Resolving Customer Complaints

Here is a simple 7 step process to resolving customer complaints.  These situations are all about attitude and how you approach each individual opportunity.  I say opportunity because if you handle these situations quickly and professionally you will have a customer for life!!!

1. Greet. Begin each call in a friendly way.

Answer your phone as though you are happy to hear it ring. Make sure you separate any previous negative experience from this new customer contact.  Stay positive.

2. Listen. We often hear the same kinds of complaints, so it can become challenging to really listen to people.

Give each caller an opportunity to vent some frustrations and listen to the facts and the feelings without responding too quickly.

3. Question. Ask questions to clarify the concern.

Again, you want to make sure you resist responding until you understand the problem the customer may be having.

4. Empathize. Try to find a point of agreement with the person.

This doesn't mean you have to agree with the complaint, but it will show the customer that you understand the concern.

5. Address the issue. Now that a client's emotional needs have been met, do everything in your power to resolve the practical aspects of the complaint.

Take responsibility for the actions of your organization. People who have their problems successfully resolved tend to continue to do business with the companies that took the time to solve them.

6. Test the solution. Ask some questions to test how well you have resolved both the emotional and practical sides of the complaint.

Give the customer another opportunity to talk and continue to be a good listener.

7. Follow through. Often, complaints cannot be resolved completely the first time you've contacted them.  Going the extra mile and making the extra effort usually results in customer loyalty.  Customer satisfaction means little, customers loyalty means everything.

If you need to get back to the customer, do so quickly and thoroughly. Even if a complaint has been resolved, create a reason to contact your client again.  Extend the same courtesy and professionalism that you would want if you were in the customer's shoes.

Employee Engagement

I recently read an article about employee engagement and it talked about this business concept as employees being into their jobs.  I would suggest that it is more than just being into their jobs.  It’s about being into the company, the customers, knowing what they do makes a difference and being a part of a team.  It’s management’s job to engage their employees, being a leader on the people side of business, is all about inspiring your team and bringing the best out of your people.

Employee engagement is defined in Wikipedia as:  An "engaged employee" is one who is fully involved in, and enthusiastic about their work, and thus will act in a way that furthers their organization's interests.  How do you suppose this happens?   By accident, only by certain people or by design?  I guess it can happen each of these ways, but as business owners we would rather see this by design.  Are your managers leading your people or are they managing them?

I’ve seen many statistics on engagement and the numbers continue to be staggering.  In a recent article in the Miami Herald, a survey said that 56% of current employees in the US would stay in their current positions if they were shown some appreciation.  It doesn’t cost management much to give their employees some sincere appreciation, yet it looks like many still don’t.  One of the human relations principles that we work with in our programs is:  Give honest, sincere appreciation.  Changing our behaviour to recognize these kinds of principles is what we do at Dale Carnegie and we pride ourselves on making these kinds of changes in our customer’s business.

Last week we delivered an in-house seminar for a company with all their staff from across the country.   It was a pleasure working with and being around a group that are engaged in their business and the clearly understand the direction of the company and how each individual contributes to this end.  One comment I found interesting is one participant suggested that the Dale Carnegie human relation principles are common sense.  We look at them and say, of course they are, the question is; are they common practice?

Give your fellow co-workers or staff some honest and sincere appreciation!  It works!

http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/11/22/2514942_how-to-say-thanks.html#storylink=addthis

Step up to Leadership – A Key to Employee Engagement

I was recently talking to a business owner that told me that his people were not “engaged”.  I asked him to clarify engagement; I wanted to ensure that our definitions were similar.  His response was that younger people today don’t care about their companies that they work for and they only care about themselves.  These comments puzzled me; I asked how that was different from other employees?  After all we all think of ourselves first?  After a discussion we determined that the issue was not the employees attitudes but rather the inabilities of management to connect with their younger counterparts.  His management team consists of older individuals that are not connecting with the millennial generation.  This is an issue with many organizations and we also see this in sports today.  I recently heard some sports casters suggesting that the old coaching methods are no longer relevant.  Coaches that are tough on players are not inspiring the younger generation; the younger coaches that are connecting with these young millionaires are not using pressure tactics and calling their players out.  If they’re changing their way in sports to get the most out of their team I would suggest that we need to be doing the same in business.

