Talking To Strangers

When we were small, our mothers told us time and time again not to talk to strangers. It was good advice back then, but sadly, most of us have continued to heed this well intended counsel long past its best before date.

Now that childhood is behind us, the benefits of talking to strangers far  outweigh the risks. It is amazing how much we can learn from people we don’t know… and how enjoyable that experience can be for all parties involved.

In the vast majority of cases, all you need to do is smile and initiate the conversation with a few simple questions like “How are you?”; “Where are you from?”and/or “What do you do?”  

You’ll be amazed at how simply asking these questions of total strangers (and doing so often) will make you far more comfortable, confident and competent on those dreaded occasions when you are called on to make presentations at work, or speak out in social situations.

If, like most of us, you are a service provider and/or in sales, make it a regular practice in the workplace and I suspect you'll find your job will get much easier, not to mention more rewarding. After all, a little friendly conversation can only enhance the customer experience… and increases sales!

For these reasons and more, I have made ‘talking to strangers’ not only a personal habit, but also a regular and often mandatory assignment for all of my public speaking and customer experience workshops; and the feedback has been very positive indeed.  

So next time you’re queued up at the grocery store checkout, on an elevator, or riding the bus, put away your Blackberry, iPhone, or whatever little electronic device you are addicted to, and strike up a real conversation with a total stranger? You’ll likely find that face-to-face communications is the still the most powerful of the social media.

If we all just spent a little more time talking to strangers, especially those from different cultures, generations and belief systems, we’d all be a little happier... and maybe, just maybe, the world would be a better place.


To comment, or read the comments on this blog click on 'comments' beside the little envelope below. To read previous articles (this is #50), see the Blog Archive (mid right) and to become a Wavemaker Blogs follower, click on 'Follow' (lower right).

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Guest Blog - Hire for Goosebumps - by Roy Osing

On the outside chance you don't already know or haven't at least heard of this month's guest blogger, please allow me to introduce him: Roy Osing is the founder, president and chief executive officer of Brilliance for Business, an organization dedicated to providing practical and proven ways to improve both business and personal performance.

Roy is also a widely recognized blogger, speaker, seminar leader, business consultant, educator and personal coach, not to mention the author of Be Different or be dead. a must read if you are looking for competitive advantage.

The following is one of many of Roy's pearls of wisdom when it come to creating the customer experience:

HIRE FOR GOOSEBUMPS

Dazzle your Fans. Blow ‘em away. Leave them breathless. Mesmerise them; a key strategy to Distinguish your organization from the faceless competitive herd. SERVE them don’t SERVICE them. You SERVICE automobiles but you SERVE people.

THE most important way of achieving the Dazzle Dream is to recruit people that love human beings! People that have the instinctive desire to serve their fellow homo-sapiens. To take care of them. To satisfy them regardless of what they want. A person can’t be trained to love people; they are either borne with the nurturing attribute or they are not.

The real issue then becomes how to find these invaluable folks. How to discover people this natural desire to serve.

Here’s a rather simple but so effective way of separating the Human Lovers from the Fish (or the Grinners who have been through some type of Customer Service Training program).

First, ask the prospective employee this question: “Do you love human beings?”. They will realize that this a bit of a trick question but will not know where you are going with it. Fun as the interviewer to say the least. Most people will say “yes” in varying ways, ranging from the declaration “Absolutely” to the positive inference “Sure”. You need to dig deeper.

Next, pose this: “Tell me a story that will show me that you love your fellow humans”. The responses you get from this request will be of two types: One, “The Intellectualizer” or two, “The People Lover”. The Intelectualizer has figured out what you are up to and will conjure up a story that quite frankly will leave you COLD.

The natural-born People Lover, on the other hand will thrill you with a story that will leave you warm all over. Their story will paint a vivid picture of someone who cares about people and who is creative at finding ways to create unforgettable memories for them.

The People Lover will leave you with Goosebumps. Hire for Goosebumps and you will never go wrong. Do it. Your fans deserve them.

Cheers,

Roy

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Ever Been Stuck on an Escalator?

