Steve Ferrante's High Performance Blog for Sales/Customer Service/Leadership Champs and Progressive Professionals!

Posts tagged ‘Steve Ferrante’

Your Single Biggest Advantage

Recently I came across this cartoon…

Who Wants Change

I’m not sure who the artist is but the depiction bears an uncanny resemblance to a speaking engagement I had a few years back. I was speaking at an automotive industry conference at the beautiful Baltimore Marriott Waterfront. There were about 1500 people in the audience. I was on stage with a movie theater size screen behind me. About 5 minutes into my presentation, I put this slide up on the screen..

DO YOU WANT TO WIN

The sheer amount of people and the rally environment of the conference made this the loudest response I’ve ever heard in the many times I’ve used this slide as they seemingly all cheered loudly, many raising their arms/fists to demonstrate their support. After all, who doesn’t want to win?

Then, I said “Great! What are you doing about it?” Like someone pulled the fun plug, the cheers faded away, the arms went down, and the place fell nearly silent as I switched to this quote from Coach Paul Bear Bryant..

The Will To Prepare To Win

Having trained thousands of folks in dozens of businesses, I’m convinced most people want to be better. They want to win. However, few people turn that desire into action and make the necessary changes to succeed at at a higher level. I believe this is your single biggest advantage for success.

????????????????????????????????

When I talk with clients, and people in general, about achieving higher levels of success (“Pinnacle Performance”) they all want it. But, when we address the changes it’s going to take then I often receive halfhearted commitments or excuses. Finally, I discover who I’m really dealing with in the actions they take or, most often, do not take.

Ever heard of a New Year resolution? The research studies all conclude the same findings, approximately 80% of people that make a New Year resolution do not keep it. There are a number of reasons for this but they are all driven by self-discipline and a commitment to change.   

Now this ‘change’ principle is certainly not the latest in professional development advice. In fact, English literary James Allen published this famous quote in one of the most popular self-help books of all time, As a Man Thinketh, way back in 1902:

“Men are anxious to improve their circumstances, but are unwilling to improve themselves; they therefore remain bound.” — James Allen

Improvement, by design, is change. When you effectively apply this change principle to a organizations culture, where everyone is committed to continuous improvement, it is a very strong competitive advantage.

From 2007-2012 I conducted my “Strong Selling In A Weak Economy” seminar to dozens of organizations and associations. A popular program at the time, I would hear from many business owners on how they were trying to “weather the storm” and assuming a “bunker mentality” trying to make it through until the economy improved. I would ask how this was working for them and their business. It was not.

They all wanted to be better, yet they weren’t really doing anything about it other than trying to survive.  I would ask, “now that the economy has changed, what have you changed?” In most cases, nothing. I would point out how Einstein called this the definition of insanity; “doing the same thing and hoping for a different result”.

jim-rohn-change quote

So if positive change creates positive results then why don’t most people change? Here’s my top 3 reasons:

1) Change Is Hard?

There is no glitch in the Matrix.. That curious question mark at the end of this common statement is on purpose. The reality is change is only hard when you don’t know what and how to change. If you’ve been winging it, as a example, then “yes” change is hard. If you’re following a proven path then change is not easy, it’s just less hard, much less.

For instance, if you do not play the piano but were committed to playing really well, you wouldn’t buy a piano and just wing it. You would take lessons from a professional piano teacher who would help you change, with patience and practice, from an amateur to a professional yourself. 

You would recognize that in the beginning of your piano playing, like anything new, you would not be good and, very likely, would just plain stink. You would understand that this phase is a part of the learning curve on your way to mastering your skill.

If you understood all that and did persevere, you would be in the minority as the majority that try new things don’t succeed at them, much less master them. For them change is too hard. It’s much easier to retreat back to the comfort zone, so that’s where they end up. 

