A Passion for Service

A Simple Gesture...A true story by John W. Schlatter

2012-03-02T05:16:00.000-08:00

Mark was walking home from school one day when he noticed the boy ahead of him had tripped and dropped all of the books he was carrying, along with two sweaters, a baseball bat, a glove and a small tape recorder. Mark knelt down and helped the boy pick up the scattered articles. Since they were going the same way, he helped to carry part of the burden. As they walked Mark discovered the boy's name was Bill, that he loved video games, baseball and history, and that be was having lots of trouble with his other subjects and that he had just broken up with his girlfriend.

They arrived at Bill's home first and Mark was invited in for a Coke and to watch some television. The afternoon passed pleasantly with a few laughs and some shared small talk, then Mark went home. They continued to see each other around school, had lunch together once or twice, then both graduated from junior high school. They ended up In the same high school where they had brief contacts over the years. Finally the long awaited senior year came and three weeks before graduation, Bill asked Mark if they could talk.

Bill reminded him of the day years ago when they had first met. "Did you ever wonder why I was carrying so many things home that day?" asked Bill. "You see, I cleaned out my locker because I didn't want to leave a mess for anyone else. I had stored away some of my mothers sleeping pills and I was going home to commit suicide. But after we spent some time together talking and laughing, I realized that if I had killed myself, I would have missed that time and so many others that might follow. So you see, Mark, when you picked up those books that day, you did a lot more, you saved my life."

This story brings tears to my eyes and reminds me that kindness is never a "little" thing. Acts and words of thoughtfulness with a customer are the "miracle grow" of customer loyalty. Try it today and tell me what happens! I would love to hear about your simple gesture.

How Do You Get To the Top?

2012-03-01T05:50:00.000-08:00

Donald Kendall, former chairman of the board of PepsiCo, was asked the question: "How do you get to the top of the corporate ladder?"

His answer? "The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary. You can't get to the top of any profession without a lot of hard work -- I don't care if you're in art, music, business or the academic world. Success at all levels requires tremendous effort."

What's the balance between hard work and taking care of your precious personal relationships? Do you have to sacrifice one for the other?

Forget Your Age

2012-02-29T05:38:00.000-08:00

I love the words of General Douglas MacArthur on his 75^th birthday. “Nobody grows old merely by living a number of years. People grow old by deserting their ideals. Years wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm in life wrinkles the soul. In the central place of every heart there is a recording chamber and so long as it receives messages of beauty, hope, cheer, and courage, you are young. When the wires are all down and your heart is covered with the snows of pessimism and the ice of cynicism, then and only then have you grown old.” (www.brainyquote.com)

Bill Gates on 11 Things You Didn't Learn in High School

2012-02-28T06:00:00.000-08:00

Bill Gate's speech to a high school graduating class is classic! Here it is with apologies that I don't know the original source to credit.

Rule number one: life is not fair. Get used to it.
Rule number two: the world is not going to care about your self-esteem. The world is going to expect you to accomplish something before you feel good about yourself.
Rule number three: you're not going to make $40,000 right out of high school. You're not going to be vice president with a car phone until you can earn both of them.
Rule number four: if you think your teacher was tough, just wait until you meet your boss. He or she does not have tenure.
Rule number five: flipping hamburgers is not beneath your dignity. Your grandparents had another word for burger flipping. They called it opportunity.
Rule number six: if you mess up, it's not your parents' fault. Don't whine about your mistakes; learn from them.
Rule number seven: before you were born, your parents were not as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes, and listening to you talk about how cool you are. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parents' generation, try delousing the closet in your bedroom.
Rule number eight: your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life has not. In some schools they have abolished failing grades. They'll give you as many chances as you want to take the test over and over again until you finally get the right answers. This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to anything in real life,
Rule number nine: life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off. Very few employers are interested in helping you to find yourself. Do that on your own time.
Rule number ten: television is not real life. In real life, people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to their jobs.
Rule number eleven: be nice to nerds. Chances are, you're going to end up working for one.

Don't Let One Ornery Customer Ruin Your Whole Day

2012-02-27T05:12:00.002-08:00

Don’t you love Charles Schultz’s peanuts cartoons? You know with Charlie Brown, Lucy, Snoopy and all the characters?

One of my favorites is when Charlie Brown and Lucy are talking about life. Lucy is in her Psychologist booth that says, “The Doctor is In.”

Lucy says to Charlie: “Life, Charlie Brown, is like a deck chair.”

Charlie says, “Like a what?”

Lucy: “Have you ever been on a cruise ship? Passengers open up these canvas deck chairs so they can sit in the sun…Some people place their chairs facing the rear of the ship so they can see where they’ve been…other people face their chairs forward…they want to see where they’re going!

She then pauses and ponders her profound words… Looking intently into Charlie Brown’s face she asks him, “On the cruise ship of life, Charlie Brown, which way is your deck chair facing?”

