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By Chip Bell
Sunflowers face east before sunrise. Its face also looks bright yellow and cheery, just like the sun it faces. And, during the day, that face of the flower constantly turns to follow the sun with its flower ending the day facing west. Sunflowers symbolize loyalty in most countries, thanks to the myth of Clytie and Apollo (Google it). In China, sunflowers symbolize vitality and good luck. And to Native Americans, sunflowers symbolized a good harvest. These symbols make the sunflower a powerful metaphor for a great customer experience. I entered a small restaurant. The hostess told me to take any seat. As I moved toward a booth in the back left side of the restaurant, out of the corner of my eye I watched a waitress with menu in hand, moving with me from the other side of the room. By the time my bottom hit the seat, she was standing beside me, with her Steinway smile ready to take my order. It was sunshine service. My wife and I entered the retail area of a Cracker Barrel restaurant. My wife spotted a nightlight that changed colors and made sparkles like a snow glow toy as the heat of the nightlight warmed the liquid inside. But she needed an electric outlet to see what it looked like plugged in. The checkout clerk left the cash register and told her, “Follow me.” On the other side of restaurant store was a receptacle. My wife bought two. It was sunshine service. Sunshine service involves making the customer the center of your attention like the sunflower does the sun. It means channeling your service energy to best respond to the customer’s needs and expectations. It means not being distracted while maintaining your laser-like focus. And customers are so warmed by the special attention they gladly give you their loyalty and their funds. Planning your next event? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to schedule your ideal speaker and make your event a success!
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By Chip Bell
We have a volunteer plant. It stands tall, beautiful, and mysterious. It is a volunteer—a plant that grew up spontaneously without our doing anything. It likely came from something planted years ago by the previous owner of the property. We refer to it as our wild plant. What if service delivery was like a volunteer plant? Customers love volunteer service—something that occurs without regard to pattern, agenda, or marketing plan. Like getting an unexpected birthday card from some friend you haven’t heard from in years, volunteer service makes customers feel like they are a part of an adventure or some whimsical show. It is the customer service version of a flash mob performance. Volunteer service breaks the set, upsets the status quo, and turns humdrum into awe. It engages the heart, envelopes the spirt, and transforms plainness into kaleidoscope, conventional into sprinkles. It can come in the form of an experience highly “customerized”—that is, made just for you, not just customized or made for someone like you. It might include something mysterious, inventive, or inclusive. It could feel to customers like a puzzle, a celebration, or an improvisation play. It might enchant, enlighten, or educate. But whatever its form, it should speak the language of bold and sing the song of extemporaneous. It is the essence of amazement. Our wild plant could care less about the nearby “pretty daises all in a row.” Volunteer service signals you are daringly innovative and willing to reach for a brighter future and not be shoehorned by your proper past or your practical present. So, shoot for the service moon. As the late Norman Vincent Peale wrote, “Even if you miss, you will end up among the stars.” Planning your next event? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to schedule your ideal speaker and make your event a success! By Chip Bell
It all started when we drove up to the speaker menu at a quick-service restaurant. “Can I take your order?” the attendant coldly barked. When my wife, on hearing the deep voice of the attendant, politely said, “Thank you, sir,” she got back a sharp, “It is ma’am.” She bristled with obvious disdain when we got our meal and asked for napkins (not included). When we requested catsup (not included), she darkly said, “This was supposed to be my day off, and I was ordered to come in for someone who didn’t show up.” We wished she had been the “missing in action” employee. The next day I read an article that provided a list of 53 restaurant chains likely to close in the next year. I thought to myself: this restaurant needs to be among the ones going out of business. It was. Based on their frontline ambassador, they were earning the right to go bankrupt. And, it was completely avoidable. We are living in a time of “all about me.” The preferred approach to influencing “my way” or “my view” is loud lectures instead of quiet conversations. Rowdy movements are chosen over genuine understanding. Even a health concern like a pandemic is transformed into a political outcry about freedom, even though we don’t allow driving while intoxicated, smoking in public places, or placing a child in a vehicle without a car seat. Gun violence is up along with suicide. It is a context that requires a concerted leadership effort to refocus on the “served” instead of the “server.” A friend’s son got in trouble for drinking as a minor. His son got an older friend to buy him a bottle of vodka, and before he could get out of the parking lot, he was arrested. The wise judge sentenced this first offender to eighty hours of community service at a soup kitchen serving homeless people. My friend says the punishment noticeably changed him. “I learned,” said the boy, “there are other important people out there besides me.” The rent for being a citizen is to help someone in need. It is also the price you pay for being in a frontline service role—helping someone in need. In the words of my friend Dr. Joseph Michelli, today, we need more “otherness.” Planning your next event? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to schedule your ideal speaker and make your event a success! By Chip Bell
