Dear Loyal Reader,

I've decided to combine my various interests (mostly business and philanthropy) into one blog: http://tedcoine.blogspot.com.

Please check it out. If you decide that you prefer a blog dedicated solely to customer service rather than this new blog, I'd like to hear your thoughts. You can always reach me at ted@naplessocialaction.org.

Thanks!

I don't care how much or how little money you might have: no one likes to be taken advantage of.

The following email is one I sent to a morning news producer after an appearance I made to talk about our nonprofit, Naples Social Action (http://www.naplessocialaction.org/). The produccer's name isn't Dorris, the video production company isn't ACME. Just so you know.

Hi Dorris,

I just called ACME about getting a file (emailed is fine) for my interviews last Friday, and they said it would cost $65 for one plus $25 for the second! I don't think it's right that your guests should have to pay to get a file of themselves on your shows. After all, we're giving you content that your viewers find valuable enough to watch.

This isn't your fault or your decision, of course. I'm not mad at you in any way. Someone up the ladder is being both cheesy and unethical, though, and that doesn't sit well with me.

Is there a way I could get clips of those two interviews without going through ACME?

Thanks, Ted


Alright, let me further say that I don't blame ACME. Hey, they're providing a service and making a buck. Good for them.

The Greater the Leader, the More Accessible He Is.

Find that hard to believe? Spoiling your customers rotten isn't just something you turn on and off like a switch; it's soul-crushingly hard to be a jerk to your employees, a monster to your family, an SOB to your vendors, and then to turn around and give over-the-top service with a smile to your customers.

...It happens. But it's a lot more work. And more stress. I can't imagine how it's worth it.

So, chances are that a person who gives terrific customer service does so from a more comprehensive, global personality trait: they're nice. And they feel pride by being nice.

Alright, so there's that.

I think this next observation is related:

I've noticed this to be profoundly true: petty people are hard to reach. They don't return calls and emails reliably. They're niggardly with a word of endorsement or a recommendation.

I think they're afraid.

People who keep themselves at arm's length do so because they don't want the rest of us to think they're little - unimportant - like us.

Remarkably, the opposite is just as true. People who are truly impressive (as people) are quite often easy to reach. They return calls, even more than once. They hand-write notes.

When I was writing Five-Star Customer Service, I wanted to quote Jack Welch not once but twice - can you tell I'm a fan? So one Saturday I called 411 and asked for John Welch in Boston. I got his home phone number, and reached his assistant. She gave me his email address - "Ask him yourself," she said kindly. I emailed my request, and he replied from his Blackberry within two hours.

Jack Welch. Arguably the most important manager of the Twentieth Century... and counting.

In the time since we still haven't met or spoken by phone, but we've corresponded a couple of times - and I can honestly say, Mr. Welch's handwriting is better than mine.

Once the book was published, I mailed a copy to the top dog at every company we mentioned in the book. I found it interesting that the bigger and more successful the company, the more likely I was to get a "Great book. Thanks for including us."

I kid you not! Some highly successful people wrote or called to say thanks. One of the most gracious letters I received was from George Zimmer of The Men's Wearhouse. He can afford to have people read his books for him, if anyone can. Yet he hand-wrote a note to thank me. George has class.

Sadly, from the heads of at least a couple of small-ish, local-celebrity type firms... nothing. Not a word.

Same thing now as we are gathering reviews for Spoil 'Em Rotten! Ken Blanchard, one of the most successful business writers ever, was the first to get back to us with an endorsement.

Jack Mitchell, a best-seller and very successful business owner, has been so gracious I feel like we're old friends!

So too with Truly Nolen, a gazillionaire entrepreneur with an international empire - he treated me to one of the most entertaining and fascinating breakfasts I've had in a long while.

Jamey Power (of J.D. Power and Associates, author of "Satisfaction") gave us a great plug, too, but what impressed me even more was how this respected business leader took over an hour of his time to chat about customer service and being an author and traveling speaker with... some guy who sent him a book (namely, me.)

Elliot Tatelman of Jordan's Furniture called to say, "I wish I were Mr. Walsh (the main character in Spoil 'Em Rotten!). But we try." In case you aren't familiar, Jordan's is a furniture retailer in the Boston area. Contrary to what Elliott says, their customer service is legendary. Actually, they are the most successful furniture retailer in the world, as measured by sales per square feet - and you should see how many square feet they have! They also just happen to be a Berkshire-Hathaway company, as in Warren Buffett, as in Elliot doesn't owe any phone calls to anybody.

...But that's my point. All of these folks I've named, and more besides, are highly successful. They've "made it;" they're already "there." And not one is too big to take the time to thank someone for including him in a book. Or to say, "I read your book, and this is what I thought."

If you want to fluff this off by saying, "Yeah, but Ted, you're an author. You and Jane are not exactly peons," just think of that first time I tried to reach Jack Welch... and succeeded. Think of how easy it was for me, just some guy, to get through to him. Think of how quickly he replied to my email.

Are you that accessible? Or are you too important to be bothered by the little people?

Those who get it, and those who... well, you decide.

A friend manages a local branch of a large restaurant chain. This company has an executive whose job is to manage service providers in the Southeast - refrigeration companies, food service suppliers, exterminators... you get the idea.

Now, in Florida, the question isn't 'Will your restaurant get cockroaches?' Rather, it's 'How long will the roaches remain?' And it had been three days from the initial sighting of a cockroach in the customer area of my friend's restaurant. The exterminator still hadn't shown.

My friend called the cell phone of said executive to discuss the matter. It was 9:30 on a Friday night. My friend expected to get the exec's voice mail. Instead, the lady picked up herself - and boy, was she mad!

"How dare you call me at 9:30 on a Friday night? It's not your place to call me, anyway. Tell it to your district supervisor. Never, ever call me again." She hung up before my friend could get in a reply.

Your thoughts? Was the executive right? If you were that executive's boss, what would you do? I'll weigh in shortly.

Now let's contrast that to my pal Truly Nolen - who, ironically, is founder and CEO of one of the largest family-owned extermination companies in the world. In the U.S alone, his company brings in over $80 million a year. What would he do if one of his managers called him with a problem at 9:30 on a Friday night?

Last Friday I was in Truly's office when his assistant, Betty, told me, "Whew! It's been a long day. We've had three complaints today: one in Tucson, one in Sarasota, and one here in Naples. Truly took two; I just resolved the third."

