This is very important especially if you are new to the community. Anything that you do, you must be sensitive to the local culture and beliefs. Do some research on the taboo in that community. If they find it offensive than avoid doing it. One example to this point is, when I was a waiter for a hotel that had just been taken over by an international chain. The Group General Manager, a foreigner insisted that for the new menu, we serve the local dishes in a wok. To the local community eating out of the wok was a taboo. We told him about this but he brushed it off, saying it was rubbish. We went ahead with this menu. The result of this action is that the locals avoided us and those that came were very annoyed. After a few bad reviews from the customers eventhough the food was great, the Group General Manager finally gave in to change the menu but it was too late. It took us another year to build back our local clientele. Even the design of your place or the uniform is also important. In the East Coast of Malaysia, the people there don`t take too kindly to their waitresses wearing revealing clothes. When I was working in Thailand, they have so much respect for their King and Queen to the extend that they don`t serve alcohol on the King`s and Queens` birthday.
Also if you know their culture you can use this to your advantage too. One episode of Restaurant Makeover, the designer found out that it was a culture for the Somalian families to dine together in a private dining area. So she created an area just for that. By the way they were making a Somalian restaurant. Well this a great customer service to the Somalian community.
All this means is that different cultures have different beliefs and taboos. In order to give great customer service and be on the good side of your customers, you must know what is the beliefs and taboo of the community around you. Even Sun Tzu has a verse for this in his Art of War. It goes like this
"We are not fit to lead an army on the march unless we are familiar with the face of the country--its mountains and forests, its pitfalls and precipices, its marshes and swamps." Chapter VII. MANEUVERING Verse 13
To know more on how I use the Art of War, please click here. How I use the Art of War
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Communicate with your customers
Regularly communicate with your customers. It can be either via a newsletter, a letter written to them personally or paying them a visit. This is the reason you see famous brands like Coca Cola, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Colgate spending million of dollars for advertising even though most people know these brands. Even a kid knows who Colonel Sanders is. By regularly keeping in touch, your customers will feel like they are an important part of your establishment and this will encourage them to return far more often. There are a few key things to remember when creating a newsletter. Firstly you will have to do it on a regularly basis but don't do it every two weeks then this will be regarded as junk mail. A monthly newsletter is more than enough. Keep your content interesting and add in special offers here and there. As for me apart from printing flyers and putting on cars and in mailboxes, I sent personally signed letters highlighting our specials to our regulars. This is what I’ve learnt recently from a marketing article which says to take care of the 20 percent that give us 80 percent of your business. The 80/20 rule. But you must remember to continuously add more names to your list. Reason being people might shift or be transferred out. So you will constantly have a new list . Each letter is written the name of the regular instead of Dear Sir. So they will feel that I’m writing to them personally. As my list is getting bigger, I will be purchasing a stamp with my signature on it so as I cansign more letters. Malaysia is commonly known for its diversity of its multicultural community, you will find a variety of festivals here. I visit our regulars bringing some festive goodies to say hi and also thank them for their business. When I visit the Chinese regulars during the Mid Autumn festival, I bring Mooncakes. For the Muslim regulars, I visit them during the Hari Raya bringing Malay Kueh and the Indian regulars bringing Indian sweets. This makes our regulars feel important and we are their first choice when they need a place to dine. You don’t have to go on the day of the festival, I do it about a week before the holidays.Restaurant Promotion Ideas
Monday, January 17, 2011
The importance of good customer relationship
The other day on the Oprah Winfrey Show, Oprah was a introducing a new reality show called "The Undercover CEO". This new reality show is about CEOs of multinational companies going on undercover missions that will place them within the lowest ranks of their own company. By working as a rank and file staff, they will get a closer look at both the good and the bad as the result of their decision as the big boss. They will also learn what the downline feel about the company while discovering the unsung heroes who make their companies run.
One of her guest was Joe DePinto the CEO of 7 Eleven who went to work at few of his stores. Apart from finding out some not too good store policies like throwing away doughnuts after a certain hour, he found two gem in his employees. A particular employee is Dolores Bisangni in the Southampton store, N.Y. DePinto commented that he had always wondered why the Southampton store sold a higher amount of coffee than his other stores. After working at the store he found out that it was not because of the coffee used as all 7 Eleven stores use the same product. It was the service and friendliness provided by Bisangni that got people coming back for more. Bisangni has worked for 7-Eleven for 18 years, has only one kidney and undergoes dialysis treatments twice weekly. She was a real gem on knowing everyone that came in by name. This is another good example of good customer service bringing in repeat business.