Click on the play button below for an example of what I mean: 

I know this little scenario may seem totally ridiculous to you...but I'll bet, at least metaphorically, we've all been 'stuck on an escalator' at some point in time... and some of us may be stuck on one right now. 

Here's why:

In business, and in life, we often associate and apply rules, policies and processes to situations for which they they were not intended... and sometimes, they are just as silly as the ones being applied by the two people in this video.

Take for example;

• the Customer Service Rep who refuses to allow the return of a minor purchase by a long time loyal customer citing some obscure or ill-conceived detail in the return policy as rational;  
• the support department that, before it acts, refers virtually every decision, big or small, to the legal department just because of a single and somewhat obscure incident that happened years ago; 
• the bank that asks a customer they have been dealing with for years, to fill out a pile of forms and jump through multiple security hoops to open a  new deposit account... notwithstanding the fact that it's the customer entrusting their money with the bank, not the other way around; 
• or my personal favorite, the complaint department that with every call, is more concerned about finding out who was at fault and why, than what it is going to take to put things right... and keep the customer!

In fairness, management may have had all good intentions when the policies and processes driving these actions were developed, and probably never imagined they would be applied in situations where they would do far more harm than good. But nevertheless, they often are... even by equally well meaning employees!

Maybe it's time we all asked ourselves, "Do the rules, policies and processes I create, live and/or work by make sense?" If not, we may well find ourselves stuck on an escalator, or causing others that same fate.

The good news is, it only takes a little common sense to figure out how to get off an escalator. So perhaps the better question is: How do we make common sense common practice?

Any suggestions?


To comment, or read the comments on this blog click on 'comments' beside the little envelope below. To read previous articles (this is #48), see the Blog Archive (mid right) and to become a Wavemaker Blogs follower, click on 'Follow' (lower right).

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A Senior Moment

A few years back, an elderly lady wrote the following letter to her bank. The bank manager thought it amusing enough to have it published in The London Times. I am sharing it with you now in hopes it brings a smile to your face... and should you be in business, the inspiration to review your automated telephone response system.






Dear Sir,

I am writing to thank you for bouncing my cheque with which I endeavoured to pay my plumber last month. By my calculations, three 'nanoseconds' must have elapsed between his presenting the cheque and the arrival in my account of the funds needed to honour it. I refer, of course, to the automatic monthly deposit of my Pension, an arrangement which, I admit, has been in place for only thirty eight years. You are to be commended for seizing that brief window of opportunity, and also for debiting my account £30 by way of penalty for the inconvenience caused to your bank.

My thankfulness springs from the manner in which this incident has caused me to rethink my errant financial ways.

I noticed that whereas I personally attend to your telephone calls and letters, when I try to contact you, I am confronted by the impersonal, overcharging, re-recorded, faceless entity which your bank has become. From now on, I, like you, choose only to deal with a flesh-and-blood person. My mortgage and loan payments will therefore and hereafter no longer be automatic, but will arrive at your bank by cheque, addressed personally and confidentially to an employee at your bank whom you must nominate.

Be aware that it is an offence under the Postal Act for any other person to open such an envelope.

Please find attached an Application Contact Status which I require your chosen employee to complete. I am sorry it runs to eight pages, but in order that I know as much about him or her as your bank knows about me, there is no alternative. Please note that all copies of his or her medical history must be countersigned by a Solicitor, and the mandatory details of his/her financial situation (income, debts, assets and liabilities) must be accompanied by documented proof.

In due course, I will issue your employee with a PIN number which he/she must quote in dealings with me. I regret that it cannot be shorter than 28 digits but, again, I have modelled it on the number of button presses required of me to access my account balance on your phone bank service.

As they say, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

Let me level the playing field even further. When you call me, press buttons as follows:

1- To make an appointment to see me.

2- To query a missing payment.

3- To transfer the call to my living room in case I am there.

4- To transfer the call to my bedroom in case I am sleeping.

5- To transfer the call to my toilet in case I am attending to nature.