You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, ‘I have lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.’ You must do the thing you think you cannot do. – Eleanor Roosevelt

2) Your Environment

If you’re looking to lose weight then it only makes sense that you would not want to frequent the local ice cream parlor or pizza pad. If you want to succeed in your role, you need to take the same approach. Build a supporting cast by surrounding yourself with folks that are committed to the same change (or changes) you’re trying to make. Distance yourself from the naysayers and surround yourself with winners.

HANG OUT WITH EAGLES

For businesses, this is a culture issue. If a company is looking to achieve higher levels of success (a change) but their people are looking to stay the same (no change) then, ultimately, the company will not achieve its goal.  

Leaders must continually communicate the case for positive change and how it is ‘good for business’. They must create a culture that embraces change and strategically replace those on the team that are stuck in their ways and refuse to change.

3) Procrastination

Statistically speaking, there will be a great number of folks that read this and insist it’s not really about them. They are the ones that want change. They’ve just been so busy managing their current affairs that they haven’t really had the time to focus on all this change stuff.

Now, for some of these folks, it’s just not that important. They’re simply not that committed. Their goals are really just wishes. If they happen, great! If they don’t, that’s okay.

For those people, good enough is good enough. 

For the others that say, “Heck no, it’s really important”, it’s often a matter of procrastination.

You can find my whole article on that here > Top 3 Reasons Champions Don’t Have Time To Procrastinate

I hope this article has changed you, even if just a little, to be better than before you read it!

Steve 🙂

This article is also published on LinkedIn here > Your Single Biggest Advantage

—

Steve Ferrante is the Grand PooBah & Trainer of Champions of Sale Away LLC.  Through Pinnacle Performance Sales, Customer Service and Winning Team Culture training, speaking and professional development services, Steve creates positive change for success-driven businesses throughout North America. For detailed information visit Sale Away. Steve can be reached directly at 866-721-6086 ext. 701 or via email at steve@saleawayllc.com

Category:

Steve's Articles

Tagged with:

Jaromir Jagr’s Success Formula

some-people-dream-of-success-while-others-wake-up-and-work-hard-at-it-22

It goes without saying that being a professional athlete in any sport is not something that is easily achieved. Sure, some people are born with genetic gifts that made them tall or especially strong but, as I wrote about in The Truth About “Born Salesman”, they must still apply themselves and continually work on their game to master their craft and truly achieve greatness. 

And, as referenced in the video below with regard to hockey, once the average athlete does achieve professional status, their tenure at that level is usually short-lived. All that makes the story of hockey great Jaromir Jagr all that more remarkable. 

Have a look and listen to this brief ESPN Spotlight video:

 

As I often say in my training and speaking engagements, success has a formula. Jaromir’s success is certainly no accident. He does indeed have, and more importantly, adheres to a formula.

Let’s breakdown a few key points Jaromir made in the video that speak directly to achieving and sustaining success:

Constantly Adjust

Good yesterday doesn’t equal good today. You have to adjust. – Jaromir Jagr

One of the biggest threats to progress and ultimate success is complacency. While high-achievers like Jaromir are constantly striving for higher levels of performance, average folks get to a point and settle for good enough. As I referenced in the previous post.. If good enough if good enough for you, then you’ll never achieve greatness. To avoid complacency and keep moving forward you must constantly adjust. 

Consistent Practice Equals Consistent Results

The body is like a computer, I believe you can program it.  – Jaromir Jagr

One of the biggest problems I see that stifles growth with many businesses, and consequently the employees in them, is that they are inconsistent with their training efforts. As I wrote about in 4 Seldom Considered Reasons Sales/Customer Service Training Fails, training works with consistent exposure to the training. 

As Jaromir pointed out, you have to keep practicing to program your body and be best prepared to perform at a high level. That type of programming also applies to sales and customer service training. When folks do not consistently practice they gradually deprogram themselves and are not best prepared to capitalize on sales opportunities or provide the highest quality of customer service.

I wish I didn’t have to do anything and be good but it doesn’t work like that, it would be too easy and everyone could do it. – Jaromir Jagr

You Can Have Your Muffins but…

Like Jaromir, I also like muffins. There’s nothing quite like the savory deliciousness of a warm blueberry muffin with a little pat of butter. No great lesson here.. just an intriguing food fact.

