Stop Apologizing! It's not making ANYONE feel better!!

Which of the following is the best response?

1. "I am so sorry to hear that the vase you ordered arrived damaged."
2. "Mrs. Moneybux, I'm sorry that your account is overdrawn." 
3. "So you were driving down the highway and the wheels fell off of your bus?  I am very sorry about that."
4. "You had to wait 3 hours for a representative to answer your call?  Wow, I am really sorry." 
5. "Your computer crashed?  At least you have your health!"

We've trained thousands of reps and listened to a gillion interactions (that may be a slight exaggeration) and I'm going with number five!  Now before you quality coaches and management folks send me poison-emails, allow me to explain.

Elton John may have sung that "...sorry seems to be the hardest word."  But, things sure as heck have changed!  'Sorry' has become the easiest word in the average customer service representative's vocabulary, showing up as often as 'please' and 'thank you', and I am here to tell you STOP!  Stop saying it, stop letting others say it, stop hearing it, stop, stop, stop the madness!!!

First of all, the egregious overuse of a once effective word has rendered it nearly meaningless.  Be honest, the last time someone told you they were sorry (other than a family member or close friend) did you believe them?  Really believe them?  Or did you feel like they were saying it because that's what they were supposed to do?  I purchased an underwater camera as a gift for my niece's 6th birthday, specifically because three weeks later she was going on a Disney cruise and I wanted her to be able to use it on the trip.  Of course, there was something wrong with it, and they were unable to send a replacement in time for the trip.  My precious niece was disappointed, I was devastated and the customer service representative was sorry.  Who do you think felt better?


Which brings me to the second reason to stay away from 'I'm sorry'; have you ever apologized for something that you had no control over?  How'd that make you feel?  Before I stepped to the front of the conference room, I spent many years jacked in as a rep.  One of the more memorable stints was during a 'crisis'.  The company I was working for took a brave stand regarding a social issue, which resulted in thousands of calls from unhappy folks.  Upwards of 80 calls a day were simply complaints, for which we apologized. (By the way, I agreed with the decision my employer had made and was, actually, quite proud of their courageous position.)  By the end of the day I felt drained, depressed and damned for having spent 8 hours lying.  It's just not fair to require people to spend the day apologizing for something they have no control over.


And we have arrived at the third reason; accountability.  When you hear any apology, what's it make you think?  That there was something going on that deserved apologizing for!  I recently found out that the engine in my car needs to be replaced.  While this is actually covered under the warranty, I also found out that I need to be able to prove that my oil was changed every 3000 miles for the company to honor the agreement.  Since I change my own oil, I am unable to prove this to their satisfaction.  When I pointed out to the service manager that this policy seems like a convenient way for them to avoid replacing my engine (and a friend who worked for them confirmed this is a common problem with my car model) he agreed, and said he was sorry.


The only time a service representative should apologize is if the problem is something that they had control over.  Promised to call a customer back and forgot?  Apologize.  Didn't send out those coupons?  Apologize!  Ate the last slice of birthday cake in the break room?  APOLOGIZE!  And bring me a Boston creme donut tomorrow!


How, then, should we respond to the disappointed, distressed and downright disturbed caller?  If we aren't going to say 'I'm sorry' and we aren't going to ignore them (No, you can't just ignore them, good grief, that's worse than apologizing!) what to do?


Use the first step in Radclyffe's Interaction Strategy(TM) and Acknowledge The Concern.  Acknowledging The Concern is summarizing how the customer is feeling and paraphrasing his or her stated issue, which allows you to focus on the customer’s personal needs before moving into the business part of the call.  Customers need to know that they have been heard before they can relax and relinquish control of the call.  Apologizing doesn't accomplish that.  


People need to know that you have heard their issue, AND, that you understand the impact that it had on them.  


"I can imagine how disappointed you must be that your niece will not be able to take pictures on her vacation."


"I can hear that it upsets you that our company has chosen to support an issue with which you disagree."


