In our workshops we talk a lot about empathy and in fact, it is hard to define.  Empathy is not what we do so much as how it is reflected (or not) in what we do.  As a result, empathy really can’t be seen, but it can be felt.  And, interestingly enough, it is most often felt in the smallest, most common of actions.

I was reminded of the importance of small things that reflect empathy just last week and how it can make such an important difference.  I was at my mother’s house when the HVAC technician arrived to check the air conditioning system before the weather got too hot.   I answered the door to a bright, clean and friendly young man with a warm smile.  Here are four little things that he did during the course of his work that demonstrated that he had empathy.

Warm greeting with a smile.  “Good morning Mrs. Baston.  My name is Eric and I am with ABC Mechanical.  I have come to complete the spring start-up of your air conditioning system.  May I come in?”.

Taking time to understand the customer’s situation.  Before he got to work he asked my mother if she had had any questions about the heating or cooling.  Did everything seem to be working okay?  Any problems?, etc.  He then explained that he would like to start with the programmable thermostat.  He asked if she had any questions about the programming.

Keeping the customer informed.  Eric explained exactly what he was going to do.  Firstly he would check things out downstairs.  When that was done, he explained that he would be going to inspect and clean the air conditioner itself.

Explaining the work that was done.  When completed Eric explained exactly what he had done and went over the checklist while confirming understanding.  He explained that he had found something about the furnace that needed attention and would be putting in a work order for a part to be replaced.  He explained that my mother would be receiving a call in the next few days to schedule the part’s replacement.  “No charge Mrs. Baston.  It’s all under warranty.”  Again, he asked my mother if she had any questions.

Being in the customer service business, I couldn’t help but ask if his company did any customer service training.  “All the time”, he said.  “We talk about customer service constantly.  We take it very seriously and measure our performance.  You know, I always score at the top”, he said proudly.  No kidding, I thought.

So here it was, as fine an example of empathy as one is likely to feel.  Eric did nothing fancy, nothing special, just simple actions that showed that he really did care.  “I’ll know it when I feel it”.  I certainly felt it that warm day in June.

I’d love your feedback on this. And as always, please feel free to leave a link back to your own blog if you have one via the commentluv feature here on the site. If you are reading this blog post via email, you will need to locate this post on my website by clicking here. Scroll down to the bottom of the page where you will find the comment section.

Jim

“From caring comes courage.”

Lao Tzu

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“Money isn’t everything, … but it’s way ahead of whatever is in second place!”

As a kid growing up in southern Ontario, we used to spend a week each summer at my Uncle’s cottage on a lake a couple of hours north east of our home in Toronto.  My cousin and I would spend the days swimming, fishing, canoeing or just aimlessly lazing around.  Evenings were campfires and mosquitos.

On the shore was a boathouse and above it a living quarters that was used mainly for storage during those days.  It was the perfect place for kids to just hang out.  The walls were dotted with little plaques with witty sayings.  I do not know who originally penned this particular one, but it seems to have stuck with me.

There is a lot of talk these days about the customer experience and how it is critical to creating today’s competitive advantage.  In the service industry, the customer experience is largely created by the interaction of our customer-facing personnel with the customer.  In most cases our “customer-facing personnel” are our technicians and the customer experience comes from the relationships they are able to form.  It is these relationships, built on both personal and professional credibility that are critical for our success.

In the service business there are two components – one is the actual work that was completed (the repair, maintenance, troubleshooting, etc. – why the customer called us in the first place) and how that work was performed and described (the technician’s appearance, how they act and interact with employees, what they write to describe the work, etc.).  This fact is described in more detail in a previous blog “They don’t Pay Me to Look Good in Service Delivery”. It is the second component – the how the work was performed – that customers used to judge the quality of the work and the quality of the relationship.  And it is that relationship that creates the customer experience.  This means that, regardless of how technically skilled our technicians may be and no matter how good the work itself has been performed, the customer will not appreciate this quality nor the value that the technician brings to them unless the technician has a relationship with them that communicates that value.  Without the relationship and the corresponding value they perceive, the customer will look elsewhere to find better value.  Or, would it be better to say that in the service business:   “Relationship isn’t everything, … but it is way ahead of whatever is in second place!”

I’d love your feedback on this. And as always, please feel free to leave a link back to your own blog if you have one via the commentluv feature here on the site. If you are reading this blog post via email, you will need to locate this post on my website by clicking here. Scroll down to the bottom of the page where you will find the comment section.

Jim

“If you want to feel rich, just count the things you have that money can’t buy.”

– Proverb

The post Money isn’t Everything … for Service Companies appeared first on jimbaston.com.

Almost every service company can point to one or more of their techs who are naturally gifted to promote their services. They are always making recommendations to customers and promoting new services – and their customers love them. In our experience, these technicians are successful because they don’t see their recommendations as selling, but rather as an enhancement of their service.  If you have one or two techs on your team that fit this description, then you know the potential of getting everyone on your team to act in the same way.

In this series of blogs we are going to examine six steps that you implement to create a Proactive Service® focus from all of your service team members.  This will greatly enhance your efforts of developing a distinctive and sustainable competitive advantage and result in higher revenues and delighted customers.  I also contend that it will make your business a more desirable place to work.

The six steps we will explore are:

1. Focus on the service, not the sale
2. Encourage your techs to get to know your customer’s business goals
3. Provide continuous educational opportunities on your products and services
4. Develop a clear opportunity response process with feedback loops to the technician
5. Create a follow up process for quoted work
6. Provide ongoing coaching and support

Next time we will consider how we position our efforts as a service to ensure we get engagement from our techs and our customers.

What kind of service culture does your organization have today? I’d love your feedback! And as always, please feel free to leave a link back to your own blog if you have one via the commentluv feature here on the site. If you are reading this blog post via email, you will need to locate this post on my website by clicking here. Scroll down to the bottom of the page where you will find the comment section.

Jim

“Do today what others won’t, so tomorrow, you can do what others can’t.”

 – Unknown

The post Creating a Proactive Service Culture Throughout Your Service Team appeared first on jimbaston.com.