Saturday, October 27, 2007
New Blog
I've decided to put this blog to bed, at least for now. I'm consolidating all of my blogging into one place: http://tedcoine.blogspot.com/. Hope to see you there!
Monday, October 15, 2007
Retraction
I'm not as big a fan of the City of Naples as I was when I wrote my entry dated May 30th. Let's leave it at that.
...Or if you want the dirt, you can find it on www.giveinnaples.blogspot.com, another of my blogs.
...Or if you want the dirt, you can find it on www.giveinnaples.blogspot.com, another of my blogs.
Friday, July 6, 2007
Cartridge World
Here's a customer service test for you:
A customer comes into your store with a $10 product that you sell, but he has no receipt and you've never seen him before. He says the product worked well for a couple of days, but then - suddenly and with nothing changing in how he used it - it malfunctioned, and he can't fix it. He hands it to you.
What do you do?
We don't even need to discuss the poor-service options, because no one reading this blog - no one who actually cares about customer service - would hesitate to replace the cartridge and give a sincere apology. ...Right? I hope so.
Do that, and you get four stars. You've handled this complaint well.
...But who wants to be just "good?" Not my readers! So here's what Bolek Figa, franchise owner of the Cartridge World at Courtyards Plaza in Naples, did.
Without hesitation, he handed me two replacement cartridges. Just like that. I was out of his store in two minutes flat, including my surprised thanks and his sincere apology. (Note about the apology: that part was free to him. He didn't break the printer cartridge, but he still told me he was sorry that happened with a product he sold.)
Bottom line? Five-Star Customer Service can happen anytime, any place. Bolek has won me as a customer for life, and - unbeknownst to him - I happen to be a customer service author and trainer who is bound to send all sorts of business his way over the next several years.
Bolek Figa played George Boldt in this scenario, to my William Waldorf Astor. On an incredibly more modest scale, of course, but still.... Please remember,
A customer comes into your store with a $10 product that you sell, but he has no receipt and you've never seen him before. He says the product worked well for a couple of days, but then - suddenly and with nothing changing in how he used it - it malfunctioned, and he can't fix it. He hands it to you.
What do you do?
We don't even need to discuss the poor-service options, because no one reading this blog - no one who actually cares about customer service - would hesitate to replace the cartridge and give a sincere apology. ...Right? I hope so.
Do that, and you get four stars. You've handled this complaint well.
...But who wants to be just "good?" Not my readers! So here's what Bolek Figa, franchise owner of the Cartridge World at Courtyards Plaza in Naples, did.
Without hesitation, he handed me two replacement cartridges. Just like that. I was out of his store in two minutes flat, including my surprised thanks and his sincere apology. (Note about the apology: that part was free to him. He didn't break the printer cartridge, but he still told me he was sorry that happened with a product he sold.)
Bottom line? Five-Star Customer Service can happen anytime, any place. Bolek has won me as a customer for life, and - unbeknownst to him - I happen to be a customer service author and trainer who is bound to send all sorts of business his way over the next several years.
Bolek Figa played George Boldt in this scenario, to my William Waldorf Astor. On an incredibly more modest scale, of course, but still.... Please remember,
"YOU ARE ALWAYS ON A JOB INTERVIEW."
George Boldt remembered. Bolek Figa remembered. Do you consistently remember that all-important lesson? How about your top executives? And your managers? And your front-line workers?
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Why so few entries?
If you notice, the last time I wrote on this blog is April 9, and today is May 30 - that's about two months. Why? We just haven't been blown away by terrific service lately.
There are two examples we'd like to mention, though. The first is Bice ("beach - A"), an Italian Restaurant on 5th Avenue. We had really top notch service there, and the food was great. Of course, we paid through the nose, but hey, it's Fifth Avenue.
The second is the local government, both the City of Naples and the County. Where do they get all these nice, helpful people? Having grown up in the North and spent most of my adult life there, too, this is... delightfully shocking. I'm not exaggerating when I say, I haven't met an unpleasant public servant yet - and recently, especially because of the CAN Ride I'm running, I've dealt quite a lot with different branches of the government.
...Am I trying to curry favor? No. I doubt anyone in the government will find this blog for a few months at least, by which time the CAN Ride will be long over.
There are two examples we'd like to mention, though. The first is Bice ("beach - A"), an Italian Restaurant on 5th Avenue. We had really top notch service there, and the food was great. Of course, we paid through the nose, but hey, it's Fifth Avenue.
The second is the local government, both the City of Naples and the County. Where do they get all these nice, helpful people? Having grown up in the North and spent most of my adult life there, too, this is... delightfully shocking. I'm not exaggerating when I say, I haven't met an unpleasant public servant yet - and recently, especially because of the CAN Ride I'm running, I've dealt quite a lot with different branches of the government.
...Am I trying to curry favor? No. I doubt anyone in the government will find this blog for a few months at least, by which time the CAN Ride will be long over.
Monday, April 9, 2007
NCH
In my first book, Five-Star Customer Service, I slam hospitals hard for the abuse they have put me and mine through over the years.
