20 Tips for a Positive New Year

Happy New Years from Shoppers, Inc.!  Hope you enjoy the article below from Jon Gordon about 20 Tips for a Positive New Year as much as we did.

1. Stay Positive. You can listen to the cynics and doubters and believe that success is impossible or you can trust that with faith and an optimistic attitude all things are possible.

2. Take a morning walk of gratitude. I call it a “Thank You Walk.” It will create a fertile mind ready for success.

3. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a college kid with a maxed out charge card.

4. Zoom Focus. Each day when you wake up in the morning ask: “What are the three most important things I need to do today that will help me create the success I desire?” Then tune out all the distractions and focus on these actions.

5. Instead of being disappointed about where you are, think optimistically about where you are going. {Tweet This}

6. Remember that adversity is not a dead-end but a detour to a better outcome. {Tweet This}

7. Don’t chase success. Instead decide to make a difference and success will find you. {Tweet This}

8. Get more sleep. You can’t replace sleep with a double latte.

9. Don’t waste your precious energy on gossip, energy vampires, issues of the past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.

10. Mentor someone and be mentored by someone.

11. Live with the 3 E’s. Energy, Enthusiasm, Empathy.

12. Remember there’s no substitute for hard work.

13. Believe that everything happens for a reason and expect good things to come out of challenging experiences.

14. Implement the No Complaining Rule. Remember that complaining is like vomiting. Afterwards you feel better but everyone around you feels sick.

15. Read more books than you did in 2012. I happen to know of a few good ones. : )

16. Don’t seek happiness. Instead decide to live with passion and purpose and happiness will find you. www.Seed11.com

17. Focus on “Get to” vs “Have to.” Each day focus on what you get to do, not what you have to do. Life is a gift not an obligation.

18. Each night before you go to bed complete the following statements:
I am thankful for __________.
Today I accomplished____________.

19. Smile and laugh more. They are natural anti-depressants.

20. Enjoy the ride. You only have one ride through life so make the most of it and enjoy it.

-Jon Gordon

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The Simplicity of Great Customer Service

Greetings from Shoppers, Inc.!  Hope you enjoy the article below from Mark Sanborn about The Simplicity of Great Customer Service and good customer service as much as we did.

Yesterday I got a call from a representative of Brand Direct Health about fulfilling an order I’d placed. Past experience with slow, disorganized and/or unhelpful service reps makes me look forward to these exchanges like a root canal.

I had only a few minutes before a meeting. “I’m short on time. How long will this take?”

The customer service rep said, “Less than three minutes.”

He confirmed what I’d ordered. He answered a couple of my questions concisely and completely. Then he asked for my billing and shipping information and confirmed that all the information I provided was accurate.

Two minutes later he told me my order would be on the way.

There was nothing unusual or spectacular about the brief exchange. What was refreshing was how quickly and easily it took place. No hassle. No fuss.

In the age of complexity, simplicity rules.

Don’t over complicate things.

Your organization should aspire to the simplicity and power of customer service done well.

Mark Sanborn, CSP, CPAE is president of Sanborn & Associates, Inc., an idea studio for leadership development. He is an award-winning speaker and the author of the bestselling books, The Fred Factor: How Passion In Your Work and Life Can Turn the Ordinary Into the Extraordinary, You Don’t Need a Title to be a Leader: How Anyone Anywhere Can Make a Positive Difference and The Encore Effect: How to Achieve Remarkable Performance in Anything You Do. His book Up, Down or Sideways: How to Succeed When Times are Good, Bad or In Between was released October 2011. To obtain additional information for growing yourself, your people and your business (including free articles), visit www.marksanborn.com.

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Customer Service Corner Stone

The corner stone of every business are customers, they are the pulse of what keeps a company alive. The Sunday Times just wrote up an article after speaking with me about investing in customer service, I would highly recommend reading over it. Here is article:

Q and A : Investing in human resource is key to improving service delivery --Customer Service expert 

Recently, John Tschohl the President of Service Quality Institute, a US based institute with over 30 years experience in customer service was in the country to train over 400 people in a Customer Care. During a seminar was organized by the Rwanda Development Board (RDB) in conjunction with the Private Sector Federation (PSF) and Service Quality Institute under the theme: “Achieving Excellence through Customer Service.” In an exclusive interview with Business Times’ Berna Namata he talks about improving customer service. Below are the excerpts;

On the On the Frontier Group (OTF) and the Institute of Political Analysis and Research (IPAR) says that Rwanda’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) could increase to $40 million per year by 2012 if services are improved. How?

