How to handle a upset customer.

I began working with the public when I got out of the army in the early 70s. I was in auto parts sales which helped put me through college (along with the GI bill - god bless uncle sam). When I entered the corporate world I swore I would never go back to retail. During the downturn of the oil industry in the late 80s I decided I wanted a change and knew it would involve computers, the path led back to retail and I jumped in with both feet.

I have attended several seminars, read many books, and sifted through numerous newsletters on customer service, and most were helpful. I have arrived at a list of ways to handle a disgruntled customer, I don't claim it's original but rather a compilation plus personal experience. I recently was slighted by a local company over a minor infraction and I've been thinking about it and thought of how I would want to be treated.

The first rule is ASK - most customers will not complain to you. They simply pay their bill and go complain to anyone who will listen. "I'll never go back there". Each customer should be asked - "How was your experience?" It can be as they're paying out or via a survey (hoping they will return the card) or at anytime during the experience you come in contact with them (my favorite). It can be as simple as "Is everything going okay?"

The second part is LISTEN. What is the customer saying, not only verbally but non-verbally? If they take the time to complain, then it made an impression on them and if you listen they will appreciate the gesture of concern. Remember that listening requires you keep your mouth closed and your attention completely focused on them.

APOLOGIZE, even if the customer is wrong. Be sincere, if you are apologizing for a misunderstanding, say, "We misunderstood what you needed and we're sorry for that". If you are wrong be sure to state, "We were wrong and we will correct it."

Then ASK again, "What will it take to correct this?" Sometimes, it may mean a discount (or free job), it may mean redoing the job, or just maybe, nothing needs to be one. When I complained I explained nothing needed to be done, it was a complaint to make the manager aware that a problem existed and should be addressed for future business. After my complaint the owner said to take the job at no charge; that's not what I wanted, I really wanted an apology and the promise it wouldn't happen again. The owner's attitude was stand offish and unapologetic and he gave me the job which in all likelihood will cost him my future business. Giving the job away isn't always the best answer. I also believe it teaches people to complain about any little thing in hopes of a free or heavily discounted job.

Listen to your customers and they will make you a better business. Award good customers with better service. Punish bad customers by doing the best job possible and not giving them a reason to complain.

Call your Mother

Today is Thanksgiving day and I've been somewhat pensive. My lovely bride and I are at home alone as the offspring have other commitments, we have a lovely dinner planned for tonight and will be having turkey on Saturday so it's okay. But here's some of my thinking today.

I am so thankful for the 40 years I have been married to Brenda, she is a saint and I don't know any man that could be happier. She brought two lovely children into the world who have given us great happiness, not the least of which is our grandchildren.

My father died a little over 15 years ago, at what I thought was much too young an age, he died at the same age as his father which was in 1965 at the age of 69. When my grandfather died I thought he was ancient, when my father died I thought he was young. As I prepare to enter my 6th decade on this planet it is amazing how you look at age. It is a truism that youth is wasted on the young and experience comes from more than years. But having children is hereditary, if your parents didn't have any, you won't either.

My mother lives about 500 miles from me, I moved several years ago and enjoy the area of Texas where I now reside. I don't get to see her as much as I should, I try to go see her every other year. This year I made that drive twice, but not for good reasons.  My mother does not have a computer and at 80 I don't suspect she will. It would be nice to send her photos of the grandkids and an occasion note but she is technologically challenged and I doubt she will ever read any of my blogs. 

I do call her almost every weekend. Something I started doing because of my father-in-law. He used to call his mother every weekend and she died at 93 counting on his calls every weekend. He taught me a lesson by example. I have heard from my siblings that my mother looks forward to my calls and tells them not to bother her on Sunday morning at 9 as I will call. It's not easy talking to an 80 year old woman that doesn't have the same interests that I do, but she is my mother and cares very much about me, as I do about her, so we get through the hour.

It is important as you go through life to remember where you came from and how you got there and it's important to thank them that brought ya. Call your mother, go visit as much as you can. An email is always great and I know she loves the photos, but your voice means a lot to her. BTW this also applies to your dad. He is also wanting to hear from you. Remember you take your son fishing to give him memories, you take your dad fishing to give you memories.

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4 Keys to Success

I attended a seminar today hosted by our local chapter of IABC. It was facilitated by Ritch Davidson and was about having fun at work. Ritch works for Playfair, a California-based company that is dedicated to helping college students and businesses to succeed and have fun while doing it.

It was probably one of the best such seminars I have attended and I thank whoever brought it to our town, but that's not what today's posting is about. 

I have attended many such seminars, taking copious notes and making promises of applying the principles. I generally stick the notebook on the shelf and if lucky a few months later go back and look at my notes to see if there's anything of value there. Sometimes it works, but I have found that you should expect to come away with one good idea that you may be able to put into daily usage. I expected pretty much the same today.

After getting started Ritch said something that caused me to put down my pen, listen and know that I had found one perfect example that I can apply everyday of my life, and hopefully teach others its importance.

He started with "Let me give you the 4 keys to success".  Up until this point most of the information had been in the way of an introduction and the attendees had been taking notes hoping to find something there later. As he started, each poised their pen ready for the words of wisdom that would help them enjoy their jobs and be successful.

He started very softy:

"Row, Row, Row your boat"

"Gently, down the stream"

"Merrily, Merrily, Merrily"

"Life is but a dream"

He then said "Let me explain"

The first line says work, but even more importantly, not just row your boat, but row, row, row so you should work hard.

