(in)famous....

Well, guess what happened to me on the way to work today.

Nope nothing exciting. But, I did get called to give my opinions on customer service in a kind of interview a couple of days ago and did so - which may be for a new book coming out later in the year. Very cool. And I'm getting a head start by being featured on a blog as well. It's all about customer service. I have decided to repost the blog here - when I get the address, I'll put it up too. I know it's long...but it's really good. And Ted really knows what he's talking about.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ted’s Blog

“Do you do training for companies?” I get that question all the time.

Actually, that’s exactly what we do.

Sure, I’ve written a book. I hope people buy it, and that some of them actually read it (surprisingly, many do!). But I don’t consider myself an author nearly so much as I am a teacher. That’s why I like to describe my book, Five-Star Customer Service, as a really long brochure. I wrote it to send to CEOs and other top managers, in the hopes of winning their business to do on-site training of their managers and staff.

Yes, I do keynote speaking, and I love to do it. There is nothing better than sharing the best practices I’ve learned with a new group of people. I throw myself into it with missionary zeal. Nothing is more urgent in business today than helping people to really “get it” when it comes to customer service. And almost nobody “gets it,” even among our nation’s business leadership. It’s amazing. I’ve got a lot of work to do.

But while a one-hour workshop is useful – very useful, I’ve been told by the people who actually sign the checks – even better is when a top manager invites us to rework some of their operations, making the entire company more customer-centric.

As my father taught me from his work in Total Quality Management, the push for outstanding customer service has to start all the way at the top: without the chief executive firmly behind it, it’s tough to make change of this type stick. Then, the company needs a Chief Customer Officer of some sort – the title doesn’t matter that much, just the job of “Customer Champion.” There really should be someone on the inside whose whole purpose is to drive a company’s customer focus. Someone who reports directly to the CEO. Someone with the authority to reward those who play along, and to make life quite difficult for those who refuse. Because customer service is, first and last, about people. If the people on the inside buy into it, you’re most of the way there. If they stand in the way… good luck.

Saratoga Technologies (http://saratogaus.com/) has just such a person in Tim Story, Senior Vice President of Customer Relations. Tim’s role at Saratoga is to make sure their 1,200 customers (and counting) aren’t just satisfied, they’re spoiled by the products and support they receive.

As Tim says, “There aren’t a lot of people out there who genuinely care for people. I guess a fault of mine is I care too much about people. I just want them to have what they need. Sometimes, when I’m with a customer, I’ll say, ‘You don’t need all this.’ And we’ll sell them less than they were planning to buy.”

Foolish? Crazy? Are you thinking, perhaps, that that is no way to run a business?

If so, the vast majority of business people would agree with you. But they’re wrong. I don’t mean merely from a customer service perspective. That thinking is wrong from a financial perspective as well.

Tim continues, “Whenever we do this – every single time – the customer will call and order something else from us, maybe a month later. We’ve gained their trust, and that makes us the kind of company you want to do business with.”

Saratoga isn’t just another company. They’re one of CRN’s Fast Growth 100. They’re also one of Tennessee’s Fast 50 Businesses. They’re on the move. My bet is, with top executives like Tim Story driving their culture of customer service excellence, it won’t be too long until you start hearing a lot more about this remarkable firm.

Superlative customer service pays. Just ask Saratoga Technologies.

‘Every single time’ he puts the customer ahead of his own company, they buy more from him. Can your company say the same? Or is it too focused on the quick hit?

If so, we should talk.


Questions? Concerns? Comments? Do you have a customer service story of your own to share? Email me directly: ted@coinetraining.com. I can’t wait to hear from you.