Seriously, if you’re gonna cheat with the sweets then you better offset it with regular workouts. Unless, of course, you’re not really concerned with peak performance. Then diet, and just about everything else, doesn’t really matter. 

Be 100% In It

Whatever I love I have to be 100% in it. – Jaromir Jagr

This speaks directly to commitment and passion for your job. As I wrote about in Passion Powers Performance, most folks don’t have it.

You will never achieve the level of success you’re capable of achieving if you’re not 100% invested in your work. Put another way, you’ll never achieve the level of success you would have achieved in something you were 100% invested in.

Like Jagr, in order to be a great you need to be 100% in it .

Jagr Stanley Cup

—

Steve Ferrante is the Grand PooBah & Trainer of Champions of Sale Away LLC. As producer and host of Pinnacle Performance Training, Steve delivers sales, customer Service and winning team culture training, speaking and professional development services to success-driven organizations throughout North America. For detailed information visit Sale Away. Steve can be reached directly at 866-721-6086 ext. 701 or via email at steve@saleawayllc.com

Category:

Steve's Articles

Tagged with:

Small, Consistent Improvements Over Time Equal BIG Results!

No doubt you’ve seen and heard many “get rich quick” offers over the years. Around since the early 1900’s, most of these schemes promise that with little time, effort or money participants can obtain wealth. Desperately seeking success, many well meaning folks fall for these pitches and sadly, in most cases, end up no father ahead then before they began.   

While overnight successes make for great stories, true success is built on the foundation of continuous improvement.  Success rarely (if ever) happens from making big changes all at once. Rather, the path to excellence requires progressive baby steps, small improvements in behaviors and execution that when performed consistently over time lead to big performance gains.

Be a little bit better every day and, over time, you’ll be a lot better! 

Small consistent improvements over time equal BIG results

Make a Great day!

Steve 🙂

Category:

Monday Motivation, Pinnacle Performance Quotes

Tagged with:

Marriott Gets Social To Deliver Great Service!

Bill Marriott if-you-take-care-of-your-employees

Marriott has long been known as a leader in the hospitality industry. Like the Ritz-Carlton, which Marriott International purchased in the mid-1990’s, Marriott understands it is the customer experience that drives customer satisfaction and, ultimately, loyalty to the brand.

Marriott also knows that the quality of the customer experience is only as good as the culture of the business and the employees that interact with guests. So, like the Ritz-Carlton, Marriott trains every employee — from concierge, front desk, housekeeping, to maintenance — to interact with guests with a focus on enhancing the customer experience. 

The remarkable success of the Marriott brand and their customer service culture is detailed in the highly recommended book by J. W. “Bill” Marriott, Jr., The Spirit to Serve

More recently, and as a tie in to my recent experience chronicled below, Bill Marriott spoke about the role of social media in the customer experience:

Today, social media makes it easy for organizations like ours to ‘listen’ and ask questions of our guests. Our guests and associates have lots of opportunity now to let us know what they’re thinking and how we’re doing as a company. – Bill Marriott

The important part of what Mr. Marriott said is ‘listen’. These days, most reputable companies have some sort of social media presence and the capability to listen to their customers. Of those companies, the impact on the customer experience is in how they turn that ‘listening’ into action. 

Case in point:

Two weeks ago I was back on the beautiful Big Island of Hawaii for another round of in-house training with a very-valued client of mine.  As was the case on my previous two visits, I stayed at the beautiful Waikoloa Beach Marriott Resort & Spa. 

While working on my laptop from my room balcony I tweeted this >

About a half-hour later I received this tweet back:

https://twitter.com/WaikoloaBeachMH/status/686675054311129089

Good Stuff! Someone there was certainly ‘listening’ and responding in a positive manner to enhance my customer experience!

