Have you ever heard a co-worker say, “I’m only one person, it won’t make much difference if I don’t do this quite right”?

Most times they don’t actually come out and say it but you can detect it in their body language and demeanor.

How can you influence these employees to accept responsibility for their performance in ways that support the collective efforts of the entire team?

One way is through carrots and sticks (rewards and consequences) but these have been proven to be ineffective long-term strategies. Sustained behavior change results from a personal commitment to change—it’s a matter of choice and identity.

So if I commit to becoming a conscientious and engaged member of the team, the odds increase that my performance will improve without the enticement of short-term incentive programs or the threat of disciplinary actions.

Here’s an illustration of this personal commitment from the book Inside the Magic Kingdom by Tom Connellan:

Somxtimxs I gxt to thinking that what I do doxsn’t mattxr. But whxn I start thinking that way, I rxmxmbxr my old typxwritxr. Most of thx kxys workxd finx most of thx timx. But onx day, onx of thx kxys stoppxd working altogxthxr. And that rxally mxssxd xvxrything up. So whxn I’m txmptxd to say, I’m only onx pxrson, it won’t makx much diffxrxncx if I don’t do this quitx right, I rxmxmbxr my old typxwritxr. And I say to mysxlf: “I am a kxy pxrson and nxxdxd vxry much.”

It’s a great illustration that reinforces the importance of every employee’s unique contribution to product and service quality while demonstrating the value of each employee’s personal commitment to the success of the entire team.

What has your xxpxrixncx bxxn?

When was the last time you checked yourself into a flight and checked a piece of luggage at a self-service kiosk at the airport?

Like supermarket self-service checkout stations or ATMs, I find these kiosks helpful. Once they become familiar, they’re easy to navigate and usually end up saving me time.

Last week, I was flying out of the Denver International Airport and checked myself in using one of these kiosks. Because I checked a bag, I needed to wait for an airline representative to verify my ID, affix the luggage tag to my bag, and give me a receipt for my checked bag.

While the flight check-in only took about a minute before the machine issued my boarding pass, the wait for an airline representative to accept my luggage and issue a baggage receipt took much longer.

After checking my email and social media accounts on my BlackBerry to pass the time, I finally walked over to a pair of employees who were managing the line and asked one of them if she could help me to collect my baggage receipt so that I could be on my way.

Without acknowledging me in any meaningful way, the employee walked over to another bank of kiosks where a number of airline employees were clustered serving passengers and said something. A minute later, after finishing up with her current passenger, a female employee made her way down to my kiosk and mechanically said, “Checking a bag?”

I answered “Yes” and she said, “You need to check your bag in here (motioning to the kiosk), before I can accept it.”

I told her that I had already checked the bag in at the kiosk and was simply awaiting my receipt.

She then said, “I don’t see a receipt. Are you sure you checked your bag in?”

About this time, a male employee who was working behind the kiosk to my right handed her a luggage tag and receipt that apparently had printed from his station.

She then robotically asked for my ID, examined my drivers license, and handed me my receipt. Her farewell and gratitude for my business were bundled in the word, “Next?” as she motioned towards the line of passengers awaiting check-in.

Reflecting back on this customer service experience, I would describe it as routine, transactional, process-focused, and uninspiring (it certainly doesn’t inspire loyalty, future spending, or recommendations). And, unfortunately, it happens all the time.

Experiences like this one lead me to the primary question of my work: Why is it that we expect for those who serve us in person or over the phone to be attentive and engaged yet, on most occasions, encounter employees who are aloof and indifferent?

Your thoughts human reader?

One drawback to living in a relatively new neighborhood is that the landscaping is not yet fully established. This means small trees with few leaves. I suppose if you can’t stand raking leaves, small trees would be a plus. For me, however, with four young children who love to play in a big pile of leaves, it’s a drawback.

One year, a friend of mine from a well-established neighborhood with plenty of mature trees allowed me to pick up his lawn and leaf bags, bursting with leaves, and transport them back to my own yard. Another year, I helped myself to leaves at a well-landscaped industrial park over the weekend when no one was around to question my activity. I even received a large box of leaves in the mail one year from my brother-in-law in Sioux Falls.