"Truly handles customer complaints himself?" I asked. His company has almost 80 locations in the U.S. alone, mind you.

"Everybody wants to talk to the head mouse," Betty replied. "His name is on the trucks." She went on, "Every customer and every employee is given his number. He gets calls all the time."

"From employees, too?"

She looked at me, as if to say, 'What do you think?' Betty's exceptionally nice though, so somehow she pulled that look off without making me feel like too much of a dope.

"He gets calls all the time. He wants to know what his people are thinking."

"Even the guys working the routes, spraying houses and offices?"

"Especially them. Truly's always been very interested in what's going on in the field. He loves people."

After further investigation I learned that the complaint in Arizona was from a woman living in a double-wide trailer, on social security, with a house-bound husband and a bad case of pack rats. I'm an avid watcher of Animal Planet, but somehow I'd missed that pack rats actually exist as a species. "Oh, yeah. They can be 20 pounds - big as a cat! Pack rats are tough. Once you get them, they're nearly impossible to get rid of. Our guys have to keep going back until they're gone."

So here's this guy, this really, really, incredibly rich and successful guy, who has a company president reporting to him (among many others), and he's helping a broke old lady with her pack-rat complaint.

Then there's this mid-level executive who treats her people like... well, as Jane said, "Like animals. I was going to say she treats them like slaves, but even that isn't strong enough. You can't treat people that way!"

I asked Jane if I was too bloodthirsty for thinking the executive should be fired for her behavior. Jane's much nicer than me, and isn't as comfortable firing people. "Is that too harsh?" I asked. "Maybe she should just be talked to...?"

Jane didn't hesitate a second. "Off with her head. You can't treat people that way. Think of the example she's setting! How is your friend going to treat her employees now? And how are they going to treat their customers? This big-shot is poison for her entire multinational brand!"

What would you do? What would your boss do, or your subordinates? Your answer tells a lot about the kind of company you work for - or run. Leadership - Culture - Service. How healthy is your company?

Take a five-star test from a real-life situation that just happened to me yesterday. www.NaplesResource.blogspot.com - find the entry for Cartridge World, dated July 6, 2007.

"Profit in business comes from repeat customers, customers that boast about your product or service, and that bring friends with them."

-- Williams E. Deming

Our experience shows us that only about 1% of top business leaders have any idea what that means. Do you?

Here Comes Nordstrom

Down the street a few miles from our home here in Naples they're building what will become a Nordstrom department store, rumor has it in late 2008. Jane and I can't wait. We know what's coming.

Here are three things we can all learn from Nordstrom. There are plenty more, but today we'll stick with just three.

Lesson One: Nordstrom hires for attitude.

I asked my friends at the Nordstrom corporate headquarters in Seattle, and they tell me they haven't selected a general manager for Naples yet - they won't until just a few months before the store opens.

Ah, but once they assign the GM to Naples, this is what will happen. The GM and her top managers will move to Naples and get settled in their new community. They'll dine out. They'll go to the bank. They'll go to all manner of events around town; art festivals, kids' days at the park... you name it. They'll go grocery shopping, and buy insurance, and get a haircut, and stock up on vitamins, and do everything else a person does when she moves to a new place.

...And all the while, they'll be recruiting. Nordstrom managers are bred to poach talent from wherever they find it. Tomorrow's leading sales pro may be today's animal shelter receptionist. Just wait and see.

Nordstrom's smart. They hire people for attitude, almost entirely disregarding resume. After all, why untrain all those bad habits from an experienced retail sales clerk, when they can start fresh with someone they meet at the dry cleaner's?

Coine used to hire staff from ads we'd place in the newspaper and online. That rarely worked out well for us. When you think about it, you're fishing in the toilet bowl.

Today, we hire exclusively from three sources: through referrals from professionals we admire, through sharp and ambitious people who approach us looking to join our company, and through a lot of the type of poaching that I just described.

This has transformed our firm, and made managing our people literally headache-free. If you hire for your company, I suggest you do the same.

Never run a help wanted ad again. Instead, poach talent.

Lesson Two: Nordstrom inspires its people.

Poaching is easy for a Nordstrom manager, too. That's because Nordstrom is a truly inspiring company to work for. Top sales talent makes all sorts of money. The people who fit their corporate culture - an not all do - perform at the top of their game, because they really feel a part of something special.

Here's one reason: when the new hires arrive for their first day of training, they will be given a five-by-seven card, the employee handbook. On one side, it will read,

"Use your best judgement at all times."

On the reverse, new hires will read,

"There will be no additional rules."

That's it. That's the Nordstrom handbook. Pretty cool, huh?

Well, maybe not to everyone. When my trainers and I present this information in our "C-Level" (CEO, CFO, owner, chairman, etc) workshops, we earn a lot of incredulous looks. The room often falls silent. I delight in watching these big cheeses shift in their seats. Finally someone will speak up.

"If we did that in our company," they say, "we'd be out of business in a day." That earns them a lot of sympathetic, uncomfortable laughs.

It's probably true, too. That's why most companies aren't as successful as Nordstrom.

Treat your people like adults, and guess how they'll act? Some will prove worthy of your new found respect; many others will wash out.

Good. Let them go. Then get out of the office and poach their replacements.

Lesson Three: Nordstrom top brass gets it.

If you're familiar with my work, you probably expected this presentation to go like this: Hire for attitude, Inspire through pride in the company, and Train for skills. It's our HIT model, and we can't stress its importance enough.

Yes, do the Training, which will be easy once H and I are in place. But today, I want to focus more on the Inspire part of HIT.

Nordstrom really inspires its people, all throughout its organization. The handbook - and more specifically, the spirit of that handbook - is one way they inspire pride. The inverse pyramid is another.

If you look at Nordstrom's organizational chart, it will depict a pyramid, with the board of directors, the Nordstrom family, and their top executives at a point, managers all through the middle, and a broad base of front-line employees there to interface with the customers. Just like every other company out there.

...Except that the Nordstrom pyramid is upside-down. The Nordstroms and top managers are on the bottom of the pyramid. The front-line workers are at the top of the pyramid. And above them, you'll find the customers.

The customers are the most important part of the Nordstrom organization. The sales clerks on the floor are the second most important. Department managers are directly below the sales staff, there to help, not to command. Each store's general manager is below his management team: it is his job to serve his managers and sales staff.