The next morning I left for my client early, was out of the hotel all day, and returned to my room early that evening to find a fresh fruit plate, 6 slices of banana bread, 2 bottled waters and silverware on my desk:

Waikoloa Marriott Treat

As shown, it included a card from the Director of Sales & Marketing, John Dominguez, with a thoughtful message:

Aloha Steven, If you have to work on your lanai, we hope you will enjoy this small treat.

Waikoloa Marriott Card

WOW! Now that’s exceeding expectations! Impressed and delighted with John’s consideration, I tweeted again:

Seemingly immediately, Marriott ‘liked’ the tweet and, not long after that, I received an “ENJOY!” retweet response. I sure did!

This is a great example of harnessing the power of social media to engage and, along with taking action, personalize and provide a memorable customer experience.

Well Done Marriott!

Steve 🙂

This story is also on LinkedIn @ Marriott Gets Social To Deliver Great Service

Category:

Steve's Articles

Tagged with:

6 Resolutions for a More Successful New Year!

Here’s a timely article I originally published last year. The year has been updated, my advice remains the same..

6 Resolutions for a More Successful New Year!

As we come to the end of 2015 we arrive at the intersection of a new beginning, a clean slate and opportunity to be even better in the new year.

While the vast majority of New Year’s resolutions tend to fade away by the time February rolls around, here’s six I hope stay with you for greater success and improved well-being in 2016 and beyond.

In 2016,  I resolve to:

1) Focus On What I Can Control

More often than not, we experience grief, anxiety and/or frustration from situations that are beyond our control. Obviously, this is counterproductive. In 2016, minimize external issues and focus on your attitude (see # 5), your behaviors (what you do) and your execution (how you do it) to best control your destiny.

2) Be Grateful

As I published at Thanksgiving, gratitude is the best attitude for success. Grateful individuals focus on the positive aspects of life/work and do not take them for granted. They express heartfelt thanks and appreciation to others and their genuine gratitude positively attracts others to them.

3) Be a Student of My Profession

High-achievers, in any occupation, are true students of their profession. For sales/customer service professionals, realize that you are in the people business first and your product/services second. That means learning everything you can about improving your ‘people skills’ to better communicate and connect with people, build rapport, trust and relationships. Top performers continuously invest in themselves through training, reading and professional development to further their skill set.

4) Exercise Regularly

This is perhaps the most neglected New Year’s resolution of all time. Although the vast majority of folks do not stick with their resolution to exercise regularly the benefits of doing so are indisputable.  Regular exercise improves heart-lung and muscle fitness, helps prevent heart disease and diabetes, relieves stress, improves sleep, controls weight and generally improves your chances of living longer and healthier. 

5) Be Happy

 As I often say, positive attracts positive in everything you do. You will certainly gain far more in 2016 being happy than you would being miserable. I once read that the ‘grand essentials’ of happiness are: something to do, something to love, and something to hope for. For greater success in 2016, make sure you’re aligned for this and be happy.

6) Make Each Day Count

The Champ Himself, Muhammad Ali, once said “Don’t count the days, make the days count”. This principle is directly applicable to having a successful year… don’t count the days on the calendar, make each day on the calendar count. When you focus on making each day a success your year will take care of itself!

Commit to a Successful New Year 2016

All The Best To You For Success In 2016!

Steve 🙂

—

Steve Ferrante is the CEO & Trainer of Champions of Sale Away LLC., providing Pinnacle Performance Sales, Customer Service and Winning Team Culture training, speaking and professional development services to success-driven businesses throughout North America. For more information on Steve and Pinnacle Performance services for your team visit saleawayllc.com

Category:

Steve's Articles

Tagged with:

Amazon’s Customer Service and the Curious Case of the 1 Eared Giraffe

Back in May of 2013, I published this article on Amazon’s world-class customer service.

Since then, I’m happy to say I’ve continued putting their team to the test with a steady stream of purchases, and they’ve continued delivering the kind of high-quality care I preach and teach about in my training rooms.

