What do Malaysians and North Americans have in common?

I got to answer this question for myself a few weeks ago when I spoke in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. I had two engagements, one speech for the Malaysia Association of Professional Speakers annual convention, where I spoke on “TurboTime: Maximizing Your Results Through Technology.” (I’m pictured here with the conference chair, Jonathan Low.)

The second presentation was a two-day intensive seminar for executives on “Creating Customer Service Excellence.” This program was sponsored by Elite Citadel, a seminar promoter for SE Asia.

What did I notice about the two audiences that was similar to North American audiences?

• They were warm, friendly and professional.
• They were sincerely interested in becoming better at their positions
• They were interested in practical, immediately usable information.
• They liked to participate rather than be lectured at.
• *They loved take-home materials, and appreciated having copies of my books.
• They smiled and laughed at the right places.

How were they different?

• They were quieter, not participating in large-group discussions, although they were very engaged in dyads and small-group activities.
• They loved the snack breaks even more than North American audiences!
• They were never argumentative or combative with me or other participants.

I enjoyed working with them and the Singaporeans who attended my sessions in Singapore the following week that I’m going back in July to work with more folks there and in Jakarta.

Fellow professional Dan Poyter’s comments on my MAPS presentation:

“…You were terrific.
Commending, on target, clear and with a great message.
I especially liked the format of your PPT.

Thank you for sharing.”

Soaring customer service

The last seminar in Singapore was for 90 cabin crew of Singapore Airlines. I’d flown from SFO to Singapore as well as to and from India on Singapore Airlines, so had scrutinized the staff and their service. I had plenty of examples to sprinkle in my presentation on Calming Upset Customers.

The good news was, almost all of my examples were positive. I didn’t see any employee ignoring a passenger, nor acting inappropriately. The only criticism I saw in all my interactions was one for management.

Sales techniques learned from Indian shopkeepers

In Agra, our group descended the stairs into the marble shop where ten men sat on the floor before us. We seated ourselves on the long bench to observe their craft. Sam, the shopkeeper and guide, walked us through the making of the intricate marble tabletops, boxes, and plates inlaid with semi-precious stones. This same art work adorns the Taj Mahal.

We watched transfixed as the younger men — often sons of the older men — sanded ant-sized pieces of malachite, turquoise, onyx, abalone, cornelian, lapis, jade, mother of pearl and coral into the correct shapes. The master craftsman chiseled out the marble into which these minuscule pieces would be glued in place to create the ornate designs.

Naively, we didn’t realize the sales process had begun.

Singaporeans show their hospitality

In Singapore, I was honored to work with superb clients. Thanks to Philip Tan of Professional Sales & Marketing, I spoke to 700 financial advisors for a very large insurance company. Philip exemplified customer service and follow through, making sure the client had what he needed while I was in India the two weeks before the presentation, with very limited access to the Internet.

Here are Philip and my colleague Shep Hyken at lunch when Shep was in S’pore from St. Louis to give a week of talks during my time there.

Delphine Ang of Partners Conference & Event Management not only sponsored a public workshop with me on telephone courtesy, but she arranged for a private program with a government agency. These folks came after work to a 3-hour program — talk about dedication! And Delphine is one of the most delightful people to work with. Delphine has asked me to offer the telephone courtesy public program again on April 14.

Shirley Taylor of ST Training Solutions sponsored two public workshops: “Calming Upset Customers” and “Time Management Triumphs.” Additionally, she asked me to keynote her training forum for 90 HR/Training Managers. I shared my ideas on “Innovative Ways to Grow Your Key Talent.” She also arranged for me to speak to 90 wonderful cabin crew members of Singapore Airlines.

Shirley treated me to tea at the fabulous Fullerton Hotel, and gave me a personal tour of Chinatown as it was bedecked with its pre-Chinese New Year finery. She’s also invited me to repeat my “Calming Upset Customers” public program on April 10.