Nordstrom's corporate staff exists to serve its stores. Its tippity-top leaders go to work each day with the mission of facilitating front-level sales in any way that they can. They don't go to work to be served; they work all day to serve others.

Just a catchy wall ornament? Ask any Nordstrom employee you meet on the sales floor.

Nordstrom is coming to Naples, and the town will never be the same. Service will increase dramatically, as the bar is set that much higher. Some businesses will suffer, because their top performers will be stolen. And they'll deserve to lose these people. Sorry, guys: treat your people right now, and they won't even consider a better offer.

Hire for attitude by poaching top talent wherever you find it.

Inspire your staff by treating them like adults.

Serve your staff, who in turn will serve your customers.

That's the Nordstrom Way. Can you handle it?

My buddy Mark passed this email along to me. It sounds a little too "neat" to be true. Then again, for anyone who's ever dealt over the phone with a mega-corporation such as a credit card company, this will ring all too true. So, decide for yourself:

Be sure & cancel your credit cards before you die.

A lady died this past January, and Citibank billed her for February & March for their annual service charges on her credit card, and then added late fees & interest on the monthly charge.

The balance had been $0.00, now it's somewhere around $60.00. A family member placed a call to Citibank:

Family Member: "I'm calling to tell you that she died in January."

Citibank: "The account was never closed and the late fees & charges still apply."

Family Member: "Maybe you should turn it over to collections."

Citibank: "Since it is two months past due, it already has been."

Family Member: So, what will they do when they find out she is dead?"

Citibank: "Either report her account to the frauds division or report her to the credit bureau; maybe both!"

Family Member: "Do you think God will be mad at her?"

Citibank: "Excuse me?"

Family Member: "Did you just get what I was telling you . . . the part about her being dead?"

Citibank: "Sir, you'll have to speak to my supervisor" Supervisor gets on the phone.

Family Member: "I'm calling to tell you, she died in January."

Citibank: "The account was never closed and the late fees & charges still apply."

Family Member: "You mean you want to collect from her estate?"

Citibank: (Stammer) "Are you her lawyer?"

Family Member: "No, I'm her great nephew." (Lawyer info given)

Citibank: "Could you fax us a certificate of death?"

Family Member: "Sure." (the fax number is given) After they get the fax ...

Citibank: "Our system just isn't setup for death. I don't know what more I can do to help."

Family Member: "Well, if you figure it out, great! If not, you could just keep billing her. I don't think she will care."

Citibank: "Well, the late fees & charges do still apply."

Family Member: "Would you like her new billing address?"

Citibank: "That might help."

Family Member: "Odessa Memorial Cemetery, Highway 129, Plot Number 69."

Citibank: "Sir, that's a cemetery!"

Family Member: "What do you do with dead people on your planet?"

I keep rooting for banks, but so far, not so good....

We've found a five-star bank: Middlesex Savings, in the Metro West area of Greater Boston. We will present them with their Coine Award this fall.

We're researching Commerce Bank right now. So far, so good. Sadly for the Coines, the nearest branch to Naples is across Alligator Alley, about 90 minutes from here.

After these two, Wachovia is head-and-shoulders above all the rest. They missed a Coine Award by inches in 2006, and haven't really blown us away enough to be reconsidered this year. But they're very good, especially for a bank.

So not all banks stink. Just almost all.

Jane and I, our companies, and our foundation have accounts with 6 different banks. That may seem like a lot to you, but we're second-generation Depression survivors, and this makes us feel more comfortable at night.

Suffice it to say, we've had some experience with banking.

So here's one that kills me: in one bank that we use in Naples, if you ask the teller to make your deposit funds available right away, she will; doesn't matter what bank it's drawn off of. Maybe it's because we're good customers, maybe this is just their blanket policy. I don't know.

However, if you don't ask, they won't do it. What's that about? They'll give you terrific service - they can do it, they're happy to do it. But only if you ask them to. Otherwise, they'll give you lame service, just like most banks.

Service is your differentiator in a mature industry such as banking. That means that all banks are the same, except in this one area.

A lesson to take from this:

If you have a service practice that sets you apart, use it consistently!

This one lesson will make you rich. I kid you not. Ignore it at your peril.

I suggest you read the end of today's entry on my Give In Naples blog. While the topic is leadership rather than customer service, your company will never give good service until its leaders know how to lead.

http://www.giveinnaples.blogspot.com

When I wrote Five-Star Customer Service, I profiled many great companies and terrific individuals who, I felt, deserved a little print and notoriety for their excellent customer service.

Well, there is a danger inherent in this kind of thing: people and companies can let you down. Sometimes, they can let you down badly enough that you don't want them associated with you in the minds of the public.

Such is the case with our first edition of Five-Star Customer Service. It is less than two years old, but already I have to amend it. This is a decision that is costing us quite a bit of money.

I'm sorry that this happened. I'm extra-sorry, because would-be readers keep asking us why it isn't available. But Jane and I are working on the second edition. In the meantime, we know you'll enjoy Spoil 'em Rotten!

"Statistics suggest that when customers complain, business owners and managers ought to get excited about it. The complaining customer represents a huge opportunity for more business."

- Zig Ziglar

No truer words were ever spoken. When your company drops the ball, most customers won't tell you - they'll just silently go to the competition next time.

They will tell their friends, unfortunately. At least 20 friends, if the offense is bad enough.

So when a customer is kind enough to tell you to your face - or in a letter, email, or via phone - that you've disappointed them, you should take that person and give her a big, fat, juicy kiss. Say, "Thank you, thank you, Thank You!"

She'll look at you like you're nuts. You may even get slapped for the kiss - guys, get ready to have your lights knocked out. But who cares? This disgruntled customer has just given you a great opportunity to fix your error, with her and with all of your future customers.

...And here's the thing I like even more about a disgruntled customer who is kind enough to share her displeasure with me: I have a chance to win her back!

More than any other time, complaint resolution is your chance to shine. What's so special about a good company giving good service? It's a nice surprise, of course, but so what? A lot of companies can't find a chance to show their five-star stuff until they get a chance to fix a mistake.

Done right, this will blow your customers away. The extra miles you go to in order to please the displeased is the stuff of legends in the company that truly spoils its customers rotten.

Our friend Zig is right. Wow a customer by fixing what you've broken: her trust and good will. Done well, she will bring you not only her locked-in business, but that of her friends as well. Give your customers something to brag about. If not perfect service every time, then certainly let them brag about your perfect service recovery.