Which brings us to the latest chapter in my Amazon adventures with this curious case of the one-eared giraffe…

Seemingly out of nowhere, my daughter Ava developed an urgent, life-or-death need for animal onesie pajamas. With Christmas around the corner, I tried to steer her toward the “put it under the tree” option. That suggestion was met with agonizing opposition. Evidently, waiting eight weeks for cozy animal sleepwear was a burden no child should be asked to bear.

After reviewing a parade of colorful critters, Ava chose the giraffe as her perfect bedtime companion. So I placed the order.

Here’s the picture from Amazon.com:

Giraffe Onesie PJ's

Most of our Amazon orders show up in two days thanks to Prime shipping, but this particular purchase was coming from a distributor in China, so Prime was out of the question.

Ava, however, was unfazed by logistics. Every day for two straight weeks she asked if “the package” had arrived with the optimism of a kid waiting for Santa. And then, on day fifteen, her long-awaited bundle finally landed on our doorstep.

In what was likely the quickest turnaround of all-time, Ava disappeared momentarily then reappeared in our kitchen like this:

1 Ear Giraffe

Notice anything odd? We didn’t at first either. But a closer look revealed our new giraffe was missing a right ear. If you go back to the product photo, the girl is literally holding the giraffe by the ears. Apparently that quality-control step didn’t make it into the manufacturing process for ours.

Trying to prevent a full emotional collapse (which you probably would’ve heard from wherever you’re reading this), I assured Ava I’d reach out to Amazon and was confident they’d make things right quickly.

Below is the email exchange that followed between me and Amazon’s customer service team.

It all started with my return request:

 Item: Unisex Costume Animal Cosplay Onesie Adult Pajamas Anime Cartoon Sleepwear Medium, Giraffe
> Qty: 1
> Return reason: Defective/Does not work properly
> Customer comments: Arrived with only one ear and appears to have been created
  that way. My daughter is quite upset and doesn't want
  to wait several weeks again for a new one to be delivered

—

Reply received:

Dear customer, we have received your return request. We are so sorry you received
damaged item. You don't need to return the item, you can keep it. We will make a
full refund for you tomorrow. Could you please kindly send us the photo of the
one ear giraffe. We will send it to our QC. Thank you very much.
Please feel to contact us if you have any problem, thanks again.
 Have a nice day.

—

That’s great, I don’t even have to return the item, they’re just going to ‘take care of the customer’ and refund my purchase price. Still, Ava really wants a fully functional giraffe, so I sent the picture I posted above along with this reply:

Thank You for your prompt response and offer to keep item and refund amount paid.
I have attached a pic on the 1 ear giraffe. Will the much anticipated 2 ear version
be sent? My daughter prefers her giraffes to not be hearing impaired...
--

Not long after I received this reply:

Dear customer, thank you for your photo. We will send a new one to you tomorrow.
We will send you the new tracking number later. Thank you very much.
--

As I often say…

This is another great example of customer service recovery done right and why Amazon continues to earn my business and accolades.

Steve

Category:

Pinnacle Customer Service, Steve's Articles

Tagged with:

Building Success Momentum

In my training and speaking engagements, I often talk about how success breeds success on both on a business and personal level.

In sales, as an example, high-achievers win more business more often. This success builds confidence, creates momentum and they continue to succeed. It’s no coincidence that so many salespeople are at their best and often succeed immediately after they’ve had a prior successful sales interaction.

On the other hand, failure breeds failure.  As salespeople face rejection on a regular basis, and typically lose far more often than they win, they can lose confidence and momentum, consequently becoming vulnerable to ‘falling in a rut’ and failing for an extended period. 

The same is true of success in any endeavor. 

People who succeed have momentum. The more they succeed, the more they want to succeed, and the more they find a way to succeed. Similarly, when someone is failing, the tendency is to get on a downward spiral that can even become a self-fulfilling prophecy. – Tony Robbins

I believe a key to sustained success is two-fold:

1) Learn from your mistakes and take swift action to correct your course.

2) Capitalize on your wins and maintain your positive momentum.

