StrategyDriven Professional Podcasts focus on the tools and techniques business professionals can use to accelerate their careers and personal goals achievement. These podcasts elaborate on the principle, best practice, and warning flag articles found on the StrategyDriven Professional website.
Wendy Powell is the author of Management Experience Acquired. With more than twenty-five years of human resource and management consulting experience, Wendy has spent most of her career at the University of Michigan. She is currently on the business faculty at both Palm Beach State College and the University of Phoenix. A member of the Society of Human Resource Management, she received a leadership award in 2002 from the Midwest College and University Professional Association for Human Resources. She is routinely featured on The Huffington Post and has appeared on Fox Business’s The Strategy Room. Wendy holds a Bachelor of Science degree in business management and a Master of Arts degree in organizational management.
Nathan Ives is a StrategyDriven Principal, and Host of the StrategyDriven Podcast. For over twenty years, he has served as trusted advisor to executives and managers at dozens of Fortune 500 and smaller companies in the areas of management effectiveness, organizational development, and process improvement. To read Nathan’s complete biography, click here.
https://www.strategydriven.com/wp-content/uploads/Base3000x3000-SDPP.jpg30003000Nathan Iveshttps://www.strategydriven.com/wp-content/uploads/SDELogo5-300x70-300x70.pngNathan Ives2013-03-07 06:38:502016-06-11 16:03:39StrategyDriven Professional Podcast Episode 2 – Standing Out Among Professional Peers, part 2 of 3
Contemporary business leaders embrace the mantra of continually doing more with less. Each and every day, managers and employees are challenged to produce ever-increasing quantities of goods and services at higher and higher quality levels. All other things remaining equal, there are limits to what any individual or workgroup can do. Beyond these limits, output declines and quality suffers.
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Nathan Ives is a StrategyDriven Principal and Host of the StrategyDriven Podcast. For over twenty years, he has served as trusted advisor to executives and managers at dozens of Fortune 500 and smaller companies in the areas of management effectiveness, organizational development, and process improvement. To read Nathan’s complete biography, click here.
https://www.strategydriven.com/wp-content/uploads/TooManyInitiatives.jpg288416Nathan Iveshttps://www.strategydriven.com/wp-content/uploads/SDELogo5-300x70-300x70.pngNathan Ives2013-03-05 06:01:232018-09-30 15:01:49Alternative Selection Warning Flag 1 – Too Many Initiatives
QUESTION: Why does lousy service occur?
ANSWER: Lousy service happens because (big) companies don’t understand people OR training.
I am amazed at how many times someone in a service environment delivers lousy service. And it’s often not just lousy – add rude, offensive, abrasive, defensive, maddening, and most of all disappointing.
GREAT NEWS: It doesn’t have to be like that.
If I take the time to complain, which I rarely do anymore, the manager will always ask, “Did you get the name of the person?” Somehow getting the name of the person is important to the manager. But it is unimportant to me. I never get their name.
The manager is looking to blame someone. I’m looking for someone to accept responsibility. The manager is NEVER the one who takes it.
I have found poor service is a reflection of the company and its leaders, not just the person who delivered it.
MY REALITY: When a manager asks me for the person’s name who delivered lousy service, I reply, “Don’t yell at the person who gave me lousy service. Yell at the person who trained them.” The person delivering poor service is most likely to have been poorly trained or ill trained, or both. They’re doing what they were trained to do, and say what they were trained to say.
Or the employee will ‘modify training’ and make statements based on their ‘at the moment’ feelings:
Sorry about that…
That’s our policy…
I’m just doing my job…
They don’t pay me to think…
I’m just a peon…
Or worse, they become defensive, even rude, when a customer expresses frustration or anger as a reaction to what happened. Employees do that because someone TAUGHT THEM they don’t have to take gruff from a customer. (REALITY: The customer provides the money for their paycheck).
Ever get poor service at an airline? Of course you have, EVERYONE HAS. It happens because the people who work at the airlines are undertrained, poorly managed, feel put upon by their management and their leadership, underpaid, rarely if ever praised, and are exposed to constant customer complaints. They don’t like their job, they don’t like or respect their leader, they don’t like their company, and they don’t like the people they serve. Not good.
Now granted, this is a generalization, but I’m in the air enough to make the comment based on 20 years of flying experience. I get an occasional nice person. I have an occasional pleasant experience. But they are so rare that I actually go up to the person and thank them for being nice, for being happy, and for being friendly.
So let’s get back to the question at hand. Why does lousy service exist?
Who is responsible to make great service possible?
Who is responsible to make great service happen?
I always ask people in service positions, “How’s it going?” Most people respond in some negative fashion. Statements like, “Well, tomorrow is Friday!” or “I’ll let you know in two hours when I get off.” or “You’re kidding, right?”
These are losing, self-defeating statements. Statements made by people who fail to understand that doing their best, having a great attitude, and having a high sense of personal pride have nothing to do with the job. They have everything to do with who you are as a person.