Most companies in Rwanda have probably done something over the last decade may be 2 or 3 hours training. People need to reduce costs, create customer friendly systems, policies and also train their employees about service delivery at least after every four to five months. You have to introduce something new to the work force- teach them customer service skills.

Everybody in Rwanda knows that taking care of a customer is important, but they do not do it. And this is true around the world, not just Rwanda. You have to get inside the heart of the person, build self image and self esteem. You have to ignite a fire within an individual to get them to believe in themselves.

Most companies and institutions emphasize investment in capital not human resource. What is it critical to invest in human resource?

This has been a mistake for years – put more money in new computers, machines, etc yet if you are in the service business you are totally dependent on people.

The face of your company is your employee and you can pay a wages like you putting gasoline in car, but if you are not changing oil- the car can get mechanical problems and stop moving.

The same is true for human resource; you have to put some ‘additive’ into the employee, give them some skills to be more effective. It is not realistic to expect the education system to provide a totally disciplined, high performing individual for you.

As an organization, if you want high performing employees you have to develop those people.

And paying them more money is not going to improve performance – you have to ask yourself whether you want high performing employees or you just want employees. High performing employees will make you a lot of money.

From your experience what are some of the myths about customer service?

The first one is that if you have more employees, you have better customer service – most companies in Africa have 25 percent more employees than they need. You do not need all those employees, you just need high performing employees; having many people has nothing to do with customer service. You need fewer employees but need more high performing employees.

The second is that the reason people do not work hard is the reason that you are not paying them enough-if you double everybody’s salary, you will only improve performance by one percent and then next 30-60 days, you will be out of business!

What drives employees is recognition – they want to be loved, appreciated, they want to be valued and in most cases they are not.

But I also believe that the less you pay the employee, management tends to have less respect for that employee. As an employer if you know you are paying an employee a lot of money, you want to keep them.

The other myth is that everybody is empowered BUT as an employer you have got to empower, train people and empower them because without them you will never have empowerment.

What is your final message to service providers in Rwanda?

Service providers in this country have to appreciate the fact that they are competing in Rwanda with other companies not only in Rwanda and all over the world.

If you want to dramatically increase your revenue, if you want incredible success beyond your wildest dreams having service strategy is the most effective way.

Currently Rwanda is competing with a lot of countries in East Africa and Africa, but the question is - why should somebody come to Rwanda for tourism and why should I come back? I believe it is the customer experience in all. If you understand the customer experience; you can provide an awesome incredible superior customer experience, you will end up with more revenue.

The other thing is that good customer service does not get you into the game – most of the people just think that okay- we are going to offer good services this is not enough; you have to create customer loyalty.

You have to provide remarkable customer service every day, every transaction with every customer. If you do that it is possible to own the market- the question for Rwanda –both government and private sector is how badly do you want to dominate Africa?

How badly do you want to be the most successful business? And those who understand the service strategy will have incredible growth. 

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Unconditional Customer Service – In Good Times and Bad

We just had to share the article below from Shep Hyken about Unconditional Customer Service – In Good Times and Bad and customer service.  Enjoy!

Imagine if one of your good customers said that times were tough and that they had to cut their next order by 30%.  Would you even think of giving them 30% less of your usual best effort?  Would you think of giving less than your brand promise – or your commitment to quality and customer service?   I doubt it.

On a recent flight home from a speaking engagement I met a flight attendant who delivered atrocious customer service.  It was obvious she hated her employer. Apparently, for her airline to survive they had to cut salaries by 30%. Even though the airline is still losing money every month, she still thinks it is unfair.  Her comment to me was this, “They cut my salary by 30%. I’m going to do 30% less.”

Sometimes a company has to make tough decisions just to stay afloat.  In this rough economy, she should be lucky she has a job.  It was obvious that her anger was interfering with her responsibilities. First and foremost, she was there for our safety. Second, she was to take care of the passengers in a manner that was professional and pleasant. After all, she was on the front line, and the face of the airline.

She will eventually quit or get fired. And then she’ll find another job. I already feel bad for her next employer.

THE LESSON: At the individual level, every employee needs to be an extension of the sales or marketing department, regardless of their job, their pay, economic challenges etc.  It is a job requirement; a non-negotiable responsibility.  The same goes for the entire company.  Look to help your customers through tough times.  If they aren’t buying as much, be thankful for what business they do give you.  Continue to deliver the highest levels of service, as you have always done.  Use tough times to build relationships.  Increase confidence as you prove your value as a partner, not just a vendor.  Be it an individual or an entire company, this is your chance to be amazing!

Shep Hyken is a customer service expert, professional  speaker and New York Times   bestselling business author.