One of her guest was Joe DePinto the CEO of 7 Eleven who went to work at few of his stores. Apart from finding out some not too good store policies like throwing away doughnuts after a certain hour, he found two gem in his employees. A particular employee is Dolores Bisangni in the Southampton store, N.Y. DePinto commented that he had always wondered why the Southampton store sold a higher amount of coffee than his other stores. After working at the store he found out that it was not because of the coffee used as all 7 Eleven stores use the same product. It was the service and friendliness provided by Bisangni that got people coming back for more. Bisangni has worked for 7-Eleven for 18 years, has only one kidney and undergoes dialysis treatments twice weekly. She was a real gem on knowing everyone that came in by name. This is another good example of good customer service bringing in repeat business.
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Changing your employees mindset on how they see difficult customers
We need to change the mindset of the employees who think dissatisfied customers are a problem. I have read in his newsletter sometime ago, that Ron Kaufman highlighted that the words you use to your employees about your customers is very important. He gives one example that in Disney World, they call customers that are complaining "Customers" and others "Guest". So if there is a problem customer, the staff will call the manager saying "a customer wants to see the manager". When your employees gets nervous, defensive, and confused when they are managing a difficult customers, this is partly because of their mindset that the customer is a nuisance or problem. So if we change their thinking they will treat difficult customers better and in most cases that I have noticed, the difficult customer will become your loyal customer. That is why I refer to customer complaints as "comments". Because comments is something for us to improve. Therefore each company needs to set clear and concise company does have and don’ts, and also clear organizational training and discussions to help employees interact with customers to enhance the customer experience. What I do in my daily preshift briefing is to let the staff highlight what issues they have encountered. If they have solved it, how they have done it. If not, I will open the situation for discussion and later choose the best solution and also give some of mine. By doing this your staff will be able to deal with different human conditions when the situation arises again.
Monday, August 23, 2010
10 Tips for Delivering Good Customer Service.
1) Treat everyone that walks into your door like somebody especially your requlars.
Because regular customers expect (and deserve) to be treated as someone special. Sometimes you don't need to remember their names, or what their favourite orders. You just need to acknowledge that he/ she has been there before. What I normally do if I notice a regular client, I will introduce or show the person to a senior member, manager or my hostess in my establishment. I will highlight all important information about the guest. The reason for this is that if I can't remember something about the guest, I have a backup memory system. And also if I'm not around the guest will be taken care off according to his likes and dislikes.
2) Be polite!
We often see the people behind the counter simply bark out "Account number" or "Name" without a please or even a smile. This we will normally see in Governmental Organizations. Train your staff to use the word "Please" and "Thank You" . The word "Name, Please" sounds a lot better than just "Name". And add that with a smile even if you are faking it, this will make the customer mellow down. Even if he came there to complain. Also it is never acceptable for a that person to insult a client.
Recently I read an article about a 2005 survey conducted by Schulich School of Business MBAs suggests that the problem of rude and not polite staff exists in over 30% of companies, and costs them hundreds of millions of dollars in lost customers (and revenues) each and every year.
3) Thank your customers.
Do it like you mean it. Make sure when your employees conclude a transaction, they should end it with a smile and a sincere "Thank you " . Nowadays we often receive or say a robotic "Thanks, Have a nice day. Next" . Train your staff not to be robotic, you must start first. Lead by example. I used to work in this hotel that had this restaurant that had a lot of bad comments mainly because of the slow kitchen. Then I hired a manager to assist me there. He started going around talking to the guest, assuring them that food was on the way. Just being nice to the guest eased their frustration on the slow food. He even smiled and thank the guest politely as they left even if they were angry. Later the staff followed him and there were a major increase in positive guest comments. The food was still slow but the guest was happy when they left.
When you get large purchases, verbal greeting should be followed up with a hand-written thank you note or card. One way that in order to get a sincere smile from my staff, I always remind them that the person leaving now is paying our salary.
