Customer Service Tip: Do NOT Call A Customer A "Jerk"

While checking in at the counter of a major airline at my local airport I discovered my free checked bag was over the allotted 50 pounds. This meant I would have to pay $50, but as a professional speaker who often travels with boxes of my books in a suitcase, this sometimes happens. I do not like to pay the extra money, but it comes with the business of being an author.

Meanwhile, the people next to me checked in for their flight. The two automated kiosks shared the same scale, and with my 56 pound bag, and their giant duffel, the scale tipped 108 (meaning their bag weighed was 52 lbs).

I did not say anything at the time, as I did not want to cause this couple (whom I do not know) to be charged an additional $50...... But once they were gone, I decided to point out to the counter workers that they were not consistent in charging everyone for heavy bags.

The woman who had checked their bag immediately got VERY defensive. She told me "No, their bag was only 43 lbs".

I was watching closely... their second bag was 43 lbs. Upon hearing this she added "Oh, I had my foot on the the scale, we stand that way all the time (foot up on scale, she demonstrated)".

Ummmm, if this was true, she should quit the airline and join Cirque du Soleil ... as she is made 100% out of elastic and can apply equal amounts of pressure consistently via her shoe. While I was watching the scene play out, and doing the math THREE TIMES in my head (108 minus 56 equals 52), she walked to two different computer stations. AMAZING, all with her foot on the scale!

I was not being belligerent (although clearly annoyed).... but I was a bit pissy. She dug her heels in and said that she knew the weight of bag when she lifted it because she has a bad back (ummm, is she a human scale, too?). I said, no, I was watching. She forcefully told me I was WRONG.

(I would like to add, I make mistakes, maybe I could be wrong... but she was clear in her tone that she is always right).

I was not asking for a refund (I had already paid my $50), but admittedly I was being snarky in my comments because I got the short end of this stick.

As I was gathering my stuff to head toward the long security line I said; "I am sorry if I am being a jerk..." To which she snapped "You are a jerk!"

Whoa???

My response? "I have never seen a (insert name of major airline known for great customer service) employee talk to a customer like that .... what is your name?"

She told me her name, and yes I wrote customer service.

I was mad as hell that she would respond by calling me a jerk (even if I was being one.... and honestly I was probably below the level of "jerk", and more at the level of "grumpy annoyed person"). My intent was never to ask for my money back or anything else. I just witnessed them not being consistent and wanted to point it out.

I shook my head, my hands were shaking with anger, and I walked away. Oh, and I "Twittered" the experience as a #fail.

I do not want anything from the airline, but this was over the top wrong. Customer Service is so important. In today's highly competitive world one employee having a bad day can kill your good will. It is easy to ruin a reputation and it takes many more positive interactions to make up for the negative ones.

The good news: two of the flight attendants that day were spectacular. They were nice, engaging, funny, caring, and delightful people to be around. I went back to the airline's customer service website and left compliments about these two employees who did make up for that one nasty person. I think we need to praise those who do a good job as much as we need to point out those who fail (heck, in today's society... maybe we need to do even more praising!)

I am human, and I blow it once in a while, too. Maybe I was being petty, and calling her our on her mistake / oversight obviously hit her in some vulnerable spot. But really, just say "thank you" to the person who apologizes for being a jerk... do not agree with them. Dang.

One more thing.....If I really was a jerk, I would have pointed out the weight of the other people's bag immediately when I noticed it and caused them to have to pay the $50, too!!!

Have A Great Day.

thom

Being In The Zone - Passion For What You Are Doing

I have been thinking a lot what makes me excited about my work. It will soon be a year since I got laid-off and launched on my own path. I said good-bye to a corporate job and have not looked back. I have had a great time this past year, and feel that I am making progress toward building a sustainable career as an entrepreneur speaker along with helping start a publishing company and speakers bureau.

I am not alone in this venture. I have a business partner in New Year Publishing who navigates most of the choppiest waters. I work with a group of motivated professional speakers in NYP Speakers who are committed to developing a community of peers. My wife has been on board, and continues to support the business and unpredictable travel schedule (as well as running the Children's Division of New Year Publishing). And my kids seem to understand the process of being self-employed... with the sacrifices and rewards that come with the journey (they don't like my travel, but like that I can drive them to school, gymnastics and karate more often!).

The other day I told my wife I had never been this happy in my entire career. She reminded me of two jobs where I had this much passion. I was excited to go to work everyday and I was in the zone - making things happen and living success. In both of those jobs I had bosses who gave me the goal, a budget, and then got out of my way. I was allowed to oversee my marketing / business development programs without micro-management. In the end I was happy, and I delivered more than expected by my employers.