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Loyalty in Little Things Is Huge

At Shoppers, Inc. we are very passionate about great customer service, measurement and teamwork.  The article below from Harvey Mackay about Loyalty in Little Things Is Huge and customer service relates to our goals and passions.  Hope you enjoy it!

Fostering employee loyalty is the first step to creating customer loyalty. Most businesses depend on loyal customers for their bread and butter, and occasionally for their gravy as well.

We all have customers who will buy from us even when they can get a lower price somewhere else, or quicker turnaround, or better service.

But change all those “ors” into “ands” and your customers will start to question your loyalty to them. The same holds true for employees. You can’t keep them guessing how they will be treated and expect them to give their best to you.

I couldn’t agree more with Frederick Reichheld, author of Loyalty Rules!, who believes that loyalty is the fuel that drives financial success. Based on extensive research into companies from online start-ups to established institutions such as Harley-Davidson, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Cisco, Dell, Intuit and more, Reichheld reveals six bedrock principles of loyalty upon which leaders build enduring enterprises.

1. Play to win/win. Never profit at the expense of partners. 
2. Be picky. Membership must be a privilege.
3. Keep it simple. Reduce complexity for speed and flexibility.
4. Reward the right results. Worthy partners deserve worthy goals.
5. Listen hard and talk straight. Insist on honest, two-way communication and learning.
6. Preach what you practice. Explain your principles, then live by them.

Could it be simpler?

John Akers, former chairman of IBM, puts loyalty in this context: “We’ve all heard shortsighted businessmen attribute a quote of Vince Lombardi: ‘Winning is not the most important thing; it’s the only thing.’ Well, that’s a good quote for firing up a team, but as an overarching philosophy it’s just baloney. I much prefer another Lombardi quote. He expected his players, he once said, to have three kinds of loyalty: to God, to their families and to the Green Bay Packers, in that order.”

Mackay’s Moral: Employees should be encouraged to ask questions, but they should never have to question your loyalty.

Reprinted with permission from nationally syndicated columnist Harvey Mackay, author of the New York Times #1 bestseller "Swim With The Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive." 

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Seven Ways to Add Value to Your Job

Adding value to your job–making your contribution unique–is key to survival and success in a competitive job market.

What could you do within your existing (or future) company to increase your value and influence? The seven job skills that follow won’t mean you necessarily work harder, but that you work differently and more creatively.

You can add value if you choose to be:

Experience Manager. Every interaction with another person creates an experience that leaves a memory of you and your work. How are you consciously designing these experiences to be positive? Enriching? Rewarding? Lasting? Since most people don’t tell you about their experience unless it is awful, you have to work intentionally to design experiences that draw people back for more and that gets them to tell others about you, your products, and your services.

Value Creator. All great employees (including CEOs, owners, board members, etc.) add value to the organization’s offerings. Being a value creator is a form of job security. Value neutral employees are inter-changeable or worse, replaceable (More on this in Chapter 6).

Talent scout. Identify people within and outside your organization who would be a valuable addition to your team. Talents scouts have the ability to understand the talents and abilities individuals possess and match them with organizational needs. This makes your team stronger, but it also makes you a go-to person for resources and talent advice. Others will want to know who you know who can help.

Ambassador. A person is known by the company he or she keeps, and an organization is known by the people it keeps. You represent your organization, as well as yourself, to customers and vendors. Learn the history of your organization well enough that you can share it frankly and passionately with outsiders.

Amplifier. Increase the good that happens around you by noticing and noting it to others. Most people can spot what’s wrong and complain about it. An amplifier knows the work around him well enough to spot what’s right, praise the work, and praise the person or people responsible for it. Good news often is so subtle that it needs amplification to be heard. Noticing good work and telling others is a positive influence on any organizational culture.

Router. Internet data is broken into chunks called “packets,” and routers make sure those packets go where they are supposed to go. Similarly, a good communicator makes sure information gets to the right people in a timely manner. Peter Drucker famously said that good communication is about who needs what information and when. Developing the judgment and discernment for routing information correctly and efficiently is a valuable skill set.

Interpreter. As Erwin Raphael McManus put it, “People don’t need more information. They need more insights.” Understand information and how it applies to the people and circumstances around you. Offer context. Offer insights. Provide the links that turn chaos and confusion into order.

Mark Sanborn, CSP, CPAE is president of Sanborn & Associates, Inc., an idea studio for leadership development. He is an award-winning speaker and the author of the bestselling books, The Fred Factor: How Passion In Your Work and Life Can Turn the Ordinary Into the Extraordinary, You Don’t Need a Title to be a Leader: How Anyone Anywhere Can Make a Positive Difference and The Encore Effect: How to Achieve Remarkable Performance in Anything You Do. His book Up, Down or Sideways: How to Succeed When Times are Good, Bad or In Between was released October 2011. To obtain additional information for growing yourself, your people and your business (including free articles), visit www.marksanborn.com.

