Remember When Giving Thanks

As this is a short week for most of us I will keep my comments brief as well.

We all know that the meaning of Thanksgiving is to pause and give thanks for our many blessings in life. But let’s not forget some things we need to be thankful for that allow us the privilege of celebrating Thanksgiving.

We all will be thankful for the loved ones in our lives and around our tables, but what about the extended family members who are not around our tables? In today’s world we have more blended families. Some friends may be with us that are more like family than some that are our own flesh and blood. We have to learn to follow the examples put forth to us and forgive those that we feel have wronged us in some way. For that is how we can really understand the meaning of the holiday seasons we are approaching.

I was brought up in a non-denominational church as a child and even though I am many years from those teachings the lessons I learned is the foundation of who I am today. I may not agree with everyone’s differing viewpoints but I can be thankful I live in a country where they are allowed to have those different viewpoints and we are still equal.

I have yet to meet anyone from a different background that did not bleed blood as red as the blood in my body. So I urge you to remember we are all God’s Creations and give thanks for the differences, for what a boring place this world would be if we were all the same and thought or looked alike.

We must also remember that from the beginning of this country people have defended our rights to live free and equal and continue to do so today. All different types of people have stood up for those rights and some have given the ultimate sacrifice.

So I urge you to start at the top, Thank God for everything he has done in our lives, remember the ones that are not with us as we stop to give thanks. Ones who are not able to join us, ones that we have lost contact with for whatever reason, the ones that stand for us and make sure we can sit and give thanks living and past.

And I will be thankful as well to those of you who have taken the time to read the ramblings of a thankful American.

 As always I have found something to make you wonder about the writer…….A Thanksgiving Poem:

 "May your stuffing be tasty May your turkey plump, May your potatoes and gravy have nary a lump. May your yams be delicious and your pies take the prize, and may your Thanksgiving dinner stay off your thighs!" - Anonymous

Do You Communicate Like a Horse?

I have been in the service field in one form or another for my entire working life. I have worked with good managers, bad managers and learned from both.

I have also had the fortunate opportunity to be around horses for most of my life as well. It amazes me that people can’t communicate as well as horses.

If you have spent any time around these wonderful animals you understand what I mean. Horses have a silent language that if you pay attention you can learn what they are saying to one another with their ears, heads, nose, eyes and tails. Most verbal communication is for long distance communicating when it comes to horses.

Recently I was visiting my sister’s house Anna, after a short trip out of town. Prior to my trip I had been living there and was more than willing to tend to the horses to help out. So the horses knew me well, with my favorite, a Standard bred former harness race horse Zorro, picking me as his favorite as well.

The afternoon I arrived my Brother-In-Law Ken and I were sitting on the porch having a conversation. A short time passed when we heard a loud “Neigh” came from down at the barn. We continued talking and a few minutes went by when it happened again. The third call from the barn brought us both to attention. Ken stated “I better go check on them, some things not right for one of them to be calling 3 times like that.” I said I would go because it most likely was just Zorro calling for me since I had not been down to see him yet. Ken laughed and said, you think so? As I walked down to the barn sure enough there was Zorro standing at the gate and when he saw me he let out another loud neigh! He had heard me talking and was calling to me to come see him. He also knew I would provide a treat once I got there.

Horses blow into each other’s nose to exchange their scent as well as greet one another. Watch a horse’s ears, eyes, head, tail and neck and you will see a simple greeting, happiness, trust, distrust, fear, boredom, as well as alarm.

Sadly some of us need to learn to communicate as well as horses. But we need to do it with words. Everyone has heard the phrase, “don’t assume, because when you assume……” Communication doesn’t start and stop with your customers it has to be a constant communication from you to your co-workers, as well as your customers.

If your customer details information to you about a project and you do not pass along the information to the service person that is sent to perform the work, how irritated will your customer be when the service person performs work that is not desired?  Do this enough times and you will no longer have that client I am sure.

Imagine you’re in a restaurant and the server comes to take your order but doesn’t pay attention when you tell them what you want. Then proceeds to guess what you asked for when the information is relayed to the kitchen staff. Are you going to say something when you get the wrong item? Of course, most of us would. I say most because I would guess a great deal of people have gotten the wrong order at a drive thru and not realized that you didn’t get what you asked for until you were miles down the road.

Communication entails three simple things to make sure you are getting your point across when you give information or obtain information from your client.

Maintain eye contact. It expresses that what the person is saying is important. If you’re the one speaking you can tell if the person you are talking to is taking it as seriously as you do.

Repeat word for word what the person has told you or have the person you’re talking to repeat it back to you.  

Rephrase what you were told as to the meaning you understood or explain what you are saying in other terms if the information if you are convening the information.

We can’t swish our tails or turn our ears to communicate like horses do but we can take the time to give clear communications to one another. I had an employer that liked to use the phrase “I’m checking in here with you, now what did I just say?” He liked when you would repeat back to him not word for word but the meaning of what he told you.  His way of making sure what he was expressing was what you understood. We can all do that with our clients, co-workers, and service personal and in the end we get the treat we are “neighing” to get.

Budds Creek, Maryland, has an antique law which prohibits horses from sleeping in a bathtub, unless the rider is also sleeping with the horse. 

Swing, but follow through!

Even though we all feel like we understand the art of customer service a good deal fall short in the follow through. If we were playing a round of golf and stopped our swing just after impact with the ball that game may break a record for most swings in a round of golf. A record I hold and best every time I play. When asked if I play golf I have one reply. Only for comic relief!

No I am not a golfer, but most everyone has played baseball or softball at some point in there life. Same principle applies here as well. If we imagine playing either game and we used a glass ball, would you swing as hard? Most likely not, most would close their eyes and swing gingerly fearing in moment of impact.

Why do we react the same way when it comes to customer service? The customer isn't going to explode when we contact them. A phone call, an e-mail or stopping by to see them is a wonderful follow through that drives the hit so much farther and makes a great impact with the your customer.

Some days we may not be at our best or having our best game, but in today's world of e-mail we can still drive the ball a great distance with a quick e-mail touching base with them. Notice the sports reference we use normally in conversations like this? "Touching base", as in "make sure you touch the bases as you run around the field". Cover all your bases is another reference we use that has a sports feel to it. Over the years we have linked business with sports, but it all starts to you getting up to bat.

You can't be a success if you have no follow through on your swing in sports or business. How many companies have you dealt with that have the motto, just give us your business one time, after that we could care less if we see you again. Or we are content being number 2, 3 or 4? Does that sound like companies we want to deal with? Not really, but no service after the sale is just like having that attitude.

