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Letter From The Editor

Dear Friends,

As the Thanksgiving holiday approaches, I can’t help but be taken back by how fast this year has gone by. It has gone by so quickly, in fact, that last week is a complete blur and the last 11-months? They’ve become a very vague and distant memory, and I’m betting the same can be said of your life. So, I’m glad to see the holidays approach. They serve as a wonderful reminder of why we do what we do, day-in and day-out, and they force us to take some time away from our daily routine.

The holidays remind us of the love of our family and friends, and all the reasons we have to give thanks for the lives we live. They give us time to pause and reflect on the generosity of the spirit and the strength of heart. So, I encourage you—before turkey, pumpkin pie, and shopping takes you over—to take advantage of this opportunity to quietly reflect on all that you have to be thankful for. In doing so, you may find that you have more to be thankful for than you ever imagined.

As I personally reflect on what I have to be thankful for, one thing that comes up for me is, YOU! It is you and others like you, who allow me to contribute to your life one newsletter, tele-seminar, or phone call at a time, and I thank you for allowing me to play a part and make a difference in your life!

From my house to yours, may you have a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Best Regards,

Clay S. Nelson

The Key to Great Customer Service

We’ve all experienced the maze of automated options when calling companies of all shapes and sizes, press 1 to reach this department, press 2 to reach another department and on and on and on. I’ve personally even been in a situation where I didn’t know what category my call fell into – and thus didn’t know which number to press – and the line simply went dead, no operator came on the line, no other options were given. So much for receiving great customer service!

Companies are working so hard to serve multitudes of people with fewer employees that their approval ratings in the customer service department is waning, and in the end their bottom-line will show it. So how do we solve this problem?

We have to put our human side back into communication everywhere and with everybody!

In my experience what I have learned is that good customer service is all about one human being effectively listening and communicating with another human being, and its value is obvious. When a customer feels as though their problems are being addressed in an effective manner, that what they say matters, they will return.

So if customer service is about how one person communicates with another, is it any wonder that in this day and age of computer telephone systems, Internet, and email, good customer service is a novelty? To many companies good customer service is a well worded, timely email. And while that is all well-and-good, there is no human-ness in it and there can’t possibly be any effective listening in it.

Understanding that bottom-line profits play a role in decisions to heavily automate customer service departments, consider looking at the flip side of automation and how profits might actually increase if you put full and complete communication, relationships, and human-ness back into the service your company provides to your customers. What consumers want is the security of being related, and if consumers know they are going to be served well and taken care of, they will buy your product and recommend that others do the same.

In the end what consumers want is the security of being related. Without the security of being related, without being listened to, without being taken care of, consumers will not buy your product. So put a plan in place that raises the bar on the service you provide to your customers and watch your bottom line increase as well!

When Rules Are Broken:
What Went Wrong?

Consider this scenario: You leave your young children at home with a babysitter for the day. You go through a list of emergency telephone numbers and instructions on where they can find snacks, lunch, and dinner foods, who needs to do what homework and the amount of candy they are allowed to have. Everyone “pinky swears” that they will be responsible for cleaning up their toys and no big messes will be present when you arrive home in the evening.

You get home 12-hours later to find that all instructions were followed and the “pinky swear” was adhered to. So what is the problem? You assumed that the day-to-day rules of the house would be adhered to as well. After all, everyone knows (especially 6-year olds) that you don’t apply bright pink nail polish while sitting on the living room carpet, right? Not necessarily!

So what went wrong?

Very simply put, the children in the above scenario took advantage of their parent’s absence, which resulted in their showing disrespect not only for their babysitter, but for their parents and the family trust as a whole. And this same scenario, although in an obviously different context, plays out in businesses across the globe on a daily basis. The key to addressing it is to make very clear your team’s accountability for their actions.

In business, and at home, there are simple rules that you shouldn’t have to re-address every time you take some time away. For example: everyone knows that stealing funds or supplies from the company is wrong. Everyone knows that lunch is 30 minutes and not 60; and everyone knows what their basic job responsibilities are. And when one conveniently forgets and chooses to take advantage of a situation, you have to make sure they are clear about their responsibility in the matter. Hold them accountable for playing according to the guidelines clearly set before them, and make sure they are clear about the consequences of their actions now and should it occur again in the future.

Most importantly, you need to communicate the distrust and ultimate disappointment you feel when a member of your team takes advantage of the freedom you give them and either bends or completely breaks the rules. Remind them of their responsibility to themselves and the team as a whole, and re-establish clear guidelines for the future, forgive them, and move on. In the end, that really is all you can do. The rest is up to them!

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