'm afraid this message may sound bad to our customers who might think, "Are you saying I should stop asking you anything further? Should I wait for the person in charge to come back? Have you been wasting my time?"
'Your comments and advice, please.'
Great question, Kumarie! Here is my reply:
It is always good to offer help. It's also important to be honest if you are not the very best person to answer the question. When this is the case, tell your customer you will do everything you can to assist, and that you will forward their question to your colleague if necessary.
Throughout the call, take notes of all information given by your customer. If it becomes clear that you must refer them to someone else, explain honestly and calmly as follows:
'Mr. Customer, this question is now at a point where I want to be sure we get exactly the right answer for you. To do this properly, allow me to bring this matter to my colleague Ms. 123, who is the right person to help us resolve this matter and find the information you need.
'I have taken careful notes throughout our conversation and will share this information with Ms. 123 as soon as she returns. It will take me XX minutes/hours to review this with her, after which I will call you back personally, or make sure Ms. 123 calls you back with the information you need.
'In the meantime, let me give you the spelling of my name and direct phone line, so that you are able to easily call me again if you have any further questions.'
Note the following key points in my reply:
1. You retain primary responsibility for your caller's satisfaction. You are not passing the buck, dropping the ball or letting a customer fall through the cracks
2. You prepare your customer early for the possibility that you may be unable to complete the service required. You anticipate the need for referral to a colleague by a) explaining upfront that you will make every effort to help, b) letting the customer know there are others who will help if needed, and c) taking notes throughout the process to facilitate referral to your colleague if required.
3. You pride yourself in 'closing the loop' personally, either by calling back, or making sure someone else does, and by giving your personal contact information.
If you follow this carefully planned route, your customer's satisfaction will climb higher, even if you are unable to personally answer their question.
I hope this helps, and thank you again for asking.
Key Learning Point
Once customers make contact with someone inside your organization like you they count on you to help get the answers they need. If this requires that you refer your customer to another person or department, that's OK. Just do it in a way that lets your customer know that he or she did reach the right person the first time. And that person is...you.
Ron Kaufman is an internationally acclaimed educator and motivator for partnerships and quality customer service. He is author of the bestselling "UP Your Service!" and founder of "UP Your Service College". Visit http://www.UpYourService.com for more such Customer Service articles, subscribe to his Newsletter, or to buy his bestselling Books, Videos, Audio CDs on Customer Service from his secure Online Store. You can also watch Ron live or listen to him at http://www.RonKaufman.com.

When The Customer Demands Quotgive A Discount Or Lose The Orderquot

2009-01-01T01:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by John Di Frances

Periodically every sales person encounters the customer who refuses to buy unless they receive a discount. Sometimes this is driven by the organization's culture or the buyer wanting to look good to their boss and sometimes it is simply the mindset of the individual buyer them self. To some people price satisfaction and their perception of value, is not about the actual amount paid as much as it is their sense that they have negotiated the price down from a higher starting point, thereby obtaining a "better deal." A case in point is the retail consumer who will only buy items that are "on sale," even if the sale price is really no lower than the everyday price at a competitor.
Although not that common a practice in the western world, in some parts of the world this "bazaar haggling" mentality is almost universal among buyers. For companies that endeavor to enforce a published price list among their sales force, encountering a customer who "demands a discount or lose the sale" can leave the sales person and the company in a no-win position. The following is useful in arming your sales force to effectively counter such customer demands.
Our Pricing Commitment
We cannot discount the price of our products beyond the quantity discounts listed on our published price list for the following reasons.
1. Fairness to All of Our Customers At ABC Company we believe in treating all of our customers equally. That means we do not play favorites or offer "special deals and pricing" to any customers. We believe it would be unfair to offer selected customers preferred pricing.
2. No Hassle No Haggle When you deal with us, you are always guaranteed the best price for your purchases, period! You don't have to be an expert negotiator and you do not need to lie awake nights wondering if you obtained the "best deal" for your organization. When you buy from ABC Company, you know that you have received the best price.
3. One Price Guarantee With ABC Company, the first price we quote will always be our "best price." If you don't believe us, call around to any or all of the references we provided to you earlier. The price they received, based upon their specific configuration, quantity purchased, and unit prices effective on the date of their order, will be the same as the price at which we are selling to you.
4. We Sell Value, Not Price. Obtaining the lowest price does not always mean that you have obtained the Best Value. In fact, the contrary is too often true. If through your purchase you do not obtain the optimum results for your organization, then the price you paid, no matter how low, was NOT a good value. We believe ABC Company's products are the highest quality available and we offer them at competitive prices, resulting in you obtaining the Best Value, the first time and every time you order from us.
5. Everyday we continue to invest in our future and yours through product development. Our published prices reflect the costs of not only the product you receive, but also the support included with them, as well as product development. We continuously reinvest into on-going product development, in order to bring you more new and improved or cutting-edge technologies such as .... Without this constant reinvestment, we cannot continue to support you and your organization with the materials, technologies and systems you will need tomorrow.
6. Your Trust and Our Name Since 19XX, we have endeavored to earn your trust. Today, ABC Company has an unparalleled reputation for being the premier provider of XYZ ... in the XYZ marketplace. We will not destroy that hard earned Trust and Reputation by offering lower prices to some of our customers than others. At ABC Company, every customer is a Preferred Customer.
7. Anti-Trust Legislation The U.S. Sherman and Clayton Anti-Trust Acts are federal legislation designed to protect buyers in all marketplaces, including XYZ. These acts require that we offer the same pricing to all of our customers within the same class of trade. As with all laws and regulations, ABC Company expects all of its sales representatives to operate well within both the spirit and intent of the law.
Publishing this statement on your company's letterhead provides an excellent tool for your sales force to combat customer demands for price discounts.
Copyright 2005 by John Di Frances
John Di Frances is an internationally recognized organizational legacy expert and motivational speaker; http://www.difrances.com

Getting It Together Integrating Customer Focus Involvement And Horizontal Management

