When the economy is bad, competition heats up. Companies do everything they can to keep their customers, and employees do whatever they can to keep their jobs. Downsizing has become a survival tactic for companies, not only throughout the United States, but throughout the world, as well, which means no job is safe from the chopping block.

“That doesn’t mean, however, that your professional destiny is out of your control,” says John Tschohl, founder and president of the Service Quality Institute in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and author of several books on customer service. “Just as companies differentiate themselves from their competitors through customer service, employees can do the same. Employees who go beyond what is expected of them stand out and solidify their places on the company’s payroll.”

No matter what business you are in, Tschohl says, customer service is a critical element of your job. Mastering the skills necessary to provide exceptional service to your customers—both external and internal—he adds, will set you apart from your coworkers and make you an invaluable member of your organization’s team.

“In his book I Inherited a Fortune, the late Paul J. Meyer offered six recommendations for employees who want to get ahead,” Tschohl says. “Those suggestions are timeless and are especially relevant today, as employees wonder from day to day whether or not they will continue to have jobs.”

These are the six steps Meyer recommended:

1. Do more than you get paid for. Make yourself visible.
2. Overfill your place. Management will notice you.
3. Learn what the company does. And learn what the competition is doing.
4. Ask for more to do. When you expand your involvement in the company, your income will increase.
5. Ask for more responsibility. Show that you are capable and willing to contribute more.
6. Cross train. Learn other job functions and responsibilities in the company.

Tschohl agrees with those suggestions and adds his own:

1. Feel good about yourself. “When you feel good about yourself,” he says, “you will perform better. You will have a confidence that others will notice.”
2. Invest in yourself. “Set a budget of $40 a month and use it to purchase books and self-improvement programs,” Tschohl says. “And learn everything you can about customer service—particularly service recovery—and the skills you need to provide it. Every company, no matter how good it is, occasionally will make a mistake. How you handle that mistake will determine whether or not that customer will continue to do business with you—and how your superiors will see you.”
3. Associate with successful people. “Stay away from people who pull you down instead of pushing you up,” Tschohl says. “You know who they are. They hang around the coffee pot, complaining about the salary freeze or their workloads instead of tackling the work that needs to be done.”
4. Practice habits of courtesy. “It takes no more time or effort to be nice to a customer than it does to be dismissive or rude,” Tschohl says. “Call customers by name, thank them for their business, and treat them with respect.”
5. Make empowered decisions. “When a customer has a problem with you or your organization, do whatever is necessary to handle the situation and to make that customer happy,” Tschohl says.
6. Master speed. “Do everything faster than your boss, your company, or your customers expect—and do it with accuracy,” Tschohl says. While many employees are feeling somewhat helpless in the face of the current economic condition, Tschohl says, they do have the power to ensure that they retain their jobs. “That,” he says, “means taking responsibility and going above and beyond to perform and produce to their highest levels.”

Empowered employees and satisfied customers are the key to a successful business. In fact, I would guess that most companies don’t really understand what empowerment is. My definition of empowerment is this: Giving employees the authority to bend and break the rules to take care of a customer on the spot to the customer’s, not the company’s, satisfaction. The reality in most organizations is that empowerment is a myth because most employees are afraid they will be fired or forced to pay for whatever they give the customer as compensation for a problem they experienced with the company.

Here are five steps to make empowerment a reality in your organization:

1. Train every employee including the managers and supervisors on customer service and empowerment: what it is, how to use it, and how to enforce it. Most employees feel it’s safer to bump a problem up the ladder, but the magic of empowerment occurs when a frontline employee handles a customer’s problem—quickly and to the customer’s satisfaction. When employees are trained and empowered to handle customer complaints, not only will they maintain customer loyalty, they will restore it.

2. Eliminate policies and procedures that get in the way of empowerment. Most policies and procedures are geared to protect the company from ignorant employees and dishonest customers. You can’t tie employees’ hands with cumbersome policies and procedures and expect them to provide exceptional service in an empowered way.

3. Eliminate the “fear factor.” Management fears empowerment because they think customers are liars and cheats who will take advantage of employees and employees will “give away the store” when trying to assuage upset customers. Employees also fear empowerment because making empowered decisions means taking risks. Let employees know that it is ok to make a mistake in the process of working to win customer satisfaction.