If you were awarded a contract with a client and afterwards you didn't take the clients phone calls or respond to their e-mails, or visit them personally, how long before the new client you worked so hard to obtain would mail you  notice that they were terminating the contract? Most likely not very long.

This seems like an over simplified way of making a point to many, but I am amazed how often I see this attitude in the work place. You may excuse it as your to busy, I will get it tomorrow, but what if tomorrow is the day your new client cancels the contract?

The repeat customer is your best salesperson. And you don't have to pay them! In fact they pay you! But getting that repeat customer requires follow through. How busy would you be if you didn't have any customers? Still to busy to follow up? Make the time in your schedule to follow through on your swing.

On a personal note, I would like to thank all of you that replied to my last post, "The strongest person I know is 3 years old." I had the opportunity to spend some time with my family and with Ally as well over the weekend. We played and laughed Ally continued to soften my old heart when she crawled up in my lap placed her head on my chest and took a short nap. It was Ally's and her big sister's birthday party this weekend (3 and 5) and she had an exciting day.

In Washington State, you can't carry a concealed weapon that is over 6 feet in length. Just how tall are people in Washington State?

“The Strongest Person I Have Ever Know is 3 Years Old”

My blog is a little more personal this week than most, but if you will indulge me, it may bring a tear to your eyes.

Like most people I have seen things on television or on the internet of amazing feats of human strength.

It was not long ago that there was a video on the internet of a group of people that lifted a burning car off of a young man that had gotten pinned under the car after a collision between himself on his motorcycle and the car. Thankfully he survived, and it was amazing to watch the by-standers that stopped their cars and come together and lift the car off this young man.

We have heard stories for years about people exhibiting super human strength in situations that save the life of someone.

But have you ever know someone that was so strong mentally that their ability to deal with a difficult situation was breath taking? When you are faced with a difficult situation in your life or at work that this person is your inspiration to overcome whatever you are facing?

I am fortunate to not have one but 3 people in my life that are an inspiration to me to realize that anything I face in life is a temporary bump in the road not the mountain I would have considered it in the past.

The first two are my Niece and her husband, my Nephew. The reason is they face situations and what would knock most anyone else on their butts, through the grace of God they face it and deal with it taking it in stride.

The third person is their youngest daughter, Ally.  Ally is 3 years old, or will be in a few days. At the tender age of 6 months old Ally had surgery to remove a brain tumor. They were unable to get it all and it has left her legally blind and has a disorder called Diabetes Insipidus.

Despite all of this in her short 3 years she is the happiest person I know. My heart melted a couple weeks ago when I walked into their home and upon hearing my voice she knew who I was and asked me to “Sit on floor, Uncle D” so I could play with her.  I do not see her often enough as they live 3 hours from me, but my voice is one she knew. She melted it again when she said, “Uncle D, Loves Me?” I know I do not have to tell you what my reply was to her.

It is humbling to look on a little child such as Ally and realize I have no reason to complain about any ache or pain I have.

When I am facing a tough situation at work or in my personal life and I catch myself complaining I stop and think, is it really as bad as I am making it out to be? Or can I be as strong as a 3 year old here and deal with it?

I invite you to read her amazing story at http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/allymichellewilson.

If you’re as lucky as I am and get the blessing of hearing Ally laugh you will understand why even as touching this story is I will include my weekly strange law. I am sure I can hear her laughing, just not sure if she is laughing with me or at me. Either way I am good with it, Uncle D loves you Ally.

In South Dakota, No horses are allowed into Fountain Inn unless they are wearing pants. Great, can you find a Horse Tailor in the phone book for me?

Customer Service “When it rains, I let it.”

“When it rains, I let it.” This is a statement is contributed to a 113 year old man when someone ask him what was the secret to his longevity. It is a simple premise, “don’t sweat the small stuff” is a currently popular saying, followed up with “and it’s all small stuff.” But how often do we sweat the small stuff, or try and stop the rain?

We have all worried about things that are really out of our control when we stop and be honest about everything. Most of us began with worrying about little things like will he or she like me, will I find a good job, will I make a lot of money? At the time they were all valid question. But as we grow and mature we realize these things are not as important as happiness.

Eleanor Roosevelt is credited with saying “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” What a profound comment in my opinion. We chose the path of life we take when it comes to our happiness. If we chose to be a happy person it is because we stepped out in our mind and made the decision we deserved to be happy.

What does any of this have to do with customer service? Simple, if your customers see you’re happy to see them and your excitement to work for them they will come back because it made them happy! It was a pleasant experience! If you have an unhappy experience are you likely to repeat that situation? When it comes to customer service it depends on how we were treated. If you’re problem is acknowledged and dealt with a positive attitude it will turn the experience around and make it a positive one.

I was recently in a business to have service done to my vehicle. Now I was out of town so returning to this location is highly unlikely. However, I didn’t have an unfavorable experience. The customer in front of me did. He parked his vehicle and came into the lobby area and asked for the manager. He was informed the young lady behind the counter was the manager by an employee that happen to be in the lobby. This customer was dissatisfied with the attitude presented by the young lady behind the counter. This is where things went terribly wrong. The employee that happen to be in the lobby cut the customer off prior to the customer being able to express his feelings and be heard. The young man, while meaning well, stopped the gentlemen from speaking handing him a customer comment card and said just fill this out and it will be sent to the district manager. The customer wasn’t done. The employee left the lobby and the young lady behind the counter had as well left, leaving one person behind the counter, the real manager. She was there trying to paint the area behind the counter. She politely listen to the customer express his displeasure with the other young lady that he was told was the manager and assured her he would not be returning.

Now I sat there thinking of what went wrong here and how would have I handled it differently? I did not witness the young lady present a negative attitude toward the customer. But I did witness the negative reaction to the customer wanting to complain. Later as I was checking out the real manager told the young lady she wasn’t worried about that guy, he was just most likely in a bad mood. Maybe, but that discussion should have not taken place in front of me. And the employee that cut the customer off from being able to express his displeasure compounded the situation but not allowing the customer the voice to be heard.

The real manager did not offer to the customer the satisfaction of knowing the young lady would be counseled in her negative attitude. She reply was "Well, I am sorry." As I said if the young lady really had a negative attitude I don’t know. But as we have heard many times, the customer is always right.

In my mind it would have taken less effort to turn this situation around and kept the customer a customer. Allow the customer to speak and be heard. Assure the customer the situation will be handled.