2008-12-31T01:00:00.000-08:00
Writen by Jim Clemmer

If we don't change our direction we are likely to end up where we're headed.
In today's "Nanosecond" culture, successful organizations are doing what was once considered impossible. They are increasing customer satisfaction, shortening process cycles and response times, reducing costs, and developing innovative new products and services -- all at the same time.
Not long ago, organizations could succeed by excelling at one or two of these areas. But the corporate landscape is now littered with the once mighty victims of this obsolete thinking. Today's winners are capitalizing on the changes and challenges facing all organizations by being better and faster and cheaper and newer then their less nimble competitors.
Pointed In The Wrong Direction
Transforming a traditional organization to one that's better, faster, cheaper, and newer is extremely difficult. That's because organizations have built powerful cultures, systems, and practices that are now pointed in the wrong direction. This misdirection can be found across three key areas:
Internally-Focused -- most decisions about products, services, and organization direction are inside out. Product and service development specialists, technical experts, managers, planners, and other professionals spend most of their time inside the organization pushing products and services out to the market.
Too often the needs of the organization are put ahead of those people it's trying to "serve". As John McDonnell, Chairman and CEO of McDonnell Douglas put it, "we did not always listen to what the customer had to say before telling him what he wanted". This we-know-best approach is now finding many long time leaders out of sync with their markets. The ratings (and revenues) of many mighty corporations are plummeting. Their "loyal" (once treated as captive) customers find products and services that better reflect their changing perceptions of value.
Functionally Managed -- individual departments work to optimize their own internal efficiency. Goals, objectives, measurements, and career paths move up and down within the narrow, functional "chimney walls". Functional managers and their employees focus on doing their own jobs or segment of the production, delivery, or support process.
Functionally managed organizations typically reduce service/quality levels while increasing cycle times and costs by; 1) fostering an "us-versus-them" approach to communications and fighting for organizational resources, 2) leaving unmanaged gaps between departments which disrupt cross-functional work processes, 3) making improvements or changes in one department which hurts the effectiveness of other departments in the process, and, 4) losing sight of customer-supplier relationships and meeting everyone's needs.
Since the 1950s, Toyota has worked tirelessly to reduce the walls and gaps between departments. By the 1970s, their manufacturing methods became widely known throughout Japan as the "Toyota Production Methods". In the early 1980s, their highly successful practices migrated to North America as Just-In-Time manufacturing. Stressing the importance of managing across organizational boundaries, a Toyota executive said, "It is not enough to manage the affairs within your own division. One of the most important functions of a division manager is to improve coordination between his own division and other divisions. It you cannot handle this task, please go work for an American company".
Management-Centered -- management's needs, goals, and perspectives are the starting point for all activities. Managers and their staff professionals are the brains and employees are the hands. Employees serve their managerial masters and do as they are told. Broad business perspectives and strategies, operational performance data, problem solving and decision making authority, and cross-functional skills are kept by management.
But the world is now moving too fast to maintain this archaic "command and control" approach that puts management at the center of the universe. Managers can no longer know enough, fast enough, about enough things, enough of the time to anticipate enough of the changes that are needed to improve the organization enough to become better and faster and cheaper and newer enough.
Partial Improvement Patches and Pieces
Recognizing the urgent need to quickly reverse direction, many organizations are implementing a variety of improvement programs and process. These include:
Employee Involvement and Empowerment -- many training and motivational programs, as well as structural changes aim to move daily problem solving, decision making, customer satisfaction, and productivity improvement responsibilities closer to the front lines.
Teams -- a rapidly growing employee involvement trend uses departmental, problem solving, cross-functional, project, process improvement, planning and coordinating, and self-directed work teams in many combinations and configurations.
Customer Service -- increasingly organizations are identifying key customer groups, clarifying and ranking their expectations, working to realign the organization's systems customer around those expectations, and training employees to deal with customers more effectively.
Process Improvement and Reengineering -- data-based tools and techniques, flowcharting, and other "mapping" approaches improve processes at micro or departmental levels. In other cases, processes are radically reengineered across vertical departments at macro or strategic levels.
Training and Development -- many executives recognize the need for massive improvements in skill levels throughout their organizations. This is leading to major increases in technical, personal communications and effectiveness, team (leaders and members), data-based tools and techniques, process improvement and management, and coaching skill development.
Technology -- investments in factory automation, information systems, voice and data communication systems, inventory control systems, and so on are growing rapidly as companies push for higher productivity, faster response times, and improved service/quality.
Many of the above efforts are piecemeal or implemented in isolation. For example, training and development, customer service, technology, and process reengineering are often implemented by separate departments with little or no joint planning and coordination. As a result, products or services are either better or faster or cheaper or newer, but rarely all four. That leads to a weakened competitive position. And cynicism for subsequent change programs grows throughout the organization.
Total Quality Management (TQM) is one management approach that can successfully integrate all of the above improvement efforts. But very few organizations are implementing truly total quality management. Most so-called TQM efforts are really PQM -- Partial Quality Management. That's why many studies now show that 50-70 percent of what are called TQM efforts are dying or dead. The good news is that 30-50 percent of TQM implementations (those that are truly total) are dramatically increasing customer satisfaction, shortening process cycles and response times, reducing costs and strengthening innovation. Although it's very tough to do, it can clearly be done.
The Labels Rarely Describe The Contents
The TQM/PQM problem is hardly unique. Most labels describing a number of organization change and improvement efforts have become meaningless. For example, when an executive talks about building a team-based organization, he or she may mean instilling a "teaminess" attitude. Or this might mean using temporary task forces to solve problems. Possibly the executive envisions filling their organization with employee improvement teams (similar to quality circles). Or he or she may want to develop self-directed work teams with no direct supervision. Some times "Reengineering" describes layoffs or traditional "slash and burn" cost cutting exercises. In other cases, reengineering means a change to the organization's structure. Sometimes it means installing new information technology systems. Or reengineering could be a radical revamping of the macro, strategic processes that establish how most work and customer interactions flow across the organization.
Successful change and improvement initiatives are integrated or "whole" rather then partial and piecemeal. They flow from the organization's basic reason for being, values, vision of the future, and strategies. The effort is intertwined with the organization's operating goals, systems, and measurements. These changes and improvements aren't programs bolted on the side of the organization. These approaches are tightly intertwined and connected to management systems, daily practices, and behavior.
As he continues a long string of successes in building "the new GE", CEO Jack Welch observed, "The winners of the 90s will be those who can develop a culture that allows them to move faster, communicate more clearly, and involve everyone in a focused effort to serve every more demanding customers". At Multifoods, the international food processing giant (brands include Robin Hood and Bicks), Human Resource vice president, Bob Maddocks finds that "the improvement process isn't separate from good leadership and management practices". He adds, "We want everyone involved in operating the company, focusing on customers, and improving our processes and systems. It's got to become a way of life for all of us".
Whatever labels are used, a "wholistic" or systems approach to change and improvement means reversing the inward focus, management-centeredness, and vertical management found in most organizations.
Reversing Direction
1. From Internal Focus: Products and services are pushed out to the market
To Customer Focus: Products and services are pulled through the organization
From Internal Focus: Management and internal professionals "know best"
To Customer Focus: "Naive listening" keeps everyone tuned to changing needs
From Internal Focus: Performance measurements are top down and aimed at maximizing internal control
To Customer Focus: Rigorous measurements are based on customers' perceptions of value
2. From Functional Management: Departments are narrowly accountable for the results of their individual units
To Horizontal Management: Managers are accountable for understanding and managing core strategic processes that flow across departments
From Functional Management: Departmental walls cause work and customers to "fall between the cracks"
To Horizontal Management: Customer needs drive the key work processes that are managed across departments
From Functional Management: Management intuition and hunches drive decision making and resource allocation
To Horizontal Management: Rigorous data and analysis help clarify systemic cause-and-effect relationships
3. From Management-Centeredness: Management's needs come first in a "command and control" hierarchy
To Total Involvement: Managers become "servant leaders" to a team-based organization
From Management-Centeredness: Employees serve management
To Total Involvement: Employees serve internal and external customers
From Management-Centeredness: Information is hoarded
To Total Involvement: Information is widely shared
For most organizations, these are not minor course corrections. Each of these three key areas demands changing direction by a full 180 degrees.
Besides changing direction in any one of these key areas individually, there is an ever more pressing need to integrate all three as an organization-wide system. This can be either an area-by-area evolution or a broad scale simultaneous implementation. For example, an organization might start by focusing on customers, begin managing processes with basic teams, and then move toward shared leadership and self-directed teams. Or the change effort may begin by involving employees through teams, focus on customers, and then move to incorporate process management.
An executive at a US-based telecommunications equipment manufacturer illustrates how these areas can evolve and merge, "We hit the cultural change wall because people didn't want to do the behavioral stuff (skill building, dealing with conflict, changing habits and practices). People didn't want to do that because it hurt too much. That got real ugly. So we said, 'we're not going to do that behavioral stuff. Instead we're going to do process improvement work.' And, after beating our heads against the process wall for a few months, some people found out that they're really not separate and distinct. You can't do one without the other. And, oh by the way, the only way that is going to work is to have teams. So, we're starting to break through the barrier of linking all of those pieces that were originally perceived to be separate. We're really breaking through the barrier and recognizing that this is all interconnected."
However the transformation is begun and whatever it's called, effective long-term change and improvement efforts integrate all three of the key areas. Only through an integrated systems approach to customer service, process management, and employee involvement can organizations become industry leaders who are clearly better and faster and cheaper and newer than their competitors.
Jim Clemmer is a bestselling author and internationally acclaimed keynote speaker, workshop/retreat leader, and management team developer on leadership, change, customer focus, culture, teams, and personal growth. During the last 25 years he has delivered over two thousand customized keynote presentations, workshops, and retreats. Jim's five international bestselling books include The VIP Strategy, Firing on All Cylinders, Pathways to Performance, Growing the Distance, and The Leader's Digest. His web site is http://www.clemmer.net/articles

Mail Services To Benefit Any Business

2008-12-30T01:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Joel Meadowridge

