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Category: Customer service
Asking good “check questions” can avoid misunderstanding
This message is only taught to sales professionals, but it applies to all of us. If we want to be in step with someone, always check our assumptions to see if they are correct.
Here is a painful example: Many years ago I was facilitating a sales training session and we were covering the part of the sales process that included “check questions”. Check questions are asked when we need to check the correctness of our assumptions. One of our class participants was a car salesman and shared a conversation he had with a potential buyer. The prospect was considering buying a new Corvette as a college graduation present for his daughter. The customer asked, “Is this car fast?”. Immediately the salesperson enthusiastically replied, “Absolutely! This car will go up to 180mph!” As soon as he said that, the expression on the customer’s face went from happy to scared. He did not want to give his daughter a car that went that fast. The deal was off. It cost the salesperson a $1700 commission. He learned his lesson. He said the next time he will ask a question first before he answered like, “Is speed important to you?” This question would have allowed him to stay in step.
This story carries a lesson for all of us to remember: Before we assume, check our assumption with a good “check question”. By doing this we will save ourselves unecessary stress, and maybe even a friendship!
Making it a “win-win” conflict
“To Thomas Jefferson, the argument interrupted the song. To John Adams, is was the song”
Several years ago I worked with a company that produced special parts for the U.S. military aviation industry. The workers in this shop were good at their job, and were also critical thinkers. One day I was talking with Vernon, the owner, about his team. He talked about Larry, an employee he liked very much. He liked Larry because he was a nice guy who always got along and did his best to keep peace and harmony. Larry was a “people-pleaser” and a peace keeper, Vernon said, “I wish everyone was like Larry”, and I replied, “No, you don’t”. You see, people who are peace keepers often avoid confrontation. Sometimes, confrontation is just what we need to do to preserve peace and prevent resentment.
Here is an example: A couple weeks ago my wife and I went to a local steakhouse. We both ordered the same thing, and we were served quickly. Even though the steaks didn’t look like the picture on the menu, we shrugged our shoulders and dug in anyway. As we were eating the steak, I asked my wife if she thought they could have given us something different than we ordered. Joyce asked the server, and we found out we had been served a larger and more expensive steak than we ordered. Each steak was twice the price of what we expected. We brought it to the attention of the server. She said she could give us 10% off, and that was all she was authorized to do. She said if that wasn’t acceptable, we could talk to the manager. Being the peace keeper, I didn’t want to elevate the situation, but Joyce did. Politely and tactfully, Joyce said she would like to talk to the manager. They had a good dialogue, and the manager gave us an adjustment that was more than fair. We were happy. Mistakes happen. We liked our server and we like the restaurant. We will be back. If we had not confronted the manager, we would have probably not returned. This is an example of when confrontation is good. Joyce created a “win-win”.
Employee engagement: What is your “battle cry”?
“I owe, I owe, it’s off to work I go”
– Bumper sticker
As you might have guessed, the above jingle was morphed from a scene in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. This phrase reflects an attitude about work. When I read that sticker, I questioned how much the driver enjoyed their work. Probably not much. Then I wondered what their level of engagement was in their work. Do they give it their best? Hmmm…
One of the best examples I have observed of a team engaged in their work occurred on a flight from Phoenix to Chicago about 20 years ago. From the moment we entered the gate area, we could sense a high level of energy and excitement. It was easy to see that these people surrounding us liked their work. They were all smiling and having fun.
When we boarded the plane, that lively feeling continued. The flight crew was busy doing their work. They weren’t “whistling while they worked”, but they could have. I’ll bet it would have been permitted. When we were all seated, one of the flight attendants picked up the microphone and gave her speech:
“Welcome aboard flight #___ non-stop to Chicago. We will be serving dinner on this flight. I want you all to turn to page #29 of your in-flight magazine. In the right hand column you will find all the beverages and entres listed. We ask that you review these at this time (meaning now!) and make your selection. This will help our servers be more efficient. Please note, we are completely out of what do you have?
Everyone laughed. It was a fun flight. The crew was having fun and so were we. It is no wonder that the core values at Southwest Airlines are their employees, having fun, and customer service. (In that order)
Strong leaders shoot straight
As time goes by, most of us tend to get set in our ways. This can be good, and it can also hold us back from making necessary changes.
From a leadership perspective, the word “breakthrough” means a positive change in attitude or behavior that would not have been predicted looking at past behavior. We love breakthroughs!
Recently I observed a breakthrough with one of my clients: There was a team member who was not eager and did not present a professional appearance. We’ll call him Sam. Since Sam’s job involves direct contact with customers, this was a problem.
Fortunately for Sam, his boss cared about him and was a straight shooter. Sue had a conversation with Sam that was direct and respectful. She clearly communicated that he was below standard and she detailed what needed to change if he wanted to remain on the team.
A couple months later, Sue was short-handed, and decided to put Sam in a high-profile assignment and give him another try. Sue’s expectations were low, but much to her surprise, Sam did “fantastic”. His attitude had changed and he presented hiself as a model of professionalism. It was a breakthrough.
Wouldn’t we all like to see more breakthroughs with the people we count on? Like Sue, we need to care and talk straight.
Emotional intelligence starts with thinking right about people
Have you ever talked to an excellent customer service rep regarding a product or service-related problem? It is amazing how kind, caring and helpful a good rep can be. They must talk to their share of angry and irritating people, yet they have sense of equanimity about them that is fascinating. They have learned to “think right about people”, not take things personally, and focus on solving our problem.
When I was in my 20’s, I managed a property for a national lodging chain. I remember a specific customer we’ll call Mr. “K”. He was demanding, abrasive, and treated the front desk staff poorly. It wasn’t long before the team saw Mr. “K” as “persona non grata”. I could tell Mr. “K” was beginning to affect the morale of my staff, and decided to follow the philosophy of Mark Twain: “A sense of humor is a sense of proportion.”
I have always been good at impersonating others, and I developed a good impersonation of Mr. “K”. I captured his voice and mannerisms and began to act in character. I would wander around the front desk area with the stern look and intimidating voice of Mr. “K”. Each time I needed to tell the staff something or correct them on an error, I played Mr. “K”. The staff loved it, and we had a blast. I must admit that at first we were mocking him. Then a change occurred that we would not have predicted: We began to like Mr. “K” and looked forward to his visits. We were thinking good about him, and it showed up in our tone and facial expressions. This change in our thinking resulted in a change in our behavior. You see, abrasive people are not used to being treated kindly. Being nice to them can be disarming.
Mr. “K” became one of our favorite guests. He raved about our place and referred his friends to us. He was a walking commercial. The lesson here comes from author David J. Schwartz: We should “think right about people”. When we do, we strengthen relationships and become more influential.