Instead they tried to stop the rain when the customer complained. They put up a defensive umbrella and shielded themselves from the rain. So when you see the cloud darkening and you know it’s going to rain, let it. If you deal with it correctly it will help your plants (customers) grow.  

Did you know in Culpeper Virginia it is illegal to wash a mule on the sidewalk?

Do you understand everything you know?

I am tardy posting my blog, but I was attending a NFPA 70E training class last week and as well as learning a great deal, I was gathering information for this blog subject.

I have been in the electrical field for 30+ years and have always said and believe the day I have learned everything about this trade I would quit because that would be the day I hurt myself or someone else.

Well to suggest I didn’t learn something about this trade in my training class would be a big joke. I Learned so much!!! Also I learned about something about myself, I was never this good of a student when I was younger.

As I said, I have been in the electrical trade for over 30+ years, many times I have turned breakers on and off and always as I was taught I turned my head to the side or turned my back on the larger circuits when I turned them on. But as I learned I wasn’t protecting myself at all turning away.

In one of the training videos a mannequin was stood in front of a panel, holding a screwdriver as if the blade had slipped and was creating a short in the panel. The mannequin was wearing a hardhat, safety glasses, gloves and a long sleeve work shirt. However, no matter what the protection, it wasn’t enough. Once the power was applied the plasma explosion completely enveloped the mannequin front and back. In less than a 1/16^th of a second the temperature under the mannequin’s shirt was at 122 degrees Fahrenheit. The plasma temperature was 35000 degrees. The pressure from the explosion expanded the air 67,000 times in a fraction of a second putting over 5000 pounds of force on the mannequin which would have resulted in breaking all the ribs or a real human.

Also the protective clothing we wear is only meant to protect us enough to receive a survivable 2^nd degree burn.

How many times have I as a supervisor been the one to put on the arc suit direct all  the others to leave the room and energize a breaker thinking if something did fail I would be unhurt.

What do we do in our daily routines that we have done time and time again thinking we were safe in doing so, only to discover we knew nothing of the possible outcome if things did not go as planned?

I have a teenage daughter that is only a couple years from getting a drivers license, here is one I have thought about when I think about her getting her license.

Something people do everyday around us and the outcome can be deadly is texting and driving. Traveling at 70 miles per hour in 3 seconds we have traveled just over the length of a football field. How long are you not looking at the road when you look down to read or type a text, just a few seconds maybe, the length of a football field at 70 mph or at 30 miles per hour 135 feet. Scary when you think about it like that way isn’t it?

Accident prevention is not only something we need to strive for but something we need to learn about. Take a few minutes and think about things you do all the time, second nature things. Do you really understand everything you know?

Did you know in Georgia it is illegal to tie a giraffe to a telephone pole?

“What we have here is a failure to communicate!”

Those words are spoken twice in the Paul Newman film “Cool Hand Luke”. The first time it is the “Captain” or warden of the prison, played by Strother Martin, then again at the end of the film by “Luke” played by Paul Newman.

Now I must admit I am guilty of failing to communicate last week entering my weekly blog. My apologizes are extended, in no way an excuse, but I was traveling working out of a different office. I should have taken the few minutes to sit down and allow my thoughts to be put to electronic type, but I failed.

But in our world of customer service communication is the key to successful customer relationships. But it doesn’t stop at dealing with our clients we have to be in a constant state of communication.

I spoke with a co-worker in another office that is also a dear friend personally. It was in our friendship relationship that this communication took place, a venting as it were about other colleagues. Finding out information about a position change for one colleague of hers and two new employees’s transferring in to her department and she is the administrative director for her department. Doesn’t it always seem like the one person that should be in the loop is the last one brought in the loop? Now I am sure we have been in situations similar to this on one side of the situation or the other. Depending on which side we are on influences our response to the situation, but should it? No lack of communication is dangerous on many levels. How would that reflect if our clients heard about it?

I returned to my office to find a voicemail from a client on my phone with a question about a piece of monitoring equipment left on his site by one of my colleagues. He was told I would be making arrangements after a few days to come to the site and remove the equipment. I would have gladly been to the site and done so except I had no clue any equipment was installed that needed to be removed. Why this simple bit of information was over looked I do not know. But it reflects a poor internal communication which is not the image we want to present.

 Communication is one of the easiest yet hardest tasks to take on it seems. Don’t think so? Drive down the highway and drive for an hour, how many speed limit signs do you pass? Now ask a law enforcement officer how many speeding tickets are written in that same stretch of highway. The speed limit was communicated, most of us know what the speed limit is when we are traveling yet we push it and try to ignore the communicated law. I remember a police officer addressing a driver improvement class made a funny yet effective communication of this very situation. He stated to the class, “I am not blind folks, I know when I take an exit on the highway it is like the green flag is dropped at the Indianapolis 500!” Funny, yet all these years ago I remember this statement.

Communication is vital to any relationship. Don’t speak to your spouse or significant other for 15 minutes when you see them next, before the 15 minutes is up I would guess you will get a comment like, “Is everything OK?” Communicate, you were just communicated to about how important you are to them and your well being.  Three little words say a mouth full doesn’t it. Yeah that phrase normally is used with three other little words, but in either situation it does speak volumes. Just don’t use it with the police officer, it doesn’t help.

Did you know in Florida if an elephant is left tied to a parking meter, the parking fee has to be paid just as it would for a vehicle, guess I better go feed the meter.

Management Blunders

I am sometimes amazed at some of the brainless moves we see from managers. And yes I said BRAINLESS!! Who told these people they had the neutrons firing in the correct order to make decisions, decisions that are some of the most blatant fumbling of the management football imaginable.

Here are a couple examples of what I feel is mismanagement decisions that make me scratch my head and wonder what are they thinking????

Bank of America announces a $5.00 monthly fee for debit card usage. I remember thinking the same thing a few years back when another bank announced they would start charging a fee for going inside to make standard transactions like deposits or withdrawal that could be made instead using the ATM.

But I could almost justify this fee, if they could cut back on the amount of tellers they could cut costs. Cutting cost upfront should mean working more efficiently. It didn’t work that way with the banks. We all grumble and complain about the “fees” charged for low account balance that they call monthly “service” or “maintenance” charges and explain it away as a fee for the accounting effort to keep track of your money. So let me get this straight, you want me to put my money in your bank for safe keeping, you tell me up front you are going to lend out money to people and charge them interest to make money, but you also want to charge me for the privilege to keep my money in your bank? If your holding my money, wouldn’t it be your job to keep track of it? And why is it if you have a great deal of money for them to keep track of, they don’t charge you? Isn’t that backwards?