6- To transfer the call to my mobile phone if I am not at home.

7- To leave a message on my computer (a password to access my computer is required. A password will be communicated to you at a later date to the Authorised Contact.)

8- To return to the main menu and to listen to options 1 through 8

9- To make a general complaint or inquiry, the contact will then be put on hold, pending the attention of my automated answering service. While this may, on occasion, involve a lengthy wait, uplifting music will play for the duration of the call.

Regrettably, but again following your example, I must also levy an establishment fee to cover the setting up of this new arrangement. May I wish you a happy, if ever so slightly less prosperous, New Year.

Your Humble Client

It is important to remember that this letter was actually written by a 98 year old woman.

And may I wish you a happy, and not so slightly more prosperous, New Year.

To comment, or read the comments on this blog click on 'comments' beside the little envelope below. To read previous articles (this is #47 - I'm shooting for 50), see the Blog Archive (mid right) and to become a Wavemaker Blogs follower, click on 'Follow' (lower right).

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Employee Disengagement Spells Bad News for All Canadians

According to a recent study conducted by the Mercer Group (a leading global provider of consulting, outsourcing and investment services) employee disengagement in Canada has reached crisis proportions!



Among the nearly 30,000 employees Mercer polled across 17 countries, Canadian employees had the lowest level of engagement (defined as feeling they have a vested interest in the success of the company they work for and the willingness and motivation to exceed their job requirements) with over 50% acknowledging they have virtually 'checked out' on the job.

Interestingly, the highest level of engagement was found among employees over 50, the very group most large companies seem most eager to jettison these days.

That aside, a full 36% of all Canadian employees said they are seriously considering changing employers, up from 26% when last surveyed in 2006, and a further 22% said they could care a less whether they stay or go, which would suggest that growing turnover is inevitable. But as Madeline Avedon, Principal, Mercer’s Human Capital Business states in the report:

"This erosion in employee sentiment has business consequences that reach well beyond the direct costs of employee turnover."

While Madeline did not spell out specific consequences, it stands to reason that all Canadians, be they business owners, corporate executives, consumers, investors, students, employees or retirees, can expect to pay a very high price if this problem is not addressed.

Decreased productivity, lower quality goods and services, inflated costs, fewer exports, diminished customer service levels, fewer employment opportunities, worse returns on investments, higher taxes, more business failures, more layoffs and a lower standard of living...are just a few of the potential implications of this negative trend.

Is there a way out or is it too late? That's hard to say, but perhaps at least part of the answer lies in one of the other findings of the study, which points out the strong correlation between employee empowerment, engagement and service quality. Again according to Madeline:

"Canadian employees, in particular, are more engaged when they can deliver quality service..."

I would suggest that the flip side also hold true - Canadians deliver a higher level of service quality when they are more engaged - and that the problem (and therefore the solution) lies in the hands of management!

Either way, those of us in business better start empowering, investing in and caring more about our people and our customers... preferably before we find ourselves operating in a country with third world economic status!


To comment, or read the comments on this blog click on 'comments' beside the little envelope below. To read previous articles (this is #45 - I'm shooting for 50), see the Blog Archive (mid right) and to become a Wavemaker Blogs follower, click on 'Follow' (lower right).

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Flip Sides of the Same Coin

You often hear sales and service described as two different things. In fact, most companies treat them as such. They have separate sales and service departments on their org charts, offer separate career paths and separate sales and service courses to their employees, even direct their customers to separate areas depending on where those customers are in the buying cycle.

This disconnect often causes confusion, conflicts and inefficiencies for both customers and employee alike.
 
By my way of thinking, sales and service are if not one and the same, flip sides of the same coin. The best simple definition of service I've ever heard was 'the process of identifying and meeting customer needs' which also sounds like a pretty darn good definition for sales, or at least for needs based selling, which is the only kind that makes any sense.

Wouldn't we all be better off if we were to reconnect the two? If companies were to adopt the notion that 'around here, everybody sells and everybody serves', I'm betting they would make a lot more sales and at the same time, improve both employee and customer satisfaction levels.