4. Reinforce. When an employee is empowered to make decisions that will benefit the customer, everyone wins. Reinforce that employees will not be reprimanded or fired for making empowered decisions. Employees gain selfconfidence, managers and executives have more time to address other issues, and the organization will have loyal customers who wouldn’t dream of doing business with anyone else.

5. Recognize. Celebrate the empowered actions of your employees; feature them in your organization’s publication, give them a round of applause in front of their peers and a prime parking spot near the door for a month and send them a congratulatory e-mail—and copy it to upper management. When you recognize your empowered employees, you send a message to the rest of the workforce that empowerment is important. Make heroes of your empowered employees—and get rid of those employees who refuse to make empowered decisions.

Empowerment is the most critical skill an employee can master and a company can drive in order to lure— and keep—customers. If empowerment is a myth in your organization, I suggest you begin now to empower your employees and create the magnet that will draw customers—and their money—through your doors and keep them coming back to you.

John Tshcohl - described by Time and Entrepreneur magazines as a customer service guru, is also an International strategist and speaker. He can be contacted at John@servicequality.com

This article and more can be found at http://johntschohl.com/articles.cfm

First Citizens Bank Trinidad & Tobago - A Customer Service Role Model

First Citizens Bank in Trinidad & Tobago, a SQI Service Culture Client in their 3rd year has received 3 major international awards in 2009. They have 1200employees. Larry Howai, CEO and Sharon Christopher, Deputy CEO and Executive Sponsor for their Service Excellence Programme understand servicestrategy and have provided the leadership to make First Citizens the bank to do business with in Trinidad and Tobago.

First Citizens Bank was created in 1993 out of three institutions, the Trinidad Cooperative Bank, Worker’s Bank and National Commercial Bank. It is exciting for SQI to work with a client who walks the talk and is committed to superior service. Service in Trinidad and Tobago is weak; this is a role model that is achieving great success because of their focus on developing 1200 customer driven employees. To date First Citizens has developed all members of their Executive and Senior Management using Leading Empowered Teams. developed and certified over 40 internal facilitators and all 1,200 employees including Executive and Senior Management have been passionately engaged on First Citizens Service Excellence Strategy. Using SQI’s internationally accredited Three Year Service Culture Plan, all team members to date have successfully completed Feelings …Quality Service First Time Every Time, the Service First Video Library, the BAD Campaign, Loyal for Life and the project team in charge of their Service Strategy is currently preparing for the roll-out of Attaining Excellence, Exceptional Service and the Good Idea Campaign. The Project Manager for FC’s Three Year Plan continues to attest that there is indeed no parallel to SQI’s Three Year Service Culture Plan and the impact it has on an organization.

Bankers Magazine has named them 2009 Bank of the Year in December,Trinidad & Tobago
https://www.firstcitizenstt.com/dms/FCAward/FC-Award—Applaud/FC%20Award%20-%20Applaud.pdf.pdf

Latin Finance’s 2009 Best Bank in Trinidad and Tobago November 2009
This is the region’s most prestigious and rigorously-judged award for excellence in retail, commercial and local investment banking across Latin America and the Caribbean.
https://www.firstcitizenstt.com/about/Corporate-Profile/Awards—Achievements/2009-Awards.html

World Finance Magazine: Best Bank April 2009
First Citizens has received the Award of Best Bank Trinidad & Tobago from the prestigious World Finance magazine https://www.firstcitizenstt.com/dms/FCAward/FC-Award—World-Finance/FC%20Award%20-%20World%20Finance.pdf.pdf

Find out more about this incredible bank via www.firstcitizenstt.com, their Annual Reports are also available online here http://www.customerservice.com/images/testimonials/first-citizens-bank-annual-report-2009.pdf

Frank Bernudez - The Bellman in Aruba at the Westin
I was in Vail for Christmas and Frank Bernudez, the bellman from the Westin Aruba, called my cell phone to wish me and my wife a Merry Christmas. This is the first bellman in my life that remembered me and called to wish me a Merry Christmas. When I go back to Aruba I would stay at the Westin solely because of Frank. If you want a warm vacation in the sun I suggest you go to Aruba. Make sure you stay at the Westin and ask for Frank the bellman. You will experience heaven.

