Harness the creativity of your employees in delivering service

Management behaves insanely by devoting its time in micro managing employees. The belief in the corporate corridors of power is that employees who are in middle management and below do not think. They do not use their mental faculties at work. They bring their bodies but do not apply their mind in executing their work and delivering exceptional service to customers. Due to this notion what do management do? They apply policies and procedures that detail how employees should act when they are in contact with customers. This reduces employees to behaving like robots. That is ludicrous.

What is unknown by most senior executives is that their employees are actually respectable decision makers at home. They successfully run their homes; have a beautiful garden they look after where they demonstrate their creativity. Some of them engage in social activities where they hold leadership roles and their input in these circles is sort after. Take the concept of running an extended family and the example of Alfred the Messenger. 

At work everyone looks down upon him and they view him merely as a messenger. No one turns to him for advice on human relations at the workplace.  The intriguing part is the roles that Alfred occupies outside of work. He is the first born in an extended family which gives him leadership of the entire family. No decisions are made in the family without his input and everyone seeks his advice and direction in their family affairs. He sits in the community development committee which spearheads development of his local community. To spice it up he is the chairman of his local burial society. The society is thriving and funeral parlours are looking at partnering them as they see potential in its membership ranks. Alfred can actually add more value to his employer through his creativity, wisdom and insight developed because of his leadership roles outside of his employment. But why is the business not taping into such a resource.

To the business the traditional hierarchy prevails. Senior management believes the low level employees do not have a brain; they cannot contribute to matters that affect them at work. How so wrong! Alfred and his colleagues at work share vital information that can help the company every day. They do it during lunch time in the canteen. The whole business is dissected there and solutions that actual work offered during these sessions. Why are these ideas not harnessed and used in the company? Because management is absent from the canteen! Management does not interact with low level employees. How do expect to gain from the knowledge of your staff if you do not interact with them?

The companies that will win the war on customers are the ones that harness the intellectual capabilities of all of their employees.  They do not merely expect their employees to be obedient but expect them to apply their mental faculties in solving business problems in order to serve customers well. Alfred exists in any business. The next time he brings you coffee, engage him about what you can do to add value to the customer experiences that your company offers. His answer will amaze and thrill you.

Do I Want Another Cup of Mochaccino? Yes Please, Why Not?

I was sitting with Ivan the General Manager of the Crowne Plaza Monomotapa engaging our creative faculties and sharing the ingenious thoughts. Whenever we meet, this is the kind of conversations we have. We like to explore new ideas and share how to turn them into reality. All of a sudden our conversation was interrupted!

“Good evening gentlemen, my name is Moses I am your waiter this evening. I have an assortment of hot and cold beverages that I am serving this evening. I will start with the hot ones. I have cappuccino, mochaccino, hot chocolate……..”

His General Manager replied, “You said you have a mochaccino, what is that?”

“It is similar to the cappuccino, the difference is that it has a bitter taste because of the strong coffee and it comes in a smaller cup than the cappuccino,” Moses replied confidently.

When it was time to finally order our beverages Ivan ordered the famous cappuccino and I decided to explore the mochaccino. Let me confess.  I had never heard about a mochaccino up until that time. So what made me order it? 

It is Moses’ amazing product knowledge. Not only could he remember more than ten beverages available that evening but he could also differentiate between them with so much confidence. I was impressed, sold out completely. This is the stuff that great waiters are made of!

Knowledgeable and confident personnel who deliver great service to customers do not come on their own accord. They require developing a service culture through an investment into strategy, training, implementation and retraining of employees. As an employer you need a well-crafted strategy that is implemented across board. All the facets of the organization should work harmoniously to deliver exceptional service. It should be like a well-oiled machine providing seamless service. New entrants into the organization have to be taken through the drill of service excellence. They need to understand the service philosophy and walk the talk.

Every three to four months a refresher course has to be carried out. This can obviously not be as intensive as the first one because it will be focusing on problematic areas that have been identified during the three months interval. This is a must do. In order to become great the investment into retraining cannot be over emphasised. 

Creating a service culture is the only way that guarantees exceptional service delivery. Go ahead and do it. You will reap the rewards and they are immeasurable. The next time I am at the Crowne Plaza Monomotapa, guess what I am going to order? Another cup of mochaccino! 

Yes, you read it correct!! Another cup of mochaccino. Forget about its bitter taste. If it comes with great service, why not?

Charity Begins At Home

A famous saying states that, “charity begins at home.” This is so true and highlights the need to be hospitable in your own home before you attempt to practice it outside. Let me give you an example of what I have observed over the years where the phrase charity begins at home has been violated. A father is known for his abusive tendencies upon his wife and kids. They fear him and no one questions his authority, when he comes home children clamour for cover. They actually go to bed or lock themselves in their respective rooms just to avoid an encounter with their own father. But have you ever observed this same father interacting with the woman next door or her children? He is the best man you have ever seen. An angel in the making! In fact, the woman next door might actually envy this man’s wife, repeatedly saying how lucky she is to have such a wonderful man as a husband. This is a sad reality of “charity begins at home” gone bad.
 

