This tip actually struck me last night while I was in the checkout line at my local grocery store. Let me state that first of all, I love shopping at this store. While it is part of a large chain in Northern California, they make extra efforts to make it seem like your local friendly grocer.
They do everything from sharpening your knives for free at the butcher area to running (yes, actually running) to go get an item that you forgot while you are checking out, to walking you out to your car and putting your grocery bags in your trunk. In short, their customer service is phenomenal!
So, last night, I stopped for some groceries on the way home from work and as I was watching the clerk ring up my food, I noticed a young guy (a twenty-something) that was not wearing the official store uniform working his way down the checkout lines and talking to each courtesy clerk (checkers, and baggers). Since this was just after work, each line was full and the store had quite a few customers.
As he came up to my line, I happened to be standing between my checker and bagger, so as he moved between them to talk, I happened to hear their conversation.
It turned out that he was the local Union representative for the workers and was letting them know that the new Union contract had been signed and would go into effect shortly, within a week or two. I can appreciate it when I am told relevant information in a timely manner, however, he then proceeded to tell both the checker and bagger that they would be getting good raises out of this.
All this in front of me, the customer! I felt like asking if the good raises that they would get meant that my cost of food would go up! This was not a great way to focus on the customer.
I watched him continue down the line and tell each worker this information. Not a one of them reacted to his news. In fact, they instead maintained a very professional composure and focused on the customers in front of them.
I went home, told my wife and decided that this exemplified both the worst and best of this Customer Service Tip....Focus on the Customer....all the time!
The Bad - The Union Rep chose an inappropropriate time, place and method for communicating the good news to the workers.
The Good - The workers (my checker had a name tag on that said Head Clerk and looked like he had worked there at least 10 or 15 years, my bagger was in high school or just out of it) were VERY professional, as are all that store's staff and maintained their focus on me - the Customer.
The Moral, i.e. the Tip - No matter what happens, put a bubble around you and your customer and do not let anything take away your focus. I will continue to frequent that store and I am certain that I will continue to get excellent service. If you are in Northern California, you should give them a try (http://www.raleys.com/ for the closest one).
P.S. - No matter how urgent it is, unless someone's life is involved (a fire, a spouse or child is sick), don't be the Union Rep....those matters can always be communicated away from the customer.
Thanks for reading,
Brandon
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Customer Service Tip #2 - Be Consistent
This Customer Service tip is predicated on the history of the word customer. Straight from Wikipedia, the definition of customer...historically derives from "custom," meaning "habit"; a customer was someone who frequented a particular shop, who made it a habit to purchase goods there, and with whom the shopkeeper had to maintain a relationship to keep his or her "custom," meaning expected purchases in the future.
Our customers today keep the same patterns. They become accustomed to certain products and services and expect those to be consistent. Now of course, if the product or service that we are providing is not meeting their expectations, then they will leave us (quite rapidly usually) for our competitors.
However, assuming that our customers are content with our current level of service and / or quality of product, then the number one concern that we should have is to be consistent.
One of my favorite examples is a restaurants that have been around a few decades - either small town or downtown - it does not matter. Ask anyone who goes there why they like it so much, the answer will always lead to consistency. They order the same food, the get used to the same friendly staff and same atmosphere. Behind it all, you will find a contented owner who is (generally) making a fair living.
People like consistency - give it to them.
Thanks for reading,
Brandon
Our customers today keep the same patterns. They become accustomed to certain products and services and expect those to be consistent. Now of course, if the product or service that we are providing is not meeting their expectations, then they will leave us (quite rapidly usually) for our competitors.
However, assuming that our customers are content with our current level of service and / or quality of product, then the number one concern that we should have is to be consistent.
One of my favorite examples is a restaurants that have been around a few decades - either small town or downtown - it does not matter. Ask anyone who goes there why they like it so much, the answer will always lead to consistency. They order the same food, the get used to the same friendly staff and same atmosphere. Behind it all, you will find a contented owner who is (generally) making a fair living.
People like consistency - give it to them.
Thanks for reading,
Brandon
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Darth Vader Works At My Help Desk
A while back, I wrote this article for HDI's Support World magazine (http://www.thinkhdi.com/). It orginally appeared in the July / August 2006 issue of Support World. The original idea came from Kirk Weisler (http://www.kirkweisler.com/) and I mulled the idea for a while and expanded it. Here it is in the original form.