This alone can make you wildly successful.

I am available to give brief (20-40 minute) talks around the Naples area just for fun. Jane and I also give all of our Naples-area speaking fees to charity - the fees being for longer talks.

For more information: http://www.naplesspeakeasy.org/speakers/tedcoine.htm

Managing a Customer Service Icon: Thoughts on Leadership from Mr. Walsh of Spoil 'em Rotten! by Jane & Ted Coiné


A fish stinks from the head. Whenever you receive bad customer service, look all the way to the CEO. It’s his fault.

This is Bob Walsh’s favorite saying about leadership …and he should know! Mr. Walsh has been employing and managing others for over forty years. He knows what it takes to run a successful customer service organization: a leader who “gets it.”

Leaders, if you can’t find good help these days, it isn’t the talent pool: five-star companies are hiring from the same population you are. Instead, look in the mirror.


Happy employees = happy customers = profits …which makes for very happy stockholders!

In Spoil ’em Rotten! Candace and her mentor Mr. Walsh discuss two studies, one by Enterprise Rent-A-Car, the other by PETCO, on what made for the most profitable branches. Enterprise learned that the branches with the happiest customers were the most profitable. PETCO learned the same, but they looked deeper and found that the stores with the happiest customers had the happiest employees, too. Which takes us to…


Follow the Platinum Rule: treat your employees the way you want them to treat your customers.

How do you want your people to treat your customers? With respect? With patience? Do you want them to treat your customers like adults? You would never want your employees bossing your customers around, would you? Losing their cool? Making their lives miserable?

…Then why would you ever do that to your employees? Treat them like mature, responsible adults who come to work eager to do a great job, dying to spoil your customers rotten, and guess what? They will be!


Get your hands dirty.

Mr. Walsh owns five grocery stores; he employs over one thousand people. Yet one of his all-time favorite activities is bagging groceries. He also stocks shelves, cuts fish, and anything else that he asks his associates to do. Why does a man of his stature "lower" himself? Ask Mr. Walsh, and he’ll tell you that kind of thinking is a one-way ticket to the poor house. He’s got a great story about that very thing from the early days.

Besides, jumping into the fray is good P.R. When there’s a line, which can happen even at Walsh’s, customers want to blame management. But if they can see top managers rolling up their sleeves to help, there goes that unloved feeling. The honchos do care!


Thank your associates – often and sincerely.

Candace points out to Mr. Walsh that he’s always thinking his employees for doing things that he asks them to. Why does he ask, instead of tell, and why does he thank them for doing their jobs? After all, they have no choice but to comply: they’re working for him!

Mr. Walsh explains, “They don’t work for me. They work for their families. I never forget that. And as for my asking and thanking them? A boss who bosses his people around is ineffective. They’ll do what you ask of them. So why not be pleasant?”


Saving pennies on staffing will cost you dollars.

Mr. Walsh went against all his managers' advice when he decided to put more clerks behind the deli counter. “We’ll lose our shirts!” they told him. “Payroll will eat up all our profits!” The truth was exactly the opposite. Payroll did go up a bit, but profits soared, as customers flocked to Walsh’s to avoid the lines of other stores. The competitor across the street actually closed their store shortly after this bold move.


Institute The Nordstrom Code: "Use good judgment in all situations. There will be no additional rules."

Many employers would say of this rule, “If we instituted this code at our company, we’d be out of business in a week!” Maybe those employers should consider the line about fish heads.

Treat your employees like children, and guess how they’ll act? Instead, why not expect them to be the employees you want them to be? They just might surprise you.


Make your company a H.I.T. Hire for attitude. Inspire through pride. Train in skills.

Mr. Walsh has always hired employees based on their attitudes, not their resumes. With their help, he crafted a magical company that people are passionately proud of. That creates a feedback loop of positive results: great people made a great company; a great company attracts terrific people, and on it goes. Training those motivated, inspired people in the skills they need for their particular jobs? That’s the easy part.

What do you do when you believe that your customer is wrong, and he is equally adamant that he is correct?

With no paper trail to prove one side or the other’s claims, what occurs is essentially a he-said, she-said scenario. How do you handle this in such a way that you are able to Spoil your customer Rotten while at the same time being careful not to damage your company in some way?

The facts of the situation are this:

1. A CEO liked our book enough to buy 100 copies, one each for his branch and division managers. He handed me a check and the address to their headquarters in Arizona.

2. I deposited the check.

3. I called our publisher myself to place the order, using a credit card.

After that, things are in dispute. Did I provide the publisher with all of the billing information necessary for them to complete the transaction and ship the books?

Let me state clearly for all the world to see: I don’t know!

I am 100% certain that I did. But they seem to be equally certain that I did not. So I have to be fair: I am human, and it is possible, despite my certainty, that I am mistaken.

No that I think so. I remember placing the order. I remember completing the order. I remember relaxing, because the books would be shipped. I’m pretty careful not to alienate an important new customer (and great new friend, in this case) by bungling such a simple transaction.

So I’ll spare you days of grief, in which I communicate via email and phone with a number of people at the publisher, though never – despite numerous copying of email – anyone in the CEO’s office.

(Side note: this is my third major (to me) run-in with this same publisher over our new book. I have yet to hear from the CEO’s office in reply to any of my three grievances, although I did get 10 free books one time).

The penultimate conversation took place this morning, between me and a mid-level manager who, she claims, has extensive experience working in the hotel industry, including with a five-star chain which shall remain nameless to protect the innocent. (After all, she’s not with them anymore. That may not be a coincidence.)

This manager insisted on telling me – seven times – that “In the future, you will need to provide your complete billing information so we can process your order.”

After the sixth time, I called her on it: “So what you’re saying is, ‘Sir, you are wrong, and I insist on correcting you.’”

Her reply was another customer-service faux pas, the “No… But:”

“No,” she said, “I am not correcting you. But in the future, in order to complete an order, we will need your…” yada yada yada.

“No…But” = Yes. Just in case there is any question.

Finally, I let that one go. I asked her for a letter from the CEO’s office apologizing for their failure, one that I could share with my client. She flat-out refused.

My question: What do you do when you and your customer are at odds, and both of you are certain you are right?

I’ll tell you what my father always told me: “You can never win an argument with a customer.”

Here’s what Stew Leonard has to say on the topic: Rule #1: The customer is always right. Rule #2: if the customer is ever wrong, reread Rule #1!

As our friend and mentor Joe Curtin would say, “That’s terrible! What can I do to make it right?”

Is a letter of apology from the CEO (typed and signed by an assistant, I’m sure, while the CEO is out playing golf) going to do anything to damage this company? Would it open them to liable? Could I use it as proof of their ineptitude, and use it to trash their name in the media?

Or is it a 39-cent-way to smooth some very ruffled feathers? Because, I’ll tell you, that’s all I’ve ever wanted from this experience. Just a letter to take to my friend’s office, to show him and say, “Gosh, I’m sorry this happened. Let me buy you dinner to show how sorry I am.”

Don’t worry, he’ll get the dinner with or without the publisher’s letter.

IUniverse, our publisher, does not have to pay for that dinner. They don’t have to give me any more free books, or place an ad of contrition in the Wall Street Journal. But a letter would be nice. A 39 cent investment in our relationship. That’s all.

What would you do in a case like this? I’d love to hear your thoughts. ted.coine@coineinc.com


PS Several hours after I posted the above, I received a call from the same manager telling me that iUniverse had expedited shipping at a cost (to itself, not to me) of $75. No apology, but they did fork out $75.

Makes you think, don't it? How hard is it to say "We screwed up, and we're sorry?" Aparently, it's tougher than you'd think.

Try to remember this the next time you see life differently from your customer. Would you rather shell out extra money, while maintaining ill will? Or allow your customer to be right, and maybe pay nothing at all - yet win a friend in the process?

Just yesterday I had the pleasure of interviewing the manager of a truly awe-inspiring grocery store, a place that even other five-star businesses can learn from.

For instance, before our interview, a cook ran from the kitchen to the coffee counter to help me, because it was slow and there was no one in the café when I walked up.

When’s the last time someone ran to help you? I've had valets do that, but that's about it.

So I asked him what everyone always asks me: “What do you do with those customers you really just want to fire? How do you handle them?”

Without missing a beat, he said, “I hire them. Then I fire them.”

“You what?” I asked. This really was a new one to me.

“I offer them a job. I say, ‘You know, you seem to know a lot about what the customer wants. I’ll bet you could really help us improve our service.’ A lot of times they’ll take the offer. I want to show them what dealing with customers is like from the other side.

“Usually, they don’t work out, so then I get to fire them. But I’ve hired some terrific employees that way. A few are even department managers now.”

My hat is off to this innovative five-star leader. This will be my advice from now on:

“Hire them. Then fire them.”

The following letter went out today to Alan Weiss, CEO of Naples Community Hospital.

Dear Dr. Weiss,

I am writing to commend your NCH Downtown staff on providing superlative customer service last Tuesday, April third 2007.

My brother-in-law, Ingo, was undergoing surgery for removal of a melanoma, with requisite skin graft and lymph node removal. It was a trying time for my sister and young nephews, of course, but also for me. Ingo has been a close friend for well over half of my life. Waiting with my sister was arduous for us both.

At one point I went to the cafeteria; on the way back I got lost, so I stopped someone who turned out to be a nutritionist. She didn’t know exactly where Day Surgery was, so she brought me to her office to ask a colleague. Said colleague was on the phone when we entered, but she got off quickly when she saw we needed her. To my surprise and delight, the two nutritionists proceeded to practically fight over who was going to take me to my destination! The “winner’s” walking me there was much more than I ever expected – and it was great. I felt truly spoiled.

The others I passed in the hallways made eye contact and smiled sincerely, and the cafeteria cashier made me feel welcome as well. Let me say here that I have recently moved from Boston, where such red carpet treatment… well, I have never seen the like.

Meanwhile, Dr. Ritter came out to the waiting room to greet my sister, and brought her into a private room to explain Ingo’s condition – a highly respectful, professional touch. He had almost finished when I joined them; after asking my relationship and checking with my sister, he explained the whole thing from the beginning. He did so with a smile.

The recovery-room nurses were great with Ingo’s considerable post-operative nausea. The anesthesiologist spoke with Ingo to make sure he wasn’t just giving platitudes – “No really,” he insisted, “how are you?” This was at 5:00, which in our experience is usually when doctors and staff try to give you the shuffle.

My sister tells me, “The treatment was so nice, it was like boutique medicine. It was much more intimate than what we are used to, which is more along the lines of Walmart: ‘Get ’em in, get ’em out, thanks for your money.’ It really inspired confidence.”

Dr. Weiss, I am a customer service trainer, the author of two books on the topic (Five-Star Customer Service and Spoil ’em Rotten!). I travel the country speaking to business owners and top executives about how to treat their customers right. This month, my company is giving out our first annual Coiné Awards for Excellence in Customer Service – just ten for over one thousand companies we studied over the course of a year. So I’d have to say, I’m not easy to impress. Yet I am impressed by your staff. And I want to thank you, on behalf of my entire family, for the warmth, dedication, and above all the professionalism they demonstrated that day.

Kindest Regards,

Ted Coiné

Now here's something you don't get every day: remarkable customer service from a near-monopoly. What a pleasure!

I've had mixed experiences with Comcast. I slam their business services division in "Five-Star Customer Service" (pages 29-31). Since moving to Naples, they have given service from frustrating to good: 1-4 stars. That's what we consumers expect in the absence of competition. Indeed, the few examples of four-star service (each time from the local call center here in town) we've had were surprising enough. I never thought they could do any better. Didn't think they had it in them.

Your expectations color the experience of the service you receive. If you go to the Ritz and spend $600 for a room, you're likely to think, "For $600, they'd better anticipate my every whim!" By contrast, a smile at the DMV could brighten your whole day. Service doesn't happen in a vaccum.

So granted, my expectation for Comcast's tech support was that I would wait on hold for a month, get transferred two or three times, and - when I finally got hold of an actual human being in tech support - that person would probably be (a) surly and (b) incompetent.

Enter Millie Giallombardo, based in Orlando. She was friendly and knowledgeable - how rare is that? She solved my problem in an instant, and she was actually fun to talk to!

I have to admit, I was actually disappointed that I didn't have a bigger problem for her to solve, so I could keep her on the line longer and grill her for more information. My number one query would have been, "How did Comcast find someone of your caliber? Is this a new management initiative (I hope, I pray), or is it just a happy mistake? Did you come to them already happy and helpful, or did they train it into you?" Okay, that was three questions. I won't apologize.

Millie - and perhaps more importantly, Millie's boss - I salute you. To do your job quickly and efficiently is commendable enough. To bring a smile to a frowning customer's face while you do it? That's what Spoiling your customer Rotten is all about!

"CompUSA, one-star all the way."

The following is from an email sent to me by my friend and fellow ToastMaster. He lives in Boston, and had this to say about customer service (blod is mine):

Thoughts while sipping my coffee this morning...
Good news with the weather is that it will get warmer soon; and the furnace will shut off... customer service... Oil company promised to cap my bill, yet price charged is higher.. gets old having to call to correct the bill every time. CompUSA sells items with promise of rebate, yet without fail denies rebates stating that postmark was after the deadline... rebates were mailed 3 weeks prior to the stated deadline; customer service phone line is voice prompt and fully automated... no human intervention whatsoever. No wonder that CompUSA is shutting 136 stores!

"CompUSA, One-Star all the way!" That's my jingle for that company. Fortunately, Coine is in a position to alienate a huge corporation or two - at this point in our business, we work only with companies that we respect. The fact of the matter is that we would not help CompUSA if they asked (which, just for the record, they haven't. They certainly have never heard of Coine Training, or even of the field of customer service training.)

What short-sighted leaders like those at CompUSA fail to realize is that they have created and maintain a huge industry through thier own shoddy performance: that of the Value-Added Reseller (VAR), many of whom are Coine clients, we're proud to say.

Buyer, the next time you need IT equipment of any sort, open your yellow pages before you get into the car to visit CompUSA. Or better yet, let our fingers do the walking for you. Through our network, we will find you a highly-reputable VAR in your area who will be happy to give you the customer service you deserve... with a smile... and they'll even pick up the phone when you call....

Be a Resource

There is no more important advice one can give in business than this: make yourself useful to others. Indeed, I strongly recommend that you make that your primary objective when you wake up each day. Serve others, help them, and worry about your more formal job duties after that. Don’t worry: your “real” work will get done.

This isn’t my idea. It’s wisdom of the ages, passed down by great business coaches such as Aristotle, Benjamin Franklin, Dale Carnegie, and most recently, by Thomas Stanley, Ph.D., in his terrific book, Networking With Millionaires. (Dr. Stanley is most famous for his #1 bestseller, The Millionaire Next Door, which I also highly recommend).

I’ve been using this strategy for years to advance my business – it fits my personality to help others whenever I can, so I’ve been doing it without much reflection, at least until I read Stanley’s book. It was at that time that I turned this good practice into a career strategy: I guess you could say that this expert gave me “permission” to do with zeal what I’ve already been doing all along.

Now I’m giving you that same permission. Be helpful. Go way out of your way. This alone, done right, will make you immensely successful in whatever you do.

This is customer service taken to a whole new level: that elusive five-star level. Around Coiné, for years now, one of our favorite mottos has been, “My job is to make your job easier.” It just makes sense; we want to be invited back to do more work for our clients! So, rather than being another imposition on our clients’ already busy work lives, we try whenever possible to help them lighten their load.

We do this in innumerable little ways. Case in point: at Coiné Language School (www.coinelanguage.com), we don’t do translation: it's not in line with our core business. But if we are asked to, we’ll find a translator and get it done. That’s one less worry for our client, so we're happy to do it.

Our first foreign language class came about because I met an American who wanted Portuguese class. It was soon after we started. We had a little brick-and-mortar one-room schoolhouse downtown, and I was still the only teacher. I was visiting local companies that catered to foreigners, especially the many Brazilians in our town, to ask if I could post flyers. They all said yes – that was one more way that they were being useful to their clientele. Then one insurance agent said, “You know, if I spoke Portuguese, I’d get a lot more business. Do you have a teacher for me?”

“Yes we do,” I said, before I’d even considered the question. The fact was that “we” (okay, “I”) didn’t, but I was already dialed into the local Brazilian community, and I knew a few people who would be great at this assignment.

Now I had another problem: our fee structure was such that my one student would pay me less than I would pay her teacher. So, I spread the word among other Americans. We collected a local executive, a family of four adults who were traveling to Portugal for their son’s wedding to a Portuguese girl, and the fiancé of a Brazilian. We were in business.

Suddenly Ted’s English School, as we had been calling it, became Ted’s Language School. Today, almost half of the students of Coiné Language School are American professionals who have to travel for their work, and thus have a real need to speak Spanish, French, Portuguese, Chinese, German…. What started as an inclination to serve has turned into a huge profit center.

More recently, I was pitching a large car dealer on Coiné’s customer service programs. He took a pass, but said that he needed a top-notch sales trainer. I knew a great one to recommend, but he wanted to hire this person as an employee. I didn’t know any quality sales pros who would be willing to switch companies for this guy, but networking had introduced me to the owner of a large recruiting firm.

So, I did them both a favor (at no charge) by making the introduction. Now I had two successful business owners who were inclined to help me, one of which, the recruiter, is representing Coiné when his sales pros make calls all over the Boston area. (It was his idea; I hadn't even thought to ask).

At Coiné, we hate to say no. It’s our inclination to say yes that makes us useful – and that endears us to our clients, and to our friends, and to acquaintances as well.

If we can help someone and if we think they deserve it, we will. That doesn’t make us good people. It doesn’t make us anything we’re not already. It’s a pleasure to help others, and often that service comes back in the form of returned favors.

My latest passion is creating a one-stop source for every single charity in Greater Naples to hook up with donors and volunteers, and to communicate better with each other. For instance, one night there were three prominent fundraisers, only because each organization involved had no idea what the other two were up to (there are at least 135 NGOs in the town of Naples alone). Donors had to choose between these three events. What an avoidable mistake! Yet this has been going on for years.

So there’s a need here in town – I suspect it’s the same everywhere – and it’s right up the Coiné Foundation’s alley. We set up www.naplessocialaction.blogspot.com in twenty minutes. We began contacting nonprofits and listing their events on that blog; our actual web site (www.naplessocialaction.org) should be up in a month or two, followed by similar sites for Boston and Westport, Connecticut.

Guess what? There’s no better advertising; no better way to meet every mover and shaker in this incredibly affluent town. Is that why we started this project? No. We saw a need. We spoke to a number of people at nonprofits say they wished things in town were better organized. Jane and I recognized right away that this coordination would serve the constituents of the nonprofits greatly, and that’s why we created the Coiné Foundation (www.coinefoundation.org) to start with.

What does all of this have to do with you? My intention is to inspire you to act. What we’ve done to help others and what you can do will almost certainly be quite different. That’s a good thing. You talk to people who could benefit from your aid all day long. You live and do business in communities that have needs – for what? That's for you to figure out. It should be easy, once you start looking.

Help other, just because you can. Be useful. Be a resource. It will get you where you want to go in life. You can bet on it.

For more on outstanding customer service, I recommend you give another Coine blog a visit:

www.naplesresource.blogspot.com

When you flip a light switch, the lights go out. When you try to turn off the TV, it goes off. When you unplug your fridge, it stops cooling your food. So why on earth don’t computers shut off when you hit the power button?

This has plagued me for years. I’ve been told that you can damage your computer by shutting it off the wrong way, and I accept that – but I want it to be my decision! Instead, there are times when I hit the power button and the computer remains on. It’s as if the computer is finicky, like a cat, and it will do just as it pleases.

When I’m using a desktop, that’s fine; I can unplug it and it will go off. But there are numerous times that I have had to unplug my laptop and wait for the battery to drain before I can get the thing to turn off. My current laptop battery lasts about eight hours. This disappoints me, to understate it. I finally removed my battery to expedite the process.

You may be asking yourself what this has to do with customer service. I agree; this takes me beyond the culture-building and branding on which I’ve built my reputation. But this technology issue does frustrate me as a customer, and that too is a key part of customer service.

If your product makes your customer unhappy, then – even if it’s a really cool product – your customer will be forced to struggle with it or, more likely, you will lose that customer: not just now, but good luck winning a burned customer back in the future, once you’ve gotten your act together.

This isn’t news. But here’s how it plays to customer service. When the product you make does not show care for the customer, it shows that your company does not respect the customer. Lack of regard for the customer in any respect is poor customer service.

This is what David Packard was referring to when he said, “Customer satisfaction second to none is the only acceptable goal.” The founders of HP insisted that their customers be satisfied – actually, delighted – with the quality of the products they bought. …With the knowledge of the sales staff. …With the accessibility and responsiveness of the engineers. …With the flexibility and respect of the accounts billable department. Sure, Packard and Hewlett wanted their employees to be polite, to smile, to say, “Let’s make it happen” instead of “Our policy says….”

But that narrow definition of customer service didn’t happen in a vacuum. It happened in a culture of customer-centrism; brand that was consistent throughout its entire operation, from the corner offices to the factory floors.

I’m not saying that HP hasn’t stumbled in recent years. Actually, we have put a moratorium at Coiné on buying any more HP products, at least until we are satisfied that they have gone back to their roots. We have had nothing but nightmare service from this brand since our first purchase years ago. Hewlett and Packard are surely turning summersaults in their graves.

But that is because company leadership has turned its back on its founders’ core principles. The wisdom of David Packard’s admonition, quoted above, remains.

I’ve wandered away from my initial comments on irascible computers. That was more than half jest. No one company is to blame for this design flaw: it’s just the state of the art. I’m sure it will pass as technology progresses.

But here are a few examples of products and process that show either regard or disdain for the customer:

When a restaurant is popular, people will overwhelm its capacity to serve without a wait. That’s merely the nature of the beast. First Watch restaurant in Naples, Florida, does something that I’ve never encountered before, though. When there’s a wait, they wheel a self-serve coffee cart out front, for its patrons’ comfort. Self-serve, and for free. Wow! This is Process at its customer-serving best.

I rent cars frequently in my line of work, and most often I find myself in American cars. It’s amazing to me that Detroit is still so out of touch with its customers. For instance, on the GM model I last drove, only one door has a key hole. If I’m on the left side of the car and don’t have the remote opener, I have to walk around to open the door.

My Saab (also a GM brand) suffers from the same design flaw. However, in most ways, it is one of the most customer- (driver-) sensitive cars I’ve driven, and I’ve tested about every brand of high-end sports car there is (I’m shopping for a new car right now). For instance, the headlights automatically go on whenever I turn the car on, and go off whenever I remove the key. Because of this neat feature, I’ve never had to have a jump. I love it!

I bought the very first MP3 player ever sold, the Diamond Rio, I believe in 1995. If memory serves, if you loaded songs at full quality, it would hold about six. You could fit upwards of 36 songs on there if you compressed the files and didn’t mind the corresponding drop in quality. But, tiny-capacity-be-damned, I love my music, especially when I run, and this device had been written up as shake-proof.

Uh… it wasn’t. It stopped playing about two minutes into my runs, and wouldn’t come back on until it had rested and collected itself. Then there was the sound quality. Even at only six songs, it gave a tinny sound. I switched headphones, and I used two different computers to upload my songs, just in case. It was the Rio.

The product simply didn’t work adequately to sell, but the manufacturer didn’t care: they were out for a quick hit. Greedy, short-term thinking has a way of bringing about short-term results. Does this company even exist any longer? They were first to market, and they trumpeted a really, really cool product. Today, zillions of people own MP3 players. …Apple ipods. They work.

The customer service ethic must pervade every last aspect of a company’s culture in order for its brand to work. Departments throughout the company have to share a passion for serving the customer, or all of the company’s branding efforts will ring hollow.

In a future entry, I’ll share my thoughts on customer service departments. It won’t be pretty.

The following two customer service experiences happened within one mile of each other. Zero-star and five-star, back to back. It’s baffling.

As my readers know, I almost rarely give a rating of zero stars. To earn this, the purveyor has to actually anger me, and I’m very careful to make sure that never happens. Hey, life’s too short to get your panties in a bunch every time some clown drops the customer service ball, right?

But this guy was so inept at serving his customers that – and this is no hyperbole – I really think that he and his mother belong in jail: he for giving such bad service, his mother for raising him that way.

The man in question is named Jim, and we’ll leave it at that. He’s the manager of an Office Depot in the LA area.

I’ve decided not to disclose more details because this is no isolated incident. After years of careful evaluation, I have to say that I’ve never had a positive experience with an Office Depot manager – employees, sometimes, and I feel sorry for them. I honestly believe that Office Depot goes out of its way to promote managers based on their sloth and surliness.

Office Depot is a one-star customer disservice company. …In my humble and subjective opinion.

Having said that, let me now say that Jim is the worst of his ilk that I’ve seen yet. See for yourself.

Every time I give a talk, I have my Ten Quick Tips printed up on card stock, one for each expected workshop attendee. I like to travel light, so if time allows, I do my buying and printing at my destination. I usually end up at a Kinko’s (in my experience and according to my subjective opinion, another consistent one-star service provider) or one of the big three: Staples (my personal favorite, though only three-star), Office Max, or Office Depot.

So it’s always the same routine. “Please print this document up double-sided on this paper.” How hard does that sound? Maybe I could do it myself on one of their automated machines, but …let’s just say I’ve had traumatic experiences with those in the past. And besides, I don’t work there. I’m not going to do their work for them.

Okay, so here’s the deal. The poor copy desk clerk was really swamped with two people ahead of me – and no, I’m not being sarcastic. Some orders are involved, and thus time consuming. So I waited ten minutes, and then I saw the manager walk by. I asked him if he could help – he couldn’t, he said; he had to help an employee with something in the back. So much for teaching service by example.

On his next pass, I asked him again. He obliged at this point, at least initially. He fiddled with the copier for a few minutes (so there’s one: how come the manager isn’t versed in using one of his store’s few machines?), made a poor-quality copy, and asked me if it would do. I said no, as part was illegible. He put the copy down and said, gesturing to the beleaguered copy clerk, “He’ll be right with you.”

As he dashed away, I said, “Couldn’t you just – ”

To which he replied, “I’m managing, too!”

Hmn. He was too busy managing his store to pitch in and help when his staff got backed up. What does it mean to manage, anyway?

Well, thirty-eight minutes later, I had my copies and was free to go. I asked the clerk Jim’s last name. The clerk didn’t know. I said, “Please ask Jim, then.”

They had an exchange over the walkie-talkie, and the clerk told me just to use Jim's first name. Huh?

So I walked around and found Jim. He was helping a customer find something. I guess helping customers find things is “managing;” helping them get their printing is clearly “not managing.” Hmn.

I asked Jim, “Excuse me. What is your last name, please?” To which he quickly and somewhat aggressively said, “It’s none of your business!”

This is how my letter might read, if I helped incompetent leaders out by sending them letters, which I refuse to do:

Dear CEO of Office Depot,

Jim Itsnoneofyourbusiness, manager of one of your Los Angeles area stores, is not particularly up to the task of pleasing the customer. Just thought you should know.

PS. Then again, I’ve never encountered one of your managers who is. What is your criteria for promotion? Do you train your managers? Just curious.

Okay, so that’s Bad Jim. Now for Awesome Vanessa.

I didn’t ask Vanessa if I could use her name in my blog, either, so all I’ll say is that her name is Vanessa, her Avis location is one mile from Jim’s store in greater LA, and she’s the best! She really turned my frown from Jim upside-down.

Vanessa had her really, really adorable infant girl in her arms the whole time she was processing my order for a rental car. I’ve never seen such dexterous simultaneous typing and baby wrangling in my life! It reminded me of me, when our now-four-year-old Ayla was a baby, and I was teaching at Ted’s English School in downtown Stoughton. But I wasn’t typing, and Ayla was in one of those “Bean” baby backpacks-on-your-front packs.

Anyway, enough about me. Vanessa was typing, asking me questions, juggling her mild-mannered daughter, telling me about her daughter, giving me directions to the beach, and telling me where to sign, all at once. All with a huge smile on her face that I could tell came from the heart.

Vanessa didn’t do anything more than her job. But she did it with such aplomb, and while making me feel so important to her day, that she deserves this five-star write-up. Go Vanessa!

Not an hour ago I was at Budget in Naples, and I had such an extraordinary conversation that I had to share it right away.

I had to rent a car for a short trip while my car is in the garage. I picked it up at the Budget office, and the service was fine – pleasant, the manager/franchise owner was efficient yet chatty, the office itself was pretty attractive. So I personally had no complaints.

…But I couldn’t let this sign go without comment. Right there blocking the hallway to the offices in the rear was a big, beautiful sign which read (and I paraphrase), “No public rest rooms, for insurance purposes.”

Now, as my readers know, I rarely bring bad customer service to the attention of the management, because I figure that if they’re going to insult me, I’m not going to help them. Another reason I hold this policy, though, is that people tend to consider advice as valuable as its price, and free advice doesn’t cost them anything.

I couldn’t help myself this time, though, and I figured that the manager was pleasant enough that I’d do him a favor, my policy be damned.

I started by pointing to his sign and telling him that he should get a new insurance company. I pointed out that I label lack of a restroom for your customers as one-star customer disservice. It’s a slap in the face; it’s worse than a clerk being surly and not making eye contact. Imagine: “I’ll happily take your money, but if you want to go to the bathroom here, you can go screw!” That’s what this policy says.

Well, it turns out that he’s happy about the “No public restroom” limitation. He “Hates!” people poking around in his office, which is between the front of the house and the rest rooms.

I asked if he could lock his office door. He didn’t seem to want to. I got a number of excuses, but, as my swim coach once said, “Excuses are like feet. Everybody has a couple, and they all stink.” I’d add further that one excuse might be construed as a reason, and possibly valid. When you keep offering one excuse after another, it becomes clear that you’re not disclosing the true reason. His actual reason for not offering his customers access was, as he said, because he “Hates” it.

(Note: one excuse he gave for the sign was that thieves can have access to the keys if you let people wander around. Uh…. So lock the key up? Put them behind the service desk? Just an idea.)

Another thing this guy “Hates” – and even more passionately, it seems – is going home a minute after 5:30. He said his first year, he lost “a lot” of regular customers because, if someone entered the store after 5:00, he would be “Rude to them. Really nasty!” He repeated that a few times, so I believe him. I have to wonder how many customers he considers “a lot.” It sounds pretty serious to me.

He solved his problem by hiring someone to close the shop for him. He can leave at 5:00 or so, and this employee can handle customers who show up at 5:32 or what have you.

Well, at least he solved his problem. He’s happier, and so are his customers. And to be fair, your work shouldn’t make you miserable. Too few people would agree with me on that, but it’s essential.

I’d like you to compare this encounter with my write-up of Zoots drycleaners, which we’ll be publishing later this year in Make Your Company a H.I.T. To let the cat out of the bag, Zoots, based in the Boston area, is one of the nine companies we’ll be awarding the Coiné Award in a couple of weeks. They don’t seem to mind staying late to help their customers….