Enthusiasm- It’s Contagious!

Shep Hyken – customer service motivational speaker, author, trainer, and expert – knows how to be enthusiastic. In one of his Shepard Letters, his monthly newsletter, Shep sheds light on a little secret-- enthusiasm is contagious.

Who would you rather be with at work? Someone who hates what they are doing, or someone who loves what they are doing?

The answer is obvious. People who love what they do seem to have a charisma or enthusiasm about them. Their attitudes are contagious, and for obvious reasons, they are simply more enjoyable to be around.

Remember different teachers you might have had in high school or college? I remember teachers that lectured - or should I say read from notes or a manuscript - to their classes. They never even looked up at their students. I also remember teachers who spoke from their hearts. They encouraged questions and classroom participation. They weren’t necessarily funny, but somehow their classes were fun and exciting to be in.

What’s the difference between the two? Well, part of the answer is enthusiasm. One teacher is simply doing the job, just going through the motions. The other teacher is immersed in his or her job, involved with the students and creating a learning experience. The first teachers educate the students by lecturing. All information is going one way, from teacher to student. Either the student gets it or doesn’t. They try to take notes and listen, with every attempt not to fall asleep. The other teachers are encouraging two way learning. They interact and communicate with students.

Isn’t it almost the same in the working environment? Some people just work for their paycheck. Others work for their company and personal fulfillment.

Who Are You Working For?

This reminds me of a story that I first heard Zig Ziglar tell at one of his seminars. There were some employees of a major railroad company standing around the tracks. A large limousine pulls up to the workers and out steps a well dressed man, the president of the railroad company. The president walks up to one of the workers and says, “Hello Bob, how are you?” Bob says, “I’m doing great, Gene. Thanks for asking.”

When the president of the company walked away, the workers were impressed with Bob and asked him how he knew the president of the company on a first name basis. Bob told them that twenty years ago they started working together.

The workers asked Bob, “How come he’s president and you still work out here in the yard?”

Bob replied, “Twenty years ago when we started together, I went to work for the paycheck. Gene went to work for the railroad company.”

Gene obviously loved what he did and managed to work his way up to becoming president of the company. He didn’t get there by not caring or not having a passion for what he did. To get to the top where Gene started took a lot of hard work and enthusiasm in his job and his life.

Enthusiastic people tend to be more successful. And people like to be around enthusiastic people. If you can’t get excited about what you do and what you and your company sell, then you won’t get anyone around you excited either.

Where Is Your Passion?

It is also important to understand that enthusiasm doesn’t mean you have to be physically excited about what you do. A friend of mine is a speaker. Technically speaking, he is a terrible speaker. He stands behind the lectern and speaks to the audience in a dull and monotone voice. When he starts a program his audience members immediately look at their watches to see when the next break will be.

What makes him different from the teachers we talked about above is that he really does have enthusiasm; he is just not capable of physically showing it. After just a few minutes the audience starts to pick up on it, and within fifteen to twenty minutes they are sitting on the edge of their seats, soaking up his information.

Every once in a while there is a twinkle in his eye. You can tell he loves what he is talking about. He is just not a good speaker. And, that is okay. The audience accepts that, and picks up on his passion for the subject on which he is presenting. While not physically evident, he does have the enthusiasm that it takes to get others excited.

Enthusiasm is contagious. And, a fellow professional speaker, Danny Cox, says that if enthusiasm is contagious, and what you have is not enthusiasm, that is also contagious!

Shep Hyken, CSP, CPAE is a professional speaker and Wall Street Journal best-selling author who works with companies who want to develop loyal relationships with their customers and employees. For more information on Shep's speaking programs, books, tapes and learning programs please contact (314) 692-2200. Email: shep@hyken.com – Web: www.hyken.com – Click here for information on The Customer Focus™ customer service training programs (http://www.TheCustomerFocus.com).

Copyright © 2010, Shep Hyken -- http://www.hyken.com-- (314)692-2200

Five Levels of Service: How Do You Get to the Top?

