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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