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The Power of Thank You

In the spirit of Thanksgiving I'd love to share with you the benefits and power of two simple words. THANK YOU.

They are two words that have the power to transform our health, happiness, athletic performance and success. Research shows that grateful people are happier and more likely to maintain good friendships. A state of gratitude, according to research by the Institute of HeartMath, also improves the heart's rhythmic functioning, which helps us to reduce stress, think more clearly under pressure and heal physically. It's actually physiologically impossible to be stressed and thankful at the same time. When you are grateful you flood your body and brain with emotions and endorphins that uplift and energize you rather than the stress hormones that drain you.

Gratitude and appreciation are also essential for a healthy work environment. In fact, the number one reason why people leave their jobs is because they don't feel appreciated. A simple thank you and a show of appreciation can make all the difference.

Gratitude is like muscle. The more we do with it the stronger it gets. In this spirit here are 4 ways to practice Thanksgiving every day of the year.

1. Take a Daily Thank You Walk - I wrote about this in The Energy Bus and The Positive Dog. Take a simple 10-minute walk each day and say out loud what you are thankful for. This will set you up for a positive day.

2. Meal Time Thank You's - On Thanksgiving, or just at dinner with your friends and family, go around the table and have each person, including the kids at the little table, say what they are thankful for.

3. Gratitude Visit - Martin Seligman, Ph.D., the father of positive psychology, suggests that we write a letter expressing our gratitude to someone. Then we visit this person and read them the letter. His research shows that people who do this are measurably happier and less depressed a month later.

4. Say Thank You at Work – When Doug Conant was the CEO of Campbell Soup he wrote approximately 30,000 thank you notes to his employees and energized the company in the process. Energize and engage your co-workers and team by letting them know you are grateful for them and their work. Organizations spend billions of dollars collectively on recognition programs but the best and cheapest recognition program of all consists of a sincere THANK YOU. And of course don’t forget to say thank you to your clients and customers too.

I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving. Thank you for allowing me to share this newsletter with you. I’m thankful for YOU.

What are you thankful for? Share one or two things that you are thankful for in your life. Leave a comment on our blog here or Facebook page.

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WANTED: E-COMMERCE LEADERS

Greetings from Shoppers, Inc.!  Hope you enjoy the article below from John Tschohl, President of SQI about WANTED: E-COMMERCE LEADERS and cost reduction programs as much as we did.

Everything You Do Should Focus on the Customer

“A business that fails to satisfy its customers is worth nothing.”

I made that statement in “e-Service,” a book I wrote in 2001 about how to build a successful e-commerce business, and it’s as true today as it was then. If you don’t give your customers what they want, when they want it, and how they want it, you won’t be in business long.

If you want to survive—and thrive—especially during these tough economic times, it’s critical that you focus on customer service. If you don’t believe that, look at Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of amazon.com, which had sales in 2011 of $48 billion, a 41 percent increase over the previous year.

Amazon has 164 million customers, more than 20 million products–and a reputation of providing unprecedented customer service. There is no denying that Bezos is an e-commerce leader, and you would be wise to emulate his ideas and his drive. He has proven that blending customer service with technology can result in huge rewards.

You, too, can be an e-commerce leader. Start by taking these steps:

1. Understand your business. No matter what products or services you are selling, your core business is customer service. Everything you do must be built around providing customers with the best experience possible. Not only does that keep customers coming back to you, it results in priceless word-of-mouth advertising.
2. Be available. You must be available to your customers 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If you have an IVR, throw it away or, better yet, give it to one of your competitors. Hire people to answer your phones. Nothing says service like the ability to talk to a real person. And don’t—I repeat, don’t—outsource your call centers to someplace like the Philippines. If you do, you’re placing yourself on a suicide watch.
3. Make it easy for customers to do business with you. Realize that there are many doors customers can come through, and make sure those doors are open wide. Some customers prefer to do everything on the Internet; they don’t care to engage in conversation with another person. Others, like me, prefer to talk to someone. And, still others like a combination of technology and personal contact, often doing research about a product or service online and then wanting to talk to someone who can answer their questions before they make a purchasing decision.
4. Be competitive in your pricing. Good prices and great service—what more could a customer want? Service leaders are very aggressive at reducing costs and passing the savings on to their customers.

Forbes magazine, in an April 23, 2012 article on Bezos, quoted him as saying, “There are two kinds of companies: those that try to charge more and those that work to charge less. We will be the second.” He goes on to say that frugality is one of eight official company values at Amazon. It should be one of yours, too.

