Ok, time for a wee rant.

On Saturday I phoned a company's hotline as I had an urgent problem that needed fixing, no one answered the phone so I left a message.

Monday morning and still no response, so more phone calls, this time to their landline and one to their mobile - result - nothing.

Monday afternoon - still waiting, so I sent an email - no reply. Sent a txt message to their mobile, no response.

Monday evening, another email, this one a little terse, pointing out that their service levels lead a lot to be desired. No response.

Tuesday morning, still waiting for a response. Phone again, put through to someone, got voice mail so left a message.

Thinking (foolishly) I might get somewhere if I posted a note on their Facebook - you guessed it, no response.

Tuesday evening - still no response, oh wait - there was at 10:03pm, an email apologising that they are too busy at this time and would I call at some time to discuss what is going on. I replied asking for them to phone me, I was over chasing them.

Wednesday morning, no response. More emails, more phone calls - still nothing.

So what to do, I can either send them more messages, phone them or perhaps head to their office and see if I could help them with their massive backlog in messages.

As I'm putting my shoes on to head out to see them, someone rings to apologise that they hadn't been in touch, but that they are really busy and don't always have time to follow up. Um, excuse me - too busy for your customers - give me a break, it's the customer who is keeping the business alive.

If any business is too busy to respond to customer enquiries then they have a big problem, and one which could be fixed - employ more staff, manage your time better, have dedicated staff to respond to enquiries.

If you're in business and have people trying to get hold of you - do you:

a) ignore them

b) respond in a timely manner in order to get (or retain) them

 c) give excuses

d) wave goodbye to them as they head down the road to your competitor

If you want to retain your customers do the right thing by them and they'll stick with you, ignore them or treat them poorly and you're helping your competition grow their business - the choice is yours.

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

Sometime ago I wrote Self praise is no recommendation and still stand by what I said then, and more so now after some interaction with a company who say in their ‘pitch’ that they are “ …  unparalleled in NZ.”

I was intrigued as they work in a similar field to me and I’d not come across them, and on doing some checking of their FaceBook and Twitter activity saw little that would give them the ability to ‘self rank’ themselves as being ‘ … unparalleled in NZ”. 

Their website is riddled with typos, straight out spelling mistakes and even ‘platforms’ they refer to in their web content aren’t spelt in a way someone using them would spell them – Linked in vs LinkedIn, and last time I checked face book is facebook. 

Maybe I’m wrong in thinking if you know what you are talking about you’d use the names right, I’m sure a builder doesn’t refer to a noggin as a nogg in.   

One of their lead ‘consultants’ who specialises in ‘social’ hasn’t had any online presence in their ;own right’ since Feb 2009, they have however been doing online activity for others. Sure there’s nothing wrong with ghosting for others, but if you’re saying you’re ‘ … unparalleled … ‘ at least have some presence of your own online, people want to see what you’re doing for yourself as part of wanting to know what you can do for them. 

Sour grapes? No, I’m just curious as to how people can say one thing, but not actually show any evidence that they are as good as they say they are.

Part of their response to my question - which I did phrase wrong – I asked about them being “best in the country”, when I should have asked about their assumption of being “ … unparalleled in NZ”, was

“when  our social media consultant  is the only consultant in NZ who manages 10-15 face book pages personally and has over 100, 000 followers over these  pages and not paid FACEBOOK for any  of them, and  as some business write cheques to get their followers , there is an in depth experience level that can help any business do the same-  and attract an audience  of that level relevant  to that organisatio ,coupled with the level of group members  knowledge base, with MBA ‘s and Masters, IT degrees, etc  in the team as whole – yes I do believe we are the best in the country –… “

Why am I bringing this up again? Simple if we’re working in an area of skill, whether it’s plumbing, banking, media – no matter what, don’t we owe it to ourselves to monitor ‘our sector’. I’m not an advocate for regulation – but when it comes to assertions of being “the best” or “unparalleled” I think we should be prepared to challenge those using such ‘monikers’ to stump up with some proof.

Anyway – really only wanted a wee rant at the end of the year. If you don’t agree with what I’ve said - rant away, like what I say – go on, say something nice.

Note: Although I maintain this blog I'm more likely found over on Charity Matters

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

Don't fret I haven't stopped blogging - it's just all my new stuff is now on Charity Matters - pop over take a look and please subscribe so you don't miss out on what I'm ranting, raving or generally just talking about.

I'll try and remember to post something here from time to time so you know I'm still in the land of the living.

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

As you may have read a few weeks ago it’s all coming off to help raise the funds the Child Cancer Foundation which needs our help to give the support they do to families who have a child with cancer. 

