Why Effective Communication Is Key to Quality Customer Service?

Businesses and organizations spend incredible amounts of time, energy and dollars to attract potential customers and supporters, yet often neglect training their front line people sufficiently to have the skills and the abilities to deal effectively with people in often very trying circumstances. In business, we refer to these individuals generally as Customer Service Representatives, while in organizations they are generally paid staff and volunteer leadership. In over thirty years of training people in professional interpersonal business relations, I have come to realize that the best way to effectively deal with upset people is to listen to them, and let them know that someone is listening and someone cares.

Then, if the representative knows the answer, he should calmly and thoroughly explain it so that the other person understands as well. If, on the other hand, the representative is uncertain of the information, the best thing to do is to calmly state that he is uncertain, but will get the information, and get back to the person within a specified period of time. It is then urgent that the customer representative indeed get back to the concerned party, and provide them with the information. It is always better to be open and honest, even if the answer is not what the other person may want to hear, than to fabricate an answer or avoid an answer. In addition, cliches and empty rhetoric must be avoided at all costs! Below I am going to provide a couple of examples that indicate what all too often is done, as well as try to explain what should have been done instead.

1. Several years ago, I was on a Yugoslavian Air (JAT) flight that was scheduled to fly from Athens to New York, with a short stopover in Zagreb. When the plane landed in Zagreb, we were told to deplane while the plane was to be serviced, and we would be informed when to re-board. About an hour later, we were informed that the plane needed a part, and that they were waiting for it to arrive shortly. In this extremely hot crowded terminal, no additional information was provided for hours. We continued to be told, "Soon." Finally, after about three hours (remember our original stopover was supposed to be less than an hour), I went up to a Customer Service counter, and the representative starting giving me the same rhetoric. I interrupted and said we both know that's not true, and finally said, "No more rhetoric and party lines. What's the story?"

Only then did the representative admit that the part and the mechanic both had to be flown in and their flight was not scheduled for hours, and that she did not know how long the repair would take. At that point, I suggested that passengers deserved some sort of consideration, if only a meal voucher, and that they deserved to know the truth. Miraculously, within about fifteen minutes, they came around and distributed meal vouchers (although you don't really want to eat the food at Zagreb airport), and made an announcement explaining the facts, and that they would make hourly announcements. A great start, but then when an hour passed without any further announcement, I reminded the nice customer service people that they needed to make the announcement. The lesson to be learned is that proper and competent customer service would have been to communicate openly and fully from the start, not make any promises that they could not keep, and always keep the promises made.

2. A power outage in my area several years ago (over 130 hours) was a customer service fiasco. There had been very limited communication of any sort, and most of what was communicated was either contradictory or inaccurate. In fact, we were never given a straight answer by the Long Island Power Authority, as to what to expect and when! Is that effective customer service?

Most people get somewhat upset when something goes wrong, but almost all handle it far better when they are provided accurate and caring customer service, than when the service is spotty at best. This is an essential lesson for all businesses, and all organizations to learn from! The key is to learn from these basic mistakes, whether you are a large company or organization, a smaller one, or a self - employed business person or professional! Listen, communicate honestly and openly, and address issues and concerns, in a caring way!

Is Inflation A Good Thing or Bad?: And Other Lies, Distortions and Half - Truths

Economics, economic theories, and political realities often cross paths, and make many people wonder what's going on. We have offered heard about the dangers of inflation, the dangers of recession, and other similar terminology, yet most of us will hear the media, and especially the business media, one day warn of the risk of inflation, and another day cite the lower than anticipated inflation rate as something to be concerned about. There are even different sets of indexes, one that includes core items (whatever that really means) and another that measures the inflation rate including energy costs.

