Customer Service – thoughtLEADERS, LLC: Leadership Training for the Real World

How would you characterize your organization’s attitude toward customer service?

January 14, 2021/0 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Career, Customer Service, Leadership, Poll /by Ryan Shaw

Our reader poll today asks: How would you characterize your organization’s attitude toward customer service?

We go out of our way to exceed expectations 61%
We do our best to meet expectations 32%
We try to meet expectations but don’t worry too much if we don’t 6%
We do the bare minimum to get by 1%

Is meeting expectations good enough? IN a hyper-competitive world, a clear majority of you are going out of your way to exceed your customers’ expectations. It doesn’t take much and it goes a long way. For those of you satisfied with meeting customer expectations, recognize that your competitors are trying to push beyond those expectations. Fall short enough times and you’ll find those customers are no longer yours. We all know it’s less expensive to keep an existing customer than it is to acquire a new one. If you’re one of those “meeting expectations” firms (or even the ones who don’t really care too much about meeting expectations) just recognize your marketing team will be very busy and very expensive but your finance team might not have a lot of work to do when it comes time to count your profits. Ignore customer service at your own risk!

Do you agree with these poll results? Let us know in the comments below!

– Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

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Tips for Hiring Customer Service Staff in Anxious Times

October 12, 2020/0 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Communications, Customer Service, Guest Blogger, Leadership /by Ryan Shaw

4 Make-Or-Break Customer Service Skills and How to Find Them

Today’s post is by Ken Crowell

The pandemic and economic and political turmoil has Americans stressed out, making customer service skills more important than ever for businesses to be able to thrive and grow.

Even before the latest economic disruption, poor customer service was blamed for costing American businesses billions each year. Meanwhile, ample evidence indicates that companies with friendly and attentive employees keep customers and attract new ones.

Customer service personnel are the first point of contact customers have with your company and can make or break your business. A service orientation also helps employees work together and independently to fulfill company goals, and helps create a culture of teamwork and collaboration.

We’ve compiled a list of what we consider to be the top skills to look for when hiring, as well as some questions that can help identify the candidates who possess these qualities. Look for candidates who demonstrate:

Are You Promoting Responsibility? Are You Sure?

May 4, 2020/2 Comments/in Books, Customer Service, Guest Blogger, Leadership /by Ryan Shaw

Managing a team comes in many different forms and requires a lot of different skills, check your ego at the door and rethink how you’re promoting responsibility in your organization.

Today’s post is by Lonnie Wilson, author of Sustaining Workforce Engagement (CLICK HERE to get your copy).

Several weeks ago, I had two experiences that reminded me of the nature of responsibility; and management’s role in promoting and sustaining a responsible workplace.

First, a student of mine sent me the following email, “Coach, there is next to no sense of responsibility here. Nothing happens when dates are missed, goals are ignored, etc… I may be going bonkers. Can we talk?” We talked.

Second, I was at the 10 am production meeting of yet another client when Dave, the day shift production coordinator made the following report to Mark, the plant manager. “Mark, the critical shipment to Quality Industries went out first thing on schedule. Raul and his crew got it 100% completed. It has been picked up. But Mark, you need to know that Raul had to work 32 hours of overtime.” At which Mark replied, “What is wrong with Raul? Didn’t he read the notice from the home office we got just this week that costs are over budget and for the rest of the year there will be no hiring, no expedited freight and especially no overtime? What is wrong with that guy? Can you get me his home number?” Dave responded, “I knew this would be an issue, so I asked Raul what happened. He told me that 4 of his crew, who carpool together, got into an accident on the way to work, a serious one. None of our guys were hurt, but the other driver was drunk and two of his passengers were taken away by ambulance. The guys said they would be a couple hours late, at least, and probably miss the entire shift, while the police investigated it. So, Raul held over 4 people from swing shift.” Mark replied, “Well let me advise the boss; there will be hell to pay by someone.” Dave interceded and said, “Hold on Mark, before you make that call, you’ll want to know this overtime was not just regular overtime but double time and a quarter. He only had a few minutes to decide and had tried to call you; but said no one picked up. It was 10:50pm.” Mark exploded “Holy shit, how am I supposed to explain that? This may cost Raul his job.”

