Who's Your Gladys

When Providing Customer Service, Give an Oscar-worthy Performance

March 08th, 2010 | Author: Marilyn

Sometimes it takes an award-winning performance to provide excellent customer care, especially when problems are weighing on your mind. Maybe you’re dealing with the turmoil of having your credit card stolen. Perhaps your daughter failed a class or your partner forgot your birthday. You can do your absolute best to put the concerns of your personal life aside at work, but it’s so challenging to stay in a positive mindset when you come face-to-face with a crabby, omplaining customer.

How do you hold it together when you feel like falling apart?

Just ask the employees at Preston Wynne Spa, a successful company featured in chapter 7 of “Who’s Your Gladys?” This high end spa’s CEO Peggy Wynne Borgman and her staff have adapted the advice of my dear friend Holly Stiel, who recommends viewing the start of a workday like the start of a performance.

Customer service expert Holly Stiel recommends viewing the start of a workday like the start of a performance.

“Your uniform is your service costume, and your workplace is the stage. To give great service, it’s helpful to consider yourself an actor playing a role with as much sincerity as possible,” Holly advises. She encourages everyone to make a conscious choice about how to “act” within the service provider role.

This got me thinking about my expectations as a customer. When I go to the movies, I expect the actors to give a captivating performance. I enjoy watching the leading man woo his love interest. It could very well be that in “real life,” the actor is going through a bitter divorce. It simply wouldn’t work to bring his personal problems into his leading man role. more…

Category: Mood Management, Shifting Moods, customer service mindset | Leave a Comment

Guest Blogger Kevin Stirtz Says: Abercrombie Feels the Sting of Bad Customer Service

March 03rd, 2010 | Author: Gladys

Today’s guest blogger is Kevin Stirtz, the Amazing Service Guy. He helps organizations improve the quality of service they deliver to their customers. (That’s why he’s called the “Amazing Service Guy.”) His professional goal is to help 1 million organizations learn how to deliver Amazing Customer Service to their customers.

We know good customer service can keep customers coming back. And most of us understand the power bad customer service has to hurt our business.

Yet this simple lesson still falls on deaf ears at some large, well- known companies. Take Abercrombie & Fitch, for example. A $3.5 billion-dollar retailer known for attitude in their advertising apparently has plenty of attitude in others parts of their company. Recently, they were fined $115,264 by the Minnesota Department of Human Rights for discriminating against a disabled customer in their Bloomington, MN store.

It should have been more. Much more.

We know good customer service can keep customers coming back. Yet this simple lesson still falls on deaf ears at some large, well- known companies.

First, the behavior of their employees, as reported by Minnesota Public Radio, the StarTribune and others, suggests they have no idea how to handle any but the most common and simple situations. The situation started because a girl needed to accompany her autistic sister in the dressing room to try on clothing. The Abercrombie & Fitch employees said no. Apparently, they felt the girls were lying because they could not verify the disability.

Imagine if this was your daughter.

Second, the girl’s mother tried repeatedly to resolve this issue with various levels of management. She got nowhere. No apology. No resolution. Nothing. So, she dug in her heels and brought out the big guns. This eventually led to an investigation by the Minnesota Department of Human Rights.

Third, the company seems to have stonewalled this case at every turn. According to news sources their actions caused the matter to take longer and cost more than it otherwise would had they been more cooperative.

more…

Category: Uncategorized | Tags: Amazing Service Guy, Kevin Stirtz, Who's Your Gladys | Leave a Comment

A Gladys Fan Shares: Customer Service at the Internal Revenue Service

March 01st, 2010 | Author: Lori

We love to share stories of customer service excellence. Our friend Gary Lewis, a metro Detroit graphic designer, wrote in with this story about his experience with the IRS.

A lot of people — or most of us — think of the IRS as a huge, dreadful government machine run by surly little old men in black suits who want to empty our pockets. While there may be some truth to the pocket-emptying part of that, the people who are at the business end of the IRS phone bank are as regular as the people working in your corner bank or bakery.