Look for ways to reduce costs. That includes eliminating policies and procedures that get in the way of serving the customer. Those policies and procedures cost a lot, including the salaries of the people you hire to develop and enforce them. Train and empower your people to serve your customers; don’t hinder them with needless rules.

Hire smart. Look for people who like people; you can train them to be knowledgeable about your products and services, but you can’t train them to genuinely enjoy working with—and for—your customers. Hire people who are smart and personable, and you’ll have a winning combination.

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Say Thanks Before It's Just a Memory

Greetings from Shoppers, Inc.!  Hope you enjoy the article below from Harvey Mackay about Say Thanks Before It's Just a Memory and customer service as much as we did.

by Harvey Mackay

Some time ago the owner of a small but profitable business wrote columnist Ann Landers about his practice of giving annual bonuses to his employees. The amounts were based on time served and salary levels.

He had been doing it for 16 years and in all that time only two employees had ever said "thank you." Neither were still with the company. One passed away, and the other took early retirement.

The owner vowed that he wasn’t going to give any more bonuses, and if anyone complained, the response would be, “There will be no bonuses this year because not one of our current employees has taken the time and trouble to say ‘thank you.’ “

In her answer, Ann Landers segued from that letter to the tons of letters she receives from others, parents and grandparents particularly, who want to know what to do about gifts that are not acknowledged. What happened? Did the poor thing lose the power of speech or the use of their writing hand? Did they fall off the ends of the earth? Was the gift lost in the mail?

How many times have we sent a birthday check and not heard a word back, the only evidence that the gift was received found among the pile of canceled checks returned from the bank?

How many times have you given a larger than normal tip without any recognition? Waiters and waitresses should realize a larger tip is a signal that a customer enjoyed the experience and wants to return, particularly if their generosity is acknowledged. Diners even have been known to ask for a favorite waitperson’s station.

If you’re a salesperson or own a company and have recently received a larger than expected order from a customer, what have you done to make that customer know how you feel about it? It’s great to take your spouse out to dinner to celebrate your great sales ability, but what about the guy or gal who gave you the order?

A thank you is just good manners. A prompt thank you is easy to say, a lot easier to say than “Gee, I forgot to tell you how much I appreciated your order,” or “How’ve you been after all this time?”

When Rudy Giuliani was mayor of New York City, the police enforced quality-of-life laws and Giuliani even called for New York City’s cabdrivers and waiters to improve their manners, pointing out that rudeness is not a great civic selling point. It seemed to work. Crime went down. Tourism went up. New York City was on a roll.

Many companies wait until the holidays to say thank you. There’s nothing the matter with that, but why wait? It’s a lot more personal and responsive to seize the day and say the magic words the moment it’s appropriate. And forget the stuff with your corporate logo on it as a thank you. It’s fine as advertising. For yourself. But it isn’t a gift.

The best gifts I have ever received have no monetary value but what I call memento value. They are the letters I receive from people who have used tips or advice I’ve given in speeches, columns or books to get jobs, bonuses or unexpected orders. When a 72-year-old woman wrote to thank me for helping her make a dynamic splash in her chosen field, I was on cloud nine for days. And what an upper it was to hear from a man in prison that he’d begun to turn his life around thanks to the inspiration he’d received from one of my books.

One area of thank-you territory that many of us neglect is our formative years. They don’t call them “formative” for nothing. Have you ever said thanks to the teachers and coaches who lifted you up, dusted you off and set you straight when you were trying to figure out what growing up was all about? Though it may have been decades, you would be surprised how many of them remember us and remain our cheerleaders throughout our life. Believe me, a note or even a phone call from you would be well received.

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Shoppers Inc. hones customer service

Powered by the largest news staff in Northeastern Oklahoma

Shoppers Inc. hones customer service

BY LAURIE WINSLOW World Staff Writer
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
10/30/2012 11:01:45 AM

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Learn more about Shoppers Inc. and other small businesses

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BROKEN ARROW - Kathy Shook feels strongly about customer service quality and helping companies improve.

In 1986, she started Shoppers Inc. at home in an effort to gain flexibility so she could raise her son. Before founding the company, Shook held jobs as a training assistant at a travel company, worked in training and later in marketing at a local bank.

As Shook knows, happy customers are good for business and can improve the bottom line.

Today, her operation provides services to help companies pinpoint strengths and weaknesses in their overall service to customers. Shoppers Inc. provides training programs, and consistent measurement and encouragement of customer service skills.

Some services include mystery shopper visits and phone calls, customer satisfaction surveys, compliance audits and surveys of competitor shops.