The support received to date has been amazing, both in terms of donations and support in kind. Ministry of Hair will be pulling out the clippers to do the deed, thanks also has to go to the team at the Heritage Hotel who have kindly offered a cash bar to any supporters who wish to come along. The Heritage Hotel have also made an offer direct to Child Cancer Foundation for other support they may be able to offer – so a special thanks for this too. 

It’s been fun talking to people about why I’m doing this and what it means to be able to support, along with many jokes being said about how I will look come the 10^th of August. I’m looking forward, with some trepidation to how it will look, it’s been a number of years since I last shaved my lid. 

I’ve also been asked how my niece (Stevie) is, how the treatment she is receiving is going and what the outlook is. So for those interest – last week Stevie was at Starship for her chemo treatment. 

Her medical examination went well - weight stable, blood pressure ‘normal’ and her overall bloods were good to. All in all things are going to ‘plan’. Her prognosis is good, and for that, I know everyone is grateful. 

Other families are not so lucky, and it’s not only for the support Stevie has been receiving from the Child Cancer Foundation that I’m shaving my lid, but for all the families who the foundation supports. 

Without organisations like CCF New Zealand would be much the poorer, where else can families get the support they need when facing what can be a long road when they have a child undergoing treatment. 

Your support is really appreciated – thank you. 

If you wish to support my efforts you can on here.

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

When we’re working often we’re looking for something to inspire, to get our juices flowing – for me it’s music, but my problem with this has always been what to listen to that won’t be distracting, that won’t take my mind away from what I’m doing.  

More often than not I wouldn’t bother at all and trudge through the day without any music, not really noticing for hours that I’ve been working in silence – how I’ve coped is a mystery. 

Now all that’s changed, not only can I listen to all that music in my iTunes library, but I can listen to it while shutting out all other noise around, and the really good thing is I’m “hearing” the music I’m listening to in a whole new way. 

How? Easy, I’ve a new set of headphones and not just any old thing but a decent set of noise cancelling, ear hugging ‘cans’ that are making me want to put music on – I guess the fact my ears normally get cold and the fact that these ‘cans’ are warm and snug helps there too. 

So get to the point I hear you say – ok, here’s what I’m using to listen with ... 

Audio-technica ATH-ANCTb

These are awesome, not cheap like the ones you pick up when doing your shopping at that red shed outfit, or your local discount store, but hey you want to really hear what you’re listening too, you’ve invested in the music so why not invest too in the equipment you’re using to listen to it with.

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

How often do you see an email asking you to participate, join or contribute to something, quite often no doubt. What’s the point if it’s the only one “invite” you get? 

We’re not talking about spam emails, we’re talking targeted emails. 

If there’s no follow-up it’s a waste of time. How does the sender know it’s been received let alone read? Are they psychic? 

At the very least a follow-up email should be sent asking if the original has been received, perhaps even asking if the recipient needed additional information – perhaps even answering questions before they’re asked. 

What about the sender taking the effort to pick up the phone to follow up, or is that just too hard ? 

If you want people to join in, come along or participate make it easy for them, don’t leave it up to them to do all the work – like you they’re likely busy. 

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

After some recent discussion around telemarketing and now having just had a telemarketing call, I thought I’d share these thoughts. 

Yes, I’ve done telemarketing both B2C and B2B, I’ve trained telemarketers and seen some real success and also some spectacular failures. 

The call I just got was about telecommunications and how I could save on phone calls with the savings being used for other technology in the business. 

The caller started with – Hello how are you – to start with I know a telemarketer doesn’t want to know how I am, they just want to sell me something – so get to the point. 

Then she proceeded to tell me how the service could help me, she told me she “knew” it would be useful and beneficial to my business.  Ok, now for the fun. 

I stopped the caller in her tracks and asked her where the business was located – “in New Zealand” – ok - he strong accent still had me wondering. 

I was told how the “concept” would be beneficially good for my business – um, I asked ok, “what sort of business is that?” – she didn’t or couldn’t answer and continued with here spiel again brushing my question aside. 

Ok – she may have been nervous, didn’t know how to answer or just had no idea as to what to say so used the “let this question slide and I’ll keep going” tactic, spouting on more about something I had no interest in. 

I thought I’d see if I could pinpoint where she was calling from and asked for her phone number. She said she didn’t have a number I could call back on um - what? Surely there’s a number, she rang me after all – I’m sure it was from a landline, it sure wasn’t jungle drums. 

Since she didn’t know who I was, what I did or wasn’t able to give me a phone number, I suggested the end the call and hung-up. 

