Three ways to improve customer service this week

A quick read with three very basic ideas on how you can improve your customer service this week.


1.  Ask your staff to submit "Attaboys" to their fellow workers who have shown tremendous customer service.  After you acquire, have a training meeting highlighting the workers and have them describe how they handled the situation.  You made them the stars and showed your team exactly how to serve the customers.

2.  Do a blind survey with 50 of your most recent customers.  From the results, pick one, no more than two areas, and improve on those areas.  Get your team involved -- it makes them feel better and your front line people will always have better ideas.  If they can't, you might need new front line people.

3.  Work the front line with your people.  You will see first hand what they do everyday and if they have the tools they need to serve your customers.

Email me at Steve Willoughby and let me know which one you did and how it worked for you.  Have a great week.

It really isn't that hard!

Last week, I was sitting in the lobby of a business waiting for my appointment.   There were three ladies working behind the desk.  I was impressed with their professionalism and hard work.  Then one of the ladies made a phone call to set up some activities for one of her clients.  The result of the phone call was disturbing.

The lady that she called could not help her.  In fact, she did not know the operating hours of the business.  Her answer  was we are open early in the morning to late in the evening.

The next day, we were looking for a business in Springfield.  I called the business to get their address.  The lady that I talked to -- didn't know it.  To her credit, she put me on hold and got the information.

Before I throw too many stones, I got to thinking, how easy do we make it for our team to help our customers.  When we take the steps to get our team the information they need, it helps our people super serve our customers.  Remember, sometimes we do need to sweat the small stuff.  Some suggestions.

Create a list of five questions that you think your people should know.

Ask them.

If they know them, great job.  If not, you better get to work.

One customer could equal thousands

If you knew that a national spokesperson was coming into your store are there some things that you would do differently?  You would probably:

1.  Make sure that they felt welcome.
2.  Make sure that the store was clean.
3.  Answer their questions completely and suggest sell.

Every client that you have may not be a national spokesperson.  But, they have a circle of influence and their positive recommendation would help your business grow.

So this week, treat all customers as a national spokesperson and see how your word of mouth advertising grows.   Have a great week.

The very basics

John Wooden passed away this past weekend at the age of 99.  Stories about his ability, charisma, grace, and humility are all over the media.

His insistence on the basics will always stand out to me.  Coach Wooden actually had his players practice putting on their socks and lacing up their shoes for comfort and best opportunity for excellent play.  What can we learn?

Coach Wooden didn't change during the streak.  I am sure that players thought it was crazy to actually practice putting on their shoes and socks.  However, that did not stop The Coach.  He had a system, he taught them why the system will give them the best chance to win.  I will leave you with a few questions.

1.  Do you have a system for your employees?
2.  If yes, do you actively monitor that process?
3.  If no, are you saying you don't care how your employees deal with your customers?

Something for you  to think about this week.

How are you going to wow your customers this week?

You have opened the doors, advertised, you are there early and you stay late.  Your business is extremely important to you.  So how are you going to wow your customers?  A lot of businesses set the bar pretty low -- some high, what about you?

Some ideas to wow your customers:


1.  Tell them how much you appreciate them.  Look them in the eye and say thanks.
2.  Do what you said that you would do -- under promise and over deliver.
3.  Follow up with them.
4.  Help your customers reach their goals and your goals will take care of themselves.


Make sure that you are taking care of the customers and they will take care of you.  Go have a great week.

Do you customers understand your price?

What type of customers are you trying to reach?

Some people will say, all of them. That is a mistake.

There are customers who only want the cheapest price. The problem with building your business on these people -- it is really easy for people to come in and steal them. All they have to do is be a dollar cheaper.

The old saying says if you want to live with the classes, sell to the masses.

I believe that the masses want value. If you can explain to the masses why your prices are what they are, they will buy what you are selling. I heard of a business who was three dollars more than one of the box stores on automotive service. The difference between what the independent does and the big box store does is no contest. But the independent has to communicate the difference.

Make sure your advertising communicates your price and what they get for the investment. Here are some tips.

1. Don't be afraid to attack the box store and explain why you are a little higher.  Never pick on the smaller business, but you can attack the big boys.
2. Have professionally produced collateral material explaining the difference.
3. Communicate with your customers in between the times that they need you.

If you want them to understand your price, you have to explain it to them. Good luck.

What side of the desk?