If you had a staff of Frank’s your competition would be dead. Look for ways to steal these employees from other firms and then treat them like high profile draft picks. Customer driven employees like Frank are worth their weight in gold. They love recognition and need to be treated special. I talked about Frank in my November 11, 2009 issue.

$200 Coupon for any SQI Product
This is a special code: SQI2010 - for any orders on our web site through February 2010 www.customer-service.com Minimum order needs to be $900. Coupon is good for $200.

Service Quality Institute has a lot of programs you can use to drive a service culture.

3 Year Service Culture Plan - SQI’s All You Can Eat Buffet Plan. It includes unlimited use of 2-3 programs of your choice each year for 3 years. No charge for employee turnover.

Remember Me - A 2 session program designed to get employees to remember and use customers’ names.

Feelings Retail Service - A new 3 session program that teaches the fundamentals of customer service and changes attitudes and behaviors.

Service First Video Library - A 12 DVD program with 15 minute DVD’s in English and Spanish. You download off the Internet all the participant materials so there is NO recurring cost.

Speed - A 2 session program designed to change employees’s mindset and change policies and rules so you shrink the time it takes to get things done. The recent terrorist event by a Nigerian is an example of the US government NOT practicing Speed. Most employees think slow. All these US Agencies have billion dollar budgets but NO Speed.

BAD Cost Reduction Campaign - A 30 Day Campaign designed to get employees to look for a way to save $1 a day. The average savings are about $500 a person. The participation rate is usually around 80-95%. SQI provides the software to measure the results and guarantees the savings exceed the investment or we refund the difference.

Loyal for Life - A one session program on Service Recovery. Teaches you how to turn an unhappy customer from hell to heaven in 60 seconds.

If there is one thing a company can do to help ensure that it will attract and keep customers, it is this: Hire the right people. While that might sound like a rather simple solution, it isn’t. The hiring process is crucial to the success of any organization and should be handled with great care. In the case of employees who will be dealing directly with customers, the hiring process is especially important.

At one time or another, most of us have had contact with employees who clearly do not enjoy dealing with people. They don’t make eye contact, they don’t smile, they aren’t helpful, and they send the message that they wish you would just go away. That’s bad for you, as a customer, and even worse for the company that hires them.

At Commerce Bank, if the applicant doesn’t smile during the first interview, there will be no second. When Commerce, which I consider to be the most customerfocused bank in the country, opened its first four stores in Manhattan, it interviewed 3,400 people and hired only 42 of them. Southwest Airlines also hires very carefully—only one out of every 100 applicants. Other airlines think their airplanes are their most valuable asset; Southwest knows it’s their employees.

I strongly believe that it is more important to hire an employee who has a good attitude and genuinely enjoys working with people than it is to hire one who has good technical skills. Technical skills can be learned; good attitudes cannot. A bad hire could be doing irreparable damage to your business by driving your customers away from you and into the waiting arms of your competitors.

The first step in the hiring process is to develop a job description, one that includes detailed descriptions of the tasks and responsibilities you expect the employee to fulfill. Next, you must prepare for the interview. Let’s face it, someone could walk into your office, feed you a great line, and walk out with a job offer. It happens every day. Those people have prepared for the interview— and you should do likewise.

Develop a list of questions to use during each interview so you get answers that are easy to compare and evaluate among applicants. Ask questions that require more than stock answers, ones that will require the applicant to share real experiences.

James Schrager, President of the Great Lake Group consulting firm in South Bend, Indiana, recommends two questions: What was your biggest failure? Can you describe a situation when you didn’t get along with a co-worker and how you handled it?

Fred K. Foulkes, a Professor of Management Policy at Boston University says you should never hire anyone after just one interview. He also recommends that you involve other people in the interview process, especially if they’re going to be working with the new hire. That does two things: It gives you their input, and it gets their commitment to the success of the person you hire.

Once you have hired a person, it might be a good idea to put her on probation for three to six months. That gives you time to ensure that she is capable of doing the job before making her a permanent member of your workforce. Hiring the right people is the first step in the process. Training them and treating them well is the second. Even when you hire high-performing, customer servicedriven employees, you must train them to meet your service standards— and you must do so within their first 30 days on the job.