That is why I am so delighted to say that NCH really did treat my family right the other day. Please click on the link below and read all about it.
www.spoilemrotten.blogspot.com
That is why I am so delighted to say that NCH really did treat my family right the other day. Please click on the link below and read all about it.
www.spoilemrotten.blogspot.com
Sunday, March 4, 2007
McCabe's Restaurant
"I've never seen a waitress actually clean a child's hands before." That is what Jane said as we left McCabe's Irish Pub on Fifth Avenue.
There's service and then there's service. You can't train someone to care about people - sure, you can train them to fake it, but it's easy to spot a faker. Jenn, our waitress, was no faker. She was exceedingly warm and highly efficient: that's the hallmark of Five-Star Customer Service.
For her performance tonight, Jenn wins this week's George Boldt Award, named after the first manager of the Waldorf-Astoria, who was paid $1 million a year back in the 1890s because of the superlative service he provided. (For more on George Boldt, go to http://www.coinetraining.com/).*
For employing Jenn, McCabe's gets this feature. Try them out. If your service is half as good as ours, you'll be glad you did.
http://www.mccabesirishpub.com/. 239-403-8777
*Editor's note: There is no actual weekly George Boldt Award, for one very compelling reason: you don't run into Jenns, or Tommys (see Wild Oats), or George Boldts more than once in a blue moon. We'd be lucky to find one award recipient per month; per quarter is more like it. And remember, the staff of trainers at Coine spends a lot of time "shopping" the customer service at all sorts of different companies.
There's service and then there's service. You can't train someone to care about people - sure, you can train them to fake it, but it's easy to spot a faker. Jenn, our waitress, was no faker. She was exceedingly warm and highly efficient: that's the hallmark of Five-Star Customer Service.
For her performance tonight, Jenn wins this week's George Boldt Award, named after the first manager of the Waldorf-Astoria, who was paid $1 million a year back in the 1890s because of the superlative service he provided. (For more on George Boldt, go to http://www.coinetraining.com/).*
For employing Jenn, McCabe's gets this feature. Try them out. If your service is half as good as ours, you'll be glad you did.
http://www.mccabesirishpub.com/. 239-403-8777
*Editor's note: There is no actual weekly George Boldt Award, for one very compelling reason: you don't run into Jenns, or Tommys (see Wild Oats), or George Boldts more than once in a blue moon. We'd be lucky to find one award recipient per month; per quarter is more like it. And remember, the staff of trainers at Coine spends a lot of time "shopping" the customer service at all sorts of different companies.
Monday, February 26, 2007
Eye Centers of Florida
Ted: "My frames are only two months old, and... look at them."
Jerry-Lyn (scrutinizing the twisted, damaged, really expensive frames): "I'll get you a new pair."
Jerry-Lyn switched the lenses out, fitted them to Ted's face, and said, "Last name?"
Ted: "Coine. C-O-I-"
Jerry Lyn: "Ted? You're all set." (Big smile).
That's it. No fuss, no muss, and - most importantly - no charge.
Granted, it should always go this way when your new product lets you down: just take it back and get a new one, no questions asked. But "should" is a long way from "does." When is the last time a return or exchange for a pricey item like designer frames went so smoothly? How gracious was the person on the other end of that exchange?
Jerry-Lyn was exceeding pleasant and helpful when Jane and I bought our glasses two months ago. That's rare enough; still, it's easy to be nice when you're selling something. The trick is to be just as wonderful to deal with when your customer is unhappy.
As I mention in my book "Five-Star Customer Service," the surest test of a company's true service quality is how it handles complaints. That more than anything earns the service provider its fifth star... or not.
Jerry-Lyn did what anyone could do; what anyone should do - but what fewer than 1% of all service providers out there actually do. Hats off to her.
www.ecof.com.
Jerry-Lyn's store, near Target on the corner of Airport and Pine Ridge: 239-263-4674.
Jerry-Lyn (scrutinizing the twisted, damaged, really expensive frames): "I'll get you a new pair."
Jerry-Lyn switched the lenses out, fitted them to Ted's face, and said, "Last name?"
Ted: "Coine. C-O-I-"
Jerry Lyn: "Ted? You're all set." (Big smile).
That's it. No fuss, no muss, and - most importantly - no charge.
Granted, it should always go this way when your new product lets you down: just take it back and get a new one, no questions asked. But "should" is a long way from "does." When is the last time a return or exchange for a pricey item like designer frames went so smoothly? How gracious was the person on the other end of that exchange?
Jerry-Lyn was exceeding pleasant and helpful when Jane and I bought our glasses two months ago. That's rare enough; still, it's easy to be nice when you're selling something. The trick is to be just as wonderful to deal with when your customer is unhappy.
As I mention in my book "Five-Star Customer Service," the surest test of a company's true service quality is how it handles complaints. That more than anything earns the service provider its fifth star... or not.
Jerry-Lyn did what anyone could do; what anyone should do - but what fewer than 1% of all service providers out there actually do. Hats off to her.
www.ecof.com.
Jerry-Lyn's store, near Target on the corner of Airport and Pine Ridge: 239-263-4674.
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