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They say wherever you go, there you are. Yet how present are
you at any given time and place you find yourself? Many professionals appear
in body but little else. Don't get marked as missing in action.
In the last week I encountered the following professionals
missing in action:
Out of Tune:
My local mail carrier
arrived each day, wearing her iPod and delivering my neighbors' mail to me.
She's in her own world. She dumps the apartment's mail in a pile each day.
In addition to my mail I consistently receive mail from neighbors up and
down my street, as well as mail of neighbors two streets over at the same
street number. So much for accuracy. Doesn't she realize close only counts
in horseshoes and hand grenades?
Disconnect:
An airport shuttle driver who greeted us at our hotel and attempted to drive
the entire route to the airport while engaged in a phone conversation he was
in when he arrived. True, the driver used an ear-piece so we only had to
hear his side of the conversation. Yet whether on surface streets or the
freeway the constant was the phone call, not our safety.
Sickening Service:
I showed up at my HMO
for a doctor's appointment and was greeted by a lack of greeting. The
receptionist was on the phone, and without making eye contact, stuck out her
hand for my medical ID card, processed it, took my money and returned my
card, without saying a single word (to me). Her attention was reserved for
her call. The call proceeded long after I paid and sat down to wait for my
physician. No greeting, smile, acknowledgment of me as a valued patient, or
even as a person. Hers was an extended personal call. (How do I know? I was
forced to listen in the waiting room for the next 10 minutes.)
A Present Danger
Is it too much to ask that
people be present when we interact with them? You say you're multi-tasking,
I say you're giving poor customer service. And this applies whether you are
in sales or service, interacting with external or internal customers.
You say you can do two
things at once. As a coach I say it's disrespectful and often downright rude
to divide attention from a customer or client who has called or is
face-to-face. And what's more, the results speak for themselves: errors,
omissions, sloppy products and services, missed opportunities to strengthen
customer loyalty and allegiance. And a degrading feeling for customers held
captive by inattentive service providers.
Are you Present and Accounted For?
Audit your own interactions
with customers. Ask yourself the following:
__ Do you greet them with
genuine affection?
__ Do you know and use
their name? (Are you pronouncing it correctly? Not sure? Ask!)
__ Are you giving them
your undivided attention?
__ Are you giving good
and consistent eye contact?
__ Are you preoccupied
with a previous client, customer or call?
__ Are you easily
distracted?
__ If the phone rings
while you're in conversation, do you let it ring through?
__ Do you listen actively
and intently or are you "faking" it?
In today's world customers long to be heard, to be understood
and to feel others care about them. Help customers feel connected! Show them
you care. Treat them as if they're the most important people in the world.
For the brief time they're in your midst, give them your undivided
attention. Don’t just be here now…but hear now! Or, forever lament the loss
of treasured customers!
San Francisco Bay
Area-based Professional speaker Craig Harrison's Expressions of Excellence!™
provides sales and service solutions through speaking. For information on
keynotes, training, coaching, curriculum for licensing and more, call (888)
450-0664, visit www.ExpressionsOfExcellence.com or E-mail excellence@craigspeaks.com
for inquiries.
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