I make no bones about the fact that I am a salesperson. Salespeople are vital to businesses and our economy.

Conversely, I get embarrassed and mad when I see sales people using "tricks" to close sales. I remember a sales trainer who said not to call your customer on the day of the meeting to confirm it, because they may cancel it. Really? Seriously? If your meeting was that shaky, I would contend that you really did not have a meeting.

As trite as it may sound, sales is all about helping the customer. Find your customers wants, needs, and goals and help them achieve them. Find out what keeps your customer up at night and help them solve it. In a nutshell, that is what sales is all about.

When you do that, you are on the same side of the desk. You are looking out for their business, their desires, and their goals. When you are on the customers side of the desk, things are always better for your company.

This week, go get on the customers side of the desk.

A great experience!

What can you do this week to improve the customer experience at your business? Here are some thought starters:

Make sure that the customers are greeted in a timely manner. When I say greeted, I mean with eye contact and a message that says, "glad you are here and we are dedicated to help you."

Get back to the basics. Does your team know exactly how to help your customers? If you were to have a fun pop quiz in the next team meeting, would everyone pass it? If they couldn't pass it, is that their fault or yours?

Spend some time with your staff as they are serving the customer. Are there changes in their tools or systems that would help them serve the customer better.

Just three quick thoughts to help you serve your customer. Have a great week.

I have a complaint!

I had a complaint this week. It was a big enough complaint that I contacted a friend of mine at the business and told him about my frustration.

His reacation was the best way to handle things.

1. He thanked me.
2. He told me what normally happens with such events.
3. He told me what he was going to do.

My question this week, do you handle complaints in such a manner?

Remember, hate is not the opposite of love. The opposite of love is indifference. So if people are complaining they must care. How you handle that complaint is vital to the future of your business. Be sure to thank them.

If they email you, make sure that you reply. (Email has no tone, be careful)

Let them talk. Let them have their say, take notes and then repeat back to them so you make sure that you haven't missed any of their concerns. It tells them that someone is listening.

Don't tell them what you can't do -- tell them what you can. If they ask you to do something that you can't do for whatever reason, don't say you can't do it. Instead, say here is what I can do.....

Make sure that you follow up with them.

Remember, if they care enough to complain, treat them with kindness and you can create a stronger customer then ever.

Good Luck!

Feed back!

Feedback is vital in dealing with customers. Here is a quick tip.

Create a relationship with a customer you can trust and who will be very direct and honest with you. When you have a new project, call them and get their input. Some things to consider.

1. You have to select the right customer - he/she has to be direct and open and understand that you have the final say.

2. Be open to what they are saying. You don't want someone to tell you what you want to hear.

3. Be sure and thank them for their time.

Think about it, great feedback could save you a lot of time and energy.

The tale of two businesses

This entry is short and simple. (The same has been said about me) Like most simple rules, it is easier to understand than to follow.

We went out for a quick motorcycle trip this weekend with some dear friends. Saturday afternoon, we stopped at a restaurant. We waited by the “please wait to be seated sign” for probably 45 seconds. The breaking point came when I made eye contact with an employee and he quickly looked away. At that time, I selected the table and asked him if this was okay for us to sit down. He asked a young woman and she answered in a frustrated tone, “I guess so” and something else that amused the young man but I could not hear.

That set the tone for a meal we didn’t like and an experience that we will never repeat.

On Sunday Morning, we ate breakfast at a restaurant that is open 6a – 2p. We walked into that restaurant and received a prompt good morning and welcome, you may sit here greeting. Breakfast was okay, but when we return, we will repeat that process.

One restaurant built future business and one destroyed it, just by how they took care of the customers. The first restaurant owner will probably blame their advertising and/or the economy. When in fact, the problem is how they treat their customers.

How are you treating your customers?

Do you listen or talk?

Has this ever happend to you? (Bold part is yours)

Welcome to hamburger world, may I take your order.
Yes, I would like a hamburger with onions and pick....
You want cheese on that?
No,
what did you want on the burger....
Onions and pickles with fr.....
Do you want fries
Yes....and a Di....
What kind of drink?
Diet.

This post is not about the drive through workers. It is about getting you to think about if you do the same thing to your clients. Sometimes, we are so busy "working" and "selling" we aren't listening. When we listen, they tell us what they need and want. When we know what they need and want, our job get's eaiser.

I don't care if you are in retail, direct sales, manage a team, or work in a drive thru, if we listen, our job becomes easier. This week, try listening more and talking less.