Where did this call go wrong? Firstly she asked me how I was - a waste of time. If anything she should have said something on the lines of “have you got a moment to talk?” or “I hope I haven’t got you at a bad time” – either of which gives an impression of understanding that I’m not here to take the call and have other things to be getting on with.   

Also, saying something on those lines can leave the door open for the caller to be able to call back at a later – pre arranged time.                 

My caller also indicated she had knowledge of what my business does when in fact she had no idea – if you can’t back it up, don’t say it – you will be caught out. 

She didn’t have a number for me to call back on, come on – even outsourced call centres will normally make sure there is a number for people to call back on. If there’s no number I don’t want to know about them. 

I’d suggest a call be ‘staged’ on these lines

“Good morning/afternoon it’s __________ from XYZ – have you got a moment to talk? 

If yes

Great thank you – I’m calling about …. blah blah blah 

There should be questions to make sure you understand who you’re speaking with – qualifying too that you have the right person. 

Also, and this is really important – if you have the persons name use it, and use it at least three times in the conversation. People like hearing their name, and it also helps to bring someone back to the conversation should they have become distracted by other things in the surrounds. 

If the caller got a No when they asked if it was a convenient time, or similar: 

“Ok – would you mind if I gave you a call back perhaps later today, or would tomorrow be more suitable?” Often this will make the “prospect” ask what it was about, or suggest that  a call later would be suitable. 

If the person says yes to being called back, offering a choice of times makes them feel as though they are now controlling the call and will be more receptive when they’re called back. 

These are basics, and if someone doesn’t know how to make a decent telemarketing call – they should be taken off the phone and offered further coaching. 

Not long after this call I received another, this time from an insurance agent – he started off perfectly, asked me if it was convenient to talk, summarised in maybe ten words what the call was about – then when I said I wasn’t interested he apologised for the ‘intrusion’ and the call was terminated. 

If you’re using telemarketers give them the tools to do the job – not just a headset, give them some background, give them contact details should someone want to call back, and let your agents be people, let them do their own script using their own words and personality. If you don’t do this then just get a bank of phones and a pre-recorded tape of what you’re pitching – it‘ll have the same results and also cost a lot less.

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

We’re seeing more of the use of the word “best” in company names, promotional material and online – self appointment to the “best club” doesn’t cut it with me. 

Walk down virtually any street and you’ll see a sign of some sort a business saying they’re the best, have the best, serve the best – you get it. 

A café I walk past often has a banner saying ”we serve best coffee in town” – this is presumably the brand of coffee, not the actually “served” coffee.  I’ll tell you how good this sign is at putting my off, I couldn’t even tell you the brand of coffee sold. 

Now there’s a new day care centre opening and it’s signage all says “Auckland’s Best Child Care Centre” – um, when was the judging of day care centres held? The place hasn’t even opened and it’s call itself the best. 

Even online we’re seeing more people calling themselves the “best this or the other” – come on. Ego much? 

Are we diluting the meaning of best? 

I’m not buying into anything that or anyone that calls themselves “the best” – I’ll wait for the final judging thank you. 

Self-praise is no recommendation!

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

Auckland Social Media Club held a brilliant discussion session with local MPs on the subject of social media and politicians.  

One question that came to mind for me, that unfortunately I didn’t get to ask on the night is: 

Will, or should, there become a time when views expressed on social media sites will be taken into consideration during debate on legislation or at select committees? 

Already parties use polls to gauge the mood of the electorate, but in the main these polls are based on small numbers of people, if we look at the followers, connections that some politicians have we can see that the numbers they can ask a question or get feedback from is higher than the samples used for most polls.

Given this, should politicians be using tools to listen to what their electorate is saying and based on what they’re hearing use this when speaking in the House or at select Committee? 

My guess is that they should be, it’s in the individual members interest to listen to what is being said – not just listen, but to also make sure that what they’re hearing is fed back to the party and the House in general. 

I’d be keen to hear what any politicians have to say on this, whether it’s something they’re already doing – and if not why not.

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

So JetStar bills itself as having ”all day, everyday, low airfares” , from my experience it should also have a ‘tag’ more like “low airfares and poor customer service” . Why - simple, I was booked on a recent 12:05pm flight, but around 8:30 I got a txt saying the flight was delayed for two hours. 

On getting to the airport, after checking in and having something to eat, a further delay of 20 minutes was announced, it appeared most other services were running to schedule.  

Among those on schedule was another flight to the same destination that was due to leave an hour after my original flight time, it left on time, leaving us killing time, and wondering why we couldn’t have been put on the fight that had left – it just didn’t seem fair, and if possible would have made sense. 