I have a friend who is a big chocolate fan. He would tell me, “There are four basic food groups: milk chocolate, dark chocolate, white chocolate, and chocolate truffles.” He considers a balanced diet to be a piece of chocolate in both hands. He would love to eat chocolate and nothing else. He told me he tried that once, and you know the outcome. He got sick. After that, despite his desire to gorge, he learned that moderation was a better path. We love a gentle rain; too much, and we have a flood. We love the warm sun; too hot and we get a drought. Customer experience has its share of excesses. Excellent service means remaining ever vigilant for those excesses that can frustrate our customers. I had an online retailer that had products I loved. Their website was easy, their returns policy was compassionate, and their response time was excellent. However, despite my feedback, they sent me way too many emails. Not only did I unsubscribe, I found another retailer. They could not seem to understand why I would not want to hear from them every other day. The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company is renowned for its “ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen” philosophy when serving others. Their elegant and gracious style extends to their language when communicating with each other and with guests. For example, you would never hear “no problem” in response to your expression of gratitude. However, when the hotel company got feedback that guests got weary of hearing “my pleasure” repeatedly, they shifted to a protocol that communicated more of a style than a precise script. Guests still hear, “It would be my pleasure,” but it is not the only version used of “certainly” or “absolutely.” Examine all the excesses in your service delivery. Might your customers be tired of your version of “Thank you for shopping at J-Mart” or always getting that same flyer or insert. Could they be fatigued at repeatedly providing the same information when trying to reach someone or navigating that same boring phone tree? Just like eating chocolate, moderation is essential. “Too much” can cause your customer to go elsewhere while your bottom line gets sick! Planning your next event? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to schedule your ideal speaker and make your event a success! By Chip Bell
She had the entire line of the check-out counter completely mesmerized. It was as if she was using us as her test audience for a comedy try-out. And she was funny and entirely unleashed. Yet, she never slowed her rhythmic action on the grocery story register and pushing groceries to the bagger on her left. “Do you think she is being sincere or is this just an act?” asked one patron to another just a few steps ahead of me in line. “Frankly,” the woman replied, “I am so tired of plain vanilla service at places like this, I am thoroughly enjoying her show.” The comment made me think about a new tree in the front yard at my river house in North Georgia. It is a Bloodgood Japanese Maple planted last year. It will ultimately reach 20-25 feet tall with a branch spread of 20 feet. But this is its very first Fall. When we walked out of the front door, my wife commented. “It’s showing off!” We stood for a while admiring its beauty, its command of its environment, and the compelling influence it seemed to have over any living creature in its visual path. My thoughts returned to the check-out clerk in the grocery store. What does it take to get associates to “show off?” Instead of hiding under a “don’t asked me anything” curtain of invisibility, what if they were attentive guides and enthusiastic helpers? What if they had special hosting talents which they were excited to share with customers? What if they took a keen interest in a small child in tow or an elderly parent under the watchful eye of a customer. What if they performed a unique heart-warming extra for customers? Encourage your employees to “show off” their best stuff. Let them “steal the show.” Your customers will demand an encore and return with the family, their friends, and their funds. Planning your next event? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to schedule your ideal speaker and make your event a success! By Chip Bell