If you hire the right people, train them, and treat them well, you will reap great rewards in the form of customer loyalty and increased profits. There is no other step you can take that will have a greater impact on your bottom line and the success of your organization.

John Tshcohl - described by Time and Entrepreneur magazines as a customer service guru, is also an International strategist and speaker. He can be contacted at John@servicequality.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - January 5, 2010          

Contact: John Tschohl
E-mail: quality@servicequality.com
Web: www.customer-service.com
(952) 884-3311

Note to Editor: Feel free to use all or parts of this news release. John Tschohl also is available for personal interviews.

DON’T TELL THEM, SHOW THEM - Live Up to Your Advertising Claims
By John Tschohl 

How do you get customers through the doors of your business, whether those doors be physical or virtual? Most companies rely on advertising to tell the public how wonderful their products, services—and employees—are.

There are two problems with this method. The first is that companies are spending billions of dollars in hopes that their messages will entice customers to do business with them. In fact, during the third quarter 2009, U.S. organizations spent almost $5.5 billion on Internet advertising and almost $9 billion on TV advertising.

The second problem is something called “truth in advertising.” Many of those companies feature happy employees in their ads and are quick to tell you that those employees provide “service with a smile,” but you’d be hard pressed to find either service or smiles in any of their businesses. The general public is leery of most advertising and has adopted a “don’t tell me, show me” attitude.

That’s not to say that advertising won’t get a customer through your doors—once. The goal for any business is to increase revenues by increasing customer loyalty. You don’t have to be a genius to understand that it’s cheaper to keep a current customer than it is to attract a new one. And yet, too many businesses focus their time, energy, and money on paid advertising when there is something much more effective—and much less expensive: customer service.

When a company does what it says it will do, it earns both the respect and the loyalty of its customers. Those customers, in turn, tell others about the great service they received and serve as a “personal advertising team” for your business.

Let me give you an example: Robert purchased liquid sander and paint, but discovered that the paint would not adhere to the kitchen cabinets he was re-doing. He contacted the folks at The Home Depot, where he had purchased the products, and could not believe the response he received. The Home Depot apologized for the problem—and sent out a team employees to complete the project for Robert. Now that was service above and beyond the call of duty. And Robert told anyone who would listen about it.

While providing that level of customer service certainly cost The Home Depot some money, it wasn’t nearly as expensive as running an ad on TV or in the local newspaper. And it’s almost impossible to put a price tag on credibility. The people who listened to Robert’s story believed him when he described the extraordinary service he had received. And you can bet that the next time they were planning a home-improvement project, they headed to The Home Depot for their supplies.

How would your company and your employees stack up against The Home Depot? If neither comes close, there are some steps you can take to ensure that your customers are treated just as well as Robert was.

The first step is to hire people who genuinely enjoy helping people, whether that be identifying an insurance plan that meets a customer’s needs, ensuring that a printing project is completed accurately and on time, or correcting a banking error.

You also must train and empower your employees. Present a new customer service training program every four to six months to keep enthusiasm high, and give employees the authority to bend and break the rules in order to satisfy customers and keep them—and their money—coming back to you.

Praise employees who provide exceptional customer service—and terminate those who don’t. One bad employee can cost you much in lost customers and lost revenue, while 50 good ones can send your sales skyrocketing. 

Most important, however, is to walk to talk. Make customer service a priority. Make it a part of everything you do. Talk about it; write about it in your company publication.  Make sure every one of your employees understands that it is your number one focus.

Exceptional customer service is a magnet that will draw customers to you. It will increase your revenues and ensure your success. And it won’t cost you millions of dollars.

John Tschohl, an international service strategist and speaker, is founder and president of the Service Quality Institute in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Described by USA Today, Time and Entrepreneur magazines as a “customer service guru,” he has written several books on customer service, including Loyal for Life, e-Service, The Customer is Boss, Achieving Excellence Through Customer Service, and Ca$hing In: Make More Money, Get a Promotion, Love Your Job. The Service Quality Institute has developed more than 26 customer service training programs that have been distributed and presented throughout the world. John’s bimonthly strategic newsletter is available online at no charge.

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and Happy New Year

Costco A Customer Service Role Model Hit by Slow US Economy

As of December 2009 Costco Warehouses has 566 warehouses across the US, Canada, UK, Korea, Taiwan, Japan and Australia. Average sales per store is $131 million. Most retailers would be dead and gone to heaven to have sales like this per store.