Why go to this extent? Because I love my children and want to do whatever I can to create memorable childhood experiences for them. Most of us have had a running start at a huge pile of leaves earlier in life. I want my children to be able to experience it too.

It’s the same with serving customers. If your goal is to create memorable experiences for your customers, then it may require similar creativity and improvising.

Here are a few examples:

• I have a favorite pasta dish that doesn’t appear on the menus of most Italian restaurants. While these menus tend to offer broccoli and sautéed mushrooms as side dishes and Fettuccini Alfredo and Chicken Marsala as entrees, my favorite pasta dish is Fettuccini Alfredo topped with pieces of chicken, broccoli, and mushrooms. The best restaurants, having ready access to the ingredients, will improvise and create for me a customized entrée and a memorable dining experience.
• For my 40^th birthday, I spent the weekend at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas with family and friends. My father-in-law ordered Coca-Cola from our poolside server, Betty. Though only Pepsi products were readily available, Betty improvised and located a “secret stash” in order to fulfill the request. Did she make an impression? That was more than three years ago and I still remember her name!
• Once, at my local Safeway, I was looking for a package of prepared seasoning for meatballs. An employee named Kristi encountered me looking puzzled in the spice aisle and asked if she could assist me. I explained what I was looking for and together we searched the shelves for the product—to no avail. Instead of saying, “Sorry, it doesn’t look like we carry that,” Kristi took the time to share the ingredients and quantities used in her own family recipe. Her willingness to improvise not only created a memorable shopping experience for me, it caused me to spend money on ingredients as opposed to leaving the store empty-handed.

Is your goal to create memorable experiences for your customers? If so, then even though you may not have a specific menu item, a readily available can of Coke, or a package of prepared meatball seasoning, you have your imagination and the ability to improvise.

And that may be all you need to create memorable experiences for your customers. Well, that and a pile of leaves.

Earlier this evening, between dinner and dessert, my two-year-old son began singing the ABCs Song from his high chair. Not once, but again and again as he was cheered on by his siblings and me each time after completing the song’s finale: “…Next time won’t you sing with meeeee?”

His face lit up every time he was acknowledged at the end of his song. And then, as if it was the very first time, he launched into another rendition of the ABC Song. And what did we, his audience, do throughout each new performance? We smiled, nodded, encouraged, and clapped as though it were the very first time we had heard Carter sing the song.

It reminded me of when customers ask us questions we’ve heard a hundred (or thousand) times before. Common questions such as, “Where are you located?” or “How does your rewards program work?” or “What beers do you have on tap?”

The tendency is to begin answering the question even before the customer has completed his sentence. Sometimes the response is rushed in order to move onto other, more important, questions or priorities or is delivered in a way that is robotic. Efficient, yes, but ineffective.

Customers deserve to be acknowledged in unique ways. It may be the fortieth time you’ve heard the question today but it’s likely the first time this customer has asked it. Respond to their questions in ways that communicate a sincere desire to serve.

And here’s another benefit to tuning into customer questions—even the common ones: a chance to sell!

Take the three common questions above for example. Each question provides an opportunity to make a sale. When a customer calls and asks where you’re located, you have a chance to make a friendly first impression over the phone and to facilitate the customer’s drive to your location by providing clear directions with easy-to-spot landmarks.

Seriously, think of all the times that you’ve contacted a business for directions and because of the robotic, apathetic, or indifferent response, you made a decision to go elsewhere. It happens—a lot.

When a customer asks how a rewards program works, that’s your opportunity to shine, learn more about the customer’s use of your products and services, and enroll her in the program. She benefits from the program’s perks and your company benefits from her continued loyalty and future spending.

The alternative is to default to a script that you’ve spewed countless times in the past as you hand the program brochure to the customer before moving on to other priorities. The recipients of these rote pitches generally toss the program materials as soon as they round the next corner.

And the final example above, “What beers do you have on tap?” provides a great opportunity for engaged servers to sell high-margin draft beer or to upsell customers to a larger size—and a higher profit margin.

