Service Untitled

There’s only one chance to make a great first impression; that very moment you turn a customer off when something goes awry is the same moment the competition tries to reel him in with a more attractive offer and a lot of new promises. For many of us the ultimate in business growth and success is repeat business, because these are the very loyal customers who will not only return for another service or purchase, but these are the very same people who will tell others why they have chosen us and advise them to follow our successful paths.

Great companies who continue to lead today’s generation of “WOW” customer service all have the same basic principles for success. Each one offers a great product or a great service, well-trained and empowered personnel, a proven history of problem solving and customer satisfaction, and the alignment of every department working together in order to deliver a successful experience to a purchaser. The best of customer service begins with the perception of exactly what a customer expects. If you delivered a product in the past, but failed to make that lasting impression your customers won’t be calling you again. If your customers felt you were just there to make the sale, undoubtedly they will have moved on to your competition for their next purchase. Customers want to appreciated, and although they won’t come out and tell you that, their actions speak louder than words.

For instance, potential home buyers walk by a real estate company along Worth Avenue in Palm Beach. The couple decide to stop in for a chat. From Rhode Island, Mr. and Mrs. Jones have dreamed of having a place in the sun to relax along the sandy beaches of South Florida during the cold New England winters, and although they have looked online for Palm Beach listings, they have never had the opportunity to actually visit the areas affordable to them. Their ideal search therefore begins with an experienced agent who can explain the possibilities, introduce the couple to available financing opportunities, coordinate the specific and unusual insurance demands of Florida, and find them the perfect property to suit their needs. Summing it all up – success comes with knowing your business, your market, your customers, and having the ability to collaborate experts in all related fields to produce a strong relationship to accommodate customers until they reach a successful closing experience. Whether it takes one week of intensive potential home previews or six months of credit repair, the partnership of working together for the benefit of the customer or client becomes that positive memorable experience.

So how does an organization deliver customer service which strives to exceed great expectations?

• Each and every action should be  a commitment to a customer which ultimately ends in loyalty. The customer has to know they are important, and each and every sale made concentrates on the needs and wants of the customer. A customer should never think that all an organization cares about is just the sale.
• Only hire the best employees, and spend the money and time training them. Move past the employees who are just there waiting for payday. Although the initial hiring salaries and subsequent training can cost a company more than budgeted at the onset, poor employees mean unhappy customers, fewer referrals, and non existent loyalties.
• Every business decision should be well planned and strategic. Dedicate customer service as a top priority. Each time a customer calls in with a suggestion, a question, or a complaint, make sure that any representative is able to deliver efficient service.
• Consistently work to improve your organization.

Zappos’ Customer Loyalty Team repeatedly exceeds expectations of the family culture CEO Tony Hsieh envisioned as his passion for customizing customer service always remains a number one priority 24 hours a day and 365 days a year. On December 8, Customer Loyalty Team member Shaea Labus spent 10 hours and 29 minutes on a phone call. According to The Huffington Post, the call set a new record; beating out the previous record at the online shoe and apparel retailer of 8 hours and 29 minutes.

As an integral part of their unconventional and innovative customer service, Hsieh’s ideas are reflected in everything Zappos. If work shouldn’t be viewed as onerous, “being a little weird requires being a little innovative.” The call between Shaea and a customer named Lisa didn’t concern a customer service problem; it involved the caller transferring to Las Vegas and asking questions seeking information about neighborhoods, jobs, and what it’s like to live in that part of the country. Shaea stated she took one bathroom break during that time, and her teammates brought her food while she was on the call. And to Shaea’s credit, the caller did purchase a pair of Ugg boots.

