For small or minor problem they may just simply call or create a service ticket for you to look into and if you are able to get back to them and let them know that you are looking into the issue, generally they will be fine and would wait for the resolution.  The trick to this, and the most important, is to let them know that you are looking into finding a solution for them.  And don’t take too long to resolve because this will make them lose faith in your product.

For bigger problems, the customers will generally not be happy and would demand a resolution immediately.  In this case, the best thing to do is to let them know that you are on their side and empathize with them. One of the important thing to avoid is to be defensive and try to push the responsibilities to the customers.

Recently I had a very bad experience with a Travel Agent which I used to book my air ticket and lodging in Taipei.  It is one of the biggest Travel Agent in Singapore, having been around for at least 43 years and claiming that they take pride in satisfying customer expectation, I certainly doubt that after the experience that I have had. To cut the story short, the first thing the staff and the manager that handled my case when I went to them to complain about our lodging was to try to push the responsibilities and wrongs to me, the customer, and uses a reference website as proof of the rating of the hotel to justify their claims and charges, and claims that they are not aware and responsible for the condition of hotel. The whole event had made me even more upset and I left this Travel Agent very unhappy! I would definitely not go back for any other future bookings, and I would also advise my friends against going to them too. (For your information the agency happens to be Chan Brothers.)

See how damaging it is to your company, business or service reputation if you or one of your staff did not handle an unhappy customer properly.

Thus, when you are in the Service sector, be it in the company, in a department or facing the public, it is important that you let the customer knows that you are on his side and is trying your best to find a solution for them. Happy customers are what you need if you want your business to flourish.

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Generally our service desk staffs have been doing their best to attend to all the service tickets that have been assigned to them. But there are times when the number of cases available are simply more than what they handle. There are also incidents where support other teams are required but the members of these teams may be too tied up to assist immediately. It is when such circumstances occur that the response time to resolve a simple problem takes longer than expected. This is when the requestor will become frustrated and feel that they have been neglected and their tasks completion have been delayed.

This is one of the contribution of customer not reply to the satisfaction survey upon job completion.

So how do we manage such situation? Simply, I feel that we have to let staff know that cross assistance is appreciated and that they will not be reprimanded for putting their hands into somebody else responsibilities and that their effort is also recognized.

The other thing is that we have to get back to the customer and let them know that their problem is being looked into. But let’s be reasonable, don’t take half a day to resolve a problem that need only 5mins to solve.

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I click on the link that brings me to the survey and when the system finally brings me there, I was appalled at the way the survey was structured and the language used in the form.

It was too impersonal and anyone who open that suvey form would be less then enthusiatic to complete the questions.  Not that there are too many questions to answer, on the contrary there are too little - 3 to be exact and the impression that I get from the questions were that ‘Just tell me that I did well for the service’.  Oh, this is so unprofessional!

First of all, to take this issue 1 step back, the task completion email is so impersonal - it’s like telling me that - ‘Hey, I have completed your request (relundantly) and now you have to answer a survey for me!’  Whoever created and approved such email structure and survey questions ought to be sent for service training again!

Who would want to answer any survey that is so badly structured and unfriendly! And they would complain that no one want to complete their customer satisfaction surveys that we sent out after the completion of each service ticket and is affecting their service satisfaction KPI!  Did they ever take one step back and examine what they did to the survey emails and questions!

Oh, in case you are wondering, I was talking about what happened in my department.  We have a section in the department that answers to our internal customers problems and to guage the performance level of the service guys we have designed a survey system to get feedback from our customers.

Servicing internal customers is just as important, if not more, then servicing external customers but many a times the resources required to serve the internal customers are so stretched that many are left unhappy for having to too long to have their problem or request answered. This is not an uncommon sight in many companies.  How to manage this and yet keep the customers are not what I want to talk about here.