All businesses, no matter what their type, will receive mail. Bills, payments, invoices, merchandise, letters, and much more are sent from and delivered to businesses all around the world. While sending and receiving mail may seem easy enough it isn't always, especially for businesses. This is why the development of mail services is important.
Mail services being offered to a business are most commonly being provided by an individual or a company who specializes in offering a healthy connection between businesses and their clients. There are a number of features that could be included in a mail service package. The features being offered will all depend on the individual or company who is offering the mail service. While the features being offered may vary there are a number of features that are commonly found in a mail service.
Professional mail services are likely to offer a new business mailing address. This business address is typically in the same city where the mail services are being offered. A new business mailing address is a great way to up the appearance of your business. Having a mailing address in New York City is much more glamorous than one in a small town that is hard to pronounce. A new business mailing address is a great way to provide small business owners or contractors who work out of their home with a business address that is not also a home address. This could help to make a business appear more professional.
When a business gets a new mailing address the mail will go to that address. This means that somehow that mail must make from the mailing address to the physical address. This is why mail forwarding is one of most popular and most needed of all mail services. The individual or company running a mail service business will receive your mail and then forward it to your home or business. Mail forwarding can be done all year round; however, it also possible to do it on special occasions. Instead of having important documents sitting at the post office many business owners prefer to have their mail held by a professional. Once a business owner returns from their vacation or business trip they can have the mail sent to their home or business.
In addition to forwarding mail to the home or business of a business owner, it is also possible to have mail sent from the address. If you need to use the same address it may be possible for you to send mail to mail service company and then have them forward it the recipient. This will require extra postage, but many business owners use this method to only have one business address instead of multiple ones.
A business address and mail forwarding are just a few of the mail services you may find beneficial to your business. Business mail is an important thing; therefore, you shouldn't let your mail services be handled by just anyone.
C.J. Preston is a writer for We Answer where you can find mail services that deliver superior service for an affordable price.

5 Action Ideas To Deal With Difficult People

2008-12-29T01:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Alan Fairweather

When was the last time you had to deal with a difficult customer? It was probably and external customer but perhaps it was an internal customer, such as a member of your team, a colleague or even - your boss!
I'm sure that you always want to provide exceptional service to both your internal and external customers. However, in the real world, things go wrong and mistakes are made. These "customers" will often judge your level of service based on how you respond to a mistake. Do it well and they'll probably forgive you and possibly even say positive things about your business or your abilities to other people.
The important thing to realise when dealing with an upset customer, be they internal or external, is that you must - deal with their feelings, then deal with their problem. Upset customers are liable to have strong feelings when you, your product or service lets them down and they'll probably want to "dump" these feeling on you.
You don't deal with their feelings by concentrating on solving the problem, it takes more. Here are 5 action ideas that deal with the customers' human needs:
1 - Don't let them get to you - Stay out of it emotionally and concentrate on listening non-defensively and actively. Customers may make disparaging and emotional remarks - don't rise to the bait.
2 - Listen - listen - listen - Look and sound like your listening. The customer wants to know that you care and that you're interested in their problem.
3 - Stop saying sorry - Sorry is an overused word, everyone says it when something goes wrong and it's lost its value. How often have you heard - "Sorry 'bout that, give me the details and I'll sort this out for you". Far better to say "I apologise for ......" And if you really need to use the sorry word, make sure to include it as part of a full sentence. "I'm sorry you haven't received that information as promised Mr Smith". (It's also good practise to use the customers name in a difficult situation).
4 - Empathise - Using empathy is an effective way to deal with the customers feelings. Empathy isn't about agreement, only acceptance of what the customer is saying and feeling. Basically the message is - "I understand how you feel". Obviously this has to be a genuine response, the customer will realise if you're insincere and they'll feel patronised.
Examples of empathy responses would be - "I can understand that you're angry", or "I see what you mean". Again, these responses need to be genuine.
5 - Build rapport - Sometimes it's useful to add another phrase to the empathy response, including yourself in the picture. - "I can understand how you feel, I don't like it either when I'm kept waiting". This has the effect of getting on the customer's side and builds rapport. Some customer service people get concerned with this response as they believe it'll lead to - "Why don't you do something about it then". The majority of people won't respond this way if they realise that you're a reasonable and caring person.
If they do, then continue empathising and tell the customer what you'll do about the situation. "I'll report this to my manager" or "I'll do my best to ensure it doesn't happen in the future".
Make no mistake about it; customers, be they internal or external, are primarily driven by their emotions. It's therefore important to use human responses in any interaction particularly when a customer is upset or angry. If customers like you and feel that you care, then they're more likely to accept what you say and forgive your mistakes.
Discover how you can generate more business without having to cold call! Alan Fairweather -"The Motivation Doctor" - is the author of "How to get More Sales Without Selling" To receive your free newsletter and free e-books, visit the Motivation Doctor

All Of The World Of Business Is A Stage

2008-12-28T01:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Doug Emerson

One of the basics of acting taught to me in grade school was the important principle of "staying in character." Staying in character means holding the image and personality of the character you are assigned to portray without letting your own personality leak through.
Applying the principle in school, I would lock my legs stiffly and allow my arms and hands to flex gently as if they were in a flowing breeze. It was not easy for me as a third grader to stay in character as a tree.
My professional acting career still lies dormant, but the concept of being in character is wide-awake. I heard a story last week about a small business that makes a point of having its employees remain in character at all times during the work day. No, I'm not talking about Disney World. I'm talking about a dentist's office in the UK. The owner is so adamant about the professional staff acting in the best interest of the practice when dealing with the patients (customers), that a sign is installed on the employee lounge door that says " BackStage". The backstage sign makes the important point that the rest of the office space requires an onstage performance for all on the team.
The help wanted advertisements never have the following wording included in the job description; "Acting Experience, a plus". Employers should include the phrase.
Wouldn't it be nice if other businesses would enforce the onstage performance of their employees?
· Grocery store cash register operators would end their cross- chatter with each other, act in a friendly way and would acknowledge the customers' existence.
· Receptionists would present an image of helpfulness and appreciation for customers as they enter and exit the office.
· Retail clerks would joyfully point out where items are on the shelves.
· Professionals would acknowledge that they are running behind on appointments and apologize for the inconvenience.
· Staff would notice when customers, even those not within their assigned area, are not getting the proper attention they deserve and would ask on their own if they could be of help.
Businesses that have a written plan and policy for maintaining a professional level of service always are the most impressive. They are impressive because the standard of service against which they compete is so unprofessional. It's not hard to distinguish yourself from the rest of the group when your business stays in character.
Is your business or organization in character for customer service or just playing out its own melodrama?
Doug Emerson trains consults and coaches business owners on how to make more profit in less time using 8 key strategies. He writes a free electronic newsletter about the business of life called Getting to the Point. Free subscription available at the homepage. http://www.douglasemerson.com

Customer Service For Gas Stations Has Changed

2008-12-27T01:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Lance Winslow

Perhaps you do not remember but the old gas stations of yester year included quite a bit of more service than those of today. Today you are often forced to go into the impulse C-Store from hell with all sorts of items practically falling on you, simply to get the darn pump turned on. And forget a free window cleaning unless you allow some homeless guy to spit on your window and wipe it clean and then tell him where to stick it when he puts out his hand for some donation over a couple of bucks.
Indeed customer service has changed but why? It is not as if the customers said; Hey we do not want customer service anymore, No Sir, not us. Is it worth more money for customer service? Sure it is and we often vote with our dollar for it in many ways. We might pay more for a cup of coffee or shop at a different store, which we know to have slightly higher prices; why? Customer Service of course.
As I travel across the United States occasionally I do go to a service station off the beaten path, which still gives good old-fashioned country style great service. But for every one of these gas stations that I go to; I most certainly fill up at least a hundred times where I get ho-hum service or none at all.
Is it possible to run your service station the old-fashioned way and if you do will you reap the rewards? Well, I asked one gentleman this and he said that it costs a little extra to pay that gentleman to clean everyone's window, to smile and even sometimes but air their tires, but look across the street their service station is empty and we charge three cents more per gallon and that was my proof.
"Lance Winslow" - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/

Customer Service In Auto Services Is Not Offending Women Customers

2008-12-26T01:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Lance Winslow

In the auto services industry there are generally more women customers than men. This is because men will typically do some of the auto services and preventive maintenance on their car themselves, whereas women customers will have someone else like an auto shop do the services for them.
Even women who have men around the house will sometimes have a man take their car to the auto service shop for them. Still, even with that there are still more women customers by about 15% more.
Needless to say customer service in the auto services industry is about pleasing your women customers and when they fill out reader service cards or customer service surveys you need to listen to what they say.
Women customers would like to see more women at the facility and not a bunch of guys gawking at them. Women customers would also like to see clean bathrooms and a clean waiting area. Women customers do not like to see trash around the facility or around the landscaping.
Women customers do not wish to be over-sold or treated in a condescending manner. Women customers do not like greasy fingerprints on their car when you are done. Women customers would like to have some women's type magazines in the waiting area and not ones, which are two years old.
Women customers also like to have an awards program or a discount if they are regular customers. Please trust me when I tell you that all these things are comments that I have read on our own customer surveys for our auto detailing shops. Please consider all this in 2006.
"Lance Winslow" - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/

Always Thrill The Customer

2008-12-25T01:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Bette Daoust, Ph.D.