She had the entire line of the check-out counter completely mesmerized. It was as if she was using us as her test audience for a comedy try-out. And she was funny and entirely unleashed. Yet, she never slowed her rhythmic action on the grocery story register and pushing groceries to the bagger on her left. “Do you think she is being sincere or is this just an act?” asked one patron to another just a few steps ahead of me in line. “Frankly,” the woman replied, “I am so tired of plain vanilla service at places like this, I am thoroughly enjoying her show.” The comment made me think about a new tree in the front yard at my river house in North Georgia. It is a Bloodgood Japanese Maple planted last year. It will ultimately reach 20-25 feet tall with a branch spread of 20 feet. But this is its very first Fall. When we walked out of the front door, my wife commented. “It’s showing off!” We stood for a while admiring its beauty, its command of its environment, and the compelling influence it seemed to have over any living creature in its visual path. My thoughts returned to the check-out clerk in the grocery store. What does it take to get associates to “show off?” Instead of hiding under a “don’t asked me anything” curtain of invisibility, what if they were attentive guides and enthusiastic helpers? What if they had special hosting talents which they were excited to share with customers? What if they took a keen interest in a small child in tow or an elderly parent under the watchful eye of a customer? What if they performed a unique heart-warming extra for customers? Encourage your employees to “show off” their best stuff. Let them “steal the show.” Your customers will demand an encore and return with the family, their friends, and their funds. Planning your next event? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to schedule your ideal speaker and make your event a success! By Chip Bell
You’ve seen the tee shirt. “Underestimate me. That’ll be fun.” It has a bit of a smart-alecky tone, like someone who has been around the block a few times and is proud to show off. But it also has a super confident, “I can’t wait to surprise you” theme. I met face to face with a frontline server with completely unexpected passion. She was on fire to serve. My business partner and I were working with a client holding a meeting in Puerto Rico. Arriving at the Ritz-Carlton San Juan mid-day, we checked in and made our way to one of the hotel’s restaurants. Jennifer Lacomba had a menu in our hands before our bottoms touched our seats. Her sprawling warmth enveloped us like a bright sunrise on a spring morning. “I am so glad you are dining with me,” she said. Her manner was a perfect blend of the attentiveness of a grand host with the confidence of someone with total dominion over the experience she was beginning to unfold for our enjoyment. “Where are you boys from?” she asked, smartly adjusting her style to be in sync with our way-too-obvious Southern accents. When our answers conveyed a willingness to be playful, she tiptoed toward a more daring exchange. Her warmth became the backdrop to a decidedly feistier style. She was an absolute authority on the menu, utterly frank on what she liked and didn’t. Her authenticity surfaced our unreserved trust in her menu recommendations. Learning we were interested in cuisine slightly off the beaten path; she turned up the volume on her boldness. “You want to try my special sauce with those French fries? It gets raving reviews from the brave souls willing to give it a try.” Her expression was both impish and certain—this was her playground, and she had all the toys! Naturally, we enthusiastically took the bait! Her complete countenance conveyed someone in love with her role. She refilled our iced tea glasses without request and asked us to give her assistance moving a nearby heavy table. She brought more dinner rolls (“Let me get you boys some hot ones!”) and briefly sat down with us at our table to solicit feedback when she brought our check. And it did not end with the check. When we gathered our stuff to leave, we heard, “Can we do this again tomorrow?” like she’d had as much fun as we had. Customers love getting service delivered by passionate associates. Research shows they abhor indifferent service even more than they hate bad service. Bad service can be explained as a byproduct of factors beyond the influence of the frontline persons. Indifferent service, on the other hand, signals one clear and present message—the lack of caring. The antidote to indifference is leadership and a culture that supports and celebrates the Jennifer Lacomba’s of the world. Elevate bold and watch your bottom line grow. Planning your next event? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to schedule your ideal speaker and make your event a success! By Chip Bell
It is a question I have asked my three granddaughters for years. Their imaginative answers often amuse me. But their responses gave me a peephole into their interests at the time. It is the type of question your customers ask every time they encounter you or your organization. The “costume” you present tells them a lot about how interested you are in their interests at the time. The origin of the word “personality” comes from the Latin word “persona.” It was the word used to describe the masks that actors wore to convey their role. We all wear masks—a compilation of our style, attitude, feelings, and above all, our concern for the role we are playing. And the primary determiner of whether you get a bad review or a standing ovation rests entirely with the choice you make. Customers enjoy happy, upbeat people who are eager to serve them. It need not be a “clown costume,” just one that conveys interest, enthusiasm, and kindness. Conversely, customers dislike dealing with unhappy, sour people who seem like they got up on the wrong side of the bed. But the most detested “costume” is the one that conveys indifference, sported by a service person who could care less about customers. You might be thinking, “But I have a bad boss, my co-workers don’t like me, I am not making the money I deserve, or I hate this job, but I have to work.” Eleanor Roosevelt wrote, “No one makes you feel inferior without your permission.” You select your costume, not your circumstance. Put on a happy face. Be optimistic, even when all around you are in the dumps. Let your permanent “costume” make your customers happy. If you don’t, they will “trick” you by taking their business elsewhere. If you do, they will “treat” you to their loyalty and their funds. Planning your next event? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to schedule your ideal speaker and make your event a success! By Chip Bell