On finally boarding the plane, the cabin crew welcomed us aboard and thanked us for flying JetStar – no apology for the flight delay. This I thought was off, why couldn’t they have said something. Then the 1^st officer came on and again we were welcomed aboard, this time however, he did apologise for the delay – well done. 

What I don’t understand, is why there was no apology over the airport system for the delay and the cabin crew make the apology – they are the ones who deal with the passengers, anyone else making it, at a later time would make most (myself included) think that the apology was an “after thought”. 

Another thing that bugged me with JetStar is that I made several comments on Twitter about their poor service, the delay etc, others replied to my comments, and voiced their displeasure. But there was a deafening silence from JetStar_NZ – even though they were mentioned in the tweets – why are JetStar_NZ using twitter if they’re not monitoring what’s being said? 

After a flight delay of well over two hours, and lack lustre in flight experience; staff who appeared to be more interested in catching up on what their fellow crew had been doing than how their passengers were, I’d already decided I would only use JetStar_NZ once again - for my return flight home. 

But this decision was cemented when on board we were barked at because my travelling companion took photos; this is a no no on @JetStarAirways – it is a breach of privacy. Whether it is or isn’t doesn’t matter too much, what does matter is the way this was handled. It was straight in, all guns blazing – you can’t take photos, and a demand that the crewmember would have to stand and watch while the photos were deleted – then an explanation of why photos couldn’t be taken. Completely ass about face. Explain why, first then ask for the action to be taken.   

@Jetstar_NZ did finally respond to my tweet – about poor service, a full 24hours after my tweet. 

There’s no excuse for this, unless of course they don’t care to monitor – or perhaps, they’re a company with a late culture,  flights are late – so why not their feedback and response to customers. 

I was asked to complete a customer feedback form, when I sent a message asking for someone I could contact directly

Jetstar_NZ 

Hi there, sorry we are unable to give that info to you. Plz contact out Call Centre on 0800 800 995 or...

Come on, if they’re using social media, be socialable, be timely and don’t hide behind some loose code of privacy. 

I was also booked to return home on @JetStar_NZ, and guess what – my return flight was also delayed. Bad luck, bad planning or bad service – take your pick. 

JetStar are probably aware they need to improve customer service, but they also need to know that using social media should be timely, open and engaging. Perhaps their social media activity is centralised and time zones come into play, there’s an easy fix to that – let people know that there could be a delay in answering questions etc.  Simply tweeting people

Jetstar_NZ 

fill in our Customer Care Feedback form http://bit.ly/kQAxyQ and an analyst will be in touch. Thanks

just doesn’t cut it.

If we’re using social media for business it needs to be timely – customers, friends and followers will go elsewhere if left waiting too long for responses.

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

Monitoring is an important aspect of any call centre operation, whether it’s inbound or outbound. However, there is a fine line between monitoring and policing; and it soon becomes dangerous ground when call centre management slip over into policing. 

It is acknowledged that in order to ensure agents are performing, meeting KPI’s and generally working within the business boundaries that monitoring is used. However, there is that fine line, and a line that we all need to ensure we are not crossing. 

All too often feedback from agents (even comments overheard) suggest that in many situations call centre management are in the policing mode, making sure agents are performing and portraying the business correctly. Sure, it is a necessary requirement of any call centre to make sure that agents are factual, honest and meeting the KPIs set; however it is the responsibility of all call centre management to ensure that this is done in a non-threatening, non-invasive manner, and that agents are given proper (and timely) feedback.

Some managers feel that it is important to use a system such as: 

Commend – acknowledge work well done

Recommend – show areas where improvements could be made

Commend – reconfirm work well done

This system works in some, but not all situations; and most managers who use it say they do so as it leaves the agent in a “good mood”. Well, perhaps this is right. 

Personally I liked to be straight-up with agents I worked with, and would sometimes use the CRC approach, but was more inclined to reaffirm the standards expected of agents and then show the agent/s where they need to improve. Sure, I would let them know that they were doing a good job, after all if their work was always substandard they would be encouraged to seek work elsewhere, as I call it “career development”. 

But, what ever systems are used to report, give feedback to agents it is important that it is consistent with how all other agents receive theirs (timely, etc). 

I’ve seen in some call centres where some staff have been allowed to get away with certain things, while others who mirrored these exact same things were taken aside and disciplined - totally unfair, and in possibly unlawful. 

So, how do we define the difference between monitoring and policing? 

Monitoring; is where we ensure agents are working within the bounds of their agreements/contracts; meeting their agreed KPIs; and building the business. 