Bee Hui of Universal Network Intelligence asked me to facilitate a two-day seminar in Singapore on Effective Complaint Handling for 30 executives from China, India, Brunei, Indonesia, The Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore. Knowing that many of these executives would have a wealth of experience, I encouraged them to share with each other. Which they did generously.

The course was designed around my sharing information on how I’ve created customer service and complaint handling improvements for my clients. But it included abundant time for them to swap ideas at their tables and with the larger group. The objective was to for them to walk away with implementable ideas and an execution plan. It didn’t matter if they got their ideas from me or a fellow participant. I just wanted them to walk out with some new ideas, as well as perhaps some validation on what they were doing right.

Spirited discussions ensued as some shared their issues and others offered solutions. Some brought reports of their complaint data and we analyzed it for root problems. The experience level was broad, but all seemed to have something to share.

I always relish the opportunity to spend time with top-notch professionals who are experts in their field, but are also willing to share best practices. So while I was the facilitator of the two days, I also walked away with lots of new information that I can apply to my clients’ projects.

I felt truly blessed to work with such fun, interesting, caring professionals and their clients, and look forward to seeing them again in April.

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Customer service and sales observations from India and Singapore

I spent all of January in Singapore and India, so got to observe lots of good and bad sales and service techniques. Two of the weeks were vacationing in India with 17 North American women, and two were working in Singapore. (I delivered ten presentations in 8 days. Luckily, the audiences were enthusiastic about our sessions together so gave me  lots of energy.)

In the next month, I’ll post some observations about how people in these countries approach their businesses.

(If you have any interest in seeing my photos from my trip, including the Taj at sunrise, click here.)

The less-than-festive holiday lunch service

A friend and I scheduled a special holiday lunch at one of the finest San Francisco hotels. Unfortunately, the service we received was less than we’d get at a take-out restaurant. Let me share the story and then examine what could have been done.

* We arrived at our reservation time and there were two parties ahead of us in line, neither with reservations. We waited over 10 minutes for them to be seated in the half-full restaurant before we could even state that we had a reservations.

Wouldn’t it be grand if there were two lines at restaurants, one for folks checking in with reservations and one without. Shouldn’t those who had the foresight and took the time to make reservations be given priority service?

* We waited 10 more minutes for our server to arrive. We gave her both our drink and lunch order, stating that we had already waited a while. She was apologetic and said they were short handed today. We smiled and nodded.

The customer doesn’t really care why they are getting bad service. They should still get adequate service, even if it is not the best the establishment provides with a full staff.

* The meal came promptly and was delicious. I found a piece of metal in mine, like from a Christmas ornament. I put it aside, and since it wasn’t disgusting, ate around where it had been and watched carefully to make sure there wasn’t more. I was engrossed in the conversation with my friend, so decided to point out the metal when the server returned. She didn’t.

No foreign object should ever be in food, but usually the server checks back within minutes of the dishes being served to make sure everything is to the customers’ liking. We didn’t see our server again until we were finished.

* When she finally arrived to clear the plates, I gave her the metal and said she should show the chef. She apologized and said she’d show the manager immediately. “Why didn’t you tell me?” she demanded. “Because you didn’t ever check in with us.” “You should have waived me over,” she countered. I wanted to say, “I was focused on my friend, not on tracking you down.” But I didn’t.

Service staff should never make the customer wrong for their not doing their job.

* She left and told the manager about my find. She was back within minutes to say they were comping our meal and would like to comp dessert and coffee if we’d like. We took her up on the offer and thanked her politely.

They should have comped my meal, and it was generous of the manager to comp my friend’s too, as well as dessert.

This is a grand old hotel, with a beautifully appointed dining room. Too bad our experience of their service was way below par.

Have you audited your customer service lately? How do your staff respond when something is wrong with a meal? Do they make the customer wrong? I can help your staff respond appropriately to customer mishaps. Call and we can discuss it.

