Press Any Number You Want For Service...We Don't Care

I called Telus, my cell phone provider with a hardware issue. Press 1 for English, press 2 for French (I’m a Canadian eh!)

Welcome to the main menu. Laundry list to choose from. Oh that might be the right department so I press 3. More laundry, with 6 options. Not sure. Ah 6 a customer service rep. So 6 it is.

On hold. Not to worry, I am in Priority Sequence. Jimmy Buffett is wasting away in Margaretville. Ringing, here we go. Ring Ring Ring for about 35 seconds. Recorded message in first in English and then French telling me that my party cannot be reached and my call is going to end. There goes 10 minutes.

Let’s try this again. Press 1 for English. Just noticed that I can either choose from the laundry list or say in a word or two what my problem is to help speed up the search. I try "time is wrong on my pda". Recorded voice say something , "Let's see if we can narrow this down". Oh this is working really well.

News flash, this phone system sucks! 48 minutes later and no help.

So to save yourself $8 an hour for an operator, you went out and bought yourself a fancy shmancy automated phone system that makes me the customer jump through hoops.

Here is a newsflash. Shaw Cable Systems from Alberta Canada. When you call them up, yes you get an automated system. But they give you the choice to wait for the next operator or leave your phone number for the next available representative to call you back. And by leaving a message you don't lose your place in line.

Imagine that, a company that understands why they are in business.

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How Much Is A New Sales Rep Costing You

Do some quick calculations. How many new sales reps have you hired in the last 2 years. What did you pay them as a guaranteed salary and include all the benefits. Now how much time and money did you invest in training? How much time was spent teaching them the internal workings of the entire operation?

What did their potential account list look like? C accounts and all the new business they could find? How many of those C accounts have moved to B or possibly A accounts?

Now compare revenue to salary. Are you ahead? How many of those reps are still around? Why did they either move on or did you have to cut them loose?

How does the picture look? Better yet what does the picture look like from all those C accounts that have a new rep from your company every 6 months?

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The Best Ten Bucks You Can Invest

1. Don’t criticize, condemn or complain
2. Give honest and sincere appreciation
3. Arouse in the other person an eager want
4. Become genuinely interested in other people
5. Smile
6. Remember that a person’s name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language
7. Be a good listener. Encourage others to talk about themselves
8. Talk in terms of the other person’s interests
9. Make the other person feel important-and do it sincerely
10. The only way to get the best of an argument is to avoid it
11. Show respect for the other person’s opinions. Never say, “You’re wrong.”
12. If you are wrong admit it quickly and emphatically
13. Begin in a friendly way
14. Get the other person saying, “yes, yes” immediately
15. Let the other person do a great deal of talking
16. Let the other person feel the idea is his or hers
17. Try honestly to see things from the other person’s point of view
18. Be sympathetic with the other person’s ideas and desires
19. Appeal to the nobler motives
20. Dramatize your ideas
21. Throw down a challenge
22. Begin with praise and honest appreciation
23. Call attention to people’s mistakes indirectly
24. Talk about your own mistakes before criticizing the other person
25. Ask questions instead of giving direct orders
26. Let the other person save face
27. Praise the slightest improvement and praise every improvement. Be “hearty in your approbation and lavish in your praise”
28. Give the other person a fine reputation to live up to
29. Use encouragement. Make the fault seem easy to correct
30. Make the other person happy about doing the thing you suggest

That took about 3 minutes and 10 seconds of your time starved life. What you read is the principles of Dale Carnegie’s book, “How to Win Friends & Influence People”.

You would think a book that has sold 15,000,000 copies and been in print for 70 years wouldn’t apply today. Then why do most self help and sales books you pick up today quote this book.

The soft cover sells for $10.00. To bad its not mandatory reading in schools.

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Whats On Your Bookshelve?

Harvard Business Review says that 10% of the population has the "learning mindset". What was the last book you read on your profession. Have you enrolled in automobile University? Thats listening to teachers on cds in your automobile.

What are you doing to make yourself better at your profession? If you were to ask some of the greatest teachers how many books a month they read and how many teaching cds they listen to every month, chances are the numbers would be staggering. Thats what makes the Jeffrey Gitomers, Zig Ziglar, Chris Lytles, Jom Rohns, Dennis Waitley, Harvey Mackays the best at what they do. They make up the 10%.

Start with a book a month, teaching cds in your car and begin to learn like the pros. Want to make more money and be successful in your work, relationships and families? The 10% seems like a good place to be. Do you think you'll find your competition there?

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How Much Is Your Hiring Costing You

I wear glasses and have for many years. And like most, I tend to need an arm straightened or a screw tightened about every 6 months. The glasses I bought 2 years ago need adjustments every 3 months and I the place I have been shopping at for 15 years has always provided that service free of charge. About a year ago this company was bought by Pearle Vision and as per the norm they had some staff turnover.

Last visit, the chap helping me told me he would fix them at my own risk because my glasses were at least a year old. Okay, new company and maybe new policies. It took all of 6 seconds for him to adjust the arm and still a free service.

Driving home I thought about my experience and what if he would have done the following:

Ask my name and he would have seen that I have spent a fair amount of money for both my wife and I over the years for glasses, contacts and sunglasses.

Told me my last eye visit was three years ago and have I noticed if my vision has changed.

How is my supply of disposable contact lenses that I bought about a year ago.

Am I still wearing the same sunglasses I had bought a couple of years ago.

Would I like to see some new frames that came in recently.

There is a good chance this employee won’t be there the next time I need my glasses adjusted. Then again it’s very unlikely I will be returning. Now how much is that going to cost Pearle Vision? The money they invested in that employee, my future purchases and how many more customers did this employee turn off who won’t be returning?

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The Zappos Quit Your Job Offer

I found out after a recent call to the bank our customer service rep had taken a promotion at another branch and was no longer working on the retail side.

We had to break in a new one and after the first call it was evident we would never get the same service. Personality zero and it was like we were bothering him. Record profits for Canadian banks and they can’t hire worth a lick.

Here is free tip with no service charges. Google Zappos and read their story. In a nutshell, Nevada based Zappos sells shoes over the internet. They have 4 million pairs of shoes (they also have handbags and apparel) in a warehouse in Kentucky. Five years ago their sales were $70 million. And by the way, the shoes they sell, name brands.

How do they do this when you can’t try them on? Well for starters, they offer free delivery and free returns. If they don’t fit, you send them back period free of charge. They tell you to expect your order in four days and it’s usually delivered the next day. Their warehouse is next to a UPS hub.

Zappos call centre is not your usual call centre. No scripts, no robotic sell and the telemarketing team is empowered to take as long as needed to please the customer. To work for Zappos, you are put through a rigorous 4 week training period and at the end of that time, you are asked one question. “Will you take $1000 to quit right now”. The Zappos method of madness here is that if you take the money, you wouldn’t work out in the long run. A small percentage take the offer. Did I mention Zappos employs 1600 people.

Zappos has the AHA! They are fanatics on great service and are on pace to do one billion dollars this year. It’s all about the training and buying into the Zappos culture.

“But if we train them they might leave”. What happens if you don’t and they stay?

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Give Me One Of Those Discount Loyalty Cards You Hole Punch For Every Visit

I use one of those fast lane oil and lube places. I am there every 3 months like clockwork because my extended warranty calls for it. 8 visits in the last two years. The service is okay and they pretend to do this 24 point safety inspection. I know this is bogus because a few visits back they replaced my air filter. (More about this in a moment) It was a 45 minute experience by a company whose sell message is, "the universes' best 10 minute oil change". I guess it would have been 10 minutes if my technician wasn't interrupted every 5 minutes by his cell phone.

I complained to the owner who said he would look into it but never did call me back. And even though I was snubbed I have been back three more times. For me its convenient because they appear to be on every corner.

But after my most recent visit which took an 65 minutes (there were two cars in front of me and even with their 10 minute guarantee I shouldn’t have been longer than 35-40 minutes) and more poor workmanship, they don't deserve my business. The technician noticed that my air filter unit was not working properly. He asked when it was changed last and I told him his company had done it and to check his computer. He found no record and I told him it was about a year earlier at their so and so location. It was then he told me that their computer systems were not networked to the other locations.

He believed me as the unit was their brand and sheepishly hooked the unit up right, apologized and would take it up with the owner. I wasn’t holding my breath and on my way out I told him while he was at it to tell his owner that they should implement a customer loyalty program. “We have one”, the technician said, “but it kicks in after the 4^th visit”. This was only my third visit to this particular location. Had their computers been networked to all the other stores, he would have seen my previous 7 visits.

I wonder what its going to take for this company to have a "AHA" moment! You would think that 8 oil changes in two years would send up some sort of "who is this regular customer" flag.

I just hope the new place I find will give me one of those discount cards they punch holes in for every visit.

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