Policing; is where we are constantly on the backs of agents to ensure that they are performing. 

A gentle nudge is all that is often needed when monitoring, yet in the policing scenario, we will find mangers suggesting stronger measures to ensure agents are performing adequately. 

Too often managers use the policing technique perhaps in ignorance, but more likely as they feel that they have the upper edge on their agents and can replace them. Yet, if we use the monitoring process, we grow the agent, which in turn will grow the business; not only in gaining clients, but also in staff morale. Staff morale, builds pride in the company, pride in the company will encourage staff to talk about where they work, which has the potential to bring in new clients and staff. 

We should be monitoring our staff, this will help us all grow our businesses; it will encourage staff to be an ‘ambassador’ for the company. 

Would you like your staff to be part of your ‘marketing mix’? If you do, then stay away from policing and move to monitoring, be positive with your staff, they will soon start talking about how much of a positive work environment your call centre is. Why pay for marketing when you have ‘ambassadors’ (already on payroll), promoting your business for you. 

You will only get this if you monitor your staff, police your staff and you will have to work hard to build team morale, and even harder to gain and retain business. 

Are you Monitoring or Policing your agents/staff? To police or to monitor, the choice is yours. 

If you haven’t already, check out the post Call Reluctance, not covered in here, but perhaps it should have been, is whether staff with call reluctance do so because they feel they’re being ‘watched’, ‘policed’ and not monitored and nurtured.

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

A few years ago I wrote an article for Call Center Times and stumbled across it recently, so though I’d share it again.

What is Call Reluctance? 

In general terms call reluctance is where an outbound (generally speaking) telemarketer/CSR will look for ways to avoid making the call; most commonly for fear of rejection. 

Fear of rejection can be for a number of reasons. It could be that the agent has experienced unprecedented levels of rejection from prospects. And, it is important to look at the level of rejection agents are getting, when looking at handling the Call Reluctance; after all, they are interrelated. 

The selling style of an agent can have significant bearing on causes of (and be the cause of) Call Reluctance. It is important to look at whether the agent is/has: 

• Well planned
• Well organized
• Selling by objectives
• Following up on previous calls
• Good time management 

Also of importance to look at is whether the agent Can portray confidence (in first 15 seconds) Can develop rapport/interaction

 An agent with difficulties in any of the above areas, is in need of guidance/coaching to help them overcome their ‘Call Reluctance’. 

The level/amount of planning the agent is making for his/her day (selling period), if they are not planning what it is that they want to achieve, or are over planning. Then, they have areas that need work. Planning need not take an excessive amount of time whether the agent wants to make 10 or 100 calls in a day. 

What is needed in the planning? It is accepted that this will vary wildly depending on the sales method and history of the prospect. But, in  general the planning should include: 

• When to make the call
• Who to call
• Recent history of the prospect
• Expected outcome/s 

The agent may work to a prescribed method of calling depending on the type of business you are in, and the type of business/location being called. In general there is an illusion that there never is a good time to call either a business or household. If you or your agents have this attitude then perhaps a career change is in order. 

In the majority of situations be it B2B or B2C, the name of the person to be called is known, as is the history of the prospect. So there shouldn’t be any great need for preplanning the call. 

Everything the agent needs is at his/her finger tips. 

As to outcome/s, this should be a given. If the agent is worth  anything like his/her weight in gold, then there should be no need for this to take anything more than a matter of seconds to decide on. And if we all looked at reality, the agent, like you, should have this planned before even starting the day in the office. 

Overcoming Call Reluctance

We have looked at what Call Reluctance can be, reasons/causes of Call Reluctance, now we take a look at methods to help agents overcome their Call Reluctance.  

Start with any fear factor that may be being displayed, if there is any lack in confidence, then coaching will be needed to bring the agent out of his/her comfort zone.  

This could be done through role plays, or another method is to simply move the agent from their current seating, to a more visible one. 

Planning, if the agent is not planning their day (calls) in a sensible and time saving manner, spend time with him/her to work coach them out of the habit. Over planning, will need coaching at a separate level, and should include having the agent explain the method that they currently use and why.  

Once it is understood why the agent perceives this necessary work with him/her to work through a more productive method that will also give them the feeling that it is their own method. That they thought of it.  

Look at the agents workspace, is it well organized? If not, then work with you agent to get their space more conducive to product work. Clutter can work for some people, so don’t make the mistake and make the calling environment overly clinical.  

Now, look at whether the agent is also organized in their calling pattern, the way in which they administer their calls. Remember though that a good salesperson is probably not good at the administration side of their work, they are after all sales people, not administration people. You can’t always have the best of both worlds with your agents.  