There is nothing better than the human factor when calling customer service. Of course automated systems are cheaper and more efficient than hiring humans, but most customers calling in and having to deal with an Interactive Voice Response system (IVR) where one must “press 1 to continue in English” becomes exasperating and confusing as the next prompt warns the caller to listen carefully because “the options may have changed.” If customer service is all about sending away happy customers while forming lasting relationships so these customers return to make more purchasers or tell their family and friends what a great experience they had using a company, shouldn’t some retailers be taking lessons from a company like Zappos? Statistics reveal that automated answering systems have longer hold times; whereas automated answering systems average a wait time of two minutes per phone call, a human answering the phone averages only a minute wait time.

Customer service is all about making the customer feel important, and the largest part of Zappos investment into customer satisfaction is training their team to be good listeners, and staying on the phone as long as necessary to help. After all, aren’t future customers a large part of building a company, and isn’t a company built one customer at a time? There’s little doubt that customer Lisa will always be a loyal customer, and there’s no doubt that Lisa will be telling friends and family about her experience with Customer Loyalty Team member Shaea Labus. And it’s not that a customer service agent must stay on the phone forever, but having the option always available for the taking is a step in the right direction.

The luxurious and extravagant hotel on the island of Palm Beach, Florida touting two turrets with waving flags reminiscent of a Roman palace immediately creates the illusion of a magical kingdom fit for the most discriminating clientele. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Breakers Hotel sits on 140 acres of manicured lawns, hedges, pools, spas, hotel rooms, and exquisite restaurants. The staff ranges from 1600 to 1800 depending on the time of year and covers 50 languages. From the moment one arrives, the promise of a truly regal customer experience is realized.

So it came to be my family’s desired location for Christmas dinner; the dinner buffet in the Ponce de Leon Ballroom. And the “WOW” customer service experience began. From the smiles of the welcoming staff as we drove up to the grand entrance, to the lobby with the vaulted ceilings, tufted sofas, and the attentive service personnel ready to direct their guests to whatever direction they might be headed, ensured a lasting family memory.

At one time buffets were designed, at least from the customer point of view as an “all you can eat” experience where massive quantities of food were presented without much thought to presentation. Today’s guests expect elegance, upscale ambiance, an easy traffic-flow to navigate through different stations, and an upbeat and attentive staff.  So how did the Breakers exceed customer expectations?

Two hostesses greeted us as we approached the dining room and within moments led us to our table. A live band played soft music; the saxophonist was incredibly talented. The buffet was set up on both sides to accommodate either section of the dining room with an exquisite dessert table set off to the side. There was never more than a few moments wait to scoop up a delectable selection of food ranging from salads, cold displays of jumbo shrimp, oysters and little neck clams, to caviar, hot buffet items, and carving stations; each selection skillfully presented amid a backdrop of exquisite Christmas decorations, ribbons, and wreaths. After all isn’t presentation at least 50 percent of a buffet’s appeal? The wait staff was able to anticipate and react to their guests requests, and were knowledgeable about vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free diets including questions about ingredients for food sensitive diners.  Managers in well tailored suits, hostesses in professional holiday fashion, and waiters anxious to please and attentive to every detail knew when to approach and when to leave guests to the privacy of their special family moments.

A good buffet showcase such as the Christmas Day Dinner is more than just a fine dining experience.  It actually serves as a showcase for banquets and special services. The ability of this extraordinary customer experience draws people into the hotel who may not normally visit, but who have been so impressed by the services and venue may now one day plan a wedding, social occasion, or business conference. And from this experience comes our family telling our other relatives what a wonderful afternoon we spent at the Breakers, and the good reviews pass on and on. Of course, the story of this exceptional experience can’t be complete until I mention a few of the desserts which included gourmet hot chocolate shots, peppermint bark, walnut rum balls, and egg nog mousse martinis. There just wasn’t a frown in the place!

The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company is known worldwide for it’s “legendary service.” So much so, Apple uses the luxury hospitality brand as a model for its owner customer support traditions. Part of their success can be credited to one simple mantra – “Radar On – Antenna Up.” This means seeking out the customers unanticipated and unvoiced needs. This could be as simple as replacing an empty tube of toothpaste while a guest is out on business, or handing Roarie the stuffed Ritz-Carlton lion to an crying toddler.