How often do you move team members around to cross-pollinate skills and culture?

March 12, 2020/0 Comments/in Career, Customer Service, Leadership, Poll /by Ryan Shaw

Our reader poll today asks: How often do you move team members around to cross-pollinate skills and culture?

Rarely: 34%
Occasionally: 30.88%
Never: 18.41%
All the time: 16.71%

Don’t let them get stagnant. Leaving your people in the same role, same location or same team for extended periods of time creates risks and misses opportunities. The risk is they get bored or disillusioned and when that happens, performance drops or they leave the organization. By not moving them around, you’re also missing an opportunity to spread and reinforce culture, build new skills and strengthen co-worker relationships. Granted, there’s a balance of how often you move them, but no movement at all is problematic. Think about how you can create some fresh experiences for the members of your team. These don’t have to be permanent reassignments — projects are a great way to get things moving around.

Do you agree with these poll results? Let us know in the comments below!

– Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

How frequently do you update your strategic plan?

February 20, 2020/0 Comments/in Career, Customer Service, Leadership, Poll /by Ryan Shaw

Our reader poll today asks: How frequently do you update your strategic plan?

We refresh more than once per year—13%
We update it annually—43%
We update every couple of years—19%
We rarely refresh it—12%
What’s a strategic plan?—13%

Regular strategy review. 56% of you are refreshing your strategic plan every year or even more frequently. The world moves rapidly. Priorities change quickly. Investing the time in regular reassessment is highly recommended. Shifting too slowly in response to market changes can put you at an extreme disadvantage you might not recover from. For those of you who don’t have a strategic plan or aren’t updating them regularly, you should be concerned. Even if you aren’t the owner of the strategic plan, you can still push for the organization to review it. Ask your leadership team if you can help lead the review. Offer to do some of the work. The organization you save might be your own!

Do you agree with these poll results? Let us know in the comments below!

– Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

What portion of your time do you work from home?

February 13, 2020/0 Comments/in Career, Customer Service, Leadership, Poll /by Ryan Shaw

Our reader poll today asks: What portion of your time do you work from home?

100%: 7.6%
75-99%: 8.2%
50-74%: 5.4%
25-49%: 8.2%
1-25%: 54.7%
0%: 15.8%

Time from home. 85% of you spend a decent amount of time working from home. Only a small portion go to the office every day. As an employee, be sure your home environment is conducive to being productive and actively manage staying connected with your office coworkers. It can be easy to leave people off meeting invites or forget to check in with them when they’re out of sight. If you’re leading a team with remote workers, find ways to involve them in team events and conversations. This takes deliberate effort on your part. Team members who feel disconnected find it easier to “mail it in” and also have less attachment to your organization. This puts them at higher risk for looking for greener pastures elsewhere.

Do you agree with these poll results? Let us know in the comments below!

– Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

When someone does something differently than you would, how do you react?

February 6, 2020/0 Comments/in Career, Customer Service, Leadership, Poll /by Ryan Shaw

Our reader poll today asks: When someone does something differently than you would, how do you react?

I encourage people to try ways different than the way I would do something. 39.6%
I accept their way and try to learn new approaches. 50.9%
I accept their way but still think mine was better. 8.3%
I tell them they should have done it my way. 1.2%

Different isn’t wrong. The vast majority of respondents are open and encouraging of doing things differently than they’d do it themselves. For those who are challenged by seeing someone do something differently, you’re missing an opportunity to grow (and possibly do things better than you ordinarily would). When you have that moment of “I wouldn’t do it like that…” please pause, inquire, and seek to understand why they’re doing things differently. They might see risks or opportunities you’re not aware of. You might learn something new. You might help your organization perform better. You owe it to yourself and your colleagues to constantly learn new ways of doing things.