What employee wouldn't prefer to be identifying and meeting customer needs over just flogging product, or handling the problems that arise when someone else does? And what customer wouldn't prefer having all of their needs met in one place, without being sent from pillar to post?

Either way:

Sales without service are fleeting... and service without sales is fruitless!

 

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Which is more important?

Many would suggest that to succeed in sales and service it's important to have all the right answers; but while I too think knowledge is important, I suspect that asking all the right questions is what really matters most.

Let me illustrate by way of example:

Some time back I was shopping for a flat screen TV. My first stop was one of those big box electronics superstores where I was met by a young, yet no doubt very knowledgeable salesperson.

In response to my obviously well thought through first question "Ah...what's the difference between all these various brands and models... and ...um...which one is better?" he led me on a journey from set to set while citing at great length all of their technical specifications.

He talked of DPI, NPR, HDMI as well as the intricacies of NTSC, ATSC and QAM tuners, then compared Plasmas, LCDs and LEDs and even a few 3Ds in terms of contrast ratios and video frame versus screen refresh rates.

Clearly this guy knew his stuff, but after about 45 minutes of this, my head started to hurt and I left the store more confused and no closer to a purchase decision than when I had entered. I also left wondering just how and when I had become so technologically inept.

After a few days of licking my wounds and trying to convince myself I could live with the poor picture quality and rather annoying high pitch squeal that sporadically emanated from the old set, I built up my courage and decided to give it another try. But this time before heading out, I decided to do a little research and find out what some of these seemingly all important terms meant.

A few hours later, armed with the knowledge that DPI stood for dots per inch and that NPR was short for native pixel resolution, but still not knowing what all this meant or why it mattered, I found myself at the entrance to a Sony Store. I believe I was attracted there by the fact that it was much smaller and looked a whole lot less intimidating than the big box shop mentioned earlier.

Nonetheless, I was still feeling anxious and somewhat guarded when I was approached by a friendly looking gentleman who asked "How can I help you?" to which I hesitantly replied "I am looking for a new TV."

Much to my surprise, rather than lead me to the wall of TVs on offer, he invited me to take a seat in one of several comfortable leather chairs strategically placed throughout the store. He then proceeded to ask me a number of questions which included but where not limited to the following:

• What kind of programs do you enjoy watching most? 
• How much television do you typically watch in a week?
• What are the dimensions of the room in which you plan to put your new TV?
• What are the main sources of light in this room? 
• How far from the screen is your favorite chair?
• When other family members join you to watch television, where do they sit?
• What is the widest angle off center of the screen are these other seats?

Only once I had answered these questions did he show me the two TVs he felt were best suited to my needs. He patiently explained in terms I actually understood why he had chosen these two from all the rest and how they differed from one another. Then he asked if I had any questions. When I couldn’t come up with any, he placed a chair in front of each at the distance I had described earlier and left me to watch one and then the other so I could compare them for myself.

While there was no mention of DPIs, NPRs, or any other verbal display of his technical knowledge during the entire time the salesman and I were together, I knew from the questions he had asked, this guy knew it all. And even though I also knew I could get a similar model, if not the very same TV at the big box store for a lower price, after a few minutes of contemplation, I made my choice and called him over to complete the sale.

Once the paperwork was taken care of and a delivery date agreed, I walk away confident that I had made the right decision and knowing I had finally found someone who could guide me through the set up of the system as well as the dreaded programming of the remote without making me felling like a technology challenged imbecile, even if I am.

So now back to our original question - which is more important - the Q’s or the A’s?

I believe that in sales and service (and for that matter in life) success is not so much a result of having all the right answers, but more the product of asking all the right questions… and I suspect this applies to both buyers and sellers alike.

What do you think?


To comment, or read the comments on this blog click on 'comments' beside the little envelope below. To read previous articles (this is #41), see the Blog Archive (lower right) and to become a Wavemaker Blogs follower, click on 'Follow' (just above Archive).