4) First impression is important, you won't get a second chance.
In the article mentioned above there were two independent research done, that concluded that nearly 90% of customers form an impression about how competent and reputable your company is based on what they see when they walk through your doors.
This is true. People normally tend to judge the book by its cover. That is why its so important for your place to be clean, neat and also presentable. How would you feel if you go into your accountant's office and see files all over the place. On the table, on the floor ever on chairs. Would you have confidence that he is able to do you books nicely. Same thing for your customers. Ensure that the area that is in the view of your customers is clean and organised. Your staff needs also to be well groomed. Nothing turns a guest away fast than unkempt staff. Also ensure that your toilet is clean. An important point to note for those in the restaurant business. This is the area that is normally neglected.
5) Keep promises
One of the quickest ways to lose customer confidence is no follow-through, late delivery of a service or product, not notifying the customer in advance on the delay and providing an alternative solution if necessary. What this means is that "do what you have promised".
This normally happens when the sales team is not sure of the product or services they are selling. So they promise a lot of things, just to close the sale. When its time to deliver, the production team can’t deliver what was promised. The customer will be frustrated and angry. We will then lose his business and also have a bad reputation if the customer tells everyone.
My suggestion is everyone in your establishment should know their product and also the limit on what your company can deliver. Most guest prefer that you let them know that you are unable to meet certain of their requirements, rather then telling them can and later cannot fulfill.
6) Surprise the customer
When it is possible to provide an extra level of service, do so. As for me I normally surprise my regular guest with a complimentary dessert, a colouring book for the kids or ever offer them a free karaoke room on slow nights. These special gestures go a long way towards building customer loyalty and to winning you new customers. It has been known that a dissatisfied customer will tell 10 - 16 others, but people who have had an unexpectedly good experience also recount their stories.
7) Provide full service.
If you want to be above the rest of your competitors, you need to provide something extra. For example mobile phones, most will sell only mobile phones and the accessories separate. By law in most countries and for safety reasons you need to use a headphone if you want to talk on your mobile while driving. Why don't just throw in a Bluetooth wireless with every purchase of a mobile. And if you are selling battery operated toys include the batteries with the toys. Small things will be greatly appreciated.
Think about what you can add to help make things easier for your customers.
8. Admit your mistake.
If you have made a mistake, admit it and set things straight. When customers have a complaint or comment listen, truly listen. If possible take notes, that will show the customer you are interested in his complaints. Then apologize and take corrective action. In most cases, the very act of listening (without interrupting) is enough to diffuse the situation and make the person feel worthy as a customer. In my years of experience I have found out if complaints are handled properly and professionally, you can turn the guy complaining into a happy and reqular guest. Be prompt answering when your customers have a problem or enquiry with your company. Try to answer all enquiries within 24 hours. If by any chance you can't (maybe you need to get more clarification), then inform the customer (also within 24 hours ) what actions that you are taking.
9) Listen to your customers.
Talk to your customers and get feedback on what they like and don't like. Do the corrective action if something goes wrong. Let customers know that their business is appreciated and that their opinions are important to you. We get comments that there is no variety in our food. We tried doing different promotions monthly but still got the same comments. We also got bad comments on quality and taste but couldn't identify which product or who was causing the complain. So what I did was get all my staff to go around talking with the guest and fill it in detail in a book which is read by chef and me. From here we identified which cook was not a good cook and chef gave him training until he improves. We also learnt some interesting things about what the guest means by no variety.
10. J.B.N- Just Be Nice
This is perhaps the most important procedure in any service industry especially the restaurant business. Word of mouth is the most effective promotional method. So if your restaurant are nice, the food is good and the wait staff are friendly and effecient, people will tell their friends. And their friends will tell their friends and the list goes on and on. Visit your regulars or event potential business at their workplace or even their homes. The most effective way is on special occasion like birthdays, anniversaries and so on. If you have a band bring the band along. What we did this Christmas was prepare a few yulelogs cakes and gave them personally to our regulars. We even brought our band, singing Christmas carols. Well we got a better response for a festive dinner this year.