Darth Vader Works at My Help Desk
Conceivably, there are a few people in the world who have no idea who Darth Vader is. I actually have met two people in my life that had never seen any of the Star Wars movies. Most people, however, are familiar with the famous and widely loved chief villain of the series. Come on, throw out the name “Darth Vader” in a group of people and stand back. Odds are that within 10 seconds, someone will either make the deep hissing sound that we all know or a somewhat-passable imitation of James Earl Jones will sound forth with, “Luke….I Am Your Father.”
Several years ago, I heard a great speaker (Kirk!) talk about the Darth Vader’s who work at our help desks. We all have had them work for us and we all know who they are. They may be brilliant technicians who are genuinely outstanding in their fields; however, no one can work near them, with them or anywhere in the general vicinity of them.
I had nearly forgotten about the Darth Vader employee until one day when I watched one of the original Star Wars movies (The Empire Strikes Back, in case you wanted to know) with my son and thought back to that speaker and the Darth Vader reference. I then started to think about what other Star Wars characters are sitting on my team? I’m pretty sure that I have a Han Solo or two that are shooting from the hip and swashbuckling their way through the IT galaxy. There are definitely a few Storm Troopers – you know the type – precision accuracy, never run away from an issue, just attack it and keep gong, no matter what happens and no matter who dies, and, yes, they are all clones and seem exactly like the 37 other technicians who they replaced. Now that I got started, I think that I have seen the entire Star Wars universe parade through my call center – the whining Luke Skywalker’s, the unintelligible Chewbacca’s, the aloof Princess Leia’s, the list goes on. I believe that many of these characters inhabit each help desk – you just have to know where to look for them. Please note that each of the following can actually be male or female – the characteristics apply to either gender.
Let’s dive in….
Luke Skywalker – In the saga, Luke Skywalker always saves the day. But when you get beyond the implausible heroics, the everyday Luke is not really someone that you would want to hang out with. For one thing, he just fell off the turnip truck and stares big-eyed at everything around him. “You’ve worked at IBM? How was it? You know the Unix administrators? Tell me about them.” That gets really tiring after a couple of months.
Secondly, he whines. He whines a lot. “Uncle Owen, I wanted to go into town and get some parts….Mike, I wanted to go to lunch at 11 today….Bob, you said I could work on the email project this Friday….”
Han Solo – As I alluded to earlier, your basic Han Solo employee is pretty much a cowboy that lives close to the edge. You are never sure if his patched together PC will work, but he really knows how to get things done. He revolves around his own rewards, as in, “If I do this, can I have off next Friday?” but when it comes down to it, he always comes through with blazing guns and just-in-time arrivals. The next time you really need a server brought back on line by 5 AM, assign it to Han and sit back and wait. About 4:59, it will come on line.
The Storm Troopers – I really try to avoid hiring too many Storm Troopers. Now, you see a lot of these guys out there. They seem to be everywhere you turn. In fact, every time we post a job opening, I get about 200 resumes that have Storm Trooper written all over their Microsoft certifications. These guys are great for your ordinary frontal assault. If you have Microsoft Office, Outlook and Internet Explorer issues, they can take the objective with precision-like accuracy and overwhelming speed. For legacy systems and proprietary apps, they’ll put up a good fight, asking all the questions that were drilled into their heads ever since they were…er…cloned. However, in my experience, they don’t have a lot of skills in improvising and once they get put into an area where they are out gunned, they start to fall apart. Just like in the movies, they are good in numbers for huge help desks that deal with mind numbingly repetitive issues.
Chewbacca – He’s huge, he’s hairy and only one or two people can understand him. You have this employee working for you right now! He’s great to take him to meetings, because everyone just stares at him. On the other hand, Chewbacca is fiercely loyal and will literally defend you with, well, other people’s lives. Oh yeah, he also really good at fixing legacy software.
Princess Leia Organa-Skywalker – You may have noticed that there are not a lot female characters in the Star Wars movies (kind of like in the Information Technology world). Those who do work in IT are generally used to the Mos Eisley Cantina atmosphere that pervades the average IT shop. A select few have risen above the background status so often afforded the help desk and as a result, make it a challenge for those around them –not unlike her royal highness Princess Leia.
The Princess Leia Help Desk person is used to being in charge. She is very passionate about her work and is used to being right -- whether she is right or not. Most of the time, she (or he) works quietly in the background (always within camera shot), moving tickets through the process, helping wherever she is needed, keeping an orderly rhythm to the usual madness of IT support.