Charlie Brown responds, “I’ve never been able to get one unfolded!”

Sometimes I feel that way with difficult customers! I can't seem to figure some people out! I try and try to resolve the problem and they cuss me out, slam the door and threaten to sue me! That's when I remember that I need to be realistic with people. Some people are just "ornery persons" and no matter how hard you try you can't resolve the situation. So don't let one ornery customer ruin your whole day. Be realistic with people. The goal I shoot for is that nine out of ten angry people will come back and do more business with our company. I agree with Herb Kelleher of Southwest Airlines, "there are a few customers you want them to go to your competition!"

The #1 Most Powerful Marketing or Potential PR Disaster

2011-11-07T08:36:00.000-08:00

We have always said in business that word of mouth is the most powerful marketing you'll ever do. But now, with social media like Facebook and Twitter (for many an app on their smart phone), it's becoming alarmingly powerful. Customers who have a bad experience can instantly blast you online and woe to the company that has it go viral, like Delta Airlines:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQJI5-Xz-N8&feature=related

It's critical to monitor your online reputation through something like Google Alerts
http://www.google.com/alerts. This takes less than 5 minutes to set up and you can plug in any word or phrase you want to monitor online. You can set up the frequency (how often) you want to notified. You choose the reach (Blogs? News? Video?) you desire to monitor. By quickly responding to an upset customer and humbly responding in public you can win points. Delta Airlines is a good example. They apologized quickly and publicly, pledged reimbursement and changed their policy.

Thank You for Your Smile!

2011-11-03T08:25:00.000-07:00

I travel about 100,000 miles every year doing workshops and it's the joy of my life. I'm so grateful to have a job I love. But one of the downsides to what I do is the travel involved. I often am traveling at night and get into hotels late in the evening. There is nothing like walking into a hotel tired and beat up from the road and having the front desk professional look you in the eye and welcome you with a genuine smile! I hope I never forget the incredible power of a smile! It embodies warmth, welcome, acceptance, great attitude and the personal touch of home. Thank you for your smile -- it goes to my soul!

2012 WILL INCLUDE RENEWED FOCUS ON THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

2011-11-01T07:06:00.000-07:00

"Nucleus continues to see strong investment in CRM and related applications, as companies seek to retain their most profitable customers and attract new ones. Many companies are still struggling to optimize customer experiences while creating their presence in a virtual world - and encouraging customers to friend you on Facebook is not enough. Savvy marketers recognize that every customer interaction is an opportunity to gain - or lose - business. They target customers based on rapid analysis of behavioral and other data, touch them on a regular basis using the most effective channels, and treat them as individuals that are important to their business. However, not all companies are that savvy, and the challenge of the new customer experience is that it’s not an isolated one-to-one interaction - a bad customer experience can go viral just like those skateboarding dog videos. Ensuring consistent interaction with customers across multiple channels is just the beginning. We expect to see more investment in analytics, activity monitoring, and big data crunching as companies aspire to the perfect combination of targeting, touching, and treating their customers. Companies will also have to address security and identity management questions so customers will trust them as they navigate the evolving social and mobile cloud community, where boundaries between personal and professional are not always well defined." (The full Nucleus Top 10 Predictions 2012 research note is available at NucleusResearch.com)

World Class Service

2011-10-31T06:40:00.000-07:00

My local Starbucks (Coit/Legacy in Plano) is the real thing in world class service. Tia (the manager) and all the staff are wonderful, friendly, remember my name and provide quality. I brag on them in my workshops. I'm especially impressed at how many customer names they know and the consistently cheerful atmosphere they create. They have won my business for life!! The amazing thing is that I don't like Starbucks coffee that much (too strong for my taste), but I still go there about ten days out of a month. It's the personal touch and atmosphere I love. Way to go guys! You are the real thing!

Everyone is a Customer!

2011-10-19T07:31:00.001-07:00

"Bill is world class! The best of the best. Use him, across your company. Everyone is a customer! I always tell all our employees, you have internal and external customers and all need to feel special and taken care of. No matter how tough it gets, if your service is impeccable you will succeed. If you want to be the best and stand apart, you better follow through on your commitments, cut the excuses and make it happen. Bill teaches you that and a lot more. You can't put a dollar figure on how important the knowledge he shares. His knowledge is priceless." Mark Hamade

Thanks Mark! Often I find employees that think customer service is someone else's job. They fail to see that the way they treat their co-worker is often the way the co-worker turns around and treats the customer! The golden thread of service runs throughout the organization. Each employee must see their personal impact on service. That's why I take time in the workshop to talk about alignment. Understanding my job as it relates to the customer is key. Nothing is more exciting than seeing everybody in a company rowing in the same direction with a renewed commitment to service!

Everyone is a customer!

2011-10-17T13:19:00.000-07:00

Everyone is a customer!