"I know you must be frustrated that our policy seems designed to insure that we don't have to fix the lemon we sold you."  (Okay... technically that wouldn't be a great thing to say, but it's my blog so I can take a little detour into fantasy.)


Acknowledge Their Concern and your customers will KNOW that you really hear them and understand how the situation has impacted their life.  It will give them confidence in you and your ability to empathize with them in a professional and meaningful manner.  Once they have confidence in you, they will relax and allow you to get the information which is needed to resolve their issue, be open to the solution you offer and they will leave the interaction having enjoyed World Class Service.  

You'll never get all of that from 'Sorry'... even if Sir Elton himself is saying it.

Feedback is NOT a sandwich; 'Where's the BEEF?'

A colleague of mine, who is an internationally known author and speaker, successful entrepreneur, comic and really great guy, just loaded me into a time machine and took me back to the 1980's, where we invented the CD, invested in Microsoft and moon-walked our way across the dance floor.

OK, just kidding.  Though I do wish I had invested in Microsoft and if anyone is looking for a blazer with HUUUUGE shoulder pads, I still have a couple.

What my friend did do is publish an article on 'How to Give Feedback' that took me back in time.  It was all about the 'sandwich technique'.  Now, no offense to my pal or any of you that are fans of that approach, but, in the iconic words of a gravelly voiced Little Old Lady, "Where's the Beef?" 

For those of you too young to remember the 'sandwich' approach to giving corrective feedback (and who also probably don't remember that Little Old Lady's name), a quick review;

The 'sandwich technique' involved stuffing the corrective (Perhaps unpleasant? Unwelcome?) bit of feedback between two fluffy, nutritionally insignificant slabs of positive.  

Might sound a bit like this; "Wendy, it's great how you are all set to start work when you get to your desk, I really appreciate that you take the time to get breakfast, since it is the most important meal of the day...unfortunately, you are always 45 minutes late.  Do you think you could try to get to work on time in the future?...  Thanks so much for trying to do that and it's great that you bring coffee and donuts for the team, that's so very thoughtful, yummy!"

WRONG!  And on so many levels.

This style of feedback delivery harkens back to the days where supervisors and coaches were frequently the associates who had been working in the department the longest and had few qualifications and precious little training for delivering effective performance feedback.  This technique  was great because is was all 'warm and fuzzy', had a lot of buildup to get the coach going, and a nice smooth landing on the other side where the coach could re-establish that they were still 'friends'.  

It resulted in very little pushback from the recipient and even less actual CHANGE in performance.  Why?  Because clumping together all that feedback takes away from the positive, creates confusion so that the recipient doesn't know what to focus on, and, it leads people to begin to expect something negative is going to follow the positive.

"Honey, I love you but..."

Truth be told, the 'sandwich' approach is an attempt to manipulate people into accepting negative or constructive feedback and it is dated, ineffective and, frankly, insulting.

Feedback is a gift.  I know, we have all joked about the 'gift' of feedback, but you know what?  It is.  

No longer are supervisors and coaches chosen simply because they have been at the company the longest.  Service organizations recognize that those roles require very specific skills and competencies, as well as ongoing training, and are investing in hiring and promoting highly qualified, dedicated and committed people and entrusting them with the ongoing development of their critical, front-line representatives... the face of the company.

At the same time, the role and responsibilities of customer service representatives have become more clear, demanding and valued.  No longer are these folks order-takers and glorified operators, no... they are the direct conduit between a company and its customers, an unparallelled resource to collect information, track trends and generate revenue.  Today's customer service representatives do the heavy lifting for their organizations and that muscle needs more than a slice of bologna between two pieces of white bread to get the job done.

Feedback needs to have substance, be able to fuel growth, whether it is affirming a positive behavior, boosting an attempt or correcting a deficit.  At Radclyffe we have been instructing coaches on just how to maximize the value of their feedback sessions for nearly 20 years.  We have 'cracked the code' and developed a proven methodology, grounded in adult learning principles, that insures maximum retention and measurable improvement, when applied consistently; Radclyffe Partners ABC's of Immediate Feedback (TM).