Mystery shoppers, for instance, are "secret customers" who go into a business and do what customers do, and then complete a detailed report on what occurred during that visit or phone call. They need to be observant, have a good memory, take good notes and write reports well, Shook said. It's something she personally had experience with prior to starting the company.

A good mystery shopper also has to be a bit of an actor, she said, playing out specific scenarios and acting as if they really want to buy the product or service.

Most of her staff are moms who have flexible hours that allow them to work during school time and then be home for their families.

About one-third of the company's clients are in Oklahoma and Texas, with the rest spread throughout the United States.

How important is customer service to the success of a business or organization?

Service quality determines whether a company succeeds or fails. Customers are the No. 1 asset, and employees are the No. 2 asset to any company. If employees aren't treating customers the way the owner would, those customers have plenty of choices to do business elsewhere. And word of mouth travels fast, especially with social media today. It's amazing how little emphasis many companies put on service quality, even in today's tight market. An American Express survey from May 2011 found that 56 percent of Americans are willing to pay more for a better customer experience.

Are there any trends that are shaping customer service?

Two do come to mind: Customer service is the new marketing. Business owners used to worry that an unhappy customer would tell nine people. Now we need to know that they can tell 9 million people. Social media is the trend everywhere but it really affects a company's reputation and ultimately the bottom line.

The other one is self-service: ATMs, online orders, online statements, even self-checkout at the grocery store. But if a customer has any trouble or needs help, the company better be there quick with a well-trained, positive employee who is ready to assist. Nothing can go downhill faster than a sale with no help to complete it.

How picky or demanding would you say customers are today compared to 10 to 20 years ago?

Oh, we are much more demanding! I'd say three to four times more demanding. We're all in a hurry and you can see the frustration down the line when the wait grows to check out. Consumers are smarter, too. With the Internet, they can find out who has good prices and good service, who cares about customers, etc., and we all know that businesses need us to survive. I think today, customers are much more aware of their importance to business.

What are some basic, simple ways that businesses can immediately improve customer service?

1. Feedback! You have to know what your customers think. Do whatever you can to get feedback from customers. If you don't have the time or staff to do this yourself, outsource it. You can't possibly know what your customer's experience is until you ask them.

2. Don't assume! Don't assume everyone who works for you will treat customers the way you do. While many people do know how to provide great service, it is consistently becoming less common. Let them know your expectations and provide the tools they need to serve customers effectively.

3. Monitor! Don't just check service quality once and think you're OK forever. Consistent measurement and testing helps you maintain that standard of excellence.

What are some of the most common or egregious customer service mistakes that businesses make?

They assume employees know how to treat customers right. It’s just the basics: greet customers, be available and positive if they need help and thank them for their business. It seems simple, but how many times have you wandered around a store looking for help? Or been helped by someone who obviously didn’t care whether you made the purchase or not?

Do you have any personal stories related to customer service — something you experienced that made an indelible impression on you, be it good or bad?

Oh yes, lots of stories! The most recent one that comes to mind is a visit to a local retailer. I found a pair of leather gloves I wanted, but it was the last pair and had no price. I took the gloves to the cashier, who called for someone to go check the price. I waited 20 minutes, and no one ever got a price for me or even acknowledged my wait. The original cashier never offered to check on the other person or even page them. I asked her, but she never got anyone to find out what was going on. I’m sure most people wouldn’t wait that long. I just really wanted the gloves, but I had to leave without them.

I also have consistently exceptional service from a local restaurant. We often sit at the bar so we don’t have the wait. The bartenders are friendly and know our faces...even if they don’t really know us, they act like it. They provide fast service, lots of great conversation and the food is tasty. Many times, we choose to go here rather than somewhere else, just because we know it’s always a consistently great experience in every way.

How responsible should customers be for ensuring that they have a positive experience versus the retailer or restaurant or business serving them?

A good business is responsible for doing everything in its power to provide an excellent customer experience every time with every customer. However, sometimes things happen that are beyond anyone’s control. The business should learn from those times and adjust as needed. But when that happens, a customer’s responsibility is to be somewhat understanding of those who serve him/her. Obviously, if the lines in the store are 10 customers deep and there is just one cashier, it’s not that cashier’s fault...that’s a management issue. So we shouldn’t take it out on the staff at hand, but we should take the opportunity to report our concerns when the company is interested in feedback.

What are your future plans for your business?

We plan to continue to grow our business outside the usual realm of banking, restaurant and retail. It doesn’t matter what industry you are in — customer service is the key to success. We also plan to expand our schedule of employee workshops and training programs to help companies provide the training their staff may need.

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Shoppers Inc.