Do not be fooled however, as Princess Leia has the habit of leaving her work to address whatever pressing issue she happens to have on her agenda. While her issues are generally good for everyone, they usually don’t mesh with the overall strategy. Yes, yes, it would be nice if we all had natural light and windows to look out of, however, down here in sub-basement C, that’s not going to happen. If you can get her put on a committee, however, she may be able to make things better for the whole division.
Yoda – Wise, old, quiet. Very easy to overlook, however, Yoda is your secret weapon. He has deep knowledge of everything and is a virtual master of everything he touches. He knows all and can do all. And for some strange reason, he is hiding out in your swamp. Treat him well and the force will be with you.
c. 2005 Brandon Caudle
This article may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial use – however, please credit the author.
Darth Vader Works at My Help Desk
Conceivably, there are a few people in the world who have no idea who Darth Vader is. I actually have met two people in my life that had never seen any of the Star Wars movies. Most people, however, are familiar with the famous and widely loved chief villain of the series. Come on, throw out the name “Darth Vader” in a group of people and stand back. Odds are that within 10 seconds, someone will either make the deep hissing sound that we all know or a somewhat-passable imitation of James Earl Jones will sound forth with, “Luke….I Am Your Father.”
Several years ago, I heard a great speaker (Kirk!) talk about the Darth Vader’s who work at our help desks. We all have had them work for us and we all know who they are. They may be brilliant technicians who are genuinely outstanding in their fields; however, no one can work near them, with them or anywhere in the general vicinity of them.
I had nearly forgotten about the Darth Vader employee until one day when I watched one of the original Star Wars movies (The Empire Strikes Back, in case you wanted to know) with my son and thought back to that speaker and the Darth Vader reference. I then started to think about what other Star Wars characters are sitting on my team? I’m pretty sure that I have a Han Solo or two that are shooting from the hip and swashbuckling their way through the IT galaxy. There are definitely a few Storm Troopers – you know the type – precision accuracy, never run away from an issue, just attack it and keep gong, no matter what happens and no matter who dies, and, yes, they are all clones and seem exactly like the 37 other technicians who they replaced. Now that I got started, I think that I have seen the entire Star Wars universe parade through my call center – the whining Luke Skywalker’s, the unintelligible Chewbacca’s, the aloof Princess Leia’s, the list goes on. I believe that many of these characters inhabit each help desk – you just have to know where to look for them. Please note that each of the following can actually be male or female – the characteristics apply to either gender.
Let’s dive in….
Luke Skywalker – In the saga, Luke Skywalker always saves the day. But when you get beyond the implausible heroics, the everyday Luke is not really someone that you would want to hang out with. For one thing, he just fell off the turnip truck and stares big-eyed at everything around him. “You’ve worked at IBM? How was it? You know the Unix administrators? Tell me about them.” That gets really tiring after a couple of months.
Secondly, he whines. He whines a lot. “Uncle Owen, I wanted to go into town and get some parts….Mike, I wanted to go to lunch at 11 today….Bob, you said I could work on the email project this Friday….”
Han Solo – As I alluded to earlier, your basic Han Solo employee is pretty much a cowboy that lives close to the edge. You are never sure if his patched together PC will work, but he really knows how to get things done. He revolves around his own rewards, as in, “If I do this, can I have off next Friday?” but when it comes down to it, he always comes through with blazing guns and just-in-time arrivals. The next time you really need a server brought back on line by 5 AM, assign it to Han and sit back and wait. About 4:59, it will come on line.
The Storm Troopers – I really try to avoid hiring too many Storm Troopers. Now, you see a lot of these guys out there. They seem to be everywhere you turn. In fact, every time we post a job opening, I get about 200 resumes that have Storm Trooper written all over their Microsoft certifications. These guys are great for your ordinary frontal assault. If you have Microsoft Office, Outlook and Internet Explorer issues, they can take the objective with precision-like accuracy and overwhelming speed. For legacy systems and proprietary apps, they’ll put up a good fight, asking all the questions that were drilled into their heads ever since they were…er…cloned. However, in my experience, they don’t have a lot of skills in improvising and once they get put into an area where they are out gunned, they start to fall apart. Just like in the movies, they are good in numbers for huge help desks that deal with mind numbingly repetitive issues.
Chewbacca – He’s huge, he’s hairy and only one or two people can understand him. You have this employee working for you right now! He’s great to take him to meetings, because everyone just stares at him. On the other hand, Chewbacca is fiercely loyal and will literally defend you with, well, other people’s lives. Oh yeah, he also really good at fixing legacy software.
