Customer Service Training, Tips, Articles & Videos with Myra Golden
Zappos Clever Marketing at Airports
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I have traveled throughout North America speaking at conferences and conventions about the Zappos Customer Experience. From the perspective of both a consumer and a consultant, I am a fan of Zappos. I’ve spent 3 years studying their culture and I now share my insights with my clients. But do you know how I first heard of Zappos? At the airport. Yes, the airport.
At my local airport, all of the plastic bins in security are adorned with advertising from Zappos. Pretty clever for a shoe company to advertise in those security bins since we all have to take our shoes off in security. I’ve seen Zappos advertising in airports throughout the US and I always smile when I see their name in the bins. Not only is Zappos in front of potential customers, but they add a little humor too. Read the advertising in the above picture.
Think about how you might cleverly position your brand in front of your audience. Think out of the box. How might you engage your audience with humor, an invitation to visit your site via a QR Code, or with a question.
Chick-fil-A Customer Service Tip: #customersremember
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This afternoon a friend on FaceBook shared her experience with Chick-fil-A.
So I drove to Chick-fil-A for lunch and the line was wrapped around the corner but two managers were outside greeting people, taking orders and creating a pleasant experience. Next door was Carl’s Jr. with NO WAIT. I drove up to CJ since it appeared faster but after 1.30 of waiting without being greeted, FINALLY some unhappy person took my order. Now I see why the line at Chick-fil-A was around the corner. #servicematters #customersremember #creategoodexperiences
I commented on my friend’s status and asked if I could share her experience on my blog. Here’s her response:
Hi Myra – Happy New Year! Yes, I’m totally open to that. What was crazy was that the line at CFA moved quicker and seemed more responsive even in it’s busy time. It’s clear that being unproductive breeds among your staff and onto your customers. In the future, I’d rather experience the jovial on-going service of CFA than take the short cut of frustration with CJ for sure!
Based on my friend’s disappointing experience with a competitor, it’s no surprise that Chick-fil-A customers were willing to wait in a line that wrapped around the corner. Chick-fil-A managers proactively and eagerly served waiting customers and the efficient staff kept the line moving quickly. The instinctive action on the part of Chick-fil-A left an unforgettable impression on my friend and resulted in positive word-of-mouth advertising on FaceBook and now Twitter and a blog via my posting. As for the competition, I like the way my friend put it: “Being unproductive breeds among your staff and onto your customers.”
Take a tip from Chick-fil-A: Take care of your customers. Customers remember. Service matters.
Related post:
Chick Fil-A WOWs in the Pouring Rain!
Myra Golden’s Keynote Slides from Edible Arrangements Convention
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I had a ball presenting to the enthusiastic Managers at the Edible Arrangements Annual Convention in Las Vegas last week. I got Goosebumps as managers described what WOW meant to them and I as I discovered that WOW is not buzzword at this company, but truly the culture. I am happy to provide a copy of my slide deck as a reference for my fabulous clients. Enjoy. Share. Learn.
Rapper Ludacris Gets Customer Service
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Perhaps this is why Ludacris is so successful…He gets that profits come from customers…customers that come back and bring their friends with them. Shout out to Ludacris!
Click the image to view Tweet from Ludacris about profits and customers…
Why I Run
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(My Pearl Fuel running shoes. I’ve run 336 miles in these shoes!)
Last Saturday I returned from my 8 mile run hot, sweaty, stinking and exhausted. My visiting nephew sarcastically asked, “Why are you running again?” I smiled and said, “Good question Anthony.” As I recuperated on my patio, I thought about Anthony’s question. Why do I run?
Running is hard work. It’s time consuming. And it makes me stink. I’m sure Anthony smelled my funk. And he saw that I was a hot mess. But even with the sweaty hot mess, running makes me feel so amazing. After thinking about my nephew’s question, I realized I run for 5 reasons…
- When I run I am me in the raw. No makeup, no jewelry, no body shaper, no fronting. Just the real me. How often do we get to be so free, so real? This feeling of authenticity is exhilarating to me.