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All I Want For Christmas

This year, rather than follow my usual practice of waiting until the very last minute, I decided to do the bulk of my Christmas shopping early (which from the average male's perspective, means any time prior to 5:00pm on the 24th).

To be honest, this break in behavior was not so much a function of any new found organizational skills, or strange awakening of my more feminine side, but rather driven by two basic needs, those being:


1. The need to save time and money - The Bay (a large Canadian department store where those of us who dislike shopping can get most of the things on our list in relatively short order) was having a '2 Day Only Storewide Sale'

2. The need to gather some fresh material for what has become a long overdue service experience related blog article. Where did the last month go?

So this past Saturday I left the house early, list in hand and fully expecting to gather most of what was on it as well as at least one or two less than positive customer experiences to rant about. I knew, what with the sale and all, the customer service staff at The Bay would be under a great deal of pressure. Surely, someone would slip up and give me the story I needed.

After only an hour or two, I had managed to get just about everything on my list, but try as I may, I could not come up with a single negative service experience. I had dealt with at least 10 different employees and much to my dismay, every single one of them was annoyingly friendly and helpful, even when I played the role of the difficult, if not stupid male shopper. This by-the-way is something I do very well.

Knowing I was getting absolutely nowhere on the blog material gathering front, I eventually left The Bay and ventured into the adjacent mall where multiple high end specialty stores were competing viciously for the attention and dollars of the far more discriminating and knowledgeable than I, female shoppers. Like most of its kind, this mall is anything but a male friendly environment.

Desperately, I spent the next hour wandering through several shops where I clearly did not belong, asking silly questions and generally being a pain. But even there, I came up short. In fact, one shop owner, when asked one of my particularly silly questions, went as far as to cheerfully educate me on the proper use and care of a product she had on hand, even though I'd admitted to having bought mine elsewhere.

I suspect most people would consider what I went through a pretty good day of shopping, but given that I take great pleasure in spotting, writing about and addressing customer service issues (not to mention the fact that this is part of what I do for a living) I found the whole experience very disconcerting.

Could it be the world has at long last awakened to the magic of friendly service? Is this the end for Wavemaker Blogs?

I dare not go back out and face the mobs to get my answer; so in case you haven't already guessed, all I want for Christmas is some assurance this is not the case. Please, please do tell us about your Christmas shopping experiences, be they good or bad (albeit those of latter variety would be far more comforting).

Here’s wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

To comment, or read the comments on this blog click on 'comments' beside the little envelope below. To read previous articles (this is #39), see the Blog Archive (lower right) and to become a Wavemaker Blogs follower, click on 'Follow' (just above Archive).

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We Want You Be Happy: The following photo was submitted as part of a comment on this article from Steve Tait (see comment 2 below) but for technical reasons could not be included in the comment.

Gotta love it!

Putting Things Right

 

A few weeks back, my son Adam had a little trouble with a faulty roll of aluminium foil. As he explains it "I could pull out both sides, but try as I might, could not lift the middle without it tearing."



Adam thought about taking it back to the store, but having previously discarded the receipt, knew they'd only give him a hard time; so to avoid further frustration, he tossed the foil in the bin and the box in the recycling.

The following evening, faced with the prospect, not to mention expense of having to go out and get another roll, he decided to call ALCAN, the company that manufactured the faulty foil, and let them know about his experience with their product. Given ALCAN's offices are back east, and it was already late in the day in Vancouver, not surprisingly his call was answered by an automated voice messaging system.

At this point Adam considered simply hanging up and letting sleeping dogs lie, but something in the tone of the message encouraged him to leave a brief description of his complaint as well as his contact details.

The very next morning he received a very well crafted, personalized email from a company rep at NOVELIS FOIL PRODUCTS, the distribution company that represents ALCAN. This email contained a sincere apology, an assurance that they would make good on his purchase, a few questions about the problem and a request that he return the roll (at their expense) so as they could investigate further. This was clearly not a form letter and was worded such that it left Adam feeling they truly appreciated his feedback... and were actually going to act on it!

