The Great Global Recession has rumbled through the world's economies like a freight train out of control and wreaked havoc with businesses both large and small in every industry. Fewer customers are spending less and demanding more satisfaction with every purchase. And as companies continue to reduce the size of their workforces, employees are challenged as never before to maintain and improve customer satisfaction. How can employees at every level in a company contribute to delivering "uniquely human" customer service? How can they learn to overcome using robot-like responses to address customer service issues? What must every employee learn to do to help transform their company's customer service into a competitive advantage? In his book, The Robot Syndrome, John presents a highly practical set of Adaptive Service Principles and companion Pointers to address what may be today's most pressing business issue. Using an entertaining combination of wit, common sense, and practical advice, he presents a new way to help companies achieve and sustain the highest possible level of customer satisfaction. By using the principles and pointers that he sets forth, individuals will become more adaptive and will learn to unleash the power of their minds and the uniquely human traits of their hearts, one customer interaction at a time.
THE ROBOT SYNDROME
how to overcome it and provide uniquely HUMAN customer serviceBy JOHN J. MIKSAAuthorHouse
Copyright © 2009 John J. Miksa
All right reserved.ISBN: 978-1-4389-9889-3Contents
Prologue...................................................................xiIntroduction...............................................................xviiADAPTIVE SERVICE PRINCIPLES(tm)............................................1Principle One - Be Consistently Well-Mannered..............................3Pointer - Maintain A Positive Mental Attitude..............................7Pointer - Use Your Customers' Names........................................9Pointer - Less Arguing and More Apologizing................................11Pointer - Patience Is A Virtue.............................................12Pointer - You Are The Face Of Your Company.................................13Pointer - Impressions Are Important........................................15Pointer - Civility Begets Civility.........................................16Pointer - Remember, Mom Said To Say Thank You..............................18Summary....................................................................18In Review..................................................................20Principle Two - Have Empathy...............................................21Pointer - Experience Your Own Product......................................23Pointer - Use The Empathy Question.........................................25Pointer - Communicate Change...............................................26Pointer - Look Up To Customers, Not Down...................................27Pointer - Say You Are Sorry................................................28Pointer - Shop The Competition.............................................29Summary....................................................................30In Review..................................................................32Principle Three - Manage Expectations......................................33Pointer - Be A Change Scout................................................36Pointer - Avoid The Substitution Trap Door.................................38Pointer - Reset Expectations...............................................40Pointer - Be Realistic.....................................................41Pointer - Know Your Own Product............................................43Summary....................................................................45In Review..................................................................47Principle Four - Anticipate Needs..........................................49Pointer - Know Your Customers..............................................51Pointer - Know Why Customers Want Your Product.............................53Pointer - Observe Everything You Can.......................................54Pointer - Trust Your Instincts.............................................55Pointer - Learn It and Log It..............................................56Summary....................................................................57In Review..................................................................59Principle Five - Fill Needs................................................61Pointer - Do Your Part.....................................................64Pointer - Think Creatively.................................................65Pointer - Stay Positive....................................................66Pointer - Think Functionally...............................................67Pointer - Ask Your Customers For Clarity...................................68Pointer - Get Help From A Colleague........................................69Pointer - Suggest A Competitor.............................................70Pointer - Slow Down and Get Better.........................................71Pointer - Don't Be Afraid To Up-Sell.......................................74Summary....................................................................75In Review..................................................................76Principle Six - Listen, Listen, and Listen.................................77Pointer - Ask For A Repeat.................................................81Pointer - Validate What You Heard..........................................82Pointer - Let Humor Lighten The Moment.....................................84Pointer - Keep Eye Contact.................................................87Pointer - Give Yourself Feedback...........................................89Pointer - Check Your Own Body Language.....................................90Summary....................................................................92In Review..................................................................94Principle Seven - Close The Loop...........................................95Pointer - Check Your Fax...................................................98Pointer - Manage Third-Parties.............................................99Pointer - Increase Your Chances For Success................................101Pointer - Use Thank You Bookends...........................................102Pointer - Assure Substitution Satisfaction.................................103Pointer - Send A Personal Note.............................................105Summary....................................................................106In Review..................................................................107Principle Eight - Turn Problems Into Opportunities.........................109Pointer - Calm Your Agitated Customers.....................................112Pointer - Make It Better Than Before.......................................114Pointer - Involve Your Customers In Problem Resolution.....................116Pointer - Let Your Customers Help You To Improve...........................117Pointer - Learn From Your Mistakes.........................................119Pointer - Expect The Unexpected............................................120Pointer - Use Common Sense.................................................121Summary....................................................................122In Review..................................................................124Closing My Own Loop........................................................125Acknowledgements...........................................................129About the Author...........................................................131
Chapter One
Be Consistently Well-Mannered
Over the past several years, I have noticed some changes to our routine vocabulary as it relates to serving customers. For instance, I seldom hear "I'm sorry", "I apologize", "please", and "thank you." What I do hear is a never ending use of the word "like." You may have heard some variation, such as "I was like", "she was like", "he was like", "you were like", "they were like", "we were like", "it was like", and so on. This is no longer just a California, valley girl idiosyncrasy. I hear it all over the country, and across many age groups. It is a bit unnerving when this speech pattern emerges from the mouth of a fifty-something person.