Princess Leia Organa-Skywalker – You may have noticed that there are not a lot female characters in the Star Wars movies (kind of like in the Information Technology world). Those who do work in IT are generally used to the Mos Eisley Cantina atmosphere that pervades the average IT shop. A select few have risen above the background status so often afforded the help desk and as a result, make it a challenge for those around them –not unlike her royal highness Princess Leia.
The Princess Leia Help Desk person is used to being in charge. She is very passionate about her work and is used to being right -- whether she is right or not. Most of the time, she (or he) works quietly in the background (always within camera shot), moving tickets through the process, helping wherever she is needed, keeping an orderly rhythm to the usual madness of IT support.
Do not be fooled however, as Princess Leia has the habit of leaving her work to address whatever pressing issue she happens to have on her agenda. While her issues are generally good for everyone, they usually don’t mesh with the overall strategy. Yes, yes, it would be nice if we all had natural light and windows to look out of, however, down here in sub-basement C, that’s not going to happen. If you can get her put on a committee, however, she may be able to make things better for the whole division.
Yoda – Wise, old, quiet. Very easy to overlook, however, Yoda is your secret weapon. He has deep knowledge of everything and is a virtual master of everything he touches. He knows all and can do all. And for some strange reason, he is hiding out in your swamp. Treat him well and the force will be with you.
c. 2005 Brandon Caudle
This article may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial use – however, please credit the author.
Monday, October 8, 2007
Customer Service Tip #1 - The Customer Is Always Right
Startting off our 52 tips is the Golden Rule of Customer Service:
The Customer Is Always Right!
While that may seem like a no-brainer, it is increasingly common to experience the complete reversal of this mantra. Between the virtual walls thrown up around online customer service (note the lack of capitalization due to lack of service) and the permeation of Generation Slack* into almost every facet of the workforce, bad customer service, or customer disservice is more the norm than the exception.
So, remember, the Customer is our source of revenue. They are always right and speak with their wallets. Even when they are wrong (yes! I said it!), they should be treated as though they are right.
This little secret....."should be treated as though they are right".....will go miles in your Customer Relations. Try it, the results are disarmingly fantastic!
Thanks for reading,
Brandon
*Note - I can use the term Generation Slack because I AM from that generation. Email me if you want to know more...
The Customer Is Always Right!
While that may seem like a no-brainer, it is increasingly common to experience the complete reversal of this mantra. Between the virtual walls thrown up around online customer service (note the lack of capitalization due to lack of service) and the permeation of Generation Slack* into almost every facet of the workforce, bad customer service, or customer disservice is more the norm than the exception.
So, remember, the Customer is our source of revenue. They are always right and speak with their wallets. Even when they are wrong (yes! I said it!), they should be treated as though they are right.
This little secret....."should be treated as though they are right".....will go miles in your Customer Relations. Try it, the results are disarmingly fantastic!
Thanks for reading,
Brandon
*Note - I can use the term Generation Slack because I AM from that generation. Email me if you want to know more...
Only 51 Weeks Until Customer Service Week
We just finished Customer Service Week and in talking with my team, I said, "Hey, only 51 weeks until Customer Service Week." While that garnered a good laugh and quite a few comments about how much fun we had, it also prompted some great discussions on how we can continue that spirit of truly great customer service all year.
To help out, I will be posting a Customer Service tip every week. Feel free to mail me your own ideas and I'l be more than happy to post them. Thanks for reading,
Brandon
To help out, I will be posting a Customer Service tip every week. Feel free to mail me your own ideas and I'l be more than happy to post them. Thanks for reading,
Brandon
Friday, October 5, 2007
Customer Service Week? Why Not Customer Service Year?
The world has just ended Customer Service Week* and I participated in some fabulous activities, both with my work team and also on a larger scale. We had some really fun activities which we designed to incent ourselves to provide better customer service for the week. We held some friendly competitions to try and out-do our normal service levels and made it fun with some prizes, lots of food and a few games for team building. On a national level, we participated in HDI's Customer Service Week webinars (www.thinkhdi.com/csweek) and heard from some absolutely great speakers via five webinars.
As we progressed through our week, we selected random customers (we provide internal IT Support) and delivered small gifts and thank you cards to them. The feedback was great.
Then, during one of the webinars we attended, the speaker Phil Gerbyshak (http://makeitgreat.typepad.com) shared a great idea - to write a thank you note and make a call to one of your customers daily or weekly.
That made us stop aand think. It takes 5 minutes to handwrite a note and send it and about 5 minutes to make a call. It's not to sell them anything, merely to express your thanks for being your customer. If you do this weekly, you will make a more personal connection with approximately 100 of your customers (50 via email and 50 via phone - you'll miss a few weeks due to sick or vacation - trust me) and that is a heck of a way to reach out. If you can do this daily, you will reach over 500 of them!
