While directing the 1956 epic film The Ten Commandments, Cecil B. DeMille challenged a large group of extras portraying the Israelites to energize their performance, shouting, “Alright now. Give me everything you’ve got people! Don’t be extras. Be a nation!”

DeMille’s exhortation of the extras reminds me of the ongoing challenge facing service industry managers to motivate employees, many of whom regularly display their indifference by leaning, standing around, or simply going through the motions at work, treating each customer like the last customer. Their “performances” lack energy, passion, and commitment.

If this describes some portion of your staff, take action! While DeMille used a commanding presence and a megaphone to inspire his actors, service industry managers can motivate employees in other ways:

Model the behavioral standards that are expected of your frontline staff. Great service starts with great leadership. If you are in a leadership role, your credibility will match your consistency. What employees see is what you’ll get.

Treat employees fairly in relation to the basic conditions of employment. I watched an episode of Undercover Boss where a rogue supervisor docked employees two minutes for every minute they clocked in late returning from their lunch breaks. In one cafeteria scene, an employee abruptly ended her conversation and ran full speed in the direction of the time clock to avoid being penalized. This practice epitomizes unfair treatment and fosters unhealthy employee relations at work.

Recognize employees for contributions made to the business. One Gallup survey revealed that 65 percent of employees report receiving no recognition for their work in the previous year. If you are surprised by this finding, understand that saying an occasional, “Good job” doesn’t cut it. Employees deserve sincere and specific feedback from their immediate supervisors.

Encourage participation. Involve employees by actively seeking their input and ideas. Ask questions of employees and then listen to their responses. Stephen Covey termed the need to be listened to, to be understood, as “psychological air.” According to Covey, the highest level of listening is to listen with the intent to understand the other person. Most of us tend to do the opposite, seeking instead to be understood ourselves.

Create and manage an inclusive work environment based on respect and mutual trust where differences are valued, even celebrated. If left to chance, work groups tend to devolve into cliques whereby dysfunctional pecking orders are established by title, uniform, shift, department, and other factors.

While megaphones serve a purpose on a movie set, it’s insufficient to exhort staff without first providing a work environment that fosters engagement. By reinforcing the above principles, managers will create the conditions necessary for employees to shift from simply portraying dispassionate “extras” to becoming “a nation” of enthusiastic service providers!

As a manager, how do you inspire top performance? Or, as a non-management employee, how are you best motivated to perform?

During a recent trip to Lakeshore Learning Store in Lone Tree, Colorado, I debated which set of Giant Soft & Safe Dinosaurs to buy my preschooler for Christmas. I chose the set containing a pterodactyl. As I laid the package on the counter, the cashier, Pete, affirmed my choice, exclaiming, “Oh yeah. You have to get the set with the pterodactyl!”

Then, noticing the stegosaurus in the mix, he added, “And this set also contains a stegosaurus. Did you know the stegosaurus was named the state dinosaur of Colorado?”

I said, “I had no idea. But thanks for letting me know because now I have a story!”

During our brief exchange, Pete demonstrated that his job is made up of two parts: job function and job essence.

Job functions refer to the tasks or duties associated with his job role such as ringing up purchases, processing payments, and providing sales receipts. Job functions are mandatory. Pete is paid to execute job functions. And customers expect for retail employees to carry out these types of job functions.

The other part of Pete’s job on display was job essence. Job essence refers to an employee’s highest priority at work, which, for most service industry employees, is to create a promoter. A promoter is a customer who is less price-sensitive, has higher repurchase rates, and is responsible for 80-90 percent of the positive word-of-mouth about a company or brand.

Job essence provides the story. Pete’s decisions to convey authentic enthusiasm about the set containing the pterodactyl and share unique knowledge about the stegosaurus reflected the essence of his job. Unlike job function, job essence is voluntary and there’s no additional cost to an employer for employees to display it. And since job essence is often unexpected by customers, it tends to leave a lasting positive impression.

Not all employees recognize that their jobs are made up of two parts. Many employees operate under the assumption that their jobs are made up entirely of job functions. If you’re skeptical, just ask your own employees to describe for you what their jobs entail. My hunch is you’ll receive a list of tasks or duties associated with their job roles (i.e., job functions). And there will likely be no mention of job essence.

While employees consistently execute mandatory job functions for which they are paid, they inconsistently demonstrate voluntary job essence for which there is no additional cost. That’s why encounters with employees like Pete are so rare.