Does the agent have clear objectives/outcomes for each call, or their day? If not then it is important that the agent is coached on the importance of having clear objectives/outcomes.  

Remember that not having these is like going on a journey to  anywhere, without any preparation or desire in place. It can be futile, time consuming and expensive. The agent is a cost to an organization; can you afford to have unproductive agents sitting around?  

If the agent has agreed to follow-up on any previous call, it is important that they have a system in place that will work for them, and it may not always be a system that you can understand, it is important that the system is one that will work for or be easily understood by the agent. 

Does the agent constantly arrive at work late, take extended breaks, miss deadlines, and have difficulty in following through? If this is the case then the agent is lacking in time management skills. But remember, that this could also be Call Reluctance manifesting itself.  

Work with the agent to improve their time keeping, there follow-up, show the agent what the results of good time management can achieve (salary increases, time off in lieu), the rewards, the benefits (increased sales).  

It’s important for managers to work with agents to help them overcome call reluctance; it’s important that this is done as a monitoring exercise, not as a ‘policing’ exercise (I’ll cover call monitoring in another time).

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

If you’re an expert in one field perhaps you’re best to stick to what you know best, instead referring to others more knowledge perhaps than yourself. 

How often have you perhaps been in a situation where your discussing an area of expertise and moving forward with ways you might be able to assist a client or potential client; things progress well until you hear that they have spoken to someone who knows someone who knows someone – you get the idea. 

This ‘person’ advices everything in reverse to what you have, they spin a yarn that they’ve been doing something in the area of discussion for a while and know what’s best. 

Slam, that’s it, any chance you have of working with, assisting the person you had the initial discussion with is out the window, instead they choose to use the skills and expertise of this other, random person. 

When you do some checking on who this other person is, what they’ve been doing in the area of discussion you discover that they’ve had little input, use or appear to have no knowledge of the area. 

You’re gobsmacked. How the hell do you handle it. You can’t exactly challenge the person to butt out – or can you? 

What about the person/client, what do you say to them, if anything. Remember that they’ve been referred to the other person, possibly by someone they have absolute trust in. 

If this has happened to you how have you handled it, what advice would you give? 

This type of thing happens everywhere, if we’re honest with ourselves we’ve done it too, we’ve piped up and said “hey, you don’t need xyz, I can do that for you.” 

I’d take my car to a mechanic that knows his stuff, rather than taking it to a mate who ‘tinkered’ with cars. 

If you have piped in, what was the outcome? Did it work out for everyone? 

BALL OF WOOL
© Beate Schröder | Dreamstime.com

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

There has been some new talk and discussion about the use of social media, no, not that we should all be using it - that it’s the Holy Grail; but what we’re sharing. 

There’s been cases of people losing their jobs because of things they’ve said on social media sites, but recently more talk has surfaced about the risks of sharing where we are, what we’re doing – the more personal things. Why? 

British insurance companies have suggested that the use disclosure of your absence from your home could possibly invalidate an insurance should you be burgled. In the article Social networking: Are you advertising your home to burglars? – it stated that 12% of burglars surveyed said  “they would use websites like Facebook and Twitter to find out when their potential victim is out of the house” 

The New Zealand Herald also recently rain an item on this Postings a tweet for burglars, some talk appeared on twitter about this, with the key thing being, common sense is needed; and those using it don’t need constant reminders. 

There are some things that perhaps should be shared, and Jeff Bullas on his blog jeffbullas.com gives a list of 30 Things You Should Not Share On Social Media. We’d hope that the majority of people have enough common sense not to share some of what he suggests, others would be up for debate. 

The key really is let common sense prevail, if you wouldn’t want your mother to know about it – don’t share it. If it’s something about your boss, think “would I say this to other staff?”, if you wouldn’t then don’t. Do you put a note on your door to say “away with friends for the weekend, come back on Monday” – then you’d probably note wise to share it online. But, again it’s all common sense. 

Ok, have to go and pack – need to get to the airport, heading away tonight for a well-deserved break for the week. Not impressed the place I’m staying in only has 14” TVs, will really miss my 52 LCD. Having some work done on the place while I’m away, just a pain I had to leave the key under the pot plant on the front step, hope they find the cash I left under the fruit bowl.  See you when I get back.

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

We don’t need to hear about the problems companies have with their staff, and it’s not a good reflection on the company when customers can hear them moaning about staff. 

Call Centres should be using headsets that cut out background noise and chatter, and retailers should take their moaning out of ear shot of their customers. 