- Running is a spiritual experience for me. Most of the time I run sans music. I spend much of my run time expressing gratitude to God, praying for my family, and relishing nature. There’s nothing like spending 6, 7 or 8 miles in reflective prayer. My runs are very spiritual.
- Of course, there are the health benefits. I consciously reflect on how every step I take is blessing my heart and lungs. I love knowing I am improving my quality of life on every run.
- I run because I can. I’m blessed with mobility and the physical ability to run. I run simply because I can run.
- Running has given me incredible legs. I have been amazed at the transformation my legs have gone through as I’ve gone from the couch to long-distance runner. My legs are toned, shapely and sexy.
The bottom line is I run because running makes feel good. What’s a pastime that you enjoy simply because you can and because it makes you feel good?
Empathy Training for Customer Service Professionals – Webinar 7/27/11
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Empathy Training * New Webinar*
July 27, 2011 1:00pm – 2:00pm ET
Myra Golden’s Empathy Training is created for companies that know about customer experience management, and want to learn how to create a strong culture of empathy and concern in their own companies.
In this 60-minute web seminar, your people will learn:
- How to establish rapport and connect with customers.
- Effective techniques for genuinely conveying compassion and concern.
- How to consistently create warm experiences over the telephone.
- The importance of understanding the customer’s perspective before attempting to get the customer to understand the company’s perspective.
- How to most effectively use tone, pacing and emotion to improve the customer experience.
They’ll also learn:
- How to make customers feel smart/good even if they ask “silly” questions.
- How to identify unexpressed customer needs.
- How having a sense of urgency helps build consumer confidence.
And finally, your people will set S.M.A.R.T. Goals for improving their ability to consistently express empathy to your customers.
Registration
$199 for live webinar and program material
Participation in Myra’s webinar is just $199 per organization and allows access to webinar for an unlimited number of people to view on a single Internet connection.
Register for Empathy Training now.
Your webinar includes:
Full webinar digital recording
Unlimited viewing within your organization with no expiration
Rights to download and save webinar video
Rights to incorporate webinar within your Learning Management System (LMS)
Empathy Training
$199 for unlimited participation within your organization (includes digital recording of the webinar)
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
1:00 – 2:00pm ET
Why Not Brand Your 404 Error Page?
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Click image to enlarge
I just happened to stumble upon a broken link on my website (www.MyraGolden.com) and I noticed that the Page Not Found page was white with black text, dull and boring, just like all the 404 Error pages I come across. And I thought, why not make that page fit in with the theme and brand we’ve worked so hard to develop? So I did just that. Now our 404 Error page has the same color scheme, logo, and friendly tone that all of our web pages have. Instead of reading “Page Not Found” our error page now reads:
We’re So Embarrassed!
We can’t seem to find the page you’re looking for.
Here’s why this may have happened:
- We have a bad link out there – and we’re fairly certain Myra, the Customer Service Expert doesn’t know about this!
- You may have typed the page address incorrectly.
- Our web server is acting up.
You can always call, get online help with Myra’s Online Assistant or email us.
Call: 866-873-8419
email: info@myragolden.com
Work with Myra’s Online Assistant
Branding your 404 Error page is small thing, no doubt, but if you do it right, it can make you stand out. So why not brand your 404 Error Page?
3 Things That Helped Me Easily Go From PC to Mac
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I recently made the switch from PC to Mac. This wasn’t an easy decision for me. Change has always been a challenge for me and this would be a big change. I’ve used Windows all my computing life (except for a little DOS in high school). My biggest concern though, wasn’t the change. I needed to be certain I could run the applications that my business depends on. Applications like Word, PowerPoint, my live webinar streaming application and my office management platform.
