CUSTOMER SERVICE | How Would You Treat The World’s Richest Person?
March 11, 2010
Forbes Magazine just published their list of the world’s richest people. This brought up a rather interesting discussion about those who made the list, and whose position may have shifted. From there, we started to talk about how we would feel if we had slipped a notch in the ratings, etc.
With today’s economic conditions on most everyone’s mind, many of your customers may have gained or slipped a notch on their own scale of wealth. Some people who were are the top are substantially lower. Some who were near the bottom, seem to be trying to just hang on. Others may be skyrocketing to the top!
How do you treat your customers, like they were at teh top of the list? Near the bottom? This is a great discussion to have with your employees who face off with your customers.
What would you do differently if Carlo Slim Helu came to your door? Would you be ready? Today? Would you make sure you had an employee who could speak both English and Spanish all the time? Would you have bilingual materials? You can see where this is going.
Once you get the creative juices flowing, note down the things you can put into action right away. Most importantly, do it! So many great ideas die on the shelf! In these tough times, you need everything in your corner to build customer loyalty!
For more ideas on building customer loyalty, visit The Service Quality Department and ServiceQuality.US websites.
Be sure to stop by our other web sites for additional information and ideas about building customer loyalty:
The Service Quality Department
ServiceQuality.US
ServiceQuality.CA
ServiceQuality.co.UK
ServiceQuality.CN
High Definition Mystery Shopping
MYSTERY SHOP / SECRET SHOP | Count ‘em Up!
March 10, 2010
I’m amazed at how many new clients come to us and when we review their evaluation, there’s no mention of business flow or the number of customers who were actually using the location at the time.
If an employee receives a poor score, you need to know what the environment was like. If you could have fired a cannon through the store and not injured anyone, then there is an obvious problem. Conversely, if the location was so packed that you couldn’t hardly move about, you need to know that too!
Don’t set your employees to fail — get the whole picture!
Read more about ways to make your mystery shop / secret shop more effective at The Service Quality Department website or our High Definition Mystery Shopping website.
MYSTERY SHOP / SECRET SHOP | Keep the Shop Strictly Business
March 9, 2010
We welcomed a new client the other day. During our standard, complementary, review of their mystery shop form, One of our employees was amazed to see that a majority of the questions were inappropriate, if not down-right illegal! Granted, this secret shop was for a work-out facility, but these questions blew my mind! Here’s a small sample:
“Does the employee look attractive in their uniform?”
“Did the employee’s midriff look firm and toned?”
“Was the employee tanned?”
“Did the employee make you feel attractive?”
Yikes! Needless to say, we immediately suggested a more professional approach. The client agreed that there were significant issues with the old format. It turns out that a group of managers, lacking a program from the corporate office, created their own form. Bravo to the managers for identifying that there was a need. A big boink to the corporate office for not filling that need well before the managers went into “do it yourself mode”. If nothing else, it serves as a testimonial as to why you would want to use a professional organization like ServiceQuality.US!
How could they expect their employees to take their service initiative seriously, when the secret shop form read more like a dating form than a mystery shop evaluation? How could you possibly run your business like this? If this format was ever disclosed outside of your business, how could you possibly justify it?
Be sure to stop by our other web sites for additional information and ideas about building customer loyalty:
The Service Quality Department
ServiceQuality.US
ServiceQuality.CA
ServiceQuality.co.UK
ServiceQuality.CN
High Definition Mystery Shopping
MYSTERY SHOP / SECRET SHOP | Would You Win A Statue?
March 8, 2010
I was watching the 2010 Academy Awards ceremony with great interest. Not because I am a great movie buff. (Most of the movies I see are on an airplane) I find it fascinating to look at the reactions of those who walk away with an with an Oscar.
For some, it’s the peak of their career. Others seem to pick up their statue like it’s something they deserve and can’t wait to get on with their life. Of course, I enjoy those who seem to truly appreciate the recognition of their peers. Jeff Bridges, Sandra Bullock, and Kathryn Bigelow all were clearly thrilled and appreciated their award. Others, such as Sandy Powell, seemed almost annoyed.
Next time you complete a series of mystery shop or secret shop reporting, why not hold an award ceremony for your super stars? A little gold statuette can go a long way to improve employee loyalty. We’ve even heard of one company that lets their customers vote for their employee of the quarter.
Be sure to stop by our other web sites for additional information and ideas about building customer loyalty:
The Service Quality Department
ServiceQuality.US
ServiceQuality.CA
ServiceQuality.co.UK
ServiceQuality.CN
High Definition Mystery Shopping
CUSTOMER LOYALTY | Building Loyalty With Social Media
March 8, 2010
We’re received a number of challenges to my assertation that higher customer loyalty is as easy as getting a Facebook login. Well, it’s not.
Exceptional customer loyalty is not a passive sport. By showing up on the set, Sondra Bullock didn’t win an Oscar. Shaun White didn’t get his gold medals by purchasing a snow board and an iPod.
You have to actively pursue customer loyalty in each and every action you take. You have to consider every nuance of your customers’ experience. What’s more, you need to train your entire team to understand and articulate this vision.
Be sure to stop by our other web sites for additional information and ideas about building customer loyalty:
The Service Quality Department
ServiceQuality.US
ServiceQuality.CA
ServiceQuality.co.UK
ServiceQuality.CN
High Definition Mystery Shopping
CUSTOMER LOYALTY | Using Facebook to Build Customer Loyalty
March 8, 2010
I’ve touted the benefits of using social media sites, like Facebook for some time now. It seems like there’s a new site every day. I was speaking to a group of business leaders this weekend, and one of them asked me which ones should we focus on? My answer, all of them that your clients, or prospective clients, are.