What I am trying to say here is that if we want to do a satisfaction survey after every service ticket has been closed, then we must know what is the real intent of such a survey and keep the survey short - technically it should not take one more than 1 min to complete. And the questions should revolve around checking the professionalism, the behaviour and knowledge of this person, and the overall experience of the customer.

On top of that, the wordings used in the email, the acknowledgement note and the survey questions should be personal and friendly, and address the person by his first name if possible.  All these are the less that one should do in designing a survey form so as to entice the customer to response.

One final word, the layout must also be ease to read and neat - give enough spacing between paragraph and demarcate the questions clearly.

Well, did I answer to that satisfaction survey for the ticket that I rose? Yes, I did but most relundantly and not without voicing my experience here

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What really is customer satisfaction survey and what should be the real purpose?  And what if my users do not want to answer those survey and what does this mean?

I have been pondering these questions for a while now and my current interpretation of customer satisfaction surveys are these:

1.                  A mean to keep me on my toes?

When a job has been assigned to me it is natural to assume that I am the right person to work on the job and to help users resolve the problem that he is facing.  However, what if I do not have the necessary knowledge to do it and because of that I take longer than expected to complete the task or I make the situation worse?  And to make the situation worst, I am the only person around at the moment that can be deployed to look at the problem.

What would a customer satisfaction survey result implies in this situation?  That I am incompetent?  I am slow and not responsive?  That I lack the initiative to seek advice from other colleagues who may know how to resolve the problem?

All these will sound stressful when you want to think of such situation in such a negative manner.  On a brighter side, in such situation I would take it as a learning opportunity, so what if I take longer than expected to resolve this problem the first time, I will be able to do it better the next time I encounter the same problem.  I think in general most users are not unreasonable and they would understand if we explained to them that you are new to the problem and may take a tad longer to resolve their problem.  When encountering a problem most would find comfort when they know that someone is looking into their problem and that they are not neglected.

2.                  To find out how I performed in that task?

It is good to find out how my users think of my service after each job is being completed.  However, would I get to know what they think of my service?  It would definitely be great for my morale if I know what my users think of me, especially if I know that they are happy with my service.

So if the survey is done electronically and available to be online, I would definitely like to know how I performed in the eyes of my users at least once a month and maybe see their feedback, if any.

Now, knowing how my users think of me is good but if I have a raving review from my users, would my boss care?  I would definitely more encouragement if my boss would show me some form of appreciation too.

(Acknowledgment: Picture modified from www.careerkidztv.com)

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Do we have to have a service level agreement with our users in order to proof that we are out there to help them in times of need?  Well, my answer is a ‘Yes’ and a ‘No’.  Yes because this will serve as a guideline for the service provider to follow and this is good for newcomer to the service team.  And in the case of a disagreement between users and the service provider this becomes an avenue of recourse.  This also serves as a guide for the management if there is enough staff to upkeep the service level.  Of course the cost for justification of increasing headcounts just to maintain the service level has always been management nightmare, especially in bad economic times.

I am not fully in favor of an agreement are because service is actually beyond service agreement and service ticket.  It would also add undue stress to the service staff if the agreement is not carefully crafted.

If there is an agreement between users and the service provider, then shouldn’t there be an agreement between the different supporting teams within the service providing department?  Many a times this is always neglected.  But really, is there a need to?

My personal opinion is that service must come naturally from within us, all of us are a service provider in one way or another, be it at work, at home or out in the public, with your colleagues, friends or relations.  Do we have a service agreement with them?

Service is also not about solving the problems that the customer is facing but also the time for relationship building.  Having a good relationship with the customer is also a kind of service level.  Having a good relationship between the customer and the service provider will also helps to get things done faster, and also less likely to kick up a fuss out of a molehill.

This is all well and good in an ideal situation but there are also instances where relationship building is almost close to impossible.  This is when the time spent with the customer is so short or the customer is in a mood that relationship building is out of the questions.  I suppose this is when an agreement and a service ticket will come in handy.  But generally how many of such cases will that be within a company?  Everyone are colleagues how many will want to put the other party in a difficult position?

