Time to show off my age, Lets talk service, I can remember when you would pull into a "service station" young men in white uniforms would come to your car and ask "Fill ‘er up?" and the other would be looking under the hood checking oil and hoses, then he would check the tore pressure and look under the car,. While he was doing that the first one who was filling your tank was washing your windshield and checking the wiperblades. Gas cost $.35 a gallon and price wars put the price down to $.11 cents at times in a battle for your business and loyalty. Ahh, Those were the days.
When you went to the theater a person sold you the ticket, some one took the ticket, gave the stubs back and an Usher took you to your seat. And that seat cost you $.50 cents.
The Gas Company Fixed appliances and sold them too. The Television store would deliver 1 or 2 sets to your house and let you sample them in your home to see which you liked best.
Yes that was service, What happened in the 1970’s changed the way we did thisngs with Department stores turning into K-Mart or Wal-Mart. The face of service is different than it was 40 years ago and I think we should go back a few years and revisit how we do things.
we should always greet our customers with a friendly smile and in a very short time. If they wait for more that a minute they tend to get angry.
If we don’t have what they want (as far as an answer) we Better go find the resolution to their issue while they are on the phone. Or be able to give them a time frame as to when it can be.
Always end a call asking if there is anything else and Thank you.
Friday, December 26, 2008
Monday, December 22, 2008
‘Tis the season
Well it is here, the only season slower that summer. We have accomplishe much in the past year and the time has come to take a hat off to all of you.
From support, to the second level and even those guys in the office. A year well done.
We managed to get through grades issues and how to make a call all the way to what is the website?
You have conducted yourselves in a very professional way and made an unbearable job entertaining,
The quotes on the wall say a lot about who we are and what we do. And we do, do it well.
I have worked for some choice companies in the field of technical support and no one ever told my team or me how much they are appreciated. Thank you.
We have broken performance records taking many more calls than ever, handling cases in numbers so high one weeks worth this year matched some months in the past.
We have Grown as a department and as a company going from 23 people (when I started) to 62 of the best and brightest staff one could imagine.
So if it is Christmas, Hanukiah, Kwanzaa or the Kings Birthday.
Happy Holiday
From support, to the second level and even those guys in the office. A year well done.
We managed to get through grades issues and how to make a call all the way to what is the website?
You have conducted yourselves in a very professional way and made an unbearable job entertaining,
The quotes on the wall say a lot about who we are and what we do. And we do, do it well.
I have worked for some choice companies in the field of technical support and no one ever told my team or me how much they are appreciated. Thank you.
We have broken performance records taking many more calls than ever, handling cases in numbers so high one weeks worth this year matched some months in the past.
We have Grown as a department and as a company going from 23 people (when I started) to 62 of the best and brightest staff one could imagine.
So if it is Christmas, Hanukiah, Kwanzaa or the Kings Birthday.
Happy Holiday
Friday, December 19, 2008
In Memorium
It is a sad day in all of Geekdom and SciFi land. Warp Speed! Mrs. Roddenberry
NEW YORK (AP) -- Majel Barrett Roddenberry, the widow of "Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry, has died. She was 76. Roddenberry, an actress who appeared in numerous "Star Trek" TV shows and movies, died Thursday of leukemia at her home in Bel-Air, Calif., her representative said.
At Roddenberry's side were family friends and her only son, Eugene Roddenberry Jr. Gene Roddenberry died in 1991.
Her romance with Roddenberry earned her the title "The First Lady of Star Trek." A fixture in the "Star Trek" franchise, her roles included Nurse Christine Chapel in the original "Star Trek," Lwaxana Troi in "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and the voice of the USS Enterprise computer in almost every spin-off of the 1966 cult series. She recently reprised the voice role in the upcoming "Star Trek" film directed by J.J. Abrams.
NEW YORK (AP) -- Majel Barrett Roddenberry, the widow of "Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry, has died. She was 76. Roddenberry, an actress who appeared in numerous "Star Trek" TV shows and movies, died Thursday of leukemia at her home in Bel-Air, Calif., her representative said.
At Roddenberry's side were family friends and her only son, Eugene Roddenberry Jr. Gene Roddenberry died in 1991.
Her romance with Roddenberry earned her the title "The First Lady of Star Trek." A fixture in the "Star Trek" franchise, her roles included Nurse Christine Chapel in the original "Star Trek," Lwaxana Troi in "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and the voice of the USS Enterprise computer in almost every spin-off of the 1966 cult series. She recently reprised the voice role in the upcoming "Star Trek" film directed by J.J. Abrams.
