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How accessible are you?
/in Extraordinary Customer/Client Service/by Tom DoescherIn today’s world, things move so fast that we believe it is very important to be (and to clearly appear to be) accessible to your customers/clients. Despite all the new technologies, we continue to hear customers/clients complain that the people they do business with are hard to get ahold of. Sometimes that’s true, but often it is merely perception. For example, do you frequently use email and cell phone greetings to let people know you are unavailable or on an extended absence? Why? Today, you can return emails and phone calls from anywhere in the world. Before we had cell phones, we put our home phone number on our business cards and told clients to use that number if they needed to get in touch with us. In more than 10 years, my partner and I only received one phone call at home — but our clients knew we were always available to them. Contrast that with our former doctor’s office. It was impossible to get through to our doctor. So, even though we liked him, we left his 20-doctor medical practice. We now have a new doctor, and we have his cell phone number (we have never used it, but knowing that we can if we ever need to is very comforting). What do your customers/clients say about the accessibility of their key contact at your company?
They make me feel like I am the only member (customer)
/in Extraordinary Customer/Client Service/by Tom DoescherLast year, my partner and I joined the Detroit Athletic Club (DAC), which was established in 1887 and has occupied the same clubhouse since 1915. It is a great time to be at the DAC, with the rebirth that’s taking place in the city of Detroit. When we joined the 3,800 – plus member DAC, we fully expected we would just be a “number.” Wow, were we surprised! Somehow, they (the doormen, the locker room attendants, the wait staff, and on and on) make us feel really welcome, as though we are the most important members. Recently we had a chance to speak with the executive manager, and we took the opportunity to share our wonderful experience. During our discussion, he told us that every team leader is challenged to help their team members get better, both personally and professionally, every year. What he described is the classic win/win situation: The member (customer) wins, and the team member wins.
Do your customers feel like we do about the DAC staff? Whether the answer is yes or no, we bet it has a lot to do with how your associates feel about their personal and professional development at your company.
The unmanageable star performer
/in Ideas to help you build a solid team/by Tom DoescherOne of the most universal concerns in many companies, especially in service-related businesses, is how to deal with the superstar team member who has an unhealthy ego. The May 2013 issue of the Harvard Business Review includes a great case study that addresses that all-too-common dilemma. The following is a portion of that article: http://hbr.org/2013/05/the-unmanageable-star-performer/ar/1.
If you have someone on your team like this, we would encourage you to deal with it now! You may even want to seek outside help. For those of you who have participated on any sports teams, you know that sometimes the team plays better without the big-ego superstar. We would love to hear your thoughts on this.