Coach Train Learn

One and a Half Ice Creams

It was early lunchtime.

The outdoor trattorias were slowly filling up as we looked around for a good place, nothing too extravagant.

The first place looked fine, yet despite trying to get the attention of the guy who was placing people (making eye contact, that sort of thing), apart from grabbing him by the arm, he wasn’t paying attention.

We moved on.

The next place was better, we got ourselves seated by a charmer of a guy who did grab us by the arm and we chose our lunch.

As the drinks arrived, we noticed that close by was a much better deal, pizza and a beer for 7 Euros – quite a bit less of a drain on our holiday spending money.

Slightly disappointed, we hung in there, had a nice lunch still with the lingering disappointment that we’d missed a trick.

The guy who had coaxed us in then made up for the price by bringing my wife a small ice-cream cone as an unexpected freebie, as I finished my coffee.

He was redeemed with his half an ice-cream.

Later that evening, I was aware that I’d not had my own ice-cream fix for the day, so after an unremarkable dinner, we made our way across the piazza to the brightest lit ice-cream shop in town.

As we were deciding what to have, the helpful assistant pointed out to me that my ‘medium’ cone, allowed me to have a second flavor on my cone.

Sometimes ordinary customer service is enough – then the unexpected , ‘extra mile’ service makes all the difference.

And even paying that little bit more becomes alright when you get more than you might have expected.

Cheating is Good!

Hey, how about this.

Cheating on the job is good!

No, no, no – not if you cheat to anyone’s disadvantage or harm or illegal sort of stuff. But if you beat the system to, for example:-

• Make a customers day
• Make something really effective
• Build a business relationship
• Surprise someone positively
• Make life easier
• Bend a rule even!

See it as another way to be pro-active and creative around the business you are in – it’s not just OK, it’s positively fabulous!

You see, organisational systems are not meant to help those most important in a business – the customers or clients.

They are usually to protect profits for shareholders.

Unless this is worked in perfectly – and it rarely is – systems tend to get in the way of great customer service, especially the most vital one of all, building relationships with them.

In fact, beating an internal system and sharing that with your customer is a wonderful partnership (so don’t forget to tell them what you’re doing!)

If you are a manager, cheating the system; bending the rules; or simply doing a favour for one of your own employees  is a brilliant way to partner better.

After all, are your own people not another example of a most important customer – the internal one?

I’m not, as I said at the beginning imploring you to breach laid down rules, just tweak’ them a bit – to everyone’s advantage!

So, today, go for it – where can you ‘cheat’ in your work a bit today, and make a real effective and relationship-building difference – to all your clients or customers – including your very own?

When Customer Relationships Get in the Way

It was written on a sheet of paper.

Clear, thick black pen on crisp white paper. It was positioned full square in the glass door – the only one that opened of the two doors available), at the entry to the shop.

“We do NOT provide change for parking”

Clearly the provision of change was an imposition placed on the shop by customers and passers-by.

So they were making it very clear that they didn’t (maybe there’s a whole piece somewhere about clarity too) offer this service.

It got me to thinking about other signs I’d seen around shops. “No Entry” is a favourite. Another is “We do NOT give refunds for sale items”.

And I wondered why these businesses go so out of their way to alienate their customers and potential customers.

Sometimes I’m in awe of how hard businesses make it for their customers, because they, the business, like it that way.

This is about their systems, their small discomforts and ultimately not about what their customers would find useful or helpful.

If anyone reading this comes up with any strict rules about what businesses or organisations will or will not do for you as a customer, I’d love to hear them!

What Do Your Customers Want?

Getting inside the head of your customers is a recipe for success.

And it takes some thought and actions on your part to ensure that you get the most from these folk, one of your most valuable assets.

Sometimes, you almost have to ‘be’ them, to find out more.

Try taking the role on of one of your customers or clients and seeing what you offer from their perspective.

This will really help structure a sound and growing business for you, around them and their needs.

More, why don’t you simply ask them what they want from your operation to satisfy their needs.

Get to the bottom of just what it is you currently do that irritates them and fix it.

Above all, build the relationship and thank them for their insights – they are hugely valuable to you and your team.

We often run away and hide from complaints – as if they are a challenge to us as people.

And we do, if we’re honest, find it tough to not take them personally.

Yet, if you can get around how you take them as a personal criticism, it’s really worth making the effort to see any complaint as a gift.

They are a real positive!

For knowing what went wrong, gives you information you can correct and grow stronger on.

When times get tough, feel courageous enough to bite the bullet and get to the bottom of those things that your customers want from you – in all aspects of your arena.

There’s no better time than now to get out there and find out.

Make Your Day – Say Thanks!

Receiving goods and services from suppliers, whatever shape or form they are, still means some human interaction, most of the time.

Yet we are becoming much more demanding as customers.

We demand more from those who provide to us and because we are frequently in roles which deliver goods and services ourselves, we are on the receiving end too – of complaints, frustrations and generally poor behaviour.

Why is it that when we are on the receiving end, we miss the fact that we ourselves, when we hang up our service-provider-hat at the end of our shift, often end up as ‘customers behaving badly’ too?

Why do we take our own frustrations out on others, the way it has been taken out on us?

Why do we sometimes become the Hyde from our normal Jekyll?

So, when someone goes the ‘extra mile’ to say ‘Thank you’, or appreciate the actions you have taken, what do you take from that and how do you react?

You feel good, I guess. Indeed, very good.

So you have the opportunity to ‘pay forward’ when your leave your place of business and be on ‘the other side of the counter’.

But do you have to wait until you have a good experience? Or might you overcome bad experiences you’ve had yourself by reacting differently – by being more appreciative in the moment with others?

How does it feel when you give praise, say thank you, show gratitude? How much control have you over the warm glow it gives you inside when you do this?

The answer is that you have complete control over your behaviour to others, whatever the temptation to be harsh. And, the key here is that you can decide to be nasty or nice, whatever the provocation.

It’s a choice!

And you can move on from what might have been a challenging day for yourself, knowing that you’ve made someone else’s day better – and move on yourself.

Kind of ‘being nice to others makes my own day’ therapy!

Computer Maintenance

You know that you’re supposed to clean the outside of your computer screen.

Well apparently you’re supposed to clean the inside too, so that you are fully protected against viruses.

Not many people know about this or know how to do it.  So click here and your screen will be nice and clean.

Thanks Nicola at http://www.tnmcoaching.com.