These practices have not only increased word of mouth and brand loyalty. Ritz-Carlton also boasts among the best employee retention rates around. To create raving fans, they start with inciting brand enthusiasm from their team.

Recently, I sat down with Ritz-Carlton Vice President Diana Oreck to see if she could share any more secrets to the company’s customer service super sauce. She heads up the company’s executive training program, The Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center. Here is what she had to say:

The answers in this article have been modified from the original transcript of Diana Oreck’s interview with Software Advice.

Q: One of the Ritz-Carlton Gold Standards is “anticipate unexpressed needs.” Why is this important to customer service success and how do you train employees to recognize and act on unexpressed needs?

A: It’s very important because legendary service is about surprise and delight. It’s not robotic, it’s not scripted. And the way we teach it is through a class called “radar on, antenna up.” Golden nugget: You cannot give legendary service if you’re on autopilot. We have a daily lineup everyday in every [Ritz-Carlton] hotel around the world where we provide scenarios and discuss the best approach in the class. For example, we might go to a room and see you have one drop of toothpaste left in your toothpaste tube, so we are going to replace that tube of toothpaste without you asking and that’s a nice surprise when you return from business.

Q: What metrics or qualitative data does Ritz-Carlton use to measure customer service training success (How do you know it’s working)? How do you collect this data? 

A: Oh yes, we poll our guests once a month. The Gallup organization sends out a survey to 38 percent of guests that stayed the month before. It’s done randomly with the hope we will get 8-10 percent return. We live and die by that guest engagement number. This is the sum of responses to about 30 questions, including How likely is that guest to recommend Ritz Carlton? Were they delighted and satisfied with their stay? If there was a problem, did we take care of their problem? We know that if that guest engagement number goes up, we know that our training programs have been successful.

Q: Retention is a big issue for a lot of customer service teams. Is the same true for Ritz-Carlton? What does the company do to retain talent?

A: We’ve got a vast list. Rewards and recognition is huge. Ranging from our first class card, which is the most popular form of recognition at Ritz Carlton. It’s just a card that we give it to one another as a thanks. It can be peer to peer, peer to manager, employee to president, president to employee. And then we have things like birthdays, where we give gift certificates. Employees can become ‘five-star’ of the quarter. We don’t do employee of the month, because we find it’s much for meaningful if it’s the quarter. We are also one of the only hotel companies that still provide meals for their staff.

Q: What are the biggest mistakes companies make when training customer service staff?

A: They’re not being specific enough. They’ll say things like “Give great service.” Well that’s nice, but people need a road map. Never assume anything, make sure you have your service standards written down and allow people to observe you in action. Don’t assume that their mother or father, or previous employer taught them what really great service looks like. Have a written service strategy.

Q: What other successful customer service strategies have companies adopted by studying Ritz-Carlton?

A: It’s all about empowerment. The thing that our guests are most wowed about is that every single employee has $2,000 a day per guest to delight, or make it right. But we never use the money because that money is just symbolic. We are saying to our employees – we trust you. We select the best talent. Just help the guest. We do a lot of training around empowerment. So I would say this – you need to empower employees. You also need to make sure that you are inspiring employees to bring their passion to work everyday and to volunteer their best. And you do that by reinforcing their purpose, not their function.

About Diana Oreck: 

Diana leads The Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center – a corporate university created to provide opportunities to leadership and learning professionals wanting to benchmark human resources, leadership, quality and training practices. The program has twice won the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award in 1992 and 1999. Diana has more than 30 years experience in hospitality and customer service expertise.

About Ashley Furness:

Ashley is a CRM Market Analyst for Software Advice, where she writes about customer service, marketing and sales strategy. She has spent the last six years reporting and writing business news and strategy features. Her work has appeared in myriad publications including Inc., Upstart Business Journal, the Austin Business Journal and the North Bay Business Journal. Before joining Software Advice in 2012, she worked in sales management and advertising. She is a University of Texas graduate with a bachelor’s degree in journalism.

