Service-Centric

How to Get a Solid Return on Workplace Fun

It happens in many places and in many ways, but it is a consistent theme for employees at Zappos…they practice random acts of fun and weirdness. Maybe you were in an airport during the hectic holiday season when seven different flights participated in a Zappos-themed game of Wheel of Fortune…baggage claim style.  If your luggage…

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Guest post: PHENOMENAL Marketing Systems by Howard Partridge

For about a decade I have been blessed to work with and for Howard Partridge, president of Phenomenal Products. In fact, this year I will be one of the presenters of a leadership master class with Howard and: John Maxwell the category-creating leadership author of more than 60 leadership books, as well as Michel Gerber…

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A Case Study for 2014 – Learning from Legendary Leaders

In the spirit of being lifelong learners this new year, and every year for that matter, let me share a new word  I learned recently:  holacracy.  I am assuming you may have see this word buzzing around the Web lately. My connection to the word comes through Tony Hsieh CEO of Zappos. As you know…

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Making it Right: Turning Breakdown Experiences into Forever Customers

It happens from time to time, despite your best efforts.  Your business dutifully prepares for seemingly every contingency and investigates each process fault point. Yet, once in awhile, something still manages to fall apart when trying to serve a customer.  The work of researchers like Amy Smith and Ruth Bolton published in the Journal of…

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How to Speed-Train Seasonal Employees

Tis the season for…seasonal employees.  This time of year temporary employees swell payroll rosters, even if only for a matter of weeks.  When time is of the essence (or is nonexistent), how does your business train these new recruits to be an effective extension of your brand during the boom of commerce that engulfs November…

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They Want to Talk – Do You Want to Listen? How to Learn from Customers

Does your business have a mechanism for collecting and considering customers’ insights? A good, old fashioned suggestion box or perhaps something more sophisticated? What do you do with customer input that comes your way? Principle 5 in my latest book, Leading the Starbucks Way, challenges businesses to both cherish and challenge their legacy. Honoring the…

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Customer Experience Musts – Telling us what they want

Customers have a huge desire to tell us what they want but alas many entrepreneurs and business leaders are more interested in telling or selling than taking the time needed to really hear their customer.  Hold on now, am I saying that customers actually know what they want and are willing to tell us? MIT…

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Five Points for Perfecting Customer Interactions

Recently I sent an email inquiry to two organizations of varying sizes from which I had an interest in their services. Both responded to my emails in a timely manner. The message from one organization was personal, robust with information, and warm. It was written by a specific individual, or perhaps generated to look like…

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How to Create Seasonally Relevant Customer Experiences

For many, the most magical time of the year is fast approaching.  One indicator that we are on the cusp of the holidays is the presence of Starbucks’ seasonal red cups.  The next several weeks are so often a whirlwind of activity with good intentions to stop and connect…but sometimes few opportunities to actually do…

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Customer Experience – Is it Care or Speed?

Recently, I shared a failed service experience I had at a sandwich shop and as a result several people contacted me and offered up what I can best describe as “service horror stories.”  Rather than miring us down in those negative interactions, I thought I would simply do a series of quick blogs on what…

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FREE RESOURCES

The Starbucks Experience: Leadership Tips eBook
Elevating Care in Healthcare: Lessons from the UCLA Health System eBook
How to Win Every Customer, Every Time, No Excuses! Article