A Passion for Service

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.