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Exemplary customer service starts at the top

I’ve recently learned about two leaders who exemplify outstanding corporate customer service leadership. They are in an industry not known for innovation — automobile sales and service. Rita and Rick Case now own 14 dealerships in 3 states with nearly 1000 employees and own the largest Honda dealership in the world.

How do they do it? As you would guess, they not only hire great people, but they treat them well. The employees in turn treat the customers well. But the leaders have designed ways to reward the customers for continuing to do business with them. Here are a few examples:

• Rewards program — Customers earn points for every purchase they make. These points can be redeemed for discounts on future purchases, including new vehicles.
• Free car wash — With a purchase of a vehicle, you get a card that allows you to get a free car wash anytime you want.
• Gas station on site — Rewards program members save 5-25 cents/gallon.
• Free rental car with service.
• Clerk of the Courts office — At their main dealership people can pay their speeding tickets, get their driver’s licenses renewed, and get a marriage license. They even have a chapel so couples can get married! Forty to 50 couples a month say their nuptials there.
• Salespeople call customers monthly — They tell them how many rewards points they’ve accumulated, how they can be redeemed, and any specials the dealership is running.

Rick and Rita also show their customers they care about their community by being active on charity boards and chairing large fund raisers. Their main dealership is a voting site. Additionally, after being concerned about people being trapped in submerged vehicles, they manufactured and distributed 50,000 emergency escape hammers.

What could you try that is out of the norm to show your customers you care?

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Do something different to set your company apart at Halloween

Would you like to generate positive buzz about your company this Halloween?

Do something different this Halloween — sponsor Books For Treats in your area. What is Books For Treats? It’s a program that encourages you to give gently read children’s books to your trick-or-treaters. For about the price of a candy bar, you can purchase good second-hand books and delight your ghosts and goblins.

How does this work for your company? You could sponsor (buy) the books from second-hand book stores or other resources, and set up a table at a shopping mall or other venue in your community for trick-or-treaters. Many cities are now doing this so kids have a safe, central place to spend Halloween. Collecting treats is often coupled with other activities for the kids.

How does this benefit your company? Put bookmarks with your company info, or a sticker on the outside that says, “Compliments of (your company.” Send press releases to the media to get them to cover this unique giveaway. When you tie it into reducing childhood diabetes and obesity and increasing literacy, it is a win/win all around.

And believe it or not, kids — and their parents — love the books, even if they are slightly warn. Your good will will go far in getting positive responses — and new business.

I’ve been doing this at my house since 1995, and the kids (and parents) loved it so much, I expanded it into the community. We gave out 3500 books last year, and have 8000 to hand out on Halloween to kids in San Jose.

Go to the Books For Treats site to read more, download a free kit on how to do this, and start it at your house or community. Our motto is, “Give kids brain candy. Feed their minds, not their cavities.”

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Do you know how your customers are being treated?

Meeting with a potential client last week for a customer service improvement project, I asked if they monitored their staff’s phone calls. The response was what I hear from 95% of my clients.

“No.”

When I asked why not, there was some stumbling and fumbling and the bottom line was they hadn’t thought of it.

If you aren’t periodically monitoring your people’s customer service calls, here’s a compelling story for why you should.

A Des Moines Register article recently revealed that Nationwide Mutual Insurance fired five customer service reps who routinely hung up on policyholders trying to file claims after fires, traffic accidents or other events covered by their insurance policies.

One of the workers was found to have hung up on 34 percent of her callers. Another hung up on 8 percent of callers; one hung up on about 50 policyholders over a two-week period.

Why did these reps do this?

1) Feeling put upon. One felt justified in routinely hanging up on policyholders other company representatives transferred to her. “I didn’t think it was fair that they could keep transferring all of their work over to us,” she stated. “So when I would see on the phone that it was a transfer from them, I would just hang up.”

2) Bump job stats. Another hung up to boost her job-performance statistics.

