After a 20-year career with Marriott, in 2006 I ventured into a second act speaking, writing, and consulting, primarily on the topic of customer service. Over the years, I’ve read dozens of business books to glean insights and keep abreast of trends. Two books have shaped my post-Marriott service philosophy
For many years, I’ve gone on record saying that the reason you and I, as customers, consistently receive predictably poor customer service is because exceptional customer service is voluntary; employees don’t have to deliver it, and most don’t. It’s true. While there are things that employees have to do, providing
I was talking with my daughter about a friend of hers who had applied to work at the reception desk of a local health club. Her friend anxiously rehearsed the organization’s mission statement in order to recall it during her job interview. She got the job and later shared that,
I routinely ask groups of managers, by a show of hands, how many would consider themselves to be a purpose-driven leader at work. I see a lot of hands. Next, I ask how many would consider themselves to a values-driven leader at work. Sensing a trap, audience members are more
I was thinking about the widely-read business book Blue Ocean Strategy, which was published 20 years ago, and the application of its central premise to purpose-driven work today. In the book, red ocean strategies represent the way business is approached in most industries: competing for contested—and often shrinking—demand and market
According to a recent Gallup article, by the end of 2023, 33% of U.S. employees overall were highly engaged, meaning they were highly involved and enthusiastic about their work and workplaces. Unfortunately, engagement levels slipped in the first quarter of 2024, dropping 3 percentage points to 30% among both full-
Can your customers count on superior product and service quality regardless of the employee involved? Or is the quality of their experience reliant on the employee they happen to get? Most employees view their total job role in terms of the requisite job knowledge and job skills needed to reliably
Today’s blog post is the last in a series related to what I learned at the Agilysys Inspire User Conference in Las Vegas, March 18-20, 2024. I learned to digitize to personalize. Data-informed organizations better serve customers by tailoring offers, activities, and amenities based on shared preferences, past interactions, current
Today’s blog post is a part of a series that I will be sharing this week related to what I learned at the Agilysys Inspire User Conference in Las Vegas, March 18-20, 2024. I learned that consumers of all ages, ethnicities, and economic levels have embraced digital technology as a
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