Serious About Service

A few weeks ago our family was deciding what movie to watch on television for the night.  The choice boiled down to Ice Age 2, which my children love, and The Princess Bride, one of my favourite flicks.  I am sure it is no great surprise to say that, backed by the influences of their mother, the children won out and I will have to find some other way to satisfy my awakened “The Princess Bride hunger”.  While I think the film as a whole was enjoyable, I don’t think that I am all that unique when I say that it is a certain scene that I enjoy which makes the film most worth watching. Continue Reading »

My last assignment as an independent head-hunter, before rejoining the ranks of the employed, was to find a new VP of Engineering for a research oriented high tech company.  The ideal candidate would have a PhD in Physics, preferably quantum optics, preferably at the top of his or her class, preferably well published and well respected in the research community, preferably fluent in both German and English, and preferably with a few years experience leading engineers in similar environments.  Suffice to say, I began to acquaint myself with individuals who maintained an exceptionally high intellectual standard, people who knew more by the age of 14 than I will probably understand throughout my entire life.  It was an exceptionally pleasant as well as eye opening experience. Continue Reading »

A few decades ago, when I first started working in the Customer Service business, there were a few misunderstandings that I had to eventually clear up before I could become truly effective in my profession. Perhaps the most obvious roadblock was my attitude towards what my employer and customers should expect of me and what I should expect from them. Although I was technically very strong, I was often referred to as a “bull in a china shop”. For quite some time I didn’t fully understand what my colleagues and superiors were getting at. I was always capable, polite, punctual, never deliberately aggressive or demeaning towards a customer and did my utmost to deliver on my commitments. Those characteristics alone, I felt, should land me firmly in the 90th percentile. Continue Reading »

This year we started off the Podcasts with a terrific recording on Conflict Management with John Mattock.  As anyone who has been in service for any time knows, conflicts are a permanent part of the landscape.  Whether you’re dealing with a frustrated customer, a burdensome colleague, or a unfocused boss, conflicts surround us and learning how to manage them is perhaps one of the most financially and personally rewarding skills in your repertoire.  Enjoy the recording!

Years ago Japan made a significant name for itself in the manufacturing environment for the practice of asking “Why?” five times in succession in order to get to the root cause of a problem.  When a system failed, one asked “Why?”  If the answer was that a component of that system was faulty, “Why?” was asked again.  The answer to this question was again put to the “Why?” question and after five iterations one often discovered systemic issues which, when addressed, could have far reaching consequences. I would like, however, to suggest that for the soft skills business sector we turn the question on its head. Continue Reading »

When I first moved to Germany some 15 years ago, the telecom environment was dramatically different than today.  There was only one provider for telephone service and although the telecom infrastructure was absolute tops, customer service was what you would expect to receive in a monopoly environment – abominable.  Not only did you have the honor of paying for your call – toll free numbers still aren’t quite the rage in Germany – you were usually treated like fingernail dirt.  Every interaction was a test of nerves and they made so many mistakes so consistently, that I came to believe that the mistakes were deliberately programmed.   No organization could be so thoroughly and consistently incompetent. Continue Reading »

Many companies promote and are proud of the fact that they have a very flat management hierarchy.  This has both its good and bad sides.  Clearly, flat should mean a shorter path to key influencers and decision makers.  It can also mean more efficient.  On the negative side it masks reality, as organizational hierarchies will develop on their own and lack of their official documentation doesn’t serve the organization’s need for transparency.  Continue Reading »

I recently had the pleasure of speaking with Dr. Janelle Barlow. Janelle has been deeply immersed in the field of service for 30 years, gradually moving from Service Excellence to the topic of this podcast, Branded Customer Service. She’s a speaker, a businesswoman, and author of the best selling book, A Complaint Is a Gift, available in two editions, the most recent just released a year ago. She’s also the coauthor of Branded Customer Service – The New Competitive Edge.  Janelle makes the point that it’s not just best in class service — but service that is aligned with an organization’s brand promise — that can differentiate an organization and its products and services in a world overloaded with consumer choices. She and her company, TMI US have worked with dozens of companies helping them to define their customer service experience and then partnering with them to better engage both their staff and their customers.

Janelle will quickly point out that branded customer service work is really about creating an organizational culture that reflects the brand. When that is accomplished, then the organization is much more likely to deliver the promise it makes with its brand. These questions are topics she deals with on a daily basis in the two companies she runs in the United States:  TMI US and TACK USA.

I hope you enjoy the podcast!

This weekend I ran in my first 10k.  Well, it wasn’t actually 10k.  Because the path through the woods that we ran didn’t quite come out to a conveniently round number, it was a 12.8k run. When I got back home after the run I tried to explain to my children what I had just done, however running 10 kilometers is not yet in the realm of their understanding.   So instead of saying that I ran for 90 minutes (yes, I was one of the slowest in the pack…), I said that I ran “to the Lollyhop (Bavaria’s answer to Chuck E. Cheese) and back, twice”.  My 10 year old daughter turned to me with a very critical look on her face and said “Daddy, du lügst!” Continue Reading »

I recently had the honor of chatting with the Service Superstar Chip Conley.  Chip is the CEO of joie de vivre hospitality, the USA’s second largest boutique hotel chain, as well as the author of several books, including Peak, Marketing That Matters and Rebel Rules.

What makes Chip’s contribution unique, and why I am selecting him for the Service Superstars series, is that during the dot-com crash his was one of the very few companies who didn’t define their survival strategy around lay-offs.  Instead he cut compensation for management, took a three year salary hiatus for himself, and grabbed the bull by the horns to challenge conventional thinking by making his organization one driven by passion instead of fear.  Instead of layoffs there was a deep and serious questioning of the key human drivers and how to rationally and intelligently apply them to the business setting.

The result was nothing short of spectacular, as joie de vivre gained market share throughout the dot-com crash and exited the crisis stronger and more focused than ever.

In this interview, we’ll be digging into his book, PEAK – How Great Companies Get Their Mojo from Maslow, in which he developed a business model tied to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs as his answer to an economic downturn.  I hope you enjoy the interview!