Have a good week.

The age old question.

Is the customer always right? Some people will immediately say YES! Just as quick others will say NO! Some, like me, will say depends on the customer.

Customers are the life blood of every business. If it were not for the customers, you would not have a business. And there are businesses built on the premise that the customer is always right. There was a great story (not sure if it was fact or legend - but still a great story) where the customer returned some tires to a business and they gave them his money back - even though they did not sell tires.

To me, customers earn the right to be right. In other words, if they handle their account in a professional way, I will do everything I can to super serve them and provide them what they need. Additionally, if they run into hard times, I will do everything possible to be the partner that they need. It is easy to be a "partner" in the good times, it takes a real "partner" to walk with you through the valley.

On the other side of the coin, I do believe that there will be businesses, for whatever reason, who you should not do business with. When a business becomes unnecessarily demanding or demeaning to my team -- I will do my best to right the ship. But bottom line, if I can't, they need to find another place to do business.

So is the customer always right? Sure if they have earned that right. Have a great week.

Is your business a top seed? Be careful!

I love March. I love the NCAA tournament. The underdogs battling the favorites - David vs. Goliath. Which role does your business play?

When a much lower seed plays a top seed, the pressure is on the top seed. The coach of the top seed has to make sure his team is ready to play. They need to be sure that they are not overlooking their opponent. The lower seed can just go out and play. They have no expectations; they just have guts, desire, and the ability to work hard.

The business cycle is the same way. You started your business with guts, desire, and hard work. You had the guts to be different. You had the desire to super serve your customers and kick the competition's behind. You were willing to out work everybody.

Then you became the top seed. Have your guts been replaced with "why do we need to change?" Has the desire to super serve changed to "our customers love us?" Has the hard work been replaced by complancey. That is the fastest way for a top seed to get beat. In the tournament, it happens in one hour. Usually in business it happens over a longer period of time.

Spend some time this week truly analzying your business. Maybe it's time to find your guts, desire, and real work ethic.

How often is to often?

There are more ways to contact your customers now than ever before. You can advertise, text, email, etc - etc. How much is too much?

If you are advertising on the more traditional mediums of newspaper, tv, radio, remember the three things you must have for success; Reach, Frequency, motivating message. If you are sending emails, texts, etc -- you should be careful with the frequency.

I did some business on-line with a company, who now sends me a daily email. At first, I was glad to get them and even created it's own folder in my inbox. After about the third day of receving the email with a headline that referred to these are the lowest prices ever, I stopped opening the emails.

Our goal is not to talk to our customers. I have a sister in law that talks to me on and on and on. The goal is to communicate with a message of meaning. Be careful not to be a sister in law and talk and talk and talk about things that nobody is interested in. Communicate with them about how you can help them, and now you are getting somewhere.

Look at how many times you "communicate" with your clients. Do you need more? Less? Have a great week.

What do your customers want?

Everyday, people line up at a coffee place, order their coffee in some totally different language, and pay three times as much money. And most people brag about starting their day there.

(A side note, for full disclourse, I am not a fan of this place and I realize the troubles they have had with stock prices -- but they are a great example of customer service and for the point I am trying to make with this entry)

The people who are customers of this place are intelligent, nice, the type of people you really should know. (I have shared a quarter of a century of my life and rasised two kids with one) So why would they pay that much money for coffee?

The real answer is I don't know - it never has made sense to me. But what they tell me is the customer service, the consistent taste of the product and how they are treated; how after only a couple of visits, the staff recognizes them, calls them by name and knows their order. They can't wait to get there.

Here is another question. Why would someone spend more than twice as much on a motorcycle to get a certain legendary brand? That one I can answer but it may not make sense to you.

Because of that look and that sound. The look of the bike and the look in other people's eyes when you tell what kind of bike you own. That sound, when the other guys ask you to wait to start your bike until after they get theirs started becaue they can't hear when your bike is running, that's why. When you take off and feel that sound that's why.

Now, why do people do business with you? Find that answer -- it probably is not becuase of your friendly staff and low everyday prices. It's because. Find the because, give it to them and they will be back and they will bring others.

What is more important than the customer

Two events this week that I want to use as our coaching time.

The first occurred in a convenience store. I stopped in to get a bottle of water and a energy bar. Obviously, there was a problem at the store with a supply shipment that had just been delivered.