The second line says go with the flow, don't stress,  take it gently.

The third line, says have fun and using the triple inference, have lots of fun.

The fourth line is the one that could be open to a bit more interpretation, if you don't do these things, life could be a nightmare or a gentle dream. But I believe most of my dreams are about things I do and I love, so therefore I feel that it means life is what you put into it.

I will be doing more research into fun at work and the Playfair company and you should expect to see more in the future.

As I have stated here before, it may not be original but I like it. It will be easy to remember and I'll keep that nursery rhyme in my mind as the stress starts to mount.

Oh and by the way, I also got some great ideas on how to have fun at work.

Family Time

My brother passed away last week at really much too young an age; but he hadn't taken care of himself. He led a full, rough life that he throughly enjoyed and did it "his way".

My thoughts today are not on his  death and life but about my family who came in from all over the United States to pay their respects and love. It was great to see my remaining brother and sisters and the in-laws plus nieces and nephews. It was like a large family reunion. 

It was a difficult time for everyone until the service on Saturday, afterwards my mom's church supplied lunch for all of us and then my baby brother had everyone to his house. We have a background of Irish Catholic, so it was a type of good ol' Irish wake. Much alcohol was consumed (almost as much as my aunts and uncles did when my grandmother passed away) and great stories and memories were shared by all.

On the drive home my lovely wife and I were discussing trying to arrange some type of annual reunion instead of waiting for a catastrophic event to occur. We observed that when you try to plan a reunion there is always a conflict somewhere, or it's too hot/cold at that time. There always seems to be some type of excuses.

I heard through my son that the "cousins" have decided that they will not wait that long to get together again.

I encourage them - set a date, let everyone know and those that don't make it will miss a great time.

Because it shouldn't take someone dying to remind us how precious life is and how much we need each other.

Words to live by

You know that time between being asleep and the alarm going off? That time when you are somewhat aware but really are comfortable and could go back to sleep easily. It was that time this morning when an thought came to me:

Perfection is not in the words you use, but rather in the work you do.

It isn't exactly original, I've read similar type thoughts but it seemed to be my own. If anyone has read this before let me know, it's not intended to be plagiarized, but I still like the thought.

OK - I'll admit it

Well I didn't know it but I have fully consumed the Apple Kool-Aid.

I just got the 3G iphone and OMG I love it!

I got a Verizon network Q a couple of years ago and I ended up taking it off of the internet. It was costing me more than I thought was reasonable and I couldn't control when it was signing on and using my minutes. Got a couple of bills over $200 and every time I talked to Verizon I got a different story. So I ended up with a "brick" of a smart phone.

Recently my daughter-in-law got her a 3G iphone - and I was immediately blown away. It didn't take a week before my son had one also. My lovely wife said "You need one of those" and being a loving husband I didn't want to disagree.

I don't use it to the full advantage - I have 3G turned off - unless I need a full broadband access. I have WiFi at home and at work, I have a comfortable Edge network, so why did I go to the new phone? It's because it's there if I need it. It is blazing fast, my hometown has a 3G network (even if somewhat spotty) and most places I travel will have it. So if I need quick data connection it's there.

But more than that the interface is so intuitive - texting is no longer getting pissed because window's mobile sent my messages while I was typing. I know the 3G has it's bugs, I downloaded the update as quick as I could, but until you have lived with the crap that passes as smart phones you don't know how easy the OS for the iPhone really is.

So I'm thinking that when Apple says "This is what you need" I think I'll just have to get it.

Customer Service is where you find it

Took the grandsons to our local IHOP Sunday morning. When we decided to go the oldest quipped "Well, we'll have to wait 45 minutes". I told him if he wanted IHOP pancakes we'd just have to wait.

Got to our IHOP which is well over 20 years old, at 10:30 and was told we had a 20 - 25 minute wait, we took a seat by the door. The lady and gentleman checking people in stayed constantly busy. They had more people adding their name to the list (some leaving when they heard how long the wait was), people checking to see how much longer they had to wait, and they were constantly checking with the waitresses on what tables were empty and how many people they could seat. During the entire time they never seemed upset and were very efficient.

After about 23 minutes our name was called and we were ushered into the back room to a large table. After a minute or two a young lady by the name of Janette appeared at our table to take our drink order. She quickly returned with coffee and juice for all, then taking our breakfast order. We were close to the kitchen area and could see the food being set out by the cooks. The top of the shelf was loaded with plates waiting to be carried to the table.

When our youngest ordered his "New York Cheesecake Pancakes" he immediately was ready to eat. We pointed out the plates being served and warned him we had a long wait before our breakfast would be served. 

I really don't know how much time passed but it seemed less than 10 minutes our food was placed before us. It was excellent and Janette returned three times to be sure we had all we needed, refilling our coffee carafe, and generally just being nice. Returning with the check as we were finishing.

We were finished and out by 11:45, pleased with our food and the wait we had. We also noticed the lines were forming for the next onslaught of customers. The staff at IHOP, from the people who greet you at the door and seated you, to the waitresses who served, to the young man who bussed the table were all pleasant and efficient. And the kitchen staff supported them with excellent food on the table. It's a pleasure to spend your money at a local business and to come away know that you had just witnessed excellent customer service.