When the majority of retail transactions, especially during the crush of the holiday shopping season, are process-focused and forgettable, it’s refreshing to meet a cashier like Pete who, by choosing to reflect job essence, creates experiences for shoppers that are customer-focused and memorable.

Have you met any ‘Petes’ this holiday shopping season?

On Monday of this week I attempted to return a Price Pfister kitchen faucet purchased last year to Lowe’s Home Improvement store. The cashier, Karen, understandably denied my request citing Lowe’s 90-day return policy and the manufacturer’s 12-month warranty. (Although I no longer had the receipt, I estimated that 19 months had elapsed since the purchase date.)

I then asked to see a store manager (not to pursue a refund—even I didn’t expect that). My only motivation was for the manager to listen to my grievance about the faucet and acknowledge my reasoning for not returning it sooner.

Background: In April 2011, I purchased a ceramic sink and the faucet in question from Lowe’s for around $1,000. I then paid a plumber another $200 to install both. After 3-4 weeks, I noticed the faucet was loose at its base but was unable to determine how to tighten it. Assuming the plumber would have answers, I called him back out to my home. He was able to locate and secure the set screw at the base of the unit. While hidden from view facing the backsplash, he pointed it out in the event the problem resurfaced.

After paying another $65 to the plumber, I resolved to not put another cent into the faucet and sink upgrade. From that point on, whenever the faucet was noticeably loose at its base, I simply tightened the set screw with an Allen wrench. I estimate that I was tightening the screw about once a month. I considered returning the faucet sooner but that would have required uninstalling it and reinstalling a new one. And that would cost even more money.

So, I lived with it until last month when I bought a replacement faucet that I had installed by the same plumber. He asked what I wanted to do with the old Price Pfister faucet (which had less than two years of use). Even though it was well past Lowe’s 90-day return policy and the manufacturer’s 12-month warranty, I’d heard great things about Lowe’s customer service quality. So, I took a chance and had the plumber box up the old faucet.

And that brings us back to my experience this week at Lowe’s. The store manager, Gil, listened to my story, examined the faucet (paying particular attention to the base of the unit and the set screw in question), obtained a part number, and cheerfully issued a merchandise credit worth $171.07.

Wow!

Ironically, the day before I was unable to obtain a $27 refund from Dairy Queen for a disappointing ice cream cake that I purchased five hours earlier and for which I had a receipt. (Here’s the story with all the gory details.) But I was able to receive $171.07 in store credit from Lowe’s for a faulty faucet that I purchased 19 months ago for which I had no receipt!

How was your last refund request handled?

Illustration: Aaron McKissen

Last weekend, we celebrated our daughter’s 8^th birthday with a gymnastics party, complete with activities for the girls, and an ice cream cake from Dairy Queen.

Some background: About an hour before the party, I stopped by my local Dairy Queen and purchased an ice cream cake for $27. From there, I drove it to Saddle Rock Gymnastics and placed it inside the party room’s freezer. Within 45 minutes, my daughter and 13 of her friends arrived at the facility and were lead through a host of activities in the gym for the next hour.

Per the instructions on the container, about 20 minutes before the girls entered the party room, my wife removed the ice cream cake from the freezer. Within 30 minutes, the girls had entered the party room and were seated around the table, eagerly anticipating a slice of Dairy Queen ice cream cake.

About that time, my wife attempted to cut into the cake with a serrated stainless steel cake knife. Remarkably, she was unable to penetrate the frozen cake. Her father then attempted to cut the cake without success. Our quick-thinking nanny then heated the blade with a lighter but it still would not pierce the hardened cake. Although a tight fit, the cake was pressed into a microwave in hopes of softening it enough to serve the girls. This too was unsuccessful.

By now, the cake had been out of the freezer for 50 minutes and still was unable to be served. Since our group’s allotted time in the party room was coming to an end, my wife regretfully shared with the girls that there would be no birthday cake.

No cake served at an 8-year-old birthday party? Say it isn’t so!

Later, my wife and I returned to Dairy Queen with the frozen block of cake, explained what had happened, and requested a refund. (We based our refund request on the fact that Dairy Queen had delivered a cake at noon with instructions to “store frozen” and “place at room temperature 15 to 20 minutes before serving” that we were unable to serve two hours later due to it being frozen solid.)

The young manager we spoke with denied our refund request citing Dairy Queen’s non-refundable cake policy. Although I disagree with it, the policy is in place to protect Dairy Queen against fickle consumers who may disagree with the shade of red used in the cake’s decoration. Our issue was different (we were unable to consume the cake because it was frozen solid) and should have been handled differently.