"Bill is world class! The best of the best. Use him, across your company. Everyone is a customer! I always tell all our employees, you have internal and external customers and all need to feel special and taken care of. No matter how tough it gets, if your service is impeccable you will succeed. If you want to be the best and stand apart, you better follow through on your commitments, cut the excuses and make it happen. Bill teaches you that and a lot more. You can't put a dollar figure on how important the knowledge he shares. His knowledge is priceless." Mark Hamade

What Are the Only Two Things Customers Ever Buy?

2011-05-06T07:45:00.000-07:00

Attendees at my workshops often answer, "product and service." That's a good answer but I have a better one.
Customers only buy solutions to problems and good feelings. You don't really buy a newspaper...you buy a solution to an information need; you don't buy tires you buy the solution to a safety need; you don't buy a quarter inch drill you buy a quarter inch hole. If you're talking more and selling less, you many be on the verge of the greatest breakthrough you've ever had in your sales career. Listen, listen, listen! Ask good questions and tune in to the customer's problem or need. One of my friends, who makes his living as a consultant, often spends several days at a company just listening before he makes a proposal. I asked him, "what are you listening for?" He said, "pain." "Until I understand the pain in the organization I don't have anything to offer them." With customers, the old adage about having two ears and one mouth is a great reminder to listen twice as much as we speak.

Take Care of the Goose

2011-04-26T09:19:00.000-07:00

"Who really signs your paycheck?" I asked one young man one the front row of my "Passion for Service" workshop. He looked up a bit perplexed and said, "I don't know... it's direct deposited."

The answer I was hoping to hear was, "the customer." It's a customer that signs our paycheck. In some companies I work with, it's almost like the customer has become an interruption in their busy day. What? Customers are the reason that we exist as a business. Remember the parable of the goose that laid the golden egg. If you’ve got a goose that lays golden eggs, what do you do? You take extremely good care of the goose. The customer is the goose that lays the golden egg. What should be our #1 priority each day? Take care of the goose.

How to have a great product...and go broke as a business

2011-04-25T06:19:00.000-07:00

Back several years ago I bought a brand new Gateway computer. I saw it advertised on the Super Bowl, and I called their sales department. They did a great job selling it over the phone. I said I need it customized for my small business. “Oh, yeah," said the sales person, "we can install all that stuff.” So I ordered the computer and I was excited! The young man said, “Mr. Drury, it’ll be there on February 14,” and I said, “Well, that’s Valentine’s Day; I’ll remember that.” February 14 came; no computer; no phone call. Now, I’m having to call Gateway and punch in all those numbers and codes, and I’m getting all that, "push one for this, and push two for this." (frustration) I finally got live person in customer service. Now, I will compliment them that he kind of recovered my good will a little bit. He apologized. He said, “We’re backordered on the DVD burner,” and he said, “I’m gonna ship it 2^nd-day Federal Express at no extra charge.” He said, “It’ll be there February 28.” February 28 came; no computer; no phone call. How am I starting to feel about Gateway? Finally the computer came in the middle of March. It was a standard, off-the-shelf unit; no customized features installed. They had to send out a technician to install the different customized pieces in it. Let me tell you a funny thing. Once I got it set up and I used it for several months, I loved the technology. It was a great computer! The screen, loved it! But I will never buy a Gateway again. Did you hear that? You can have one of the best products in this town, and you are losing customers in droves, because it is a hassle to deal with you. Your phone system, your shipping system, nobody follows up, you don’t keep your promises. You can have a fabulous product and go bankrupt. It's how the customer feels in the process of the business transaction - the service factor - that has killed your business.

Why Do Customers Leave A Company?

2011-03-31T07:26:00.000-07:00

According to one survey, 1% leave because of death; 3% move out of the area; 6% are recommended to another business by a friend (I think this is dramatically changing as a result of Social Media); 8% are drawn away by the competition and 14% leave because of poor quality. If you add this up it represents only 32% of customers. Where do we lose the other 68%?

68% of customers leave due to perceived indifference!

It's shocking that this feeling factor is 68% of the reason customers leave a business. It's amazing to me that one of the top goals of any business is to consistently do those "little" things that help customers feel good (valued!) in the process of the business transaction. A smile, respect, remembering the customer's name, thoughtfulness, a sense of humor, a kind touch or greeting, a cheerful attitude are probably the most important factors in the survival of your business. And that's service - helping customers feel good in the process of the business transaction. Sad that because these things are simple and "common sense" we often forget how important they are. Nothing is more exciting to me than helping employees recapture the importance of this concept.

What Business Are You Really In?

