Here are a few humorous quotes to ponder and reflect on.
“Go forth and be a happy cabbage.” Unknown
Are you sending your customers off with good thoughts? Maybe you can brighten their day with a little smile.
Many times a small gesture from you to them makes all the difference in their day, and they’ll remember you for it. Nothing brings people back like friendliness.
What are you doing to stay on top of things? Are you touching your customers at least once during the day? Are you tracking inbound calls and responding in a timely manner? Keeping on top of your customers requests is the best way to demonstrate to them that you care.
“Very funny Scotty. Now beam down my clothes.” Scotty
Are you embarrassed about your performance? Are your customers leaving with the thought of never returning due to your lack of service? There are many things that we face in our professional lives and one of the worst is when you are caught unprepared or worse, uncaring. And the feeling is exactly like standing naked in front of the customer.
What are you doing to enhance the customer experience? Are you anticipating and implementing? Have you completed new training? What are you reading?
“Do vegetarians eat animal crackers?” Unknown
Are you asking your customers the right questions? Are you paying attention to the answers? Are you changing your policies, procedures and personnel to reflect changing customer tastes? It’s certainly good to ask the right question, however, it’s much better to respond with the right answer.
You can get feedback from online surveys, informal surveys, employee surveys, focus groups and the like. And asking the right questions is the key. How well do you know your customer? Could you call them by name if you met them on the street? Do you know their children’s names? If you are in a fast paced one time service environment, could you guess their behavioral style by asking them a few questions and noting their dress?
Be curious about your customer. People like it when you know a little about them and their habits. It helps foster friendly communication and builds relationships.
“55% of the population doesn’t pay attention to statistics.” Unknown
Are your customers paying attention to you? Have you become another plaintive voice, an urban cricket in a cacophony of “come hither and try me” swarm of crickets, each clamoring for the tiniest bit of attention from every passer by? Or are you reaching out and touching your customer, with communication that is designed to impact them in such a way they never forget your name and service, and tell all of their friends about you? Or are you fast becoming a statistic?
All of us have different obstacles and illusions throughout our day. It’s our ability to discern what is immediate and actionable and then responding to those obstacles that separates good service experiences from great service experiences.
About the Author
Leonard Buchholz leads seminars in Customer Service, Attitude and Skills and Management. He also provides coaching and consulting in Customer Service.