Friday, December 12, 2008
Instant Karma
Looked this up and what a Find!!!
Hot Heads and Karma - It All Works Out
Perspective and patience. It's a challenge especially in a lightning-fast business world filled with Type A's, cro-magnons, and Machiavellian punks (read The Prince for more detail on this last point). It's enough to make a sane person lose their mind (and in the case of the insane like myself, it means we have to attend therapy more frequently than we already do).Bad behavior happens every day. There's classic micro-management where your superior is giving detailed instructions on how you should adjust your desk chair. There's cro-magnonesque screaming and berating of subordinates who are doing nothing but their best yet market forces stall their efforts. There are the up-and-comers who behave like the fastest way to the top involves stepping on the backs, heads, and faces of those around them. And my favorite, the office politics and intrigue that would impress even the most conniving CIA and KGB veterans of the cold war. You confront these and other onerous acts daily. So what can you do?You have a few choices. You can play their game. You can get so bent out of shape over it you look like a bag of Rold Gold pretzels. You can focus on what matters and, like Jason Lee on "My Name is Earl," believe in Karma. Let's dissect these...Playing their game: Sure this approach offers instant gratification. They scream; you scream. They micro-manage, you micro-manage. They drag their knuckles and you do the same. Unfortunately this can be very satisfying in the near term. When you get screamed at, it's very fulfilling to go "kick the dog" (a euphemism for abusing your people). Why? It helps reestablish the power equation. When you're berated, you are effectively powerless in the face of the onslaught. As humans, we seek equilibrium and when we lose power in one situation we seek to regain it in another. This can manifest itself in the form of berating your team, taking it out on friends and family or in the most extreme form, kicking the dog (literally). If I need to elaborate on why this approach is dangerous, call me. You need help.You can also play the game of the up and comers. The problem is, they're better at it than you are because they've practiced it longer. Your team and colleagues will see right through it. Short term, it might get you ahead which is problematic because those rewards reinforce the belief that this is a winning strategy. Longer term, no one will work with you because no one trusts you. Once again, if I need to elaborate, seek help.Get Bent: Another strategy is to accept the behavior and adopt the "woe is me" victim approach. Do nothing but belly ache. You can internalize the behavior to the point that it affects your self-esteem and your health. It becomes the subject of water cooler griping and eventually poisons both you and the organization. Prescription medications even begin to enter the equation (or even worse - non-prescription "medications" to eliminate the stress). Once again, not really a viable strategy. This one tends to shorten your life span.Focus and Karma: This is the hardest approach of all because there is no near-term instant gratification payoff. It requires setting aside all the bad behavior and focusing on what you actually get paid for. You also have to become The Human Crapshield for your team and coworkers. If you're in a customer facing business, figure out how to serve them better (Hello airlines? Are you listening?). If you're a "support" function, go support your internal customer better than ever. Figure out how to have an impact and focus on those tasks maniacally despite the exogenous factors that are driving you up the wall. A funny thing happens when you spend more of your time focused on important stuff - you have less time and energy to focus on the stupidity and bad behaviors. You lower your risk of being hot headed and engaging in a career limiting move (and yes, there are occasions where I wish I personally had adopted this approach but instead "played their game" - it didn't work out so well...)."But Mike, what about the bad actors? When do they get theirs?" Patience grasshopper. That's all I can say. It all comes out in the wash at some point. They play their game so long that eventually people see them for what they are and teams depart or they end up "pursuing other opportunities." Bad things eventually happen. It's a leap of faith, I know. The thing is, do you really want to have that instant vengeance attached to your name? Is that how you want to be known professionally? If the answer is a resounding "no" and I hope it is, then you have no other choice but to continue doing the right things and letting the world sort out the rest. That's the great thing about a market economy - people eventually vote with their feet and the invisible hand of the market eventually reaches out and smacks the cro-mag across his bony protruding forehead.Be patient. Focus on the right outcomes. Protect your team. Only emulate the behaviors you want to be known for. It'll all work out in the end...- Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC
Hot Heads and Karma - It All Works Out
