My guest blogger today is Ron Kaufman, founder of Up Your Service! College. In this post he writes about a subject near and dear to my heart: it’s usually the little courtesies and gestures that have the biggest impact on the customer experience.

I can relate to the hotel experience he shares. Like Ron, I don’t really need a huge and ornate hotel room. But I do appreciate a room that is well thought out through the lens of the guest. (And I’ve always wondered how some hotels do the mirror thing he mentions!)

Little Things Can Mean A Lot When Customer Service Improvement Is Needed – by Ron Kaufman

Customer service improvement doesn’t always call for sweeping or costly changes. Sometimes, very little touches can go a long way.

At the Westin Chosun Hotel in Seoul, Korea, the rooms are not large, but a few thoughtful touches combine to make a big difference.

There is the usual range of amenities: slippers, bathrobes, room safe, mini-bar, hairdryer, voicemail, etc.

But the bathroom mirror has a heater installed behind it, just above the sink. After a shower when the room is steamy, that small section of mirror remains clear. This is a customer service improvement guests notice.

There is a box of tissues in the bathroom, of course, but another box sits by the bed in an attractive container.

A laundry bag is waiting when I arrive; that’s normal. But inside the closet an empty shopping bag is also provided for my use. It’s large and strong and very sleek, silver-colored with dark blue ribbon handles. There is no big brand name of the hotel emblazoned on the side, only an elegant print near the top edge that says: “Your Bag.”

I think I’ll bring it home inside my luggage.

Ever stayed in a hotel room that was big, but not very special? My room at the hotel is just the opposite, small in size but very big in little pleasures. Every little customer service improvement stands out and works well for the Westin without costing a lot in the process.

Key Learning Point For Customer Service Improvement

You can use this strategy, too. Make a big customer service improvement by paying attention to the little things that count. Maybe it’s the personal note you write, or remembering a customer’s preference from one visit to another. Perhaps it’s pre-filling a form on your customer’s behalf, or keeping track of an order and calling ahead to reconfirm delivery.

Action Steps For Customer Service Improvement

Your action steps needn’t be big, bold or expensive. Often it’s the little things that make a big difference in service.

Copyright, Ron Kaufman. Used with permission.
Ron Kaufman is the world’s leading educator and motivator for upgrading customer service and uplifting service culture. He is author of the bestselling “UP Your Service!” books and founder of UP Your Service! College. To enjoy more customer service training and service culture articles, visit UpYourService.com.

Tags: Commentary, Guest Blogger, Service Analysis by Dennis Snow
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My guest blogger today is Don Tanner of Tanner Friedman, a strategic communications firm. Be sure to visit their site, and especially click on the OUR TURN tab to check out some terrific ideas in each of the three categories, Blog, Perspectives, and News.

Don’s article below is a perfect compliment to my recent post, The Frontline Equals the Bottom Line. I love Don’s line about how leaders sometimes “fire poison tipped arrows directly at their own people.” Sad but true.

I hope you enjoy this thought-provoking article!

What Goes Around Comes Around in Employee Relations – by Don Tanner

How do you treat your employees? Do you guide and mentor and set them up for success, or, do you badger and belittle and set them up for failure?

I am continually amazed by stories I hear. How about the boss that does not provide a roadmap for future growth (”Keep on doing what you’re doing”) and then chides the employee when certain un-communicated milestones are not met in their mind. Or, the superior that gives “all or nothing” ultimatums rather than guiding and encouraging the colleague towards success in reaching particular goals.

Such individuals-in-charge seem to operate out of fear and ego. Don’t they realize that they are stifling and paralyzing their greatest resource for sustained and future success – their employees? Sadly, no. And when times get tough, rather than rallying the troops and circling the wagons, they fire poison tipped arrows directly at their own people.

The biggest barrier to change for such individuals, in my experience, is their past successes. “My way works so why not keep doing it” seems to be their motto. What they don’t realize (and find out in time) is that treating people badly always comes back to haunt you. It may take 5 years, it may take 20 years but your reputation (cemented by all of the former employees you treated poorly) will soon precede you and the death knell for your company becomes only a matter of time.

As the 80’s “hair band” Ratt so famously sang: “‘Round and ‘Round.”

Tags: Commentary, Guest Blogger, Leadership, Recommended Resources by Dennis Snow
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My guest blogger today is Meredith Estep, Vice President of Client Services with Unitiv. Unitiv is a provider of IT solutions based in Alpharetta, Georgia. You can find Meredith’s regular blog posts at Intelligent Help Desk Blog.

I’ve followed Meredith’s writing for some time, and I’m always impressed with how she gets to the heart of what is important. This post, the Ten Characteristics of Bad Customer Service, is a great checklist to pass around to the team just as  a reminder of those negative customer service behaviors that we all trip over – usually unintentionally.