Do you agree with these poll results? Let us know in the comments below!

– Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

How do you handle impatient customers (both internal and external customers)?

December 12, 2019/0 Comments/in Career, Customer Service, Leadership, Poll /by Ryan Shaw

Our reader poll today asks: How do you handle impatient customers (both internal and external customers)?

I bump them up on my priority list since they’re asking for a response: 45%
I keep them in their spot on my priority list and let them know other issues are ahead of them in line: 39%
I immediately respond to their needs and drop everything else: 12%
I respond slowly to get them to slow down and be more patient: 3%

Their emergency isn’t your emergency. I hear many people have challenges with time management. 57% of you are making your own lives more difficult. One of the biggest issues they face is unexpected interruptions. When someone calls or drops by with something important to them, it’s tempting to put them at the top of your priority list. That can cause several issues. First, you condition them to bother you if they want action. Second, it delays others waiting patiently ahead of them. There’s nothing wrong with telling someone “I’m working on a few things ahead of your request and will get to it as soon as I’m able.” Most reasonable people understand and accept that and doing so gives you back control over your priorities and your work. Give it a try — you might be surprised by how easy and effective that approach is.

Do you agree with these poll results? Let us know in the comments below!

– Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

How Leaders Quench the Service Thirst of Customers

October 21, 2019/1 Comment/in Books, Customer Service, Guest Blogger, Leadership /by Ryan Shaw

We’ve all heard the idea of being customer-centric, but how you utilizing your leadership to best serve your customers.

Today’s post is by Chip R. Bell, author of Kaleidoscope (CLICK HERE to get your copy).

The very thirsty crow came upon a pitcher of water. But, the water was deep and the neck of the pitcher narrow. Aesop’s Fables tells us the rest of the riddle. The crow picked up small pebbles and dropped them one by one in the pitcher causing the water to rise high enough for a drink.

I needed a prescription refilled for an eye ointment, and my usual pharmacy was unable to get it for a week. So, I called the pharmacy attached to the local grocery store. The “I’m having a horrible day” cashier-receptionist answered my phone call to fill the prescription. When I arrived at the pharmacy, she stood guard over the cash register with a scowl telegraphing the same attitude I had heard on the phone. Behind her were the pharmacy manager and two pharmacy assistants.

“Are you having a great day?” I asked cheerfully in a rather loud voice. “Not particularly,” she said.

“Well,” I announced, putting a pebble in the water pitcher so to speak, “I am here to help your day get a lot better.” She was unmoved. One of the pharmacy assistants nervously smiled at my way-too-obvious attempt to get her “happy water” to rise in the pitcher.

“How much would this ointment cost without insurance?” I asked her in my very best happy-go-lucky cheerleader voice. I had Googled the answer in advance. “Three hundred and fifty dollars,” she answered. “Gee whiz,” I teased. “How much would it cost just to get new eyes?” The other pharmacy assistant laughed to herself without looking up. But the cashier was not joining in the fun. “I know you are going to fix me right up!” I added, still trying to alter the mood!

My last attempt at a bit of happy talk: “Is your day getting a little bit better?” I asked. “Not really,” she said, flatly.

The expressionless pharmacy manager standing six feet from her finally looked up from his work. His countenance clearly conveyed his condemnation. He was not amused at my attempts to elevate the attitude of his front-line ambassador. This pitcher of customer delight remained out of my reach as I vowed to go back to my old pharmacy where I didn’t have to work so hard to get a fraction of positive service.

How much exposure does your entire organization get to your customers?

August 8, 2019/0 Comments/in Balanced Lifestyle, Career, Customer Service, Leadership, Poll /by Ryan Shaw

Our reader poll today asks: How much exposure does your entire organization get to your customers?