Had I picked up the cake the day before and stored it overnight in my own freezer, I would have attributed the mishap to my freezer being too cold. But I didn’t store it overnight—Dairy Queen did. It’s clearly plausible that the cake was stored in conditions that were colder than intended but the manager would not consider this possibility. When my wife asked him for the name of his regional manager, he said, “She doesn’t like us to give out her contact information. Let me take your information instead and I’ll pass it on.”

This is telling. Here you have a situation where a loyal, well-intentioned customer has detected a problem and chooses to bring it to leadership’s attention and, rather than capture the feedback and improve, the executive prefers to insulate herself by discouraging contact. It’s no wonder the disempowered manager we encountered had no authority to refund the purchase price of the cake.

If anyone from Dairy Queen takes the time to read and consider this post, before you congratulate the manager for “saving” the company $27 by adhering to policy, read up on customer lifetime value (CLV) and consider the fact that I live 4.3 miles away and have four young children who love ice cream. If “saving” $27 costs you $2,700, it’s not an effective policy.

And recognize the fact that, regardless of demand, individual customers are irreplaceable.

December 11, 2013 update: Yesterday, I received two calls from Carolyn at Dairy Queen headquarters. In her voice mails, she expressed genuine interest in me, my daughter’s cake-less 8th birthday party, and resolving my problem. We connected earlier today and she was as delightful as her voice mails conveyed. She listened, collected a bit more information, committed to follow-up with the franchisee involved, and offered to send me a gift card that would more than offset the refund amount requested. I couldn’t have scripted a better resolution. Now, instead of associating my negative experience with Dairy Queen (while driving past…), I’ll reflect on my call with Carolyn and may just stop in for a Blizzard.

My local Nordstrom recently sponsored a Kids Shoe Tying Class where children worked one-on-one with a shoe department associate to learn the “secret trick” to tying a shoe. Afterward, children received a “Real Knotty Behavior” certificate and a balloon to recognize their newly acquired skill.

This event illustrates seven simple ways to raise customer service quality from ordinary to extraordinary and provides insight into what differentiates Nordstrom from typical retailers.

By hosting the event, Nordstrom:

1.) expressed genuine interest in helping children to learn a school-ready skill

2.) shared unique knowledge by revealing the “secret trick” to tying a shoe

3.) conveyed authentic enthusiasm for serving children (and their parents)

4.) provided sincere and specific compliments by recognizing children for their newly acquired skill

5.) used appropriate humor by providing “Real Knotty Behavior” certificates

6.) provided pleasant surprises by presenting children with balloons

7.) delivered service heroics by freeing up 30-minutes of unencumbered shopping time for parents

As a result of its customer focus and creativity (as illustrated by its Kids Shoe Tying Class), Nordstrom is making positive lasting impressions on current and future generations of shoppers, earning a spot on this year’s “Knotty” list.

Happy Holidays!

A blog reader recently shared this story:

My family recently moved, but our kitchen was not completely finished. Making meals was difficult so we ordered take-out from a local New York Butcher Shoppe that offered a Wednesday meal special: basically $22 to feed a family of four to six, making this a very good deal.

The first time we tried it, the meal itself was great, but the side dish (advertised as broccoli salad) had pork in it. As someone who used to be Kosher and now just does not like pork anymore, I was disappointed to see it in a vegetable salad. I know this is the south, and pork shows up in ice cream due to its popularity. But still, a broccoli salad?

The next week, when we asked about pork in the side dish, they admitted it did have it but offered to substitute their (AMAZING!!!) mac and cheese. This alone is good customer service, but here is the kicker…

What makes this extraordinary is that the next week when we went to pick up the latest meal deal, they said without prompting, “Yes, the side dish has pork in it but we made a non-pork version just for you.”

Needless to say, they have ensured loyal customers in the future.

~Ilene B. (Atlanta, GA)

So, as it turns out, all the good folks at New York Butcher Shoppe had to do to earn Ilene’s loyalty was express genuine interest in her by recalling the way she prefers her broccoli salad. Too often, service providers convey indifference toward customers who share preferences that are outside the norm, aiming instead to satisfy the majority. Non-conforming outliers like Ilene are labeled by frontline employees as high-maintenance, hard to please, or even as “difficult” customers.