I continued to explain that managers today need to have the skill set to connect with all 4 generations in the workplace.  Never before in our history have we had these 4 generations all in the workplace at the same time.  Our managers need the skills to connect and inspire each of these different groups of people.   They think differently and what motivates them is different.  Leasers are under pressure to lead their teams and people and new tools are needed to connect with their people.

"Tell me what to do, and I'll do it to protect my job." 

 "Make me want to do it, and I'll do it to the best of my ability."

Supervisors who understand this simple truth and know how to implement it are the ones who create impact in today's organizations. Great managers develop high-performance teams that get results because they know how to lead and inspire a team, not just manage it.  

One tool that we offer participants in our Leadership program is what we call an “Innerview”.  This tool gives managers a simple process so that they can connect with their staff.  This tool is often brought up by participants that have gone through the program, they comment that it has been a breakthrough for them and their relationships with others at work.

The “Innerview” is a process of finding out what is important to others, and the questions are based on factual questions, causative questions, the how and why and value-based questions.  The idea of the process is to connect with people at level that they never have in the past and gain a deeper understanding of what is important to them so that as managers we can inspire them.

Try it, you’ll be surprised at the results!!

The Retirement Wave

5 000 000, is the number of Baby Boomers currently working across Canada who will begin to retire in 2011.

Canada's population is aging, raising a range of individual, organizational and societal challenges. One of the key challenges for employers will be the availability of qualified workers as the baby boom generation, about half of Canada's labour force, enters retirement. The baby boom began just after World War II and lasted until the mid 1960s. Today, the oldest of the boomers are 55 and eligible for retirement benefits in many private pension plans. They are the beginning of a rising wave of retirements that should reach its peak in the early 2020s. This retirement wave will wash a substantial amount of talent and experience out of the workforce.

Many of these baby boomers are in currently in positions that require experience and relate to supervisory and management roles.  Although the height of retirement of baby boomers is still a few years away many organizations are succession planning.  Are you prepared?

We are currently working with companies that understand these changes will greatly impact their organizations.  As these baby boomers leave they take with them their experience, expertise and skills.  The talent pool in each organization must be able to replace upper management, middle management and supervisory roles, in the upcoming years.

A link to this white paper explains how succession planning is different than replacement planning, talent management and succession management and also gives you some tools to facilitate replacement and succession planning.

http://www.dalecarnegie.com/imap/white_papers/download/succession_planning/

Dale Carnegie Training is available to assist your organization in developing the skills that younger generations will need as they move into more management and supervisory roles within their companies.

Listening Skills - Where are you on the scale?

Exceptional listening skills and the ability to persuade others to your way of thinking make the difference between good and great teams. Pure listening builds trust, credibility, and respect. One reason is that when you fully listen instead of trying to compose your response, the result is a relevant and on-target response. What you say when you do respond is proof of how well you listen.

1) The "Preoccupieds"
These people come across as rushed and are constantly looking around or doing something else. Also known as multitaskers, these people cannot sit still and listen.

Tips
If you are a "Preoccupied" listener, make a point to set aside what you are doing when someone is speaking to you.

If you are speaking to a "Preoccupied" listener, you might ask, "Is this a good time?" or say, "I need your undivided attention for just a moment." Begin with a statement that will get their attention, be brief, and get to the bottom line quickly because their attention span is short.

2) The "Out-to-Lunchers"
These people are physically there for you, but mentally, they are not. You can tell this by the blank look on their faces. They are either daydreaming or thinking about something else entirely.

Tips
If you are an "Out-to-Luncher," act like a good listener. Be alert, maintain eye contact, lean forward, and show interest by asking questions.

If you are speaking to an "Out-to-Luncher," check in with them every now and again and ask if they understood what you were saying. As with the "Preoccupieds," begin with a statement that will catch their attention and be concise and to the point, because their attention span is also short.

3) The "Interrupters"
These people are ready to chime in at any given time. They are perched and ready for a break to complete your sentence for you. They are not listening to you. They are focused on trying to guess what you will say and what they want to say.

Tips
If you are an "Interrupter," make a point to apologize every time you catch yourself interrupting. This will make you more conscious of it.

If you are speaking to an "Interrupter," when they chime in, stop immediately and let them talk, or they will never listen to you. When they are done, you might say, "As I was saying before..." to bring their interruption to their attention.