At the end of the day, success is like a snowball.. You have to get it going and the more you roll in the right direction the greater it gets!

Success is like a Snowball

Make a Great Day!

Steve 🙂

Category:

Monday Motivation, Steve's Articles

Tagged with:

SEARS: A Case Study On How Terrible Customer Service Can Ruin A Brand

sears-customerservice

There was a time when Sears was considered America’s greatest retailer. Sadly, that time has long since passed and today the company is in state of serious distress and, short of a complete overhaul, inevitable collapse.

As I wrote about Radio Shack’s failing back in December, it would be easy to point blame on the changing retail landscape but there are just too many retailers doing well (in the same conditions) to justify that case. 

From my standpoint, and countless thousands of disgruntled past customers, the problem is painfully clear; Sears has long lost its customer focus and anything resembling a customer service culture.

According to Consumer Affairs, an astonishing 86 percent of customers are unsatisfied with Sears’ customer service. That puts them at the bottom of the rankings under their primary competitors Macy’s, JC Penny, and Kohl’s. 

Here’s the Consumer Affairs link to over 1250 bad reviews of Sears Customer Service

Here’s a couple of my recent personal (painful) customer experiences:

How To Lose Friends and Alienate Customers

Incident 1:

On a recent business trip to Indiana, I ripped the seam on my garment bag while attempting to unzip it in my hotel room. Although the timing was terrible for this wardrobe holder malfunction, that bag serviced me well over several years and many thousands of miles of travel. Normally, I would have just ordered a new one on Amazon.com and waited the 2 days for my trusty Prime membership delivery. But, being on the road, and faced with a bag that would no longer close properly, I decided to stop in the Sears in Terra Haute the night before my departure to secure a new one.

The first thing I noticed was how empty the place was. Only a handful of cars out front and only a few people noticeable on my walk through the store to the small luggage section. As I perused the bags for the 8 minutes or so, not one employee was seen but I could hear what sounded like two girls laughing not too far away.

The only customers I could see were in the mattress section directly next to mine, a middle-aged woman pushing an elderly woman in a wheelchair. About 2 minutes after I arrived, the woman asked me “Do you work here?” When I advised I was “just a shopper” she apologized and said, “I can’t find any employees”. A few minutes later I heard her call out to a quickly passing by employee, “Excuse me… do you work here?” The employee, who looked like he was being verbally assaulted, replied “Yes, but I’m leaving now.” “We’ve already been here 15 minutes”, the woman interjected”. “I’ll call someone to help you” he replied, barely breaking stride as he rushed away (I assume for his vehicle). Several more minutes passed and, when nothing materialized, the woman sat on one of the mattresses holding the arm of the wheelchair… “this is crazy Ma, nobody will help us… GUESS THEY DON’T WANT OUR BUSINESS” she just about shouted in a very frustrated tone as she wheeled out of sight. Another one bites the dust.

When I located a suitable garment bag, I made my way towards laughing sounds just around the bend not 15 feet away from where I and the mattress shoppers were. There I found two twenty-something female employees behind a cash register, one standing the other sitting, both on their phones enjoying something far more interesting (to them) then their job.

It was painfully evident that they could care less about any shopper’s experience as the one standing appeared visibly annoyed with the recess interruption as I approached to help fund their paychecks.

Sears Fail

Incident 2:

As a customer service/customer experience consultant, I am always on the look-out for how businesses and their employees perform in these areas. This is especially important when it comes to managing problems because, as I wrote about here, the true test of a business’s customer service fitness is not when things are going right – but rather what is done when things go wrong.

With that in mind, here’s the unedited message I sent to Sears customer service last week:

I’m writing to let you know about the terrible experience and utter disappointment we have had with the Kenmore dishwasher we purchased at Sears nearly 2 years ago. 

The dishwasher never performed as advertised when brand new and internal (plastic) parts broke within months of ownership. I tried to comment on my disappointment back then, but my review was considered “too negative” and was never posted. 