In my years of experience, the importance of having a good and cordial, if not a close (not intimate, this is a definite no here and will only complicate matter) relationship between use and the service provider goes beyond that of a service agreement and service ticket.

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The whole of 2008 was a year of learning and exploration for me. I have learnt much about using Wordpress, blogging, social networking, and even embarked on making money online. These are something that gave me a whole new perception of the virtual, a whole new skill set and a whole new perspective of life.

Before this I was holding a full time job which command much of my time and my views will generally revolves around what my job needs. the third quarter of 2007 was when I gave it all up, the job that is, and started to embark on my journey into the virtual world - exploring and understanding how it all works.

This exploration has allowed me to see how big, and complicated the virtual world can be although we don’t get to see or feel it. However, amidst such complexities are opportunities and it is these opportunities that has attracted many into the virtual world - opportunities to make new friends, to find long lost friends or relations, to keep in touch with people you don’t see or meet often, and most important of all, to make money online!

The term making money online has become so hot that you can easily fetch 10 of millions of search results bearing this phrase on Google.

Many has claimed that they are making thousands of dollars online and are making this a full time business but how many really is achieving that? Many people, I feel, are just selling a dream to those looking for an alternative source of income. But are there really pots of gold out there in the virtual world which you can dig for? My answer, or rather my view is that yes there are but you have to know where they are.

Knowing where is only part of the answer, the other things, and the most important, are dedication, focus and action!

For the whole of 2008 I had not been very active in the online world because I had been concentrating on my other projects in the real world and I am also back at my old office helping my friend, my formal colleagues with their projects. Yes, in short you can sy that I am back to holding a full time job. But, hang on, before you cast any opinions, I have not given up dreams and my intention yet - I am still striving towards achieving them.

Not giving myself any excuse for going to holding a full time job, but what I am doing now is also enabling me to learn and see things in a more business level which I had not been able to do before.

Anyway, before I end this first part of my entry, I like this particular phrase that my sis wrote on her MSN -
- ‘Wheresoever you go, go with all your heart!’

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Well, the real fact is that I had been busy with several other projects and they have taken up so much of my time that there is not enough for me to update my blog.

For the pass year, from 2007 till early 2008, I had spent much of my time talking about self-development and personal reflections. So what am I going to talk about now?

There have been much talk by many others about making money online, getting a second income so that in this time of financial crisis where many companies are restructuring to reduce cost and many are made redundant along the way we are not caught in catch 4 situation.

I guess what I will do is to continue with my path on self reflection and giving advise on self development. On top of that I think I will also talk about the projects that I am pursuing, no matter it will really take off or not.

Why do I want to do that? Well, I am beginning to feel that I am a little lost in my direction and drifting away from my goal and I am certainly not feeling good about it!  How can this happen to me, I had gone so far….

By tracking my projects on my blog I want to make sure that I am not moving backward.

To Success with my Dreams!

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A little about my project, it is an ebook, I was responsible for writing the book and preparing the graphics while my partner is responsible for preparing the sales page, the squeeze page and compiling the bonus.

Now it is completed, it is time to put our effort together to promote our new product. I will update the progress of our effort at regular interval.

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According to the Law of Attraction, everything and everyone that you encounter in your life, you have intentionally or unintentionally attracted into your world.

You may be saying to yourself, “There is no way that I attracted that mean old lady who yelled at me for passing her on the road.” But believe it or not, you may have at some time produced an emotion that attracted that experience to you. It is not just a single thoughts or feeling that cause the experience to be attracted to you. It is a series of repetitious thought and feeling over time. Everything that comes into your world is always attracted from a thought and feeling that you are possessing or have possessed.

When you experience a day when everyone seems to mirror the same kind of mood, whether crabby or happy, frustrated or serene, take a look at yourself. People who are in your life whether for just a moment or everyday, are a reflection of what or who you are attracting. All that we are, in fact, is a direct result of what we have thought.