A similar scenario occurs in most businesses today. They go all out to advertise their excellent customer service to customers. They spend huge amounts of money on billboards, running promotional campaigns and donating lots of money to charitable organisations. But they treat their customer facing employees as crap; they consider them second citizens. How so sad! This is a classic example of a father who is an angel in the street but a devil closer to home. 

Moment of Truth

The phrase “moment of truth” describes the point of contact between your business and the customers. This point usually happens between your customer interfacing employees and the customer. The same employees that you are ill-treating are responsible for making or breaking the customer service experience. Reality sinks when customers realize that the advertising campaigns do not serve them when they get into your premises but employees who are disgruntled, unmotivated and with no will power to offer service. Customers start to move their business to competition or they lodge complaint after complaint. What does management do?

The Stick Approach

Management calls the employees concerned and threaten to fire them. They should “either shape up or ship out”, they are told. “Bad customer service is not tolerated here, we are known by our customers for providing excellent service so don’t mess that reputation.” They go on ranting and raving. Does this leave employees feeling better, geared for service delivery? Your guess is as good as mine! So what should management rather have done?

The Carrot Approach

Management should learn the basic tenets of old age theories of motivation. Managerial behaviour usually suggest that they have never heard about the hundreds of studies in human motivation that prove that job satisfaction, self-respect and other intangible values motivate employees. Instead of threatening employees with termination of employment contracts, management should incentivise employees. Treat them as customers first. Show them you care for their welfare and are concerned when they face personal calamity. Employees should be encouraged to air out their concerns without fear of victimisation and their concerns should be addressed. Let them know what you are able to do for them and what you cannot do. Be frank, do not allow for grapevine to inform employees of what management thinks about them. Say it yourself. The boss’s real job is to serve the employee, and the purpose of the employee becomes to serve the customer. When this happens, the bottom line takes care of itself.

“Our first priority should be the people who work for the companies, then the customers, then the shareholders. Because if the staff is motivated then the customers will be happy, and the shareholders will then benefit through the company’s success”

                                                            Richard Branson

Richard Branson practices what he preaches. He has made lots of money by taking on giant businesses and outperforming them in their own backyard. How does he do that? He makes sure his brand, Virgin, concentrates on service delivery by treating his employees as customers first. You should do the same and treat your employees as customers first. Another example is essential at this point.

“We spend all our time on people. The day we screw up the people thing this company is over.”

Jack Welch

General Electric has been the most profitable business on the globe due to its emphasis on taking care of their employees and then allowing them to take care of their customers. The company spends billions of dollars developing, rewarding and taking care of their employees’ needs.  The current CEO, Jeff Immelt once said, “Developing and motivating people is the most important part of my job. We invest $1 billion each year in training to make them better. I spend the entire month of April in our talent development process. I spend about one third of my time on people. We recruit, we train, we develop, we improve, we think about people constantly.”(source John Tschohl, 2012. Achieving Excellence Through Customer Service, 8^th Ed pg 32)

 
The writer Ed Masau is the Customer Experience Officer (CEO) of Customer Service International who is passionate about improving the customer experiences offered by organizations. He is a Certified Customer Service Trainer with Service Quality Institute (SQI) and a Competent Communicator (CC) with Toastmasters International. He writes in his personal capacity and can be contacted on edmasau@customerserviceinter.com.

Engage – The Customer Service Experience

To truly add value to your customers there is need to constantly engage with them in conversation so that you fully understand how they want to be served.  The concept of customer experience management has gained momentum in recent years and calls for the need to develop close relationships with customers. In this article I am going to draw your attention on a concept that I term Engage. I will look at questions such as: what is to engage? How does one engage with customers? What are the benefits to be reaped from engaging with our customers? Please read on as I take a closer look at each of these questions to get an insight into the process of engage.

What is to Engage?

The word engages is derived from the Anglo – French word engager. According to http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/engage the English word engage means to occupy the attention or efforts of a person or persons. Used in a sentence you might say, “He engaged him in conversation.” It might also mean to attract and hold fast, to bind, as by pledge, promise, contract, or oath. Two lovebirds who have committed to get married are said to be engaged.

From the definition proffered above one has to occupy the customer’s attention and keep it focused on your products or services. They should not be distracted by your competitors’ products at all – never.

How Does One Engage With Customers?

There are various ways to engage with customers. I am just focussing on 5 simple ways that you can try today. 

1.       Learn customer’s name – when a customer walks into your premise make it a point to ask them their name. Engage in conversation with them and start addressing them by name. This makes the customer feel that they are important to you and the psychology of it is that there is no better sweet melody in anyone’s ear than their name being used in conversation. 

How to do it?

 

Introduce yourself by name first and ask them for their name. In this cold winter season you might use the weather as an ice breaker and carry on from there.

“When two Englishmen meet for the first time they talk about the weather.”

English Proverb

2.       Remember something about your customer – make it a point to remember something unique about each and every customer that walks into your business. If the same customer comes into the shop tomorrow and approach you, will you remember that you dealt with them yesterday? Customers whom you have given exceptional service want to come back and be served by the same person. Do not disappoint them by not recognising them! Everyone appreciates an employee with a good memory. This shows your customers that you value your relationship with them. No one wants to continuously be treated as a stranger in a place they are familiar with. 