Perspective and patience. It's a challenge especially in a lightning-fast business world filled with Type A's, cro-magnons, and Machiavellian punks (read The Prince for more detail on this last point). It's enough to make a sane person lose their mind (and in the case of the insane like myself, it means we have to attend therapy more frequently than we already do).Bad behavior happens every day. There's classic micro-management where your superior is giving detailed instructions on how you should adjust your desk chair. There's cro-magnonesque screaming and berating of subordinates who are doing nothing but their best yet market forces stall their efforts. There are the up-and-comers who behave like the fastest way to the top involves stepping on the backs, heads, and faces of those around them. And my favorite, the office politics and intrigue that would impress even the most conniving CIA and KGB veterans of the cold war. You confront these and other onerous acts daily. So what can you do?You have a few choices. You can play their game. You can get so bent out of shape over it you look like a bag of Rold Gold pretzels. You can focus on what matters and, like Jason Lee on "My Name is Earl," believe in Karma. Let's dissect these...Playing their game: Sure this approach offers instant gratification. They scream; you scream. They micro-manage, you micro-manage. They drag their knuckles and you do the same. Unfortunately this can be very satisfying in the near term. When you get screamed at, it's very fulfilling to go "kick the dog" (a euphemism for abusing your people). Why? It helps reestablish the power equation. When you're berated, you are effectively powerless in the face of the onslaught. As humans, we seek equilibrium and when we lose power in one situation we seek to regain it in another. This can manifest itself in the form of berating your team, taking it out on friends and family or in the most extreme form, kicking the dog (literally). If I need to elaborate on why this approach is dangerous, call me. You need help.You can also play the game of the up and comers. The problem is, they're better at it than you are because they've practiced it longer. Your team and colleagues will see right through it. Short term, it might get you ahead which is problematic because those rewards reinforce the belief that this is a winning strategy. Longer term, no one will work with you because no one trusts you. Once again, if I need to elaborate, seek help.Get Bent: Another strategy is to accept the behavior and adopt the "woe is me" victim approach. Do nothing but belly ache. You can internalize the behavior to the point that it affects your self-esteem and your health. It becomes the subject of water cooler griping and eventually poisons both you and the organization. Prescription medications even begin to enter the equation (or even worse - non-prescription "medications" to eliminate the stress). Once again, not really a viable strategy. This one tends to shorten your life span.Focus and Karma: This is the hardest approach of all because there is no near-term instant gratification payoff. It requires setting aside all the bad behavior and focusing on what you actually get paid for. You also have to become The Human Crapshield for your team and coworkers. If you're in a customer facing business, figure out how to serve them better (Hello airlines? Are you listening?). If you're a "support" function, go support your internal customer better than ever. Figure out how to have an impact and focus on those tasks maniacally despite the exogenous factors that are driving you up the wall. A funny thing happens when you spend more of your time focused on important stuff - you have less time and energy to focus on the stupidity and bad behaviors. You lower your risk of being hot headed and engaging in a career limiting move (and yes, there are occasions where I wish I personally had adopted this approach but instead "played their game" - it didn't work out so well...)."But Mike, what about the bad actors? When do they get theirs?" Patience grasshopper. That's all I can say. It all comes out in the wash at some point. They play their game so long that eventually people see them for what they are and teams depart or they end up "pursuing other opportunities." Bad things eventually happen. It's a leap of faith, I know. The thing is, do you really want to have that instant vengeance attached to your name? Is that how you want to be known professionally? If the answer is a resounding "no" and I hope it is, then you have no other choice but to continue doing the right things and letting the world sort out the rest. That's the great thing about a market economy - people eventually vote with their feet and the invisible hand of the market eventually reaches out and smacks the cro-mag across his bony protruding forehead.Be patient. Focus on the right outcomes. Protect your team. Only emulate the behaviors you want to be known for. It'll all work out in the end...- Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Ya know it's funnier when it's true!
Abe said it…First I’ll say it again
A customer who doesn’t like you will not like you for a long time. Case in point once I had a customer who I was trying to appease and thought I knew best… well I didn’t I got called some very unsavory names and blood was spilled. That said; she wouldn’t speak to me again… or so she thinks.
I have a dynamite team here and that customer gives them kudos that too is great!
I on the other hand taught them. Hehehe. I like to hear when they do good and pleasing this one is no small task!
Irony is delicious when served with milk and cookies!
The supervisor I had when I first started has the same issue with the same person. You cannot please them all but when you do you are the greatest thing since oh well you know.
Now looking at things the way they are will let you know that once you earn this persons displeasure they too will be in the outs and that is oh soOKAY!!!