If you have observed a behavior that needs to be addressed, you owe it to your representative or co-worker to do so in a clear, direct, respectful and constructive manner by following our strategy which focuses on ONE behavior at a time, gives either positive or constructive feedback - not BOTH - and is designed to insure that the associate is able to internalize the feedback without having an emotional response to it.

"Wendy, I wanted to speak with you about your attendance.  I notice that you arrive at 9am, but then go to the cafeteria to get your coffee and breakfast.  As a result, you aren't actually at your desk and available to take incoming calls until 9:20 or later.  If you want to get breakfast here, I'd suggest that you plan on getting on campus by 8:30 to give you enough time to get settled at your desk by 9.  Please give that a try, alright?"

No fluff, no filler, no indigestible by-products... a few minutes of preparation on the part of the coach, a few seconds of delivery side-by-side on the floor, a commitment to change and everyone gets on with business.

That is where you find the BEEF!  (Or, veggie protein, for our vegan friends)  

The ABC's of Immediate Coaching is just one component in our comprehensive Coaching for Service Excellence program, which includes in depth training and practice in the four most effective types of coaching, how to introduce and roll out your coaching program, get support and buy-in from all levels of the organization, track and analyze trends both by rep and department and use the coaching feedback and data to make reviews and performance plans a breeze to write and deliver.

We are so excited by this set of tools and how brilliantly effective they are, that we would like to offer a complimentary hour of consulting to help you or your coaches apply them within your organization.  

To get your coaching session, simply do two things; 

-sign up via email to have each new 'Customer Service Tail' delivered right to your inbox, and...


-leave me a comment including the name of that Crotchety Little Old Lady who was searching for the beef in the Wendy's commercials.

We'll contact you to work out the scheduling details.  Look forward to chatting!

Corgi Tails; Stop Measuring Meaningless Metrics!

My wireless service provider has once again been ranked at the top of the heap in yet another prestigious survey.  I would agree.  I had to call them last night, in fact, because my aircard was malfunctioning, and the representatives were polite, respectful, as knowledgeable as one would expect depending on whether you have been transferred to a service specialist or are dealing with the tier one rep.  They asked for an alternate callback number at the start of the call so that they could reach me should we become disconnected.  They respectfully referred to me as Ms.  They verified all information, were patient with my lack of technical savvy, walked me through each step of the process as they tried to resolve my issues, offered alternate solutions and reviewed next steps. Finally, at the end of the call the lovely woman assisting me noted that I might be receiving a follow up call and asked me if I would be able to agree that she 'tried her best to help me?'  I honestly and heartily said 'yes'.

My contract will expire in March.  I will be switching to another carrier.

Why?  In the 21 months I have been a customer of this company, I have had to call at least a dozen times, had my aircard device replaced a half dozen times, experienced more dropped calls than I can count and lost hours of valuable time trying to conduct business using their service.  Oh, and I clearly told both of the reps I spoke with last night that I will be taking my business elsewhere.  They each sincerely apologized... so what.

Here's the deal.  I am as passionate about service delivery as a person can be.   I have file cabinets full of customer sat surveys done by my clients that prove that I know what excellent service looks like and how to train reps to deliver it... problem is, we at Radclyffe have realized that we in the customer service industry have been measuring the wrong things!

Look at a typical call monitoring form.  It's a glorified checklist of did they or didn't they?  Did they use the standard greeting? Ask permission to hold? Use the callers name?  Blah, blah, blah.  Measured against that, everyone can 'meet' their service objectives.  But what about from the customers perspective?  

Ask me if the rep did everything she could to resolve my issue and the answer is 'yes'.  But ask me if my issue was resolved and the answer is a resounding 'NO'.

We owe it to our customers to start measuring the success of our interactions with them based on what matters to them.  To do that we need to look at the 'pivotal behavior',  that fork in the road where the call either headed off into the stratosphere of success, or took a turn down 'OK' Lane.  It's time to tear up the '50 point check list call monitoring form' and realize good enough ISN'T good enough. The only way to do this is to involve, empower and train your service people to not just respond to the stated issue, but to uncover and resolve the core issue.