The situation only worsened afterwards…

We have had a professional appliance repairman in twice to replace broken parts and the top rack still hangs down to the point of hitting stacked plates on the bottom preventing proper washing. 

Even after pre-rinsing only 50% of the dishes are ever clean and we’re constantly re-washing everything.  Despite using several recommended products, the washing liquid never dispenses properly and the entire inside door is a constant mess of soap gunk. 

I’m happy to send pics of the inside of the unit along with our should be clean dishes. 

In a nutshell, this is not only the worse dishwasher we’ve ever had but the worst appliance of any kind. 

As we’ve given up investing any more money into this machine and must replace, I’m wondering how Sears will respond to this situation and, at this time, a Very Unhappy Customer? 

Steve

The next day I received this reply:

Dear Steve Ferrante, 

Thank you for contacting Sears. I am sorry to hear that your Dishwasher is not cleaning the dishes completely. After reviewing your account, I have scheduled a service for your Dishwasher on 08/14/15 between 1 PM to 5 PM. The technician will call prior to his arrival.

We value your relationship with Sears. Please feel free to contact us back if you have any further questions through email or calling the below provided number.

Sincerely,

Oggy D.

Realizing the dishwasher was now out of warranty, I must admit at this point I was surprised and impressed that not only did Oggy express proper empathy, but he also took action and, on behalf of Sears, scheduled a service technician to come out and ‘take care’ of the customer (me).

Seeing as this not-scheduled-with-me service was now scheduled for that afternoon, I replied:

Oggy,

Appreciate the scheduling of a technician to assess/service dishwasher but today is not ideal… can  we move to Monday afternoon?

Nothing. No reply. Oggy over and out evidently.

At approximately 3PM, I received a call from the Sears tech who told me he was a half hour away. Apparently unaware of my earlier request to reschedule, I let him know I would be there to meet him.

When the tech arrived, he dug right in to the machine, taking the top rack out… pulling the bottom drain thingy out… spinning the lower spray arm. It sure looked like progress! Then he commented on how the plastic pieces that hold the top rack up were broken and needed to be replaced. Being well aware of this I inquired, “what exactly did Sears tell you?” “What do you mean?” he responded with a bewildered expression on his face.  I let him know that I didn’t request service and that his visit was something Sears scheduled, not me, and that I assumed this was a courtesy call.

The tech was quick to tell me that he wasn’t aware of any of that, I would “have to pay for it”, and that even if I didn’t want the machine fixed there would still be a $75 fee for the visit.

Isn’t that special?

So, I grabbed my iPad and pulled up the email I originally sent to Sears and reviewed with him. I pointed out the “I’m done investing into this machine” part and asked him what he thought. He admitted to being perplexed as to why he was sent but that, as far as he was concerned, this was just another service call.

It really wasn’t the serviceman’s fault, so I called Sears Customer Service and attempted to get Oggy on the line. No can do said the representative, but she could help me. I explained the situation and let her know that I was now standing next to the technician who expects to be paid for a service call I did not ask for or, at this point, want.

She let me know that they don’t schedule courtesy service calls and I would indeed need to pay for the visit. I asked if she had access to my original email and she replied they do not have access to email (evidently still telegraphing in her department). I politely asked to speak with her manager. She let me know that she had “manager responsibilities'” and there was no one else there that could help me. I asked for her name. Maria said she could not provide her full name, instead offering me a 7-digit ID number. I asked if the call was being recorded and, if so, how I could obtain a copy. Maria at first denied then admitted the call may be recorded but there was “no way” I could receive.

Ultimately, Sears turned my request for feedback into a sales call and stuck me with the bill. Adding insult to injury, their customer service representative, in a manner befitting a bill collector, made me feel like I had stolen something from them.

Sadly, Sears has clearly lost its way and sight of its two most important assets: it’s employees and customers. Suffering from a poor corporate culture and no signs of an effective customer service training in place, Sears is left with disengaged employees alienating existing and would-be customers on a daily basis.

At this rate of rapid decline, it likely will not be long before Sears joins the list of once-great failed retailers.