You may wonder if the car dealer has gone overboard with his service and perhaps he has in a way. The customer can decline his offering at any time but at least he is there to offer it. You can go overboard with your willingness to please but you cannot go overboard with a good customer service policy. You really want to over deliver your promises but you do not want to under promise what you will do.
There must be value attached to everything you do for the customer. If they do not perceive a value in the service, then you will not keep that customer for life. I recently had a contract with a company in the Bay Area; their motto was "To Thrill the Customer Everyday". Each person that came on board was also asked to take the motto and implement it in every way possible. As a result, this company is doing extremely well in a slumped economy. The customer service they offer goes beyond just doing the job, the quality of work, the professional attitudes, and the insightful solutions make this company tops.
Service for customers will help to you maintain and develop additional business relationships. What I mean is that customers will continue to do business with you because they know what they will get, plus they will give referrals by word of mouth. The important part is that not only should your service thrill the customer but your work should also be of excellent quality. Service and value cannot be matched by anyone that does not have the customer at heart.
I remember going into a store not too long ago to get some garden supplies. This company was fairly large and had a few branch offices. This particular store had three employees that were sitting around chatting and reading a paper when I walked in. I started searching around for an item I needed and NO ONE bothered to get up and ask what I was looking for. I finally had to ask and they just pointed to where it might be. I just walked out and went elsewhere. I also let the owner know that his customer service was bad and no matter how much cheaper his prices were I would never shop there again.
In this case word of mouth worked really well. I let everyone know of my bad experience and his business was rarely full of excited customers. He could improve his profits tremendously if the customer service alone were to improve.
Bette Daoust, Ph.D. is a speaker, author (over 170 books, articles, and publications), and consultant. She has provided marketing, sales, business development and training expertise for companies such as Peet's Coffee & Tea, Varian Medical Systems, Accenture, Avaya, Cisco Systems to name a few. Dr. Daoust has also done extensive work with small businesses in developing their marketing, training, and operational plans. You may contact Dr. Daoust at http://BizMechanix.com You may also view her latest publications at http://BlueprintBooks.com Dr. Daoust also writes for the National Networker http://theNationalNetworker.com

Are You A Commodity Or Experience Retailer

2008-12-24T01:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by John Stanley

The world is dividing into two and customer service providers need to know which camp they belong to.
I work mainly with retailers and the selling game is rapidly changing. Customers are either wanting to save time or savour time and your customer service will be judged on how you read your customers and which of the above two concept you adopt.
Let me explain, generally, when customers are in their 'save time' mode, they are buying a commodity and price is a major issue. If I'm a commodity shopper, I'll tolerate low customer service levels and often will expect it. Commodity retailers include supermarkets, department stores and large hardware retailers. If customers get good customer service when commodity buying, they are often surprised.
When you and I are looking for an experience, we expect high levels of customer service and will complain if we are not receiving it. When experience shopping, price is not the key issue. We are savour time and the experience is the key issue.
Remember, the product can stay the same. You can buy an apple as a commodity from the supermarket or as an experience at a farmers market. You can buy a coffee at a fast-food outlet or as an experience at Starbucks.
The amount of input you put into customer service depends on where you see your business in the marketplace, but don't get squeezed in the middle either, sell me a commodity or sell me an experience!
John Stanley is a conference speaker and retail consultant with over 20 years experience in 15 countries. John works with retailers around the world assisting them with their merchandising, staff and management training, customer flow, customer service and image. http://www.johnstanley.cc

Cost Vs Customer Control

2008-12-23T01:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Laurie Brown

Last night I went to a local restaurant to purchase dinner for my family. I like this place. The food is eclectic and well prepared. They had a special written on their chalk board. It sounded great, turkey meatloaf. I knew that their version would be perfect and I ordered it.
The waitress told me it came with mashed potatoes and wilted spinach. Well I am watching my carb intake and I asked if they could substitute vegetables for the mashed potatoes. She thought not, but would go in the back and ask the chef. The answer came back "NO". I asked if I could have more spinach instead of the potatoes. She said "NO." "Why not?" I asked. She replied "cost control, spinach costs more than potatoes." Well, I knew that this was a small, probably struggling business and I could appreciate the need to be cost sensitive, so I offered. "No problem, I'll pay extra for the spinach" (I'm thinking that I will get the award for most understanding and reasonable customer of the month)
But boy was I wrong! Not only did I not get the coveted most reasonable customer award, I got one more big "NO!" At this point I was frustrated at their unwillingness to meet my needs and I left without ordering anything.
So their cost control efforts created a profit control of much bigger proportions. Even though they had saved money on the vegetables they had lost my four dinner orders that evening, which didn't seem to phase the waitperson or chef one bit.
Clearly this was not a cost control issue, this was a control issue. The chef had created a "perfect combo" and was not about to ruin his piece of art for a mere customer. He was devoted to his vision and not his customer's needs. He forgot he only gets to create because of people like me, his customer.
Perhaps as you read this you are thinking, wow I would NEVER treat my customers that way. Maybe you wouldn't. But if you have said "no" to your customer in the last month, you might have to rethink that idea.
Sometimes our customers are unreasonable. Sometimes they ask for outrageous things. But sometimes it is easier for us to say "no" then to find a creative solution that meets everyone needs.
The next time you are about to say "no" to your customer, stop for a moment, catch your breath and instead say "Let me see what I can do." If nothing else the customer will feel that you are on their side and trying to help them. Then get creative and find a way to give your customer what they need.
Laurie Brown is an international speaker, trainer and consultant who works to help people improve their sales, service and presentation skills. She is the author of The Teleprompter Manual, for Executives, Politicians, Broadcasters and Speakers. Laurie can be contacted through http://www.thedifference.net, or 1-877.999.3433, or at lauriebrown@thedifference.net.

Customer Conversion Mistakes That Will Cost You

2008-12-22T01:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Shawn Meldrum

The following are common mistakes that Sales Managers and Owners make in the sales process which could be costing you thousands or even hundreds of thousands in lost revenue.
- No system to capture and log prospect information/contact data on incoming ad calls.
- Poor tracking of incoming calls for source and ad success.
- No attempt to offer something to a prospect that`s `on the fence`,like free information, a cost savings comparison or an informative video or audio with testimonials.
- Not directing or leading the prospect towords what you want them to do. This is usually caused by not knowing what you want them to do next - what the next step in the sales process should be.
- Not following up on leads with a phone call.
- Turning leads over to a sales person that hasn`t been trained properly.
- Not tweaking your ads so that only those who are really interested and pre-qualified call, example: `Don`t call us if you`re satisfied with your monthly mortgage payment`.
- Selling/quoting prices before pre-qualifying the prospect.
- Selling price instead of unique benefits, payment or service.
- The `wrong` person answering incoming ad calls, example: over worked/cranky receptionist, busy assistant, lazy sales person, etc.).
- Not sorting and sifting (smart cherry-picking) through leads to determine the `good` from the `bad`.
Shawn Meldrum has spent the last two decades marketing everything from almonds to landscape lighting. He currently specializes in marketing for mortgage brokers, loan officers and real estate agents. For free mortgage marketing articles and much more visit: http://www.mortgagemarketingtips.com/

