Energize Your Outlook ®

My goodness – it never ceases to amaze me how real customer service is so rare these days. Have we forgotten who actually pays the bill for products we’ve bought or services we’ve purchased?

We’ve all probably experienced bad customer service and maybe even terrible customer service at some point in time. But why does it take losing customers and/or a drop in revenue before something gets done about horrible customer service.

I’m fascinated and admire business owners and most CEOs because they are ALL about customer service. They “get it” in a big way…..that is, they understand that it is their customers who pay the bills and allow them to stay in business, dare I say even profit. Unfortunately, however, we experience too often the situation where employees who don’t have a financial stake in the success of an organization simply DON’T GET IT! I find it almost embarrassing to think that although they are human beings with a brain, they rarely seem to use it. They can read a script, and they can follow along with the documentation that has been provided to assist them in answering a call, but many:

• Lack sensitivity to the customer’s situation
• Do little to help the customer feel that they even “care”
• Fail to recognize an opportunity to turn around a problem situation into one of potential upsale, and more importantly customer loyalty
• Rectify the situation to the customer’s delight, let alone satisfaction

Now I’m not saying that all customer service agents are not any good. However, as one friend who is in the service business puts it: “If most everyone wasn’t just average, then I wouldn’t stand out”. He is correct and he does stand out. I find that rather sad (

I’m all about giving people second chances as we’ve all been in situations where we’ve done less than what we know we should’ve or could’ve done to make for a great customer service experience. Whoever we are, whether business owners, CEOs or employees who get a paycheck and maybe even benefits, we can’t forget who pays the bill. Simply put – customers pay the bills, and they deserve so much better than what they’re typically getting in the way of customer service.

Do you ever find yourself asking if people these days have any common sense? Maybe it just boils down to who is doing the asking (ah hah).

A client recently asked me if I could offer a class in common sense. In the owner’s opinion, the employees at the firm seemed to lack ANY common sense whatsoever. He was very frustrated.

Common sense – maybe it’s NOT common knowledge. Could it be generational perhaps that what we baby boomers learned as children was not passed on to our own children and grandchildren? Could it be that what you learned and what I learned in our growing-up years was very different? Maybe some people who have always had someone else to do things for them have never really had an opportunity which requires them to “think on their own two feet”? Maybe, because of the rapid advancements in technology that have been made, we ourselves, have forgotten how to use common sense.

Let me provide an example. Not long ago a friend of mine told me that when the battery to the remote control of her husband’s car died, he told her he wasn’t going to be able to go to work. When she asked him why, he said “because I can’t unlock the car – the remote control battery is dead”. She then looked at him a little dumbfounded and in a commanding voice said, “Use the key then to unlock the door”. He began to show frustration towards her as the intensity of his voice was stronger when he responded, “I just told you….the remote control battery is dead that unlocks the door.” She then rolled her eyes as if to imply the word “duhhhhh” and proceeded to repeat her original statement, “Use the key to unlock the door. YOU KNOW….the old-fashioned way when you actually walk to the car door, insert the key into the keyhole, turn it and manually unlock it.” As she made this statement, she went through the motions to physically show him that he could indeed walk up to the door of his car, insert the key and turn it to unlock it. As she demonstrated this, he felt rather embarrassed. However, he realized that he was so attached to the technology tools, that he forgot how to think through the situation. She remarked, “If he had just used common sense”.

So then, could it be that what each of us thinks is common sense might only be common to us? We often make the assumption that we’ve all been taught the same things in the same ways and maybe at the same time in our lives. However, that’s probably not the case. The example I used might seem rather comical, particularly because it was between spouses. However, these types of scenarios appear in all kinds of places, i.e. at the Post Office, at the grocery store, at the gym, in an office, etc. We tend to view the world from our perspective only and sometimes that leads to frustration. That makes me think we must continue to be more tolerant and open-minded. What do you think?

Have you been making regular deposits into your network?