None of these suggestions takes a lot of time or money to implement, yet they can pay dividends in increased customer satisfaction and retention. The key, though, is to ensuring that employees understand the importance of their front-line role and get good training and supervision.
Because regular customers expect (and deserve) to be treated as someone special. Sometimes you don't need to remember their names, or what their favourite orders. You just need to acknowledge that he/ she has been there before. What I normally do if I notice a regular client, I will introduce or show the person to a senior member, manager or my hostess in my establishment. I will highlight all important information about the guest. The reason for this is that if I can't remember something about the guest, I have a backup memory system. And also if I'm not around the guest will be taken care off according to his likes and dislikes.
2) Be polite!
We often see the people behind the counter simply bark out "Account number" or "Name" without a please or even a smile. This we will normally see in Governmental Organizations. Train your staff to use the word "Please" and "Thank You" . The word "Name, Please" sounds a lot better than just "Name". And add that with a smile even if you are faking it, this will make the customer mellow down. Even if he came there to complain. Also it is never acceptable for a that person to insult a client.
Recently I read an article about a 2005 survey conducted by Schulich School of Business MBAs suggests that the problem of rude and not polite staff exists in over 30% of companies, and costs them hundreds of millions of dollars in lost customers (and revenues) each and every year.
3) Thank your customers.
Do it like you mean it. Make sure when your employees conclude a transaction, they should end it with a smile and a sincere "Thank you " . Nowadays we often receive or say a robotic "Thanks, Have a nice day. Next" . Train your staff not to be robotic, you must start first. Lead by example. I used to work in this hotel that had this restaurant that had a lot of bad comments mainly because of the slow kitchen. Then I hired a manager to assist me there. He started going around talking to the guest, assuring them that food was on the way. Just being nice to the guest eased their frustration on the slow food. He even smiled and thank the guest politely as they left even if they were angry. Later the staff followed him and there were a major increase in positive guest comments. The food was still slow but the guest was happy when they left.
When you get large purchases, verbal greeting should be followed up with a hand-written thank you note or card. One way that in order to get a sincere smile from my staff, I always remind them that the person leaving now is paying our salary.
4) First impression is important, you won't get a second chance.
In the article mentioned above there were two independent research done, that concluded that nearly 90% of customers form an impression about how competent and reputable your company is based on what they see when they walk through your doors.
This is true. People normally tend to judge the book by its cover. That is why its so important for your place to be clean, neat and also presentable. How would you feel if you go into your accountant's office and see files all over the place. On the table, on the floor ever on chairs. Would you have confidence that he is able to do you books nicely. Same thing for your customers. Ensure that the area that is in the view of your customers is clean and organised. Your staff needs also to be well groomed. Nothing turns a guest away fast than unkempt staff. Also ensure that your toilet is clean. An important point to note for those in the restaurant business. This is the area that is normally neglected.
5) Keep promises
One of the quickest ways to lose customer confidence is no follow-through, late delivery of a service or product, not notifying the customer in advance on the delay and providing an alternative solution if necessary. What this means is that "do what you have promised".
This normally happens when the sales team is not sure of the product or services they are selling. So they promise a lot of things, just to close the sale. When its time to deliver, the production team can’t deliver what was promised. The customer will be frustrated and angry. We will then lose his business and also have a bad reputation if the customer tells everyone.
My suggestion is everyone in your establishment should know their product and also the limit on what your company can deliver. Most guest prefer that you let them know that you are unable to meet certain of their requirements, rather then telling them can and later cannot fulfill.
6) Surprise the customer
When it is possible to provide an extra level of service, do so. As for me I normally surprise my regular guest with a complimentary dessert, a colouring book for the kids or ever offer them a free karaoke room on slow nights. These special gestures go a long way towards building customer loyalty and to winning you new customers. It has been known that a dissatisfied customer will tell 10 - 16 others, but people who have had an unexpectedly good experience also recount their stories.
7) Provide full service.
If you want to be above the rest of your competitors, you need to provide something extra. For example mobile phones, most will sell only mobile phones and the accessories separate. By law in most countries and for safety reasons you need to use a headphone if you want to talk on your mobile while driving. Why don't just throw in a Bluetooth wireless with every purchase of a mobile. And if you are selling battery operated toys include the batteries with the toys. Small things will be greatly appreciated.
