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Is not a department,

Ace In The Hole Management, LLC and today’s sponsor, Frontenac Bank

For the purposes of this presentation we will assume you all want to instill in your employee’s,

 Improves value of your company  Improves the bottom line  Profits go up  Grows your business  Instills confidence in you and your company  Creates strong relationships that result in repeat business  Makes marketing your company easy  Makes you look good  Let’s you sleep better at night

Why do you care?????? Because it….  Promotes Loyalty  Creates good morale  Simulates learning, growth and cultivates long term employees  Promotes job satisfaction  Develops strong relationships  Generates positive attitudes toward the establishment

Let’s review how to make it happen.

Your employees deliver the same level of service to your customers, that they believe they get from you.

The mirror can tell us more than if our hair is out of order or that our stripes and plaids don’t match. Look deep into how your actions are assessed by your employees.

“ If you want your employees to focus on customers first and exhibit a good attitude to your customers, you have to demonstrate that same attitude to and in front of your employee.”

Address Your Expectation in the Interview

 Clearly express that need in your interviews with new hires.  Establish expectations right at the beginning.

 Interview Questions should include topics related to customer service attitude  Interview discussion should establish your expectation for exceptional customer service  Written Job Descriptions should include customer service attitude, not tasks.  New Hires should know that their annual performance review will reiterate your expectation for exceptional customer service, AND  They will be evaluated on these expectations.

LIVE IT DAILY

Prepare 3 “post it” notes that include specific actions you want to take and the message you want delivered today.  Post one on your bathroom mirror.  Each morning read it 3 times before leaving the house.  Place one on your computer monitor.  Read it prior to meeting with any employee in your office.  Place one in your calendar.  Read it before going into any meeting or interview.

Make your expectations the core of your evaluation process.

In your annual evaluations, promote your expectations, not what was done wrong all year. Consider this an opportunity to express how your expectations can be or were met.

 Daily reinforce your expectations.  Actions speak louder than words.  Reinforce your expectations in all you do.  Clearly express your expectation in evaluations, and  Clearly reward in compensation, when your expectations are met or exceeded. (if within your capacity, reward immediately)

Is this your company? A perfect pyramid. Who fits where? Customers? Employees? Management? Ownership?

Customer Employees Management Ownership

Customer Employees Management Ownership

It is all about where they THINK they are!

It is full of power and energy. It is thinking all the time! But what is it thinking about?

What you are putting in about your business, your expectations and your customers is what they think and say.

 Do your actions toward your employees support customer service?  Do you walk around and talk to employees?  Do you ask about their children?  Do you know what they did last night?  If you ask about them,  If you appear interested in them,  If you care about their family, THEY WILL BELIEVE THEY ARE IMPORTANT and THEY WILL SEE HOW IMPORTANT PEOPLE ARE TO YOU.

 Do you ever greet customers?  Do you use first names of your employee/customer?  Do you shake hands with employees?  Do you shake hands with customers?  Do you smile when you see a customer?  Do you ever act like a customer is a hindrance rather than a pleasure? YOUR EMPLOYEES WILL MIMIC YOU.

 How would your employees react, if in an employee meeting, you said, “Mrs. Smith, Sara, was expressing her disappointment with our widget yesterday to Matt. Matt, you handled her complaint to her satisfaction. I called her yesterday to assure her we wanted her to be satisfied and she expressed to me you did a great job taking care of her issue.”

 I know our customers.  I value their needs.  I know who waits on them.  I follow up. Isn’t that exactly what you want your employees to do?

 When was the last time you noticed an employee had a great customer service attitude? IF IT HAS BEEN AWHILE, ASK YOURSELF, WHY? When was the last time your employees participated in your corporate vision? When was the last time they saw you actually take care of a customer? When was the last time you felt an employee had your back?

The good, the bad and the ugly

This person does not want to be bothered, it is obvious, isn’t it? What could they be doing that is more important than their customers.

Too busy? Can’t take time to interact with anyone, I have too much on my plate? Disorganized? Was I supposed to call a customer today? If I was, I lost the note. Don’t give me one more thing to do, because it won’t get done. Do the employees of this person feel like they can come to him with an issue or concern?

The employees of this manager most certainly think it is okay to talk bad about employees or to express frustration at a customers request. Here comes that Mary, nothing but a waste of time, never buys a thing.

LEAD BY EXAMPLE. What you are witnessing in your employees in serving your customers is likely what they “see” in you.

Remember, customer service is not a department, it is an attitude.

 Change will go away.  I should express my feelings and it will help if I show those feelings by getting upset.  My career is about to take a real bad turn.  I can keep my head down and just keep doing what I have always done.  Management never tells us the whole story. They know more than they are sharing.  Management does not care about us.  There is little opportunity for me to make a difference.  It is the responsibility of management to make these changes work and to implement the plan.  It is obvious the fact all these problems keep coming up, they do not know what they are doing.  All these changes were just not necessary.

 For your employees those myths may be their reality.  Get past your needs,  Focus on their needs,  Instill in them the company does care,  Lead by example.

 Actually change is here to stay.  Managing their emotions increases their ability to control their situation.  Sometimes opportunity is hidden behind change and what is perceived as being negative. If everything around you is changing, and you don’t change with it, you will be left behind.  Problems are the natural result of change, we anticipate them, and they offer many opportunities for individuals to shine.  It may be hard to believe, but odds are management is being as open and straightforward as the situation allow.  Trust goes both ways.

 Management has to make tough decisions every day, it is impossible to keep everyone happy.  They have a choice. Be part of the solution or be part of the problem. They are the one that decides.  This is their plan. If they think the plan is someone else’s, they are not likely to be around to see it to the end.  They should embrace change and make the decision to be a player.  Management has a good idea. Many outside factors make them have to change directions sometimes.  Few things ever change without problems or mistakes.  What is necessary is to make the changes work.

Things To Do  Change your message, and  Deliver the message consistently.  Stress your expectations in hiring,  Live your expectations daily,  Reinforce your expectations in evaluations,  Solidify your expectations by rewarding those that exceed those expectations.  Identify and create at least one agent of change within the organization.

NOW GO OUT THERE AND CULTIVATE SOME EXCEPTIONAL CUSTOMER SERVICE. ACE IN THE HOLE MANAGEMENT