Service with a Smile???-Make ME Happy!

“Give the lady what she wants!” Marshall Fields

I think we all have stories of waiting endlessly on hold for someone to give us an answer to a question about our phone service, airline reservation, credit card bill, misplaced order...or standing in line only to have the person waiting on us not know what the price was or where to find what we want, or worse yet not caring... I simply don't get it!

There is only one boss. The customer. And he can fire everybody in the company from the chairman on down, simply by spending his money somewhere else.”
- Sam Walton

In the current economic climate how much sense does it make to do your job poorly? Can you tell I have had some customer service issues of late! As a Marketing Professional the first rule I play by is that the customer is ALWAYS right-even if they are Wrong!

Nothing but nothing keeps me coming back to a store, a service or a contractor than how I am treated by their representatives. I believe you don't get second chances with any customer and the impression you leave reflects back on the entire organization or company.

In the past two weeks I have dealt with truly BAD customer service on all levels of the consumer chain-a credit card company that was rude, a phone service provider that did not have a clue how to fix an issue and declared there was nothing to be done, a major retailer with not one but two on-floor sales people that refused to take the extra step to help, a contractor who could not be bothered to call me back, a contractor whose office representative made no effort to work with my schedule to set an appointment, an auto repair shop that did a bad job and would not take responsibility...trust me, the list goes on! Why don't people care?? Now more than ever Customer Service is the single most important marketing tool any company can have.

The customer is why you go to work. If they go away, you do, too.

David Haverford

As consumers we have a choice of where to spend our money and who we hire to do work for us. Somewhere somehow our standards for service have been severely lowered and we almost anticipate that we are going to be treated poorly or receive no right answers-that doesn't work for me! Perhaps because of the business I am in I expect to be treated the way I treat my clients-if they are not happy then I cannot pay my mortgage--it is really simple!

Winning customers, and more importantly keeping customers, has never been so critical and that is why when I walk through a Department store and see merchandise strewn all over and cannot find a sales person who knows even where the shoe department I walk out. No wonder stores are shutting their doors-they did it all wrong!

When it comes to customer service the rule I live by is if you don't like the answer you are getting call back and find someone who will give you the right answer! Go talk to someone else! It shouldn't be that way, however, every representative should know the right answer, every representative should go the extra step and every representative should care!!

On a recent trip to purchase a new Television(get ready for the digital age!) I first went on line to search for what I was looking for and check to see if the location near me had them in stock. I went over on a mid-week night, not too busy to say the least in the store, and first attempted to return a gift. The returns desk refused to take it back or give me a store credit because I did not have a slip-Strike One. Next I made my way to the Television department, no sign on the floor of the White TV I saw on line and no sales person volunteering to help me despite my wandering around for ten minutes through the same aisles-at this point I was testing to see how long it would be before anyone bothered to talk to me-Strike Two. When I finally did get waited on I was told with no further research beyond looking at the same shelf I had been looking at that they did not carry the television I saw on line, this despite their website telling me that store had stock-Strike Three!

Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.
Bill Gates

At this point this major retailer has a very unhappy customer in their midst, and more importantly a customer who knows how this truly should be done. I grew up in retailing and now I consult for small start up companies and the first thing I do is make sure their representatives are trained to help! It isn't expensive, it is a simple thing to do and it builds a business that has staying power---Five easy steps:

1. Be Nice and treat the customer in the same manner you want to be treated. CARE! about what you are doing and who you are helping-they sign your paycheck!

2. Know your stuff. Be sure you understand the product/service you represent. If you do not have the answer, go find the answer and get back to your customer quickly-not sometime next week!

3. Go the extra mile. Make an effort to do whatever it takes to help and satisfy the customer.

4. You cannot please everyone, but whatever issue your customer has be creative of about resolving it so they leave happy and they remember you tried.

5. ALWAYS be sure to ask what else you can do to help and leave the customer with a reason to come back.

Today ALL companies are small companies---the retail and service worlds are shrinking very quickly and getting and keeping customer loyalty I believe is the key to survival. One, just one, bad experience can send a customer away forever and more importantly in this age of social networking send them off to tell the planet about what happened.

The Happy Ending to my TV saga is a clue into how easy it is to build loyalty and build a good business. As I was walking out, car keys in hand, disgruntled expression on my face, I was approached and asked for the first time the correct a question-"Did I find everything I needed" GOTYA! "NO!," I declared, "I did NOT!" I explained that I came looking for something that their website said this store had and that I was told they did not carry and I explained that I attempted to return a gift and was turned away with no store credit. Turns out I was taking to the manager. He went to his computer, saw that the store had 6 in stock, went out back and brought me my television. He then walked me over to the service desk and saw to it that I got my store credit. He knew how to do it...but why didn't his staff? I will go back to that store, only if really necessary though, and that store representative saved their reputation for me.

