I work best when I have a clear goal that’s slightly aspirational. Last year, I ran the Columbus half-marathon. I set a goal to get my body to run (term used loosely) 13.1 miles. I’d never run more than 6 miles at one time before, and that was in high school.

“Oh-crap-oh-crap-oh-crap!”

Those were the exact words that burst out of my mouth as the 7-foot high rolling shelf came crashing down just outside the kitchen door at Sparkspace. Apparently, as I was moving the shelf, one of the four casters on the shelf had decided to fail, and fail spectacularly.

As you can see, this monumental structural collapse also involved about fifty cases of soda cans. A surprising number of cans exploded on impact, others died a slower, spraying-all-over-the-place kind of death.

There are some employees who manage to withstand all kinds of criticism and negativity from management and find ways to brush it off and excel at work. Other employees, despite a supportive management team, fail to be productive.

I believe that people who work in an environment where doing their best is recognized have a better chance of feeling good about their work. They also have a better chance of becoming successful producers who enjoy pleasing customers.

It’s not always easy to keep a good attitude and a smiling face when we’re helping our customers.  We all have many stressors that can get in the way of staying positive and friendly. It’s especially hard when customers are rude, inconsiderate or just plain ornery.

Perhaps the hardest thing to do is to behave one way when we feel another. Acting upbeat when you’re feeling beat down is never easy. If I’m in  a bad mood it’s natural to let that show through my actions.

Here is your Daily Dose of Amazing Service:

Know your purpose

And here are some additional thoughts on this topic…

I heard a segment on our local radio recently about more soldiers getting deployed overseas.  They interviewed parents and spouses and soldiers themselves. These situations are always hard but when they happen around the holidays they’re even more difficult.

One soldier captured the situation well.

“Anything that we can do to help foster the intellect and spirit and emotional growth of our fellow human beings, that is our job…Life is for service.”

-Fred Rogers

“Pretend that every single person you meet has a sign around his or her neck that says: ‘Make me feel important’.”

-Mary Kay Ash

Author of The Mary Kay Way: Timeless Principles from America’s Greatest Woman Entrepreneur

Here is your Daily Dose of Amazing Service:

To improve customer service coach your peers

And here are some additional thoughts on this topic…

One of the best things about coaching is that when we help others by coaching we learn as much, if not more, than they do. By focusing on helping and doing so by asking questions, we boost our learning and retention power many times.

This is true for customer service too. We can improve our own skills, motivation and performance by helping our co-workers improve theirs. But we need to do it by gentle coaching rather than by telling them what to do.

Too many managers think they can plan and script and train employees how to handle every customer situation. It’s even worse with offshore call centers. As a customer you can tell when these people are forced to use scripts. It can be a painful process to participate in.  And it’s a massively ineffective way to give customers the experience they want. It does not work.

What if you met a new friend and everything they said was

Here is your Daily Dose of Amazing Service:

Motivate yourself to deliver Amazing Customer Service

And here are some additional thoughts on this topic…

Stephen Covey says there are three requirements for us to create a new habit. One is knowledge of what and why we should change. The second is the skill(s) we need. And the third is motivation.

Of the three I believe motivation is the most important. Most of us have access to all the knowledge and skills we need to do just about anything. But motivation has to come from within. And without it, we’d never even start down the road to change.

Here is your Daily Dose of Amazing Service:

Put yourself in their shoes

And here are some additional thoughts on this topic…

Think about when you’re the customer. How do you feel and what do you want from people you buy from? What are the top three things you want from them? Most people want similar things like courtesy, helpful information, solutions (rather than dead-ends), a friendly smile, fair value and quick service.

Here is your Daily Dose of Amazing Service…

Serve others because it feels good

And here are some additional thoughts on this topic…

Recently I had lunch with a friend. He told me about his current volunteer projects, one of which included mentoring prisoners or those recently released from prison. When I asked him why he did all this he said:

“Kevin, this is easy. I get more out of it than they do.”

Not that helping others isn’t a good source of motivation. But he was being honest when he said his good deeds were for him. They made him feel good. If you’ve worked with non-profits, you’ve heard this before. It’s actually very common.