A lot. Every function of our company regularly interacts with customers: 34%
Some. Occasionally customers will meet with specific groups they have to interact with: 29%
Little. Only sales, marketing, the front line and support really interact with customers: 38%

Know your customer. Just because a function is “behind the lines” that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t expose them to customers. Bring a customer in for a team meeting. Invite customers to speak at your off-sites. The more clarity everyone has around who the customer is and what matters to them, the better your organization can serve them. It doesn’t have to be frequent and it doesn’t require a lot of effort but it can yield huge results. New ideas and opportunities can come from those interactions. It will also help ground your team in why the work they do is important. Take advantage of the opportunity to know your customers more closely.

Do you agree with these poll results? Let us know in the comments below!

– Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

Positive Work Cultures are More Productive

December 3, 2018/0 Comments/in Books, Communications, Customer Service, Guest Blogger, Leadership /by Mike Figliuolo

Achieving a breakthrough organization is achievable for any leadership team willing to invest in designing for the future of work. Creating work that is both customer-centric and that is employee-centric is possible.

Today’s post is by Jessica Higgins, Chief Operating Officer at Gapingvoid Culture Design Group.

“Although there’s an assumption that stress and pressure push employees to perform more, better, and faster, what cutthroat organizations fail to recognize is the hidden costs incurred.” – Proof that Positive Cultures are More Productive, Harvard Business Review

The timeworn industry standard is to focus on purely bottom-line results. Productivity obsessed leaders, however, experience a massive, and often invisible, cost of doing business this way. News outlets are reporting that employee burnout is costing US business alone over $300 billion in labor costs annually. Voluntary separations and employee churn are well documented in companies, but what is less well documented are healthcare costs, which are increasing rapidly, according the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Simply put, your machines are breaking down on you, and most leaders are failing to see it. In any average company, human capital is the primary expense. This means that your people have the highest replacement cost, and the highest value. I am arguing that you should start treating them this way.

It’s well proven that employees cost around 4 months of time to train. In companies that haven’t resorted to 1099s primarily, there are healthcare costs associated throughout the year. Let alone your churn rates, unemployment, recruiters and all of the other expenses attached should any employee choose to leave.

The cost of implementing more holistic management systems that take care of your human capital quickly become cheap, once all of your invisible costs of old management are brought to the surface.

I first noticed this trend at the beginning of 2017, and increasingly this year. In my work in culture design, historically leaders have desired to employ culture-based management systems that improve engagement and productivity. But then the opposite started happening. CEOs started coming to us with the opposite issue. How do I make my teams work less?

I dug through the research and found the following statistics, and solutions, for rethinking your people-side of your business.

A Simple Sales Tip for Maintaining Great Relationships

August 15, 2018/1 Comment/in Business Toolkit, Communications, Customer Service, Entrepreneur, Leadership, Sales /by Mike Figliuolo

How effective are you at maintaining client relationships? Do you stay in touch with them or do you lose the relationship over time? Do your clients and prospects respond to your messages or do your emails end up in a black hole? Here’s a simple tip for maintaining contact with your clients and prospects.

Client relationships are the lifeblood of any business. Be deliberate about maintaining them. Regular contact will keep you top of mind.

Find meaningful “excuses” to reach out to them. Some of my favorites include “Hey I read an article and I thought of you” or “I heard about a cool new technology and I thought you might be interested in it.” Send these notes and leave it at that. Don’t try and sell during those interactions. They know you eventually want to sell them something. Beware of excessive contact, they’re going to ignore you or block you if you’re in their inbox too much. Focus on being helpful and good things are going to come.

I have one client who I’ve had a great relationship with over the years. Every once in awhile I’ll see something that I think would be interesting to him and I drop him a note and I said “I read this and I thought of you.” He always writes back and says “Thanks for the information. Interesting. I appreciate it… not that you’re trying to sell me something.” This has become a running joke with us that at the end of every interaction one of us says “not that you’re trying to sell me something.” He understands the nature of the relationship because he is a great salesman too. He and I both know the deal but he doesn’t mind my outreach. He actually welcomes it because he knows I’m trying to be helpful. These interactions help me stay top of mind, so anytime he has a need that my firm can fill, he’s going to call me first.

Some reasons you might wanna reach out to connect with your clients and prospects include things like:

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