I did not always have this level of autonomy and trust in every job that I had. Most of my career I felt adrift. I was trying hard (and still getting things done), but could not get the "flow" going. A person can fake it all along the way, but they have to look at themselves in the mirror everyday. No passion sucks, and it makes your job suck too!

I see the connection now between my love for what I am doing now and those two jobs were I was on fire. It was when I was allowed to be an entrepreneur (or intrepreneur, as the case may be) that I was able to kick butt. When you are slaying dragons and winning battles there is nothing that can stop your attitude from souring to the top.

The more I coach and consult with professionals I discover that many people are stuck in jobs for which they have no passion at all. They feel trapped by the paycheck and yet have no idea what else they would do but work for a company.

A recruiter told me recently that it is predicted that as much as 25% (or more) of all employees would welcome the opportunity to change jobs. However, the economy has kept most people in the same place for a long time. Once the job market opens up it is predicted that it will not be the unemployed who will take the first wave of open jobs, but those who already have jobs that are desperate to move on.

Think about that if you own a company. Over 1/4 of your employees are hoping to leave as soon as they see a shiny object out the window. This domino effect will surprise many companies, leaving important holes in their roster.

I wonder if most bosses can cultivate the necessary passion inside the hearts of their employees? It is hard. There are so many competing priorities inside a business. The boss and the employee do not always have the same goals. It is so easy, regardless of if you work for yourself or if you work for someone else, to get caught in the daily routine and lose sight of way passion matters in the first place.

I read a blog post by Andy Sack (a venture capitalist in Seattle) where he wrote about why passion is vital in a start up. His five points were:

1. The ability to continually motivate and re-invent: By definition, founder's don't have all the answers. They are in a learning mode. They are learning what customers wants, how they're going to charge, how they'll scale, etc. They are often crude implementations of what they aspire to be and as such, founders inevitably will have to overcome rough patches and patches where they don't know what the right answer is. Enter passion. Passion makes overcoming this lack of answers possible and fun.
2. The willingness to work longer hours than the average person.
3. The energy to sell customers, employees, and investors possible. It allows you to overcome all the "no's" you'll hear day in and day out.
4. The will to take feedback on limitations of yourself and your corporation and actually do something about it.
5. The desire to persevere and persist when the going gets tough.
   

He concluded with the following thought:

"In a nutshell, passion is the word people use to attach to all the emotional aspects of founding a team that require energy, inventiveness, and fun to overcome."

That is where I find myself. Even after attending a five day industry conference, giving eight presentations in two weeks, traveling all over the country, and trying to keep up with all the emails and other projects.... I still look forward to waking up tomorrow (Monday) and hitting the ground running looking for new opportunities, promoting the NYP Speakers and Authors, and finding a way to contribute to all that I encounter.

Have A Great Day.

thom

Have you ever read one of my books? They are available at Amazon.com. Tell a friend!

Corporate Culture Matters!!!

Corporate culture matters!

The business world has had some tough times over the past year, and many companies have had to make tough decisions in regards to their employees, benefits, spending, etc... All of the hard choices have had an impact on corporate culture.

If the culture in your company has gone sour, you can be sure of one thing: As soon as the job market opens up again (and it will happen), there will be a mass exodus out of your office. Just because your best employees are showing up everyday does not mean that you have not already lost them.

I talked with someone this week whom was worried that there are too many "behind closed door" meetings between his employees. He wants to believe that people like working in his company, but the reality is that the once good culture has evaporated with the economic conditions and severe changes they have had to make in the business.

Taking action now is the only remedy. While the government and the media are singing the chorus of "the end of the recession", the trickle down effect will take a while to reach small and mid-sized business. The longer you ignore the problems in your culture, the harder you will be slapped once your employees and co-workers have other options.

The solution is to empower your people to be the solution. There is no magic dust that fixes culture issues, but honest and open discussions are the answer to secret chats that your people might be having behind your back.

Network inside your company. If you spend all your time focusing on developing relationships with clients, prospects and referral sources.... but never grab a beer with your people, then you have no culture. Take advantage of the holidays and instead of canceling the company holiday party or scaling it back, host a pot-luck in the home of one the organizations executives. Having people come together, especially inside someone's house, helps creates bonds that help overcome all the B.S. that comes with the economic roller coaster.

Take the time to make an effort, or pay the price later!

Have A Great Day.

thom

"Corporate Mojo" - Mike Peter, CEO of Campus Advantage Speaks at ACG

The Central Texas Chapter of the Association for Corporate Growth July luncheon featured Mike Peter, CEO of the fast growth student housing corporation - Campus Advantage.

ACG has a long standing tradition of having some of the most talented Austin area executives speakers sharing their experiences at the monthly member luncheons, and Peter was no exception.

His calm, casually understated, authoritative and experienced speaking style was coupled with his message of outstanding corporate culture, making his presentation both memorable and educational for all in attendance.