In the December 11, 2009 report to Costco Shareholders they said:

“Since we opened our doors twenty-six years ago, our Company mission has been “to continually provide our members with quality goods and services at the lowest possible prices.” This commitment has never been more relevant than today, and nearly 60 million card-carrying members have benefited from this promise every time they shop at any of Costco’s 566 warehouses around the globe or at our Ecommerce web sites. Costco’s unique approach to merchandising, operations, and employee engagement has proven successful again and again, ever since we opened our first warehouse in downtown Seattle. Fiscal 2009 provided an opportunity to test our mettle in an unusually challenging economy. We’re sure many of you would agree that the current global recession is the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s. While our sales and profits were less than in fiscal 2008, Costco remained solidly profitable in fiscal 2009. During the past fiscal year we opened twenty new warehouses; we increased our membership cardholder base by 2.3 million members, with membership renewals remaining strong at over 87%; and our employees continued to have job security along with one of the best wage and benefits packages in the retail industry.

Fiscal 2009 was the first time in our history when sales did not achieve record highs. Sales were $69.9 billion, a 1.5% decrease from 2008’s results, and for the first time we reported a year of negative comparable sales in warehouses open more than a year: – 4% in 2009. Net earnings again exceeded $1 billion, but were down from the previous fiscal year by 15%. We have always maintained that truly great companies should build market share in tough times.

During the fiscal year, Costco rose from the fifth-largest U.S. retailer in 2008 to the third-largest in 2009; and we remained the ninth-largest retailer in the world. We also moved from the 29th spot in the Fortune 500 to number 24. In addition, in 2009 we were named the 22nd most admired company in the world by Fortune magazine, and we remained at the top of the University of Michigan’s American Consumer Satisfaction Index, a reflection of how well we keep our promise to Costco shoppers.

Our potential for expansion remains as strong as ever. The demand for quality goods and services in Costco’s treasure-hunt atmosphere continues to grow, both in the U.S. and around the world, even in times of economic stress. From Texas to Taiwan, people are clamoring for a Costco warehouse in their community. The success of our operations is world-wide; in fact, of our top 20 warehouses for sales in fiscal 2009, half of them were outside the United States.”

Fiscal 2009 was the first time in our history when sales did not achieve record highs. Sales were $69.9 billion, a 1.5% decrease from 2008’s results, and for the first time we reported a year of negative comparable sales in warehouses open more than a year: – 4% in 2009. Net earnings again exceeded $1 billion, but were down from the previous fiscal year by 15%. We have always maintained that truly great companies should build market share in tough times.

During the fiscal year, Costco rose from the fifth-largest U.S. retailer in 2008 to the third-largest in 2009; and we remained the ninth-largest retailer in the world. We also moved from the 29th spot in the Fortune 500 to number 24. In addition, in 2009 we were named the 22nd most admired company in the world by Fortune magazine, and we remained at the top of the University of Michigan’s American Consumer Satisfaction Index, a reflection of how well we keep our promise to Costco shoppers.

Our potential for expansion remains as strong as ever. The demand for quality goods and services in Costco’s treasure-hunt atmosphere continues to grow, both in the U.S. and around the world, even in times of economic stress. From Texas to Taiwan, people are clamoring for a Costco warehouse in their community. The success of our operations is world-wide; in fact, of our top 20 warehouses for sales in fiscal 2009, half of them were outside the United States.”

I encourage you to review the entire Annual Report�
https://materials.proxyvote.com/Approved/22160K/20091123/AR_49545/default.htm

Benchmark yourself against service leaders. Costco is an excellent customer service role model. You will learn a lot more about the firm by reviewing the entire report.

Safeway Lost Its Focus On Service

I am writing this newsletter from Vail Colorado where I am snow skiing. I always go to Safeway because the supermarket has always been awesome at service. I have featured them in previous newsletters because of the incredible focus on outstanding customer driven employees.

They must have new management and new employees. Service has gone down hill. There is no empowerment. Very rule driven. Its the little things that matter. It is easy for a firm to forget the basics. To build a business around customer service is very difficult. In the supermarket business competition is very tough. The average US customer spends $5000 a year with their local supermarket. My purchase on Saturday was around $166. I was going there to pick up additional items almost each day. Each day the service got worse. Today I switched to City Market which is only 100 yards from the Safeway.

