Server Not Servant

Human-to-Human Service

How to Get Better Service This Holiday Season

Book Chapter: Human-to-Human Service

Posted: 12/20/2011

Today’s post comes courtesy of customer service expert, Jeff Toister, founder and owner of Toister Performance Solutions.  Thanks to Jeff for including me:

Every year I compile a list of tips for getting better customer service during the holiday season. This year, I decided to ask for tips from some of the customer service authors and bloggers I admire most. Their wonderful suggestions form a list that is sure to result in outstanding customer service.

Treat employees with respect (Patrick Maguire)
Patrick Maguire’s terrific blog, I’m Your Server Not Your Servant, highlights customer service experiences from the employees’ point of view. He reminds us that getting better service starts with treating employees with respect.

We need to remember that human workers are not the same as self-checkout stations, and that workers should be treated with the same mutual respect that we would expect if we were doing their jobs. If you treat workers with common courtesy and make a sincere effort to have some fun and make a genuine connection with them, your chances of receiving excellent service will improve dramatically.

Be engaging (Steve Curtin)
Visit Steve Curtin’s customer service blog and you’ll see a picture of him holding a pineapple. Why a pineapple? The pineapple is a universal symbol of hospitality. (Seriously, who could get upset when there is a pineapple involved?) Naturally, he recommends being a more hospitable customer.

When a customer glances at an employee’s name tag and uses her name at the beginning of the interaction along with a smile and eye contact, it has a disarming effect that quickly breaks the ice. The customer may also ask, “How is your day?” or compliment the employee by saying, “You look like the one in charge…” Just as employees tend to reflect the dispositions of their supervisors (for better or worse), they can also reflect the dispositions of the customers they serve.

Be reasonable (Shep Hyken)
Shep Hyken, best-selling author of the Amazement Revolution, also writes a very insightful customer service blog. One of his suggestions is that a reasonable customer will almost always get better service.

Let’s start with a confrontational situation to illustrate the point. There is an old story that goes something like this:

A passenger approached the airline representative about his lost luggage. Obviously upset, he more than complained. He yelled and made derogatory remarks about the airline. The airline employee’s response was simple. “Sir, I can see you’re upset. Right now there are only two people who care about your lost luggage and you are starting to make one of them upset.”

The moral of the story is that as a customer, you can’t get what you want by being unreasonable. If there is a problem, a level headed approach with reasonable suggestions will always win over confrontational arguments.

Place your irritability on hold before complaining (Guy Winch)
Sometimes, we have customer service complaints that need to be resolved. Who better to give advice on complaint resolution than Guy Winch, a psychotherapist who literally wrote the book on how to complain the right way (check out The Squeaky Wheel)? Here are complaint tips from an article he wrote for Psychology Today on how to resolve Christmas shopping complaints.

Complaint in person: “We should arm ourselves with receipts, patience, civility, and authentic smiles.”

Complaint via toll-free hotline: “We should place our irritability on hold (even if we are placed there too), remain calm and present the facts simply.”

Complaint via Twitter: “If you do tweet a complaint about a company, be fair, especially if you have oodles of followers. Remember, frustration fades but tweets are forever.

Don’t take yourself too seriously (Write the Company)
Write the Company’s blog features witty customer service correspondence with real companies. Read between the lines and you’ll realize that his tip is a great reminder to not take ourselves too seriously.

Getting better customer service during the holidays requires a secret weapon. This should not be confused with producing a concealed weapon, which has also proven to be very effective in getting the full attention of service personnel. One secret weapon to consider is sympathy. Not for the service representative, for yourself. You’ll be amazed by how much faster and more compassionately you’ll be treated by simply taping a slightly soiled white gauze pad over an eye or applying fake blood under your nose with even more on a tissue. Holidays are a crazy time to be a customer, so go crazy!

Enjoy the holidays and good luck getting outstanding customer service this holiday season!

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Charged Up

Book Chapter: Human-to-Human Service

Posted: 11/17/2011

I recently walked into a Verizon store on Boylston Street in Boston, my cellphone moments away from running out of juice. With important issues to attend to throughout the afternoon, I needed  my phone. At the service counter, I asked CSR Michael Onessimo, if they sold used chargers, with the idea of going to the library across the street to charge up the phone. 

Michael explained that they sold only new chargers. Since I already had 2 chargers at home, I had to weigh wasting 30 bucks for a  third charger vs. having a juiced up phone for an afternoon of important stuff I had to deal with. 

And then came a breakthrough moment that turns a customer into an ambassador.

“Do you have any errands to run in the neighborhood?”, Michael asked.

“Excuse me?” I replied.

“Well, if you have some time, I can put your phone on our charger out back for while, and it will be charged up for the afternoon”, Michael offered.

Perfect! I handed over my phone and told him I’d grab a cup of tea down the street.

When I returned to pick up my phone, I asked for the store manager. Jennifer Baker wasn’t working that day, so I called her later to compliment Michael for helping me out and saving me 30 dollars. I was grateful that he took the initiative to provide a solution that I hadn’t even thought of.

As is often the case, Jennifer told me that customers rarely called with praise for good service and that she had goosebumps listening to me describe Michael’s work. She said that she and her colleagues at Verizon were working hard to nurture a culture of thoughtful, proactive service and hospitality.

As I have stated before; Great service is execution, great hospitality is a mindset, an awareness, and a culture focused on making meaningful and memorable connections with customers.

 Thank you, Michael and Jennifer. It’s working!

I love having the reason to make those phone calls.

Have you had any breakthrough moments as a customer that you’d like to share?  Who are the outstanding service industry employees you’d like to recognize?

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Leaders and Bystanders-2

Book Chapter: Human-to-Human Service

Posted: 11/15/2011

Please take a moment to read this great piece by David Brooks in today’s New York Times about the media response to the Penn State atrocities. I devoted a blog post to The Bystander Effect, and it will be discussed at length in the book. Too many people talk a big game, but turn away  or remain silent during moments of truth. If you’ve ever watched an episode of John Quiñones’ TV show, “Primetime: What Would You Do?” you know what I’m talking about. We need to turn the tide and encourage more people to step up and speak up.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/15/opinion/brooks-lets-all-feel-superior.html

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Loot in the Boot

Book Chapter: Human-to-Human Service

Posted: 10/3/2011

What is the most original, fun tip ‘jar’ you have ever seen?

At our seafood shack in Provincetown, MA, we use an old boot that my friend and business partner, Andrew Morgan used to wear while shellfishing.

Our customers love the boot and have generously contributed to it this season. (There have only been a few that we’ve wanted to give the boot.)

What is the coolest tip vehicle you have ever seen, and where was/is it? Feel free to promote your establishment or one that you like with a link.

Warning: I won’t allow the comments to digress into another exhaustive argument about the pros and cons of tipping. Let’s just have some fun and identify the best tip jars around the world. Do you have any to nominate?

PS- Our last day of business  at Native Cape Cod Seafood will be on Monday, Columbus Day. Please stop in and say hello if you are in town.

Thank you.

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Shutting it Down

Book Chapter: Human-to-Human Service

Posted: 08/21/2011

Sunday night 9:30.

There are slow nights when closing early for the sanity and morale of your staff far outweighs the trickle of business you might do if you stay open, especially if you’ve had a great weekend.

No matter what business you’re in, closing early is often the right thing to do.

PS-We do not post our hours, further allowing us to make a discretionary call.

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