Customer Recognition – An Inside Out Approach

Customer Service, Leadership No Responses »

May 102012

The Service Game Plan

Internal customer service is the practice of service to the personnel within an organization. Every person in your company relies on someone, either as part of delivering a product or service to the external customer or as part of other internal processes such as payroll or facilities. Recognizing the relationship between individual roles is a critical part of enabling frontline customer service providers to deliver the best possible results.

If there is a problem delivering on a customer expectation, frontline employees must know exactly how to react and what they need to do to recover. At the same time support personnel must have the same standards of service delivery within the walls of the operation. The external customer service result is a direct reflection upon internal service actions.

Imagine the frustration of frontline service providers that are expected to be the face of the company to the public. However, when they call another department for support, they are treated as an interruption. Or, on the other side of the coin, the same frontline people who are able to treat external customers with such politeness, are impatient and rude to those they look to for support. As sad as this scenario sounds it happens every day in companies all around the world.

The Art of Customer Recognition

Customer Service, Leadership, Training No Responses »

May 062012

This is the first post in a series that will give anyone who serves customers in any capacity the tools to deliver the very highest level of customer service. In addition managers and business owners will find principles that will propel their business to the next level of profits and improved brand awareness.

I have been teaching these principles to front-line customer service providers for many years. I have applied these methods and techniques personally and I know they not only work but they are all game changers.

I realize that these statements may be considered bold and some readers may wonder if I’m able to put my money where my mouth is. Well, considering that I’m giving these principles away on this blog, that’s an easy challenge to meet. However, I’m confident that if applied these simple ideas will help any business grow.

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Service Matters – Inspired by Seth Godin

Customer Service No Responses »

Apr 062012

Better late than never! I just read the 2009 publication What Matters Now arranged by Seth Godin and written by a group of creative individuals that I plan on getting to know as I read more of their work. Some of these people I know, most of them I don’t. In this publication there is an invitation to leave my mark and add to the message. So, I noticed a particular subject that I think belongs. Here are my random thoughts on service:

People not products make a business succeed. You and me serve they and them. That makes us in this together.
The customer is always right, especially when you treat them right.
The first impression counts, but the last one is what they will remember.
Treat your customer so good that when they need what you have, you’re the only one they can think of.
Recognize your previous encounters with every customer.

Recognize
Reconnect
Remember

If the customer is the central focus the sale will be of greater value.
Difficult customers exist:

Legitimate complaints that are addressed and remedied prove you care and make your business better.
Whiners and sour people aren’t worth your time.

When you care I notice.
People might notice your work, but they definitely notice your attitude.
Don’t just say you care, act like you care.
External customer service rarely exceeds internal customer service.
Everyone has a customer, who is your’s?
If your are the boss serve your team.
If your people are important to you, your customers will be important to your team.
Service is a decision that happens one customer at a time.
Be deliberate about serving people
Random acts of kindness are good, intentional ones are better.
It’s impossible to be mad when you are smiling. That’s not a challenge.
Hire people that already understand that service makes a difference. You can training everything else.
If you have to try to be nice to the people you work with, find a different place to work.

If you have customers service ideas please leave a comment. Or, if you don’t get where I’m coming from on any of my one liners, let me know. Lets discuss this over the comment box. This subject is actually one of my favorites to discuss. It’s the one area that every business can focus on to make their market a better place to do business in.

Maybe you have a customers service story. Good or bad, why not share it here on Core Training Solutions. Start a discussion and see where it goes.

Download What Matters Now and then come back to leave a comment. Things change when enough people see the need and change their action.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this post and on some of the ideas in What Matters Now.

Your Daily Dose of Time Management Medicine – Make a “Just Stop It” List

Productivity, Time Management 1 Response »

Mar 192012

Wasted Time

I get a certain report, every month from another office. This report is an accountability measurement that demonstrates that a particular required activity has been completed. I was assigned as the recipient of this report in order to file it and keep it available should the activity need to be audited. Someone else used to keep this report and when it was passed over to me I was told to print the report and file it monthly, which I did, for an entire year.