Owner: Kathy Shook

Date established: December 1986

Address: 102 N. Elm Place, Suite B-1, Broken Arrow

Workforce size: Nine employees in Broken Arrow office and more than 1,500 contractors nationwide

Business description: Shoppers Inc. helps clients improve their customer experience through various services, including customer service measurement, training and implementation.

Website:www.insightyoucanuse.com

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Small, but significant

Despite having a number of large employers, Tulsa actually is a small-business town. About 94 percent of all employment in the metro area is at businesses that have 100 or fewer employees, according to the Tulsa Metro Chamber. And, many of those firms are very small. Approximately 80 percent of total employment is at businesses with 10 or fewer employees.

Original Print Headline: The customer is boss

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Laurie Winslow 918-581-8466
laurie.winslow@tulsaworld.com

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Reader Comments

2 Total

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Show:  Newest First

SoonerLisa (1 hour ago) I'm a contract shopper with Shoppers, Inc. and I can say it is a very good company to work with. I have been a contract shopper for over 7 years now and I really enjoy evaluating local businesses, observing their strengths and weaknesses. I have registered with multiple companies (companies like Shoppers, Inc.), but Shoppers, Inc. is the easiest to work with. When I call the office with a question or need assistance I can actually get a person to assist me pretty quickly. It's also a great way of making a little extra money with a legitimate company! I really like it!

Mar (1 hour ago) SoonerLisa, while I was reading the article I was wondering if I could do that kind of work. I have about 9 years experience working in retail (well-known department stores) plus 15 years experience as a legal secretary. I retired 2 years ago, but would love to have a part-time job that would be interesting and fun. I may check into Shoppers, Inc. Thank you for your comment.

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Motivation 101

At Shoppers, Inc. we are very passionate about great customer service, measurement and teamwork.  The article below from Jon Gordon about Motivation 101 and employee training relates to our goals and passions.  Hope you enjoy it!

You won’t find Motivation 101 in most business schools; yet, the ability to motivate one’s team and organization is one of the most important skill you must possess in today’s business climate.

Now, more than ever, a leader’s job is to motivate and rally his or her team through challenging times. You can’t outsource motivation. It is the leader and manager who must motivate. That’s why I often say motivational speeches don’t work but leaders who motivate do. Many leaders want to take the emotion out of business but that is a huge mistake. When fear and negativity are the primary emotions people in your organization are feeling, you have to counter that with an even more powerful emotion, like faith, belief, and optimism. And your success in that depends on your ability to motivate.

In this spirit here are five strategies to motivate your team from The Energy Bus and Soup to get the results you want.

1. Don't be too busy to communicate. Where there is a void in communication negativity fills it. Unless managers and leaders fill that void with clear and positive communication, people will assume the worst and act accordingly. Don't let your busy schedule get in the way of taking the time to talk with your team.

2. Lead with optimism. The engine for America's growth and prosperity has always been its can-do attitude and spirit. Unfortunately, in the past few years, optimism has been in short supply. The most important weapon against pessimism is to transfer your optimism and vision to others. Leadership is a transfer of belief and your belief inspires others to think and act in ways that drive results.

3. Share the vision. It’s not enough to just be optimistic. You must give your team and organization something to be optimistic about. Talk about where you have been, where you are, and where you are going. Share your plan for a brighter and better future, talk about the actions you must take, and constantly reiterate the reasons why you will be successful. Create a vision statement that inspires and rallies your team and organization. Not a page-long vision statement filled with buzzwords, but a rallying cry that means something to the people who invest a majority of their day working with you. Then reinforce the vision so it doesn’t just exist on a piece of paper. It must come to life in the hearts and minds of your team. Share it, reinforce it, and inspire your people to live and breathe it and your positive vision for the future will create powerful actions today.

4. Relationships build real motivation. It's much easier to motivate someone if you know them and they know you. After all, if you don't take the time to get to know the people who are working for/with you, then how can you ever truly know the best way to lead, coach, and motivate them effectively?

5. Create purpose-driven goals. Real motivation is driven by purpose and a desire to make a difference. When people feel as though the work they do is playing an integral role in the overall success of the organization and the world, they are motivated to work harder.

Which of the 5 strategies do you feel are the most important to you? We want to hear about it? 

-Jon Gordon

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Customer Service Strategies from the World’s Best Brands

We just had to share the article below from Mark Sanborn about Customer Service Strategies from the World’s Best Brands and customer service.  Enjoy!

In a previous series we took a close-up look at the leadership of the world’s best brands. (For the first of the three part series, click here). One common thread shared by the leadership of companies like Apple, Google, Amazon, Disney, and Southwest Airlines is an appreciation for the customer experience. Great brands are built and sustained on great customer service. Especially in a time when consumers have more buying choices than ever, great customer service adds value and differentiates brands from their competition.