As I was paying for my items, the only words that were said to me was the price of the item. The rest of the time, the clerk was talking over her shoulder to other employees trying to get the problem fixed.

I don't want you to get the wrong idea of these blogs. I didn't leave there thinking, don't they know who I am? I left there thinking, I wonder how many times we allow our problems to get in the way of serving our customers.

I am not talking about the customer is always right. In fact, I don't subscribe to that theory. What I am talking about is sometimes we get so busy with doing what we are supposed to be doing, we forget that it always comes down to the customers. Some questions to think about:

1. When customers enter your store, are they greeted? I don't mean people muttering welcome "x mart". I mean someone who looks them in the eye, thanks them for coming in and sees if they need help?

2. When customers need help, do you tell them or show them. I love to ask someone where something is located and have them say, I will be happy to show and then they take you there. Sure beats the answer, it should be about half way down Aisle 237 on the top shelf.

3. Do you have a ten feet rule? If you come within ten feet of a customer, do you greet them?

The other occurance happened in a big store. A big store with big overhead and big advertising budgets. The store was busy and I was shopping for some boots. In fact, I was trying on boots. (hello, buying sign) The store associate walked by me three times and did not say a word.

To his defense, he was waiting on a customer. I did not expect him to leave that customer. All I wanted was, Sir, I will be with you in just a few minutes or I have help coming. Anything would have been great. Instead, he walked by the third time, look me in the eye and gave no greeting, I put my old boots back on and walked out.

In this economy, in any economy, we have to take care of the customers. And with today's customer service, it is not that hard to raise above the pack. You have to do the following:

1. From the first interview to your employees final day, you have to make sure that they know that without customers, there is no need for employees. This has to come from the top.

2. Train it, live it, coach it. Customer service has to be a priority and the employee has to have freedom to provide that customer service.

3. Coach up when you see bad customer service, praise when you see great customer service.

If it is in your culture you will win.

People Remember

Here is the scene, a customer talking to convenience store employees near Kansas City.

Customer: Is this store under new ownership?
Employee: No, why?
Customer: You girls are so nice, and I was in here a couple of years ago, everyone was hateful -- if I wasn't so low on gas, I wouldn't have ever come back.
Employee: (Looking at each other) We have been here for the past 10 years.


So, Willoughby what is your point?

The customer had not been in the store for two years and remembers how she was treated. It is vitally important that we train and explain to our team how to take care of the customer, because they do remember. Here are some tips.


1. Truly explain to the entire team how important each customer is to the bottom line and their paychecks.

2. Ask your best customer service people to help the rest of the team. It is much easier for me to write about great customer service than it is to give it.

3. Reward great customer service -- use them as examples and make sure they know how much they are appreciated.

4. Be specific with your team what you expect. Great customer service means one thing to one person and a totally different thing to someone else.

Now, go take care of the customer

If all else fails, tell the truth

There is no more effective way of dealing with customers than telling the truth and backing it up. The best recent example is Toyota.

They have gotten a lot of publicity in the past few weeks and none of it has been good. Their TV ad to handle that negative publicity was excellent. If you have not seen it, they basically say three things:

A. We have missed the mark. We are not living up to the quality that you have come to expect from Toyota.

B. Everyone from management to the front line workers have stopped production and we are working on getting this problem fixed.

C. We will hit the mark and you will be able to trust us.

No excuses, no clever ad trying to divert your attention, just the truth. It worked for me, I salute Toyota. The elephant in the room never goes away until you talk about it. You can try to divert attention, you can say that it is not there, you can be silent, but the elephant is still there.

People love a great story, tell yours in your advertising. Make sure it is true, make sure it is something you can back up when they visit your store, but tell your story and tell the truth. It works.

The CustomerCorner, Volume 6

How would you defeat you?

Here is a great exercise to improve your customer service.

Spend some time with your team and put yourself in your competitors shoes. Act as if you were a new competitor coming to town and they wanted to blow your customer service away. What would they do?

It may take some time to get your team going on this, but once they do, let them go. Don't argue with what they are saying, just write it down, preferrably on sheets of paper that you can hang up around the room.

Once everything is written down, let everybody vote on the top five threats. Once you get it down to five, put your hats back on and figure out ways to combat that threat before it arrives.

Congratulations, your customer service just got a lot better.

The Customer Corner, Volume 5

How are you making your customers lives better?

Let me challenge you to find ways to add to your customer service. Let me give you an example.