Now you want to give me a card that is tied directly to my account to use, I no longer have to write checks, so it is automated for you to handle transactions, which, in my simple way of thinking, means less people which means less cost, and now you want to charge me for this privilege. And in today’s world of electronic processing who is doing this work in the end?

What happen to the good old days when banks set examples of customer service that were good? I remember as a child going into our local bank, (not owned by big corporation people) and my Father told the Vice President “Tony” he wanted to buy a new car. Tony replied, “Mr. Cloniger, just go pick out what you want, we will take care of the paperwork afterwards.” Now “Tony” was not a family friend, he was “our” banker. “Russ” was our insurance agent, etc. They were people. They worked for us. Why, because we were customers and good customer service was normal. Thanks Bank of America, just another reason I am happy I have never “banked” with you and I never will!

Another article I came across was the most outrageous example of poor bad management decisions. This story comes out of the land down under, Australia. A bride to be was told sidestep their store by the customer service department of an up-market chain “Gasp”, after she wrote an e-mail to complain about a rude salesman.

Per the report the young lady went in the store looking for bridesmaid dress. The sales clerk “chided” her for being a size 12. The as she was leaving the sales clerk yelled, “I knew you were a joke the minute you walked in.”

The customer service management reply defended the employee’s action and said his “retail superstars” only problem is he is too good at what he does. He also stated talented people, such as his clerk, “generally do not tolerate having their time wasted, which is why you were provoked to leave our store.”  Wow, serving the customer is a waste of time. I never knew people thought like that.

The manager also commented “So if you would like to do us any favors, please do not waste our retail staff’s time, because as you have already seen they will not tolerate it.” The manager claimed in his reply the store carries clothes worn by A list celebrities like Kim Kardashian, Selena Gomez and Katy Perry to name a few, and their clothing is worn by a select few. “Similarly these items are priced such that they remain inaccessible to the undesirable.”

I mean I am at a loss for words. Are there people out there placed in a management position that have had their frontal lobe removed completely?

I am so appalled by this story I will include a link to the article where you can read both the customer’s email and the manager’s reply. You can make your own decision. Now I cannot attest as to how the customer acted in the store as there was little mentioned about that timeframe, but have we lost the “Customer is always right” attitude completely and replaced it with, please leave, I will wait for a better customer?

Here is the link for the article:

http://www.news.com.au/national/customer-complaint-email-and-response-by-gasp-clothing-goes-viral/story

Finally, Oklahoma’s school superintendent made a statement Thursday saying that her chief of staff calling school administrators “dirt bags” in a personal twitter post a “poor choice of words” really, a poor choice of words?

It once was the manager, the level headed one that made decisions, kept the customer happy as well as the employee.

I suppose there is no test for common sense.

Interesting fact I found this week Charleston, there is a law on the books that all carriage horses must wear diapers. I love horses, but I am not going to change those babies!!!! Have a great week!

The Sky is the Limit on Customer Service

We occasionally hear stories about customer service that seems to be so over the top it makes one wonder what drives someone think to go above and beyond? Why do we consider it over the top? Why isn’t it considered standard practice? I suggest we need to be striving to make our normal everyday customer service over the top customer service.

It would be very easy for me to become discouraged in the market I service and throw my hands up in disgust and proclaim I give up. Why, because as I like to refer to my world I am still pushing a rock up a hill. No, I don’t work with rocks. I am an electrician and I have been the Service Manager for many years now. However, I am the new kid on the block here in the Charleston area. I have learned two things would open doors a lot faster for me, neither of which I possess and I can’t obtain. The first one is to be born and raised in the Charleston area. Sorry folk, even though my brother-in-law built a recreation of the time machine from the first Back To The Future movie (yes he bought a DeLorean and has everything in it and on it just like the movie) it does not work so I cannot have my mother and father move to Charleston prior to my birth. Secondly, I didn’t attend the Citadel. I would have welcomed the opportunity but I chose to attend Sidewalk University, School of Hard Knocks and go to work in the electrical field for my continuing education.

So since I posses neither of the keys to quickly open doors in this area, I push the rock up the hill. It will take time for people to accept me and get accustom with me as a transplant to the area.

But I knew within a few hours after arriving here in the Charleston area I was home. When my Vice President offered me the opportunity to start up a service division here I took a giant step into the unknown. Knowing no one here, my closest family members are 3 hours away in the upstate, and never living anywhere but Virginia here I was, a little fish in this big new pond.  I love the area I think I was supposed to be here all along. Given time I will start getting a few doors to open. All I want is a chance.

My company is not originally based here in the Charleston area, but we started out 60 years ago in Virginia, just like every other company, with one man’s desire to provide for his family and be of service to his community. Mr. M.C. Dean past away earlier this year and I unfortunately never had the pleasure to meet him. His son ran the company for years and continued the tradition. His Grandson is the President now, a very innovative and motivated leader just like his Grandfather and Father before him. But as large as M.C. Dean, Inc. has become, it still comes down to the same original ideals that started this company 60 years ago, excellent customer service.  

I searched the internet the other day for “customer service” and I found two categories, customer service and excellent customer service.  In an effort to raise the bar I would like to share some of the “excellent customer service” stories I have come across and challenge you to transformer the level of customer service you read about into the “norm” for your customer service. I have paraphrased the stories somewhat to keep you from falling asleep reading my blog, but they are worth searching out and reading the full stories.

Trader Joe’s is a grocery store located in 29 states currently. A snow storm was due to hit around the holidays in the Pennsylvania area. The daughter of an 89 year old Pennsylvania gentleman contacted the store after trying multiple other stores trying to find someone that might deliver. She feared her Father didn’t have enough food to last through the holidays. The Trader Joe’s employee took her order, and even though they did not normally deliver they would in this situation. It was only about $50 worth of food that needed to be delivered and the store employee told her to have a Merry Christmas, it was on them. Within 30 minutes of the phone call the food was delivered.  

In several cities CVS operates the Samaritan Van. Among the list of free services they offer, cost free disabled vehicle repairs for stranded motorist, EMT or paramedic level Emergency medical assistance, animal rescue, open vehicles with the keys locked inside, assist lost motorists and vehicle and brush fire containment. Remember CVS is a pharmacy.