Another change that comes to mind is the use of the phrase "no problem" as a substitute for "you're welcome." It is true that in many circumstances, colloquialisms may be perfectly acceptable. I submit, however, that saying "no problem" to customers runs the risk of suggesting to them just the opposite. Why would you want to leave customers with an impression that you might have thought that maybe they actually were a problem or an interruption? On the other hand, saying "you're welcome" unequivocally lets your customers know that you are grateful for their business and that you are happy to help them.
Of course, variations of "you're welcome" do exist from culture to culture. For instance, you might hear "No worries mate," in Sydney or "Cheers," in London. Being aware and sensitive to local customs is important. However, losing the chance to impress unmistakably upon your customers your sincere appreciation for their business because you chose to use ambiguous slang is potentially a lost opportunity.
Why does any of this matter when it comes to being well-mannered? Some of the reasons should be obvious. As I said, it is just old fashioned, tried and true politeness to say please when you are asking for something, to respond with "you're welcome" when thanked, to thank someone for being kind or thoughtful, and to be quick to say you are sorry when something goes wrong. Being well-mannered does not mean that you must speak with perfect diction and sentence structure. It does not mean that you must maintain some artificial air of formality, such as offering a reply of "my pleasure", unless, of course, you truly mean it. It does mean, however, that what you say, how you say it, and how you act and present yourself will undoubtedly leave an impression with your customers. Remember, you only get to make a "first impression" one time.
Why, then, is being well-mannered so important? You can think of good manners as being akin to a net used by trapeze artists in the circus. Just as the net provides a safer environment for the performers, good manners create an atmosphere that is non-confrontational. They insulate you and your customers from exaggerated responses, especially when something falls short of your customers' expectations. To put it a bit more succinctly, being surly with your customers is a complete turn-off.
In Seattle, there is a coffee shop named Caffe Ladro. According to their website, their mission statement is "To provide coffee and stuff that goes with coffee to the Seattle public." I get the sense that their unwritten one might be "coffee without the attitude." In the restaurant business, my wife is known for saying, "Good food will bring customers in, and a great experience will bring them back." While there are multiple parts that contribute to the experience, well-mannered and ill-mannered employees can make the biggest impression. For you Seinfeld aficionados, the "Soup Nazi" episode may have been funny to watch, but who in their right mind would tolerate being treated that way as a customer?
I think it is impossible to provide great service without first being well-mannered. If you are, it will most definitely shine through for your customers to see. In turn, they will generally respond in a similar way. Sure, from time to time you will get some hopelessly irascible creature that is impervious to even the kindest of gestures and the best of manners. But those folks are rare, and most people will always respond to "good manners" with "good manners." That is, unless alcohol is involved, in which case, all bets are off.
I try to remember the advice my mother gave me once when I was a kid and to reflect on it before interacting with anyone. She said, "John, remember to speak sweetly, because you never know when you will have to eat your words." We are all human, though, and subject to imperfection and failure. Consequently, our words and manners are not always polished, polite, and as kind as they should be. That is why we have been given the "get out of jail free" card that says - I'm sorry.
Being well-mannered is not just limited to how you speak. It is equally important how you act. There really is a time and place for everything, and using what I call the "common sense test", you can quickly judge for yourself if your actions are appropriate. If it doesn't feel right doing what you are doing, then it probably isn't right.