The only thing that most American consumers concern themselves about from day to day, is how these costs impact them. Is their cost of living going up, staying the same, or going down? I have not met anyone recently that has told me that he feels that things are costing him less. At the supermarket, manufacturers continuing their clever "game" of effectively raising prices by keeping prices the same but reducing the package size. Shouldn't pricing be considered for these cost of living indexes the way the unit pricing is required by a lot of states, that is, by showing the cost per ounce, or per serving? Most of us have observed increased costs in milk, most meats, fowl, fish, cans of soda, bottles of soda, etc. Yet, we are being told that there is no or little inflation.

Gas prices are constantly fluctuating, yet the pattern is far from being either certain or logical. Have you ever noticed that as soon as there is any raise in the cost of a barrel of gas, prices go up, even though that supply won't be in the stream for a couple of months? Yet, when there is a decrease, the drop takes far more time to translate into a decrease at the pump! About the only thing that has not kept pace with these increases is average wages. Many workers are being paid for fewer hours, while others have been laid off. The unemployment rate statistically is about 5%, but realistically is more than 8.5%. Many Americans are either under-employed or unemployed, and this has been going on for so long, that, for many, unemployment benefits are expiring, or have expired, and when they do, those people stop being counted in the unemployment statistics. If these people's benefits run out, the statistics will show a lower unemployment rate, because the official statistics does not count people not collecting benefits. It also does not count individuals who owned small businesses, that had to go out of business, because owners of these types of businesses are generally not eligible for unemployment,

The bottom line is that statistics are misleading. There is an old saying that the difference between a recession and a depression is, that it's a recession when it happens to someone else, and a depression when it happens to you. It is time for the American public to demand that our government officials stop partisan politics, and realistically address the economy and the joblessness issues, making those the overwhelming top priorities.

How Well Do You Manage TIME?

When one examines what often differentiates the most successful individuals from most of the others, we often observe that one of the key factors is how well they manage their TIME. Even the most intelligent, most experienced individuals with the greatest expertise, often fail to achieve to their potential when they don't manage this essential component to its maximum degree. Lee Iacocca stated, "The ability to concentrate and to use your time well is everything." While it may not truly be everything (because that assumes it is the only factor), it is certainly no doubt something that makes a key and major ingredient. Examining this from a mnemonic perspective perhaps helps us to best focus on what is needed.

1. Time management begins with a willingness and ability to train yourself. This is a far different scenario than merely taking training programs, classes, seminars, or even actual learning. It is, rather, the combination of gathering the needed facts, data, and information, and then synergistically using this information in a manner that best suits your personality, learning type and habits, desires, motivations, visions, goals, etc. This training is the ultimate form of personal development and self - discipline, because it is what will direct one to achieve to his maximum potential.

2. Far too often, individuals examine situations, and observe numerous areas that they realize need to be addressed, or need to be improved upon. However, those that merely follow a multi - faceted approach, rather than creating priorities, often get bogged down in minutia. Therefore, it is important for each of us to install personal controls, that help us to focus, prioritize, and organize as well as we can do.

3. A large percentage of individuals never even begin, but many others also merely begin but never proceed to a course of action that is essential. In order to best address how we might utilize our time, we each must maintain the course, so your plan has the opportunity to succeed. This does not mean merely never giving up, but rather developing a way to evaluate your progress, what needs tweaking, and the most efficient and effective way to proceed.

4. Perhaps the most overlooked aspect of this necessary task is how we actually examine and proceed with our goals, etc. Therefore, how we establish our short - term, intermediate and longer term plans and goals, will often determine our ability to succeed. Doing this creates a mindset for being organized, and unless one becomes efficient, focused and creative, how can he possibly best manage his time?

One can never consider how he handles his time, without examining priorities, goals, and especially personal discipline. Those who create a form of personal daily agenda, and utilize timelines and other measures/ metrics, are best able to use their time effectively, Remember the adage that both the most successful and the least successful individual both have the same 24 hours in their day, but the more successful use that time more effectively and impactfully!

Goals Always Start With Dreams - But Dreams Don't Always Become Goals!