Last night my issue was not that my aircard wasn't working... it was that it wasn't working AGAIN and I was in danger of missing a critical deadline at work.  I said it, three times... but neither of the polite, friendly, NICE reps heard me.  Well, they won't be hearing me in March, either... one of their competitors will. Oh, and I KNOW why they ask for that 'alternate' callback number... it's because even they know that if I am calling from my cellphone we are pretty darn likely going to get disconnected.  Hey, at least they position the request positively!

That's my rant for today.  Oh, and I promised to answer the question how fast does a Corgi wag its tail in the next 'Corgi Tails', if you really want to know, leave me a comment.

Looking Back, Looking Forward; Customer Service lessons from our Year-End Rituals.

Do you LOVE New Year's Eve or are you among those who HATE it?

I find most people are solidly in one camp or the other when it comes to the 'First', or, 'Last' Holiday of the year.  Either you already have your HUGE 2012 eyeglasses and your only worry is which party you are going to... or you would rather hear the sound of your Mother-in-law saying she will be staying for a few weeks than the opening notes of Auld Lang Syne.

That's not to say that people don't switch sides from fans to foes.  I know that I have both loved and hated the night over the years.  When I was young and could stay awake dancing past 10pm, I adored it, when I had no one to kiss at midnight I hated it.  When we are looking forward we tend to enjoy it more than those years when we find ourselves looking back.

This year there is a lot to look back on.  Mother Nature alone brought us such extremes; the Tsunami in Japan, severe droughts in the midwest, devastating tornadoes, and here in my home state of New Jersey a series of floods culminating in hurricane Irene, an earthquake felt from Washington D.C. to Canada and a blizzard two days before Halloween that caused more destruction than I hope to ever see again.  Yes, when I look back... well, it makes me want to look forward.  So I shall be in the LOVE camp this year (though probably still sound asleep by 12:15!)

Ever since I was a kid, I have always enjoyed the week between Christmas and New Year's, not just because it was a break from school, but I love all the year end retrospectives in magazines and on TV.  Remember Life magazine and their 'Year in Pictures' issue?  Time and Newsweek, too, and even People gives us a look back at the hijinks of the rich, famous and not-so-famous.  My family and I would take that stroll through the events of the year, remember people who had married, babies born, awards and trophies won and lost and those who had left us.  

We do the same thing in our personal lives.  As the year draws quietly to an end, we send and receive holiday greetings that include that annual photo; either of the family all decked out in matching (hideous) sweaters, new babies wearing 'Santa, I've been (mostly) good' onesies, or our pets gamely enduring reindeer antlers and Santa hats.  There are those year-end 'updates' printed out on paper with borders of Holly or leaping Elves, that recount, in often painstaking detail, every hole-in-one Uncle Jack hit, the exact weight of that monster striped bass landed by cousin Earl and just how much weight Aunt Abigail gained on her cruise to Alaska last May.

We also tend to pick up the telephone and reach out to those friends and family that we may have neglected to keep in close touch with the previous 11 months.  It's okay, we all do it.  Sometimes it's not even a matter of neglecting, or forgetting to call.  My Mom has a dear friend that she probably thinks of almost every day, but Barbel lives in Switzerland and that's an expensive call, so Mom allows herself one during the Holidays and another in the summer, otherwise they keep in touch via 'par avion'. 

But... there are those folks, whom we do love deeply, but who also treat the telephone wires like a spiders web in which they endeavor to ensnare their prey so that they can liquify our organs for leisurely consumption!  Um, sorry, got carried away there.  What I meant to say is that we all know someone who just loves to trap you on the phone and regale you with every bit of tragedy, gossip and commentary of the state of the world that has crossed their mind since last you spoke.  Or, even worse, there is always dear old great-uncle Danny who will even share all those charming tales from his service during the Korean war that you have heard 187 times before, in addition to his opinion of every politician, athlete and neighbor you have never heard of.