I just finished reading Roadmap to Revenue: How To Sell The Way Your Customers Want To Buy (Amazon.com link). The book was written by Kristin Zhivago, a Revenue Coach and worldwide speaker who helps CEOs and entrepreneurs understand what customers really want and how they want to buy.

In a nutshell, Roadmap to Revenue helps us understand the customer-centric instead of the common company-centric mindset. In other words, the most successful organizations work on selling the way customers want to buy while making it easy for buyers to find you. From the moment a reader opens the book, a whimsical roadmap appears on the front inside cover which begins with an “awakening point” and concludes with “revenue city.” Following the correct route, the organization arrives at the ultimate reward of success. The author guides the reader through:

• Discover – The “awakening  point” to help figure out what makes customers buy and how to help the customer benefit from a product or service
• Debate –  The “resolution junction” identifying customers, how they want to buy and  strengths and weaknesses as applicable to the sales process
• Deploy –  The “action plan” in the buying process that satisfies the customer-centric experience and thus increases revenue

The book creates an interesting customer experience strategy and follows a logical sequence of explanations and examples to help the reader understand the behavior of customers and what they want. In the very beginning of the book we find out there is no “silver bullet” solution to make customers come to you. In fact many businesses sabotage and impede their own efforts. Fortunately the solutions to success don’t require major restructuring, but knowing how and when to appeal to customers to set you apart from your competition. Buyers don’t always know what they want even though they may approach a particular product or service with interest, but if the buyer doesn’t follow through to the purchase, there arises the question of what happened and what did not occur that interfered with the sale.

From Chapters 2 to Chapter 5, the reader discovers the mindset of the purchaser and what to do. In the technological age where any purchaser can Google 80 percent of  their questions prior to purchasing a product or service, the onus to answer the specific 20 percent of questions remaining in their minds can lead to disappointment on the part of the customer if the agent for an organization doesn’t have specific answers. Sales personnel and customer service personnel need to be documenting customer questions and making all data available to everyone in the company as well as on websites. The more specific the information pertaining to what a buyer wants, the more a buyer will be attracted to what you have to sell. As you continue to learn what your customers are thinking, you will be able to meet their needs, even as the market changes. Sometimes you just need to make changes to a product -most times by learning through extensive interviews and reports.

From Chapters 6 through 12, the reader finds out how to understand the customer. Of four levels of buyer scrutiny, we discover how customers want to buy from us and how to avoid making expensive mistakes.  The Scrutiny chapters address each level; Light, Medium, Heavy, and Intense which depends upon particular products or services.

The book uses real examples about marketing and selling channels in order to reach customers and answer questions. As social media hype continues to increase, businesses still need to be guided by the vital information from their customers and knowing what is important to them and what specifically appeals to them. For instance, how you handle a buyer who has just researched a product and landed on your website is paramount.  The potential buyer is theoretically knocking at your door, so be sure your website is chock full of answers, integrity, and efficiency. On-going relationships, repeat business, and endorsements continue to lead  organizations along the road to financial rewards and future success.

Bottomline: The book is a good read and is aimed towards retail and consumer service providers. As a real estate sales agent I found many of the chapters particularly focused towards creating a customer service culture using data to build a knowledge base of what customers are looking for and how to interview potential customers to encourage them to buy from me and ultimately make a sale.

Pros: Well-written and logically planned. The book reminds us to put customers first and how to think like a customer helping us to create that ever important customer experience strategy to set all of us apart from our competition.

Interested: Those interested in the book can buy it on Amazon.com.