When one attends most self- improvement or self- help/ attitude adjustment seminars or courses, one invariably hears endless discussions about the importance of having a dream, and then setting personal goals that relate to one's dream. Since I have been conducting these types of programs for over thirty years, I have observed that although all goals start with a dream, the vast majority of dreams never become clear- cut goals. Why is that? Although there are probably numerous reasons, I have come to believe that the main reason is that for a dream to be transformed to a goal, it requires and active rather than a passive behavior. Comparatively, it is easier to dream, because it can remain vague and rather general in nature. However, goals are more urgent, more thought out (actionable), and require more actual effort and commitment. Napoleon Hill pinpointed this difference perfectly when he stated, "A goal is a dream with a deadline."

1. Many of the least effective individuals still have their dreams. When speaking to them, we learn that they dream of either a better lifestyle, a better job, more freedom, more wealth, etc. Unfortunately when nothing concrete is done, these dreams go nowhere, and individuals become frustrated and either give up on their dreams, or hope for a miracle solution, such as winning the lottery, an inheritance, etc.

2. The interesting and ironic aspect is that dreams are needed to be able to make personally motivating goals. Once one commits to thinking about and developing personal goals, he has taken the first essential step towards changing his life in a positive and constructive manner. True goals require the creation of an action plan, with a specific and actionable time line created. In order to achieve goals, and achieving goals is the goal of having a goal. One then identifies his needs, his abilities, his strengths and weaknesses, and his life, and makes concrete decisions. How he pursues his goals, whether or not he is persistent enough to persevere, and how important his goals actually are to him personally, are all major factors regarding whether the goals are then achieved.
The most motivating goals create a course of action for someone, and once a specific goal is achieved and/ or accomplished, it becomes a building block towards achievement of other goals.

However, it is important to remember that while dreams are needed in order to set goals, simply having a dream certainly does not assure that one will create personal goals. Only when the dream is important enough, will someone actually commit to creating his goals, and then further commit to the necessary action to achieve it.

Why You Should Write Goals Down?

Most of us have repeatedly been instructed that it is necessary to have an essential dream, a personal vision, and create important and relevant goals, if we wish to be successful and to achieve. However, simply having goals is not enough, but rather it is necessary to have a mechanism in place to transform goals into reality, by taking action. Many studies indicate that the vast majority of individuals perform and achieve better when there is a visual aspect to their learning, commitment, habit and behavior. It is for this reason that most great achievers have dreams that they visualize and which motivate them, create goals and an action plan, and don't simply think about or try to memorize what they wish to do and how, but rather, put these goals down in writing and refer to them often and repeatedly. Brian Tracy stated, "Committing your goals to paper increases the likelihood of achieving them one- thousand percent."

1. Even the most important and far- reaching dream fails to yield results unless it motivates the dreamer to commit to specific goals, which he then designs an action plan to achieve. In order to optimize one's results, write the goals down, first in broad thoughts, and then in specifics. Explain in writing your reasons for why these goals are so important. Then put them in a priority order. Then put them down with a time table or timeline for when certain actions need to be taken, and why. Create this action plan in such a way that you think your ideas through thoroughly, and you decide upon a first or preferred course of action, as well as numerous alternative or contingency approaches to achieving your most essential goals. Commit to these thoroughly and review these notes and ideas on a very regular basis. This will both motivate and refresh you on your personal journey.

2. Never forget that you must believe in yourself in order to achieve these goals. In the majority of cases, a most effective tool is the use of affirmations. Affirmations must be personal positive statements regarding matters that are most important to you personally. They must always be stated in both the positive/ affirmative as well as in the present tense. For example, if you feel you need to become a better speaker to achieve your goals, an affirmation might be, "I am an enthusiastic, stimulating speaker that audiences enjoy listening to." Note that the statement is specific, positive and in the present tense. Try this with items that you feel you would like to personally pay more attention to, or get better at.

Most of us find visual learning the most effective. Some use this method in conjunction with others, while many find it to be their preferred methodology. Write down what you want to achieve and what you need to do.