I read a story about a lady that worked in the junior’s department of a clothing store. A customer called in looking for a pair of jeans for her daughter and that all the other stores in the area did not have them in her size. The store employee found they could be ordered but it would take 3 weeks, which the customer said was to late. The employee took the ladies name and number and promised to call back. She then proceeded to call around and located them in a sister store an hour away. Now instead of calling the customer and telling them where they were, the employee put the jeans on hold, drove to the store on her own time, brought them with her to work the next day and notified the customer they were being held for her to be picked up.

Peter Shankman is a CEO and is known worldwide for his thinking about PR, Social Media, advertising, marketing, and customer service. On a recent business trip he knew he would be returning home to late to stop for dinner short of fast food at the airport which he decided against. Now it seems he is an avid customer of Morton’s Steakhouse and just prior to takeoff on his way home he tweeted as a joke, “Hey @Mortons – can you meet me at the Newark airport with a porterhouse when I land in two hours? K, thanks. J” Well to his surprise someone at Morton’s corporate office saw his tweet, obviously they knew who Peter Shankman was, got permission to make this happen contacted the nearest Morton’s to the Newark Airport. When he arrived a gentleman from Morton’s in Hackensack was standing there with a 24oz. Porterhouse, shrimp, potatoes, bread, napkins, and silverware.

Wouldn’t be nice if we lived in a world where stories like this weren’t news worthy, they were any everyday occurrence?

Employee Relations, Steps to Success

In today’s fast paced world it is easy to make mistakes in the little things. Hopefully one of the things you don’t consider little is employee relations. However there are common mistakes that can be very detrimental to our overall success as managers.

Lacking in the communications department is in my opinion the biggest mistake managers make in the work place today. Do your team members know you appreciate them other than at review time? Thank them for their efforts and reward them. If they are successful so are you!  

Do they know what you expect from them on a daily basis? Give them a clear understanding of what is expected of them. It is impossible to reach a goal if you don’t know what that goal is or where it is and how to reach it. Clear directions on what is expected can be often over looked.

Don’t keep them in the dark. Let them in on the big picture, follows along with them knowing what their goals and expectations are, but let them know how that fits in the bigger picture of the company’s goals and direction.

Do you play favorites at work? It is difficult for us as managers not to become friends with some of our team members. But if you do that, are you seen as favoring one person over another? Perhaps you bowl or play softball with one or more of your team members. You stop for a beer and the conversation is carried over back into the office. Do your other team members now see you as playing favorites? Allowing this situation to happen you will create an environment of resentment and full of jealousy. You must treat everyone equally.

In conflicts that arise does your staff view you as taking sides? This will go hand in hand with the playing favorite’s situations. Make sure in conflict resolution you view both sides and make you’re decisions based on the company policies and procedures.

In conflict resolution don’t make snap decisions, take your time, listen to both sides, and do some investigation yourself if need be to get all the facts. Your team members will appreciate the time you take especially if you communicate with them during the process.

Give them a platform to offer suggestions to improve the work place. If you give your team members a voice, a way to express their idea’s they will be happier and more productive. But it is one easy way to improve the attitudes in the work place that is often over looked.

Show your team members you trust them. Not trusting your staff creates a negative work environment. If you think you have to be over their shoulder they will harbor resentment towards you and be less than productive.

Most managers believe that money is the biggest reason people change jobs, but it is not really. In some situations it is a factor and for a small percentage of people it is the biggest reason, but for almost 90% of people depart because of issues with their “Job, work environment, or believe it or not, their MANAGER!” Working on the area’s above might just help you to become a better manager and more successful. Look for the red flags that your employee’s are not happy.

Avoid the pitfalls to being a bad manager, don’t be a boss, be a team leader, be a coach to your team and watch your team members start to work together and you all succeed!!! 

9/11 Remembered: 10 Years Ago

Hard to believe but it has been 10 years this Sunday since the terror attacks of 9/11.

Rather than write my normal blog, I felt compelled to write a short reminder for us all to take a few minutes out this Sunday and remember the thousands of lost loved ones from that day. They may have not all been on a plane but their lives were lost that day due to a plane crash.

And as we remember those that lost their lives, remember those effected in other ways as well. The person that still has nightmares about the events, the person left wondering why was I spared, the people that inhaled the dust, debris, chemicals and still suffer. Or the family members left behind to try and heal and move forward with their lives. Maybe still wishing they could look up and see that husband, wife, mother, father, daughter, son, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, cousin, or grandparent come through the door, call on the phone, etc.

All the first responders, including our four legged friends that along with their handlers day in and day out worked to search for the last one.

Now 10 years later there are children that have no clue how every TV station, radio station reported live that day. To them it may be as remote in their thoughts as World War I and II is for some of us that were not alive while those events happened.

Does it make the events any less vivid to those that did live through the horror? No, it doesn’t, but we have to understand, for some in school today it may be just a part of history just as the civil war or the market crash in 1929. Help them understand what happened that day.

Here are the times for the events that took place that sad day. Can you spend a few minutes in prayer for the families, survivors, victims and the United States as well?

8:46 AM Flight 11 crashes into the north tower of the World Trade Center.

9:03 AM Flight 175 crashes into the south tower of the World Trade Center.

9:38 AM Flight 77 crashes into the Pentagon.

9:59 AM The south tower of the World Trade Center collapses.

10:10 AM Flight 93 crashes into the field in Pennsylvania.

10:28 AM The north tower of the World Trade Center collapses.

5:20 PM Building 7 of the World Trade Center collapses.

As this Sunday approaches take some time to say a little prayer,

A prayer for those that are not here today,

A prayer for those that are still suffering,

A prayer for those that are still feeling the pain,

A prayer for the child missing the parent,

A prayer for the parent missing the child,

A prayer for God to keep us safe and give us peace,

A prayer for God to Bless America.

Motivating Your Workforce

What is the easiest way to motivate your team members? Money of course is the biggest motivator. But can you afford to give out raises to motivate them every time? No, none of us can, especially in today’s economy.

So how else can you put the drive and determination into their daily efforts? Actually it is rather simple when you think about it, and most of the time these methods last much longer in the employee’s mind than the raise or bonus will last.

One of the greatest motivators is praise, recognition, or attention. If your employee meets a goal you or they have set for themselves, it is an achievement. Announce it to their co-workers.  What may seem like a small goal to you is a big accomplishment for them. Get excited with them! Why don’t we do that now? Most likely as managers we don’t get this treatment from our supervisors when we reach an objective. But if we start this process, we will find it to be the cheapest motivator we don’t have to pay for from our bottom line! It could be something as simple as a memo sent around via e-mail, or posted for everyone to read, a newsletter announcement, or even during a meeting, a round of applause after bringing recognition to the accomplishment.

