Leading The Way

In many of my articles, I speak about you making the change. Of you changing your attitudes which then makes you a defacto leader of the charge to greater customer service. Or simply a charge to a better life.

In an article titled "The American Salesman" - 9/2/2005(C) 2005 ProQuest Information and Learning Company; Barnett Helzberg, Jr. - he states, "...Everything you do communicates. You always set an example, either positively or negatively. If your goal is to develop, or upgrade, your business culture to reflect great customer service, you will need to exercise the kind of leadership that involves every one of your associates, whether or not they deal directly with external customers." He also says, "simply put, an attitude of "Do what I tell you, not what I do," will guarantee failure."

So if you want to make a change for the better in your business, in your relationships, within your family and within your own personal life, lead the change and lead by example. As I've said in previous articles and Mr. Helzberg says, "...the lesson? Find every opportunity to show your customers you want to take care of them. Thank your customers for taking the time to complain. Resolve problems with joy. Make your customers feel special. Create an atmosphere of fun. Provide great service and you will own your customers. It's that simple."

Lead the way for "you are not only good yourself, but the cause of goodness in others." (Socrates)

Would You Ever See This

This is my second time in Thailand and when travelling, I try to see subtle differences in how people conduct themselves. The Thai people are very friendly and in many situations they express gratitude for serving you by use of a custom of greeting called "Wai". This custom is performed by placing one's hands together with all fingers pointing straightforward, raising them up to about chest level and bowing one's head down towards them at the same time.

While performing a "Wai", the individual says "Sawasdee" ("Good morning" or "Good evening"). This shows respect, humbleness and friendliness to each other, especially to the elders. Apart from being used for greeting, it is also performed to express thankfulness or the equivalent to an English word "Thank you".

It can become overwhelming at times since many Thai perform this for most everything you encounter. And I thought to myself, could this happen in the U.S. or Europe? Certainly it isn't in our culture to do so. But it is within our culture to simply be polite, humble and thankful to people we encounter. Being confident in yourself will give you the ability to do it. Can you imagine how much easier life would be if more of us conducted business this way.

I'm not talking about 'blue skies' and 'touchy feely' things here. I'm talking about knowing that you can effect change in people by your actions. It will be a greater experience for you and those around you. It will result in more satisfied customers. It will result in repeat business. It will result in greater personal growth.

So thank you - I appreciate you reading my thoughts and beliefs. I appreciate your comments and do hope you are gaining something from this.

Are You Or Your Employees Aware

"Until you make peace with who you are, you'll never be content with what you have." - Doris Mortman, Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy by Sarah Ban Breathnach.

So just how are you conducting yourself in the workplace? Are you happy with who you are and your circumstances? Does this spill over into your job and the way you conduct yourself. There was a great article in USA Today called "Getting bad reception?" (Kim Painter. USA TODAY. McLean, Va.: Oct 3, 2005. pg. D.6) in which she speaks about customer dissatisfaction with people behind the desk.

A couple of things pointed out were one, receptionists who don't look at the patients standing before them. Basically ignoring them while they stay glued to the computer screen or talk amongst themselves behind the desk. Secondly staff personnel making off-hand remarks either about other patients or the workplace.

Both of the above can be very detrimental to your business and shows poorly of yourself if you are the one doing so. First and foremost...customers are there for a reason, to give you or your company their business. If you are an employee, this translates into a bottom-line view of, more business, the company makes money, you get to stay employed or as an employer you get to keep your business open.

If you have a staffer at your front desk failing to acknowledge a customer right away, you have problems. It is very true that if you provide good service to someone and they will tell one other person. But provide bad service to someone and they will tell ten other people. What you need to do (for yourself or that employee) is to find out first if it is happening. Then find out what the issue is behind it.

As the quote states, unless you are at peace with yourself, you'll never be content. Could be that the person is not satisfied with the job or simply isn't the right person for that position. But you could impact that person. Help them or yourself to change attitudes.

I see these types of folks in my own company and the thing I try to do is give encouragement to change. Talking about the positive things, offering alternatives to whatever condition exists and not getting drawn down into the depths with them. A quote by Dilbert that I modified states, "Never argue with an negative person. They drag you down to their level then beat you with experience."

Be a lifting person, help them change their world.

Thai Architecture

Here is a quick photo of some of the architecture in Thailand courtesy of the Tours Gallery - www.toursgallery.com. I'll update the site once I get to my destination.