There will be more of these customers I am sure we all will get them, We all must remember folks, "you cannot please all of the people all of the time or some of the people some of the time" but once in a while… that’s alright in my book
Remembering the being, becoming or belonging to, is not as important doing your best even when it doesn’t please everyone you encounter. I tried to please and failed in this case and that is ok.
This experience has taught me that no matter what you do, well Lincoln said it First
A customer who doesn’t like you will not like you for a long time. Case in point once I had a customer who I was trying to appease and thought I knew best… well I didn’t I got called some very unsavory names and blood was spilled. That said; she wouldn’t speak to me again… or so she thinks.
I have a dynamite team here and that customer gives them kudos that too is great!
I on the other hand taught them. Hehehe. I like to hear when they do good and pleasing this one is no small task!
Irony is delicious when served with milk and cookies!
The supervisor I had when I first started has the same issue with the same person. You cannot please them all but when you do you are the greatest thing since oh well you know.
Now looking at things the way they are will let you know that once you earn this persons displeasure they too will be in the outs and that is oh soOKAY!!!
There will be more of these customers I am sure we all will get them, We all must remember folks, "you cannot please all of the people all of the time or some of the people some of the time" but once in a while… that’s alright in my book
Remembering the being, becoming or belonging to, is not as important doing your best even when it doesn’t please everyone you encounter. I tried to please and failed in this case and that is ok.
This experience has taught me that no matter what you do, well Lincoln said it First
Friday, December 5, 2008
From The Customer Service Reader
Hey, I have found another Favorite webpage!!
Customer Service and the Pursuit of Happiness
Does happiness at work matter? Most of your life is spent going to work, being at work, going from work, thinking about work, and talking about work after work. If you work in customer service, and are not happy with your job, you have the wrong job. You should find the calling that makes you happy. When you are happy at work, you’ll never have to work another day.
Most people don’t expect to find happiness, working a customer service job. But customer service, by its very nature, presents unique opportunities for the pursuit of happiness, not only for individuals, but for society as a whole.
Researchers in the field of Subjective Well-being (happiness) have found that there are certain characteristics that happy people have in common. Happy people:
Have self-control
Are grateful
Have good social relationships, supportive friends and family
Have an adequate income
Have respectable jobs, and
Have a philosophy that provides meaning to their lives.
Using this framework, can we, as providers, find happiness through customer service?
Self-control
The consistent practice of outstanding customer service behaviors requires an extraordinary amount of self-control. It starts with the realization that YOU are in control.
You choose your attitude
You choose your response
You choose to set aside your personal problems
You choose to give others a better day
When we take control, we refuse to be victims of circumstance, or of our own personal weaknesses. We take charge of our lives and of the situations that we face. This is a principal requirement of a life in service and, as it turns out, a principal requirement for a happy life.
Gratitude
"Thank you" is perhaps that the second most important customer service phrase. We use it (or ought to use it) dozens of times a day (thank you for calling, thank you for bringing that to my attention, thank-you-come-again). When we use these phrases authentically - i.e. when we mean what we say - we develop a habit of thankfulness. In Akumal III, Dr Bob Emmons reported research which showed that "people high in gratitude are more satisfied with life, have more vitality, more happiness, more optimism, hope, positive affect, lower psychological symptoms, more prosocial behaviors, and are higher on empathy".
Good social relationships
When you consistently practice customer service values and skills, such as kindness, listening, empathy, gratitude, responsibility, and persuasion, you develop habits that will stay with you for the rest of your life, and that can be applied to all other aspects of your life. You'll be able to make friends more easily, and will be better skilled at strengthening your relationships with your friends and family. They in turn will tend to reciprocate. People who are happy have strong relationships with friends and family. This is both a characteristic of happy people, and a consequence of their behavior.
Adequate income
There is a premium in the labor market for outstanding customer service providers. More important, we have the opportunity to constantly increase both our short-term and long-term income by applying our customer service skills. As Henry Ford once said, one who is “absolutely devoted to service will have only one worry about profits. They will be embarrassingly large.”
Respectable jobs
This has two components. There’s the respect that you get for how you do your job, and there’s the respect you get for having that job. It’s not easy to provide outstanding customer service to every customer, on every transaction, every minute of the day. If you can do that, that’s something you can truly be proud of, and it’s certainly deserving of respect. Chances are you already stand out, and are duly rewarded.
The second component, respect for the job itself, depends less on the individual, and more on the team as a whole. When everyone in your organization or location provides outstanding service, people tend to talk about you, and you're likely to be known and respected for the service that you provide. It's a source of pride just to be part of such a team. The hard part is that it does depend on everyone. All it takes is one bad player to ruin the whole game.