The idea of being well-mannered isn't to turn you and every one in your company into perfectly speaking and perfectly acting robots. After all, we want to eliminate The Robot Syndrome in every employee. On the contrary, it is more about being civil, and courteous, and empathetic, and polite, and listening, and caring - things a robot is incapable of doing. All of these attributes and many more that comprise a well-mannered person are qualities you hope to have in all employees, and if you are lucky, in most of your customers. Happily, when both you and your customers are well-mannered, it is most likely that any problem they may have with your product or service can be resolved to their satisfaction.
Pointer - Maintain A Positive Mental Attitude
I can still recall some of the motivational posters in my high school locker room:
Be a hammer, not a nail
Pain is just weakness leaving the body
Success comes in "cans", not "can'ts"
Lead, follow, or get out of the way
If what you did yesterday still looks good to you today, then you haven't done much today
When you are 15 years old, you'd be amazed what can motivate you. I think in their own way, the coaches were trying to impress upon us the power of a positive mental attitude (PMA). It's that "can do" spirit that is so often found in members of high performance units in civilian and military environments.
You may have heard of the "Go Fever" attitude that pervaded NASA in the sixties. Here you had a fledgling organization that was already behind the U.S./Soviet space race eight-ball being told to "land a man on the moon and return him safely by the end of the decade." Considering that during this same period, our military reached a peak deployment in Vietnam, civil unrest could be found almost anywhere, civil rights for all U.S. citizens were still being fought for, Mike Wallace was decked at the Democratic Convention, and our team of scientists and engineers had no plan at the ready to fulfill this fantastic challenge posed by President John F. Kennedy. Yet, once the will to achieve the goal infected NASA, its contractors, and the country at large, there was nothing stopping us. Even the tragic setback of the Apollo 1 accident that took the lives of astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee did not keep us from landing on the moon and returning safely that decade.
I was privileged to hear a speech years ago from a gentleman with a Ph.D. who was part of this historic effort. What seemed so clear to me when I heard him speak was that a collective positive mental attitude is what helped all of these men and women carry the day. "You could always find someone in the hall who was convinced that the problem of the day could be solved. If you had any doubts, they were quickly vanquished with one short conversation," he told the audience.
Indeed, a PMA can be an infectious thing. It not only can bring out the best in you, it can bring out the best in your customers, especially when they have a problem with your product or service. A PMA can effectively "set the table" for the maximum positive interaction that you can have with your customers, and minimize any issues that may arise. Having a positive mental attitude will also help you to see the best in your customers, which can be difficult if they are upset.
Pointer - Use Your Customers' Names
Even though a name may not be unique, it is who we are and what we respond to when addressed. I always get amused, however, when some companies insist on addressing their customers by Mr., Ms., Miss, or Mrs. When this happens to me, I do appreciate that people are at least addressing me with well-mannered intentions. Unfortunately, my last name, although it is only five letters long and is pronounced just as it is spelled, gets mispronounced well over 90% of the time. "Miska" is what I usually hear, even when I have tried to help an individual by breaking my name down phonetically into the two syllables, "Mik" and "sa." Why that doesn't do the trick remains one of life's mysteries for me.
Consequently, when someone addresses me as "Mr. Miska", I politely request that they just call me "John." What often follows is a sheepish comment like, "We are not allowed to call our customers by their first name." Now, that's just ridiculous. I'm the customer and specifically ask to be addressed by my first name. Besides, first or last, if it is mine, what difference does it make? And in my case, given that most people seem to have difficulty pronouncing my last name, let's just make it easy and call me John.
Honestly, I warm up to someone right away when addressed by my first name. It isn't that they are attempting some false familiarity. I take it as someone that is simply trying to be friendlier and more personable. Yet, it is so rare that I hear my name in customer transactions. Perhaps, in my case, it may be that people want to avoid pronouncing my last name and getting it wrong. In lieu of that, asking "May I call you by your first name?" would be just fine with me and I suspect with others whose last names are difficult to pronounce.
My listening ability and antenna get put into high-gain when my name is called or spoken, especially if pronounced correctly. Perhaps this is a learned response from parents and coaches, but it is true. To this point, my wife and I have learned that because I can fall into a trance-like focus and she is such a multi-tasker, we will always have a better chance of being heard by one another if we first call out each other's name.
