According Journalist Emily Yellin (author of “Your Call Is (not that) Important to Us”) we, in the field of customer service have the chance to change the world by doing little things that mean a lot. We can change the way we relate to the public and the emotions we create with good design, follow through and a strong value system.

Admitting the soft skills are the hardest things, Emily, who has traveled all over the world to talk to people in call centers and their customers told wonderful stories of companies that are finally paying attention to the details of business that matter to customers. From recording an initial greeting for a FedEx employee to help conserve her energy on each call, installing a shelf in bank branches at Credit Suisse in Zurich for people to put their backpacks, to redesigning forms that are too complicated to complete, companies are beginning to look at what they can do to make the customer – and the employee experience better.

Emily – a former NY Times Journalist approached the study of customer service with rigor and concludes that there is great power in doing little things. An eye opening moment came when she discussed a Jet Blue class on dealing with upset customers that she attended. Although no one would ever say to a customer  You’re stupid, I’m not going to help you, I don’t care, Shut up or You’re lying that’s what a customer hears when we tell them things like:

You were told to be at the airport 90 minutes before departure

I’m not authorized to do that

This is not our fault

Ma’am – you keep interrupting me

Emily believes changing those interactions are important because minor indignities are the seeds of the bigger things and that companies that address these seemingly small issues can make a profound change.

She’s come up with a term – Karma Footprint –for the impact service has on the world.

She believes companies have a responsibility to put that best foot forward and that what we put out into the world matters. With our focus on creating better customer experiences we can make the world a little better.

You KNOW I agree with that, been saying it for over 20 years. Thanks Emily for helping us spread the word. Caring Is contagious and we all have the power to make a difference.

So the afternoon at the NACCM Conference – after a lovely lunch in the sunny courtyard – was spent in the Uber Loyalists track talking about my favorite topic – creating the emotional attachment we call loyalty. Marti Beller of the Affinion Group shared her experience on Customer engagement and its many benefits. She confessed to being a passionate Mac enthusiast and talked about Apple’s ability to create a kind of loyalty most of us can only aspire to. She shared a statistic about banks that says that only 35% of consumers feel engaged with their banks – 56% could be swayed and 9% just downright dislike them. Glad to see there is so much room for improvement.

Marti also took us beyond the traditional 4 P’s of marketing (remember them? Product, Place Promotion and Price?) and added her own take on it. The four p’s of loyalty are Perspective – the Customers. Look at your data and use it to learn more about your customers and why they buy – or don’t. The second P is Purpose – know your brand and how it resonates with your consumers. From their perspective would they see you as best in class, standard in class or below class.

The third P is Proliferation. Customer engagement is an accumulated effect – use every channel you can get to communicate with them. Use every touchpoint to remind them of the benefits. And then, my personal favorite – the fourth P – Praise. Reward your customers for their behavior – say Thank You.

When you do all these’s P’s there is another that will show up and that one is – Profit.

What is it that Ken Blanchard said at a NACCM long ago? Profit is the applause you get from caring about your customers and employees.

And the beat goes on…

Q’s? Start asking some different questions – one that will stimulate the thinking of everyone in your organization. One of my personal faves – How can we create a remarkable experiences worth coming back for and worth telling friends about?

More later.. looking forward for another fun and inspirational day!

Seven years ago the NACCM Chairperson was Kathleen Peterson, the Chief Vision Officer of Powerhouse Consulting and this year we were once again graced by her presence, her humor and her keen insight on the current business environment. She congratulated the audience, companies that understand the customer experience as a differentiator, for having negotiated the “budget minefields” to get here and called us all the leaders in the customer revolution.

She reminded us that there was an enormous brain trust in this room and encouraged us all to participate and be a contributor. She reinforced that we – the participants – would be responsible for contributing and sharing our take aways, and that we would be compiling a executive summary at the end of the program. Great encouragement to be alert. Kathleen reminded us what we learned from Bruce Kimbrell of the Disney Institute last night. We are required to be cross functionally aligned. Everyone needs to know what the Customer Experience feels like – looks like – and what is it we are trying to accomplish. We need to know the nature of who we serve – what can we deliver – each person in the business unit has something to contribute – the frontline is the bottom line. Bruce shared many of Disney’s challenges and how they overcame them. Focus. Pure focus.