2011-03-30T06:06:00.000-07:00

What are the only two things customers ever buy? A product and service is a common answer. Here’s the best answer I've ever heard. Customers only buy solutions to problems and good feelings. Remember the old Michelin commercial on TV with the baby in the tire? What’s Michelin trying to sell you in that commercial? Michelin knows you don’t really buy tires; you buy the solution to a safety need. If you get a newspaper what are you really buying? Information. If you take your adolescent child to the orthodontist, you have braces fitted on their teeth; you’re not buying a nice set of tooth jewelry. What are you really buying when you buy braces? First impressions? Self-esteem? Confidence? Health? Any good orthodontist knows, you sell the smile, not the braces. Right? If you go to the hardware store and you buy a quarter-inch drill, what are you really buying? A hole. You’re buying a quarter-inch hole. It's shocking to realize that customers could care less about our product or service. The only thing a customer has ever cared about is what your product or service does for them. A customer buys a product of the product. You're not in the tire business you're in the safety business; you're not in the newspaper business you're in the information business; your not in the braces business your in the smile business? What business are you really in?

What Is the First Step You Take Towards Business Failure?

2011-02-17T07:47:00.000-08:00

You lose sight of the objective (delighted customers) and begin to focus on obstacles (daily problems).

Henry Ford said, "Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal."

The goal in any business is to meet the customer's need with quality and help them to feel good in the process.

That's the root...profitability is the fruit.

Peter Drucker, in The Practice of Management says,"there is only one valid definition of a business purpose: to create a customer."

Jack Welch, former CEO of GE says it well, "the only job security any of us have is a satisfied customer."

When a business loses sight of that...you know the result.

What's Wrong with This Picture?

2011-02-16T06:00:00.000-08:00

A farmer decided to plant a new field. He hired skilled workers to help him put in the crop. He divided them into groups according to their abilities. There were soil tillers, seed planters, fertilizing and irrigation folks, plant tenders, harvest reapers, and tractor/tool maintenance crew.

The soil tillers broke up the ground but left it in dry chunks. One of them asked the tiller superintendent about the soil, he replied, “that’s not our job; just break it up so we can get out of here.”

The seed planters were disturbed when they arrived, to begin planting. “Look at the soil!” they said. “Oh well, were hired to plant, not mess with the soil, so let’s get on with it.” They worked hard all day planting the seed in the dusty, clods of earth.

Next, the irrigation crew flooded the field with water because they had three other fields to water and were pushed for time.

A month later a few weak plants began to grow, and so did hundreds of weeds. The weed pullers were mad at the tillers and seed planters for not heading off the problem with herbicides. They worked with furious intensity yanking weeds out right and left trying to get that field cleaned up. Unfortunately, in their zeal, they pulled out a lot of young plants along with the weeds.

The plant tenders were exhausted running from plant to plant trying to help save the injured and dying crop.

When harvest came there was hardly anything to harvest and sell. The farmer couldn’t pay expenses and had to lay off all the workers. He decided the field was a losing proposition and gave up on farming.

The day Albert Einstein got lost

2011-02-10T06:08:00.000-08:00

One time Albert Einstein was on a train. As the conductor came through the car, punching tickets, he got to that brilliant scientist and Einstein was fumbling around in his pockets trying to find his ticket. The conductor said, "Mr. Einstein, I don't need to see your ticket. I know who you are. I know that you are an honest man. I don't need to see your ticket.”

Well, a few minutes later, as the conductor was making his way back through the train car, he came upon Einstein. This time, Einstein was on his hands and knees crawling under the seat, still searching for his lost ticket. The conductor said, "Mr. Einstein, you don't need to find your ticket. I don't need to see it. I know who you are. You don't need one.”

Einstein said, "Yes, I do.”

And the conductor said, "Why?”

Einstein answered, "Because if I don't find that ticket, I am not going to have any idea where I am going.”

We all have competition

2011-02-09T08:48:00.000-08:00

I heard a story about a Church in Alleghany County, PA. I think that’s right outside of Pittsburgh. The Church had a large well lit sign out front that said,

First Church Alleghany welcomes you…

IF YOU’RE THROUGH WITH SIN…COME ON IN!

Unfortunately, right down the road from the Church was a local college. At midnight one night someone (I think it was a college student) wrote in red lipstick at the bottom of the sign:

IF YOU’RE NOT CALL 738-5698!

A Running Stream Or A Stagnant Pool?

2011-02-07T06:49:00.000-08:00

What are the top prescribed drugs in America? Antidepressants, Prozac? I asked this question in a workshop the other day and somebody said Viagra! I don’t know if that’s true or not. Did you know that Valium is one of the top prescribed drugs in

America

? Isn’t that interesting? It is a muscle relaxant. Why is it Valium one of the top prescribed drugs? Is it because we’re so stressed out or burned out? I know our kids just started school in the last few weeks and we don’t have an alarm clock at our house…we have a starter’s gun that goes off at 5:30 in the morning. Some of us are pretty stressed out. Something that has helped me deal with burnout is to strengthen my muscles of determination...set some challenging goals for the year. I had a professor in graduate school that a good line. He said, “I learned early on as a teacher that you either drink from a running stream of knowledge or a stagnant pool.” How about you? Are you drinking from a running stream? Are you learning? Are you growing? Are you still challenging yourself? Don’t say I’m too old. I had a guy look up at a seminar the other day and say, “You can’t teach old dogs new tricks.” I had a vet tell me that’s not even true with dogs!