She had the entire line of the check-out counter completely mesmerized. It was as if she was using us as her test audience for a comedy try-out. And she was funny and entirely unleashed. Yet, she never slowed her rhythmic action on the grocery story register and pushing groceries to the bagger on her left. “Do you think she is being sincere or is this just an act?” asked one patron to another just a few steps ahead of me in line. “Frankly,” the woman replied, “I am so tired of plain vanilla service at places like this, I am thoroughly enjoying her show.” The comment made me think about a new tree in the front yard at my river house in North Georgia. It is a Bloodgood Japanese Maple planted last year. It will ultimately reach 20-25 feet tall with a branch spread of 20 feet. But this is its very first Fall. When we walked out of the front door, my wife commented. “It’s showing off!” We stood for a while admiring its beauty, its command of its environment, and the compelling influence it seemed to have over any living creature in its visual path. My thoughts returned to the check-out clerk in the grocery store. What does it take to get associates to “show off?” Instead of hiding under a “don’t asked me anything” curtain of invisibility, what if they were attentive guides and enthusiastic helpers? What if they had special hosting talents which they were excited to share with customers? What if they took a keen interest in a small child in tow or an elderly parent under the watchful eye of a customer. What if they performed a unique heart-warming extra for customers? Encourage your employees to “show off” their best stuff. Let them “steal the show.” Your customers will demand an encore and return with the family, their friends, and their funds. Planning your next event? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to schedule your ideal speaker and make your event a success! By Chip Bell
It is a question I get a lot from customer service leaders. They are convinced there is a missed tactic that, if implemented, would have the C-suite camping out in the contact center and inviting customers to board meetings. When I outline a number of possible approaches—translate CS yardsticks into the metrics of the bottom line, provide concrete links between customer affinity and the ROI, find ways to bring the voice of the customer into the conversations in the boardroom–they usually tell me, “We have done all that.” It reminds me of the legendary retailer, Les Wexner. I was working as a consultant with Victoria’s Secret. The hottest product about to be launched was the “Perfect Silhouette bra” patterned after the look of the pinup star of World War II, Betty Grable. The plan was for a controversial NBA star to lead the edgy ads for the bra. CEO Les Wexner, founder of Limited Brands (now L Brands), the parent company of Victoria’s Secret and renowned as a very savvy entrepreneur, wanted to place a very large order of a million bras to sell in the stores and online. The head of marketing asked to get some time with me on one of my consulting visits to corporate headquarters in Columbus, OH. The meeting was held in a conference room with the entire marketing leadership team. “We have done dozens of focus groups with our customers to test market this bra,” I was told, “and customers say they hate it. And the idea of a provocative NBA star as our pitchman, they find offensive. We can’t get Les to seriously consider the view of our customers.” “Have you done your very best to convince Les that customers will likely reject this product and promotion?” I asked the group. They were confident they had. “Who gets paid to make this call, the marketing staff or the company leadership? They all agreed it was the CEO’s call. “You have done your job and are convinced you have done it well; now give him the space to do his job,” I advised. Wexner changed his position; he ordered two million bras and the NBA star did the ads. The Perfect Silhouette bra was a major commercial success. Operations leaders love operations with the same passion that customer service leaders love customers. The finance leaders embrace the arithmetic of the organization with similar devotion. Ask a top salesperson which is more important to the growth of the company and they will likely tell you new prospects, not current customers. The office of the CEO is where all disciplines come together to direct the organization toward its mission. It is the melting pot of business paradigms; success is in the execution of that brew. Remember the riddle of the three blind men encountering a large strange animal at different parts of the animal’s body—is it a snake, or a rope, or a column? They needed combined perspectives to figure out it was an elephant. I believe smart organizations are customer-centric and have spent a career beating that particular drum. It is my job is to champion that perspective to the best of our ability. I believe it is also my role to give the CEO the space to do her job. Planning your next event? Get in touch with us at the Capitol City Speakers Bureau today to schedule your ideal speaker and make your event a success! |
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