The Easy Answer Newsletter
Volume 5, Issue 2 April 30, 2004
In this edition of the Easy Answer II, you'll find...
* Just a Thought or Two
* One More Chance
* Ask Becky
* Take Becky With You* Becky's Getting Famous (sort of)
Just a thought or two...
"I have yet to meet a leader with a chronically negative attitude who was able to continually sustain positive momentum." - John C. Maxwell in The 21 Most Powerful Minutes in a Leader’s Day
"Conviction is passionate, positive energy that flows out of you and into the world. People with positive energy attract lines of people wanting to just hang around." - David A. Rich in How to Click with Everyone Every Time
One More Chance
Have you had one of those days? You know, the one where you must have
a sign on your back that says “abuse me.” Or when you think that you must
be the 1,000,000th customer, because everything that can go wrong has. Or
when you think that you really should have just stayed in bed.
Sometimes it can happen with your first encounter with a company.
Sometimes it’s one of your favorite places or people. You know doing
business isn’t supposed to be this hard and yet it is. Your reaction to
this abuse may be very different from one time to the next, depending on
your attitude, your energy, or whether you are the customer or the
company. So, when do you give them one more chance?
I have a favorite Mexican food restaurant. It’s fast, the food is hot,
it’s the spiciest food I eat (this from someone who doesn’t even eat
buffalo wings), and the wait staff is fairly conversational. On Friday,
the food came quickly. Is there such a thing as service that is too quick?
I cut into the enchilada and found the cheese wasn’t melted. That was too
quick for me. Two trips and twenty minutes later, I had a fresh,
piping-hot plate of food. It wasn’t right the first time, but it could be
corrected. One more chance?
In the meantime, I noticed an unusually large amount of moisture on the
table. I just didn’t think the condensation should be that bad. When Scott
inspected the glass, he found the crack that traveled the entire length of
the glass. The glass was broken during normal wear and tear. An
inconvenience, but it could be corrected. One more chance?
The hostess asked the manager to visit our table. He sheepishly appeared
and stood just behind me, while he spoke to Scott. He apologized for our
experience and lamented how hard it was to get help who would take
responsibility to check for cracked tableware. One more chance?
When service issues arise in your organization, and they will, how are they addressed?
* Acknowledge the customer’s right to a preference.
* Act quickly to correct a problem.
* Accept the blame.
* Account for the inconvenience.
* Access resources.
* Achieve excellent referrals!
Excuses about how hard it is to get good help are useless. Take
responsibility…correct the problem…and move on. The only other thing he
could have offered was the check!
The issue isn’t whether or not things happen. The issue is how they are
addressed.
“Thank you for sharing your time and your great talent with the employees during our annual retreat. Your presentation took member service training to a new level. My staff has not stopped talking! Your enthusiasm is contagious and we count ourselves among the greatly blessed to have been infected by your personality and talent.”
Linda Weatherford, CEO
Health Facilities FCU
Ask Becky
I received the following email. The names have been deleted to protect
the guilty.
“i'm the most terrible person to talk to i really need help. i go to XXX technical institute and my teacher told me about u.. please i need info. asap i'm willing to come on thurs. night! thanks”
Because I recognized her teacher’s name, I responded. I told her the encrypted message was difficult to read, yet I was willing to help. Was she talking about Toastmasters? This was her response.
“sorry i didn't mean to scare u. i'm terrible because i'm a terrible speaker. it seems like when i'm in front of people i get speechless. my teacher told me that u guys have some kind of class on thursday nites. sorry”
Every contact makes an impression…good or bad. Recognizing limitations, locating resources, and seeking assistance are all admirable ventures. Don’t expect others to do everything for you, though. Take time to put your best foot forward. Do your research. Proofread your inquiry!!! Prepare for others to take you to the next level, not complete the work for you.
Then turn around and help the person behind you.
Take Becky With You
Tips from the Trenches: Making Voice Mail Work For You
Boring greetings, disjointed messages, and a real fear of phones contribute to the universal hatred of voice mail. It doesn’t have to be as hard as we make it.
This live and unedited recording puts you in one of over 500 chairs for Professional Administrative Assistants Day. Learn the secrets to leaving great greetings, laugh with the audience as they discover the little things they do to sabotage their messages, and listen as they practice the tone of voice. Enjoy 45 minutes focused on voice mail. It just may be the best investment you’ll ever make.
Send $10 to Becky McCrary, P O Box 25475, Greenville SC 29616-0475 and your copy will be on its way to you by return mail.
“Thanks for the fabulous voice mail secrets and the training on how to put it to work! Even my husband and my boss (two most important people to me) have remarked on how great it sounds. It’s good to know that even if the caller doesn’t reach me in person, they will get a good impression of me. I sound so positive on my message that if I’m having a down day, I call myself to get pepped up by my own enthusiastic voice!”
Cynthia Eason, Director Training Services
Greenville (SC) Technical College
Becky is Getting Famous!
Well, sort of. In the coming weeks, I am on my way to Iowa, Michigan, New Mexico, North Carolina, Maryland and Louisiana. I’ll also get to work in South Carolina. And I owe all of this to you! I have always said there are two kinds of people in the world…those who know me and love me and those who ought to. Because you have been so gracious in sharing our experiences, others are discovering my speaking, training and facilitation services. I appreciate the kind words you share with your friends and with total strangers. Thank you!
Because my work is tailored to corporations and associations, it’s seldom that I have a public seminar to tell you about. That’s why I’m so excited about October!
October 7, 2004 – I’ll be presenting at the Midlands Technical College Customer Service Professional’s Conference in Columbia, SC.
October 12, 2004 – I’ll present my popular program, Celebrating the Call Center Conference, at Greenville Technical College’s Buck Mickel Center in Greenville, SC. Geared toward managers and leaders, this will be a full day of attitude, concepts, techniques, and networking. You won’t want to miss it!
When you’re interested in expanding comfort zones in your organization,
contact me for your preferred dates.
“WOW! That is the only word I can think of at the moment to describe your
presentation at our Processors’ Meeting in Columbia (SC). Your
presentation was awesome and touched on exactly what we needed to hear.
Everyone was very positive in their comments and felt motivated from your
presentation. Thank you so much! Personally, I felt that I came away from
the meeting with a new friend.”
Dorothy S. Smoak, Assistant Vice President
SC Bank and Trust