Customer service is no longer simply the “complaint department,” replacing or refunding merchandise. Customer service is now a 24/7 focus on the needs and experience of the customer. It’s an understanding that success is based on providing a customer experience so satisfying that it creates “brand evangelists,” consumers who sing the praises of your business to their peers.

Looking closely at the top brands, I’ve distilled 10 strategies for creating world class customer service.

1. Hire greatness – Delivering great customer service starts with hiring for customer service greatness. Enterprise Rent-a-Car has built itself into the largest rental car company in the United States based on their customer service. Enterprise uses a “Critical Customer Service Skills” checklist when hiring associates. The key skills they hire for are: passion for customer care, flexibility, work ethic, eagerness, self-motivation, persuasive ability, communication skills, and leadership.

2. Give fun – The customer experience should be fun. Southwest Airlines encourages its employees to use their creativity and humor when working with customers. Flight attendants might sing or joke their way through pre-flight instructions or status reports. The result? Both the customers and the crew have fun.

3. Educate and entertain – A key part of serving customers is educating and entertaining them. Apple Stores offer free software workshops. Home Depot offers home improvement classes. Jet Blue was one of the first airlines to let each passenger channel-surf on planes. Educated customers are more likely to buy and be satisfied. Entertained customers are more likely to report a positive experience.

4. Train incessantly – Training is essential for effective customer service. Representatives must have a thorough knowledge of your offerings and of all the tools available to them to serve customers. Zappos, a brand built on customer service, trains representatives for seven weeks! Beyond initial training, leaders and staff should continually review the customer experience and how to improve it.

5. Team source ideas – Great ideas can come from anywhere. Disney customers were dissatisfied with long lines. Disney introduced Fast Pass, which saves your place in line. The idea originally came from a fire safety officer. Front-line employees and others see the customer experience close-up all day long. Take advantage of their eyes, ears, and ideas to sharpen your service.

6. Ask for input and feedback from customers  – The best source of information on the customer experience is, of course, the customer. Get their feedback and input and use it. Hotels.com used customer feedback software and streamlined the online booking process. Their conversions (site visitors who purchase) went up and their complaints went down.

7. Aim higher than your competition – Go for the gold standard in trying to deliver for your customers. If you offer them the best, they will take it. Larry Page of Google once said “Our goal is to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible,” not just to draw page views to a website. By delivering on that lofty goal, Google made itself the industry leader.

8. Be proudly humble – Humility is a great customer service strategy. Not groveling, mind you, but transparency and saying “sorry” when appropriate. Domino’s Pizza recently ran a series of ads that admitted that their service sometimes failed to meet expectations and that they were working to get better. By Fall 2011, same-store sales were up 12%, a pizza industry record.

9. Take good risks – When considering risks, we often calculate the potential costs. That’s good, but we should also calculate the cost of complacency, of not taking any risks. Consumer satisfaction is a moving target – you may need to step out of your comfort zone to meet it. Nordstrom is famous for its service. Nordstrom gives its employees one rule for customer service: “use your best judgment at all times” to satisfy the customer. Do they run the risk that an employee might occasionally give away too much? Of course. But that risk is outweighed by thousands of satisfied customers and a reputation for legendary service.

10. Do different – Service is the number one way to differentiate your business. So offer service that’s different. When Safeway employees are asked the whereabouts of a grocery item, they are instructed to stop what they are doing and escort the customer directly to that item. That’s how they differentiate themselves from low-cost big-box stores where service is minimal.

In the digital economy, consumers can find and compare the products and services they want with the click of a mouse or the tap of an app. They have a wide range of vendors and buying channels to choose from – they hold all of the cards. Increasingly, they decide to buy based on service. In a world where you people can  buy say, shoes, from any number of sellers for the same price and terms, they will choose the one that offers the best service. And if the service is great, and continues after sale, not only will those customers continue to buy from you, but they’ll become brand evangelists, advertising for you by word of mouth.

Mark Sanborn, CSP, CPAE is president of Sanborn & Associates, Inc., an idea studio for leadership development. He is an award-winning speaker and the author of the bestselling books, The Fred Factor: How Passion In Your Work and Life Can Turn the Ordinary Into the Extraordinary, You Don’t Need a Title to be a Leader: How Anyone Anywhere Can Make a Positive Difference and The Encore Effect: How to Achieve Remarkable Performance in Anything You Do. His book Up, Down or Sideways: How to Succeed When Times are Good, Bad or In Between was released October 2011. To obtain additional information for growing yourself, your people and your business (including free articles), visit www.marksanborn.com.

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