Most of the front-line servers are in low-paying positions. When you combine that with our “feeling of entitlement” workforce and with training that’s all about the company, with a smattering of, “smile, greet the customer, thank the customer,” you have a perfect setting for mediocre or lousy service to occur most of the time.
About now, you want answers to this dilemma. I have them. They revolve around four words you already know: positive attitude and personal pride. But there is way more to these four words than your known definition.
Positive attitude and personal pride hold the key to your success, and they will be discussed in-depth next week.
Reprinted with permission from Jeffrey H. Gitomer and Buy Gitomer.
About the Author
Jeffrey Gitomer is the author of The Sales Bible, Customer Satisfaction is Worthless Customer Loyalty is Priceless, The Little Red Book of Selling, The Little Red Book of Sales Answers, The Little Black Book of Connections, The Little Gold Book of YES! Attitude, The Little Green Book of Getting Your Way, The Little Platinum Book of Cha-Ching, The Little Teal Book of Trust, The Little Book of Leadership, and Social BOOM! His website, www.gitomer.com, will lead you to more information about training and seminars, or email him personally at [email protected].
https://www.strategydriven.com/wp-content/uploads/JeffreyGitomer.jpg218156StrategyDrivenhttps://www.strategydriven.com/wp-content/uploads/SDELogo5-300x70-300x70.pngStrategyDriven2013-03-04 06:50:512016-08-07 22:22:56The Secret of Lousy Service and Why it Happens
StrategyDriven Podcasts focus on the tools and techniques executives and managers can use to improve their organization’s alignment and accountability to ultimately achieve superior results. These podcasts elaborate on the best practice and warning flag articles on the StrategyDriven website.
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About the Author
Ed Reilly is the 17th President and CEO of the American Management Association International. Prior to joining AMA in 2001, he was Presidetn and CEO of Big Flower Holdings, Inc., a leading provider of integrated marketing and advertising services. He also served as President of the McGraw-Hill Broadcasting Company, among various executive positions during his more than 25 years with The McGraw-Hill Companies. To read Ed’s complete biography, click here.
Nathan Ives is a StrategyDriven Principal, and Host of the StrategyDriven Podcast. For over twenty years, he has served as trusted advisor to executives and managers at dozens of Fortune 500 and smaller companies in the areas of management effectiveness, organizational development, and process improvement. To read Nathan’s complete biography, click here.
https://www.strategydriven.com/wp-content/uploads/SDELogo5-300x70-300x70.png00Nathan Iveshttps://www.strategydriven.com/wp-content/uploads/SDELogo5-300x70-300x70.pngNathan Ives2013-02-28 06:01:152015-10-08 00:23:01StrategyDriven Podcast Special Edition 65 – An Interview with Ed Reilly, editor of AMA Business Boot Camp
Most leaders monitor the performance of their various divisions, departments, and work groups using a system of organizational performance measures. These measures monitor the efficiency and effectiveness of that organization’s functions – a reflection of the responsible manager’s performance.
Hi there! Gain access to this article with a StrategyDriven Insights Library – Total Access subscription or buy access to the article itself.
Subscribe to the StrategyDriven Insights Library
Sign-up now for your StrategyDriven Insights Library – Total Access subscription for as low as $15 / month (paid annually).
Don’t need a subscription? Buy access to Talent Management – The Difference Between Personal Goals and Organizational Performance Measures for just $2!
Nathan Ives is a StrategyDriven Principal and Host of the StrategyDriven Podcast. For over twenty years, he has served as trusted advisor to executives and managers at dozens of Fortune 500 and smaller companies in the areas of management effectiveness, organizational development, and process improvement. To read Nathan’s complete biography, click here.
https://www.strategydriven.com/wp-content/uploads/TeamworkGoal.jpg265452Nathan Iveshttps://www.strategydriven.com/wp-content/uploads/SDELogo5-300x70-300x70.pngNathan Ives2013-02-26 06:32:402020-10-24 15:47:34The Difference Between Personal Goals and Organizational Performance Measures
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StrategyDriven Professional Podcast Episode 2 – Standing Out Among Professional Peers, part 2 of 3
/in Practices for Professionals, Professional Development, StrategyDriven Professional Podcast/by Wendy Powell and Nathan IvesEpisode 2 – Standing Out Among Professional Peers, part 2 of 3 focuses on the need to stand out among professional peers and challengers both within your organization and when applying for external positions. During our discussion, Wendy Powell, author of Management Experience Acquired: Necessary Skills for Successfully Managing Any Employee
, shares with us her insights and illustrative examples regarding:
In addition to the incredible insights Wendy shares in Management Experience Acquired
and this podcast are the resources accessible from her website, www.ManagementExperienceAcquired.com. Wendy’s book, Management Experience Acquired
, can be purchased by clicking here
.
About the Author
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 17:20 — 23.9MB)
Subscribe: RSS
Alternative Selection Warning Flag 1 – Too Many Initiatives
/in Alternative Selection, Premium/by Nathan IvesHi there! Gain access to this article with a StrategyDriven Insights Library – Total Access subscription or buy access to the article itself.