I prefer to view these customers, these exceptions, as providing opportunities to deliver exceptional customer service. If nine out of ten customers are happy with pork in their broccoli salads, then the tenth customer (who would prefer not to have pork in her salad) shakes things up! She wants something a little different. To me, this makes my interaction with her unique. It’s more interesting and memorable than the previous nine orders.

By accommodating her special request with a smile as opposed to a sigh, Ilene won’t feel as though she’s imposing, being difficult or hard to please. And because she is made to feel comfortable in her noncompliance, she will be more willing to return—even if this means displaying similar, discerning, behavior in the future.

Of course, when she no longer has to mention any of her individual preferences because of the relationship she has established with the service providers and their penchant for anticipating her needs, then there’s no coupon or discount valuable enough to lure Ilene (and her future referrals and spending) away.

Whereas job knowledge provides a common broad perspective about a company’s products and services, unique knowledge offers an exclusive “insider’s” perspective.

By offering privileged, insider information to customers, you are sharing unique knowledge. Examples include: ways to avoid long lines at Disney World, routes to circumvent construction delays on I-25, how to nab theater tickets for half-price, a nearby jogging trail offering spectacular views, or the independent Italian restaurant preferred by locals.

Eldon Larson, owner of Wine Experience Café in Aurora, Colorado, offers insider information that demystifies the wine ordering experience, enabling servers to confidently offer wine suggestions to their guests.

According to Larson,

“It’s not uncommon for servers who are new to fine dining to have limited experience with wine and to be intimidated by the many varietals and guidelines for offering food and wine pairing suggestions. Being that the varietals’ origins are in France, I use a map of the country to introduce less-experienced staff to the regions that produce these wines. From there, I make connections to other countries that produce wine using similar grapes. And by offering tastes of varietals from different countries, servers can note these distinctions in their tasting notes.”

He then goes on to propose a map-based system to support less-experienced staff in assisting their guests with wine selections while providing unique knowledge about wine varietals. Regardless of whether you are the waiter taking the order or the guest placing it, you can benefit from Larson’s approach:

“We always start with white wines and move to red wines. Beginning with the Loire Valley region that produces Sauvignon Blanc then moving to the Alsace region that produces Riesling and Pinot Gris. From there, we progress to the Burgundy region and explore Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Next is the Bordeaux region where servers-in-training are exposed to Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Malbec, before concluding with Rhone Valley Grenache and Syrah grapes.

Since guests are interested in wines from all over the world, it’s important to expand from the map of France to include different countries. We do this by associating the French varietals with wines produced elsewhere. For instance, Sauvignon Blanc (originating in the Loire Valley region) is also produced in the United States and New Zealand. And Chardonnay (originating in the Burgundy region) is also made in the United States, Australia, and South Africa.”

Throughout their exposure to the wines, trainees are encouraged to put into words what they are nosing and tasting. This will help them to articulate to restaurant guests the difference between a dry French Riesling and a sweet German Riesling or an airy French Pinot Noir and a darker, richer Oregon Pinot Noir.

Once servers are comfortable with the French origins of the varietals, have knowledge of other countries producing wine using similar grapes, and can articulate their nosing and tasting sensations with varietals from different parts of the world, Larson expands servers’ wine knowledge by introducing basic food and wine pairings and terroir, a French term that translates to earth, or soil. Servers’ knowledge of terroir enables them to recognize subtle distinctions between wines of the same varietal based on the soil, climate, and weather that produced the grapes used to make the wine. This adds another layer of unique knowledge to their arsenals.

Although Larson’s formal wine training takes about 90 days for servers to complete, by using a simple map of France depicting each of its wine regions, from the start they are equipped to make informed wine recommendations that aid in getting wine on the table. And sharing the map-based system with restaurant guests as a “peek behind the curtain” is much more memorable than parroting the tired mnemonic, “red wine with red meat, white wine with fish and chicken.”

While customers appreciate nice employees, they value knowledgeable employees. And the more unique knowledge employees possess, the more value they add to the customer experience.

Bon appétit!

Illustration: Aaron McKissen

In relationships that you have with important people in your life, if you routinely ignore complaints and devalue feedback, most therapists would label your behavior as dysfunctional—abnormal or impaired functioning. And they would prescribe interventions intended to influence behavior positively and reinforce healthy relationships.

If this type of neglectful behavior is seen as dysfunctional and damaging to our personal relationships, how might similar behavior apply to customer relationships?

Customers feel ignored: According to the infographic below, “Despite the fact that over half of consumers who receive a response react positively to the company in question, 79% of consumers who complained never got a response.”