While price, quality of products and store layout and design is critical, superior service gets a customer to come back. That’s why for the last 7 years I was a fan of Safeway.

Lessons to Be Learned:
1. Always make sure management walks the talk and understands the service strategy. No longer the case at the Vail Safeway. My son told me tonight I have always been off base on my love for Safeway. I guess he was right.

2. Train all employees on customer service every 4-6 months. It only takes seconds to turn a customer on or off. The present employees at Safeway are really weak on service.

3. Perceptions are reality. My previous perceptions were really high. Today my perceptions are negative so I switched.

4. Make sure your employees are empowered. Most of the decisions are for much less than $50. An over happy customer comes back. I come to Vail several times a year. Over the next 10 years I suspect Safeway will have lost $5000 in revenue from just me. The present Safeway employees and management are rule driven and no longer make empowered decisions.

5. Build a business on word of mouth advertising. Negative word of mouth is very expensive. Good word of mouth is how Amazon and Costco built their business. Over happy customers through awesome customer experiences will tell their friends and it is 100 times cheaper than advertising. Also more believable.

Remember Me - The Power of Remembering and Using a Customers’ Name

The most powerful thing in life to anyone is their name. It is so simple to use a customers’ name but SO RARE. In Vail when I pass through the staff that checks my pass, they have my name in front of them. About 25% of the time the employee will use my name. It comes up on their hand held scanner. What would happen if they did this 100% of the time.

There are 3 reasons employees do not use the customers’ names.
1. Indifference. They really don’t care
2. Fear I might pronounce the name wrong�
3. Lack of Training Very few employees have ever been trained to remember a customer and use their name. The few firms that do this use the name only a small percentage of the time.

In September we released Remember Me. A 2 session program of 2-3 hours each spaced one week apart. SQI channel partners or staff can facilitate the program for you or we can conduct train-the-trainer seminars in-house for you. If you want to save money you can implement the program yourself. The leaders guide is user friendly and goof proof.

It also has 2 videos on DVD and a participant workbook for each employee, Remember Me technique card, performance standard to measure employee performance and a Certificate of Accomplishment.

You can view each component on our web site and watch a part of the video. http://www.customer-service.com/t-remember-me.aspx Pricing is also available on the web site.

We have a special of $100 off on all orders over $249.00 on our web site. If you call SQI or a channel partner by January 31 we will also offer this discount. The code for the discount is SQI100

Please forward this newsletter to a friend who could benefit from it, or have them send us a message with “SUBSCRIBE” in the subject line.

If you receive this newsletter as a sample and would like to receive your own complimentary subscription, go to www.customer-service.com to join online. 

There is no limit to the number of people you can add. Feel free to e-mail Service Quality Institute lengthy list of names and addresses you want added.

To be removed from the newsletter list please email newsletter@servicequality.com and type REMOVE/NEWSLETTER in the “subject” line.

Make the World Your Marketplace
By John Tschohl

John Tschohl, founder and president of the Service Quality Institute in Minneapolis, Minnesota, considers himself very fortunate. During the past year, as thousands of businesses either closed their doors or downsized significantly, his business has seen unprecedented growth. He attributes that growth to several factors, not the least of which is a diversification of his client base.

“Just as smart investors diversify their investments, I made a conscious effort many years ago to seek out clients throughout the world,” says Tschohl, who also is the author of several books on customer service. “Approximately 95 percent of the Service Quality Institute’s business is international.”

The company has developed more than 26 customer-service training programs that have been presented to business clients throughout the world. “We take great care to tailor those programs to meet the specific needs of our clients and have translated our books into many languages, including Spanish, Russian, Chinese, French, Arabic, Indonesian, and Romanian,” Tschohl says. “My first book, Achieving Excellence Through Customer Service, is the top-selling business book in Russia.”

The Service Quality Institute also has forged partnerships with licensees in several countries. “We’re very aggressive internationally,” Tschohl says. “I operate with channel partners all over the world who represent the Service Quality Institute and its products.”