With the slowdown in the economy last year, and being a freelancer on top of that, I didn’t pay my full tax amount in April of 2009. It wasn’t the best feeling, but the person who did my taxes said the numbers would all catch up in the system and I would be able to “make a deal” down the road. The IRS sent me what was basically a “Final Bill” later in the spring. To make sure I was doing the right thing and filling out the right forms to make regular payments, just as I might on a car loan, I called the IRS.

After a brief wait, I had an agent on the line. I couldn’t have been walked through the process any better! The agent helping me offered a variety of payment options and reassured me that this happens to a lot of people, particularly with the recession we all felt in 2009. It was a pleasant customer service experience all the way around. I wasn’t treated like a deadbeat or someone who was trying to “cheat the system.”

Today, I called about a follow-up letter to the agreement I made, and was again treated like an upstanding member of society. The wait time was short, the agent was pleasant, and she made sure all my questions had been successfully answered before the call was finished.

I expressed to her that through her simple actions of being helpful and polite, my view of the IRS experience was nothing less than positive. She seemed surprised to field a compliment like that, but I hope she passes it along to her colleagues working in that big marble building somewhere inside the Beltway!

I’m sure the black suits have to put the strong arm on some of our American brethren, but they definitely are not the face of the IRS I have come to know in the last year.

What do you think? When you or your staff are managing collections, do you treat your customers with respect and dignity, even if their payments are late? In today’s economy, many companies and individuals are managing their cash flow to the best of their abilities. Make sure customer service is also a part of your collections process.

Category: Communicating with Customers, Uncategorized | Tags: lori jo vest, Who's Your Gladys | Leave a Comment

Guest Blogger Kevin Stirtz Shares: How to Handle Customer Complaints

February 24th, 2010 | Author: Marilyn

Today’s guest blogger is Kevin Stirtz, the Amazing Service Guy. He helps organizations improve the quality of service they deliver to their customers. His professional goal is to help one million organizations learn to deliver Amazing Customer Service to their customers.

Fifteen years ago, I had a complaint at a very well known Italian restaurant in Minneapolis. I still remember how badly the employee responded to my concern. In fact, I’ve used it in my customer service seminars – fifteen years later! It shows the power we all have to give our customers a memorable experience.

Here are some rules I teach in my seminars to help people handle customer complaints. If you and your staff follow these rules, you can turn unhappy customers into loyal cheerleaders for your business.

1. Listen completely. Give them your complete attention. Don’t multi-task. Don’t “half-listen”. Write down what they are telling you and get specifics from them. Then confirm that you understand. Focus only on them.

2. Let them vent. Don’t interrupt. Don’t explain, defend or justify. They don’t care why the problem occurred and they don’t want your side of the story. They are angry and they want to vent, so let them.

3. Apologize and mean it. This is often hard, especially if you did not cause the problem. When you apologize in this situation, you are not necessarily taking blame for causing the problem. You are apologizing for the customer having a bad experience. Put yourself in their shoes. Be sincere. more…

Category: Best practices, Dissatisfied customer, Listening, service recovery | Tags: Amazing Service Guy, Kevin Stirtz, Who's Your Gladys | Leave a Comment

Step Away from the Telephone, Unless You Have Skills

February 22nd, 2010 | Author: Marilyn

On a scale from one to ten, how well would your customers rate your phone etiquette? Your score is only as good as your next phone call. Here are a few do’s and don’ts that will help you ensure that your customers feel welcomed, connected and eager to come back.

Some Do’s:

Prepare to be welcoming, before you pick up the phone. When the phone rings, it’s not always easy to let go of the frustration of the moment and offer a pleasing welcome. Your mood shows up in the tone of your voice. Create a trigger to remind you to be fully present. One example is to imagine a mood reset button that is activated when your hand touches the phone.

Add your name to your introduction. It creates a more personalized greeting. For example, instead of “Suttle Enterprises” try, “Good morning. Suttle Enterprises. This is Marilyn.”