Ten Characteristics of Bad Customer Service – by Meredith Estep

In customer service, it only takes one negative incident to lose a client for life. In this article, we will take a look at ten common characteristics of bad customer service with the purpose of showing alternatives that would serve customers much more efficiently and positively.

1. Failing to greet customers when they walk in the door.
A customer that is not acknowledged upon entering your business will not feel like the valuable commodity that they are.

2. Hanging up on an angry customer.
No one likes being yelled at, but disgruntled customers sometimes need time to vent before dealing with their concerns in a rational manner. If the customer becomes abusive, get a manager. Never hang up on a customer.

3. Eating in front of customers.
No one wants to watch someone eat their lunch – or even a mid-morning donut. Leave the food for the break room and keep your mouth clear for talking to your customers.

4. Putting a call on hold without asking first.
It is a simple courtesy to ask before putting someone on hold.  In addition, you are less likely to have the customer hang up in frustration when the elevator music starts to blare.

5. Avoiding eye contact with a customer.
When you are talking to someone, you want to know that other person is listening to what you say. Customer service representatives who do not make eye contact look rude at best, and downright shifty or dishonest to others.

6. Socializing with other employees when customers are present.
Customers do not care to hear about your plans for Friday night. Unless you are asking a question about your customer’s business specifically, stop all personal conversations until there are no customers in the vicinity.

7. Forgetting to use common courtesies.
“Please” and “thank you” are mainstays in customer service. Unfortunately, they are not used nearly as often as they should be. Common niceties exude professionalism, as well as courtesy, and should be used without fail.

8. Yelling at a customer.
Let the customer vent and then deal with their complaint in a calm, rational manner.

9. Using technical jargon when talking to customers.
You do not need to talk down to your customers, but it is helpful to use language they understand when explaining company policies and procedures. Leave the technical jargon for your coworkers.

10. Complaining about the company to customers.
There are no exceptions to this rule.  There is never an appropriate time to bad-mouth your own company to a customer.  This could potentially cost your company money or even lose the customer altogether.

Bad customer service is prevalent today, but it is not hard to overcome. By studying the bad, you can replace it with stellar service that will boost your customer base and your profits.

Tags: Guest Blogger, Service Analysis by Dennis Snow
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My guest blogger today is Meredith Estep, Vice President of Client Services with Unitiv. Unitiv is a provider of IT solutions based in Alpharetta, Georgia. You can find Meredith’s regular blog posts at Intelligent Help Desk Blog.

I’ve followed Meredith’s writing for some time, and I’m always impressed with how she gets to the heart of what is important. This post, the Ten Characteristics of Bad Customer Service, is a great checklist to pass around to the team just as  a reminder of those negative customer service behaviors that we all trip over – usually unintentionally.

Ten Characteristics of Bad Customer Service – by Meredith Estep

In customer service, it only takes one negative incident to lose a client for life. In this article, we will take a look at ten common characteristics of bad customer service with the purpose of showing alternatives that would serve customers much more efficiently and positively.

1. Failing to greet customers when they walk in the door.
A customer that is not acknowledged upon entering your business will not feel like the valuable commodity that they are.

2. Hanging up on an angry customer.
No one likes being yelled at, but disgruntled customers sometimes need time to vent before dealing with their concerns in a rational manner. If the customer becomes abusive, get a manager. Never hang up on a customer.

3. Eating in front of customers.
No one wants to watch someone eat their lunch – or even a mid-morning donut. Leave the food for the break room and keep your mouth clear for talking to your customers.

4. Putting a call on hold without asking first.
It is a simple courtesy to ask before putting someone on hold.  In addition, you are less likely to have the customer hang up in frustration when the elevator music starts to blare.

5. Avoiding eye contact with a customer.
When you are talking to someone, you want to know that other person is listening to what you say. Customer service representatives who do not make eye contact look rude at best, and downright shifty or dishonest to others.

6. Socializing with other employees when customers are present.
Customers do not care to hear about your plans for Friday night. Unless you are asking a question about your customer’s business specifically, stop all personal conversations until there are no customers in the vicinity.

7. Forgetting to use common courtesies.
“Please” and “thank you” are mainstays in customer service. Unfortunately, they are not used nearly as often as they should be. Common niceties exude professionalism, as well as courtesy, and should be used without fail.

8. Yelling at a customer.
Let the customer vent and then deal with their complaint in a calm, rational manner.

9. Using technical jargon when talking to customers.
You do not need to talk down to your customers, but it is helpful to use language they understand when explaining company policies and procedures. Leave the technical jargon for your coworkers.

10. Complaining about the company to customers.
There are no exceptions to this rule.  There is never an appropriate time to bad-mouth your own company to a customer.  This could potentially cost your company money or even lose the customer altogether.

Bad customer service is prevalent today, but it is not hard to overcome. By studying the bad, you can replace it with stellar service that will boost your customer base and your profits.