Tschohl spends approximately six months each year traveling to other countries and speaking about customer service to corporate and government leaders. During 2009, for example, he made presentations in Botswana, Nigeria, Turkey, El Salvador, Mexico, Romania, and Aruba. Late last fall, Tschohl was the guest speaker at Rwanda President Paul Kagame’s third Annual Business Roundtable, which was attended by some 220 private business leaders from throughout that country. Kagame is determined to improve customer service in Rwanda in order to improve that country’s economic development.

Tschohl and his staff also brought clients and partners from throughout the world to Minneapolis for the Service Quality Institute’s Worldwide Conference. Those people traveled from 23 countries, including China, Indonesia, the Bahamas, Colombia, Jamaica, Peru, Trinidad, Botswana, Cameroon, Nigeria, El Salvador, Tanzania, Guatemala, and the United States.

In order to compete and survive, particularly in a dismal economy, Tschohl says businesses must make the world their marketplace. “Think globally,” he says. “Use the Internet to market your business. It’s inexpensive and, regardless of the size of your company, you will be able to compete with the giants. Also create a web site and update it daily or weekly to keep it current. Make it a living brochure for your business.”

Tschohl’s targets, he says, are potential clients around the globe. “Too many firms focus on the market in their own communities or countries,” he says. “They don’t realize that there are 1.6 billion people using the Internet to search for products and services. The Service Quality Institute has done well because we court customers from every corner of the world, and we provide them with the type of service we train them to provide to their own customers.”

John Tschohl is an international service strategist and speaker. Described by Time and Entrepreneur magazines as a customer service guru, he has written several books on customer service, including Ca$hing In: Make More Money, Get a Promotion, Love Your Job; Loyal For Life; Achieving Excellence Through Customer Service; e-Service; and the Customer is Boss.

You can contact John at 952-884-3311 or e-mail him at quality@servicequality.com

Joy DunbarMagazine: FinancialAdviser Published Thursday , December 17, 2009

A new banking presence in the British high street is expected to receive authorisation from the FSA before the end of the year, according to a source close to the deal.

The source, who wished to not to be named, said authorisation from the City regulator for Metro Bank was expected at any minute, with the FSA and the bank currently ironing out “small issues”.

Metro Bank already has two branches in London, one in Holborn and one in Earls Court, with the slogan “Love Your Bank” emboldened across the shop front.

Vernon Hill, who established Commerce Bank in New Jersey in the 1970s, has been named as one of the directors and Metro Bank and the UK branches are expected to have the same philosophy and model as Commerce’s US branches, with open plan layouts and no screens.

Commerce Bank was sold to Canadian bank TD in October 2007 for $8.5bn (£5.2bn).

Metro Bank also plans to operate seven days a week.

Anthony Thomson, chief executive of the Financial Services Forum, has been working on establishing Metro Bank and became a director in November 2007.

He said he was unable to comment on the impending launch as the bank was currently in a “quiet period” while it was capital raising.

Howard Flight, former Conservative MP and financial services industry executive, is a senior non-executive for Metro Bank.

He said it would be “inappropriate” to comment on the developments or the authorisation.

Erin Davis, a Chicago, Illinois-based senior equity analyst for Morningstar, said now was the time for financial institutions to get into the UK banking sector.

She said: “UK banks do not have a good reputation for customer service and many people do not switch their current accounts, but there are people who always want to move so it could work.

“If I was Lloyds Banking Group, I would not be shaking in my boots, in the US it is different as there are many more smaller banks. If you were a financial institution that wanted to get into the UK bank sector now would be the time as you can get a good size foothold.”

Tony Vine-Lott, director general of Tax Incentivised Savings Association, said other financial institutions were looking to gain entry into banking as it can be very profitable due to a massive cost/income ratio.

He said: “A couple of other banks are waiting in the wings, I do not know who they are, but the sector is very profitable.

“Metro Bank is coming out with a new model and the impression I get is that it is coming with a new philosophy.”

Jason Knauf, spokesman for the Treasury, said Lord Myners of Truro, financial services secretary to the Treasury, had met with a number of banks, including Metro, who said they were interested in establishing a high street presence.

He said: “Lord Myners has been meeting with a number of institutions and is happy to talk to anyone who is interested in setting up a high street bank. There are a number of institutions that are interested in entering the UK market.