Why Cant Microsoft Make Quotsoftquot Packaging

2008-12-21T01:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Eileen McDargh

Why is it that Microsoft wants you to buy its product but does not want you to open the plastic case that is welded around the cardboard box? I believe that such packaging along with cockroaches will survive atomic disasters!
Good luck finding any clue as to an easy way to open this fused bit of skin-tearing packaging. I split my scissors trying to pry open the ends. I ripped a fingernail attempting to wiggle into a miniscule space. I wedged in a letter opener to see if I could leverage any kind of muscle and rip that sucker open. I seriously thought of using a chain saw.
Finally, in a fit of anger akin to the Hulk, I seized one small, dagger-like split in the plastic, held the plastic casing with the other hand and yanked with all my might. I cut my hand extricating the box from the opening I'd created.
And what does this hidebound, 81/2" x 11" x 2" box contain: a CD! I trembled thinking it too would be wrapped in that plastic that yields to neither man nor woman.
Thankfully, the innocuous little CD was without wrapper. Good thing. My scream would have reverberated in the hallowed halls of Bill Gate's Washington mansion. It's pain enough to upgrade software without going through the physical machinations of opening a #$%^& box.
Moral of the story: The customer's experience is everything. Don't let packaging ruin their day.
(c) 2003 by Eileen McDargh. All rights reserved
Reprint rights granted to all venues so long as the article and by-line are used intact.
About The Author
Eileen McDargh is an author, radio commentator, organizational development consultant, professional speaker and retreat facilitator. Author of four books including Work for a Living & Still be Free to Live and The Resilient Spirit and a frequent contributor to numerous business journals. Visit her web site http://www.eileenmcdargh.com or contact her toll free at 877-477-4718.

Creative Customer Service Can Clinch The Sale

2008-12-20T01:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Lance Winslow

What is creative customer service and how can you apply this to your company? Well, creative customer service is exactly as it sounds. It is finding ways to give the customer an extra and unexpected treat to exceed their expectations and you can do this really easy. For instance if it is valentines day, give them a little heart pin to wear, sure it may cost you a little bit to do this for all your customers, but it is worth it and if you buy in bulk it will not cost much.
When I was a young man we ran auto detail shops and we use to leave a red rose, a piece of candy and a thank you card in every females car we did. It surely clinched sales, referrals and the word of mouth eventually got all around town. It is the little things that with Creative Customer Service that can clinch future sales.
Buying a high performance motorcycle can get rather costly these days and yet when they send you a Free T-Shirt in the mail or a cap or racing poster every so often it you never really consider how much you have actually spent over the years on all these super sonic race bike toys. And when it comes time for the next one, well they know where your brand loyalty is. Why? Because Creative Customer Service can clinch the sale.
"Lance Winslow" - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/

Customer Service Disaster You Just Blew It For The Whole Industry

2008-12-19T01:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Dr. Gary S. Goodman

Whenever we think we've lost a customer, instantly we fear that our loss will be our archrival's gain.
That happens a lot. But it's not the worst scenario.
Bill, who owns his own consulting business, was never that fond of flying. Even being bumped up to first-class and being plied with liquor, lost its cache for him.
Then, September 11 came along, and flying got a lot worse. He had to arrive at the airport earlier, and this cut into his consulting time. He had to pack differently, leaving his favorite Swiss Army knife behind.
Airplanes and airports were more congested; his checked luggage was lost more often.
And the miles he earned were becoming meaningless because the last thing he wanted to do when he earned a vacation was seeing more airports, hotels, and rental cars, even if they were free.
Then, it happened, the proverbial straw that broke Bill's back.
He was told he'd have to check his only bag because it wasn't going to fit in the overhead compartment on the plane. He disagreed, voices grew louder, and an embarrassing episode followed.
Sure enough, his flight was late, making him late to his meeting. Had he been able to carry on his bag, he would have arrived out of breath, but under the wire.
On the flight home, he vowed not only to not use that carrier again. He decided to get off the road, to stop flying altogether.
This necessitated changing his business model. He'd have to do more phone work, and conduct his out of town selling though videoconferences, web talks, and other devices, but he figured when all was said and done, he'd cut costs and come out ahead.
More important, he'd spend more of his nights at home with his family, his waistline would be smaller, and his stress would abate.
What the airline never appreciated was the fact that it didn't just shuttle Bill's business to another carrier; it lost a customer for the entire industry.
When a customer defects to our rival, he may come back to us later, having seen, first hand, that the grass wasn't greener. But when he washes his hands of an industry, friends and foes alike, lose.
This happens more than customer service models and surveys recognize, because few of us have the imagination to ask this question:
"Are you fed up with us, or with everyone?"
If it's the latter, that's a sad commentary on the perceived service level of the industry.
Dr. Gary S. Goodman, President of Customersatisfaction.com, is a popular keynote speaker, management consultant, and seminar leader and the best-selling author of 12 books, including Reach Out & Sell Someone® and Monitoring, Measuring & Managing Customer Service. He is a frequent guest on radio and television, worldwide. A Ph.D. from USC's Annenberg School, Gary offers programs through UCLA Extension and numerous universities, trade associations, and other organizations in the United States and abroad. He is headquartered in Glendale, California, and he can be reached at (818) 243-7338 or at: gary@customersatisfaction.com.

In The Villa Of The Sick Cat A Lesson In Customer Care

2008-12-18T01:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Caroline Jordan

If you're a pet owner, you know the stress of having a sick pet and you know that having a great veterinarian is a wonderful thing. My cat, Zoe, came down with a nasty infection that had me racing off to the vet's office last week with an unhappy, howling kitty in tow. (She's doing much better now.)
This was my first visit to this vet's office, having just moved here last year. When I arrived, the building was under construction. Lots of hammering, sawing, and loud noisesnot exactly the controlled, calm atmosphere preferred by a sick pet. But fortunately, Zoe lives in the House of Perpetual Construction Projects, so she did okay.
But, what really struck me was the construction project itself. The waiting room has been transformed into an Italian Villa with high ceilings, a graceful figure-eight-shaped pool in the center of the room, a decorative fountain, and "faux" plants. It is gorgeous and would make a great setting for a romantic Italian meal complete with fine wine and a strolling violinist.
My first reaction on walking in was "This is beautiful, I wonder how high my vet bill will be." As Zoe and I sat waiting (and waiting and waiting and waiting), I watched all the other customers coming through the door. Each one looked around at the beautiful setting and said "I wonder how much this is going to cost me."
The newly designed waiting rooms and exam rooms were not designed for the customersdogs and cats. They weren't designed for the humans bringing in their pets for medical care. It's a total ego design. Impressive. Elegant. Grand.
And instead of all the customers (animal and human) being wowed by the design, they reacted negatively. You see, sick cats and dogs want quiet, dark spaces and they want their visit to the vet's office to be over quickly. Instead, the new design with its concrete floor (fashionably treated to look like a sun kissed rock patio) and its soaring ceilings means that every time the phone rings the noise reverberates throughout the waiting area. The poor scheduling means that a sick pet has to stay in that waiting room for what must seem an eternity. And of course, the humans immediately understand that the money to pay for this project has to come from somewherenamely their wallets.
Fortunately, our new vet turned out to be competent and caring and Zoe is recovering nicely. But, the business lesson remains. Focus on what your customers care about and you'll never go wrong.
Caroline Jordan, MBA helps self employed professionals build successful businesses, attract clients they enjoy working with, improve cash flow, and develop additional sources of revenue. To find out how visit: http://www.TheJordanResult.com