Kathleen says to focus on the what – what is it we want to have happen – what does really good mean. What does it mean in your organization? – Do we want to make sure our customers are recognized when they call in? Everything cascades from the specificity. I completely agree. ( And I love the word specificity.) She says we have a chronic problem – jumping to solutions . We need to think in terms of WHAT and then the HOW . We are fortunate – here at this conference we will find answers in both categories. She is so right when she calls this a Socratic café. We will spend a few days looking at the options and learning, we will develop an exec summary from our own key take aways and we will support each other in moving the customer centric message forward. This is a revolution and I am so proud and excited to be part of it. More soon…

Hello from beautiful sunny Phoenix where I am attending the NACCM Customers First conference. Last year I had the pleasure of being the conference chair, this year I am thrilled to see colleague Kathleen Peterson kick off the main part of the conference today. Kathleen was our first chairperson oh so many years ago when this conference first began. Despite the ups and downs in the economy – companies that are serious to their commitment to their customers are still attending – even if it’s the only event they are coming to this year.

Today were the “Summits” a tough choice between the Aligning Social Media with Customer Strategy Track and the Creating Uber Loyalists track. So as you might suspect I did both – spent the morning learning more about social media (which I really needed to do) and the afternoon learning more from the companies that have tried and true loyalty strategies and are readjusting them to align with Customer’s ever changing needs.

Everyone – everyone is talking about change and how nimble companies have to be to keep one step ahead.  Becky Carroll, the Founder of Customers Rock! Set us straight on what social media really is – it’s a tool to build Customer relationships – to go deeper, to build trust, to build community. It’s a word of mouth “Maximizer” and it’s a two way conversation. It’s a tool for listening.

In fact LISTENING was the point of the whole session – and a few others I attended. Let’s stop for a minute and think about that. So many of the articles we read about social media are about building your brand, selling your product, pushing your agenda. Becky’s advice is to listen – first. Find out what your customers want – where they want to see you – what they’re doing and what you could do to be more meaningful to them.

Frank Eliason who is changing the culture at Comcast says that listening to the Customer is the BEST way to change an organization. He is committed to bringing the Customer’s story into the organization – at all levels. He says that EVERY Customer is an influencer. That was a huge take away for a lot of the people in the room. He says that social media takes us back to basics – like Customer Service 101 – me helping you. He’s so right when he says “Customers are talking whether you want them to or not,” and you’d better know what it is they are saying about you and become part of the conversation.

Often before I work with clients who tell me that want a lot of time spent on “dealing with angry customers” I search the web looking for signs that these angry customers might be talking out loud about their angry experiences and often I find rogue sites where Customers are venting and sharing bad experiences. Companies don’t always know about these sites. Frank knew about the one that had Comcast’s name on it and set about talking to the people that needed to be heard.

As Comcast hears more and more Customer stories the processes inside the company are changing, the company itself is changing.

His little department has grown to 11 people as they talk to more and more Customers and keep the conversation going inside the company. He takes it all personally – Comcast Cares IS Frank.

I had some time to chat with Frank after the speech was done and I found that the values he espouses are truly his – transparency, authenticity, caring, and Passion with a capital “P”.

Speaking of “P’s” my next entry will share what Marti Beller of Affinion Group calls the “other” 4 P’s. I’m soaking it all in. I’m learning more about how Loyalty Leaders run their companies, love their customers and create great places for people to work. Sweet.

More later…

I LOVE my travel agent – it’s not that I like her – I LOVE her. While all my friends laugh at me because I don’t struggle with trying to figure out how to get the best deal on an internet site, I still stand by my choice to call Sue when I need to get from here to there.

She compares the prices from one airline to another, she checks available seats, she advises on alternative airports and gets my great prices all at the speed of light while asking insightful questions about my business, my family, my love life and other sundry and interesting topics. She reminds me that I hate to fly early in the morning, tell me to buck up and do it anyway when it’s the best way to go, and if I’m sitting on the runway in a plane that doesn’t look like it’s going to take off she’s the one I call to get me a seat on the next flight before the other passengers get off the plane I’m on and head for the desk. What’s not to love?

Today when I called to book my next flight, she commented on my last blog post (she’s a fan too!) and laughed at the title of my friend Marilyn’s book – the one I was promoting – Who’s your Gladys.  She said she didn’t need to buy the book. I asked “Is that because you already know how to calm down disagreeable customers?”

“Nope – that’s because I don’t bother with customers I don’t like – in fact I’d pay them money to go to a different travel agent!”

I roared! That’s pure Susan. Susan, who started her own agency about the time I started  my business, has experienced a lot in the changing travel industry, but one thing that hasn’t changed is her commitment to have a good time at work. She loves most of her customers and they love her back and don’t mind one little bit paying a small fee for her speedy and entertaining service. Why, Susan even keeps track of how often I go see my Mom and if she doesn’t see any flights headed to NY she’ll comment on it and remind me that it’s been a while. Bless her heart.