“The government will sell Northern Rock and Lloyds Banking Group, and Royal Bank of Scotland is selling some of its assets so there should be three new high street banks in the next few years. Metro and Tesco Bank have said that it will not wait until the government divests its stake in Northern Rock to enter the market.”

Lesley McLeod, executive director of communications for the British Bankers’ Association, said it welcomed new entrants on to the high street.

She said: “It is a good idea and it is a good thing to have customer choice. We have always welcomed competition on the high street. How many people will want to open an account with them though, is too early to say.”

Heidi Ashley, spokesman for the FSA, said that it did not comment on individual financial institutions but said it could take up to a year for a financial institution to become authorised.

She said: “How long an authorisation takes depends on the information that the institution provides for us, if it does not have all the information it takes longer.

“It can take up to a year and the statutory time to become authorised is a year for a final and complete application.”

The Retail Observer - December 2009
By John Tschohl

Customer Service. It’s a phrase freely tossed around by everyone from multi-million dollar corporations to mom-and pop businesses in hopes of luring customers with the promise of exceptional service. All too often, it’s an empty promise that results in customers who disappear, taking with them any hopes of increased sales and profits.

Customer service includes everything from greeting a customer and thanking her for her business to delivering what you promise and doing whatever it takes to satisfy the customer. My company has developed more than 26 customerservice training programs for clients throughout the world. Providing your customers with exceptional service will give you and your organization a competitive edge by increasing customer loyalty.

When I launched my first customer-service training program in January 1980, I based it on six principles. Those principles are as valid today as they were then. They are as follows:

1. F EEL GOOD ABOUT YOURSELF - We live in a negative world and we tend to think negatively. It’s critical that you feel good about yourself, that you are confident, enthusiastic, and positive. Each of us is responsible for how we feel about ourselves. You must believe in yourself, concentrate on your strengths, and recognize the importance of your role. Use affirmations and visualizations. Read books on selfimprovement and strive to be the best you can be. See yourself as you can be, not as you are.

2. BE COURTEOUS - It takes no more time to be nice and polite than it does to be rude. Every customer wants to feel important to you and your organization. Treat them with courtesy and respect. When you do, they will return to you time and time again.

3. GIVE POSITIVE COMMUNICATION - Smile, call customers by name, and give specific, genuine, sincere, and timely feedback. When you communicate positively, you form a connection with the customer that says, ‘I am pleased that you patronize my organization, I value you, and I am here to ensure your needs are met.’

4. P ERFORM FOR THE CUSTOMER - Customers have the right to demand performance, they aren’t interested in your problems
and excuses; they want you to take care of them. You can be polite and courteous but, if you don’t do what you say you will do, you will not meet the standards of good customer service. If you say you’ll call a customer on Tuesday, do it. If you say you’ll ship the product on Friday, do it. Do what you say you will do—and do it with speed and accuracy. If you ship a product when you say you will, but you ship the wrong product, you’ve taken a giant step backward.

5. L ISTEN CAREFULY - Few employees do this, and if you don’t listen to what the customer is telling you, you cannot give that customer what he needs. Listen to the customer, then clarify what he has said by repeating it: ‘Ted, let me repeat what you said so I’m sure I’m on the right track.’ Ask questions, get involved, and show that you care.

6. L EARN AND GROW IN YOUR JOB - If a customer asks you to explain the difference between product A and product B, she’s asking you to provide more than the difference in price. Study your organization’s products and services—as well as those of your competitors—so that you can provide your customers with the information they need to make a purchase decision.

I admit that these six principles might appear to be common sense, but common sense seems to be in short supply these days. If you focus on these principles, these fundamentals of customer service, you will keep your current customers and attract new customers. You also will greatly increase your chances of being promoted.

John Tschohl, an international service strategist and speaker, is founder and president of the Service Quality Institute in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Described by Time and Entrepreneur magazines as a customer service guru, he has written several books on customer service, including Ca$hing In: Make More Money, Get a Promotion, Love Your Job; Loyal for Life; e-Service; Achieving Excellence Through Customer Service; and The Customer is Boss. The Service Quality Institute (www.customerservice. com) has developed more than 26 customer service training programs that have been distributed and presented throughout the world. John’s bi-monthly strategic newsletter is available online at no charge. He can also be reached on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.