Understanding Human Nature - The Key to Effective Communication

How often have you personally wondered, or overheard someone else pondering the key components of successful, effective and meaningful communication? While perfecting communication skills undoubtedly encompasses numerous aspects and acquired traits/ knowledge, unless it begins with a clear - cut focus on enhancing one's abilities and skills in terms of understanding human nature, there can be no way to effectively communicate. One of the most famous and successful life insurance salespersons of all times, Ben Feldman, insisted that success in any type of interpersonal sales required only about one percent technical knowledge, while requiring ninety nine percent understanding human nature. How can anyone effectively communicate his message if he lacks the ability to appreciate and understand the perspective, needs, nuances and preferences of others? The reality is that best salespersons, leaders, managers, etc., invariably are those that realize that the probability of getting one's message across necessitates effectively communicating, and that requires proactively seeking out learning as much as possible about human nature.

1. What does understanding human nature actually mean? In the vast majority of situations, it requires proactive rather than passive behavior, because one must use many of his senses, including his sight, hearing, etc., and pay attention to how others behave and act, and why. For example, the most successful salesperson is generally the one that finds his potential buyer's "hot button" and focuses on how the service and/ or product will improve something for the buyer. Understanding human nature means that the discussion must encompass needs, and unless one is willing and able to understand the various nuances, preferences, and even quirks, his ability to effectively communicate is limited and even diminished.

2. It is important to understand that others are generally far more interested, and therefore potentially motivated to action, when the discussion is about them, and their needs. Great communicators invariably discuss issues and ideas in terms of how they impact and serve others, and not merely in terms of services offered. Most people need to know how something impacts and effects them, and why, rather than merely being told about services provided. In order to do so, the priority must be placed on getting a better idea and understanding of human nature.

Great communicators invariably are those that prioritize participatory discussions, because once you get others to participate, you learn far more about them. A two way discussion is true communication, while merely making a statement without participation is talking at, rather than the necessary speaking to, one's potential audience.

What VALUE Do You Place On Your Efforts?

Some people proceed through life merely accepting the good enough approach, and therefore rarely achieve to their optimal potential. Rather, they simply proceed from task - to - task, looking at the shorter - term approaches and procedures, instead of seeking more sustainable, significant, relevant and effective approaches and/ or solutions. How can anyone ever expect others to listen or care about what you have to say unless/ until you first really VALUE yourself, and feel that you provide value to others? No one has to focus on this attribute, but invariably, those individuals who do so, have the most consistent, relevant and compelling results attributed directly to the high quality efforts they use.

1. How to you really view yourself? There is nearly always a direct correlation between this and how others view you! Are your vision and values in sync? Is your intention to provide the highest quality, optimal performance and to achieve the highest quality results?

2. When was the last time you objectively analyzed the quality of your attitude? How much time do you put into adequately analyzing and anticipating what needs to be done, and the best way to proceed? Are you driven by the quality of the goals of your agenda, or are you merely agenda - driven?

3. How do you feel about learning, and the need to continuously seek to learn more? Are you willing to objectively listen to what is being said around you, not to be influenced merely by popularity, but rather to enhance your understanding and ability to relate? Are you comfortable with letting your actions do your talking, and do you feel comfortable with the consistent quality of your efforts and mindset?

4. When was the last time you were willing to objectively review and analyze the actual usefulness of the service you provide? Do you speak to make an important point and truly contribute to the conversation, or are you just in love with the sound of your own voice? Have you taken pride in honing your abilities, and do you effectively use those developed skills? Do you synergistically sync both the usual and unusual approaches and techniques?

5. Earn respect by consistent empathy, combined with highest quality efforts, and focus on evaluating needs, in a proactive attempt to consistently excel and achieve a high degree of excellence in every aspect of all that you do!

VALUE yourself if you ever want others to value you and your opinions! It's never about rhetoric, but rather must be absolute, true, and based on the highest degree of personal integrity.