How do you get through burnout?

2011-02-03T08:28:00.000-08:00

One of the things that concerns me as I travel around the

United States

is the number of people I see in burnout. How many of you have been through burnout at some time in your career, your profession? Do you work with any burned-out people? Do you know what I mean when I say burnout? Do you work with anyone that kind of drags into the office? “I’m here.” Their body is set on sag. Their eyes are set on bag. Do you work with any one that collapses into their desk at 9 a.m. and starts praying for 5? I mean the second it’s 5:00 o’clock –ZIP- they’re gone out the door.

What have you found that's helped you get through burnout? I'll post everyone's answers tomorrow.

A 75-year-old young person

2011-02-01T09:31:00.000-08:00

Have you ever met a 75-year-old young person? I wish you could have known my dear friend, Dorothy McMillan, who passed away back a few years ago. Wow, was she a pistol! She was fun, sharp and feisty up till the end. She’d walk into a room, and say, “Come on, let’s get in a discussion.” If you gave her that bored look, she’d say, “Well, if we can’t get in a discussion, let’s get in a fight.” I love it! It reminds me of the words of General Douglas MacArthur on his 75^th birthday “…in the central place of every heart is a recording chamber. So long as it receives messages of beauty, hope, and cheer, so long are you young; but when the wires are all down, and your heart is covered with the snows of pessimism and the ice of cynicism, then and only then have you grown old.”

Hysterically Funny

2011-01-31T06:33:00.000-08:00

This is for any of us that are computer users over 50 years of age. You’ll appreciate this.

A computer used to be something on TV
From a science fiction show of note
A window was something you hated to clean
And a ram was the father of a goat
Meg was the name of a girlfriend
And gig was a job for the night
Now they all mean different things
And it really mega bites!
An application was for employment
A program was a TV show
A cursor used profanity
And a keyboard was a piano
A memory was something you lost with age
And a CD was a bank account,
And if you had a 3-inch floppy,
You sure hoped nobody found out!

(Author unknown)

2011-01-14T06:49:00.000-08:00

Forget your age. Age is not important unless you’re a bottle of wine.

Ted Williams at age 42 when he slammed a home run - his last official time at bat.
Mickey Mantle at age 20 hit 23 home runs his first full year in the major leagues.
Golda Meyer was 71 when she became prime minister of Israel.
William Pitt was 24 when he became prime minister of Great Britain.
George Bernard Shaw was 94 before his first play was ever produced on Broadway.
Mozart was just seven when his first composition was published.
How about Benjamin Franklin? He was a newspaper columnist at 16 and a framer of the United States Constitution when he was 81.
Michael Angelo started the Sistine Chapel at age 61.
Winston Churchill was 65 when he was asked to form a cabinet and lead England through WWII

You're never too young and you're never too old if you’ve got talent!

“Age is mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter."

Satchel Paige,

baseball player (1906 - 1982)

Regardless of your age, you have barely scratched the surface of your real potential!

(Edited and adapted from Charles R Swindoll, audio quotation)

Are You Dying or Developing?

2011-01-13T08:27:00.000-08:00

Allow me to illustrate your life.

If this is you and your job, you are dying at work. The yellow arrows pointed inward represent somebody in a no-growth defensive kind of posture.

I’ll tell you what scares me. It’s when I ask someone how they have changed lately, and they kind of look up and say, “Oh, I’ve changed in a lot of ways – yeah - a lot of growth going on.” The danger is we get in a rut in our job where we stop growing and a rut is nothing but a coffin with the ends knocked out.

What are some possible signs of someone dying in there job?

Utilize Avoidance techniques
Blame others when things go wrong
Refuse to be specific
Refuse to acknowledge problems
Resist change
Loss of enthusiasm and energy
Self pity
Expect to Fail

How To Get A Raise

2011-01-11T13:53:00.000-08:00

If you go in to your boss or manager, and you say, “Boss, can we talk about a raise?” what question do they ask you? Don’t they usually respond, “Why do you deserve it?” Let me give you a tip. Don’t ever say I’m doing what’s required, asked and told. That reduces you to a replaceable commodity in your company. The best answer is “Boss, look at what I’ve been learning.” “Look at what I’ve done to improve our company.” “Boss, look at what I’ve done to improve our service and product quality.” “Look at what we’ve done to improve our teamwork in departments.” "Here's how I've been cutting down on expenses in my department." Your cost effectivness is the bottom line so think of ways you've been saving the company money. Somebody has said the most sensitive nerve in the human body is the one that runs from the heart to the wallet (or purse). Demonstrate to your employer the value you are bringing to the company. Zig Ziglar says, "do a little bit more than what you're paid for and eventually you be paid more for what you do."