How many times have you heard a server respond in one breath, “BudBudLightCoorsCoorsLightAnchorSteamAmstelLightSamAdams andBass” or, worse, point you to the back of the menu? I recall times when servers were visibly irritated by the question. Their body language said, “Ugh…not again.”

Years ago I read the book, Hey, I’m the Customer: Front Line Tips for Providing Superior Customer Service by Ron Willingham. One of the quotes from that book that stood out to me was to “tune the world out and the customer in.” Whether “the world” refers to being preoccupied, distractions, or even the monotony of answering the same question again and again, you owe it to your customers to tune them in.

Think back to the beginning of this post. Imagine if, instead of acknowledging my two-year-old son with applause, I had said, “Yeah, yeah, yeah…ABCs. Look Carter, you’re my fourth kid. Do you know how many times I’ve heard the ABC Song? Here, eat your ice cream.” Efficient, yes, but ineffective.

So the next time you receive “that question” (you know the one), refuse to go on autopilot. Instead, pause, make eye contact, smile, and then, with a bit of enthusiasm in your voice, respond as though it’s the very first time you’ve heard the question. Look for opportunities—even in seemingly predictable questions—to learn more about your customers, to add value, and to increase sales.

My family and I recently dined out at a quick service Mexican grill. While I was providing my order to the prep person behind the counter, I observed the sales transaction of the customer who was ahead of me. At no point during the transaction did the cashier smile or even make eye contact with the customer. In fact, the irony was that the customer said “thank you” as he accepted his receipt. Even so, she still did not acknowledge him.

We have all experienced this level of apathy from “service providers” at restaurants, hotels, supermarkets, etc. In fact, we may have just become accustomed to it. Our expectations, in some cases, may have been dulled by the frequency of mediocre service that we encounter as we dine, travel, and shop.

This was a reminder to me that it would have cost nothing more for the cashier to make eye contact with her customer, to smile, and (with “life” in her voice) say, “We appreciate your business. Thank you for coming in.” Or, a bit more daring, “Thank you for coming in. If those burritos don’t fill you up, come on back. We’ll make more!”

You see, that would have been interesting. That would have been unique. That would have brought a smile to the customer’s face and the experience would have been memorable. But, instead, the cashier just went through the motions, touched each transactional base (e.g., input order, process payment, provide receipt), and robotically, dispassionately moved on to the next functional sequence to satisfactorily process the next transaction.

It brings to mind what I would expect on an assembly line. Imagine an assembly line worker producing a children’s doll. Let’s say the final step in the process is to attach the doll’s head. The worker lifts a doll’s head from a large box, pops the head on the doll’s torso, and twists it firmly until it locks into place. One by one, the assembler “lifts, pops, and twists” the dolls’ heads until his quota is met or his shift ends. Tomorrow he will return and repeat the process over and over again (i.e., “Lift, pop, twist…Lift, pop, twist…) until the end of another workday.

The restaurant cashier may not have been working on a doll assembly line but the behavior was the same (i.e., Order, payment, receipt…Order, payment, receipt, etc.). Expressionless, robotic behavior devoid of any personality may be permissible in a factory environment or warehouse where there are no signs of real, live customers—as long as certain production quotas and delivery schedules are met.

In a customer-facing position, however, the behavior must be different.

In the current economy, while costs are increasing, pricing pressure is forcing businesses to reexamine their pricing strategies. In the case of restaurants, that may mean reducing portions, prices, or both. In the case of hotels, it may mean lowering their rates to increase market share, reducing amenities, trimming labor hours, and other “profit protection” strategies.

These are tough decisions that are indicative of difficult economic times.

Most operators seem to accept that the answers to navigating a recession are found in budgets, productivity reports, and P&L statements. While fiscal responsibility is necessary regardless of the economic landscape, the real key to sustained rapid improvement is to focus your people on focusing on customers. It costs nothing but a little proactive thinking and your time—which, especially in this economy, is time well spent.