Think about what you can add to help make things easier for your customers.
8. Admit your mistake.
If you have made a mistake, admit it and set things straight. When customers have a complaint or comment listen, truly listen. If possible take notes, that will show the customer you are interested in his complaints. Then apologize and take corrective action. In most cases, the very act of listening (without interrupting) is enough to diffuse the situation and make the person feel worthy as a customer. In my years of experience I have found out if complaints are handled properly and professionally, you can turn the guy complaining into a happy and reqular guest. Be prompt answering when your customers have a problem or enquiry with your company. Try to answer all enquiries within 24 hours. If by any chance you can't (maybe you need to get more clarification), then inform the customer (also within 24 hours ) what actions that you are taking.
9) Listen to your customers.
Talk to your customers and get feedback on what they like and don't like. Do the corrective action if something goes wrong. Let customers know that their business is appreciated and that their opinions are important to you. We get comments that there is no variety in our food. We tried doing different promotions monthly but still got the same comments. We also got bad comments on quality and taste but couldn't identify which product or who was causing the complain. So what I did was get all my staff to go around talking with the guest and fill it in detail in a book which is read by chef and me. From here we identified which cook was not a good cook and chef gave him training until he improves. We also learnt some interesting things about what the guest means by no variety.
10. J.B.N- Just Be Nice
This is perhaps the most important procedure in any service industry especially the restaurant business. Word of mouth is the most effective promotional method. So if your restaurant are nice, the food is good and the wait staff are friendly and effecient, people will tell their friends. And their friends will tell their friends and the list goes on and on. Visit your regulars or event potential business at their workplace or even their homes. The most effective way is on special occasion like birthdays, anniversaries and so on. If you have a band bring the band along. What we did this Christmas was prepare a few yulelogs cakes and gave them personally to our regulars. We even brought our band, singing Christmas carols. Well we got a better response for a festive dinner this year.
None of these suggestions takes a lot of time or money to implement, yet they can pay dividends in increased customer satisfaction and retention. The key, though, is to ensuring that employees understand the importance of their front-line role and get good training and supervision.
Monday, July 19, 2010
When a Customer Walks in your Door
Here is a checklist or steps that you can use to train your staff in delivering quality customer service. I use this steps in my trainings. Got it from a friend and I have added some of my own experience into it. Its a sequence that starts from the time the customer walks in till the time he leaves your establishment.
When someone walks into your store, you must always remember that he/ she is a potential customer. You and your staff need to:
1) Be visible as soon as he enters your store
By acknowledging him, you will give him the impression that you value his business. Look up from your point of sales, stop whatever you are doing for the moment. If your work needs you to be away from the area, such as going in and out of the storeroom, then you need to have some kind of gadget that alerts you when a customer enters your store. I have seen some not to expensive ones that run on batteries. It gives out a sound everytime someone passes its beam of light. You can put it at the entrance doorway.
2) Greet the customer in a friendly manner.
The resort where I started my career had this Japanese Restaurant. The staff there greeted everyone that walked in the door by calling out "Good Evening" loudly in Japanese. Even the cooks behind the counters greeted the same way. The manager there said that's the way the Japanese greeted their customers. Well you don't have to follow that style. Just greet the customer how the community around you greets their friends.
Make eye contact, don't stare. Smile, don't grin. And say something such as, “Good (time of day). How may I help you?”
3) Show that you are willing to help.
By acknowledging and greeting the customer, you will give him/ her the impression that you are ready to assist. Nobody likes to be followed around or rushed while they browse through your menu or your store. So train staff not to continually follow customers around or rush them through the menu. Even interrupting them every few minutes to ask them how they are doing will sure to annoy them and chase them away. If the customer says "Just looking around" or "Just browsing" , just let them browse and after a while approach them to enquire if they have found what they’re looking for.
4) Listen carefully if the customer has an enquiry.
Listen carefully to what he has to say. The way to show that you are actively listening is by making eye contact, nodding, or even jotting down notes. Ask questions when the customer is finish if its necessary to get more details that will enable you to solve the problem. Never and I say it again Never interrupt a customer when he or she is speaking. You can’t listen when your mouth is moving. This is what I tell my staff about active listening "God gave you two ears and one mouth, so as you listen more and talk less."
