FOCUS WITH A SMILEY!

   I equate the feeling I get from great customer service to the feeling I get when I step into a warm bath on a brisk day.  It envelops me, makes me feel good, and brings a smile to my face.   When is the last time you received service that made you feel like that?  Was it the last time you went to a fast food restaurant and because the fries weren't done, the clerk gave you a free drink while you waited?  Was it the time that you took your car in to be serviced and they washed and cleaned the inside for free?   Or, was it just a sincere smile and a "thanks for your business?"  How did it make YOU feel?  That's the feeling we should strive to create when dealing with our own customers.  Companies that put forth this kind of effort believe (as I do) in the old adage, "If we don't take care of our customers, someone else will!"  To be great, break down barriers and transform "customers" into returning friends, revlolutionize your approach from regular customer service to  Customer Focus with a SMILEY! ©   

                Standards
              Monitor Your Attitude
               Invest in Integrity
                Laugh
               Exude Excellence   
                You are your best asset

Standards
  The first step in our journey towards greatness is to know where we are going.  We have to set the standard, the goal, and the objective - SET THE EXPECTATION!  You and your team have to know what, exactly, you are shooting for.   In the same respect, your customers should know what to expect from you.  That is the covenant of trust you build with them.  Set it high - communicate it - expect it!

Monitor your Attitude
  Don't predispose yourself to a negative outcome based on, what seems to be, negative indicators.  We don't "know" something until it actually happens.  Stay positive on how events will unfold.  Recently, in a leadership class I was teaching, one of my students wrote, "A positive attitude is like sunshine in a jar."  I gave her an "A!"  Attitudes permeate through everything we do and can build (or destroy) any worthwhile endeavor.  Those emotions spread from one person to another and customers can "feel" them when dealing with you - in person, on the phone, and via the computer.   Keep that "sunshine in a jar" handy!   It can help to keep things bright on cloudy days.

Invest In Integrity
  Forget contracts, our word is our bond.  If we say, "I'll call you back later" then (with the exception of natural disaster), call them back later.  If the order is going to be late, call and explain the "Why" with no excuses.  Honesty can be brutal, harsh and unwelcome at first.  But, in my opinion, it's always appreciated.  Wouldn't you rather be known as the company (or service provider) that "shoots straight" than the one who promises but doesn't deliver?   Stand firm and never compromise your integrity, invest in it!

Laugh!
  Do you want to break down barriers with customers and form bonds that can weather the test of time?  Then laugh with them.  As Victor Borge said, "Laughter is the shortest distance between two people."    Laughter cuts through the red tape, miscommunications, and stress of daily business.  It helps people connect as people.  Not as an "us" and "them" but as a "we."  How can "WE" help you?  How can "WE" work this out" The people I laugh with are the people I will work with over and over again!

Exude Excellence
  No matter what, you are the expert and that should be apparent in every dealing with your customers.  Customers don't come to you for problems, they come to you for solutions!    Be the problem solver!  Be the "Sultan of Solutions!"    Know your process, your product and how it relates to who you are dealing with.  The words "You got it" should flow from your mouth like water from Niagra Falls.   After that's been said, all you have to do is  "rock on with your bad self" and make it happen.

Be Yourself!
  There is only one you and YOU are your best asset.  Own what you do through tithing.  Tithing is giving that 10% of yourself that makes the job yours.  It's your personal touch,  it shows that you are vested in what you do and how you do it.  It, truly, is the 10% that matters and is the 10% that makes it real.

Customers should be that in name only.  They are friends that count on you for help when the need presents itself.  Friends aren't met with reservation.  Friends are met with openness,  a great attitude, integrity, excellence, and a genuine care that only you can give.  Friends deserve the very best!  In short, they deserve focus with a SMILEY! ©



Keep Leading, Laughing, and Connecting,
Chip