If your job involves customer service (and, I think we have established that most EVERY job does) you have met these people at work as well.  Whether it's that caller who just HAS to tell you her experience with every product she has ever purchased, not just from your company, but your competitors and even stores that sell completely different stuff, or the old-timer who is chewing off your ear about how much better his Edsel was than these dang new-fangled cars while you are trying to do a tune-up, or that table that just insists on showing you pictures of their daughters wedding in Vail when all you really want them to do is pay the check and go so you can seat the next party of six who look like they will be big tippers.


What to do?  What to do?  What to do?

If you have been following my Blog you know that I probably have a tangible skill, a tool for your customer service toolkit, that will enable you to handle these situations, while delivering World Class Service.  Of course I do!  As the kids say, 'I have mad skills'!  Well, I don't know if the kids are still saying that, they were...things change so fast... I am getting old... sigh.


Sorry!  Where was I?  Oh, yes, about to give you the key, the trick, the strategic step that, in every interaction, will enable you to regain control of the conversation and steer it to a smooth, graceful close without hurting Aunt Abby's feelings OR risking insulting or alienating a customer.

When you find yourself in a conversation with someone who has gone off on a merry ride, even if you are a willing participant, and it is finally time to get them to pull over and let you get back behind the wheel, you need to use the skill we call 'Recap and Next Steps'.  The way this works is pretty simple; you go back down the winding road of the conversation and find the 'point', the what-the-heck-were-we-talking-about-before-this-got-out-of-control moment.  Could be when Uncle Dan mentioned that the fresh snowfall reminded him of Christmas when he was a kid, or when that lovely couple noticed your engagement ring and told you their daughter had just gotten married, or when you customer said that she had had to return a sweater last month because it was the wrong size.  You need to go back to what the original issue was and your response to it and RECAP by restating those two elements of the conversation and then, this is super important, follow that with whatever the NEXT STEPS are going to be, either for your customer/friend/or chatty relation, and for yourself.

What's it going to sound like, you ask?  (I'm pretty sure I heard you ask)  Well, like this;

"Uncle Dan, I agree that we had more white Christmas's back in the day.  I am going to go online and see if I can find any old photo's of the Bronx from the 40's and I will send them to you in the next few days."


"Thank you so much for sharing those gorgeous pictures of your daughter's wedding.  I have written down the name of the venue and will be contacting them to see if they are available to do my wedding."


"So, twice you have received sweaters that were mislabeled. I am going to pass this information on to our quality control supervisor to make sure that they are aware of the problem."


It just goes back to the basics, people want to be heard, their issue recognized and know how it is going to be resolved.  Once you let then know you are 'on it' and what you are going to be doing, they can sit on back, relax and let you be in control of the interaction.  


All that is left is for you to 'sign off' in a World Class way...and, I KNOW you know how to do that.. but I am still gonna save that for another Blog!


I hope that you all have more fond than sorrowful memories to reflect upon as 2011 draws to an end, 

I wish you laughter to chase away the tears, 

I wish you Health, Happiness and Prosperity in 2012

and I thank you for spending a few moments of your irreplaceable time reading my blog and I hope to be able to continue entertaining you in 2012.  

Happy New Year!

