September 2011
Service Managers know – because it works!
Greetings
For most of us there is an Oh-it's-September-time-to-get-back-with-it' rhythm inside us due to years of doing just that. School starts, we start. Even though it may have been years in our past…..
Around Human TuneUp Company, after a really great summer, our focus is once again and always Service TuneUps and Workplace TuneUps. Out of those, come two resources that are NEW! A line of assorted Panel Cards and Office Desk-Hoppers.
In an age of electronic media, the personal touch is relevant now more than ever. I continue to be committed to speaking, talking, writing and arting to help uplift service and make workplaces a place where humans can thrive.
Hoping this finds you liking your life and looking forward to something fun.
Until next time, Stay Tuned!
Cath DeStefano
Author ▪ Artist ▪ Human Developer
Fascinated with classroom power.
Love to see the lights go on in humans.
Human TuneUp.com - the Website.
CUSTOMER SERVICE TUNEUP
Would You Like a Smile With That?
By Stephanie Clifford NY Times August 7, 2011
If you have a few minutes to read this lengthy article, it's well worth your time investment. I found it to have a lot of insight and excellent examples of how to maintain a great customer service team and keep employees motivated to succeed.
Pret A Manger (means ready to eat in French language) is a British sandwich-making chain now in the U.S. Because there are things your company might learn from their customer service practices, I include them here.
1. Make sure employees know what they are to do and how to do it.
2. Serve customers in 60 seconds or less.
3. Not over 15 seconds on hold.
4. Hire, pay and promote on qualities such as cheerfulness.
5. Send a potential new hire to a location for a day and the employees there decide whether to hire him or her! If voted out, they get $57 and sent home.
6. Sends mystery shoppers to every store every week. They give very specific feedback. IF store gets outstanding rating, all team members get a bonus which amounts to $73 for a full time employee.
7. Always give bonuses to the entire team. Only exception is 60 WOW cards which are scratch off rewards that top executives give out to employees who strike them as particularly good.
Contact Cath@HumanTuneUp.com for help in finding your company's personal touches that help you stand out from your crowd.
By Maria Halkias of The Dallas Morning News July 10, 2011
In short…
Ten years already there have been self-checkout lanes. Now Albertson's is removing them from their stores. Customers want the personal touch.
Instead of self-checkout? Many try the metro-lane-checkout which means one line, many cashiers. The average wait time is only 5 to 20 seconds.
Even newer? Kroger is experimenting with automated tunnel scanning. Shoppers put their items on a conveyor belt and the items are scanned on the way to the other end of the tunnel.
And to add a Home Depot innovation: They spent $64 million on phones that let their employees check out customers anywhere in the store.
"Customer service and the personal touch is a prevailing theme today," says Bob Young, managing director of the Weitzman Group, which manages many grocery-anchored centers.
I wrote a chapter in my book " It's Not Nice To Choke Your Customer" that speaks to the human side of interaction. In business, our internal customers (fellow workers) are just as important as our external customers. The personal touch can make a difference.
*Is there anything deadlier than calling a place of business and someone answers the phone with a made-to-say-greeting using a rote, insincere tone of voice?
"Good Morning, this is XYZ, we aim to serve you with our very best."
Stop it.
I always think this kind of approach is an insult to intelligent employees. I feel like I'm dealing with a trained seal.
When you are encouraged (and not demanded) to add your personal touch to your service, it adds life and it's more real. Customers feel the difference.
SAMPLES
► Put a slip of paper with a quote on it into your customer's bag. It's unusual and makes you more memorable. People like it.
► Send a handwritten note to a long-time customer. Not many do this anymore in today's electronic world, so this turns into a memorable event.
► When you see something that reminds you of one of your customers, send it along. Could be an article with some information they need. Could be a cartoon that hits the spot.
The point is? Add your touch. Put your style into the equation.
"But even I knew nobody got anywhere imitating somebody else. So I got my own style."
– Dean Martin
Especially if keeping customers coming back to you is important in your work, this is an especially good thing to do. Get the 'personal touch' reputation.
*Excerpt from Cath's book Its Not Nice to Choke Your Customer
Answer: Because we spend so much time there!
IN ONE WEEK: 168 hours
40 hours at work
2.5 hours getting ready to go to work
2.5 hours going to and coming from work
45 hours = 27% of the week
I rest my case.
Do Happier People Work Harder?
In the NY Times Opinion by Teresa Amabile, Harvard Business School and Steven Kramer author of "The Progress Principle" address this question.
Background: collected 12,000 electronic diary entries from 238 professionals in 7 different companies.
Outcomes: Instead of conventional wisdom being true (pressure enhances performance), they found that workers perform better when they are happily engaged.
Opinion by Cath: When I read this outcome, at first something in me said DUH. But then I realized that the big news of their work, and what managers need to relearn, is the disconnect between this outcome and what managers think motivates their people.
Ways they suggest this can happen? Talk about the meaning in your team's work, provide what they need to do their job, remove obstacles to progress, and give positive feedback.
Show You Care
The power of a handwritten note in our electronic-words-world world? Powerful.
We all appreciate a handwritten note or message on our desk or in the mail. It not only says what it says, but also "you took the time" – "I'm thinking of you" "I care."
So you can be thoughtful at a moment's notice from work or home, here are my NEW at-your-fingertips Assorted Greeting Cards (one dozen – 6 birthday – 3 get well – 2 sympathy – 1 friend with envelopes).
So nice they feel like a gift in themselves. Surprise someone with a snail mail card.
Its the new cool thing to do. Available at the TuneUp Store
NEW: Vital Signs Desk-Hoppers
I've always believed in the power of signs. You can find them at revolutions, campaigns, events and also sitting quietly on some office wall or desk, silently lifting morale and motivation.
What are Desk-Hoppers? Vital Signs that get people thinking, add fun to the workplace and remind everyone of what really works. They put the best ideas a mere glance away.
DeskHoppers Experiment
Place them randomly around your workplace.
Move them around on a whim.
For the coworker who needs a hint, put it on their desk.
NEED HELP SERVING YOUR CUSTOMERS?
Interactive Keynotes and Workplace TuneUps:
Keynote: How To Build a Customer Centered Workplace
Keynote: It's Not Nice To Choke Your Customer
CURRENTLY SCHEDULING
▪ 4 Different Customer Service Interactive TuneUps…that are fun, practical and long-lasting. Suggest spreading out over a year, scheduling one per quarter.
▪ Keynotes for conferences and management meetings scheduled February though November.
Drop me a note or an electronic chat: Cath@humantuneup.com
Helping the World Work
Schedule a Workshop TuneUp
Lively Interactive Keynotes – Breakout Sessions – At Workplace Workshops
Quarterly Maintenance Programs
Stop by the TuneUp Store
Customer Service TuneUp Tool Kit
Book/FlipBook/Employee Appreciation Cards
Thank You Greeting Cards/Panel Cards/Desk-Hopper