Here are some examples:

Create awareness at pre-shift meetings:

“Who would like to describe for the group, in your own words, the difference between the role of an assembly line worker and your role as customer service providers?”

Reinforce standards through positive feedback:

“Emily, I noticed the way that customer responded to you after you thanked him personally by name. That’s just the sort of reaction we’re hoping to get with every customer. Great job!”

Reinforce standards through corrective feedback:

“Oscar, your eye contact and smile are great and your use of guests’ names is coming along. How can I help you to get better?”

Model desired behavior at all times:

As managers and supervisors, your decisions and behaviors (verbal and non-verbal) are constantly being scrutinized by others. As author Bob Farrell says in his training video, Leadership Pickles, “What they see is what you’ll get.” If employees detect management’s skepticism about a corporate initiative, then they too will be skeptical. If management acts with indifference toward customers, then employees will feel justified in doing so as well. What they see is what you’ll get.

Superior service doesn’t cost anymore to provide than mediocre service. Oh sure, it may require a few minutes of dialogue here and there as well as a concerted effort on the part of managers and supervisors to model the behaviors that are expected from their employees, but that’s no more than is already expected from a competent leader. I recall reading a Gallup statistic that revealed 65% of US employees surveyed claimed to have received no praise or recognition for their job performance in the previous year. Consistent, informal feedback from a credible source (i.e., one who practices what he or she preaches) will address this.

By applying these informal suggestions frequently, a service-based business will create more goodwill with its customers that will translate into enhanced loyalty, referrals, and repeat business. And here’s the best part: there are no buttons or banners or expensive, large-scale rollouts required. The only requirement is for managers to consistently apply the basic principles of communication, feedback, and recognition that embody leadership.

Earlier today I stopped by my local Safeway supermarket. I was picking up the necessary ingredients to make a pretty unoriginal meal: spaghetti and meat sauce. Deciding it might be interesting to surprise my family with a unique twist on a common meal—in our household anyway—I looked at the seasoning packets in the baking aisle to see if they had one for Italian meatballs.

I wasn’t finding exactly what I was looking for and must have telegraphed this with my body language because, about the time I was going to give up and settle for boring old meat sauce, an employee named Kristi approached me to see if I needed help. I explained what I was looking for and together we scanned the selection one more time without finding exactly what I needed.

Kristi then said, “I’m sorry we don’t have what you’re looking for. I have my own recipe for Italian meatballs in my head.” I asked, “Can you tell me some of the basic ingredients? Then I’ll try to make it myself at home.”

She then provided me with a list of ingredients and corresponding quantities from her personal recipe! I was delighted and thanked her for taking the extra time to help me.

But it doesn’t end there. About five minutes later, Kristi approached me in another part of the store saying, “I almost forgot…you’ll also need 3 teaspoons of Parmesan cheese.”

I was so impressed with her thoughtfulness and the genuine interest she expressed in my desire to serve Italian meatballs to my family for dinner. Not only did she stop what she was doing in the baking aisle to assist me and—ultimately—share her personal recipe, she also had the thoughtfulness to reflect on the recipe to make sure she hadn’t left anything out. And when she realized she had, took the initiative to find me in the store and share the missing ingredient!

While memorable customer service may not always translate immediately to increased sales, it did in this case. Remember, I was prepared to settle for boring old meat sauce (which I already had at home) after not finding what I was looking for on the shelf. In fact, it turns out that I already had most of the ingredients for Kristi’s recipe at home. But there were two items, saltine crackers and Parmesan cheese, that I didn’t have. Those items totaled $7.

Just imagine the potential of a supermarket staffed by engaged employees like Kristi.  What if every customer who telegraphed a need through his or body language as I did was approached rather than ignored? Maybe a percentage of these customers could be directed to another part of the store where the product they’re hoping to find is stocked? Or perhaps, assuming the store does not carry exactly what they’re looking for, some number of customers could be induced to try an alternative like I was?

Can you begin to see the potential?