Tags: Guest Blogger, Service Analysis by Dennis Snow
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This post is written by guest blogger Mari Pat Varga of Varga & Associates. I enjoy Mari Pat’s blog, as she offers insightful comments on customer service and organizational behavior.

This post, “Go Undercover for the Customer,” references the CBS show, Undercover Boss. Although the season is over, you can still view all of the first season episodes at http://www.cbs.com/primetime/undercover_boss/.

Mari Pat makes some excellent points about the employee experience as well as the customer experience. I hope you enjoy Mari Pat’s ideas!

Go Undercover for the Customer
By Mari Pat Varga

Many of you have seen the popular new CBS series titled, Undercover Boss.  Each episode follows a senior executive of a major corporation who is working incognito as a new entry-level hire for one week.  Through the experience they discover how the company really works.  The show is well done and sends out an important message to leaders:  You need to experience your company through the lens of the employee to truly understand what is working and what’s not.

Without fail, the undercover CXO identifies corporate policies that unfairly impact employees, costly inefficiencies and unsung heroes.  The leader also discovers how far removed he is from what happens day to day in the business.

I applaud the show’s intention and I want to suggest to the producers the next iteration for this show:  “In the Customer’s Shoes.” Viewing a business from the employee’s perspective is a crucial first step but would be incomplete without viewing the business from the customer’s perspective as well.  I started to think about this more as I viewed Sunday’s finale featuring 1 800 Flowers President and COO, Chris McCann.  I applaud Mr. McCann’s efforts to better understand his employee’s experience.  It also prompted me to recall an experience I had with 1 800 Flowers a couple of years ago that still makes my blood boil to think about it.  I have not used them since.  Following is an abbreviated version of the letter I wrote to the Head of Customer Service,  Julia Kauffman.

Dear Ms. Kauffman,

I am writing to share a very disappointing customer experience I had recently with your company.  I contacted 1 800 Flowers on Monday, October 15^th to order a bouquet of flowers to be sent to my mother on her 84^th birthday on October 19.  I began by going to your website and had to spend approximately 30 minutes trying to order a bouquet online but every time I attempted to pay for it my credit card was rejected.  Frustrated, I went ahead and called the 1 800 number.

This time I reached a sales rep who at best I would describe as incompetent.  I found myself repeating the same information over and over to her (her getting it wrong each time and needing to start again). I requested that the flowers be delivered on the 19^th as we wanted them there for a party that would be taking place for my mother.  The rep said she could deliver them on Thursday or Saturday but not Friday.  When I asked why she simply said that was what her computer was saying to her.  She said she’d “try” to get them there on Friday.  I said, if not, Thursday would have to do.  After another 30 minutes, the transaction and order was complete.

The flowers did not arrive on Thursday, Friday or Saturday.  Despite the confirmation I received via e-mail.

When the flowers had not arrived by late Friday afternoon I called 1 800 Flowers to share my disappointment and ask for a refund.  I was told that the best they could do was credit back 20% to my account.  She shared that the only way to get a full refund was to have my mother send the flowers back on Monday.  This, of course, was not only insulting but laughable – I could just imagine my 84 year old mom packing up flowers…  As a last resort, the rep gave me your name and suggested I write a letter.

Ms. Kaufmann, as you can imagine, this is not about the money – it is about the principle.  Businesses make promises to their customers and trust is built when those promises are delivered.  I have to assume that 1 800 Flowers’ promise is that you can order flowers easily, quickly and can feel confident that they will be delivered on time and be of quality.  Do I have that right?  My flowers were not easy to order and they were not delivered on time – the quality is yet to be determined…

The end of the story is that I did not receive a refund or credit and the flowers finally arrived 5 days late.  I would’ve loved Mr. McCann to witness my experience!

At the conclusion of Undercover Boss, the CXO brings together a large group of managers to share what he/she has learned.  It is easy to see what this endeavor communicates to the employees:

• Our CEO “gets it”
• Our CEO cares
• Our CEO walked a mile in our shoes
• Our CEO is courageous

For a boss to go undercover it does communicate caring, courage and commitment.  Taking it one step further, I encourage every leader to go undercover and experience what the customer experiences.  Without the benefit of a reality television show, I can make a few suggestions:

• Work a day in your company’s call center and hear the issues customers have
• Work on the front line in a customer-facing position
• Hold a customer town hall and learn directly about what’s working and what’s not
• Track a customer’s experience from start to finish and see where it breaks down
• Read the letters dissatisfied customers write

Follow-up on these activities with your customers through e-mail, blog postings or letters about what you discovered and what you are doing about it.  Just like the employee’s responses in Undercover Boss, your customers will recognize you “get it”, you care, and you are willing to walk a mile in their shoes – and that takes courage.

Leaders out there – get both sides of the picture.  Experience what your employees AND customers experience.  Communicating with your customers in this way will go a long way in building life-long relationships and loyalty.

Tags: Guest Blogger by Dennis Snow
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