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How does your company handle customer/client complaints?
/in Extraordinary Customer/Client Service/by Tom DoescherLast winter we returned to our favorite place to ski in Colorado. In order to utilize our many frequent flyer miles, we had to take a flight that deposited us about three hours away from our destination. That meant we had to reserve a shuttle. Prior to our departure date we were contacted multiple times by the shuttle service, confirming our reservation — sometimes with the wrong date and/or time. Honestly, we thought we had a 50-50 chance of getting picked up. To our delight, the shuttle driver was waiting, with our name on a placard, upon our arrival. During our three-hour journey, we told the driver about our experience with his shuttle service. We related the story of the many phone calls we had received, and told him how the calls and misinformation had created a great deal of anxiety. He gave us the name of the owner and said she would love to know about our experience.
On about the fourth day of our vacation, despite the fact that the sole purpose of the trip was relaxation, I decided to call the owner of the shuttle service. Due to our driver’s strong encouragement, I thought it would be the right thing to do. And what was the owner’s reaction? You guessed it. She was very defensive, and cut me off several times. I finally terminated the call. When I got off the phone, I was angry, frustrated, and offended. After all, I was just trying to help a fellow businessperson.
How do you and your associates respond to legitimate service complaints? Are you willing to listen? We believe world-class businesses convert these situations into opportunities to create loyal customers/clients.
p.s. I didn’t say it is easy. If you click this link (http://www.doescheradvisors.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Having-Effective-Difficult-Customer-Conversations.pptx power point), you will go to a December presentation on Having Effective Difficult Customer Conversations.
You either are or you are not an entrepreneur
/in Sharpening Your Personal Leadership Skills/by Tom DoescherAs a follow-up to our June 12, 2012, newsletter, entitled Levels of Leaders: Is he or she a leader?, we wanted to talk about entrepreneurs. I have two clients who just get it. When I first met each of them, I asked the following question: What was your first business? They both smiled and enjoyed telling me how, when they were in their early teens, they would go down to the corner store to purchase candy and then resell it to their classmates. This past summer we were in Guatemala, staying at a mission house. After a week of building houses for widows, my work boots were pretty dirty. The locals told me there was a young man (actually a young boy) who could clean them up for me. At the designated time, he arrived at the house and gave me a great shine. As he was working on my boots, I couldn’t help but think, “This guy is a 10-year-old businessman.”
So what’s the point? Our posts on April 3 and April 10 encouraged you to “hire owners.” As you build your teams, look for clues to each individual’s personality and attributes and strive to develop associates who have entrepreneurial skills. Some of them may leave to start their own companies, but if you treat them right, most will stay.
Field house janitor gets National Championship ring
/in Ideas to help you build a solid team/by Tom DoescherIn our March 29, 2012, newsletter, we promised to tell another Coach Tom Izzo story. As promised, here it is. There was a janitor who allowed the MSU basketball players to shoot hoops in the field house after the normal hours of operation, as a favor for the coach. Turns out the janitor would also let the coach know which players were actually investing their personal time this way. When the Spartans won the National Championship, Coach Izzo, with a huge smile, said he gave the first championship ring to this janitor. Now, just think about the positive consequences of this classy move by the coach.
We probably all have janitors (or seemingly less-important team members) in our companies. Do we take the time to appropriately recognize them?