The Michigan Highway Department is Almost All Smiles
A woman came up to me after one of my speeches and told me about a recent road trip she took in Michigan. She loaded up the car with her husband and kids and headed to up-state Michigan for vacation. She saw a sign that indicated there would be road construction, which meant bad traffic. Bummer!
When she finally hit the construction area, the traffic slowed to a crawl. Everybody, especially the kids were frustrated. Then they noticed that there was a sign with not a happy face, but a sad face. They thought this was funny. As they went through the construction zone, which was several miles long, there were a number of these signs, but each sign seemed to be less sad than the last. And by the time they were through the construction zone, the sad face had a smile on it.
I don’t think that these signs posted by the Michigan Highway Department made the construction zone a pleasurable experience, but for this woman and her family, it did make it tolerable.
When there are problems in your business, look for opportunities to smooth things over. You may not be able to make things perfect, but you may be able to take the edge off.
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.
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
Tuesday, March 07, 2006
A Tale of Two Customer Service Reps
I just had a problem with my computer monitor. It intermittently was creating all kinds of interesting colors. As cool as it looked, it wasn’t good for reading what was on the monitor. I called the manufacturer, who is known for customer service. It took an hour of time as we talked to four people to finally get to a person who could help, and by that time the screen had returned to normal. The person said they would like to help us with our problem, but we would have to call back when the screen was acting up. We were frustrated, to say the least.
Well, the monitor started doing its “thing” again, so my assistant quickly called and got right through to someone who was very helpful. As soon as he heard about the problem he immediately said they would send a new monitor and we should receive it within two business days.
Wow, what a difference! And, why the difference?
The answer is simple and has two parts. The first is training. I’m assuming that the second person immediately recognized what our problem was and new we had a broken monitor. The first person made us go through all kinds of “test” to determine, since it wasn’t acting up, that there must be nothing wrong with the monitor.
The second part is attitude. The first person didn’t seem very interested in helping us. He was just interested in what was going on with the monitor. He didn’t realize that he was dealing with a customer, not a piece of equipment. When the monitor started acting up again, we were not looking forward to calling back, but we reluctantly did. We were pleasantly surprised at the difference, not just in the attitude of the customer service rep, but also in how they handled our problem.
There are two types of customer service reps out there. Those that try and take care of the problem, and those that take care of the customer. Which one works for you?
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.
I just had a problem with my computer monitor. It intermittently was creating all kinds of interesting colors. As cool as it looked, it wasn’t good for reading what was on the monitor. I called the manufacturer, who is known for customer service. It took an hour of time as we talked to four people to finally get to a person who could help, and by that time the screen had returned to normal. The person said they would like to help us with our problem, but we would have to call back when the screen was acting up. We were frustrated, to say the least.
Well, the monitor started doing its “thing” again, so my assistant quickly called and got right through to someone who was very helpful. As soon as he heard about the problem he immediately said they would send a new monitor and we should receive it within two business days.
Wow, what a difference! And, why the difference?
The answer is simple and has two parts. The first is training. I’m assuming that the second person immediately recognized what our problem was and new we had a broken monitor. The first person made us go through all kinds of “test” to determine, since it wasn’t acting up, that there must be nothing wrong with the monitor.
The second part is attitude. The first person didn’t seem very interested in helping us. He was just interested in what was going on with the monitor. He didn’t realize that he was dealing with a customer, not a piece of equipment. When the monitor started acting up again, we were not looking forward to calling back, but we reluctantly did. We were pleasantly surprised at the difference, not just in the attitude of the customer service rep, but also in how they handled our problem.
There are two types of customer service reps out there. Those that try and take care of the problem, and those that take care of the customer. Which one works for you?
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.
Monday, February 27, 2006
Charging For Customer Service
Sometimes I'm amazed at what companies will charge for. We work with a company to process our credit card sales. For over a week we've tried to call them to let them know about a change in our bank account number. This isn't that big of a deal, but it has to eventually be done. No one called back. We tried calling our sales rep and she has not called back. But today we finally got through to someone who said they would take care of us.
This person told us they would be happy to make the change and that we would be charged a $25 "customer service charge." I would have been okay with paying for it had they called it something else, like a "change fee." But what they called it was a "customer service charge," and there was no way I was going to pay for something I didn't get.
