Not Resolutions But Thoughts for the New Year

Now is the time that so many of us look back on the past year and consider changes that we can make in 2010.  I like to focus on certain areas where I know I can improve. Here's some food for thought for the coming year:

 

1.  Be more patient.  Patience is really a gift that you give to someone.

 

2.  You can always be a better listener.  How many things have you missed because you were not paying attention?

 

3.  Ask more questions.  You'll learn more, make fewer mistakes, and make someone else feel like "the expert."

 

4.  If you receive feedback, act on it.  Sure you may not like hearing about your deficiencies but don't be afraid to change. 

Magic Words for Retail

In my TV news days, I did a lot of stories about holiday shopping. (One year my holiday meal consisted of a order of natchos shared in a smelly live truck but that's a story for another day.)

I remember well an interview I did with a Target Team Leader (otherwise known as store manager).  I asked him what the key was for a good holiday season.  His response: Keep the shelves stocked and the floors clean.

While I'm sure there were other elements involved in planning a successful holiday season like loss leaders, staffing, and store hours, I thought it was great that the company plan could be boiled down into one sentence.

How many of us can do the same in our business?  And if we can't, why not?  Sometimes a simple message or mission is the best way to communicate your vision to your team so that everyone can enjoy mutual success.

Is Your Message Consistent?

Imagine that you're enjoying a meal with a friend in a restaurant.  Your friend is nice and charming to you.  But when dealing with the server, he or she suddenly becomes quite rude and demanding.  You have a front row seat for the behavior change and you find it quite unnerving.

A lot of companies are the same when when it comes to customer service.  Recently I had to switch out some cable equipment with Comcast.  The people I talked to on the phone were great.  They were helpful and apologetic about the situation.  Later when I went to an office to pick up my new cable box, I found the staff to be confused, unsympathetic, and not very helpful.  The experience was duplicated at another office that I had to visit.  Apparently staring blankly at a customer is part of their training.

It's too bad that Comcast can't get its customer service messaging to be more consistent.  The person who handles the phone operators has done a great job.  The office training is poor.  Too bad customers end up getting a mixed message.

The Power of No....

Recently I was in a department store waiting to make my purchase. There was only one clerk working so I had a moment or two to watch him in action while he served the customers ahead of me.

The line seemed to be moving a bit slower than you would expect and I realized why when I listened to the clerk. He was asking everyone the following questions: Would you like to give $1 to a charity? What is your email address? And would you like to get a credit card from the store?

All of this was happening before any items would be rung up. While I'm a patient person, I decided that on this day the store was giving me too many reasons not to buy from them. I put my items back on the shelf and walked out.

I don't blame the clerk as he was likely following the script from management. Management that seemed determined to make the shopping experience as unpleasant as possible. It wasn't like people were being asked if they'd like to submit their email address so they could receive updates on products. Instead it was positioned as if it was a condition of a sale. (I never would sign up for anyone's list without understanding their privacy policy.) And you'd think after the credit crash, stores would be pushing their credit cards a bit less.

Ultimately, I felt that the store wasn't "serving" me at all. I'm a low maintenance customer but I like my shopping to include as few questions as possible. Give me a clean store, stocked shelves, and a helpful sales team and I'll be your customer for life.

Judgement vs. Advice

Imagine that a friend asks you for advice. You probably give careful thought to his or her situation. This may mean giving them advice that they may not want to hear but need to follow. It's all about helping someone overcome a challenge in the best way possible.

Now think about how you give yourself advice. Do you follow the same process? For many, we follow our own unique judgement. The funny thing is that usually it has a lower standard than the advice we would give someone else. It's like telling your kids to not talk on their cell phones while driving, only you're telling them via your cell phone while driving.

This kind of thinking can hurt you. You would tell a friend to lose a few pounds yet postpone your long overdue diet. You may urge someone to chase their dreams while sitting on the couch, waiting for yours to magically materialize.

For a week, when it comes time to make a decision, base it on the advice you would give someone else. See if you're suddenly making better decisions, even if it involves some hardship.

My Breakfast is normal. Yours is weird...

While recently talking to a friend, I learned that she likes to put maple syrup on mashed potatoes. She says she loves the mixture of the salty and sweet flavors. Another friend then chimed in and said her Saturday morning routine is not complete unless she has pizza for breakfast.

Breakfast is called the most important meal of the day and it seems like it can be the most varied too. Some are traditionalists and have something like eggs and toast while others start their day with a diet soda. My breakfast choices have mellowed a bit over the years, become more traditional, and probably more nutritious. As a young lad, I was very picky about what I ate for my first meal of the day. This was highlighted by an ongoing aversion to jelly and a restaurant once serving me a hamburger for breakfast when no other options would suffice.

The thing that strikes me as interesting is that so many of us have unusual breakfast habits but to us, they all seem normal. Having leftover Chinese food first thing seems a lot more normal to me than eating a doughnut or getting a breakfast sandwich from a fast food restaurant.

This is another example of how our perception of a situation really colors our perception of it. There really isn't one "right breakfast" that towers above all others. Ultimately, no matter how weird your choices may be, if they work for you, then ultimately that's all that matters. Perhaps it would be useful to use a similar lens when considering other differences in life.

Can I Save the US Postal Service?

If you like questions, then you'll love today's Postal Service. During a visit to a branch, I was asked several questions including:

Do you want to buy some stamps?
Do you want buy delivery confirmation?
Do you want insurance?
Do you want to send it overnight? (This cracked me up as I was sending a letter about 30 minutes down the road.)

I've read the stories of how the Post Office is billions of dollars in debt and am sympathetic to the need to bring in more revenue. But I found that the efforts to raise more revenue a bit amateurish. Here's why:

Myself and the others in line ahead of me were asked the same questions. No doubt the clerks are following a script but none of us were mailing the same kind of thing. Does a cookie cutter approach really serve the customer's needs? After hearing the people in front of me be asked if they want to buy stamps, I think I would have realized whether I needed to buy them or not before I reached the counter.

It seems that the Postal Service is following a model based on selling people things that they don't realize that they need. But the way the questions are structured, they'll only get a "yes" or a "no" answer. Why not engage the customer in a dialogue. Let's say I'm sending a package overseas. Wouldn't it be better to say, "Gee, that package is going a long way away and will go through a lot of hands. Would it be useful to find out when your package has arrived?" In this example you're looking to sell people on the benefits of a service by making them realize how it will make their life better. You're selling peace of mind.

The Post Office needs to offer specials like any other business. When I go to the concession stand at a movie theater, I'm asked whether I would like to double the size of my drink or popcorn for just a dollar more. Why can't the Post Office bundle it's products into special deals. Make it easy for people to want to invest more.

No doubt there are current regulations or time honored practices that would prevent my ideas from being used. But for agency that's $10,000,000,000 dollars in debt, maybe it's time to try some new things.