The Number 1 Rule For Businesses Be Professional

2008-12-17T01:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Denise Hall

Have you ever walked into a store and things looked sloppy? Stores should have nice neat displays, right? Normally, yes, but sometimes they get a bit messy on busy days and we all understand how that can happen.
But what if you were to walk into a store as soon as it opened in the morning and the place looked liked it had been ransacked? What would you think?
You'd probably think it wasn't very professional-looking. If a rack of shirts was haphazardly thrown together, with all the styles, colors and sizes mixed up, you'd probably walk right past it without giving it a second glance.
If a sales associate wouldn't answer your questions or help you find something, you would consider that unprofessional, too, not to mention rude.
When we do business in the offline world we expect a professional appearance and professional manner from those who deal with customers. The same is true for online businesses.
Your business depends on how professional you are. Your website, your customer service and the appearance and quality of your work all reflect upon you, the business owner.
Two key factors of professionalism:
Good Customer Service/Relations
Quality Appearance and Writing Skills
Recently I had problems submitting information to several websites. After trying for several days I finally e-mailed for technical support. (After all, the website owners had messages posted that said to contact them at any time.)
I didn't expect an immediate reply to my inquiries. I know they're busy running their businesses, and dealing with other people, too. But I have yet to receive any replies.
Where is the customer service? Why would I want to do business with someone who seems to be ignoring me? At the very least, if it typically takes them more than a couple of days to reply to e-mail, support questions or other requests, they should post that information on their website so customers/visitors know what to expect.
Without good customer service, you're shooting yourself in the foot. Don't expect customers to buy from you if you can't afford them some common courtesy.
A professional appearance is mandatory to your business, also. How many times have you read an ad or article that had numerous spelling or grammatical errors?
We're not perfect. We all make mistakes. But if we frequently had those little red check marks on our composition papers in school, we should probably use spell check and have someone proof-read our copy before sending it into cyberspace.
A prime example is a website I visited a few months ago. As I started reading about the product the owner was selling I noticed an error with the use of the word "our." The site said "When you use "are" product....." OK, one little mistake. No big deal.
However, as I continued reading, I discovered the webmaster referred to "are" products and "are" website on the whole page! Not once was the correct word, "our," used.
Frequently I read ads and articles that contain many spelling or punctuation errors. For instance, "Thinking back to when I first started my business. I had no idea how or where to begin."
I'm not a teacher, but I can see that it should be one sentence, not two. The writer cut off the first sentence before actually finishing it. It's like the train of thought came to a screeching halt. (In this case, I'm the writer giving you an example. So if this sentence resembles someone else's work, it was not done intentionally.)
The correct way to write it is "Thinking back to when I first started my business, I had no idea how or where to begin." It's one flowing sentence. Now it tells you what I was thinking.
Another option is to change it just a bit to make it a complete sentence. "I think back to when I first started my business" or "I remember when I first started my business." Then continue to the second sentence.
I'm not wanting to demean anyone or be overly picky. Ads, web pages and articles just look much more professional when written with no errors, or at least very minor ones.
Many customers will shy away from a website or ad that seems poorly written or put together. The customer may see the business owner as an amateur, therefore their product, company or service may not be worth much.
Do your customers expect perfection? No. But they do expect professionalism. You're running a business, so you're supposed to be a professional. If you give a professional appearance, they'll believe in you and your business.
About The Author
Denise Hall is the publisher of Home Business on a Budget Newsletter. Her weekly publication contains helpful tips, articles and resources. To subscribe mailto:home_business_on_a_budget@rapidreply.net or visit http://www.home-business-on-a-budget.com
This article may be reprinted in its entirety with this resource box included.
dmh0226@voyager.net

Commit To Excellence

2008-12-16T01:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Ginger Marks

The potential for success lies within you. Granted you must be brave, committed and flexible; you also must remain clearly focused on your goal. Whether that goal is to build a small customer base or you intend to capture a large market share, your commitment to excellence in relation to your customers and your product or service can be the key ingredient to your success.
Remaining compassionate while staying on track can be a bit of a trick. While at times a valued customer may have special needs and you might want to go that extra mile for them, you must clearly distinguish when and where to draw the line. Yes, be flexible but don't get taken advantage of. Give them anything you can while remaining true to yourself.
If a customer needs to be a little late for an appointment or requires an extension on the pay-by date and you can accommodate them do so with stipulation. Help them to recognize there is a limit to your understanding and generosity. Don't just blindly let them slide into a bad habit.
Sometimes the hardest thing to do is "fire" a customer or client. You may consider that impertinent, or even unrealistic, however if a customer or client is overly demanding, constantly late, or in any manner inconsiderate, you don't have to continue to service them. They may ultimately wind up costing you more than they are worth.
Recently, I read about a young woman who had built a thriving company. She permitted her biggest client to constantly stretch their pay-by date and when her client suddenly filed bankruptcy she was faced with down-sizing her business. The end result of the loss of this business client forced her to impose a pay-cut on her employees and herself. Thankfully, her company survived; could yours? Let us recognize the lesson revealed by her setback. Don't be afraid to say "no" when you are uncomfortable with a situation.
To be truly successful in business today, competitiveness, compassion and clarity of vision are entrepreneurial musts.
© Copyright 2005 Ginger Marks
Ginger Marks is the founder of DocUmeant, Your writing assistant. For more information, visit her website at http://www.documeant.net She is also the Copy Editor for Ladies First Magazine. Ladies First Magazine online is your first stop for business articles, profiles and resources for and by female entrepreneurs, http://www.ladiesfirstmag.biz

I Beg Your Pardon

2008-12-15T01:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Vivian Gilbert Zabel

The woman tapped her foot as she waited for assistance. The young man continued his personal conversation on the phone. The woman cleared her throat. He glanced in her direction before turning his back.
"May I have some help, please?" she asked.
He whispered into the receiver, "Just a second," before covering the mouth piece. "I'll be with you in a bit." He returned to his phone call.
The woman placed her package on the counter, pivoted, and walked off, muttering, "I won't be here."
That business lost a customer because an employee put a personal conversation before doing his job. Every time someone takes care of personal business rather than his duties, he or she harms the employer by costing the company money, clients, and reputation.
The illustration given previously cost the company a customer, which in turn takes money that pays the employees wages, causing a lost of income to company and employees. The wages paid the young man during the time he wasn't working for the company, but was visiting, are wasted since the business gets nothing in return. Many of us have "horror" stories about poor service and refuse to return to that store or company.
Two clerks chatted as one rang up the purchases of a customer. The customer tried to get the clerks attention, but the young woman on the register ignored the man, continuing to talk with her friend as she ran bar codes past the scanner.
"Please, ma'am," the customer insisted, "you need to know about this slip. The chairs are being loaded. . ."
"Don't worry about it. I'll get it rung up." The cashier didn't even glance toward the man as she answered.
"But, you don't understand, I'm suppose to tell you that there were six chairs," the man added.
The cashier, not much more than a girl, rolled her eyes at her friend as she waved a hand toward the customer.
The man and his wife shook their heads as they walked away from the counter with the bags holding the rest of their purchases. On the way home, the wife examined the register tape. "That girl only charged us for one chair. I thought the total seem mighty low."
"We'll call the store when we get home," her husband replied. They did call when they arrived home, but the manager, once he heard the story, told them that since it wasn't the couple's fault, not to worry about the price of the other chairs.
That store lost several hundred dollars, but it didn't lose customers because of the good manners of the manager. Still the store wasted money on wages that weren't earned and on the loss of the price of the chairs.
The lack of good etiquette costs businesses money through loss of unearned wages and loss of profit if mistakes are made because of employees not doing their jobs carefully. Also poor customer relations causes customers to leave and not return. Those dissatisfied customers and clients also tell others about their experiences, possibly causing others to stay away from that company.
This spreading of dissatisfaction hurts a company's reputation. As word spreads concerning poor customer service and employee lack of good manners, people start avoiding the business. The result becomes a deterioration of reputation for being fair and caring for clients.
Finally, employees are either fired or the company folds, causing the employees to be unemployed. Then those very people, whose lack of good business etiquette led to disaster, wonder why they no longer have a job.
Vivian Gilbert Zabel has submitted this article in affiliation with a site for Fax Machines ( http://www.Facsimile.com/ ). She was part of the business community before becoming a teacher of English and composition for twenty-five years. Her books, Hidden Lies and Other Stories and Walking the Earth, can be found on Amazon.com or at Barnes and Noble. She is a member of http://www.Writing.Com

Are You Suffering From Customer Service On The Brain

2008-12-14T01:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Lance Winslow

Every customer loves great customer service and nearly every company claims to have great customer service. Unfortunately the customers who have been surveyed generally say that only about 10 to 15% of the companies out there have this so-called great customer service.
So what does this tell us really? It tells us that the rest of the 85 to 95% of the companies out there that tell us they have great service do not have good customer service at all.
Show me a company with great customer service and I will show you a company full of employees from the top CEO all the way down to the janitor who are suffering from customer service on the brain. Are you suffering from customer service on the brain? You should be.
If you are suffering from customer service on the brain perhaps you have seen what this addiction is causing your company. Increased brand recognition, increased quarterly profits and extended word-of-mouth advertising, which goes far and wide.
If you are not suffering from customer service on the brain then this is one virus your company needs to catch and luckily once you catch it; it is contagious. There will never be any substitute for great customer service and it is about time you got that through your thick skull. Consider this in 2006.
"Lance Winslow" - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/

Customer Service Tips For Mail Order Businesses

2008-12-13T01:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by DeAnna Spencer

Can we be too good to our customers? No way! Our customers are the backbone of our business! They're right no matter what!