Be sure that you and your staff know your products and services inside out. I ussually make my staff repeat the product knowledge of a new item daily in our briefing until I or my assistant is sure that the staff knows the product by hard. I ask them to say in their own words, so as they don't sound like a robot. For good customer service, tell customers what they want to know, not everything you know about it.
5) Always be cheerful, courteous and respectful
Throughout your interaction with the customer maintain a professional image. Never, never ridicule him if he ask a not too bright question. Remember he is paying our salary. Again never judge him by appearance I have seen some people who are dressed simple but they have the money to purchase your product. So be nice to everybody.
6) Make sure you end on a sweet note.
Even if the customer doesn't want to buy anything, you should end the interaction on a sweet note. Never pull a long face or grumble. You should never use phrases like, “Here we go again” or “Okay, then” and turn your back to the customer. If the customer is not ready to buy, you can suggest , “Is there anything else I can help you with?”, “Would you like a brochure?”, or “Would you like to try that on?”
If he or she wants to buy something, escort or direct the customer to the counter where you or someone else will go through the payment procedure with him.
When someone walks into your store, you must always remember that he/ she is a potential customer. You and your staff need to:
1) Be visible as soon as he enters your store
By acknowledging him, you will give him the impression that you value his business. Look up from your point of sales, stop whatever you are doing for the moment. If your work needs you to be away from the area, such as going in and out of the storeroom, then you need to have some kind of gadget that alerts you when a customer enters your store. I have seen some not to expensive ones that run on batteries. It gives out a sound everytime someone passes its beam of light. You can put it at the entrance doorway.
2) Greet the customer in a friendly manner.
The resort where I started my career had this Japanese Restaurant. The staff there greeted everyone that walked in the door by calling out "Good Evening" loudly in Japanese. Even the cooks behind the counters greeted the same way. The manager there said that's the way the Japanese greeted their customers. Well you don't have to follow that style. Just greet the customer how the community around you greets their friends.
Make eye contact, don't stare. Smile, don't grin. And say something such as, “Good (time of day). How may I help you?”
3) Show that you are willing to help.
By acknowledging and greeting the customer, you will give him/ her the impression that you are ready to assist. Nobody likes to be followed around or rushed while they browse through your menu or your store. So train staff not to continually follow customers around or rush them through the menu. Even interrupting them every few minutes to ask them how they are doing will sure to annoy them and chase them away. If the customer says "Just looking around" or "Just browsing" , just let them browse and after a while approach them to enquire if they have found what they’re looking for.
4) Listen carefully if the customer has an enquiry.
Listen carefully to what he has to say. The way to show that you are actively listening is by making eye contact, nodding, or even jotting down notes. Ask questions when the customer is finish if its necessary to get more details that will enable you to solve the problem. Never and I say it again Never interrupt a customer when he or she is speaking. You can’t listen when your mouth is moving. This is what I tell my staff about active listening "God gave you two ears and one mouth, so as you listen more and talk less."
Be sure that you and your staff know your products and services inside out. I ussually make my staff repeat the product knowledge of a new item daily in our briefing until I or my assistant is sure that the staff knows the product by hard. I ask them to say in their own words, so as they don't sound like a robot. For good customer service, tell customers what they want to know, not everything you know about it.
5) Always be cheerful, courteous and respectful
Throughout your interaction with the customer maintain a professional image. Never, never ridicule him if he ask a not too bright question. Remember he is paying our salary. Again never judge him by appearance I have seen some people who are dressed simple but they have the money to purchase your product. So be nice to everybody.
6) Make sure you end on a sweet note.
Even if the customer doesn't want to buy anything, you should end the interaction on a sweet note. Never pull a long face or grumble. You should never use phrases like, “Here we go again” or “Okay, then” and turn your back to the customer. If the customer is not ready to buy, you can suggest , “Is there anything else I can help you with?”, “Would you like a brochure?”, or “Would you like to try that on?”
If he or she wants to buy something, escort or direct the customer to the counter where you or someone else will go through the payment procedure with him.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Customer Service Training Tips : Customer Service Tips
I found this interesting video on youtube. They have a list of topics on video
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