What a hot topic. Everyone seems to be handling a difficult person — whether it is a staff member, team colleague, customer or their manager. Or they have a difficult person in their personal lives. Certain types of difficult people affect us more than others. For example: Angry, aggressive, abusive, bullying; Moody, tired, depressed, teary; Uncommitted, unmotivated, […]
The notion of a customer dates back centuries. The origin of the expression is ‘habitual practice’, and in The Middle Ages it meant a person or business with whom one has regular dealings. By 1830, it signified ‘made to order’ (hence the notion of ‘customise’). Tailoring a customer’s experience both during and after a transaction is […]
The “walk of shame” that teens like to snigger about has a whole new meaning these days, especially when applied to companies and organisations recovering from reputation damage. Acknowledgement and admissions I recently described an email United Airlines sent to me (and many others) apologising for its brutal bumping of a customer from a Chicago flight. As […]
I often travel to the US, and was interested to receive an email from the chief executive of United Airlines, Oscar Munoz. His email profusely apologised for the way armed officers forcibly dragged a passenger off one of his company’s planes in Chicago recently. The share price of United Airlines reportedly dropped by $1.4 billion after the […]
Companies are struggling to find service success and the right balance of internet automation and skilled people who can manage complex service needs. Companies like KLM Royal Dutch Airlines are leading the way with their commitment to an one-hour response (when needed) and a 24 hour problem solving promise; KLM has been using social media as its cornerstone […]
I took two colleagues to lunch to an upmarket wine bar café in South Melbourne where the atmosphere is excellent and food usually good. My colleagues enjoyed their meals (fish and vitello tonnato), my first two bites were also enjoyable, until I spotted two short black ‘lines’ in the sauce over the chicken. I moved […]
Have you ever faced a very aggressive colleague or customer? It’s bad enough on the phone but very scary face-to-face. Ideally every workplace has some rules, standards or a code of conduct to help. Ideally a code and training before is better than mopping up after damage too late. 1. Recognise early warning signs There […]
We are all familiar with dealing with utilities and services that purport to ‘value’ calls but then keep customers in a queue for long periods. To cap it off, businesses then have the gall to ask what people think of their ‘service’.? Many complaints, if not handled well, will escalate to a new problem. Whether […]
The ever-shifting notion of good service can be hard to keep up with, especially in competitive industries where the bar keeps getting raised, but there are five fundamentals of sensational service that are easy to deliver on. Ask Great service is inquisitive. People tend to enjoy it when someone shows an interest in them. There […]