He replied explaining that unfortunately, he had thrown out the contents, but still had the box in his recycling. While half expecting not to hear back, in very short order he received a 'no problem' response with a further assurance the company would make good on his purchase and a 'if it's not too much trouble' request for the product code off the box, so that the quality control investigation could continue.

Another email or two ensued and, to make a long story short, just the other day Adam received the package pictured above, along with a further thanks for bringing this matter to the company's attention.

Now that's what I would call 'Putting Things Right!'Sidebar: By shear coincidence, around the same time this was going on, I attended a sales and marketing workshop where the facilitator suggested "there isn't a company out there that knows how to effectively deal with customer complaints." I would suggest that the good folks at Novelis would prove him wrong.

And, in fairness to ALCAN, who arguably manufacture the best foil on the market, if you manufacture hundreds of thousands of anything, somewhere along the line, even under the most stringent quality controls, you're going to have a defect slip through. It's what happens when one does, like the response described above, that separates great companies from the also ran.

You may recall, late last year I posted an article entitled "Revenge" which described what happened to one company when they failed to act on a customer complaint. Perhaps United could learn a thing or two from ALCAN and Novelis.

To comment, or read the comments on this blog click on 'comments' beside the little envelope below. To read previous articles (this is #38), see the Blog Archive (lower right) and to become a Wavemaker Blogs follower, click on 'Follow' (just above Archive).

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Canadians are Wanting More, but Getting Less

According to a recent study conducted by American Express, 58% of Canadians indicated the quality of customer service is more important to them in today’s economic environment than it was prior to the recession.

These same consumers also suggested they would be willing to pay a premium upwards of 7% just to get better service.

Of the people polled, 91% consider the level of customer service important when deciding to do business (or keep doing business) with a company; yet 65% believe most companies have either not changed their attitude toward customer service in the face of these economic times, or are now paying even less attention to it!

And only 15% believe companies value their business enough to go the extra mile to keep it.

By my way of thinking, for anyone in business who's feeling the pinch, or just wanting more, this dichotomy screams OPPORTUNITY!

What do you think?

To read more of the findings of this study, click here: Service speaks: Canadians willing to spend 7% more for premium treatment.

To comment, or read the comments on this blog click on 'comments' beside the little envelope below. To read previous articles (this is #37), see the Blog Archive (lower right) and to become a Wavemaker Blogs follower, click on 'Follow' (just above Archive).

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Advantage - Great Service

I'm feeling a bit guilty about my last blog article (or should I say rant) which as you may recall, was aimed at the 'Stupid' Store.

It's not that they didn't deserve it. In fact, I've had occasion to be in touch since the 'cans' incident and they were no more helpful than they'd been on my last visit.

You see, I was craving Dungeness crab, as one does, and called to see if they had any in stock. I'll admit it - this was less about me giving them second chance and more about my need for a reasonably priced crab fix.

In any event, after the usual call transfer delays, I finally got through to someone in the fish department who informed me they had crabs (so to speak) but refused to tell me the price per pound. Apparently, it's their policy not to give prices over the phone. No doubt this one was written by the same lamebrain who can up with the 24 can return policy.

But I digress. The reason I am feeling guilty is because not because I comparison shop, or because despite the cholesterol count, I love fresh steamed crab dipped in hot butter. The reason I am feeling guilty is because I realize I tend to write more about bad customer experiences than good ones and I know that sharing the occasional example of a great customer experience might be refreshing, if not helpful. The problem is that in my experience great customer experiences are all too rare.

Fortunately, Jim Foster, a good friend of mine was lucky enough to have one and kind enough to allow me to share it with you.

What follows is Jim's story:

We had the misfortune to have our hot water tank pack it in on Tuesday. Our first call was to the company who supplied it, who suggested they could come in about 6 days. Not prepared to wait that long between showers, our second call was to Advantage. They could come between 3 and 5 pm that same day! Needless to say, we booked the appointment.

To make a long story short, I received a call from the office when the van was dispatched, the technician gave a firm quote before doing the job, then did it in less than the estimated time and at what I believe was a reasonable cost.