Likewise, businesses should be mindful of what they say about other customers; if customers hear you talking badly about others – it leaves us wondering what you’re saying about us when we're out of ear shot. 

If your staff aren’t pulling their weight take them out the back and talk to them, don’t do it in front of customers. 

In a call centre – take the person you’re talking to away from the phones to talk to them; don’t do it in front of other staff who are on the phone, it’s a distraction and callers may hear what you’re saying. 

Customers can lose respect for your business if they hear you talking disparagingly about other customers or staff.

People need to also put themselves in the shoes of those they’re talking about, how would they like it if someone were saying the same about you – publicly? 

We all need to show respect for staff, customers and the business, no one wants to be witness to dirty laundry. 

Next time you’ve something to say about, or to staff – take them aside. If you’ve something to say about a customer or client – do it out of earshot of others. 

Image: WASHING MACHINE CLOSEUP
© Faidoi | Dreamstime.com 

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

After reading "Don't Be an A**hole to Customers" by Jill Clark, where she talks about being 'ignored' by the owner of a cafe, a cafe where she and her parrtner had visited on a regular basis spending a tidy sum, I see that some in the hospitality industry are less hospitable than we would expect.

If people in the hospitality industry aren't hospitable, what the hell are they doing in the industry? Sure, staff are expected to be friendly, polite, engaging and so much more with customers, why they hell aren't the owners? 

Perhaps some are in the industry solely as a way to make a living, lacking passion, lacking in people skills - if they want to succeed they're going to have to change their ways; if they don't they can't expect to make a long-term living from it.

Some may remember reading Customers Lost, Forgotten, Retaining, where I referred to a cafe/restaurant I'd been a regular at; even now after many many months, years in fact, I'm still asked why I haven't been back. It's simple they didn't treat me, or other customers 'right' when we were there last time, and they were given many opportunities, why would I or anyone else go back. 

If you're in any service related business, any business where you're delaing with other people - hang-on, any business has people to people relationships (I haven't yet seen a dog take itself to the vet, a car take itself to the mechanic), you need to wake up and smell the roses. If you're not delivering a high, and consistent standard of service; watch out - you could be in for a shock when you eventually notice you're customers are going elsewhere.

Acknowledge people, you don't need to get up off your chuff to shake hands with everyone who comes in - but, what you do need to is acknowledge them with a smile, a simple nod of the head even. It doesn't take much effort but the impact it has on your customers could be all it takes to retain them.

Can you seriously afford to have your customers walk out - not to come back? No! - then why the hell are you treating them as though they are disposable?

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

Why is it that some working in retail think that their personal mobile is more important than the customer standing in front of them? What, I hear you ask. 

I know I’m not the only one who’s been waiting for service in a shop only to be “pushed” aside by a staff member answering or txting on their mobile. How can people even think they can do this. 

When I was running a call centre staff were told that their mobiles were to be switched off, that they could use them during their breaks – but NOT when they were meant to be working. 

Occassionally some would try to sneakily make calls or send txts – but they didn’t get away with it for long. Certainly not after I brought in a policy that repeat “offenders” were to hand their mobile in before getting to their work station – this of course was all done through staff meetings and the normal ‘disciplinary’ process, with staff agreeing that this was an acceptable course of action. 

In a retail situation the customer is king – they’re the ones who are paying the wages, they shouldn’t have to be held up because staff are on personal calls. 

It makes me wonder where managements heads are at, surely they know this is going on – why aren’t they doing something about it? 

I’m not talking about any one particular age group either; I’ve seen people of all ages do it.

When you make comment about it, which I will often do - some look at you as if to say “what’s your problem?” – um, my problem is you – I’m standing in front of you with the things I want to purchase, I’m ready for you – why aren’t you ready for me? 

We hear often these days about companies having social media policies – do companies have policies on employee use of phones, either their own mobiles or the company phone (for personal use) during work hours. 

Do you have a workplace policy on the use of mobiles? Should there be one? 

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

How often do we hear (see) people mention on their social media updates how they’re sitting on the sofa tweeting, facebooking while their other half is doing their own thing? All too often I’d say.  

Are the other halves what we could refer to as social media widows/widowers? 

How do you deal with this, do you often hear your significant other half say you’re not paying them any attention, that you’re always online doing something? 

We should all perhaps take some time out of our online world to spend time with those close to us, we can’t build and develop our real life relationships if we’re spending all our (and their) spare time online developing online relationships. 

So here’s a challenge, put the computer, iPhone, Blackberry, iPad aside and devote time to your offline relationship, talk, share your daily experiences. 