Providing a work atmosphere that is comfortable and supportive is another way of keeping employee’s spirits high. How many have heard of the facilities Google has for their employee’s? In some areas they have bean bag chairs and couches instead of tables and chairs in areas throughout the buildings because as the management team says ideas don’t happen only at your desk, game rooms set up in area, and free food in the cafeteria. Now we all are not Google and can afford to have facilities like Google, but we can make our work space a place that our employee’s feel supported and happy to come to work and put forth the effort. Give your employee’s flexibility in balancing your work life and home life. Can you allow them a flexible schedule, how about telecommuting, or free snacks? Maybe a small change but that small change goes a long way.

Training is another motivational tool that can be used. Whether it is one-on-one training, review training, strengthen the skills they have now training, or career path training. Invest some time with the employee’s shows you care, it is easy for people to forget how much you care. One-on-one training done in public helps motivate other employee’s around this training, allowing them to see the care and commitment you are putting forth.  But an investment in your employee’s pays off greatly.

Make work fun and competitive. Set goals for your employee’s, small milestones, and reward them when they reach these goals with ½ hour paid time off, let them use it to come in a little late, leave a little early or have an extended lunch.

Surprise and reward your team with cookies, or pizza one day for a little energizer for your team members. Or don’t surprise them, plan it out let them know and watch the excitement grow.

Simple when you stop and think about the returns on your investments, isn’t it? Stop by Costco or a club warehouse and buy a box of little bags of chips, set it up in your area and watch the smile and the efforts improve.

‘Off Duty’, are you ever really?

As a representative of your company are you ever really off duty? I have been thinking about this a good deal over the past week. Some of you may have noticed I didn’t post a blog last week. I took a few personal days to spend time with, in one aspect, the most important customers I will ever have, my children.

Now I do not say that to imply I treat them as customers, but many ways we react and treat our family members is the basic form of how we treat our customers. First we serve them, we serve them in fact it is our job to teach them how to be good adults, citizens, and people in general. So the roots of everything I do for my customers comes back to being as I was taught to be, honest, caring, fair, and take pride in everything you do. As we live our lives and spend time with our kids we are passing on these values on to them.

So are we really ever “Off Duty”? Driving into work this morning I was passed by a pickup truck with a General Contractors name on the side of the door. Now I wouldn’t think twice about this except I was traveling with the flow of traffic, which in the Charleston area, is qualifying speeds at some NASCAR tracks. Also after the truck passed me, in the right lane mind you as I was in the left, he pulled in front of me, braking since there was a slower moving traffic in the right lanes and traffic in front of me, traveling at the “qualifying” speed. He continued just a few feet from the bumper of the truck in front of him until that truck finally reached a position to move to the right and left him by. Now in this process another truck pulled out from the right lane in front of me, after signaling. Notice I never mentioned a signal on the first truck his must have been broken since he never used them.

But being the guy that normally gets notified if one of my service drivers gets a complaint phoned in on them, it started me thinking. How would the owner of the General Contractor react if he knew his customer service image being projected by one of his trucks was pushy, completely disregard for safety, and uncaring. Whereas the second truck was a company truck as well (fire alarm sub contractor), and it projected just the opposite impression. The driver was thoughtful, courteous, and respectful of others.

I allowed my mind to wonder a bit and thought of the past few days I had spent with my kids. I realized then we are never really “off duty”. What if you were out with friends and had a bit too much to drink, would you want to run into your customers then? How about letting your kids see that example? Felt wronged and used some inappropriate langue and turn only to be eye to eye with a client? Wish you could eat those words, right?

When are you “Off Duty”?

Serving Your Internal Customers

Over the last few weeks we have discussed customer service from the perspective of the external customer. But what about the internal customer we all have, our employees?

Let’s face it, as managers, dealing with the external customers is only one aspect of our daily jobs. Dealing with the other employees is a large part of what we do every day. We are the first stop most of the time for the employee, more so than HR. Why is that? Simple, like our external customers they have developed a level of trust with us.

Just like our external customers, our internal customers need to feel like they are part of the team and it is our job to maintain that relationship with them. Remember, they are the face the external customer see’s and has the greatest impact on them. If we keep our internal customers happy they will do their utmost to keep the external customer happy for you.

That doesn’t mean to say we are to give them everything they ask for, just as it was when we were little kids and we asked our parents for something. If we got everything we asked for we became spoiled brats and did not appreciate what we already have now. Also, in the long run if we did give them everything we would be able to see it was the beginning of the end for that internal customer.

Being in a management position for many years I learned from one of the best managers I ever had the opportunity to work with that in doing reviews no one gets a perfect score. If you receive a perfect score what do you have to work on, what skill should you sharpen? I have heard of only one person that was able to walk on water, if one is perfect walking on water should be an easy task. There is always room for improvement in whatever we are doing. I have been in the electrical field for 30 years, I have yet to have mastered it, and despite holding two masters licenses’ I know I will never truly master the trade.  I will never stop learning about this trade. We all continue to learn at whatever we are doing, we all have a need to be challenged and to grow.

Finding the balance in dealing with our internal customers is a challenge every day. Is the person you’re dealing with in a bad mood? Did they have a fight with their spouse before work that is eating at them and dividing their attention? Did they get bad news about something? Did they get good news and are not focusing as they should be on the task at hand? All of these things may or may not be known to us as we begin to interact with our internal customers.

Each individual has a different personality and that comes into play as well in our dealings. Are they the type of person that is open to a direct frank comment? Are comments more accepted if the person is led into making the suggestion back to you as if it was their idea being presented, a more indirect personality? Is the person open or guarded? What type of personality are you dealing with and how you approach the different personality makes a great difference. In the book by “Who moved my Cheese?” by Doctor Spencer Johnson, he separates the characters in to four groups based on their personality traits. It portrays how the different individuals accept and deal with change. Learning how to identify and understand what personality type a person is will assist you in managing your internal customers. Teaching your internal customers this same process will assist them in dealing with your external customer, and making them both a better customer. Isn’t that what we are all striving to create?

“Oh Well, Can’t Make Everyone Happy” The Hidden Costs of Losing a Customer

“Can’t please everyone”, or “Can’t make everyone happy”, have you ever heard or made this type of comment after a customer is lost? Why is it we can’t admit we might have been the problem? Because it is human nature to admit when we are wrong, it is humbling when we have to eat a little crow and admit we didn’t do everything we could have for the customer.

