Day 74
Two days ago I wrote encouraging GREAT leaders to learn from a bad experience I had on American Airlines. You can read it in my blog where we post my newsletters and more. Let me give you three additional insights from this experience that we can assess against our own organizations:
1. Keep The Door Open: Make the product return, contract termination, or other Client-initiated end of our relationship for the moment as positive as their purchasing experience. This is hard, but remember, they still need your services. Nordstrom trains their employees to do this.Keep the door open to them coming back, and encourage them to speak positively about you to others. One of our Clients recently did this when terminating an employee. He handled it so well the employee spoke positively about their organization to others immediately afterwards.
2. Sincerely Care: None of the American Airlines employees I approached about changing my flight cared about my concerns. Why would I ever choose to do business with them again? I do have other airlines who want my business.
This may seem simple, but some of your employees occasionally or often use words, a tone of voice, and/or gesture that tells your Clients they have "bigger" priorities than your Client's concern. You have to teach your employees to develop this habit.
NOTE: We are about to develop soft skills training. Email me if you want to learn more.
3. Provide Options: American Airlines' people said "no" to my requests. They were cold, impersonal, and did not have the authority to override standard policy.Give your people authority that matches their responsibility, and options when a Client is "backed into a corner" to help your VALUED Clients get unstuck. They could have given me an upgrade or something. Our Client relationships are a two-way interaction, not a "NO Factory."
And do not forget... IT IS FRIDAY! A basic part of an Accountability Culture is following-up on your weekly 3Strands to confirm you made progress on your most important 2013 goals this week. If you are using a daily W.I.N., then how did you do yesterday? What's your plan today?
Do not forget to hold your people accountable too.
Let me know if you need help.
Be a Systematic Leader - because inconsistency hurts
Thank you.