It is a lost opportunity for an employee helping a customer in a one-on-one situation not to address them by name, and first name when possible. If the customer is on the phone, you can pose the question, "With whom am I speaking?" In person, employees often wear a name identifier, which allows customers to address them by their name. Returning the pleasantry will make the interaction all the more personable and productive.
It should be noted, though, that the use of someone's first name has to be handled in context of cultural differences; while first name is comfortable for U.S. customers, it may not be appropriate for customers from other countries. Some cultures are loathe even to reveal their given names because of taboos. To ensure your success when interacting with a customer by name, be respectful, pay attention, and be adaptive to their special needs and requests. Remember, the idea is to make the transaction more comfortable, not less.
Pointer - Less Arguing and More Apologizing
You can always choose to be "dead right." Yes, your customers may be partially wrong or even totally wrong with regard to an issue they have with your product. To be honest, your first inclination might be to defend your company and its product and argue with your customers. Generally, this just leads to more arguing and tempers flaring.
Someone in this transaction, though, has to be the adult, because customers sometimes do act like children, especially when they do not get what they were expecting. This is where you must decide. Should I be "dead right" and go down that one-way road called "Lost Customer", or should I remain composed, positive, and well-mannered? If you choose the latter, you can diffuse almost any uncomfortable situation. Apologize for your customer's unhappiness and explore with them what the perceived and real problem might be. I'll cover problems and the opportunities they present more extensively in PRINCIPLE EIGHT - Turn Problems Into Opportunities. Suffice it to say that by arguing less and by apologizing more, you can salvage almost any customer relationship. On the other hand, if you do choose to argue, you most likely will be talking to your customer's back as they walk out of your place of business.
Pointer - Patience Is A Virtue
I am perhaps the last person who should be writing about patience. Admittedly, it is a character flaw that I have to wrestle with every day. However, investing in the continued development of my patience provides me with a substantial return on my investment. Being more patient puts a governor on many emotional reactions that I may have, such as becoming angry, judgmental, argumentative, defensive, pompous, and verbose to mention just a few. Biting my tongue and doing whatever it takes to elevate my patience quotient also makes me a better listener. I'll cover the art and importance of listening more extensively in PRINCIPLE SIX - Listen, Listen, and Listen. When I'm listening, it opens up many more possibilities to learn and become adaptive.
Consider the discovery in 1972 by Mary Budd Rowe of something she called, "wait-time." The essence of her discovery was based on increasing the amount of time from one and one-half seconds to three seconds of silence starting from the end of teachers' questions. Her research revealed profound improvement in both teachers' and students' attitudes, behaviors, and performance. Imagine that. By adding just one and one-half seconds to give some kids a little more time to think does wonders for them and their teachers. That is an amazing return on investment in patience.
This same type of positive return can be found in your company when more patience is exercised when helping customers. By being less defensive and more willing to get all the facts on the table, the patience you extend to your customers will often be recognized by them as a true willingness on your part to make them satisfied beyond their expectations. What may seem like a big problem to them can be diffused by engaging your mind to turn on your patience and remembering in your heart what it feels like when someone is impatient with you.
Pointer - You Are The Face Of Your Company
Have you ever been involved as a customer in a transaction when something was not to your liking and the person helping you blames the situation on "policy", or "my supervisor", or my personal favorite, "corporate?" It would be wise for employees using such excuses to remember that, in the eyes of customers, they are "corporate." Customers assume that you represent the best and the worst of your company. It is therefore up to you to be the very best ambassador for your company that you can be. There can be no doubt that the quality of your manners will influence the outcome of your customer interactions. For every customer that you help, whether in person, on the phone, or through some other electronic medium, you are "the window to your company's customer service soul."
Many companies go to great lengths to define their vision, mission, and values. Some even do a pretty good job of communicating these elements effectively to every employee, at least once. Why, then, don't companies do a better job of inculcating these into the rank and file with recurrent and frequent communication and clarification? Wouldn't it be simple to have a wallet sized, laminated card for every employee to carry and for leadership at every level to review these elements periodically?
(Continues...)
Excerpted from THE ROBOT SYNDROMEby JOHN J. MIKSA Copyright © 2009 by John J. Miksa. Excerpted by permission.
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