You get what you train for

If you read this marketing tip, you know we usually talk about direct response marketing, direct mail, and copywriting.  We’re going to take a little break from that topic over the next couple weeks.  Keith, my dad, and the guy I run 3D Mail Results with, recently published his first book on customer service called, “Out-Nordstrom Nordstrom – Creating the World’s Best Customer Service.”  In honor of that, we’re going to start a series he wrote on just that subject.  I hope you enjoy them over the next few weeks.  Here’s Keith:

The book “WAYMISH Why Are You Making It So Hard for me to give you my money?” has been on my list of must read customer service books for somewhere around 20 years.  Here is an excerpt from WAYMISH.

We introduce a supermarket cashier to her job by showing her how to scan, how to handle change, checks, credit cards, returns and other necessary basic routines.  We teach a new salesperson about the products, prices, terms, forms to fill out, commission and expense routines.

Managers spend their time on the phone, writing and reading memos and reports, dealing with personnel and customer problems, going to meetings and occasionally thinking and planning.

All of these activities are necessary.  But if we are concerned With extraordinary service, we have to put them in the context of the primary purpose of every employee, at every level – to create and maintain positive customer relationships.

Peter Drucker said it forty years ago – “The purpose of BUSINESS is to create a customer.”

Start your orientation, training and performance measurements not with activities but with customer relationships.

With this approach of creating customer relationships as your base, the activities fall into their proper place – as TOOLS, not end in themselves.  Teach people to smile, be cordial when dealing with customers, before you teach them to scan.  Teach people to listen and acknowledge feelings of others, before they become product experts.  Feelings come first.  Teach people to ask questions before they give advice.

Investigate how an employee who is working on a report, straightening inventory, counting cash, or handling a personnel matter treats an encounter with a customer.If the answer is; the customer is interrupting the REAL work or is a distraction from the REAL job – prepare for the invasion of the WAYMISH!

And to improve the probability that your training will be used by the right people, spend a lot of time hiring people who feel comfortable with a service attitude.  You can get WAYMISH by following this link.  but you might want to wait until Tuesday, Aug. 21 when I announce how you can get all 5 of my favorite customer service books for free.

Yep – FREE… but you need to wait until Aug. 21 and the free books will only be available Aug.21 through Aug. 31.  Here are the 5 books that will be free starting that day:

• Out-Nordstrom Nordstrom – Creating the World’s Best Customer Service.  Keith Lee – $13.97
• The Simple Truths of Service – Inspired by Johnny the Bagger. Ken Blanchard and Barbara Glanz –  $15.40
• Inside the Magic Kingdom – Seven Keys to Disney’s Success. Tom Connellan – $20.60
• W.A.Y.M.I.S.H. Why Are You Making It So Hard for me to give you my money. Ray Considine and Ted Cohn –  $20.00
• Customer Satisfaction is Worthless, Customer Loyalty is Priceless. Jeffrey Gitomer – $30.90