Susan is the owner of Take Flight Travel in NY – you can call her at 718-358-3223 and find out for yourself the pleasure of human contact in the middle of a busy day. www.takeflighttravel.net   Her email is takeflight@att.net

I know, I know, you’re probably thinking I’m behind the times. I know my way around Southwest’s website and I can manage JetBlue too if I need someone on the weekend, but when it comes to the WHOLE experience, Sue provides the kind of value no website can. You won’t find her on Twitter and you won’t find her on Facebook, but you will, most nights find her still at her desk at 6PM when you realized that you forget the item on your to-do list that said “Book Flight today!”

You can call me old fashioned, and that’s okay, I spend a whole lot of my day on the computer interacting with websites, when I get a chance to chat with a friend, you’ll bet I’ll jump at it. Thanks Sue – for turning all the experiences with you into great ones, as you say EVERY time, It’s my pleasure!

As if businesses weren’t struggling enough these days, a recent study out of the U.K. has revealed the emergence of the “hypersensitive customer,” a consumer that has less cash, more information and less tolerance for poor customer service than ever before. The study, conducted by UK accounting and business consulting firm BDO Stoy Hayward, found that in the last 18 months, customers have become less loyal, as they realize how privileged retailers are to have their business. In fact, 48% of consumers admitted increasing their expectations over the past two years. Customers are plugged in, with easy access to consumer reviews, detailed technical information and competitive product information. They have tighter budgets, so they’ve become more discerning in both the products they buy and the service they expect. 74% of respondents in the study said they wouldn’t purchase products and would leave the store if they encountered what they deemed to be poor service.

Are you and your business ready for the arrival of the hypersensitive customer? If not, now is the time to examine your customer service practices and get them in line with the needs of today’s consumer. We receommend a few things – first and foremost is to make a commitment to getting better at taking care of your customers! Make it a strategic prioirity  one that has the eye of every executive in the company.

The next is to keep learning and get better at what you do. Here’s a great way to get started:  There’s a new customer service book on stores shelves and online resellers that can help you manage this new breed of consumer. When you order “Who’s Your Gladys?” today, you get a special package of 40+ electronic bonus gifts in customer service, sales, marketing and professional development. Buy your copy today at http://whosyourgladys.comWatch the WYG book trailer here: www.youtube.com/whosyourgladys

And you can listen to my interview with Marilyn and Lori Jo as well HERE

I’m in NY today and it seems as if the whole city is weeping. The rain just pours down. It breaks my heart open again.

As hearts break open, opportunity arises. I always feel the hope that the compassion we feel, the kindness we feel, the empathy we feel on the anniversary of this day will spread into our other days.

On the anniversary of the terrible attack on our country, may our hearts soften and open and may we find a deeper desire to understand and care for others. 

What can I do, what can you do, to make this a better, kinder, more compassionate world?

When 15 year old Austin decided he wanted to hook a TV monitor up to his Mac, he wanted to do it right. So he researched how to do it on the web. He knew just what connections had to be made and just the cables needed to do it right. Then he asked his Mom to take him to the mall – right to the Apple store so he could get the perfect connection between his Mac and his monitor.

It seemed like it would be a simple in/out transaction – here’s what I need, here’s Mom’s credit card and let’s go for a smoothie.  Then Mom suggested a very sensible thing, “Check with a sales person to make sure you’re getting the right stuff.” (Smart move since the mall is 25 miles from their home.)

That’s when the trouble began. The Apple salesperson told Austin he had made the wrong choices and  needed something other than what he thought. Deferring to the ‘authority’ in the store known for its “Genius Bars,” Austin took home the cables suggested and found they were not a match with the monitor.

Frustration is too light a word to describe how most of us would feel at a moment like this. It’s not just a bad customer experience; it’s a deep lesson to be learned in listening to one’s intuition, even in the “face of authority.” It’s also a coming of age story, to be sure. All these poignant family moments arrived courtesy of Apple.

So they go online and get a phone number for Customer Service, but it turns out this customer service is only there to service the customers that buy online (Apparently the other people will have to go back to those who screwed it up in the first place – at the other Apple store – the one that has walls.)

The phone call turns into a “dead end” when it came to actually lodging a complaint – you have to really want to complain to work your way through their system. So it was back to the mall.

Did they get resolution, restitution or peace of mind anywhere in the process? No

Did they get the appropriate level of empathy and technical knowledge they deserved when they finally made the 50 mile round trip to the store, again? No

Did Apple – who has deeply loyal customers – neglect to remember that people may continue to buy your product – because it’s great, but no longer buy your brand because it’s not living up to its reputation? Yes. Yes. Yes.