I Am an Angry Customer IV

2010-12-20T05:21:00.000-08:00

It has now been over 10 years since that bad experience with Firestone. Now you might say you can't please every customer and that is true. But I was not an unreasonable customer with an unreasonable request. I was someone that had a legitimate concern or problem. I was not treated in a kind, respectful way. The problem was not addressed in a timely, quality manner.

So what was the outcome? I did approximately $2000 in additional car repairs that year. Did I take it back to Firestone? No. I am a disgruntled unhappy customer. If Firestone had invested $200 in cheerfully repairing my stereo cassette unit, I guarantee you I would have given them $2000 in additional business that year. Think about that. Is a $200 investment for a $2000 return a pretty good deal? Absolutely!

But it gets worse. I was so angry I told at least 10 people and my neighborhood about my bad experience. Think about that. I'm mowing my lawn and my neighbor Jim says, “Hey Bill, have you tried that new Firestone dealership down the road.”

“DON’T GO THERE, I said, they ripped me off!”

Are you going to do business with a company if your neighbor tells you that they had a bad experience? Remember word-of-mouth is the number one most powerful marketing.

I Am an Angry Customer III

2010-11-12T08:19:00.000-08:00

Continuing from yesterday...

I said to the manager, the engine is working fine, the radio is working fine, but the stereo cassette unit still does not play. The manager said, in kind of a huff, “O.K., take the car down to Circuit City and have them put in a unit of comparable value and send me the bill.”

This did not impress me. Why am I is a customer having to take the car to be fixed? Why isn't he sending his parts manager to get the replacement? Why are they not installing it? Let me give you a tip here: don't ask the customer to fix the problem you created and send you the bill. That's not good service. I said, “You know, I would rather not do business with you again.”

I had reached my limit as a customer. I could no longer tolerate the level of poor service I was experiencing. I walked out a very frustrated and angry customer.

I Am an Angry Customer II

2010-11-11T05:52:00.000-08:00

...Continuing from yesterday's blog, "I Am an Angry Customer."

“We didn’t touch anything inside the car!” Is that a positive or negative beginning? Also, if you address the customers concern but you act like it's a pain do you score any points? My feeling about Firestone has taken a turn for the worse.

The manager said, “We’ll look into it.”

Several hours later, he called me to say they had fixed the problem. I returned to the Firestone and sure enough, the manager turned on the radio part of the JVC unit and it worked. I thought “OK they fixed it.” The thanked them and left. My experience at Firestone up to this point is bad but I might come back because they quickly fixed the problem.

But as I was driving home, I put a stereo cassette in and it didn't work. They fixed part of the unit (the radio) but left another part broken - or they didn’t even check it. How do I feel as a customer?

I turned my car around and headed back to Firestone for the 5^th time that day. I am angry customer.

I Am an Angry Customer

2010-11-10T06:19:00.000-08:00

Back in the early 1990's, the water pump on my Ford, Mercury Sable gave an out, and I took my car to be repaired at a brand new local Firestone Auto Repair center just down the street from where I work. I was excited because this was the first auto repair facility where I could conveniently drop my car and walk to my office. I was looking forward to a long cordial relationship with Firestone.

Several hours later, Firestone called to say that the car was ready for pickup. The engine ran well. People seem professional and courteous. So far I’m pleased with Firestone. I will definitely come back and do more business with them.

But as I was driving home, I put in a cassette tape into my brand-new JVC stereo cassette unit (I warned you this was quite a few years ago) - it didn't work. Are you like me? When you get your car back and something doesn’t work what do you think? THEY MESSED IT UP! I turned around headed back to Firestone feeling frustrated and angry.

Frustrated, I said to the manager, the engine is working fine but I did notice that my brand-new JVC stereo cassette unit no longer works. With an upset perplexed face and a disgruntled tone of voice, he said, “we didn’t touch anything inside the car!”

What do you think about that as a first statement to make when the customer has a problem?

Walking the Path of Hope in Dark Days, Part IV

2010-11-03T05:19:00.000-07:00

Fourth, she reached out a helping hand to others. Now wait you say, I’m the one hurting. I’m the one needing help. I understand but let me share with you a funny quirk about us human beings. I find when I reach out a helping hand to others, it does a number on my own attitude. You’re having a bad day but you force yourself to go into your co-workers office and say, “I’ve got a few minutes right now, is there anything I could do to help you?” That’s what I mean. Be a person of generous spirit in the midst of your own crisis and it will brighten the path of hope in front of you.

Walking the Path of Hope in Dark Days, Part III

2010-11-01T06:39:00.000-07:00

Thirdly, she was a dogged worker. She took action and really kept our home afloat. I rarely saw her sit down and put up her feet. She was not fast but patiently did the next thing that needed to be done. Action is a great tonic to depression.