I received a voice mail on November 12th from a good friend of mine, Shawn.  He had just checked in to the Edmonton Marriott at River Cree Resort in Alberta, Canada.  Here’s a portion of the message transcript:

[begin message]  I walked in the front door of the Edmonton Marriott and the desk clerk, named Rizwan, looked at me and said, “Welcome back sir.  It’s good to see you.”

I said to him, “You know, a little thing like that is just amazing to me given the hundreds—or even thousands—of people you see at this hotel.”

I haven’t been here in around 2 months but it just makes it so nice and it’s funny because next week I come back here and I haven’t booked my hotel and that just solidified it.  I said to him, “I’ll be staying with you again next week.”

That one little thing—just the gesture of remembering my face—was genuinely impressive to me.  This was a great case where, guess what, they just got my business for another trip—in reality, for several trips in the future.  And they’re not even the cheapest by the way.  It would be significantly cheaper at some other hotels.  It’s just that important. [end message]

This is great illustration of how the front line guest contact employee—in this case, Rizwan—can make a huge difference in the experience of the guest as well as the profitability of the hotel.

Too often operators recognize employees for the job they do with processes rather than customers.  I recall hearing a perfect example of this from a consultant named Rick Tate:

When a restaurant hostess is hired to greet guests and make them feel welcome as they arrive, she also recognizes there are several other processes that she is responsible for (e.g., completing side-work such as filling salt and pepper shakers, folding napkins, filling the butter cups, etc.).

From day one, the hostess is told how her number one priority is the guest.  So she focuses on greeting guests as they arrive to make them feel welcome and then, as they depart, thanking them for their business and inviting them to return.  When the manager then emerges from his office and sees that she is behind on her side-work, what do you suppose happens?  Right.  He doesn’t recognize the job she’s done making customers feel welcome and appreciated.  Heck, he may not have even observed those interactions.  Instead he points out what he can see—that the butter cups need to be filled!

Over time the hostess learns that if she’s going to win with this manager, she had better make sure the butter cups are filled!  So now, instead of being a welcoming, guest-focused first impression at the hostess stand, she is primarily focused on completing her side-work.  In this scenario, the customer becomes an interruption in her job as opposed to the reason for it!

Now, guest interactions with this hostess are rushed, stressed, and decidedly uninviting.  We’ve all experienced it.  In these situations it’s easy to blame the hostess for being preoccupied, indifferent, or even rude.  But then I wonder how often the enthusiasm and personality for which most guest contact employees are hired has been unwittingly stifled by the process-focused environments in which they work?

How about you?  What are your company’s “butter cups” and how might they be contradicting your organizations true priorities?

I recently heard a story about a Paradise Bakery & Café general manager who earned the nickname “Cowbell Sandy” from her adoring staff.

It seems that a couple of years ago she started an incentive program to increase add-on sales of bottled water, cookies, and other high margin items. She worked with vendors to sponsor the prizes, ranging from iTunes gift cards to iPods.

Employees were so enthusiastic about the incentive program that they were constantly asking Sandy to see the printout to determine how they were performing compared to their co-workers. The report was the only way that employees could see who on the team was generating the add-on sales.

That gave Sandy another idea. Instead of tracking the incentive program electronically and then letting people know how they were doing only when the report was printed, she decided to clank a stainless steel container with a metal spoon and hoot and holler just a bit to acknowledge—in the moment—when one of her team members had added sales.

In doing so, Sandy included an element of spontaneous recognition to the incentive program. This not only created additional enthusiasm among the team, it also created a stir with customers in the mall’s food court. All of sudden, customers were coming by to see what all the clanking and laughter was about. This increased store traffic in a competitive environment with plenty of other dining options to choose from.

A couple of weeks into the promotion, the staff got together and bought a cowbell for Sandy to use in place of her makeshift noisemaker. From there, the nickname “Cowbell Sandy” was inevitable.

The program was a huge success! Top producers were adding an average of $11.50 an hour in add-on sales. Team members were receiving constant recognition from an inspiring manager in a high-energy environment filled with enthusiasm—and customers!

How about you? Do you know a “Cowbell Sandy”? Or, maybe you are a “Cowbell Sandy”? If so, feel free to chime in…