Here are some Be Nice stories that have kept me loyal and will keep me coming back and demonstrate that this isn't brain surgery but simple, easy and effective---this is how to survive in a bad economy:

1. My movie service made an error on their website, when I called because I wasn't receiving something, they caught the error and gave me three free movies for my "trouble"-not that re watching Project Runway is critical to my life but they went an extra step and that makes me loyal to them

2. My local fun food shop did not have an ingredient I needed on their shelf. The trucks were just being unloaded and a "crew" member went out onto the truck and retrieved it for me-my first stop for groceries.

3. I saw a pair of slacks and jacket on line- I called the company to see if the colors worked, the representative went and found both pieces to check them for me. She then made suggestions of other pieces I might like that were on sale!

4. A HVAC contractor stopped at my house in the off chance that I would be home to check a problem I was having. He gets all the heat and a/c issues at Camp MP from now on!

5. A new auto body shop fixed the bad work from the old body shop at no charge and gave me his cost on another repair I needed to have done-That is where I go first for gas and repairs from now on

6. After being on hold and talking to all the wrong people for well over three hours at my phone/Internet provider I called back and spoke with someone who knew within two minutes that all I needed was a software patch and how to get it done for me. He even called me back to be sure it downloaded properly and that I was back on line.

7. An airline told me that despite sever weather forecasts if I wanted to change my airline ticket to avoid the weather, weather that would definitely cancel my original flight, I would have to pay $650. I did that so I did not get stuck and when I called from my warm destination and discovered that original flight had indeed been cancelled due to the Nor'easter the representative I spoke with refunded my money!

These folks "get it" and maybe if all companies showed the same respect for their customers the American economy might just have a shot again!

She Dreamed A Dream...and Got The Last Laugh-A Fairy Tale Comes to Life

Don't live down to expectations. Go out there and do something remarkable. ~Wendy Wasserstein

"I'm going to make that audience rock" she said as she waited to take the stage.

When Susan Boyle walked on to the stage of Britain's Got Talent television show to audition the live audience giggled and snickered and the judges could be seen rolling their eyes. She certainly didn't look like a would-be star. A bit pudgy, in need of a makeover ,but clearly feisty and confident in her own voice with a twinkle of "Just wait" in her eyes.

When Simon Cowell asked her the completely inappropriate question about her age she told him she was 47. The audience laughed at her- "and that's just one side of me"she said with great self deprecating humor. She is really 48, "unemployed but looking", lives alone in a village in Scotland with her cat Pebbles, "never been married,never been kissed". This "frumpy" middle aged spit fire sings in her church choir and wants to be a professional singer as famous as Elaine Paige. She had decided to audition after battling depression after losing her Mother-she had not sung since her Mother passed away and had never sung in front of a large audience. Her confidence in tact, she proceeded to turn the phrase "don't judge a book by its cover" into a dream come true. In one amazing performance, that no one but her saw coming, Susan Boyle lifted the spirit of everyone who watched not to mention every woman over 40 and anyone who has ever known they were good but couldn't get past the first impression.

She wants to be as successful as Elaine Paige she told the judges...again more eye rolling ...Then she began to sing. Mouths dropped and the entire audience rose to their feet to cheer her on-she left the judges, even the curmudgeon-esque Simon Cowell, in complete shock

"...When you stood there with that cheeky grin and said you wanted to be Elaine Paige everyone was laughing...I'm reeling from shock...no one is laughing now..." "Everyone was against you...we were all being so cynical...the biggest wake up call ever...a complete privilege listening to that... stunning, incredible performance ...the biggest yes I have ever given anybody...mind blowing" the judges Pierce Morgan, Amanda Holden and Simon Cowell exclaimed.

"Susan Boyle you can go back to the village with your head held high its 3 Yesses" Simon told her,and the audience that mocked her roared with elation

Over 5 million have seen this video. There are Susan Boyle websites and fan clubs popping up everywhere. It is the ultimate feel good story in a time that everyone needs to believe that anything is possible.

Susan Boyle's performance is a triumph not only for her but also for all women of a certain age who have a dream-The Ugly Duckling is indeed a Swan!

Centennial

sometimes when one person is missing, the whole world seems depopulated.
- lamartine

My family has suffered far too many losses in recent years. It is often very hard to swallow the world without the ones I love close by, none more so than my Grandmother.

Nana was the harbor that we all sailed toward. She was the force, and quite a force it was, that instilled a sense of belonging,commanded attention and kept the string of connection tied tightly to her.

It will be four years this coming April that we lost her. At 96 you should be accepting and grateful for such an amazing lifetime. It will tell you a great deal about her presence to say that anyone who knew her was thrown by her loss. None of us could really imagine that there would be a time when she would not be here to direct us all. Without her we have been cast adrift. There is no longer a center point, a guiding light, a command post. She captained all of our lives and planted an NPS in me (Nana Positioning System) that makes me stop and ask WWNS-What would Nana Say? I know she would have a lot to say!

This month would have been her 100th birthday and she would have expected a party! She always got a party!

What follows are excerpts from the words I wrote when we lost her. I hope they are as they were meant to be, a celebration of my Nana, a woman whose voice and strength and determination I carry with me each day of my life.