A Visit from St. Nicholas, the patron Saint of Customer Service Reps

'Twas the day before Christmas, and in the call center,
The queue was filled with ranters and venters; 
As each call was completed another was there,
No time for after call work, comment fields were left bare;
The supervisors were huddled away in their cubes, 
Trying to finish the year-end reviews;
The coaches donned their headsets, jacked in with a snap,
Settled in with observation forms on which to map,
Each bit of the call from greeting through all the chatter; 
Did the rep's questions get to the heart of the matter?
Was the customer offered a coupon or code
For free shipping or replacement of product owed?
The feedback was scrawled on the forms white as snow, 
Because thorough documentation is critical, we know;
When what, to the Team's bloodshot eyes should appear,
But that consultant the manager hired early that year;
Being so close to Christmas our minds played a trick, 
Because for the life of us he looked like St. Nick;
More rapid than eagles, his responses came, 
As he picked up each incoming call and by name,
Responded to each consumer and their question or concern,
Whether they be quite happy or in a slow burn;
As we watched the Symon board, way up high on the wall, 
The call volume dropped away, dropped away 'til not one call
Was waiting so each rep was able to sit back and sigh,
Stretch, yawn, stand up and wonder just why
This person with no training on the products we sell
Was able to handle each contact so well;
Then, in a twinkling, we realized the reason,
And that is had nothing to do with the Season;
We pulled close our chairs and gathered around,
To listen to this fellow share the secrets he’d found;
He was dressed in business casual, from his head to his toes,
With a reindeer lapel pin with a flashing red nose;
A worn leather briefcase was slung over one shoulder,
He looked like every businessman, though perhaps a bit older;
His eyes, they did twinkle! His dimples were merry!
His cheeks were quite rosy, nose red like a cherry!
Why he looked so flushed we wanted to know,
Then we remembered he’d just walked in from the snow;
He said to the quality coaches, “Please do me a favor,
Instead of checking off boxes, find the pivotal behavior;
It takes each interaction from Okay to fantastic,
So that feedback is no longer reason for panic”;
To the reps he offered his Interaction Strategy,
Guaranteed to prevent calls from turning to tragedy;
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
And we all knew we had nothing to dread;
He’d given us tangible tools we just knew would work,
On every single caller, even those who were jerks;
Then laying his finger on the magic button for the center,
He redirected all calls to the overflow vendor;
Then he sprang to the door, to the team gave a whistle,
And everyone flew to their cars like a missile;
We heard him exclaim, ‘ere we drove from the parking lot,
“Happy Christmas to All, Hey, don’t forget to aux out!”

This is a little gift for you; a wonderful, original arrangement of 'Let It Snow', performed by my talented friend Tim Hendrick.  I wish you and your loved ones a Joyous Holiday!

Old Fashioned Customer Service; "You'll shoot your eye out, kid."

"It's a major award"

"I TRIPLE dog dare you"

"Oh... fuuudge"

"It's a clinker" 

"Meatloaf, smeatloaf, double-beatloaf."


"Bumpuses!!"

"Those icicles have been known to kill people!"


"Fragile.  That must be Italian."


If, as you read that last quote, the voice in your head pronounced it 'fra-gee-lee' then you know that I am thinking about the greatest Christmas movie ever made (OK, except for It's a Wonderful Life) A Christmas Story.  And, if you have no idea what I am talking about... where have you been?  A major cable channel runs it for 24 hours December 24 &25, that's, like TWELVE times! You've got to see it, you'll love it.


I just LOVE this movie.  It takes me back to my childhood.  No, not in the 1940's (I'm not that old, even though on cold mornings some of my joints FEEL that old).  My youthful memories take place in the 60's and 70's but so many of the events depicted in the film could have been plucked from my past.  Being bundled against the cold in so many layers I could barely move, the annual family trip to pick out the perfect tree, being excited/terrified to meet Santa, watching a friend get his tongue stuck to a pole (the police and fire department didn't come to his rescue, I'll tell you who did later) and the wonderful, glorious, festive magic of a small town Main Street all done up in lights, garland and Holiday finery, ready to provide each shopper with every item on Santa's list... plus that extra gift - Old Fashioned customer service.

When I was a kid we didn't go to 'the mall', there were no megastores, either.  There was a shopping center, but it might as well have been on the moon, it was just too far away for my Mom to pack up her three brawling bundles of joy and head out to for our Christmas shopping.  Nope, we did ALL of our shopping on Main Street, Pompton Lakes, NJ, which, in the early 1970's was the picture perfect example of small town America.  Handsome, solid buildings made of brick and mortar with sheltering awnings, freshly swept sidewalks out front, iron lamp posts, benches for a weary soul to rest,  an actual train station at one end of town and the public library with its huge evergreen all decked out in multi-colored lights at the other.  It was like Norman Rockwell himself had sketched the place, and then, for Christmas, Thomas Kincaide put the finishing touches on it.

