A few days ago I wrote about our experiences at a local Perkins Restaurant and how they continually earn our loyalty as customers. Within 24 hours of this article being published, someone from Perkins corporate offices had contacted me and asked for the specific location I referred to in the article. He wanted to recognize the people at that store. Hats off to Perkins for monitoring the web and for acting quickly on positive news. It’s one thing to notice when people are talking about your brand. It’s another to take fast action in response. But then they did more. [...]
Leadership
One of my favorite movies is Coach Carter. It’s based on the true story of a high school star basketball player who comes back to coach at his old school. The team was on a losing streak with few prospects for improvement. Coach Carter steps in and makes some radical changes to help the players become successful both on the court and in their personal lives. While the movie focuses heavily on the coach and his unusual methods, it’s also offers lessons for any organization wanting to improve. The story line includes powerful themes of teamwork, leadership, hope, hard work, [...]
Not long ago, Debbie (my wife) and I attended the Lady Diana Exhibit at the Mall of America, in Bloomington, MN. (Actually the exhibition is called “Diana a Celebration“.) Contrary to how our CBS affiliate (WCCO) reported on the Diana Exhibit, it did not end with her dresses. The final, and in my opinion most important, part focused on Lady Diana’s charity and service work over the years. She brought attention to the victims of AIDS, landmines, leprosy and other issues that caused suffering. Something I read in the exhibit referred to her impact and her willingness to do what other [...]
The only way to have a healthy, sustainable business is to be a good leader for your employees. You need them to run your business, so the success or failure of your business comes from how well you take care of your staff. If you take care of your employees, they will take care of your customers and your business. Here are some ideas to help. First, you want to avoid the things “bad” bosses do, like these: Yell at your employees (It’s amazing but this still happens.) Treat your employees worse than your customers Think being a boss is [...]
When discussing a recent national security issue, President Obama offered a useful lesson for anyone who works with customers. He focused his efforts on finding solutions rather than blame. And he took responsibility for moving toward a solution. Although the mistakes that happened were not his direct fault, he made it clear, national security was his responsibility. We should all remember this when we work with customers who have a complaint or a problem. Even though you didn’t cause the problem that led to the situation, if the customer has come to you, it’s now your responsibility. Make sure your [...]
One of best ways to teach customer service (or any behavior) is with role modeling. When you, as a leader, show the values and behaviors that lead to good service, your employees will see it. And they’ll follow your lead. And the opposite is true.This funny example of a customer and her son tells the story well.
Last week I was reminded of how expertly and efficiently a company could drive away a new customer. It was a classic example of a company doing almost everything wrong – and losing a customer in the process. The company offers teleconference (and other related) services. I found them through a web search and they seemed to meet our needs. So I looked for the link on the web page that said “buy now” or “sign up now” or something like that. But I couldn’t find it. All I found was a phone number. At that point my little voice [...]
Earlier, I wrote about a hotel where the staff routinely lied to their customers. They misled them by booking their reservations for a building that was not available. They let their customers believe they were getting a certain “product” even though they knew that product was not available. I consider that a lie. In cases like these it would be easy to blame the employees for the bad behavior. But I don’t. At least not entirely. They were just acting on orders from management. And, who knows, their jobs might be at risk if they chose to not follow those [...]
By now we all know President-elect Barack Obama has stormed the American political scene like a hurricane, a tornado, a typhoon and a tsunami all rolled into one. In a few short years, he has gone from “Obama who?” to the President-elect of the USA and a hugely popular man both in the US and abroad. For many, this begs the question “How does he do it?” I won’t try to answer every aspect of this question. But I will offer one explanation. My answer comes with a little help from Nicole Bacharan, a political scientist in Paris who focuses [...]
Leadership is what every organization needs and so few have in adequate supply. Part of leadership is what the first President Bush called “the vision thing”. It’s the ability to see what does not exist and then gather, mold and shape the resources needed to make it happen. Part of leadership is passion for the purpose and the mission of the organization. But it needs to be passion with direction and focus. It needs to have strength of character; courage, integrity and fairness or it cannot sustain itself. Leadership needs to have drive and initiative. It needs to have faith [...]