Someone once asked a medical surgeon, “what do you do when you are operating on a patient and they begin to die?“ He said that you discipline yourself to not panic but focus on the next thing that needs to be done. That was my Mom - constantly busy, calmly moving to the next task that needed attention.

Walking the Path of Hope in Dark Days, Part II

2010-10-29T07:22:00.000-07:00

Continuing the discussion of how to have a bad day...

Secondly, my Mom clung to God and cultivated a real and vital relationship with Him. My brother (10 years older than I) says he was not surprised to wake up early in the morning (5AM?) for his newspaper route and find my Mom already on her knees in the living room praying. Her walk with God was the real thing. One of the last things she said to me on her death bed was, “God is faithful.” She walked the walk and found a deep spiritual strength and joy for living in her relationship with God.

Walking the Path of Hope in Dark Days

2010-09-15T05:04:00.000-07:00

Picking up from my thoughts yesterday...

Now my Mother, dealing with this immature and angry husband, a financial mess, financially supporting the family, and all the challenges of raising four young children under the age of 10 chose another path. This is what I call the path of hope.

First, she refused to give into self pity. There was no grumbling or complaining about how tough it was (and believe me it was really tough). She lived the adage of Charles R Swindoll

We have a choice everyday regarding

the attitude we will embrace for that day

I agree that maybe behind the scenes, away from her children, she sobbed. I hope she did!

There is a proper place and time to let it all out. But in front of her children she chose to be calm, cheerful and stable. My memories of riding to the grocery store with her was being with a happy person who invariably allowed me to buy a soda or some treat even though we couldn’t afford it. How could she be a happy person amidst her own private nightmare of disappointment? Abraham Lincoln said it, “most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.”

The first choice we have to make if we want to walk the path to hope is to fight self pity like the plague! No moaning, groaning and complaining about how difficult it is. It helps, I find, to remind myself that everybody has it tough right now. Everybody takes hits in life. Everybody gets tagged with pain. Just about the time I think I'm suffering, one of you shares a situation that puts me under the table!

Remember BP Executive Tony Hayward's gaff, "I'd like to get my life back?" Self pity is an immediate turnoff to the people around us. An essential lesson of leadership is knowing when to keep your mouth shut. I know I'm still learning this lesson.

Hopelessness

2010-09-14T06:03:00.000-07:00

In the late 1950s and early 1960s, my Mother faced a very tough period of time. I want to share with you some lessons her life taught me about having a bad day.

In the early 1950’s my Dad was injured in the steel mills of Union City, California and our family went into a real tail spin financially:

Ÿ No workman’s compensation or income

Ÿ Living on welfare

Ÿ Constant moves to a new apartment or rental house to save a few dollars

Ÿ No car - my Mom used to ride a bike to work

Ÿ Discovering you're pregnant with a new child

Mom wrote in a diary, “things are absolutely the worst.” Have you ever been there? Have you ever been at the bottom?

I wish I could tell you that my Dad was a strong man who faced adversity with faith, courage, strength and determination. Sadly, he chose another path which I call the path of bitterness.

I’ve thought a lot about this and I see four bad choices he made in our time of crisis.

But let me put in a parenthesis here. I appreciate several fine qualities my Dad had in his life. I have a picture of him on my desk. So, I’m not bitter or angry when I make these observations.

First, he gave into self pity. Do you know what I mean when I say self pity? It’s the woe is me attitude: “Everything is going wrong!” “Everyone else gets all the breaks!” “Why me?” Have you ever known someone who is constantly moaning, groaning and complaining? It’s like a hound dog sitting on a nail! That’s self pity and it leads to the next step down.

He gave into self indulgence. His vices of smoking, explosive anger, avoidance, slothfulness and overspending reeked devastation on our family.

Thirdly, he began to blame everyone for his situation: the communists; the liberals; the numbskulls running the government. He was Archie Bunker on steroids. Any problem in his life was someone else’s fault. He was the angry victim constantly lashing out at an unfair world.

Fourth, I saw that blame led to bitterness in his life. Have you ever know a bitter person? Have you ever had your kids say, “How long is grandma coming to stay with us?” “How long are we going on vacation with them?” Bitterness makes us a very unpleasant person to be around.

How to Have a Bad Day (Finding the path of hope, when things go wrong)

2010-09-13T05:20:00.000-07:00

Have you ever had a bad day?

Someone faxed me a funny sheet that said at the top, “You Know It’s Going To Be A Bad Day When…” It included statements like:

You know it’s going to be a bad day when you get out of bed in the morning and put your pants on backwards - and they fit better.
You know it’s going to be a bad day when you’re driving to work and your horn gets stuck behind a group of Hell’s Angels.
You know it’s going to be a bad day when you pull into the parking lot at work and a large TV truck, with a satellite dish pointed at the sky, says, 60 MINUTES NEWS TEAM on the side.
You know it’s going to be a bad day when you wake up in the morning and discover your water bed sprung a leak during the night, but you suddenly realize you don’t have a water bed

We all have our tough days, don’t we? We all have our down days, myself included. But the amazing thing is we don't have to live as victims of our circumstances. Two of my favorite quotes remind me of this on difficult days:

Charles R Swindoll says, "...everyday we have a choice regarding the attitude we will enbrace for that day."