In one of the most successful self-help books, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, author Stephen Covey identifies the elements truly effective people use regularly as tools towards their success. No matter how quickly technology continues to dazzle us with innovative ways to contact our customers, understand new products, or strive to make purchasing convenient and quick, satisfied customers and our future relationships with them are what keeps our businesses growing. Might we just build trust and more satisfied customers by getting back to basics, and using  proven methods of success? Here are Covey’s habits as explained in his book. Read how easily they can be related to the core values of effective customer service:

1. Habit number one calls for us to be proactive or to take the initiative to realize the decisions we make will ultimately determine the course of our businesses. No matter how far technology takes us, people still want to speak to real people when they are having a problem or expecting excellent service. Customer service has always been a top priority for American Express as compared to the endless prompts and procedures of other credit card companies. It’s interesting to note that more credit card companies have recently been reaching out to the public stating that real people are now readily available when a customer calls.
2. The second habit is to begin with the end in mind or picture where you would like your business to be in the future. Amazon, Zappos, and the Ritz Carlton hotels pictured clients and guests having access to every amenity, guaranteeing satisfaction with unquestioned return policies, and hiring the most effective agents who could bring a dream to reality.
3. Put first things first and prioritize your tasks as to your customers. Keep promises, work on your company values, and above all concentrate on the most ethical and respectful ways to promote better relationships with all of your customers. Sometimes it isn’t just about the sale, and people remember when you go out of your way to help.
4. Can you think win-win? Outstanding customer service calls for everyone to win. Can you solve problems and still be fair? While you may not make a customer happy all the time, the win-win situation still counts if there is value and respect for both sides. If one can concentrate on long term solutions and still come up with a reasonable compromise, all parties can maintain their dignity.
5. Habit five says to seek first to understand, then to be understood. Communication is a two-way street. The most important part of excellent customer service is the ability to listen. We can’t solve problems if we don’t understand.
6. Next we synergize which is to join forces with our teams and work together to encourage the best possible customer services. We just cannot depend on the front desk agent who answers the phone or who replies on Facebook. Customer service includes every department from CEO to delivery. The best customer service oriented companies encourage employees to learn, join together to teach each other, and work where the “whole” complements the “parts.”
7. And finally the seventh most successful habit is described as sharpening the saw. The analogy pertains to the man who kept sawing through a piece of wood, but his saw was too dull to finish the job on time. When asked why he didn’t just stop and sharpen his saw, the man replied he couldn’t because he wouldn’t be able to finish his job by stopping. All of us need to take  time to energize ourselves whether we choose to spend time with our children, run ten-miles on the beach, or relax in the mountains of New York State. Take some time, and learn from our mistakes.

The valuable time we spend honing our best talents and helping our colleagues to be the best they can be will help to establish the  most successful companies.

If I have a problem with Comcast, I am obligated to call their toll-free number and begin the maze of selecting the right option. When I finally arrive at choice #3 I am then instructed to hold on for the next available agent who will assist me with my problem. There is no relaxing elevator music where I can work until an agent answers; instead I’m forced to listen to a litany of advertisements offering me more services that might very well call me back to this same maze of customer service mediocrity.

Customer service needs to be more than just a smile and a representative having memorized the instruction manual. Agents are there to provide answers to questions, provide easy links and processes to purchase products and services, and respond to customer requests, but there’s a world of difference between organizations that step out of the “box” and those that plod along just humming from day to day. On the positive side, Comcast continues to improve their customer service home visits by guaranteeing their technician to be on time for home visits or providing a credit of $20 to one’s account. Still the first line of customer service which is that first impression hardly provides even a sparkle of “dazzle.”

Let’s visit with Zappos.com for a moment and discover how their customer service recipe extends far beyond what most other establishments offer. The organization started in 1998, and by 2009 Amazon paid one-billion dollars for an online shoe store which amazingly continues to entertain and delight while increasing its visibility, excelling  in connecting with customers, and selling more online merchandise than most other  stores. And it’s not a comparison between a service as in Comcast and a retail experience as in Zappos.com; it’s a response to understanding and perpetuating the best “foot” forward of service.

So what makes Zappos.com a leader in customer service? To begin the company works hard on their brand, has a definitive plan for success where everyone joins in, delivers the “wow” experience, and encourages employees to join in the quirkiness of the organization thus enabling employees to think on their own, enjoy the time they spend at Zappos, and feel they are all integral parts to the success of the company. It’s a fun place to work, folks smile and laugh, and the enthusiasm is contagious ranging from the new employees in training to the jungle-themed  corner desk of CEO Tony Hsieh who encourages employees to use social media and create their own videos telling their own stories. With a 100 percent satisfaction guarantee and a one-year return policy, consumers find the entire buying and service experience fun and efficient. Personnel at Zappos.com react to people by understanding what customers want and need without having to ask.

Great customer service representatives do seem to carry some common traits:

• Great company representatives have excellent writing and speaking skills.
•  Representatives are able to respond to a high volume of business without stressing out.
• Great agents are self-confident without being boastful, are convincing and have a contagious personality.
• Successful agents are able to take on different jobs and are willing to participate and help their fellow employees.

Should a superstar with these qualities walk through the door of your organization, be sure to offer her a job and watch your business grow.

A strong business culture that is aligned with superior business goals outperforms their competitors by light years. These are the organizations who have figured out how to delight their customers and even make them smile. After all isn’t the Zappos’ motto “powered by service” incredibly motivational which delivers a message of trust and reliability? Zappos has worked hard to develop their culture resulting in a high percentage of return customers; a much more lucrative business model than having to find new clients.

Deciding on what a business wants to accomplish is part of its core values and related to its overall culture. Customer service should be one of the top priorities, and the commitment to pleasing customers and delivering “out of the box” services should never be discouraged. When building a culture all employees need to participate, all levels of management needs to encourage and inspire, and business owners need to place themselves as role models to encourage the process.

As businesses grow they may evolve and change since each employee brings their own values and practices to an organization, but the key is to search for employees who have the same passion for excellence and empower those employees to act on their own and go out of their way for the sake of their company. Think of the Ritz Carlton employees who are empowered and constantly encouraged to treat each customer as an individual and react accordingly with each situation – whether it be sending out for a bouquet of flowers for a couple’s private anniversary celebration to a new bed pillow if a guest complains about it being uncomfortable.

How employees act and what they do should all be written out and shared by all employees, but assuming a company strives to build a positive business culture the following culture elements should be considered:

• A commitment to employees which provides superior training to empower company personnel to do the right thing for customers on their own without having to refer to a manual and providing the employee with all of the tools needed to make their own decisions for the welfare of the organization.
• Building the company’s integrity by always following the Golden Rule and honoring return policies, special promotions, and treating both customers and other employees as if each person is truly treasured and respected.
• Effective leadership guides the basis for a strong culture and the motivational tools needed to help employees understand the company’s role as a positive business model.
• Having the company focused on customers and fulfilling their needs and wants without just focusing on the profit of each business exchange.
• Retaining valuable employees by rewarding them with higher salaries, bonuses, rewards and recognition for jobs well-done.
• Communicating with customers and displaying customer service phone numbers and email addresses on every page of their websites so customers know an organization is always willing to listen to a customer if there is a problem. Remember most customers won’t tell a company what went wrong; they just leave and go on to your competition. Make it convenient for an unhappy customer to find you, and act accordingly to resolve the problem.
• Don’t make customers go through a maze of automatic questions when they are calling for customer service or make customers wait for any extended period of time. Where IRS can take their time and really aren’t too worried about how taxpayers feel concerning the waiting time, their business is quite unique, but otherwise unpopular.
• Hire the best employees and don’t limit the time they should be on the phone or spend in person with a customer who needs help. Instead ask for public feedback and written communications from customers about their experiences. Grade employees on their service and what customers say about them – use rewards for the very best. Recognize employees to their peers which will then encourage other employees to excel.

Have pride in your organization and develop its culture to be synonymous with honesty, teamwork, communication, innovation and a leader in customer service. The examples set forth by the foremost leaders promise a successful and profitable business when we strive to be the best of the best.