Actually, I did get customer service. It was just bad customer service!
(Do you think I should pay for it? This is a retorical question.)
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.
Sometimes I'm amazed at what companies will charge for. We work with a company to process our credit card sales. For over a week we've tried to call them to let them know about a change in our bank account number. This isn't that big of a deal, but it has to eventually be done. No one called back. We tried calling our sales rep and she has not called back. But today we finally got through to someone who said they would take care of us.
This person told us they would be happy to make the change and that we would be charged a $25 "customer service charge." I would have been okay with paying for it had they called it something else, like a "change fee." But what they called it was a "customer service charge," and there was no way I was going to pay for something I didn't get.
Actually, I did get customer service. It was just bad customer service!
(Do you think I should pay for it? This is a retorical question.)
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.
Friday, February 24, 2006
Small Details Make a Customer Service Difference
It was just a small thing that most people wouldn’t notice, but it was a detail worth noting in the quest for outstanding service. I’ll try and paint you a verbal picture of the situation. I just came back from staying at one of the Disney hotels in Orlando. There was a line at the check in counter. (I guess they were getting us ready for the lines at the theme park. Ha!)
There were at least eight people checking in guests, so we were moving at a good speed. When it was my turn to check in, the open spot was at the other end of the front desk. Rather than the front desk person leaning over the counter and yelling, “Next,” she walked over from behind the desk to where the line was, smiled at me, greeted me, and asked me to come over to her area to check in. All of the front desk personnel did the same thing when their area opened up for the next guest.
Contrast that with the very expensive hotel I just stayed at in New York City. It was my turn to check in and the guy at the front desk yelled, “Next.” When I walked up to him he didn’t welcome me. He just said, “Name.”
This was just a little thing that Disney did, and by itself is nothing significant. But if enough of these little things are good, they add up and eventually get noticed. Conversely, so do the bad ones.
I'll probably write a more extensive article for The Shepard Letter, which is my free on-line newsletter. You can subscribe to it by going to the website below. Thanks for reading my Blog!
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.
It was just a small thing that most people wouldn’t notice, but it was a detail worth noting in the quest for outstanding service. I’ll try and paint you a verbal picture of the situation. I just came back from staying at one of the Disney hotels in Orlando. There was a line at the check in counter. (I guess they were getting us ready for the lines at the theme park. Ha!)
There were at least eight people checking in guests, so we were moving at a good speed. When it was my turn to check in, the open spot was at the other end of the front desk. Rather than the front desk person leaning over the counter and yelling, “Next,” she walked over from behind the desk to where the line was, smiled at me, greeted me, and asked me to come over to her area to check in. All of the front desk personnel did the same thing when their area opened up for the next guest.
Contrast that with the very expensive hotel I just stayed at in New York City. It was my turn to check in and the guy at the front desk yelled, “Next.” When I walked up to him he didn’t welcome me. He just said, “Name.”
This was just a little thing that Disney did, and by itself is nothing significant. But if enough of these little things are good, they add up and eventually get noticed. Conversely, so do the bad ones.
I'll probably write a more extensive article for The Shepard Letter, which is my free on-line newsletter. You can subscribe to it by going to the website below. Thanks for reading my Blog!
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.
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
Moments of Magic™ – An Outstanding Business Strategy
The Moment of Magic™ concept is a theme that runs throughout most of my speaking programs. It doesn’t matter what aspect of business you are in – management, front-line, sales, customer service, finance – this concept applies to everyone in any position of any business.
Moments of Magic™ came about as result of a very sound concept called the Moment of Truth.
In 1986 Jan Carlzon, the former president of Scandinavian Airlines wrote a book, Moments of Truth. In his book, Carlzon defines the moment of truth in business as this:
“Anytime a customer comes into contact with any aspect of a business, however remote, is an opportunity to form an impression.”
Let’s take this just a step further and say that the contact you have doesn’t have to be with a customer. It could be anyone; your boss, a fellow employee, etc.
This may sound like common sense to most of us, and it is. But, while most of us understand and agree with the concept, we get distracted by other things that prevent us from managing all of our contacts well. We get busy. We have paperwork. The phone keeps ringing. The excuses go on and on.