Today we received a follow up letter from the President of the company, thanking us for the business, asking if we were happy with the service and advising us of what to do if we had any problems in the future. It also contained a copy of their service philosophy, a detailed explanation of their cost structure and an invitation to drop by for a coffee if we happen to be in the neighborhood!

Now that's great service, something so very rare these days!So there you have it. Doesn't it warm your heart to know that while rare, there are still some companies out there delivering great service? And if you happen to live in the Greater Vancouver area, here's a bonus - now you know who to call if your hot water tank ever decides to pack it in.

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Go Figure?

In the name of fairness and to keep the peace in the family, it is important that all members of the household share a bit of the domestic workload; or at least that's what my wife tells me.

At our house, I have as one my chores the all important responsibility of returning the recyclables such as the empty pop cans and the like.


It's not a bad job really. It gets me out of the house and I can either pocket the proceeds, or use them to buy those necessities like ice cream, cookies and potato chips which are all to often 'forgotten' by she who does most of the grocery shopping.

One day, while returning a rather large quantity of empties (I save them up not out of laziness, but rather in the name of efficiency) to a big box store I not so affectionately call 'The Stupid Store', I was 'greeted' at the 'Customer Service' counter by a rather surly clerk who bluntly advised me I could only return 24 cans on any given day.

"You have got to be kidding me!" I replied "No one told me that when I bought several cases of pop a few weeks back."

"Well that's our policy." she said as if that explained everything.

Being a dedicated student of human behaviour, I quickly sensed there was no winning with this 'lady' so I resisted the urge to further protest, diligently counted out 24cans and placed them on the counter. She then selected two of those cans, handed them back and said "We don't sell this brand here, you'll have to take them back where you got them."

While tempted to ask "What difference does it make, don't they all get crushed and go to the same place in the end?" I knew the likelihood of my question yielding any reasonable explanation was just about on par with the likelihood of me getting a genuine smile out of this field hardened battle axe, so I obediently replaced the two cans in question with ones bearing their store brand.

Then something happened that totally blew me away. Before relinquishing my meager proceeds, the clerk, hereafter know as 'Attila the Hen', produced a rather unofficial looking form, filled in the date and asked me for my name, phone number and signature.

"What in the world do you need all that for?" I replied "Are you afraid I might sneak back into the store later in the day and try to return another 24 cans... or are you thinking that perhaps some of my cans could be counterfeit?

"Oh no" She said in a tone that implied I was something short of an imbecile, "We ask for this information not because we don't trust our customers, (I'm not convinced) but because we don't trust our employees. After all, they could simply take money from the till and claim it was paid out for returned recyclables."

At this point, I found myself uncharacteristically at a loss for words: which was probably just as well, but what was I to do?

I had no intention of sticking around to hear any more of this nonsense and pushing a shopping cart still half full of cans around the store in search of the previously mentioned necessities had little appeal.

Besides, I certainly didn't want to risk contact with any of the store's other apparently untrustworthy employees. So I left, without spending a dime, in search of a more accommodating grocer. After all, I still had the two cans that had been rejected, and returning home with them, not to mention without the ice cream, would surely signal that I had been negligent in my domestic duties.

To put this little story in perspective and give it meaning in context of the importance of a positive customer experience - I shudder to think how much our family spends in groceries over the course of a week, let alone a month, a year, or a lifetime... and yet, for the sake of a dime (the refund value of two cans) and some very, very stupid rules, this store intentionally choose to send me and my money, directly into the welcoming arms of one of their competitors.

Go Figure?

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Deliver What You Promise

Last week my wife and I took a short break and headed back east to visit family and friends and spend a little time touring Boston and New York City.

While walking through the financial district of The Big Apple, something in a second story window caught my eye.

We stopped and took this picture as I couldn't resist the contradiction of an all important lesson in customer service:

Never create expectations against

which you can't deliver!

I wonder just how long the gentleman (top left) has been waiting for his pizza? But enough said about that. As it happens, both New York and Boston far exceeded our expectations.