Peter's message centered around "Corporate Mojo", his term for that hard to define piece of a company's culture that can not tangibly be described, but which is the magic that differentiates the amazing business from the mundane. "Corporate Mojo" is that feeling that impacts, charms, attracts and inspires employees, customers, vendors, the media and beyond.

You feel this "mojo" any time you interact with a special company - and it is coming from the employee's deep rooted attitudes.... not from some mission statement painted on a wall. Think of these examples:

Southwest Airlines vs. Delta (having just had a horrible experience with Delta last month, I can attest to the fact they have no "mojo")

Jimmy John's vs. Subway.

Amy's Ice Cream vs. Baskin Robbins.

A company with good "mojo" makes a difference. Peter attributes this "mojo" to the fast growth of Campus Advantage over the past several years. Now with 54 student housing properties over several states, and over 1000 employees, the company is a national leader in this very fragmented, competitive and changing industry.

That intangible "umph" that helps the company thrive is tried and tested. Campus Advantage was named on of the "Best Places to Work" in 2009 by the Austin Business Journal.

When you have an amazing reputation for this "mojo", you no longer need to worry about executive search, as the best employees have a way of seeking you out. Your existing team recruits their friends and you never worry about filling your key positions.

People will quit a job, but they will die for a mission. Campus Advantage sees the success of their clients, the students who live in their properties, as their purpose. Working together with staff, parents, educational institutions and the students, they help create an environment where the individuals will thrive. This cause encourages and motivates employees at all levels to go beyond their job descriptions.

Strong employee enthusiasm and high performance go hand in hand, in any economy. While the recessionary times are having an impact, his company is continuing to see success.

To prove to your team that this "mojo" is real, the executives must lead by example and find ways to do the right things for everyone involved. Peter calls it "intimacy with the employees", where those on the team know and understand that the company leadership always has their back. Employees cannot doubt management's commitment.

Two years ago when a senior team member was hit by a car in a hit and run, the company committed do the right thing for the employee's family. This was not just the CEO making sure that the employee was paid during recovery, but without prompting other employees began cooking meals and assisting the family in other ways. When this level of commitment is honest and real, it transcends the org chart. Take care of your people and they will take care of the clients - and each other!!!

"Corporate Mojo" is not rhetoric. The passion must be visible all of the time. If the leader is shy about wearing their passion on their sleeve, then the company culture will suffer. Clients can tell instinctively when your company has that something special.

Have A Great Day.

thom

Focus on Corporate Culture - Black and Decker Speak at SXSW

One of the most informative sessions I attended at SXSW Interactive 2009 was a "core conversation" hosted by Sam Decker (CMO of Bazaarvoice) and Jason A. Black (CEO of Boundless Network) on the topic of corporate culture.

The two had a very interactive back-and-forth with the 100+ in attendance. They shared their experiences for the how and why to make culture matter in a company.

Investors look at the spreadsheets, while culture is what really makes all the numbers work. Both Black and Decker work for companies that have strong reputations in Austin (and beyond) in regards to employee excitement, loyalty and dedication.

Establishing trust is the key. Many companies talk a lot about trust, but as the company grows, the trust slips away between management and employees. Often management does not even notice (but don't kid yourself, the rank-and-file know right away!).

Bazaarvoice has the "Five Stars of Culture" that the company lives by: Passion, Teamwork, Excellence, Openness and Execution. Every hiring decision is made on these important points.

The presenters shared the belief that everyone has an "entrepreneur" inside them (they want to create), but many companies neglect finding ways to cultivate this within employees. When the individuals let that entrepreneurial spark die, the organization loses. If people are just working for a paycheck they wont have any passion.

Black reminded entrepreneurs to not take money from any source. While investors can be an important part of the mix, if they do not share you enthusiasm for culture, then you are in trouble from the start. Your dedication to culture must run through the all levels of the company "Family", including everyone. Those who don't fit should not be involved - no exceptions.

A company with a real positive culture regularly celebrates the successes, large and small, of the company and the people. Do not wait until the quarterly meeting to praise, do it as the events take place. If the CEO is not prone to remembering to "ring the gong" at each success, be sure to assign someone the task of noting the wins along the way. Always be explicitly conscious about your culture, even if you must schedule reminders in your calendar to ping you to do so!

A tough economy will test the strength of your company's culture. When everyone feels the pressure, will your culture hold up? It will if it is more than just a slogan. RIF's suck, though times suck..... but the leadership of a company must over communicate and let their people know how they fit into the organization. Keep a clear focus on the long-term vision. Be candid and transparent with all team members.

Black & Decker were the best session I attended on Sunday at SXSW, and I think much of the audience would agree.

Have A Great Day.