Sign-up now for your StrategyDriven Insights Library – Total Access subscription for as low as $15 / month (paid annually).
Not sure? Click here to learn more.
Don’t need a subscription? Buy access to Alternative Selection Warning Flag 1 – Too Many Initiatives for just $2!
About the Author
The Secret of Lousy Service and Why it Happens
/in Marketing & Sales/by Jeffrey GitomerQUESTION: Why does lousy service occur?
ANSWER: Lousy service happens because (big) companies don’t understand people OR training.
I am amazed at how many times someone in a service environment delivers lousy service. And it’s often not just lousy – add rude, offensive, abrasive, defensive, maddening, and most of all disappointing.
GREAT NEWS: It doesn’t have to be like that.
If I take the time to complain, which I rarely do anymore, the manager will always ask, “Did you get the name of the person?” Somehow getting the name of the person is important to the manager. But it is unimportant to me. I never get their name.
The manager is looking to blame someone. I’m looking for someone to accept responsibility. The manager is NEVER the one who takes it.
I have found poor service is a reflection of the company and its leaders, not just the person who delivered it.
MY REALITY: When a manager asks me for the person’s name who delivered lousy service, I reply, “Don’t yell at the person who gave me lousy service. Yell at the person who trained them.” The person delivering poor service is most likely to have been poorly trained or ill trained, or both. They’re doing what they were trained to do, and say what they were trained to say.
Or the employee will ‘modify training’ and make statements based on their ‘at the moment’ feelings:
Or worse, they become defensive, even rude, when a customer expresses frustration or anger as a reaction to what happened. Employees do that because someone TAUGHT THEM they don’t have to take gruff from a customer. (REALITY: The customer provides the money for their paycheck).
Ever get poor service at an airline? Of course you have, EVERYONE HAS. It happens because the people who work at the airlines are undertrained, poorly managed, feel put upon by their management and their leadership, underpaid, rarely if ever praised, and are exposed to constant customer complaints. They don’t like their job, they don’t like or respect their leader, they don’t like their company, and they don’t like the people they serve. Not good.
Now granted, this is a generalization, but I’m in the air enough to make the comment based on 20 years of flying experience. I get an occasional nice person. I have an occasional pleasant experience. But they are so rare that I actually go up to the person and thank them for being nice, for being happy, and for being friendly.
So let’s get back to the question at hand. Why does lousy service exist?
Who is responsible to make great service possible?
Who is responsible to make great service happen?
I always ask people in service positions, “How’s it going?” Most people respond in some negative fashion. Statements like, “Well, tomorrow is Friday!” or “I’ll let you know in two hours when I get off.” or “You’re kidding, right?”
These are losing, self-defeating statements. Statements made by people who fail to understand that doing their best, having a great attitude, and having a high sense of personal pride have nothing to do with the job. They have everything to do with who you are as a person.
Most of the front-line servers are in low-paying positions. When you combine that with our “feeling of entitlement” workforce and with training that’s all about the company, with a smattering of, “smile, greet the customer, thank the customer,” you have a perfect setting for mediocre or lousy service to occur most of the time.
About now, you want answers to this dilemma. I have them. They revolve around four words you already know: positive attitude and personal pride. But there is way more to these four words than your known definition.
Positive attitude and personal pride hold the key to your success, and they will be discussed in-depth next week.
Reprinted with permission from Jeffrey H. Gitomer and Buy Gitomer.
About the Author
StrategyDriven Podcast Special Edition 65 – An Interview with Ed Reilly, editor of AMA Business Boot Camp
/in Management & Leadership, StrategyDriven Podcast/by Ed Reilly and Nathan IvesSpecial Edition 65 – An Interview with Ed Reilly, editor of AMA Business Boot Camp explores today’s management and leadership challenges and the fundamentals that will help those in these senior positions achieve ongoing career success. During our discussion, Ed Reilly, editor of AMA Business Boot Camp: Management and Leadership Fundamentals That Will See You Successfully Through Your Career
, shares with us his insights and experiences regarding the:
Additional Information
In addition to the outstanding insights Ed shares in AMA Business Boot Camp
and this special edition podcast are the resources accessible from his website, www.amanet.org and playbook.amanet.org. Ed’s book, AMA Business Boot Camp
, can be purchased by clicking here
.
Final Request…
Thank you again for listening to the StrategyDriven Podcast!
About the Author
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 30:00 — 41.2MB)
Subscribe: RSS
The Difference Between Personal Goals and Organizational Performance Measures
/in Organizational Performance Measures, Premium, Talent Management/by Nathan IvesHi there! Gain access to this article with a StrategyDriven Insights Library – Total Access subscription or buy access to the article itself.
Sign-up now for your StrategyDriven Insights Library – Total Access subscription for as low as $15 / month (paid annually).
Not sure? Click here to learn more.
Don’t need a subscription? Buy access to Talent Management – The Difference Between Personal Goals and Organizational Performance Measures for just $2!
About the Author