Incredibly, I was able to make the switch from PC to Mac with virtually no learning curve, with no interruption of productivity and without sacrificing the customer experience for my clients. I made the smooth transition by integrating the best of both worlds…combining my new Mac with Windows.
If you’re a lifelong PC user who is itching to try out a Mac, but you want to be sure you can run all of our business-critical applications, know that it can be done and it can be done easily.
Here are 3 answers for the PC user who is reluctant to try Mac.
1. Mac is Microsoft Office Friendly. I made this discovery when I got my iPad. Mac (and iPad) users can create, open, save and share documents with PC users. Apple’s iWork suite lets users open Word, Excel and PowerPoint files and users can easily share native Mac documents in Microsoft formats.
2. You can simply install Microsoft Office. If you have any reservations about Apple’s iWork suite, just buy Microsoft Office for Mac and you can work in the exact same environment you’re used to. I bought Microsoft Office, but I’m not sure it was the best decision. Office costs a little more than iWork and it does exactly the same thing.
3. Run Windows on Your Mac. One of the most important applications I use for my business is GoToWebinar. We host live webinars every month and we sell archived webinar recordings weekly. Much to my dismay, I discovered that GoToWebinar does not have a recording feature for Mac users. It never occurred to me that this would be a problem, as I’ve recorded live webinars from my PC for the last 8 years. With my new Mac I could broadcast live webinars, but could not record them and later offer them to clients. That was not going to work.
My workaround for that problem was to install Windows on my Mac. Yes, you can do that. Using Parallels Desktop software, I can pull up Windows on webinar days and it’s like I’m running a computer within a computer. Running Windows on your Mac can come in handy for any applications that are solely Windows based.
I’ve combined the best of both worlds and you can too. Today, I am enjoying Mac’s amazing features like Time Machine, the incredible Spotlight Search, speed and performance like I’ve never experienced and great apps. I also get to work in the Windows environment when I need do. If you’re itching to make the switch from PC to Mac, I hope this blog post gives you some of the answers you need to make the best decision for you.
Don’t Steal From Me. Just Ask Me and I’ll Give it To You.
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Last week I discovered one of my most popular blog posts was posted on another blog. Quite by accident, I made the discovery. My creative work was copied word for word. And there was no mention of my name, my company name or my url. My jaw literally dropped and I was in shock.
I left a kind comment on MY post on this blogger’s site. Simply, I asked him to give me credit for my post and I gave him my tagline and contact information. I blessed the blogger, shook it off and moved on.
Curious, today I went back to the blog to see if the blogger was now giving me credit for my article. Nope. In fact, I found that not only was one blog post lifted from my blog, but 3 other posts that I wrote were stolen and featured right there on his blog!!! He carefully removed links back to my site, www.MyraGolden.com, and placed links back to his own site. He even took each of the examples I used in my posts and used them as his examples. In one post I talk about my husband and I watching a movie. He replaced that line to say “He and his sister watched a movie”. I was sickened by the blatant theft. The entire blog had only 4 articles and they were all mine. Now I was livid!
So, I located the blog owner’s contact information and sent him a harsh rebuke and demanded that my four articles be immediately removed. That really meant deleting his entire blog since my content made up 100% of his blog. The blog owner apologized and agreed to remove my posts within 48 hours. You best believe I’ll be checking up on that.
Here’s the deal. I love it when people reprint my articles. I write to help people. I write to inspire. I write to give hope. I want my articles read and disseminated. But I want credit for the work I do. I’m teaching Business Ethics right now. I am preparing my students to enter the work world with the ability to make good decisions, to protect their organizations from liability and to be able to sleep at night because they’ve done the right thing. Theft of written work is unethical. If you want to reprint or feature my work or the work of any author, blogger or columnist. Just ask. I’ll give you permission. But don’t steal from me.
I work with companies that are serious about delighting and keeping customers. My blog includes thoughts, articles, videos, and even rants about customer service. Thanks for stopping by. :)
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