So, the good Moments of Truth I call Moments of Magic™. The bad ones I call Moments of Misery™. Not every Moment of Truth can be super positive – a Moment of Magic™. Some are just going to be okay or ordinary. But, do what you can to push them toward positive. At a minimum, make them a little better than just okay. Of course, avoid problems and complaints – anything negative (a Moment of Misery™).
Managing your Moments of Truth is simply managing every contact you have. Making them Moments of Magic™ not only will it enhance your customer relations, but also your career.
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 – For information about customer service training, go to www.TheCustomerFocus.com.
The Moment of Magic™ concept is a theme that runs throughout most of my speaking programs. It doesn’t matter what aspect of business you are in – management, front-line, sales, customer service, finance – this concept applies to everyone in any position of any business.
Moments of Magic™ came about as result of a very sound concept called the Moment of Truth.
In 1986 Jan Carlzon, the former president of Scandinavian Airlines wrote a book, Moments of Truth. In his book, Carlzon defines the moment of truth in business as this:
“Anytime a customer comes into contact with any aspect of a business, however remote, is an opportunity to form an impression.”
Let’s take this just a step further and say that the contact you have doesn’t have to be with a customer. It could be anyone; your boss, a fellow employee, etc.
This may sound like common sense to most of us, and it is. But, while most of us understand and agree with the concept, we get distracted by other things that prevent us from managing all of our contacts well. We get busy. We have paperwork. The phone keeps ringing. The excuses go on and on.
So, the good Moments of Truth I call Moments of Magic™. The bad ones I call Moments of Misery™. Not every Moment of Truth can be super positive – a Moment of Magic™. Some are just going to be okay or ordinary. But, do what you can to push them toward positive. At a minimum, make them a little better than just okay. Of course, avoid problems and complaints – anything negative (a Moment of Misery™).
Managing your Moments of Truth is simply managing every contact you have. Making them Moments of Magic™ not only will it enhance your customer relations, but also your career.
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 – For information about customer service training, go to www.TheCustomerFocus.com.
Sunday, February 12, 2006
Customer Service Article - Do What Is Not Expected
Here is VERY short article that falls under the category of customer service. That said, it is really appropriate for anybody in any business.
Do What Is Not Expected
Most people do what they are supposed to do - what is expected by the customer. When someone goes out of the way to help us, we are surprised. Our expectations are exceeded. Doing a little something extra or special is not difficult. Sometimes it means just doing whatever you are supposed to do with a positive attitude. Other times it might mean going out of your way or making an extra effort to help a customer. Anybody can be okay - average. It is the excellent people and the excellent companies that are willing to do the extra things necessary to not have just satisfied customers, but LOYAL customers!
Let’s end with a quote from James C. Penney, founder of J.C. Penny Stores. He said... "It is the service we are NOT OBLIGED to give that people VALUE the most!"
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 – For information about customer service training, go to www.TheCustomerFocus.com.
Here is VERY short article that falls under the category of customer service. That said, it is really appropriate for anybody in any business.
Do What Is Not Expected
Most people do what they are supposed to do - what is expected by the customer. When someone goes out of the way to help us, we are surprised. Our expectations are exceeded. Doing a little something extra or special is not difficult. Sometimes it means just doing whatever you are supposed to do with a positive attitude. Other times it might mean going out of your way or making an extra effort to help a customer. Anybody can be okay - average. It is the excellent people and the excellent companies that are willing to do the extra things necessary to not have just satisfied customers, but LOYAL customers!
Let’s end with a quote from James C. Penney, founder of J.C. Penny Stores. He said... "It is the service we are NOT OBLIGED to give that people VALUE the most!"
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 – For information about customer service training, go to www.TheCustomerFocus.com.
Welcome to my Blog!
Hello! Welcome to my Blog. In the future I will be posting articles and business tips. If you would like to read over 100 articles on customer service and business motivation, go to www.hyken.com and click on the "Read Shep's Articles link. Enjoy!
Hello! Welcome to my Blog. In the future I will be posting articles and business tips. If you would like to read over 100 articles on customer service and business motivation, go to www.hyken.com and click on the "Read Shep's Articles link. Enjoy!
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