You could come to a compromise with your other half and after cooking and cleaning up from dinner (which should always be an offline period) spend some time talking and sharing. Then after a while, you could suggest to show them something online – involve them in your online activities, who knows if they’re not using online social tools now, after a while you may convert them and they’ll soon be tweeting, facebooking and youtubing along with you. 

Give a shot – what have you got to lose? Nothing. 

Do it now, don’t wait for that last screw to be tightened in your relationship coffin. 

Check When Twittering Gets in the Way of Real Life

LOST LOVE
© Lisa F. Young | Dreamstime.com 

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

Caller: Good evening I’m Mike from xyz carpet services, how are you tonight? 

Householder: Hi Mike, I’m glad you asked how I am – I’m not too happy. I was married for 8 years, she was a right cow – we broke up and have been divorced for over 3 years. She just phoned asking if we could get back together. As if! And now you ask how I am. How the heck do you think I am?” 

As someone making outbound sales calls how would you respond to that? (It’s from a real call I made years ago, I’ll never forget it.) 

Sure when making sales calls people want to sound as if they’re interested in the person they’re calling, and that can be done without asking “How are you?” 

I’ve noticed that when telephone sales people ask the person they’re calling, especially with cold calls, that they get a shut down quickly – it’s almost as though the person they’re calling goes ‘ah, this is a sales call’ and gives scant attention to the caller, or even just uses the “I’m busy” to get out of the call. 

Asking “How are you” isn’t necessary – stop using it. It’s like saying “Hey, I’m phoning because I want a sale”. 

Sure be friendly, but do this through words, phrases, hopefully you’ve some knowledge about who you’re phoning, so be friendly by showing you know something about who you’re calling. 

Check out How To Open a Sales Call on The Sales Blog for gives some good tips – and check out Rev Sales Network (RSN). 

My only advice is DON”T ask “How are you?” - there’s other ways to be ‘polite’, which is all you’re trying to be by asking.

Image: SUCCESSFUL BUSINESSMAN ON THE PHONE
© Redbaron | Dreamstime.com 

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

I got the following email from Rock Your Life recently, and I thought it worth sharing - I don’t think Mike would mind at all.

Dear Graeme,

It's been a couple of hard years for those of us in business or performance orientated careers. Here are seven tips you can execute immediately that will really help you get better results this month:

1.     Actually ask for the business - most people wait for people to say YES before taking any action, what about asking a simple question like: 'What I need to do is get you to authorise here and here to action this. Can you do that for me right now?'

2.     Get rid of MAYBES. The last time we rang all our maybes and said: 'Hey we are just clearing out our office and were about to throw your file out, but we thought we would call first' 50% of them became closed sales inside a week.

3.     Have coffee with your top 3 clients - and when you do ask them this: ' Who do you know who is just like you (describe what that is). I want to meet three people just like you.' Doing this will give you 9 referrals to people with attributes of your top clients.

4.     Ring your suppliers and request new terms. Doing this will inevitably see you with some better arrangements than you currently have.

5.     Ask a question - when a staff member or contractor comes to you for you to solve their problem ask: 'What do you think we should do?' and prompt them to go away and think the issue through and then report to you with the chosen course of action. This will encourage people to step up...and save you stress.

6.     Round your prices up a few cents. It won't put you out of the market, but those few cents or dollars will go straight on your bottom line.

7.     Take time for you and your business or career and register for a simply superb evening of knowledge and strategies to be successful in business. Click on the link below and register now, use the discount code ROCK. It could be the best thing you do this month.

www.rockyourlifeevents.com/accelerate-your-career-and-business 

Mike Handcock

This has to be one of the best email promo’s I’ve received in a very long time. I found myself reading and noting what I should or could be doing to improve things. Then I get to the very end and see the “promo” for the event. Well done Mike. 

Generally when we people promote, they do it blatantly “Hey you, yes you, you need this … “ 

In the above we’ve been given some pointers, some ‘ideas’ to make me think and do something to make things better; then there’s the “sales pitch”. And yes, I did click the link – I wanted to know more. Have you clicked the link? 

Sure, there will be some out there in the email marketing arena who may think this is passé, others will think it would work - there will be mixed reactions, but the people I’ve shown it to have had the same reaction as me, they were hooked and wanted to click the link. 

Was it a good way to promote the “event”? I guess we all have our own views, I guess the real proof will be in the pudding. I’m sure Mike will let us know at some point, my guess is - yes - it would be successful. 

Image:

BOYS WILL CLIMB
© Mark Atkins | Dreamstime.com

Permalink | Leave a comment  »