There is a phenomenon in the services industry (some might say, an affliction) that I’ll refer to as ‘casual indifference.’ Its occurrence is not rare. Casual indifference by uninspired employees toward the needs and expectations of customers is rampant. Casual indifference is demonstrated by retail employees who pass within five
When asked about his approach to work during an interview, the late J.W. Marriott, Sr. said, “There aren’t these two opposites, work and play, one bad and the other good. It’s having a vision of the way things ought to be, and then making them that way.” Keep in mind
Many companies have slogans that look good on websites, banners, and buttons, but often these slogans have little credibility among customers or employees. They are simply a set of words brainstormed at an ad agency that usually promise more than employees are prepared to deliver, and result in less than
Last weekend I emailed the following complaint to the customer service department at The Wall Street Journal: Our Wall Street Journal delivery person has a gutter mind. Let me explain. Ever since we moved to our new address in January, with annoying frequency our morning paper is tossed in the
This is the second post in a series that will explore a set of questions I received from participants during a recent webinar on the topic of customer service. Question: In many CS organizations, agents are bound by policies, procedures, and access restrictions. This limits an agent’s ability to “wow”
This post is the seventh in a series that will identify 10 different obstacles that have emerged from my analysis of customer satisfaction data. Maybe you will have encountered one or more of these obstacles in your own business? The seventh obstacle is a lack of clarity of purpose. A
The other day, I trailed a King Soopers employee as she returned about a half-dozen shopping carts from the parking lot to the store. She pushed the row of carts into another row of carts inside the store and then, with a dreary facial expression and a heavy sigh, returned
With Halloween approaching, lately I’ve been thinking about ghouls, goblins, and things that go bump in the night. While carving a pumpkin over the weekend, my mind wandered to a memorable ghost story and the elements that made it special. As I recalled these ingredients, it occurred to me that
The Revelation Conversation is Here!