My grandmother could move mountains, change the weather, run a country and make sure everyone ate in the process. You did not say NO to her, and even if you tried she magically used her powers to turn NO into a YES. We all learned to do it Nana’s way – after all she was never wrong. During the recent Presidential election(2004) she was determined that everything that could be done get done to change the direction of the country. So she wrote to President Clinton, telling him she understood that he was recovering from heart surgery but that he needed to become more involved in the campaign . “Do you think he will listen to me?” she asked me – “Of course Nana – don’t we all!”

Her expectations for all of us were high. Not so much that we would become President, or film stars, though that would have made great card table conversation, but that we do everyday life the right way – Nana’s way. Of course we all fell short. I, for example, rebelled as much as possible, but in small annoying details just to exasperate her. Did you know there is a correct way to fold sheets? This would be Nana’s way to fold sheets. Over the years I have given in on the folding of towels – each side meets the center – but on symmetrically folded sheets, pressed of course, I have drawn the line. Whether it be folding sheets, setting a table, decorating a room, making a jello mold, coordinating an outfit, cutting a fruit plate, baking just about anything, or living with a man for over 60 years – there is and always will be only one way – Nana’s way.

We were her life’s work. She was born into a driven achieving family and in her day women did not necessarily excel openly in the world. Yes, she could run a country, lead an army and certainly build a better mousetrap, but she was living in Barton Vt. Without an outlet she channeled all that energy, determination and strong will into her home and her family. Her brothers ran a company, she ran us!

Whatever she put that busy mind to she naturally did correctly and did well – at least that was what she told us and we know she was always right. She did not just have children, she had girls who stopped traffic with their beauty and brains. You never tasted anything like her…you fill in the blank. I have a theory by the way about her baking. Although she shared her recipes I think she always withheld one key ingredient so that no one else’s would taste like hers did. Thousands of pound of poppy seed have gone out with the trash in my efforts to duplicate her Mun Cookies. She would simply smile and tell me that it was very tricky dough to work with – I know there is a missing portion to my copy of the recipe!

The key ingredient in all of us, however, was always shared – her love, unflinching, unwavering, demanding, expecting, unlimited love. If we did not always meet her standards, or do it just her way, she would actually pout. It was because she believed so much in us, and invested so much of herself in us and loved us so much that of course we would be the best – always. She could criticize us but heaven help you if you criticized anyone she loved to her face – she simply would not allow it. So, flawed as each of us may be we are the product of her life’s work – thank goodness.

Family was first, and feeding that family was her vocation. Her dining room table was where all came. She fed everyone, in from out of town come to supper. Her answer at all points of life, good and bad, was to be found in her kitchen. For many years of my life I only saw her in the kitchen or at a MaJohng table. My grandfather took me ice skating, but my grandmother and I went to the butcher. Holidays were hers. At Thanksgiving my grandfather would exclaim as he placed another leaf in the table – “your grandmother has turned over Plymouth Rock and found a few more pilgrims!”

My grandfather was the love of her life, and rightly so. She claimed to have molded him over time –I know he let her, he, like all of us, let her have her way. Maybe it was easier that way for him as well, but we all know she was the center of his life and that was a love story that lasted for over 60 years.

Yes, her expectations for everyone were high, but I have learned in recent months that our expectations of her were high as well. Anyone who has witnessed many of us, particularly her granddaughters, in the past few months can attest to that. In December Nana celebrated in 96th birthday. I promise you that those who did not know she was ill will be shocked at her loss. Strange for someone 96, but no one who knew her, and certainly no one who loved her, ever thought of her as old. The doctors would look at me cross eyed when I questioned them about her progress – as if to say she is 96, let her be, what more do you want?

96 was just a number – there was nothing average about Nana and she did not do her 90s in an average way. Average may get you decent scrabble points but that would be it. She had determination and a will of iron, never wrong and stubborn til she won, and win she did. We just expected that our very small package of hurricane force power to continue to point her finger and show us the right way forever. Somehow I know she will.

Once in an English essay class I was asked to write about someone I admired – I wrote about my grandmother, not because she ever built that better mousetrap but because hers was a life that could be defined as truly successful. She was adored, and she got back every ounce and then some of that unconditional love that she dished out on her impeccably set table, with the good dishes and silver, on the perfectly pressed organdy tablecloth.
I have thought a lot over the past months about how I will do everyday without her. She won’t be here to tell me to dress warmly, to get home before dark; she won’t be here to call at 10:00 at night to watch a movie over the phone with; She won’t be here to buy cute outfits for; She won’t be here to redecorate everyone’s homes with; She won’t be here to put down seven letter words on a triple with the q the z and the x; She won’t be here to run menus past; She won’t be here to go shopping with; She won’t be here. She was my harshest critic, my instructor, my source of knowledge of very important things, my debate partner, my dictionary, my place to go when I needed to know I was loved, my barometer of doing it right. She was my best friend. She had a string that led from her hear to mine. I know now that string will not break – I will never lose her, she will always tug at that string and whisper in my ear – “you don’t want to do it that way, let me tell you how it should be done!”


Some people care too much, I think it's called love.
-- Winnie the Pooh