A philosophy that provides meaning to their lives
The principles at the root of outstanding customer service are simple enough to say:
Our lives have more meaning when we serve others
Customer service is, first and foremost, a form of service
To serve each other and each customer is to serve humanity
As customer service providers, we touch millions of people each year. Each contact is an opportunity to make each life we touch a little better each day. And when we make people happy, they tend to pay it forward. Through the phenomenon psychologists call the “emotional contagion”, we can be carriers of an epidemic of kindness. We can be weapons of mass construction.
I'll end with some thoughts from some people who are a lot smarter than me:
Everyone can be great because everyone can serve. Martin Luther King Jr
Joy can be real only if people look on their life as a service. Leo Tolstoy
The value of a man should be seen in what he gives and not in what he is able to receive. Only a life lived for others is a life worth living. Albert Einstein
Every one of us does render some service or other. If we cultivate the habit of doing this service deliberately, our desire for service will steadily grow stronger, and will make, not only our own happiness, but that of the world at large. Mohandas K Gandhi
Source: http://customerservicereader.typepad.com/
Customer Service and the Pursuit of Happiness
Does happiness at work matter? Most of your life is spent going to work, being at work, going from work, thinking about work, and talking about work after work. If you work in customer service, and are not happy with your job, you have the wrong job. You should find the calling that makes you happy. When you are happy at work, you’ll never have to work another day.
Most people don’t expect to find happiness, working a customer service job. But customer service, by its very nature, presents unique opportunities for the pursuit of happiness, not only for individuals, but for society as a whole.
Researchers in the field of Subjective Well-being (happiness) have found that there are certain characteristics that happy people have in common. Happy people:
Have self-control
Are grateful
Have good social relationships, supportive friends and family
Have an adequate income
Have respectable jobs, and
Have a philosophy that provides meaning to their lives.
Using this framework, can we, as providers, find happiness through customer service?
Self-control
The consistent practice of outstanding customer service behaviors requires an extraordinary amount of self-control. It starts with the realization that YOU are in control.
You choose your attitude
You choose your response
You choose to set aside your personal problems
You choose to give others a better day
When we take control, we refuse to be victims of circumstance, or of our own personal weaknesses. We take charge of our lives and of the situations that we face. This is a principal requirement of a life in service and, as it turns out, a principal requirement for a happy life.
Gratitude
"Thank you" is perhaps that the second most important customer service phrase. We use it (or ought to use it) dozens of times a day (thank you for calling, thank you for bringing that to my attention, thank-you-come-again). When we use these phrases authentically - i.e. when we mean what we say - we develop a habit of thankfulness. In Akumal III, Dr Bob Emmons reported research which showed that "people high in gratitude are more satisfied with life, have more vitality, more happiness, more optimism, hope, positive affect, lower psychological symptoms, more prosocial behaviors, and are higher on empathy".
Good social relationships
When you consistently practice customer service values and skills, such as kindness, listening, empathy, gratitude, responsibility, and persuasion, you develop habits that will stay with you for the rest of your life, and that can be applied to all other aspects of your life. You'll be able to make friends more easily, and will be better skilled at strengthening your relationships with your friends and family. They in turn will tend to reciprocate. People who are happy have strong relationships with friends and family. This is both a characteristic of happy people, and a consequence of their behavior.
Adequate income
There is a premium in the labor market for outstanding customer service providers. More important, we have the opportunity to constantly increase both our short-term and long-term income by applying our customer service skills. As Henry Ford once said, one who is “absolutely devoted to service will have only one worry about profits. They will be embarrassingly large.”
Respectable jobs
This has two components. There’s the respect that you get for how you do your job, and there’s the respect you get for having that job. It’s not easy to provide outstanding customer service to every customer, on every transaction, every minute of the day. If you can do that, that’s something you can truly be proud of, and it’s certainly deserving of respect. Chances are you already stand out, and are duly rewarded.
The second component, respect for the job itself, depends less on the individual, and more on the team as a whole. When everyone in your organization or location provides outstanding service, people tend to talk about you, and you're likely to be known and respected for the service that you provide. It's a source of pride just to be part of such a team. The hard part is that it does depend on everyone. All it takes is one bad player to ruin the whole game.