4) The "Whatevers"
These people remain aloof and show little emotion when listening. They do not seem to care about anything you have to say.

Tips
If you are a "Whatever," concentrate on the full message, not just the verbal message. Make a point to listen with your eyes, ears, and heart. Pay attention to body language and try to understand why this person wants to talk to you about this issue.

If you are speaking to a "Whatever," dramatize your ideas and ask your listener questions to maintain their involvement.

5) The "Combatives"
These people are armed and ready for war. They enjoy disagreeing and blaming others.

Tips
If you are a "Combative," make an effort to put yourself in the speaker's shoes and understand, accept, and find merit in another's point of view.

If you are speaking to a "Combative," when he or she disagrees or points the blame, look forward instead of back. Talk about how you might agree to disagree or about what can be done differently next time.

6) The "Analysts"
These people are constantly in the role of counselor or therapist, and they are ready to provide you with unsolicited answers. They think they are great listeners and love to help. They are constantly in an analyze-what-you-are-saying-and-fix-it mode.

Tips
If you are an "Analyst," relax and understand that not everyone is looking for an answer, solution, or advice. Some people just like bouncing ideas off other people because it helps them see the answers more clearly themselves.

If you are speaking to an "Analyst," you might begin by saying, "I just need to run something by you. I'm not looking for any advice."

7) The "Engagers"
These are the consciously aware listeners. They listen with their eyes, ears, and hearts and try to put themselves in the speaker's shoes. This is listening at the highest level. Their listening skills encourage you to continue talking and give you the opportunity to discover your own solutions and let your ideas unfold.

What Makes the Difference in People?

What Makes the Difference in People?

A 5 year study by the behavioral research press found that "those who were promoted most often and given the biggest salary increases did not necessarily turn out to be the most technically competent. It was those who were most willing to make whatever level of competence they had visible".

The skills and attitudes that separate these people from the rest are developed in the Dale Carnegie Course®.

Why not start by using these tips below:

5 Tips to Gain Willing Cooperation

#1: Show respect for the other person's opinion. Never say, "you're wrong".

 #2: If you are wrong, admit it quickly and emphatically.

  #3: Begin in a friendly way.

 #4: Get the other person saying, "yes,yes" immediately.

 #5: Let the other person do a great deal of the talking. 

Click here to download Dale Carnegie's Secrets to Success.

Energizing Yourself for Change

I was recently talking to an HR  Manager of a national company here in the lower mainland and he said that their company is going through a number of changes.  We talked about those changes and how Dale Carnegie Training may assist them.  Roughly 10 days later when I called back to pick up the discussion, I found out that the HR Manager had been let go!! 

It seems a number of organizations that I have connected with over the last number of weeks are going through some kind of change.  We've often heard that people are resistant to change, which makes it difficult for organizations and their leaders to make change happen.   At Dale Carnegie our philosophy is that people are not necessarily resistent to change but they can be concerned on how any changes will affect them. 

Change is inevitable and the sooner we embrace change and see the opportunities before us, the better chance that we will be around after the changes are complete.

Energizing Yourself for Change

One of the challenging results of organizational change is that it can leave you feeling fatigued. All of your efforts are focused on new tasks, responsibilities, and relationships. Because of this, you need to look for strategies to maintain and even increase your personal energy during times of change.

Create a Vision

Nothing is more personally motivating than creating a compelling vision. Visualize yourself succeeding as a result of the change. Imagine the benefits of growing as a result of the change -- creating new opportunities, building a more exciting and dynamic future, and opening up new opportunities for success.

List Opportunities

What are the opportunities presented by the change? Make a list of all the ways that you can grow, add new skills, meet influential people, and add valuable experience to your resumes.

Create Networks

It's difficult to create energy in a vacuum. Most people need the stimulation of other individuals and their ideas, input, feedback, and support. Times of change offer an opportunity to add to the network of people who understand you, believe in you, and are willing to help you move forward.

Build Bridges

Organizational change normally involves the establishment of new relationships. Sometimes you resist these new relationships, especially if it involves a new supervisor or a perceived loss of your authority. Instead of retreating from the new relationship, draw energy from it by embracing it and building bridges between yourself and people you encounter. Meeting new people is usually highly energizing because it gives you the opportunity to find commonalities in your values and goals and in the creativity of collaboration.