Posted by Celia Couture on Wed, Jul 29, 2009 @ 11:28 AM
I found the following article entitled: "How To Create A Service Culture" by Simple Truths. I wanted to share this with you as it is a wonderful anecdote for those of you needing to emphasize customer service.
The following story was told by my friend Phillip Van Hooser, in his book titled: Willie's Way. I really like it and hope you will too.
The conversation was pleasant. Earlier in the day I had presented a service professionalism training program for the Georgia Club Managers' Association, a group of managers representing some of the finest city, athletic, golf, and country clubs throughout the state of Georgia. Now I found myself dining with nine of the most highly respected leaders in the field of club management. Somewhere between the appetizer and the salad, Manuel de Juan, general manager of the host, Capital City Club, spoke.
"Phillip, I thoroughly enjoyed your presentation today. I especially enjoyed the stories you shared to illustrate your content points. As a matter of fact, at one point during your presentation, I almost interrupted you to share one of my stories I thought you might enjoy."
He said, "The occasion was Easter Sunday and the day found more than 500 club members and their guests crowded into the overflowing Capital City Club restaurant. As they waited to dine, a club member and his four dinner guests approached the bar where they were greeted by the head bartender, Bob, who quickly began to take and fill each drink order. Everything progressed as might be expected until one of the guests placed an order for a specialty drink.
'I would like a sazerac, please.'
'A sazerac?' Bob asked curiously. 'Sir, I'm sorry but I'm unfamiliar with that particular drink. However, if you'll share its ingredients with me, I will be happy to make you one.'
'That's the problem,' the guest explained. 'I was in New Orleans on business recently and I stayed at the Fairmont Hotel. During my visit, I went into the hotel bar and the bartender suggested I try the house specialty, a sazerac. I remember the name of the drink because it was the same as that of the bar. Anyway, I tried the drink and I loved it.
Since then though, whenever I've tried to order it in other bars around the country I always get the same response, 'never heard of it.' I was hoping a place like the Capital City Club would be different. But never mind. Don't worry about it. Just give me a Bloody Mary instead.'
Bob filled the revised drink order, and as soon as the guest left the bar to rejoin his party, Bob took his break and headed straight to the nearest telephone. He called information and requested the number for the Fairmont Hotel in New Orleans, Louisiana. Once connected to the Fairmont, Bob asked for the Sazerac Bar. Within seconds, Bob was talking directly with a previously anonymous professional colleague in a bar several hundred miles away.
'My name is Bob and I am the head bartender at the Capital City Club here in Atlanta. A few minutes ago I had a gentleman order a sazerac. He told me he was introduced to it while visiting your bar. I was wondering if you would be willing to share the recipe with me so I can fill his order?'
Bob's New Orleans counterpart was happy to oblige.
Within a few short minutes, Bob confidently approached the guest's table. Imagine the guest's level of surprise, satisfaction, and sheer delight when Bob said, 'Excuse me, sir, but I have your sazerac. I hope it's to your liking. I have taken the liberty of writing down the ingredients on this index card so you can have them with you in your travels. I hope you enjoy your time here at the Capital City Club. I'm glad I had the opportunity to serve you.'
One of my favorite definitions of listening is from Jim Cathcart. He said listening is wanting to hear. And you see, Bob wanted to hear...and he did. Great service is always about wanting to hear.
Posted by Celia Couture on Mon, Jul 27, 2009 @ 09:18 AM
Employees are being asked to on a daily basis to rethink what they are doing in order to help alleviate cash-strapped companies. The obvious cost savings measures have already been put in to place: downsizing, mandatory days off, a decrease in benefits, a review of vendors and pricing, so now it comes down to plan old ordinary employee influence.
Remember as leaders, that most employees view any type of change as a loss. You may very well be doing what you need to do to protect your employees in the long run, but they view the changes as a vehicle to obsolete their jobs. Given the drastic measures some companies have been forced to take to save costs, I don't blame employees for being skeptical, but you need to take the lead, understand that employees need special handling during these times and work with them through the change.
Here are some typical reactions to look for and mitigate:
- Most employees view change as the company taking something away from them.
- Most employees want to wait out the change to see if it is going to stick or if it is simply a short-term measure, unfortunately, this makes them late adaptors to change.
- Most employees view the change as ONLY happening to them. They need to realize that their co-workers as well as you are there to assist them through the change.
- Be prepared for employees to take two steps forward and three steps back before they engage completely in the change you are asking them to make. Don't reprimand them! Support them and they in turn will begin to see that you are not there to hurt them, but to protect them.
Be honest with employees. Give them the information they need to in order to place the change you are asking them to make in to an appropriate context. Help them understand how the changes you are asking them to make help them achieve overall goals and cost saving measures that ultimately protect their jobs.
Posted by Celia Couture on Thu, Jul 23, 2009 @ 01:30 PM
In a difficult economic environment, it is critical that companies get back to basics. What is your core business? Who are your most important clients and how do you keep them satisfied and loyal? How do you change your business model to adapt to the economy? How do you reward employees for sticking with you even though the way they are doing their job may be different?
Here are some strategic things to put in place to help you manage through this difficult economy.
- Do you have the appropriate organizational structure in place to weather the storm? Are you focusing on infrastructure changes that may help you save time and money? Can you streamline processes and procedures?
- Who are your best clients? What products and services do you want to lead with and how do you ensure that you are marketing these services in an appropriate way? At one time you might have been able to hold on to a weaker account, but can you afford to do that today.
- Invest in your sales resources. Sometimes companies make the mistake to decrease sales resources in a down economy. Now is the time to invest in their training and in their development. How can you help them be completely successful once the economy turns around.
- Do your really good customers understand and see your value. Do they know what you bring to the table? Do you have a way to differentiate yourself from the competition? Now is a good time to think about how best to do that.
- Do you have the right people in the right jobs doing the right things? It may be difficult to think about moving people out who are under-performing, but you do have a huge advantage in a down economy to dig for really great people who find themselves out of a job. With the unemployment rate at record highs, now is the time to be interviewing...even informationally to see what type of resources are out there and how they might help you in the future.
Posted by Celia Couture on Tue, Jul 21, 2009 @ 03:19 PM
New Employees can make a decision about your company in a matter of days or hours in a new job. As a leader you need to know that during the first 60-90 days of employment can lead new personnel to look for a new job within the year. So how do you ensure that this doesn't happen.
- Make sure you contact the person as soon has they have accepted the position. Offer to answer questions or provide help.
- Designate a partner or a mentor for the new employee. Make sure that you outline the mentors responsibilities. If the mentor is responsible for training, introducing the employee to other people, escorting them to lunch...ensure that the employee feels as though they have a soft place to land.
- Make sure the work are is ready for the new employee. Starting a new job is both anxiety producing and difficult. New employees want to feel they have a clean slate and that starts with a clean and productive work area. Your job as a leader is to ensure that this happens.
- Make sure the person knows what the basics of the job will be. What are the minimum expecations they need to understand their job. If you start the person off on the right foot and you don't overwhelm them with too much, too soon, they are more likely to be successful.
- Make sure you vary how you are going to orient the new employee. Some employees are visual learners, some employees are hands-on learners. Some learn best by studying information on their own and asking you questions. Ensure that you provide that diversity in learning.
Posted by Celia Couture on Thu, Jul 09, 2009 @ 08:55 AM
Now more than ever, with the economy tetering day-to-day, employees need to be ready to change. When the external marketplace changes become apparent inside the organization, manager realize the risk of not changing. If you own a business, you quickly realize that not changing may mean a loss of jobs, business failure or loss of revenue.
If you are an employee, the risks of not changing are even more dramatic. We have already seen the unemployment figures, currently we're at 9.5 %. More and more employees are suffering through stress, job dissatisfaction, fewer promotional opportunity, lower job security and a decrease in pay and benefits.
If you want to be among the leaders, you need to realize that change is inevitable in this type of an economy and you need to position yourself to change as the situation warrants. Some employees take a wait and see attitude. Certainly, this is not the time to be slow in your response to change. You will be remembered by your employer for your ability to respond positively and quickly to change.
Posted by Celia Couture on Tue, Jul 07, 2009 @ 08:38 AM
Saturday of this week, I played on a new golf course in Dracut, MA. As I approached the course, lining the street were multi-million dollar homes all occupied with no for sale signs. Lawns were perfectly manicured and I really felt as though I were on a movie set. So obviously folks, there is still money out there and people are making it. These are people who are clearly managing their portfolios wisely as well as their business.
So what does this have to do with you? It is important to remember that regardless of our economic situation people will continue to purchase what they NEED not what they WANT. So the key to your business model is to re-evaluate, re-structure if necessary and provide clients with what they NEED. If there are sectors in your business model not making money, try to look at how best to move resources around to augment other sectors in your business model that ARE making money.
Recently, I worked with a mid-size plumbing company. They primarily handled new construction as well as re-models. Once the economy tanked so did their business, but they still had skilled labor! This was their greatest asset. We began to look at how to beef up the "service" end of their business. We started to call on all previous customers offering them deals and packaging for servicing all of their plumbing needs. We created different types of maintenance agreements. What we discovered is really very simple, people NEED the water heater in top condition
Posted by Celia Couture on Thu, Jul 02, 2009 @ 01:11 PM
Should a company have a formal mentoring program? I've found that mentoring is probably the single-most important activity to be involved in...both as a mentor to others and as a mentee to others. Growing within an organization always requires seeking solutions, options and other ways of getting to solutions in different ways. Most of us are discerning enough to recognize those people in our organizations who have the skills that we lack.
If we want the mentor/mentee relationship to work, companies often need to identify a "cheerleader" not necessarily the CEO, but someone in upper management that can act as a sponsor for the program. Mentors and Mentees need to be trained on how to be good at both jobs.
Mentoring programs can be viewed as a low cost company benefit especially if the mentor/mentee relationship is project or skill-based training. Here are some questions to consider before you consider a mentoring program for your company.
- Do you have support from top executives & management support.
- Do you have the time and resources.
- Is your organizational climate healthy (hiring, people interested in learning/developing).
- Is informal mentoring already happening: coaching, job sharing etc.
- Do you have some specific goals in mind for the mentoring effort.
- Do potential mentors/mentees have time to meet and work on development activity.
Call us to see how we might help you establish a mentoring program for your company.