Steve

—

This article is also on LinkedIn > SEARS: A Case Study On How Terrible Customer Service Can Ruin A Brand

Category:

Steve's Articles

Tagged with:

Top 3 Rules For Dealing With Naysayers Who Discourage Your Success

No-Nay-Sayers

On your path to success, you will inevitably encounter those negative Ned’s and Nelly’s who will freely offer their opinion as to why you will not be successful. Sadly, these naysayers may even be your friends and relatives. These defeatist types will discourage your success and, if not dealt with effectively, can prevent you from achieving all that you are capable of achieving.

Here’s my Top 3 Rules For Dealing With Naysayers Who Discourage Your Success:

1) Assess Them

Assess The Situation

People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it. 

Often the naysayers simply don’t have all the facts. They haven’t done your due-diligence and put in the time and effort it takes to succeed in your position.

You have done all that, right? Good, you have the upper-hand then and should have supreme confidence in your pursuit to succeed at whatever it is your pursuing.

When someone is discouraging your goal, there’s a couple important questions you should ask yourself of them: 

  1. Is the person successful in the goal that I’m striving to achieve?
  2. Does this person have real experience and expertise in what he/she is advising me on?

If the answers to these two telling questions are “No” then it would most likely be beneficial to not heed their advice. For instance, if your buddy Larry, who’s a plumber (not that there’s anything wrong with that) is discouraging your goal of being the best salesperson at your company well then;

  1. What is Larry’s track record in sales? Has he achieved the type of sales success I’m striving to achieve?
  2. Does Larry have real experience in my role and/or expertise in my profession/business?

If the answers are “No” then Larry is most likely not your best source of guidance, support and inspiration. Instead, ignore the naysayers like Larry and seek the advice of those who are already successful in what your trying to achieve.

2) Protect Your Blocks

Protect Your Blocks

If people are trying to bring you down, it only means that you are above them. 

Remember when you were a preschooler..  or maybe you have one of those little people now? Either way, you or yours probably used building blocks among other tots in some sort of “play group”. If so, then this should sound familiar..

Building blocks.. cool.. what can I build? I know.. a skyscraper.. big and tall and cool.. the biggest best skyscraper in the city!

And so it begins.. you start building.. focused on the goal.. 1 block, 2 blocks, 20, 40.. getting higher.. this is going to be AWESOME! Then bratty Bobby (every play group has one) comes and knocks over your blocks.. dreams demolished.. Game Over.  

Naysayer’s are just like that.  They can’t have you building something brilliant while their blocks are a big disorganized pile of poo.  They’ll look to knock down your blocks and level the playing field as it were.

Don’t let that happen.. Protect Your Blocks! Be selective and share your goals only with those you know to be encouraging and supportive. Share your goals with everyone with ears (or a Facebook account) and you set yourself up for discouragement as you dramatically increase your exposure to the naysayers who would relish the opportunity to knock over your blocks. 

3) Don’t Engage

Some people are like clouds. When they disappear, it’s a brighter day.

One of the worst things you can do is actively engage a naysayer. As I referenced in my previous rule, you invite this when you carelessly share your goals with everybody. 

When you actively engage with a naysayer you actively engage in unproductive behavior.  Given a naysayer’s lack of belief, you may feel the overwhelming urge to set the record straight and make your case as to why you will indeed succeed. Don’t bother.. you’ll end up wasting an awful lot of time and risk shaking your confidence in the process.

Naysayers can always find reasons why your goals won’t work. What you tell (and believe) yourself is all that really matters. You don’t need a naysayers belief or commitment to succeed, you only need your own. So avoid engaging the naysayers, stay focused and keep moving forward towards your goal. 

There will always be naysayers that discourage and won’t join you on your path to success. That’s okay.. they need not come along. You’re going anyway.

Fast Moving Train To Success

Make a Great Day!

Steve 🙂

steveferrante.com

Category:

Steve's Articles

Tagged with:

Tag Cloud