Ignored customers walk: And although “current customers are 8x more likely to make purchases than new customers” after a negative customer experience such as having a complaint ignored or feedback devalued, “89% of consumers will stop doing business with a company.”

There is a cost: Not only is this aberrant behavior toxic to relationships, it’s bad for business. As indicated below, “It costs up to 7x more to attract new customers than to keep current ones” who defected because they were treated indifferently, with unconcern, as though they and their opinions didn’t matter.

Whether at home or work, if you receive a complaint or feedback from others, don’t ignore it. Doing so is dysfunctional, will damage the relationship, and lead to great wailing and gnashing of teeth.

As the renowned therapist, Bob Newhart, would advise, “Stop it!”

PeopleClaim.com

Earlier this month, I received the infographic below titled Customer Service from the Service Point of View from its creator with a request to provide feedback, which I did. I rarely appreciate articles that are written from the perspective of employees who feel entitled to deliver less than 100 percent—under the assumption that customers are obligated to make up the difference.

Does a customer owe a tip for “good” service at a full-service restaurant in the United States? Yes. Should a supermarket customer always have to return her shopping cart to a designated cart corral? No. Perhaps she has a crying baby in the backseat or it’s starting to rain. Her only obligation is to pay for her groceries. And we can assume she’s done that. (But some employees would publicly chastise a customer who positioned her cart against a curb, arguing that it’s the customer’s responsibility to return it.)

That said, I recognize there are those regrettable customers who fail to tip, snap their fingers to gain a server’s attention, and leave carts stationed precariously between two vehicles, but I’ve found the percentage to be very small. I’ve also discovered that employees who continually cite these exceptions and find validation in articles or infographics like the one below are the least effective employees. Just as employees tend to mirror the behavior of their managers, so too does customers’ behavior tend to mirror employees’ behavior—for better or worse.

Fortunately, the vast majority of employees take a great deal of pride in their performance at work. They enjoy the camaraderie of coworkers and being recognized for their efforts by supervisors, peers, and customers alike. And if the job is a good fit for them, they’re likely good at it and receive a great deal of personal satisfaction from their work, apart from compensation.

If employees are constantly at odds with coworkers, supervisors or customers, they should find another job. (My advice to these people is to work for themselves. They will learn very quickly that they are not entitled to anything. They will also learn to respect and appreciate their business partners—especially customers.)

The infographic ends with the entitled employee lament, “If you want better service, be a better customer.” That’s like saying to your son or daughter, “If you want better parenting, be a better child.” Service, like love, should be unconditional. Attaching conditions to the quality of your customer service is a slippery slope that will reduce your effectiveness as a service provider in the same way that attaching conditions to the quality of your parenting will limit your effectiveness as a parent.

A better way to phrase the above sentence is this: “If you want better customers, provide better service.”

My 11-year-old son, Coleton, approached me about a fundraiser for his middle school. The students have two weeks to sell magazine subscriptions in order to raise money for the school and qualify for a variety of prizes themselves.

Sensing that I may be receptive to a magazine subscription for his younger siblings, Coleton began his sales pitch.

Coleton: “This Discovery Kids magazine might be good for Kennedy and Carter.”

Me: “How much is it?”

Coleton: “Ten issues for $26.”

Me: “That’s kind of expensive.”

Coleton: “Yeah, maybe you’re right.”

As he began to turn away, I exclaimed…

Me: “Whoa! Wait a minute. Why not ask me, ‘What do you currently do to entertain Kennedy and Carter?’”

Coleton: “What do you currently do to entertain Kennedy and Carter?”

Me: “Well, sometimes I buy them a Blu-ray DVD for around $25 to entertain them for 90-minutes or so.”

Sensing his opportunity, he continued…

Coleton: “What if, for only one dollar more, you could have 10 issues of a magazine filled with colorful pictures of animals to entertain Kennedy and Carter throughout the year?”

Me: “Sold!”

Although I usually blog about customer service per se, whenever you offer something of value to prospective customers, you are providing a service. And if you withhold that beneficial product or service because an objection was raised, due to call reluctance or for some other reason, then you are failing to properly serve them.

Consider my example: As a result of the sale, Coleton gets closer to qualifying for a prize at school, his school earns money toward equipment and books, my two youngest children will receive 10 issues of a magazine that will educate, entertain, and delight them, and I get to support my son while putting smiles on the faces of my children—all for only $26.

Further proof that when you sell valuable products or services to qualified prospects, you really are serving them.