Shep Hyken – customer service motivational speaker, author, trainer, and expert – lists the five levels of service in one of his Shepard Letters, his monthly newsletter, and proposes questions to ask yourself to improve your current service level.

Recently I was asked to rate and compare a number of companies on their level of service. As I started the comparison, I thought a scale of 1-5 would be a good way of doing it. (One is bad and five is excellent.) Then creativity kicked in. Why rate them by numbers when you can assign a descriptive name. So, I came up with the “Five Levels of Service.”

1. Unacceptable – This is bad service at any level. Call it poor, terrible, less than stellar –bottom line is it is unacceptable for any reason.

2. Basic – commodity and minimum standards.

3. Good – your customers identify your service as “satisfactory.”

4. World Class – This is a big jump from good. It is beyond satisfactory. Customers think of your company as great. You create value. Customers compare you with others in your industry.

5. Trademark – Others are compared to you. You are the industry benchmark for great service.

So take a self-assessment. Each of the following questions is a two-part question. One answer is on a company level and the other is on a personal level. If you do not personally deal with outside customers, take a look at how you service your internal customer. The questions are:

1. What level of service does your company and you, as an individual, provide for your customers and clients?

2. How would you describe yourself based on the above descriptive levels of service?

3. What companies inside of your industry could be assigned to each of these levels of service?

4. What companies outside of your industry could you assign to each of these levels of service?

5. What do the companies who have “World Class” and “Trademark” (both inside and outside of your industry) do that you could emulate?

6. If you are not already at the “Trademark” level – and very few companies are – what would it take to get you a step closer, or even all of the way there?

The above questions could make for some great discussions. To close this article, here a few summarizing points:

Recognize that service is a process. It is ongoing. You and your company should always be striving to improve, even if you are already at the “Trademark” level.

While some people have taken service to a scientific level with measurements, testing, etc., the basics are common sense. It is about people thinking about taking care of people.

No matter how good you and your company rate in the “Five Levels of Service,” everyone needs to be continuously trained, reminded and coached. Remember, the quest for “Trademark” service is a process – a never-ending journey!

Ending with an appropriate quote…

"Great service is not the end – the final answer. It is a process that is on-going, ever changing and is always being adapted to meet the needs of the current situation.”
-- Shep Hyken, CSP, CPAE

Shep Hyken, CSP, CPAE is a professional speaker and Wall Street Journal best-selling author who works with companies who want to develop loyal relationships with their customers and employees. For more information on Shep's speaking programs, books, tapes and learning programs please contact (314) 692-2200. Email: shep@hyken.com – Web: www.hyken.com – Click here for information on The Customer Focus™ customer service training programs (http://www.TheCustomerFocus.com).

Copyright © 2010, Shep Hyken -- http://www.hyken.com-- (314)692-2200

Fun, Fun, Fun!

I had a great opportunity recently to work with a company for an employee meeting. U-Gas and Dirt Cheap (same company) is a convenience store and liquor store chain based in St. Louis. Part of their mission is that they create a fun place, not just for the employees but also the customers. They want their customers to have fun!

They have business cards that have “Fun! Fun! Fun!” written across the top. They give away heart shaped candy to customers on Valentine Day. They give away Mardi-Gras beads during Mardi-Gras. You get the idea. Customers have fun when they shop at U-Gas and Dirt Cheap – and so do the employees!

So how does the fun factor into their success? People like to come back. That’s what U-Gas and Dirt Cheap strive for. They want their customers to love to do business with them. They work hard at keeping the employees motivated and incorporate fun programs that make the customers want to come back.

There are lots of strategies you can and should incorporate into your customer experience strategy, and FUN could be a good one!

Shep Hyken, CSP is a professional speaker and author who works with companies who want to develop loyal relationships with their customers and employees. For more information on Shep's speaking programs, books, tapes and learning programs please contact (314) 692-2200. Email: shep@hyken.com – Web: www.hyken.com – Click here for information on The Customer Focus™ customer service training programs (www.TheCustomerFocus.com).