How to do it?

 “Hi my name is Sharon and I remember you were here last week.............., it is a pleasure to have you back how can I be of assistance today?”

3.       Keep a record of the customers with unique needs – take down their details and make a follow up with them when the day ends. Everyone should make it their aim to call at least one customer that they served during the day and enquire on their experience using your products.

How to do it?

“Good evening Mr Tevez my name is Mike I served you in the afternoon when you bought an ipad from Finesse Electricals. I would like to know whether you got a chance to use it and how you finding it?”

NB: if you have any tips to provide kindly offer them at this point.

4.       Supervisor calls yesterday’s customers today – at the end of each day everyone submits details of at least 2 unique customers to their supervisor and made them unique as customers. They supply details of nature of transaction and what they observed. The next day the supervisor calls these customers and asks how their customer service experience was yesterday. The supervisor gets this vital feedback and shares with their team in morning briefings.

How to do it?

 “Good day Mrs Murray my name is Joyce and I am the supervisor for Finesse Electricals shop. Yesterday you visited our shop for a laptop and we value our customers and their feedback so that we can continuously serve you the way you like. I would like to enquire how you found the service that was provided by our consultant (ask them if they remember the consultant’s name). Do you have any areas that you feel we should improve on?”

 5.       Use customer feedback form – have customer feedback forms in a location easily accessible to your customers. Encourage them to give you feedback. Seek clarifications on areas that you did not understand on their feedback and adjust your service accordingly.

How to do it?

 “Good day Brian my name is Tom I am the supervisor for Finesse Electricals shop. Yesterday you visited our shop and you filled in a customer feedback form. I personally am interested in the feedback from our customers as it aids us to continuously improve our service and serve you the way you like. I truly appreciate your feedback and will use it to help us improve on our service. The next time you visit our shop again please feel free to provide us more feedback to help us get better each day.”

What Are The Benefits?

·         Delighted customers.

·         Timely feedback from customers.

·         Building relationships with customers.

·         Knowing how customers want to be served.

·         Continuous improvement process. 

These are just a few anecdotes that we can all work with to engage our customers and get better in our service.  Enjoy the ride and engage, engage and engage your customers.

Create an Incredible Customer Experience

Customers require incredible experiences when they go shopping. They get into a shop to have a shopping experience as opposed to buying commodities. Customer Experience Management has gathered momentum in today’s businesses. The buzzword nowadays is the creation of customer experiences in order to remain profitable.  There are a lot of elements that go into creating an incredible customer experience. Too many organizations think they are awesome when in fact they are average or mediocre. They spend lots of money advertising that they have superb customer service but in actual fact when you visit their business premises you will be left wandering. What can a business do to create incredible customer experiences? I propose the following six aspects that need to be looked at before you start to make noise about how great your customer service is:
 

1. Change the paradigm. There is need for a paradigm shift in how everyone in your business views customer service. You are in business of providing customer service, end of story. Forget about what industry or line of business you are in, the only authentic business that you are in is the delivery of incredible customer experience. Everyone in the business has to understand this and be willing to walk the talk. Do not tolerate the ill treatment of your customers, they pay the salaries remember! Treat them as the boss because they truly are the boss.

2. Have a Customer Service Strategy. Do you want to be better than your competitors? In fact, do you want to outpace them in such a way that they are rendered powerless to compete? Then you should have a powerful customer service strategy. Competitors can imitate your products or match your prices but there is one thing they cannot match – incredible customer experience. No one can compete with your business in this arena. This will help you crush your competition, increase market share and dramatically improve revenues.

3. Eliminate stupid policies and procedures.  Look at the stupid policies and procedures that drive your customers crazy and eliminate them. It does not reward you to enforce policies that do not add value to your customers but makes it difficult for them to do business with you.

4. Hire only the best employees. When making hiring decisions go for the best people only. Do not hire anyone mediocre to work in your business because they will deliver mediocre service to your customers.  You deserve the best employees you can get so search for them until you find them. The best employees are always highly motivated, love their jobs and are passionate about customer service. They can contribute towards creating incredible customer experiences. Remember, it is people who deliver incredible experiences to your customers and not machines. So get it right the first time by hiring the best employees only.

5. Empower customer service employees. Employees should be empowered enough to bend the rules in favour of customers. It is folly to recruit the best employees and stifle them with rules and regulations that hinder service delivery. Management should demonstrate by their actions that they allow their employees to do everything they can to create incredible customer experiences. Employees should not fear making decisions which makes customers happy. They should not be punished if their decisions end up prejudicing the business, let them learn from their mistakes and do better next time. 

6. Train and keep training employees. Training is crucial for your employees to continue delivering incredible customer experiences. Once off training programs are not enough to equip employees with all they need in order to do well in customer service. Train them every 3 – 4 months to keep the momentum going.

If you use these strategies and many others you will be able to continue to provide incredible customer experiences to your customers.