People often tell me they are not getting anything from their networking efforts. They say they have been doing their homework regarding where might be best to network based on their industry, interests and/or geographic location. They tell me they have rehearsed their 30-second commercial to make it intriguing, yet simple enough so that a five-year old can understand it. They tell me they have been attending meetings regularly and getting involved to no avail….i.e., no referrals, no leads, no anything. So I must ask the question, “Have you been making any deposits into your network?

Just like your bank account or your savings account, before you can withdraw any money, you must first make a deposit. So then, since networking is all about building relationships with people, before you begin to “take” from your network, you need to deposit first. Have you given a referral to someone in your network, have you helped someone fill a need they might have, have you provided an answer or a resource to someone who had a question, have you done anything to pay it forward? You get the picture.

It’s all about doing something for someone else, making someone feel special, letting someone know how much you care….even if it is a small gesture. What is important however, is that whatever you do, you must do it because it is the right thing to do and not because you are expecting something in return. As Americans in a capitalist society, it is sometimes hard for us to think this way because we are taught to behave and negotiate such that you NEVER give a concession without getting something in return. I disagree, but I do understand the internal conflict with which our psychy operates. It’s almost as if you’re keeping score subconsciously whereby you start counting how many leads or referrals you’ve passed along with the expectation that you’re going to get that many back from those to whom you passed them. That’s where the disappointment and sometimes even resentment seeds are planted. The moment you do something for someone with the expectation that they “owe” you, you set yourself up for disappointment. Like NIke says, “Just Do It”, but do it because it’s the right thing to do, and you’ll be amazed how those deposits begin to grow with compounded interest.

Cheers to your many networking deposits and to your networking success!

I love the way the laws of the Universe work because they are true, indeed. You’ve heard the phrases before: Pay it forward, Give in order to receive, Extend a kindness and one will be done unto you. Yes, yes, yes – they are indeed the truth!

The converse is also true, however. If you are selfish, unkind and/or unpleasant to others, then you can bet you will be on the receiving end of that type of treatment. For purposes of this blog entry however, I’d like to focus on the positive because both random and deliberate acts of kindness result in such positive energy that it makes for a win/win/win situation all the way around.

A couple of days ago I met a lovely young woman who was new to Houston. During our conversation, she shared with me how lucky she felt to be working for the woman who is her boss. She said that her boss has been very, very helpful to her in the few weeks she’s been here and that she is really grateful to be working for this lady. I felt compelled to share that wonderful and sincere message to her boss, a woman who I only know casually from a women’s organization to which I belong. So I sent an email to this lady to convey what I’d been told by her new employee. A short while later, I received a note back from “the boss” telling me how I had made her day by sharing with her the kind words spoken by her new employee. This manager told me that when she had bosses that were really helpful to her, she called them her guardian angels. She followed that up with another truth – often times we don’t realize what a difference we can make in someone’s life (hugely positive OR negative). So why not make it a positive impact and see how the gift keeps on giving…..it certainly made my day just knowing that I had made hers.

The last few months I’ve been traveling quite a bit for work and have enjoyed many people-watching opportunities at various airports. As a person who loves to observe human behavior, it’s been most fascinating watching how fellow air travelers and airline personnel act….sometimes under stress, sometimes in a hurry and sometimes just because it’s interesting to watch.

What has become quite apparent, however, is that what WE ALL KNOW about treating people with common courtesy has become somewhat of an endangered species, a dying breed. Frankly, I find the lack of common courtesy to be so COMMON lately that when someone does behave in a courteous manner, it seems almost shocking. Pretty sad, wouldn’t you agree?

Perhaps I’m becoming more and more like my parents. As a child, I remember hearing them say quite often, “What IS this world coming to?” I find myself asking that same question as it simply amazes me how discourteous people can be, certainly not an appropriate setting to encourage good networking. I’ll site a few examples of what I’ve recently observed repeatedly in airports and on airplanes, and I welcome any examples of discourteous behavior you’d care to share whether it occurred in an airport, restaurant, retail store, post office, school, church, concert or any public venue.

My observations of how common courtesy is disappearing: