Turning a Bad Customer Experience Into a Success

May 8, 2013 by 1 Comment

 

So you’re a frequent customer to a local business and stop by for your favorite product or service only to have an absolutely horrible experience. Will you automatically stop patronizing? This is a fear to many business owners. Will customers with poor experiences ever come back? To a customer, it isn’t just that one experience that changes their outlook for your company, but the many other decisions which follow afterwards.

I’d like to take a little bit of a different approach to this tutorial by placing this information into the perspective of the customer. Many times it is somewhat difficult for business owners to have the perspective of their customers, so I’m approaching it from the standpoint of the patron to give you the opportunity to gain a greater understanding of how your customers feel.

My approach is of a recent horrible experience which I experienced at a local automotive repair center that will appropriately cover all of the bases of poor customer service when responding to bad situations.

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#1 – Listen

On this occasion, I took my vehicle in for a diagnostic scan to further diagnose an issue with my engine running lean. Upon reaching the service desk for check-in, I kindly informed the technician about recently taking my car in for a computer scan and I was only interested in having the diagnostic done to further evaluate the issue.

When they called my name to pay the bill, low and behold, I was charged for a computer scan for the handsome some of $148! My frustration could have easily been avoided if the technician had only listened to what I had to say.

How to fix this issue? Encourage employees to repeat back the pertinent information a customer conveys. This not only clarifies their understanding of what the customer says to them, but also reassures the customer you are listening.

#2 – Identify the Situation

Once arriving at the service desk, I made suggestive remarks about the situation. I, like so many patrons, feel uncomfortable about directly confronting the situation. I am much more inclined to take my rant onto a computer as I chat away on review sites.

How to fix this issue? Encourage employees to address any concerns they feel the customer may have. Clue employees into the gestures and facial expressions customers have when they are unhappy about something and instruct them to ask each customer about their experience at checkout.

#3 – Don’t Pass the Buck

I would have felt much better about the situation if the technician would have not attempted to ‘hide’ the fact that he just hooked it up to the portable scanning machine, but he insisted on referring to it as a diagnostic test. After, I corrected him, he then said, “It doesn’t matter. Your issue is in the exhaust that isn’t something we do.” Not only did I feel as though I was being belittled, but I also felt as though he just wanted the close out the conversation to get me out the door.

How to fix this issue? Encourage employees to go above and beyond the call of duty when a patron expresses concerns. In this situation, a second look or an acknowledgment of my concerns would have helped. Offering to look up the information for where I needed to go would have been an appropriate gesture.

#4 – Respond

I immediately went home after my ordeal to write a long letter to corporate about my experience, along with some suggestions on ways to better handle situations. I have yet to hear a response. Failing to hear even one word in response back from this company, left me feeling like all my years of loyalty and thousands of dollars spent never mattered.

How to fix this issue? Never leave a message unanswered. Whether you agree with the claim or not, always address the customers attempt to reach out to you. If they have the desire to make contact with your business, even after a bad ordeal, it shows there is a williness to give you another chance.

It was at this point, my relationship with this businesses ended. It’s not this one experience that ended it, but the lack of experiences I should have been afforded after. It is always understandable that a business has a poor day, an employee is unhappy or something just didn’t turn out the way it should have. These situations are forgivable. What matters even more is your response and the ways in which you represent yourself in the days and weeks after.

Author Bio: Amanda Stein is a writer for Just Colleges, the complete online college portal.

Filed under Business, Continuous Improvements, Customer Service, Entrepreneur, Sales and Marketing Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Double Your Money By Making Your Employees More Productive

April 28, 2013 by Leave a comment

How good are you at math? When you’re running a business it’s important to know your numbers because it’s an easy way to make more money. Let’s say you sell 240 units per week and you make X amount of dollars. If you sold 480 units per week you would make twice as much. Please don’t think I’m teaching you to suck eggs here because I just want you to realize how easy it is to double your money with one simple change.

You might think it will be too hard to sell double the amount of units per week, but what about something you have more control over like your employees. If you could find some way to double their productivity it means they would produce twice the output. That means more money for you, and in case you have no idea how to get started we can look at some amazing ways to increase their productivity by making a few simple changes.

Give them more freedom

What would you do if you were given more freedom? If you had a small family and you had to rush around to get them ready in the morning would you be feeling great when you got into work? If you were allowed to start a little bit later you would be much more refreshed and you would hit the ground running. If you could choose the order in which you done things you could also do the most difficult things when you were ready. More freedom means people will work harder.

Money for you, money for them

If everyone was to double their productivity it would mean you would make double the money each week. That isn’t a very good deal for your employees because they will be putting in a lot more effort for none of the reward. If you shared your success with them it means they would be much more likely to get their head down and work like a superhuman. Just arrange some kind of bonus scheme that lets people take home more money if they get more done.

No more wasting time

The Internet can turn hard workers into time-wasters as soon as they get addicted to checking Twitter and Facebook. If you want to keep them working hard you need to install software that will monitor their online activity. When someone knows you are watching them they will be much more likely to continue working. Social media sites waste a huge amount of money each year for companies all over the world and you have to do something to stop it.

Friendly competitions

It’s sometimes easier to work harder when there is something at stake. Nothing gets people more pumped up than when their pride is at stake. Could they be the employee of the month? Will they have bragging rights over their friends? Find a way to turn work into a friendly competition and you will notice results. It doesn’t need to be an individual thing and if people are in teams it can sometimes turn out better because they have teammates to that can offer them support.

Streamline a process

If you can cut the time it takes to do something in half it means your employee will be able to do it twice in the same amount of time as before. There are definitely a lot of ways you could streamline certain things because you won’t be doing everything perfectly at this exact moment in time. If you can’t find an easier way to do something manually there might be a piece of technology you can use to get it done quicker. Just think long and hard about it, plus you can ask your employees for their advice.

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Sheldon Lewis is an independent business consultant. According to him the major reason for dip in profits is employee productivity and has suggested several measures to many a business owners over the years to overcome this problem. His preferred method is to keep a track of their performances using webwatcher software and then reward the deserving candidates.

Filed under Business, Continuous Improvements, Entrepreneur, Human Resources Tagged with , , , , , , , , ,

Lean Manufacturing 101

April 9, 2013 by Leave a comment

DSCF1059The core philosophy of lean manufacturing is to maximize the value of output while minimizing the work put into creation. This goal is achieved by working towards eliminating all processes that aren’t directly responsible for delivering value to end customers.

While the lean philosophy has recently been embraced in areas such as startups, lean manufacturing is not just a fad. With over two decades of the term being actively used and over a century of influence on the lean philosophy itself, this practice can provide a huge competitive advantage to companies that embrace it.

The History of Lean Manufacturing

The first widespread use of this term was in 1988. Although the principles come from the way Japan has long approached manufacturing an MIT graduate student named John Krafcik initially coined the now-ubiquitous term.

Although most lean manufacturing principles and practices are focused on Japanese management techniques from the last few decades, the recorded desire to eliminate waste can actually be traced back for over a century. After Benjamin Franklin wrote about eliminating waste in several publications, Ford laid the initial roots of lean manufacturing in the early 20th century.

Despite making incredible progress, management experts note that Ford’s approach lacked sustainability. But not long after Ford got his start, Toyota made the decision to produce their first car in 1934. From the very beginning, the concept of Kaizen played a key role in Toyota’s process.

Kaizen, which is one of the most popular terms associated with the lean process, refers to a focus on continuous improvement. The main steps in this process are to standardize, measure, assess requirements, innovate and standardize the new improvement. After the fifth step, the process should start over. In this way, businesses encourage a culture of innovation.

What Does Lean Manufacturing Define as Waste?

In order for a company to successfully follow lean practices, they need to be able to identify their main sources of waste. While not every company is the same, there are seven general types of waste that affect most businesses. They are defects, over-processing, over-production, waiting, motion, inventory and transport.

Over time, unused talent and output that doesn’t fit the current market are two other types of waste that are commonly added to the list of the original seven. Nevertheless, lean manufacturing requires constantly assessing, identifying and eliminating sources of waste.

Other Key Components of the Lean Approach and Philosophy

Regardless of whether a company is producing heavy equipment for industrial operations or tiny computer components for the general population, there are several other aspects of lean manufacturing principles that apply to any type of business.

One is that there’s always room to improve, even in the most efficiently operated businesses. Another is design; manufacturing systems should be designed to be as simply as possible, because simplicity helps increase productivity while cutting down the amount of time between cycles. It also reduces the strain caused by having excess amounts of inventory that isn’t ready to move.

The key takeaways? Employing American-made and Japanese-honed lean management principles successfully means never letting your business rest on its laurels. Never miss an opportunity to eliminate waste, seek innovation whenever possible and keep things simple. Only then will you keep your business vibrant.

From Guest Author: Katie Elizabeth

Filed under Business, Continuous Improvements, Economics, Engineering, Health and Safety, Innovation, Kaizen, Lean Manufacturing, Manufacturing Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

5 Easy Ways To Boost Employee Morale

March 29, 2013 by 2 Comments

The morale of employees speaks a lot about the organization as a whole. Low employee morale can be caused by many factors that are internal or external. Internal factors are much easier to address than an outside factor, such as a downturn in the economy. A business that provides a service to customers will need to find a way to address low employee morale to increase productivity and make employees happy.

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Effective Communication

Management of a business that assume employees are on the same page is a recipe for disaster. If there is a lack of communication with employees, then management often has no idea that problems exist. Communication needs to occur from the top down. Employees may not understand the current financial position of the company, the type of competitive market, or how their contributions affect overall performance.

Monitor Employee Mood

The collective mood of employees needs to be monitored by management. This can be done by looking for signs of tension, listening to employee conversations, and acknowledging any tension. Management also needs to be aware of any employee job dissatisfaction, employees that feel intimidated, and moods that have the potential to cause workplace disturbances. Business leaders need to ensure that all of their management is attentive to the perception of employees in the workplace.

Promote Constant Feedback

One way for the leadership of an organization to be proactive is to use short-term evaluation tools. The best tool for management to use is to elicit employee feedback. This is a good way for supervisors and management to identify any morale issues with employees. Morale issues of employees include having a lack of transparency with management or poor supervisory performance. Feedback collected from all the employees of a business is a great way to achieve job satisfaction and increased creativity.

Ensure Management Availability

Management of a business that do not make themselves readily available for employees risk not having a handle on employee perception. Leaders need to make a point to make themselves available by taking time to walk around the workplace and even frequenting common areas, such as a cafeteria. Companies with management who avoid interacting with employees risk promoting a closed-door-policy. This will result in the loss of employee input, company loyalty, and employee confidence. A business may not be able to achieve strategic goals if management avoids employee interaction.

Promote Home and Work Balance

Employees of an organization need to have a balance between work life and home life. Management of a business also needs to acknowledge employees who give up a weekend or a vacation in order to get a project completed. One way to do this is to offer appreciation in person, by sending an email, or with a letter of accomplishment. This is a great way to make employees feel appreciated for the work that they do for the organization. Another way to show employee appreciation is to give them a personal day.

There are many signs that signal low employee morale in an organization. Taking steps to boost employee morale can have a big impact in the workplace.

Abi writes for the Principal Corp group of companies who specialize in b2b cloud services, consumer electronics and more. Visit Principal Corp for cloud solutions, Cameron Barclay for office refurbishment or Office Magic for photocopiers.

Filed under Continuous Improvements, Health and Safety, Human Resources, Interesting Reading, Lean Manufacturing Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

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