Tim Hansel says, "life is difficult, pain is inevitable, but misery is optional."

The great heroes we admire overcame terrible circumstances as Dear Abby quotes in her wonderful article entitled, "So Hang In There"

Bury him in the snows of Valley Forge, and you have a George Washington.
Raise him in abject poverty, and you have an Abraham Lincoln.
Subject him to bitter religious prejudice, and you have a Benjamin Disraeli.
Strike him down with infantile paralysis, and he becomes a Franklin D. Roosevelt, the only president of the United States to be elected to four terms.
Have him or her born black in a society filled with racial discrimination, and you have a Booker T. Washington, Harriet Tubman, Marian Anderson, George Washington Carver or Martin Luther King Jr.
Make him the first child to survive in a poor Italian family of 18 children, and you have an Enrico Caruso.
Have him born of parents who survived a Nazi concentration camp, paralyze him from the waist down when he is 4, and you have the incomparable concert violinist ltzhak Penman.
Call him a slow learner,'retarded', and write him off as ineducable, and you have an Albert Einstein.

A Rose that’s more than a Rose

2010-09-10T05:56:00.000-07:00

I heard a story about two elderly couples riding in a car. One old man said to the other, "You know last night we went to one of the best restaurants I've ever visited. The food and service were fantastic. You should both go there some time. It is a very romantic place to take your wife to dinner".

"That sounds great. Where is it? What’s it called?"

"You know, I've reached an age where my memory is not what it used to be. You'll have to help me here. What is the name of that red flower with a thorny stem that men give to their loved ones on Valentines Day?"

"You mean a rose?"

"Yes, that's it, a rose". Then he turned his head and called to his wife, "Rose, what was the name of that restaurant we went to last night?”

I was reminded of that story while doing a workshop for Rose Landscaping Company.

We were brainstorming about how the company could add a touch of warmth, kindness and personalization at the end of each landscaping job. One employee suggested leaving a beautiful long stem rose for the customer with a hand written note, thanking them. “It’s been our pleasure to serve you, Rose Landscaping.”

Wow! Is that powerful or what! The customer experiences not only the Unexpected Kindness but an image, fragrance (which is even more memorable) and beauty that accompanies that moment.

What does your customer remember about your business? Is there an image, symbol or personalized “touch factor” that is consistent and memorable? The only thing that’s more powerful than unexpected kindness (UK) is UK that reinforces your brand.

Unexpected Acts of Kindness

2010-09-09T05:35:00.000-07:00

Do you have a pet that you love? Isn’t it amazing how those little (or big!) creatures wrap themselves around our heart!

We had a beloved cat several years ago named Andy. He was an older cat and began to have kidney problems. Our vet, Dr. Beckwith (now retired), informed us that He needed surgery. I took the cat in on a Wednesday for the surgery. I picked him up and brought him home on Thursday. Friday, I was working at home when the phone rang.

“This is Dr. Beckwith calling.”

“Who? I said.”

“Dr. Beckwith. I did surgery on your cat yesterday. I’m just calling to check on how he’s doing….is he eating his food? How did he sleep last night?”

She was so concerned about the cat! I was floored! When I hung up the phone, I looked at my wife and said, “that was the VET calling about the cat!”

Dear reader, I’ve been in the hospital for surgery…no doctor has ever called me the next day!

That does it! I’M GOING TO THE VET THE NEXT TIME I need medical care.

Dr. Beckwith won our loyalty and repeat business with her excellence and professionalism (this met our expectation), but maybe even more so, it was a series of little, unexpected acts of kindness (which exceeded our expectations). We would not think of going to another vet.

Miracle Grow for Customer Retention

2010-09-08T05:55:00.000-07:00

Remember the last time you saw one of those T.V. commercials for "Miracle Grow?” In one scene, plants look dingy, lifeless and dull. After being treated with Miracle Grow, they become beautiful, full and productive.

I think kindness is the miracle grow of client retention. In fact, I believe companies could see and instant 5% increase in customer loyalty if they consciously began to do little things that expressed thoughtfulness to customers.

Kindness does not have to be something big. It has to be something unselfish and thoughtful towards the other person. One night, my sweet wife Carol and I were out to dinner and she had a beautiful selection of fish on her plate. “I forgot to get some tarter sauce,” she commented to me. I cheerfully jumped up and said, “I’ll get it for you baby!” I was shocked when later that night she reminded me of this, “thank you for getting my tater sauce! When you do little things like that it makes me feel loved.” (I did not mention to her that I also needed cream for my coffee! Take every opportunity, guys, to take a step forward!)

She reminded me that little acts of thoughtfulness are powerful.