This sounds like a lot of work, but it takes 10 minutes a day. If you have several people of your team that have the "giddy-up" to help out and you share the work, it truly can be just a few minutes of your week. This takes our random "gift and thank you card" winners for this week and excellerates it to a new level. This is taking Customer Service Week and making it Customer Service Year!
We are going to try this out at work, I'll let you know how it goes.
Thanks for reading,
Brandon
*Some trivia - Customer Service Week (or CSW as it is known on the inside) was officially declared a nationally recognized event by Congress and President George H. W. Bush in 1992.
As we progressed through our week, we selected random customers (we provide internal IT Support) and delivered small gifts and thank you cards to them. The feedback was great.
Then, during one of the webinars we attended, the speaker Phil Gerbyshak (http://makeitgreat.typepad.com) shared a great idea - to write a thank you note and make a call to one of your customers daily or weekly.
That made us stop aand think. It takes 5 minutes to handwrite a note and send it and about 5 minutes to make a call. It's not to sell them anything, merely to express your thanks for being your customer. If you do this weekly, you will make a more personal connection with approximately 100 of your customers (50 via email and 50 via phone - you'll miss a few weeks due to sick or vacation - trust me) and that is a heck of a way to reach out. If you can do this daily, you will reach over 500 of them!
This sounds like a lot of work, but it takes 10 minutes a day. If you have several people of your team that have the "giddy-up" to help out and you share the work, it truly can be just a few minutes of your week. This takes our random "gift and thank you card" winners for this week and excellerates it to a new level. This is taking Customer Service Week and making it Customer Service Year!
We are going to try this out at work, I'll let you know how it goes.
Thanks for reading,
Brandon
*Some trivia - Customer Service Week (or CSW as it is known on the inside) was officially declared a nationally recognized event by Congress and President George H. W. Bush in 1992.
Monday, October 1, 2007
Customer Service Voodoo
Customer Service is the elusive, mysterious intangible that so often separates the mediocre from the good from the truly great. Virtually every facet of our daily lives has some aspect of customer service, yet we rarely encounter customer service that is above average and even less do we have a truly outstanding experience.
From our interaction with the cashiers and baggers at our local grocery store to the customer service agent who answers the phone when we call for help with our satellite TV system to the programmers that make the self service gas pump experience occur, we cannot go a single day without at least a dozen customer service interactions.
What makes some experiences good, many others average and a few really great? Some people believe that customer service is innate and that you either get it or you don’t. Whether that is a true statement or not, the world has already shifted to a service oriented environment – stop and think about it, I challenge you to count your customer service interactions today.
From the 2, 3 or more meals that we eat daily to the shopping (online or in person), there are customer service interactions literally all around us. Some are great, others are just horrible and quite a few are solidly in the never-never land of mediocre.
What exactly is it that makes a great customer service interaction? In nearly all cases, there are a combination of things that work together to make a memorable experience. In some cases, they mesh to form an experience which is quite forgettable - the customer does not encounter any issues and is very pleased, there are no complaints!
Over the next few posts, we'll explore some of the basic tenants that form the core foundation of outstanding customer service. See you next time as we uncover and reveal some of the mystique of customer service, to unravel the Voodoo that many do not understand. That magic which is…Customer Service.
From our interaction with the cashiers and baggers at our local grocery store to the customer service agent who answers the phone when we call for help with our satellite TV system to the programmers that make the self service gas pump experience occur, we cannot go a single day without at least a dozen customer service interactions.
What makes some experiences good, many others average and a few really great? Some people believe that customer service is innate and that you either get it or you don’t. Whether that is a true statement or not, the world has already shifted to a service oriented environment – stop and think about it, I challenge you to count your customer service interactions today.
From the 2, 3 or more meals that we eat daily to the shopping (online or in person), there are customer service interactions literally all around us. Some are great, others are just horrible and quite a few are solidly in the never-never land of mediocre.
What exactly is it that makes a great customer service interaction? In nearly all cases, there are a combination of things that work together to make a memorable experience. In some cases, they mesh to form an experience which is quite forgettable - the customer does not encounter any issues and is very pleased, there are no complaints!
Over the next few posts, we'll explore some of the basic tenants that form the core foundation of outstanding customer service. See you next time as we uncover and reveal some of the mystique of customer service, to unravel the Voodoo that many do not understand. That magic which is…Customer Service.
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