Offer seamless transfers. When a customer calls with a long, complicated problem, you may discover that it needs to be handled by a different person or department. Reassure the caller that you will not abandon them. Offer to patch them through and explain the situation to the next person in the chain. more…

Category: Best practices, Communicating with Customers, Customer Relationship Management, Developing People, Telephone skills | Tags: Customer Service, marilyn suttle, Telephone skills, Who's Your Gladys | Leave a Comment

Guest blogger Carol Roth Shares: What Your Business Can Learn From The Grammys

February 17th, 2010 | Author: Gladys

Today’s guest blogger is Carol Roth. She is an investment banker, business strategist and deal maker, having helped her clients raise over $1 billion in capital, complete hundreds of millions of dollars worth of M&A transactions, secure licensing, joint venture and partnership deals, and hone the strategy of their businesses. She blogs about issues affecting entrepreneurs and their businesses from her Unsolicited Business Advice blog. Carol definitely walks her talk. After you read her post, you’ll see how powerful recognition can be in keeping customers coming back! Kudos to Barry Moltz for originally posting this article.

Everyone loves a bit of recognition. Can you make it pay off for you?

Hollywood award shows have always seemed a bit bizarre to me. Let’s take people who earn ridiculous sums of money (not to mention a whole variety of other perks) for entertaining us and give them some more recognition. Even movie credits list every person who sneezed in the general direction of the set.

Imagine if every business enterprise did that. You buy some fast food and the wrapper says, “This cheeseburger was brought to you by Farmer Bill who raised the cow, Joe T. at the distribution plant…Rebecca who flipped it on the grill and Mark who rang up your order.” Sounds ridiculous, right? Maybe not.

This creates a sense of pride from the employee, a factor of recognition and a special connection with the customer.

From awards shows to credit lists, Hollywood builds a connection between key players and its customers, the audience. This means if you go to see a film by a certain director or starring a certain actor. As a customer, you already have many connections to that person resulting from their recognition. Plus, by listing contributors in the credits, they take advantage of the employees’ (key grip, lighting director, etc) desire to be recognized. more…

Category: Best practices, Communicating with Customers, Customer Service, Delighting customers, Developing People | Tags: carol roth | Leave a Comment

Provide Better Service By Taking Off Your Magnifying Glasses

February 15th, 2010 | Author: Lori

If you’ve read “Who’s Your Gladys?” you know that we espouse that one of the best ways to improve customer service is to change the way that you (and your staff) think about customers and service situations. As human beings, with a nice chunk of our brains available for logical thought, we can choose how we think about any given situation. Of course, since we’re also emotional beings, it’s not always easy to do so.

A technique I use frequently, when things are getting nutty and I feel my temperature rising, is to step back and look at the big picture. It’s so easy to get caught up in the minor details when you’re getting through your busy day. However, when you step back and look at what you really want – the ideal end result of whatever it is that you’re doing – it becomes much easier to do the right thing.

When you step back and look at what you really want – the ideal end result – it becomes much easier to do the right thing.

Here’s a quick example. Let’s say you have a customer who’s being really demanding. They’re asking for more than you can give, for less than they should be paying. You’re annoyed at their last email, which rambled on about how challenging it is to work within the small budget they’ve been given for their latest project.

How should you look at this situation? Should you walk around the office talking about how ridiculous it is for this customer to ask to pay less than the competitive price you quoted? (And create a negative impression of this customer with your coworkers?) Absolutely not.

What should you do? Take off your magnifying glasses and look at the big picture. Does this client have a history with your company? What is their “lifetime value?” (That’s the dollar volume of what they spend over the course of their customer relationship with your company.) Is there anything you can do to accommodate them within the budget they’ve been given? What do you really want from the situation?

The answers to questions like those will help you stay in the proper frame of mind so that you can provide exceptional service. Spending a few minutes taking a long view of any difficult situation reframes it so it becomes more manageable. It’s well worth the effort.