Recently, when I was getting dressed one morning, I put on some pants that I had just picked up from the dry cleaners. The button on the pants was truly hanging by a thread and in fact came off. My immediate thought was "why didn't they take care of this for me at the dry cleaners?"

The dry cleaners could very easily say, hey our job is to clean them not repair them. I understand, but why can't they do both. What if the dry cleaners offer to fix any loose or missing buttons for a small charge? If they had 200 takers of that service in a year and charged $5.00 per time that is a $1000 dollars in more gross sales.

Probably more important, they would be adding service for their customers and increasing their loyalty.

What about you, what small things can you do for your customers to keep them loving you?

The Customer Corner, Volume 4

Customers lie to you every single day!

They don't really mean to, they just want to be nice. In fact, you have probably lied to a business yourself. Let me explain.

You and your family are enjoying a meal out. Your food does not taste like you want it to taste. The server comes by and asks you if everything is okay, you smile and say just fine. And chances are good that you tell at least one, and probably more, other person about your displeasure.

So, how do you make sure that you are being told the truth? Here are some suggestions:

1. Hire a secret shopper. They will come in and shop your store and give you a full report of their experience.

2. Give your customers a chance to offer feedback through a blind survey. Again, this is done through a company and the customer is able to offer feedback without identifying themselves.

Regardless of how you do it, you need to make sure that you are getting feedback on your service and products. Without true feedback, you will not know how to train or re-train your staff.

The Customer Corner, Volume 3

Last week, we discussed suggestion selling. Simply suggesting to your current customers additional purchases that compliment their main purchase. (Do you want fries with that?) This week, I want to stay on topic with a different slant.

Most businesses simply need to do a better job of communicating with their current customers. It is not that hard to stand above the competition. Some simple but direct questions about how your current customers see your store.

1. Is everyone greeted when entering your store? My wife and I went out to eat over the weekend and as we approached the hostess, she actually looked away, grabbed two menus, then looked at us and said, booth or table? No hi, how are you, thanks for coming in, etc. That set our tone for the whole meal.


2. Do your customers get 100% of your associates attention? Later that day, we entered a store and I observed the cashiers. One was checking out a customer and the other one had no one at her station. The customer was being totally ignored as they discussed a movie and how they both hated it.


Could either one of these examples happen at your business? Do your employees understand how they treat customers? Do you have regular training to teach your employees? What about secret shoppers? Good customer service does not just happen, you have to work at it. When you are working so hard to get people into your store, you need to make sure they are treated correctly when they arrive.

Customer Corner, Volume 2

Last week, I told you that we would discuss suggestive selling. It can add money to your bottom line. It is easy to become very excited about getting new customers and new customers are vitally important for any business. However, the most profitable way to grow your business is from your existing customers.

Your existing customers already know and trust you. If you maximize their purchases, more will go to your bottom line. Is your staff trained to do that? If not, it may be costing you sales and profits. Here is a $100 dollar example.

A few years ago, a couple of my friends went to a big box store to buy a BBQ grill. My one friend told the store's associate which grill he wanted. The associate quickly went to work to get the grill taken to the front. My other friend (who has nearly 30 years in retail experience) asked about a cover, untensils, and a cleaning brush.

One hundred additional dollars were added to that one sell -- not because of the stores sales force, but because of a man who was helping his friend take better care of his grill. In this case it was 100 dollars, it could have been less or more, but add on sales are extremely important.


The associate was prepared to allow the customer walk out of the store with just a grill. Is your staff doing the same thing? Are you training them on how to suggest sell? What would it mean to your business if you added $100.00 to 50% of your transactions? It would be enough to create a suggestion sales game plan.


A couple of tactics: Create a list of add on suggestions for your major purchases and have your staff study them. Test them on it. Have some fun with the training. Think about paying a bonus for add on purchases. If you stay focused on this, be patient, look for coaching opportunities, your staff will soon take ownership.

Do you follow up with your customers after a major purchase? The technology is there to send emails, make phone calls, mail them a post card. Thank them for the sale, ask them to grade your store, offer them a discount to refer a friend. Suggestion selling could be a great way for you to hit your goals in 2010.


The next time you need a speaker, make it easy on yourself and call me. I will inspire, motivate, and entertain your group. Check out my speaking demo at www.bransonbusiness.blogspot.com then call (417) 339-6568 for availability. The only way I look good is making you look good for booking me.