But what is the true cost of losing a customer? A great deal more than getting a new customer to replace them that is for sure. It keeps costing us down the road.

When we lose a customer we lose the best and cheapest advertising we could ever hope to have, testimonials from a trusted customer is our greatest sales person! Not only do they go farther to promote our services than anything we can offer but they act like our personal customer service manager with the new customer. If the new customer is pleased they tell our current customer and we get the feedback. Because we have taken the time to make that current customer a valued trusted client they are excited for us to get the “sale”.  But forget to value that customer, to treat that client as the only client that matters and soon they are someone else’s client.  And that is not where the damage begins it is where the damage continues to compound.

The damage began when you didn’t value your customer. You maybe still the topic of conversation just not the topic you want to be associated with to promote your service. Imagine if you go to two restaurants one is perfect, service as to be expected, food delivered to you correctly and politely and the taste is out of this world. Now you go to the second restaurant and you are treated rudely, your food was cold, wrong, and/or terrible, etc. how many people do you tell? You don’t tell anybody, you tell EVERYBODY! And you will tell more people about the bad restaurant than you will about the first restaurant! Our customers are our restaurant patrons.

Bad service keeps coming back to haunt us long after the lost of a customer. Just like us, our customers have long memories when it comes to poor service. This is where the communication comes in from last week. If you have established good communication with your customer your will know about any issues long before they become a major problem. The bad service spreads like wild fire and you have no way of finding out how far the fire has spread out sometimes until it is too late. Possible customers you haven’t even contacted yet may have already heard about you before you step foot in their door.

What about the cost it takes to repair the damage done to your reputation? Remember when you were a little kid and you did something wrong and your Mom and Dad told you how disappointed in you they were? You apologized and racked your brain trying to figure out how you could regain their trust/approval. That is how we should feel about our customer’s feelings toward us. If something does happen that damages our reputation we need to in front of our customer bending over backwards to regain the trust that was lost. It will not be repaired in one trip it only will be repaired over time and just when we think it has been repaired we need to keep pushing to make it forgotten before we are reminded of this again.

If we can’t repair the damage and we do lose the customer the effects are like the ripples in a pond when you throw a stone in the pond. We may have already gotten a new customer and replace the lost revenue but have we really replaced it? The world is really a small place and before you know it you will be explaining to another client what happened with the lost client, or you will be explaining it to your competition at a networking event, trade association meeting, etc. That is the worst possible situation you can be in as well, because now your competitor has knowledge of a weakness that can be used against you with your other customers. Remember if we are not taking care of our customers, our competition will be.

Our only defense is good customer service, which starts with good communication. Don’t promise things you can’t deliver, deal with complaints personally, listen to your customers, be helpful, even if that isn’t what your there for, your customer will remember when you help them out.

Good customer service pays for itself over and over.

Keeping the Customer after the Catch

As discussed last week winning the customer is just the first hurdle we face as service providers. Keeping the customers after you have won them is another task completely. Foremost in this task is communicating with the customer, constant communication is a must and helps remove any possible misunderstandings between you and your customer.

Even if your customer struggles with your pricing, if you are up front with them and explain to them in detail the customer most of the time will understand and see things your way. It is because you have built a trust with your customer and they have come to rely on you as one of their problem solvers.

Don’t we all just love the problem solvers? Think about the last storm that blew through and knocked out power. Didn’t you feel better when you saw the power company truck roll up? Why? Because you trust that they are going to fix the problem before they leave and your power will be restored. How would you feel if you the power company truck pulled up in front of your home worked a while and without saying a word drove away? You would be picking up the phone and making a call to the power company’s office within seconds demanding answers. Your trust had been broken. What was the one thing that was missing? Communication.

 How do your customers feel when you arrive on site? Are you their problem solver?

It amazes me how many people think once you obtain that first job that you are guaranteed to be doing all the work for that customer till the end of time.

Being honest and up front with your customers is another key part of keeping the customer coming back. How many times have you heard about a service provider getting a call from a “new customer” and asked to price something. As with most service providers they got a great deal of communication and honesty when the price was turned over, an effort to impress the new customer. One of two possible situations will happen at this point, the “new customer” explains their “regular” guy’s price was about the same, a few dollars more, or a few dollars less and they went with him. Or, the worst case for the “regular guy” is that his price was way out of line and he lost a customer to the “new guy”. A great deal of the time in this situation one ends up giving the customer a breakdown of the lump sum price and the “regular guy” will get nervous at this point and sometimes discover a “big” mistake was made and the price should have been “X” not “Y”. But if you are the “new guy” you are in a good position to win this customer over and start building a relationship.

Part of communication is keeping the commitments you have made to your customer, whether it is something as simple as when you will arrive, when the parts will be in, or when the pricing will be sent to them. In today’s world of electronic communication it is so easy to send an e-mail or text message to a customer, that small effort can go so far as to keeping the customer and keeping the customer happy. It’s the old joke with the cable guy, “He said he will be here between 7 and 12:00 so I took the day off and he showed up at 11:59. Or the other side of that situation is “He said he would be here between 12:00 and 3:00 and I got home at 11:30 to find a note he was there at 11:25, sorry, please call back to re-schedule.”

How did that make you feel? It is the same with your customers when you don’t keep your commitments or don’t keep them updated, they get just as upset.

I remember years ago I was still in the field and I was installing a data system for a local government client in a new building. It was apparent from the beginning that the customer’s representative expected to be kept up to date on the daily progress of the job. So every afternoon I stopped by his make shift office and left a note or told him face to face what was accomplished that day. At the end of the project I was called to my office to meet with the owner of the company. I was presented with a letter that was copied to the main office, but sent to the government department headquarters Chief of Operations praising me for the outstanding job I had done, how well informed I had kept him on the progress of the project and was a pleasure to deal with.

That small effort made the biggest impact and it was nice to be appreciated for my work by the customer and my supervisor as well.

Keeping a customer is just as important as landing a customer and to keep a customer it requires one to be mindful of the little things. If you pay attention to the little things the big things are easy to deal with in the long run.

Some people might think it isn’t costly to lose one customer, but it is much more expensive than we realize. Besides the lost revenue which is up front, what about the hidden cost. Something we can discuss next week.

Do We Really Know When Our Customers Are Not Happy?