Austin may continue to be a Mac fan, but did the division between their web business and their brick and mortar business put a dent in the level of confidence he, his Mom, his Dad, his brother and his tenth grade class have in it? Yep. When you stop trusting those geniuses… it means there’s a promise broken. Broken promises loosen the strength of relationships over time.

Now that Austin (and his Mom) knows that several of the connection cables are actually made by Belkin and they can find them at the Best Buy store down the way, maybe 2 miles down the road or so, how many special trips will they make to that Apple store?

Apple misses an opportunity to take a solid brand with a great following and make it even greater.

There’s nothing today’s customer dislikes more than falling into the gap between a company’s on line and offline operations. For a brand like Apple it’s almost shameful. Their intensely loyal followers deserve more – more flexibility, more attention, more openness to feedback.

Multiple channels mean multiple opportunities for engaging, involving and otherwise building strong “emotional bank accounts” with customers. Every touch point – web, store, call center, fax, chat, social media – offers a chance to build the brand and create that emotional attachment called loyalty. How many companies miss that opportunity?

Plenty. Doing research for an article that will appear in the October issue of ROI magazine I talked to a lot of people. The first question I asked was “What companies do you do business with – across channels – that do a great job of delivering a great customer experience?”

There was quite a bit of silence to that question – the usual answer was. “I know companies that don’t do a good job at it”. There were people that could talk to me about some single great customer experiences (that was uplifting) and there were a few that actually saw some cross channel excellence. So perhaps we are on our way to realizing that the customer sees only ONE brand – not one on line and another off line – only ONE.

Over the next few weeks and maybe months – I’ll be sharing some of my finding here at the blog (the article was only 1200 words. So as I find and talk to companies who are doing a great job, and building the foundation to do a great job, I’ll share.

Thanks to all who participated in the conversation. Let’s keep it going.

For many years… oh, close to 20, I’ve been talking about the “Power Shift” that every company, no matter what size, needs to be aware of. The power has been gradually shifting from those who buy to those who sell.

Never has that been more evident than since the advent of the internet. Besides complaint sites, blogs, message boards and all other sorts of ways to speak out, we now have You Tube. And we all know that pictures are worth a 100o words – well moving pictures are worth a little more than that. And moving pictures with music – power with a beat you remember.

It’s too bad that United Airlines didn’t understand that power shift before failing to take good care of Dave Carroll and his band.  Read this entry in Julie Power’s blog.

Besides spinning a yarn of distress that even non-musicians will empathize with – it has a beat and and if you wanted to – you could dance to it. United is dancing as they try to mend the bridges with – oh say – two million people. Customers in Charge

I’m one of the “experts” over at the Customer Service Advantage newsletter so that means I get questions to answer from time to time. Here’s one I got yesterday.

“I’m learning the ropes as a new customer service manager. One thing I struggle with is giving feedback to my service pros. How do I give critical feedback without leaving my people feeling negative about themselves and parts of their work?”

What a great question and how smart of you to ask. Negative feedback makes us all feel a little diminished – after all you are talking about our weaknesses. Positive feedback makes us feel encouraged, proud and confident so the answer to your question lies not so much in the “how” but in the “how often.”

We teach people to be “Positive Leaders” and that entails using some of the new insights and tools that come from the field of positive psychology. So here’s lesson number one – learn to look for and build on people’s strengths. Give affirmative feedback – often – on what’s right about their performance, their talents, their attitudes and their abilities. Skip the “attaboys” and start getting specific with your feedback so people know exactly what you want repeated. “Robert, I especially liked the way you handled that angry customer – you showed so much skill in the way you clarified and confirmed his situation. It was masterful the way you dealt with his emotion first and then got the problem solved on the spot.” When you spend your time looking for what people are doing right and sincerely praising them for it you are building an emotional bank account (just like we do with customers).

When people come to trust that you can see the best in them, and appreciate it, it makes it easier to take constructive feedback that will improve their performance. Please note – I didn’t use the word “critical.” There is no need for you to be critical, that’s not part of your job.

Just remember the positivity ratio we teach and it’s easy – 5:1 if you want your relationships to flourish. Give sincere positive feedback five times more often than you give negative feedback. When you use this formula –you’ll feel good, they’ll feel good and you’ll watch their productivity soar.

JoAnna Brandi, a founding member of the Positive Workplace International is the author of two books on customer loyalty and one on positive thinking. You can find more advice on creating a more positive customer caring culture at www.CustomerCareCoach.com and www.ReturnOnHappiness.com