What do you think? How would your reaction change to action if you took off your magnifying glasses and looked at the big picture?

Have you purchased your copy of “Who’s Your Gladys?” If not, you can find it in your local bookstore or at the online booksellers. You’ll find the stories of ten companies with exquisite service, along with tips and strategies you can put into place today to keep customers coming back.

Category: Customer Service, Mood Management, What to say to customers, customer service mindset | Leave a Comment

Guest Blogger Lisa Ford Suggests: Ask Yourself These Tough Questions

February 10th, 2010 | Author: Gladys

Today’s guest blogger is Lisa Ford, CSP, CPAE. With over 20 years of experience presenting to businesses, associations and government, Lisa is best known for her work in the area of customer service. She is the author of the videotape series “How to Give Exceptional Customer Service,” the #1 selling business tapes in the U.S. for over 3 years. Her most recent book is “Exceptional Customer Service, Going Beyond Good Service to Exceed the Customer’s Expectations.”

In these interesting times, you may be trying to figure out how to successfully weather this storm. This marketplace seems to be demanding change so it is a good time to ask tough questions. Let me add a few questions to add to your list.

1. Where are you hard to do business with? Consider your website, phone system, email response time, physical layout, process and policies. It is amazing how we make it difficult for our customers.

Arrogance and ego can create systems that are convenient for the company but not for the customer.

2. What rules do you need to eliminate? Most rules are written for 3% of your customers. Then we start to think all of our customers are out to cheat us.

3. Are you one mistake away from losing a customer? That mistake could be a broken promise, no callback, a missed deadline or not getting it right the first time.

4. Who needs to go? The right people are crucial to your company’s success. It is a great time to hire really good people as many of them are out of jobs. Work on upgrading your team. If you are not hiring, then what cross training needs to be done so the employees are at their best to serve your customer?

5. Would you want to do business with your organization? No need for elaboration on this one. No one likes change but it is needed and demanded. So go to the edge, jump in with both feet, hold hands and get it over with. Make something good happen today.

Lisa designs content personalized to the audience and the issues they face. She has also customized numerous videos for clients to use in their ongoing education efforts. Lisa’s experience includes working with Pfizer, Viacom, Edward Jones, CSX, Kaiser Permanente, Morton’s of Chicago, Citgo, American Gas Association, American Diabetes Association and American Veterinary Medical Association. Visit her website at www.LisaFord.com

Category: Customer Service, Tough Economic Times, guest blogger | Tags: lisa ford | Leave a Comment

Is Your Employee Appreciation Backfiring?

February 08th, 2010 | Author: Marilyn

There are some employees who manage to withstand all kinds of criticism and negativity from management and find ways to brush it off and excel at work. Other employees, despite a supportive management team, fail to be productive.

I believe that people who work in an environment where doing their best is recognized have a better chance of feeling good about their work. They also have a better chance of becoming successful producers who enjoy pleasing customers.

It’s a rare employee who would say she gets too much appreciation at work. Genuine praise goes a long way in helping workers stay productive, especially when demands are high.

How well does your company give appreciation to those who serve your customers?

When it comes to appreciation, it’s often not given, infrequent or ineffective.

When it is given, it isn’t always helpful. Why? Because certain types of appreciations BACKFIRE! Appreciation can be tricky business. Sometimes the most well meant praise brings unexpected results.

Just imagine you come to work in an old suit that doesn’t quite fit you anymore. Your boss says, “You look FANTASTIC in that suit.” Would you feel flattered? Probably not. You’re more likely to think: “What does she want from me?” The kind words leave you feeling suspicious of the boss’ motives and on guard for fear of being manipulated.

Compliments can also backfire in other ways:

Suppose you’re practicing your golf swing, and like me, you’re a lousy golfer. Then in one rare moment you swing your club and hit the ball far and true. Just then, along comes a department head who says, “You’re an AMAZING golfer. That was a WORLD CLASS swing!” more…