I read an article this week about a study that was done on hotel guest satisfaction. I was surprised to read that 18% of hotel guest reported having a problem. Of that 18% the largest problem, when people were asked, was about noise. But the problem most complained about was internet connection or speed.  So the hotels weren’t talking to their customer’s to find out what was the biggest issue.

How do you gauge your customer’s level of satisfaction? Do you call back and talk with them after the service? Send them a questionnaire? Asked them to log into a website and provide you feedback?

I recently had an employee go to a client’s location to perform a service call. The customer is set up on a monthly “check in” system. I call or if I am in the area stop in and see if they have lighting that needs replacement. In this month’s case I was in downtown Charleston to see a potential client and I stopped in to see if they needed service this month. I wanted to stop personally this month since I knew the manager was out on maternity leave since last month when she informed me that was her last week and her assistant that I had met in the past would be at the helm. And she fully expected the monthly “check ins” would continue during her absence! So I stopped by, and was greeted with professionalism and excitement. We agreed there was enough lighting out that service was required.  

So that Friday morning I had my technician waiting when they reported for work the next morning and several hours later the lighting issues were resolved. He’s where the customer satisfaction payoff can in to play.

As it happened to work out I had to pick up some parts from my supplier and they had them at their downtown location waiting for me. I decided since I was downtown and we had just serviced the client’s store I would stop in and make sure they were happy.

I wasn’t able to speak with the manager since he was on a conference call at the time, but his staff was eager to help me. When I explained who I was and why I had stopped in they both stumbled on their words, smiling and confirming, “You’re the lighting guys?” Yes, that is who we are, the “Lighting Guy’s”.

The expression on their faces gave me the answer I wanted, the work performed was as expected, but by standing in front of them and checking with them I had just took that “as expected” level to an “OUTSTANDING!” They were both very eager to inform their manager I had stopped by and I think I impressed them. See my client is a high-end retail store. They provide this type of customer service daily because the people coming in their store are spending a great deal of money and they demand that level of service. Receiving that same level of customer service wasn’t expected, at least by the staff members I was dealing with this afternoon. See, the Manager and Assistant Manager have seen me do this previously.  

By placing the customer in a position where you match or exceed the level of customer service they provide you begin building a trust in that customer that you are their problem solver. How do you determine the level of customer service that is required? You think you provide the best service around, make sure your customers think that way too! Every customer has to be your number #1 customer. In their minds that is how it is, it better be in your mind as well.

Will those staff members reaction have an immediate impact for me? I can’t say for sure, but what if one of those staff members switches companies of gets promoted to manage a store of their own? Say, that store they are at needs an electrician. What do you think they will do? Or possibly something as simple a friend works at the store next door and that store mentions they are having an electrical problems.

I can’t buy advertising like that. By taking a few moments to place my fingers on the customer’s pulse I have created some of the best sales people I could hope to find.

By letting the customer know that I want to hear if they have had any issues I built a trust. But that is just the beginning.  I can’t sit back and expect that moment to be the end of my customer service. It takes constant work to stay number one in your customer’s eyes. But I cover that next week, “keeping the customer after the catch.”  

Harley Davidson Motorcycles, a Customer Service Life Story

Sitting in my office wishing I was out riding my Harley and trying to decide what I would write my blog about this week it struck me, that my passion was a model of customer service. It has kept me for 30 plus years, so why not tell how they have managed to keep folks like me loyal for years? So here is the abbreviated version.

As you may or may not know Harley Davidson Motorcycles was founded by 2 guys, William S. Harley and Arthur Davidson. Arthur’s brother Walter joined them a little later in the first year. They all were working fulltime when they started the company and making motorcycle parts at night in a shack behind one of the Davidson’s homes. Their intention was to build a motorcycle that was durable and would work well. Soon it caught on and the company was up and running on “two wheels”.

They ran into a problem competition wise in the 1920’s, this guy, Henry Ford, figured out how to build cars inexpensively, in fact as inexpensive as the Harley Davidson Motorcycle. So suddenly Harley Davidson was no longer the cheapest type of transportation. So to survive they had to make owning and riding a Harley Davidson a fun thing to do. Certainly makes sense to me, and looks like it makes sense to quite a lot of people, still to this day.

It helps that Harley Davidson worked their way into the federal and local governments early on in there development. In 1908 the Detroit Police department became the owners of the first motorcycle built for police duty to help keep the peace.

In World War 1 and the Second World War Harley Davidson was supplying the war efforts with their machines. They were modified to go over fields and rough roads so they had higher ground clearance. Sound familiar? Think every dirt bike made today. Also in the Africa Campaign in 1942 they built about 1000 shaft drive units for the Army, with the thinking the shaft would hold up better than a chain in the sands of Africa. The shaft drive the Japanese motorcycle manufactures promoted like the shaft drive was a new concept back years ago. It was around before Harley Davidson used it for the Army, they just knew their customer.

In 1969 the “dark ages” began for most diehard Harley Davidson fans like me, when the shareholders, maybe sensing the “Japanese invasion” in the motorcycle market, partnered up with American Machine and Foundry Company to give Harley Davidson a more stable financial footing. However, the marriage to AMF didn’t turn out as the company had hoped. In 1972 AMF, showing who was boss added the AMF in front of the Harley Davidson logo on the bike’s fuel tanks.

AMF didn’t realize the cost of building a motorcycle and they began directing cost cutting ideas that damaged the reliability which cost the customer loyalty the company had so long benefited from and put profits into a free fall mode.

In 1981, “AMF-Harley Davidson” was in a dangerous position of a potentially failing company, a group of executives offer AMF a buy-out. To everyone’s delight AMF quickly agrees and the turnaround begins.

Placing Harley Davidson back in the hands of people that understood their customer and the customer needs righted the course Harley Davidson was heading in.

It is the same in all our businesses, we have to understand our customers and our customer’s needs. If we don’t take care of our customers, someone else will before we know what is happening.

Customer loyalty starts with customer service. As in the story of Harley Davidson not every decision is going to be the correct one for your customers, and most of the time customers understand that mistakes happen. But by knowing what your customer is looking for and correcting your mistakes you turn that customer service into customer loyalty. 

Harley Davidson began in a shack and has grown to a multi-million dollar international corporation. Keeping the company finger on the customer’s pulse is something they continue to excel at even in our current economically challenging times. 

John Russell, former Vice President of Harley Davidson is credited with stating “The more you engage with customers, the clearer things become, and the easier it is to determine what you should be doing.”

Knowing your customers means you know what you should be doing. It really is that simple.