I'm sorry to disagree with you. As small, honest and legitimate businesses - we have a tendency to place our product quality above money. While this is the "right" way of building a strong, solid business; there are customers that will try to take advantage of you. You have to learn how to notice this possibility coming and "bow out gracefully" without losing the customer.

Remember that most newcomers to the world of mail order think that they are ordering from BIG companies just because we have a company name! They cannot conceive how poor and struggling a lot of us really are. They think we can absorb costs and because they are poor themselves, will often try and take advantage of people like us. (If they only knew the many times I have personally had to hold an order up for mailing because I couldn't afford to pay for the postage to mail it back, or the guy who bounced a $2 check and caused a close friend of mine to go "in the hole" $15 in bad check charges.)

But because we are honest people who place our product ABOVE money we sometimes let people walk all over us. In fact - a mail order buddy of mine (who distributes shareware computer disks) is normally so happy when she gets an order that she gives the customer almost 10 times more than what they pay for. She is so excited about keeping a customer that she goes overboard to make them happy.

Unfortunately, a lot of people will take advantage of this situation. They think, "Hey, if I can get this much for hardly nothing, I'll see how much more they'll give me. Look at all the "freebies" I could get and all the money I could save." They'll lose respect for you. However, this line of thinking is only short term. Sure, as a customer, you might get some more free stuff with the next order, but pretty soon the business owner will realize what's going on. Then you'll lose that business contact forever! I can still recall the people who ripped me off before and I would NEVER do business with them again! This is a sad situation!

As a dealer, you can learn to give your customers what they pay for.
Go that extra mile on special requests, but never over-extend yourself if it means lost profits to your business. This line of thinking will cause you to set yourself up to be taken advantage of and then you'll become resentful toward your customers; which is bad.

Another friend of mine was so stunned by landing an on-going, monthly publication that she promised the customer "the moon" without even having to do so. When she lived up to all her promises she ended up paying $215 out of her own pocket to publish each issue. Of course, she had to cancel her contract forever - which is "bad business."

In mail order we all have the ability to make ourselves look "richer" than we really are. We can work co-op deals with other people to barter and trade for things we don't have and could never pay for. Then, when orders are filled professionally, the customer suddenly thinks the mail order dealer has a lot of money to spread around and can afford to lose a few dollars on them.

If a customer does not send the correct amount for you to fill his or her order - simply write them a nice letter explaining that they did not enclose the proper amount. Send them an invoice showing the amount they still owe and bill them before filling the order.

If someone calls you up on the phone and talks a "good" sales pitch (with the intention of getting you to fill their order before they pay you)kindly explain that your company policy is to receive payment first since they are a new customer. No other explanation is necessary.

However, don't go overboard and get crazy. If a new customer forgets to enclose a stamp, go ahead and send them information. It's silly to waste another stamp yourself to tell them to send a stamp. And not filling the order is also crazy. If the customer cared enough to write in the first place, you at least owe them a response. Besides, it might bring a big order. Don't get hung-up over a stamp!

Some dealers refuse to take personal checks because they are afraid they will bounce. Again - this is not good customer service since it's a lot of trouble to buy a money order when most people have checking accounts. This line of thinking will cost you lots of lost orders. However, you can hold the check for clearance before you fill the order if the amount is over $25. Use common sense and you'll make it!
stamp. And not filling the order is also crazy. If the customer cared enough to write in the first place, you should fill the order. Good customer service is the key to keeping your customers.

Copyright 2004 by DeAnna Spencer
This article may be reproduced and redistributed freely on the Internet as long as the resource box
remains intact.
DeAnna Spencer is a virtual assistant that helps entrepreneurs run a successful business by providing affordable administrative help. She also publishes a blog for small business owners. Visit this small business resource today.

10 Reasons To Turn Your Customer Service Into A Crossselling Platform

2008-12-12T01:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Dr. Gary S. Goodman

Cross-Selling is a great way to boost revenues and profits by gently persuading existing customers to purchase an additional product during service conversations.
There are ten really great reasons your CSR's should make an effort to cross-sell to existing customers and clients:
(1) You Already Have The Customer's Attention!
This may sound obvious, but it's a critical fact. Marketers wrack their brains thinking of clever ways to simply get prospects to focus upon their offers. When you have existing customers on the phone, you don't have to compete with other companies for their earsthey're already tuned into you, and only you. From a communication perspective, your signal-to-noise ratio is extremely favorable, so you may as well take advantage of this fact.
(2) You Can Customize Your Offer On The Spot!
One of my clients cross-sells insurance. When clients phone in with a question about their homeowner's policy, they're treated to a quick offer that can save them money on their auto policy. The information as to what insurance clients currently have with the agency is displayed prominently on the CSR's screen, so reps can always offer a pertinent, additional policy.
(3) Customers May Be In A Perfect Mood To Buy More!
At a famous camera-maker's four service centers, reps used to field thousands of calls every day from disappointed and angry folks whose film or cameras failed their expectations. They'd solve problems, and nothing else, until a senior executive asked this question: "Can we transform this cost-center into a profit-center by selling new items to these callers?"
We showed them how to cross-sell carrying cases, photo albums, and flash attachments. The more effective CSR's closed up to 50% of those to whom they made offers! Contrary to common sense, customers were happy to buy. Having been convinced their problems would be solved, they settled into a receptive mood.
(4) It Takes Less Time Than You Think!
A concern is that conversations could ramble on and on if cross-selling is introduced. Actually, the opposite occurs. When reps are trained to control conversations, and they take on modest sales duties as well, they actually have explicit ways to "end" calls, where they may not have had them before.
(5) If Your Customers Already Like Your Products, They'll Feel You're Doing Them A Favor!
Some CSR's perceive that they're intruding when they offer an additional product, but this is just not so. By definition, products and services offer value, and by offering more of them, you're offering more value. Through what other means are clients to learn about your other itemsadvertising? By speaking to them, and being able to accept their orders, you're also bringing them the ultimate in convenience.
(6) It Contributes To Profits In Two, Significant Ways!
A simple way to calculate profit is to think of it as what's left over after you take revenue and deduct costs. There are at least two ways to boost profits: raise revenues (or margins), or lower costs. By cross-selling, you do BOTH. When customers accept your offers, they spend more, which increases revenues. Because your only investment is your effort and your time, your financial outlay for the increased revenue is nearly zero. No wonder senior managers are sold on cross-selling!
(7) It Will Increase The "Capital" Of Everyone Associated With The Campaign!
In general, CSR's have a limited career path. They can climb into supervision and ultimately into operations management, but along the way they're vying for very few slots.
Salespeople, on the other hand, are always in high demand, and I've never met a senior executive who didn't say she couldn't "make room" for another top seller. Moreover, because sales folks hone their persuasive skills, they can move into numerous niches that call for negotiation skills.
By starting in a cross-selling campaign, CSR's can practice their selling abilities in a low-risk setting. If they meet the challenge, they can greatly accelerate their career progress, while commanding greater compensation in the bargain.
(8) Managers Will Have An Added Way Of Quantifying The Contributions Their Units Make To The Well Being Of Their Companies.
It's one thing to assert (and never an easy one to prove!) that your folks serve clients well. It's another to actually show the added revenue your team has brought in. Which assertion would enable you to retain your headcount in an economic downturn, or justify weighty bonuses and promotions?
(9) It Will Change The Mentality Of Your CSR's From Being Reactive To Being Proactive.
They'll learn, first hand, that it is they who control call outcomes, and not customers. They'll become better at selling, and their general contact management skill will also improve. There's even a chance that their new ability will serve them in their personal lives, as well.
(10) It's Very Trendy Right Now, So Why Not Get With The Program?
Cross-selling is a hot topic right now, and it's generating excitement nearly everywhere. But more important, it looks like it's here to stay. So, give it a try!
Dr. Gary S. Goodman, Copyright 2006
Dr. Gary S. Goodman, President of www.Customersatisfaction.com, is a popular keynote speaker, management consultant, and seminar leader and the best-selling author of 12 books, including Reach Out & Sell Someone® and Monitoring, Measuring & Managing Customer Service. A frequent guest on radio and television, worldwide, Gary's programs are offered by UCLA Extension and by numerous universities, trade associations, and other organizations in the United States and abroad. Gary is headquartered in Glendale, California. He can be reached at (818) 243-7338 or at: gary@customersatisfaction.com