A philosophy that provides meaning to their lives
The principles at the root of outstanding customer service are simple enough to say:
Our lives have more meaning when we serve others
Customer service is, first and foremost, a form of service
To serve each other and each customer is to serve humanity
As customer service providers, we touch millions of people each year. Each contact is an opportunity to make each life we touch a little better each day. And when we make people happy, they tend to pay it forward. Through the phenomenon psychologists call the “emotional contagion”, we can be carriers of an epidemic of kindness. We can be weapons of mass construction.
I'll end with some thoughts from some people who are a lot smarter than me:
Everyone can be great because everyone can serve. Martin Luther King Jr
Joy can be real only if people look on their life as a service. Leo Tolstoy
The value of a man should be seen in what he gives and not in what he is able to receive. Only a life lived for others is a life worth living. Albert Einstein
Every one of us does render some service or other. If we cultivate the habit of doing this service deliberately, our desire for service will steadily grow stronger, and will make, not only our own happiness, but that of the world at large. Mohandas K Gandhi
Source: http://customerservicereader.typepad.com/
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Promises, Promises, Promises.....
Well I can have it for you maybe next week! But it needs to be done NOW!!
These are the dilemmas we face in the small tech world or a small auto shop.
Too much work of varied kinds, the delay in getting parts or the time to do little things are barriers to talking to customers and setting expectations.. Thank the tech gods for good planning and a system to get these and many more things done.
I worked at a dealership that had 3 technicians. We handled most of the Dodge sales for the Utah Valley for a long time. The shop hadn’t grown much since it opened in 1916. Three mechanics with 10 to 12 jobs to do on Monday morning is more than some can handle but we did! I had a very good crew one man for Transmissions and engines, one Great General mechanic and one who liked soak up all the Gravy Work (brake Jobs, Tune-up and New Car Prep) he could. I knew this would not suffice!
I started not having appointments to work on cars but an appointment to drop one off and get a ride home or to work.. Our Long time customers would get a loaner, Warrantee repairs a rental (at the factory expense) Most of the repairs happened within a day but the few that would take longer special arrangements had to be made. First I told them “the job will take about a week” I knew Doug could do the transmission in a day maybe 2 we had always ordered extra parts for the job so waiting on a parts shipment was no big deal. The customer would accept the wait as he was in a loaner and didn’t have to worry about anything.
Doug had already diagnosed the issue (pretty much al the same problem with the a-604) with the parts in stock he went to work. I would have the car detailed inside and out either during the job or right afterward. 2 days later we called the customer, to come and get the car.
Wait a minute! “You said it would be a week” Well yes I did. “We were fortunate enough to have an opening in the schedule” I would tell them. Then our lot man cleaned up for you because this is such a messy job. Now I have done it! I have delighted someone without even trying.
Setting expectations and delivering on them is one thing. Exceeding those expectations is something else entirely!
These are the dilemmas we face in the small tech world or a small auto shop.
Too much work of varied kinds, the delay in getting parts or the time to do little things are barriers to talking to customers and setting expectations.. Thank the tech gods for good planning and a system to get these and many more things done.
I worked at a dealership that had 3 technicians. We handled most of the Dodge sales for the Utah Valley for a long time. The shop hadn’t grown much since it opened in 1916. Three mechanics with 10 to 12 jobs to do on Monday morning is more than some can handle but we did! I had a very good crew one man for Transmissions and engines, one Great General mechanic and one who liked soak up all the Gravy Work (brake Jobs, Tune-up and New Car Prep) he could. I knew this would not suffice!
I started not having appointments to work on cars but an appointment to drop one off and get a ride home or to work.. Our Long time customers would get a loaner, Warrantee repairs a rental (at the factory expense) Most of the repairs happened within a day but the few that would take longer special arrangements had to be made. First I told them “the job will take about a week” I knew Doug could do the transmission in a day maybe 2 we had always ordered extra parts for the job so waiting on a parts shipment was no big deal. The customer would accept the wait as he was in a loaner and didn’t have to worry about anything.
Doug had already diagnosed the issue (pretty much al the same problem with the a-604) with the parts in stock he went to work. I would have the car detailed inside and out either during the job or right afterward. 2 days later we called the customer, to come and get the car.
Wait a minute! “You said it would be a week” Well yes I did. “We were fortunate enough to have an opening in the schedule” I would tell them. Then our lot man cleaned up for you because this is such a messy job. Now I have done it! I have delighted someone without even trying.
Setting expectations and delivering on them is one thing. Exceeding those expectations is something else entirely!
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