If you cater to the under 18 crowd, MySpace is a good place to focus. College and up, Facebook is also excellent! You can have more than one page at most of these sites, to appeal to different audiences. As an example, we have our general site, and one for those great guys and gals who mystery shop for us.
The sites are free and they do nothing but spread the good work of our company. Look for more ideas on how to promote your customer’s loyalty and service quality at The Service Quality Department Web Site.
MYSTERY SHOP / SECRET SHOP | Blog Reader’s Special! Get Mystery Shopping 50% off Through March 15, 2010!
March 3, 2010
As a special Thank You to all our blog readers, the first 10 companies who respond to this offer will receive 50% off their June 2010 bill for mystery shopping or secret shopping services. This is an unprecedented offer, and could save your company hundreds, if not thousands of dollars! It doesn’t matter if you’ve got 1 or 10,000 locations - we’ll take 50% off your mystery shopping services invoice!
This offer is available to new and existing clients. (From our lawyers: Limit of 1 per client, no other discounts may be applied, discount applies only to our fees and excludes any reimbursable expenses. If service does not begin by March 15, 2010 the credit will be given on the third month’s service invoice.)
To claim your 50% off:
Click Here to go to our MS-HD.com, complete the contact form, and put the keywords “March Blog Offer” in the Priority Code Box at the end of the form. We will contact you as soon as possible to begin your service. In the event that you are an existing client, we will automatically apply the discount.
Call 800/432-2456 x3 and mention “March Blog Offer” within the first minute of the conversation. If a representative is not available, please mention “March Blog Offer” as part of your message.
Be sure to stop by our other web sites for additional information and ideas about building customer loyalty:
The Service Quality Department
ServiceQuality.US
ServiceQuality.CA
ServiceQuality.co.UK
ServiceQuality.CN
High Definition Mystery Shopping
CUSTOMER LOYALTY | Nissan & Toyota Recall = Loyalty Slipping Faster Than A Stuck Gas Pedal
March 3, 2010
Yet another recall was announced by Toyota Motor Company today. Nissan Motors also announced a recall as well. General Motors (GM) joined the pack this week, too. Now, it could be “dumb luck” or it could be the tip of the iceberg. Ultimately, you, the consumer will decide.
We can’t live without our cars, especially in California. However, we’re not willing to let the cars kill us either, it seems. Toyota announced that sales were off over 8% last month. Big surprise! Consumers have started to be wary of the quality of all makes and models or cars, foreign and domestic. The plain truth is that the situation isn’t helping anyone. Not the consumers. Not the auto makers.
All automakers, big and small, are going to have to pay attention to quality as well as the bottom line. Yes, all will have to pay for the “sins” of a few. In addition to offering incentives in this cash strapped economy, each one will need to prove to the consumer that they “sweat the small stuff” everyday, every car.
Good luck! There’s a long road ahead.
Be sure to stop by our other web sites for additional information and ideas about building customer loyalty:
The Service Quality Department
ServiceQuality.US
ServiceQuality.CA
ServiceQuality.co.UK
ServiceQuality.CN
High Definition Mystery Shopping
CUSTOMER LOYALTY | Free Web Surveys — Not Always Better
March 2, 2010
I had a potential new customer call the other day inquiring about free web surveys. His basic idea was to try to get a sample from us, and then copy it to the provider of surveys he chose.
I told him that we don’t offer “free samples” of surveys, like See’s Candy does with their products, and I went on to ask him a few more questions. It seems that he got the idea from a competitor. So, he wanted a survey too. He had no idea what to do with the information, nor did he have any expertise in writing a survey.
The free sites he looked at had a few templates he could choose from, but that was about it. Furthermore, nothing takes away from your message than a non-branded survey. It simply doesn’t look professional.
With our web surveys, your survey looks like what it is — YOUR survey. Your brand. Your questions. Your customers. Plus, when it’s over, we can help you interpret the results.
Besides, web surveys start at just $99. Of course, they can be more expensive, depending on how much assistance you need, but they generally run about $150. Why not give us a call at 800-432-2456 x3 or visit our web sites for additional information today?
Be sure to stop by our other web sites for additional information and ideas about building customer loyalty:
The Service Quality Department
ServiceQuality.US
ServiceQuality.CA
ServiceQuality.co.UK
ServiceQuality.CN
High Definition Mystery Shopping
EMPLOYEE TRAINING | Today Isn’t Yesterday!
February 16, 2010
I speak with thousands of employees every year. A common theme has been surfacing for some time: The life experiences of those coming into the work force isn’t anything near what those in the past have, and it’s getting worse. I don’t want to blame the folks at Microsoft, Apple, Nintendo or Electronic Arts for the demise of society.
It’s just a fact of life that many of those coming “online” in today’s tough work environment don’t know what it’s like to be treated like you were a guest at the Ritz-Carlton, because they have never been there!
Here’s a word to the wise, make sure your employees can articulate what you need them to do, before you walk away. Most want to try to please, just make sure you’ve filled their toolbox so they can deliver.
Be sure to stop by our other web sites for additional information and ideas about building customer loyalty:
The Service Quality Department
ServiceQuality.US
ServiceQuality.CA
ServiceQuality.co.UK
ServiceQuality.CN
High Definition Mystery Shopping
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