The Simplest Solution To Customer Satisfaction

2008-12-11T01:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Jason Tarasi

"Thank you for calling XYZ Company. Your call is important to us but not important enough for us to answer it. Please hold for eternity or leave a message and a representative will contact you as soon as it is convenient for us."
If you've ever used the telephone to contact a business you can relate to the frustration that can result from voice mail or automated answering services. Undoubtedly, when they first became "the way to do business" it was extremely annoying; however, times are changing, folks are automating and imprudent business practices such as this are gaining acceptance (or at least tolerance).
Of course the ole' time principles of customer services such as answering the phone before the third ring, avoiding putting a customer on hold if at all possible, and providing personal service are still superb solutions to customer satisfaction. But, in our automated world, it is vital to recognize the importance of responding to customers quickly and appropriately, especially if they have been forced to listen to a long recording and traipse through a jungle of push buttons in order to leave a message for you instead of being afforded the luxury of speaking to a warm-blooded human.
Whether a customer makes contact in person, via telephone or through email, businesses should strive to provide a timely, if not an immediate response. Customer satisfaction is reliant on responsiveness.
So, you may ask, "What is a timely response?"
Honestly, the definition of a timely response really depends on the customer's perception. The urgency of their need may play into the mix or their idea of a timely response may be linked to their expectations.
For some reason there is a perception amongst business people that a 24 hour response to a customer inquiry is sufficient. From the customer's perspective; however, having to wait 24 hours for a quick answer to a simple question or a viable solution to a serious problem is ridiculously aggravating and neglectful on the part of the business.
When customers have a bad experience, from the customers' perspective, they are sure to seek other options for fulfilling their needs. Plain and simple poor customer service results in lost business.
Regardless of the type of business you are in and whether you receive customer inquiries via telephone, email or a website contact form, it is absolutely critical that you get back to your customers right away. Placing responsiveness at the top of your customer service objectives is the simplest solution to gaining a competitive advantage, producing satisfied customers, maintaining your customers through repeat business, and building your market share through client referrals. Responsiveness is the single most important factor to enhancing customer satisfaction.
Copyright 2005 Jason Tarasi
Jason Tarasi publishes the reciprocal links newsletter "Elite Links" Learn HOW thousands of other Elite Links members generate FREE traffic and increase their search engine rankings by swapping links. Grab your free lifetime subscription now at: http://www.elitelinksnewsletter.com

Customer Satisfaction Insight The Uglier The Car The More Reliable It Is

2008-12-10T01:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Dr. Gary S. Goodman

I was just reading an interesting article that maintains that initial customer satisfaction with cars is positively correlated with their long-term dependability.
So, if our rides are solid during the first 90 days, they'll probably hold up well for the next three or four years, so they say at J.D. Power & Associates.
Topping the article were photos of some reliable cars: the Buick Century, Toyota Echo and Acura CL., which are no longer made, by the way.
If you study these pictures you'll notice something dramatic: All three models are ugly.
I have two pet theories: (1) Car makers TRY to make models ugly because that induces us trade them in more often; and (2) Ugly cars, for some unexplained reason, are more reliable.
Just think about the most beautiful designs in history, many of which came from Jaguar, before it was acquired by Ford. The lines were gorgeous, interiors burnished and silky, and they rode pretty well, too.
But they were always in the shop.
Exotic and gorgeous sports cars are known to be finicky and expensive to maintain and repair.
Recently, my head has been turning to the Range Rovers I've seen ambling down the highway. They boast clean, symmetrical lines, nice large windows, and a certain amount of grace and poise.
And Range Rover is yet another impressive luxury nameplate absorbed by Ford.
Where did it rate in a recent initial customer satisfaction survey?
Dead last, but I'm coming to expect that from cars that are drop-dead gorgeous.
Best-selling author of 12 books and more than 750 articles, Dr. Gary S. Goodman is considered the world's foremost expert in telephone effectiveness, customer service, and sales development. A top-rated speaker, seminar leader, and consultant, his clients extend across the organizational spectrum, from the Fortune 1000 to small businesses. He can be reached at: gary@customersatisfaction.com.

Gift Cards Under The Gun Is Retail The Next Target

2008-12-09T01:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Lance Winslow

The Federal Trade Commission is concerned that many companies offering Gift Cards are not disclosing all the terms and fees. The SEC is questioning which quarter the gift card revenue is put into? Should it be listed in the fiscal quarter it is issued or the fiscal period that the consumer actually uses it? Additionally it is widely known that most gift cards have balances that are never used and eventually expire. The industry average is some 15-20% and this means the companies retain that as income.
Now we see that Regulatory Bodies already trying to control the growth of gift cards;
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,2004481,00.asp?kc=EWRETEMNL082406EOAD
This is problematic as it adds fodder to the lawyers to sue companies, which may not be in compliance, it hurts smaller companies attempting to bundle services and lock in customers from their major Box Store Outlets. Also gift cards are being used as a form of currency by many?
This electronic bartering will cause issues with the currency say some forward sub-sector economists. All this is interesting. But can we trust the government to regulate this, as they are messing up everything else they regulate and in the end Always end up hurting the consumer they purport to protect? Consider all this in 2006.
Lance Winslow - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/

Customer Service The Best Way To Deal With Customers

2008-12-08T01:00:00.001-08:00
Writen by Andy Britnell

Dealing with customers is not easy - each one brings to the transaction their own history, experiences and current state of mind. Some may, consciously or not, be seeking to let off steam, and you may be a convenient outlet!
Having acknowledged that customer service is a tough job to do well, it is hardly surprising that those in the front line sometimes assume indifference and act as though they don't care. We have all come across the 'jobsworth' who explains away poor customer service by blaming company policy or another department. Indifference can be a protection against what sometimes feels like a very personal attack.
Without the protection of indifference, we run the risk of customers upsetting us either by hurting our feelings or by being drawn into an angry confrontation. Or we may keep our cool while speaking to the customer, but once they are out of the door or have put the phone down, we let loose with a torrent of abuse! Maybe we feel we can handle all the stress of our day, only to drive like a maniac on the way home or arrive in a foul mood.
Ideally, the best possible way we can approach customer service is to use each and every encounter with a customer to enhance our company's reputation. We live in an imperfect world where we all make mistakes and inevitably sometimes things go wrong. In my experience, when something has gone wrong and the customer complains, you have a wonderful opportunity to create a much stronger loyalty to your company than if everything always goes right!
Andy Britnell specialises in sales and customer service training for the private and public sectors. Go to http://www.andybritnell.co.uk/ and you can sign up for my FREE short monthly newsletter and FREE e-mail coaching.
I coach corporate and SME clients who wish to achieve better results - see http://www.executive-coaching-for-business-growth.com/