Can you guess how often I was asked to produce this report for review in that first year? Yes, that’s right the answer is, never. At this point I have been receiving this monthly report for 3 years and have never been asked to send it to anyone or whether or not I even receive it.

After that first year I inquired about the report and its use, and was told that it was a requirement for the facility that prepared it. So, realizing the report is not going away but that I do not need to print it unless asked. I now simply file the email message it come in under the name of the office sending it and I’m done. This is done at the click of my computer mouse. No more printing, no more filing by month then moving them to storage after 3 months.

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Your Daily Dose of Time Management Medicine – Leave Some Wiggle Room

Planning, Time Management 2 Responses »

Mar 142012

Plan to Succeed

How often do things happen that are out of your control? Is it safe to say this happens regularly, even daily? Well this happened to me this morning. I took my normal route to the office which is 26 miles from my house. The drive normally takes me 35 minutes in light traffic and can take as long as 45 minutes to an hour in heavy traffic.

As I do every evening, I looked at my calendar last night to make sure I knew what was on my agenda to start my day. I had a web conference scheduled for 9:30 am and planned to get to the office at 9:00 so that I could review the meeting material and plan the rest of my activities for the day before my meeting.

This morning made me realize again why I am a committed planner. As I said at the beginning, there are many things that happen that are out of our control; so it is a good practice to consider these unseen factors into our plans as much as possible.

On my drive this morning, the closer I got to my normal freeway onramp the slower traffic got. Just before my on ramp it got so slow it would have been faster to get out and walk. There I was stuck. I couldn’t make a left turn, right turn, or U-turn. I just had to wait. Finally I got close enough to see a huge lift with a man working on the power lines above the street. I looked at the time and realized it was 9:00 am. I still had 30 minutes to make my web conference so I wasn’t too worried.

Your Daily Dose of Time Management Medicine – Just Breathe

Productivity, Time Management 2 Responses »

Mar 022012

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Relax and Breath If you are anything like me you sometimes get caught up in your daily activities at an extreme level. Because there is so much to do, it is very easy to just keep going and going. Particularly when working on a project that you love. One of the favorite parts of my job is to create a new training program from concept to publication.

I can literally get lost in my work and before I know it I’ve worked through lunch and on toward dinner without even taking a break. Now this doesn’t happen too often because most days someone somewhere in the office requests my assistance or participation in a project, committee and or meeting of some sort or another.

If you love what you do or maybe, you are just a driven person working for your next promotion or business opportunity. It can be easy to be in constant motion and not realize that you haven’t taken time to just clear your head and relax.

The biggest problem associated with failing to take time to relax is that stress levels can creep up on you until it starts to affect your health. I never think that I hold in stress, but when I start to get a knot my back or a dull ache at the base of my scull I know I’m overdue for a break.

Just Breathe – It actually doesn’t take much to relieve that stress that can end up having a negative impact on your productivity and your health. According to a recent entry on the Mayo Clinic website, meditation and deep breathing can improve your focus and help you manage stress.

In my experience whenever I feel that urge to increase my output due to a deadline, I simply take a 15 minute walk to focus and regain clarity. Inevitably, when I give in to the impulse to let stress drive me to work harder without breaks, I usually end up making mistakes and have to stop and correct them anyway.

Time Flies Whether You Are Having Fun or Not

Faith, Life, Time Management No Responses »

Feb 242012

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Last night I got a CD with my son’s senior pictures on it. There was about 200 shots on this disc and while viewing them I relaized once again that life is made up of a series of events that pass so quickly, if we’re not paying attention we may forget them. I want to thank my good friend Michael Kitada of www.takebetterphotosnow.com who took the photos of my son in this post. As I look at these photos all of my values rise up in me and make me want to be a better man, a better Christian, to reach down and make things count every day.

Your Daily Dose of Time Management Medicine – Develop the Neatness Habit

Time Management No Responses »

Feb 162012

The Neatness Habit

Admittedly I am not a car guy. In fact the only time you’ll see me working in the garage is when I have to. Then, when necessity dictates I get very frustrated because the work bench is a mess and things are strewn about all over the place. The problem is that at home in the garage, my family (myself included) leaves a mess after working on projects. Like the one my oldest son has going right now. He is stripping an old bike down to the bare metal in preparation to paint it. This makes me crazy because the space is limited to with, and all of the clutter makes it nearly impossible to get anything done.

Well, inevitably I will need to fix something around the house. I’ll make my way out to the work bench in the garage and more likely than not, promptly hire someone to fix whatever is broken instead of taking the time to clean the perpetual mess that lingers there. Can you relate? Have you ever had to stop a project at work to find an important memo or note that was critical? Or perhaps you are delayed when you realize that you need to retrieve an email from a colleague that takes way too long to find.

Many people don’t realize just how much time they waste looking for information that is just beyond reach or recollection. Just like the problem in my garage many professionals experience regular delays in productivity because there workspace is a mess.

Your Daily Dose of Time Management Medicine – Make an appointment with yourself

Goal Setting, Time Management No Responses »

Feb 032012

Important Actions

We all have long term goals and ambitions, whether professional or personal. The question for today is how do we make sure that we accomplish those things? In the last time management tip “Exposing the Urgency Illusion” I talked about the reality that, as a manager, you probably have various people coming to you with any number of urgent issues on a daily basis. This is to be expected in most management positions and is a common source of frustration for many leaders.

So, back to the question; how do you accomplish your goals when some many people want a piece of your day? If you don’t take this question seriously your goals will remain untouched in a notebook somewhere in your desk or in Evernote or some other software program. They will wait, very patiently never complaining. They won’t even feel neglected. They’ll just wait, taking up space, physical or virtual – waiting and waiting, for you to take action. But what action can you take when your time is in such high demand?

Make an appointment with yourself – The most effective way to work on activities that are important but not urgent is to consistently schedule time to plan, organize and put these tasks into action. Put yourself on your calendar weekly so that when you schedule meetings with others you can reply with “sorry I’m not available at that time”. This is a practice will give you the time you need to work on your long term goals one task at a time. If you fail to take control of your time it will be filled with all of the other urgent activities that are always waiting.

While this technique may seem strange at first, in my experience you will quickly grow to value these appointments with you. Look at your time in terms of how much of it you spend on yourself. At the office identify those goals that will advance you in your career. Yes, doing a good job for your boss may result in advancement and you will continue to do a good job for him/her. However, taking proactive action to achieve your professional goals will ensure that you are shaping your future and that you are the single controllable factor in your career path.

The bottom line is that you are important and you deserve the time necessary to realize all of the dreams that you can. Just realize this; if you don’t take action and schedule time for your long term goals, they are bound to remain dreams. Dreams are important but they need action to become reality. Dreams powered by intentional plans become action. Actions in turn change your life and mold your future. I’ve said it before many times. Action not intention determine destination.

Do you make appointments with yourself?

Do you agree with this idea? Do you disagree? Please share either way.

What can you share about your methods to get the important stuff on your list of goals done?

Presentation Skills by Osmosis

Presenting No Responses »

Jan 172012

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Presentation Skills

As a corporate trainer I give a lot of presentations. I use PowerPoint daily as I develop training modules. It occurred to me just last night, after reading a post from Michael Hyatt called 5 Rules for More Effective Presentations, that the skills I have learned about being a presenter have come to me mainly through doing presentations. I did attend a PowerPoint seminar about 15 years ago, but that really just taught me how to use a piece of software, not how to give an effective presentation.

It always amazes me that if I’m not intentional about my actions, life has a way of guiding me through my days by simply doing what others have done before me whether those actions are effective or not.

The art of giving presentations is a great example of swimming downstream in the river of life, just going with the flow because it’s easy and “that’s how I was trained to do it”. Or, “that’s how we’ve always done it”. These attitudes are not only limiting but I submit they are damaging to your business and your career.

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