Mom would load us into the back of the Hornet (yeah, it was green) and we'd head out for a day of shopping fun.  We'd start at Gelman's Department store, which was the biggest store in town, though small by today's standards.  It had EVERYTHING.  Mom went there especially for clothes, boring for a kid, so I would hide inside the circular racks of coats and dresses driving my sisters crazy when they couldn't find me.  Of course, sometimes I'd lose track of Mom and use my 'special trick' of getting on all fours and scanning the shoes and boots around me until I saw a familiar pair.


After Gelman's, we'd hit the Army & Navy store, record shop, toy store and card/gift boutique.  Two things stand out in my memory.  First, how the heck did Mom manage to get those presents which would show up courtesy of Santa without us seeing her purchase them (?) and, second, that every place we went the clerks and cashier knew my Mom.  They knew her name, they knew my Dad, and, creepily,  they knew me!  At the time I figured it was some weird grown-up thing, like maybe during the day when I was trapped in school all the adults were hanging out or something.  But, now that I am a 'grown-up' I realize what was really going on.  Yes, they did know each other... as customers ... and something more.  The lady in Gelman's knew my Mom because, not only did Mom shop there, the Gelman's lady banked where my Mom worked and Mom helped her balance her checkbook when she couldn't get it to prove.  The girl behind the register at the Army & Navy store had been my babysitter a few years earlier.  And the man who owned the record store was married to the lady who played the guitar for the choir at church.


We weren't just customers, we were neighbors and friends.  We all lived within a few miles of where we worked, played and gathered.  We shared bonds that made us a community and, as such, it was important that our relationships be kept strong and positive.  Not only that, but since we all knew each other, stories of rude or inattentive service would spread like wildfire.  If a merchant wasn't treating his or her customers like valued friends phones would be ringing and folks would be chatting about it on porches and over the backyard fence.  (And that's NOTHING compared to how far, wide and fast a dissatisfied customer can share their tale of woe in today's '4G' world)


Seems to me that we have lost a bit of that 'neighborly' feeling in our interactions these days.  Now we travel an hour to a favorite mall, call retailers that may be located thousands of miles away and Santa Claus even orders online without any 'human' contact at all.  Yes, we are more harried and hurried and want things to be done as quickly as possible, but there is no reason that great customer service should be a fond memory.  I just stopped at my local bank to make a deposit and, while processing my transaction, the pleasant young man behind the counter asked me if had 'any nice plans for the rest of the day'.  At first I was stunned by the question, but then I found myself telling him my plans for the entire weekend... and feeling happy, relaxed and like he cared.  The whole conversation was done by the time my receipt was printed and I left feeling connected to a member of my local community (and, for all I know he may live 40 miles away).  Making a personal connection doesn't need to be intrusive, time-consuming or complicated, it's just taking a moment to 'interact' with each customer in a unique way.

 
My best advice is to treat every  interaction as if the other person is a teacher at your child's school, a woman in your Moms bridge club or the visiting nurse who checks up on your Granddad every day.  You never know, they might be.  But, even if they aren't, even if they are someone you will never meet in a million years, if you make them feel valued  by giving them a great customer service experience you will create a bond that will result in increased loyalty.

Ralphie, the protagonist of A Christmas Story, really wants to find one gift under the tree - an official Red Ryder carbine-action 200-shot range model air rifle!  Every adult he shares this dream with shoots it down (pun intended) with that iconic line "You'll shoot your eye out", including Higbee's rented St. Nick.  Doesn't matter in the end, though, because "Santa! The big man! The head honcho! The connection" (aka Dad) is the penultimate provider of World Class Service and comes through.  However, what happens when Ralphie heads out into the backyard to face off against Black Bart... well, if you don't know you'll just have to watch the movie.


(Oh, and when my pal Steven got stuck...stuck...stuck! to the pole it was Mrs. Byrd who came to his rescue with a glass of warm tap water which quickly freed my foolish friend.  He came away mostly intact, though did get to have a milkshake for supper that night.  Considering the circumstances, none of us kids were envious.)