While a tad on the warm side at 103 Fahrenheit/39 Celsius, we found New York to be clean, friendly and surprising vibrant, what with the recession and all. With the exception of a little attitude from one poor soul who in all fairness was melting in a half price Broadway ticket booth, the service was exceptional! But then who would expect anything less from the city that knows how to handle adversity like no other.

Boston was equally warm on both fronts. If you're ever out that way, I highly recommend the Duck Tour followed by a taste of the local seafood at The Barking Crab... but be prepared to wait in line. Recession or not, the combination of warm, friendly and funky still draws a crowd.

Could it be the Americans are on to something?


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America's Most Trusted

According to a just-released study by the Pew Research Center, small businesses are the most trusted institutions in America - more than churches; more than colleges; more than technology companies: more than government agencies and certainly more than financial institutions and large corporations!

Here is a quick recap of some of the high/low lites:

Small business owners and all those that work for them should take pride in these findings, as well as a some assurance their efforts are being recognized and will be rewarded.

While some may disagree over absolute ranking, there are few who would suggest trust is not one of the primary drivers of consumer and employee behavior, especially on the heals of troubled times.

This being the case, small businesses should rightfully expect to see upticks in market share, customer loyalty, employee attraction, employee retention and a bunch of other good stuff.

As per those of us associated with institutions (either as employees or shareholders) further down the list... let's just say perhaps it's time we either convinced the powers that be to reassessed their practices and start looking for ways to win back the trust... or we move on over to the small side.

So much for the old saying "Go big, or go home!"

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Who Cares?

The other day I was asked if there was a model or magic formula for delivering good service. My initial reaction was to say "Of course not! It's a very complicated and multifaceted thing. That's why you have to hire someone like me to help you design and deliver a great customer experience!"

My second reaction was to feel guilty for my first reaction.

It's not that I don't believe there is a lot entailed in delivering an exceptional customer experience. I'd be a fool to be in this business if that were the case. However, that's not what was being asked. My colleague simply wanted to know what one needed to do to deliver 'good' service; and to be honest, it doesn't take a model or formula to define that. It can be captured in a single word:

CARE!

Truth is most companies (read the people that work for them) either don't care, or don't care enough. They are so caught up in their own needs and wants, they've lost sight of the needs and wants of the customer. That's why words like "they just don't care" are so often at the root of the ever growing number of customer complaints and horror stories we hear.

How many companies can you think of that really seem to care?

C is for Customers - they always come first
A is for Appreciate - they are the very life blood of your business R is for Respect - their beliefs and mannerisms may be different than yours
E is for Enthusiasm, Energy, Equality, Excitement, Empathy - and all the other 'E' words that define how you should interact with them.

Now I feel better.

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Why we shop where we do

Some time back I posted a simple little survey on my blog site that asked "Why do you shop, or otherwise do business where you do?"

Many thanks to the more than 50 of you who participated! At long last I figured out how to crunch the numbers in Excel and am finally posting the results.

As you may recall, the survey was broken into 4 broad product categories as follows:


Groceries - food items, beverages, detergents, paper products, etc.

Major Items - cars, major appliances, furniture, computer equipment, etc.

Financial Services - loans, deposits, credit cards, insurance, investments, etc.

Small Items - clothing, linens, cosmetics, small appliances, hardware, etc.

Here is what you collectively had to say about why you shop where you do:

So what does all this tell us?

While I'll let you draw your own conclusions, I found it interesting that in every area but financial services product and selection is the major customer driver by a rather wide margin. I was encouraged by the fact that overall, customer service finished second, but surprised by how little it factored in our decisions related to where we shop for groceries, especially as this something we do so often.

I was also taken back by how rewards (loyalty cards and the like) would seem to have little or no impact on our shopping behaviour, which given how much the administration of such programs must add to the cost of goods sold, does cause one to wonder why bother?

Perhaps the most profound finding of all was just how much customer service factors in our decision as per where to buy financial products. This is something I'm not convinced most financial institutions fully appreciate. Go figure!

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