If you want to know if we are able to control our lives through the Law of Attraction, then the answer is yes! You have to start by taking responsibility of your life. You have to realize that you are the one that created everything that is in your life, and that it is just as easy to create a life that you want.

Look around you, look at the people that come into your life, how do you react to them. Look at the situation that you are in now and what is the reaction from you. By looking at all these will give you an idea what direction you are headed towards.

For example, you want to be financially free and your business to be making $500, 000 a month. But during your visualization you are constantly interrupted by the negatives thought of making money is difficult and they are not to be found, the opportunities are slim, then what do you think your result will be?

An lucrative opportunity knocks on your door, a business partner told you that there is a potential deal. You excited for the moment but ten minutes later your negative feeling kick in – money is scarce, difficult to make, opportunities are slim, guess what will happen to that potential deal? It just went somewhere, to someone else table.

Now, isn’t this obvious, you had clear vision of what you want but all these visions were muddled by all the negative feelings that you harbor and you are attracting things that are not align with your want.

You have to realize that the Universe is telling you that you are attracting what you are thinking and feeling and this is what you are attracting. Sometimes the indicator may not be clear but have to learn to see and feel them, build better feelings and thoughts for a clearer clear image.

Be aware of what the Universe is telling you and indicating to you and adjust your thoughts and feelings accordingly. Every incident, every person, every circumstance all comes back to you.

One of the best way to attract what you want is to ask yourself ‘What do I really want?’ whenever a negative feeling or thought kick in. By asking ‘What do I really want?’ not only give you a better understanding and clearer image of what you are after, it also produces a positive notion, thus allowing you to attract what you are really after.

Become clearer in your image and feelings of what you do want. You can’t go wrong if you listen and see the indicators that the Universe gives as it steers you to where you want to be. The Law of Attraction never fails.

Propel your success to another level, Attraction the result in your Online Business the way you wanted it - Attraction Accelerator Program

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Most of us who have been in network marketing had been through that before. And honestly we do not want to go there again. And in the Internet age we do not need to.

In the Internet age, network marketing can be worked differently. You can generate your list of leads without having to make any cold call or warm call.

Most all network marketing companies, especially those built for the Internet, have canned websites, i.e. you will get these websites in your name. Most of these websites are generic, that is every other new representative will get a similar looking on, and these are not what you are looking for to use to build your business.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that these sites are not good, just that it does not have enough of your personality in them that can help you get that sign up.

In order to use the Internet to grow your network marketing business, you have to use the Internet as a tool. Use it with great care and good training, it is able to help you. Otherwise you can expect to be burned.

This is a simple list what you can use the Internet for:

- Generating super targeted leads just for your business.

- Following up with those leads as many times as it takes for them to sign up or buy something.

- Creating a funded proposal to pay for all your advertising.

- Allowing prospects to sign up for your business all by themselves (this is really fun!)

- Tracking all your efforts and results.

This is quite an abbreviated list of the options to use the Internet as a tool.

For this article we are going to discuss generating your own prospects.

How do you generate prospects?

It is very important to generate your own leads. Most leads that you buy from “Jack’s lead shack” have been sold several times. The people on the lead list may have opted into some generic page months ago. They are really ice-cold leads, and a waste of your time and money.

To generate your own leads you need a webpage of some sort to gather a prospect’s information. This is called a lead capture page. This page must catch and keep someone’s attention immediately. If you do not catch their attention within the first seven seconds they are usually gone.

This page then must be advertised. This is how you get the super red-hot targeted leads. It is very important to advertise specifically to your targeted market. In most cases, with the proper education you can generate these leads cheaper than you can buy super cold leads.

These leads are only for you. They have not been called multiple times by others who bought the same list you did. They will be more responsive to you.

Using the Internet you can build a relationship with these leads through email. Old age or new age, relationships are still very vital to the success of your business. Treat this step with care always.

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Dare to Dream! Continual Self Development is the Key to Success!
PassiveIncomeCreation.com

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