3) Selfish thinking. “I didn’t think about the fact that it could be someone that was needing help right then and there, that their daughter may have just got in an accident and was in the hospital and they were needing help. I wasn’t really thinking about the customer. I was thinking about myself and my stats.”

How could this happen?

1) Little accountability. Although the Nationwide spokeswoman said the company regularly monitors workers’ performance, obviously not enough.

2) Measuring the wrong things. Reps reported they hung up to increase their job stats. So number of calls taken and average talk time were probably part of what they monitored. It appears no one had the job of listening in periodically to the calls to see what was happening. Which would be especially important if you saw a lot of the talk times were in seconds. You’d scratch your head and wonder why that was. Then you’d listen in and hear “click, click, click.” You’d then know something was amiss.

3) No feedback. If you don’t know that your folks are doing anything wrong, how can you coach them? You can’t. Someone was asleep at the wheel.

4) Hiring the wrong people. Part of the hiring process is ensuring you get people who care about other people. That’s also why you have a probationary period. While someone can be on their best behavior in an interview and for a few months, their true nature often comes out before the end of the sixth month. I’m betting these reps showed their true colors before they became permanent employees. Or if they were transferred from within the company, best to monitor them as if they are a new employee. And one would think that with these attitudes, they’d be complaining to others. Where were their supervisors to hear their comments and step up their supervision?

The question for you: Are you paying close enough attention to how your customers are being treated? If not, why not? Excuses like, “We’d get complaints if they did that,” or “We don’t have enough time to monitor,” or “We trust our reps.” These make sense on the surface. And I bet Nationwide said them all at one time.

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Acknowledge the good stuff

My friend Mike Robbins’ delivers amazing presentations using appreciation to deepen relationships at work and home.

His book, Focus on the Good Stuff: The Power of Appreciation, is just published, and he’s doing a special drive to get on Amazon’s bestseller list tomorrow. If you buy it Aug. 28 (at a new-release discount), you will receive hundreds of dollars of free bonus products from authors and speakers like Jack Canfield, Marianne Williamson, Jeffrey Gitomer, many others. Learn the details on how to get the bonus materials.

The book shows you how you can dramatically enhance the quality of your life and relationships by focusing on what you’re grateful for, who you appreciate, and all the good stuff around you. Mike teaches simple yet effective ways to utilize the power of appreciation — leading to greater success and fulfillment. This book is filled with action items, ideas, and practices that help you bring more appreciation into your life, thus giving you a deep sense of peace, satisfaction, and gratitude. It is endorsed by Jack Canfield, Marianne Williamson, Rev. Michael Beckwith, and many others. The foreword was written by Richard Carlson, author of Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff.

Here’s a recap of Mike’s formula for giving great compliments, something we can apply to those we want to continue to date, as well as others in our lives.

One of the best things we can do to support, empower, and inspire the people in our lives is to let them know what we appreciate about them. However, for some of us complimenting and acknowledging people can be challenging for a number of reasons -– we’re busy, we take others for granted, we focus on the things about them that we don’t like, we worry about what they’ll think, or we feel uncomfortable expressing our appreciation.

Here are some specific tips for how to give great compliments:

1. Be genuine — speak from your heart, say what you mean and mean what you say.

2. Be specific — let them know exactly what you appreciate about them (the quality or action) and why

3. Let them know how they impact you in a positive way — people can’t argue with our experience, so when we let them know what they’ve done and how it has impacted us, it gets through the “gate keeper” that most people have for deflecting compliments.

4. Give without attachment — don’t expect anything in return.

5. Make sure they accept your compliment — don’t let them deflect, disagree, or blow off your acknowledgement.

As we enhance our skill and ability with acknowledging others, we become a powerful force of love and appreciation. Giving great compliments is something we all can do to increase the level of love and connection we experience with the people in our lives. And, it’s fun!

See how you can use these tips with the people with whom you live and work.

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