What is BEing?

What is #BEing?

For #FollowFriday this week I am doing something new: It's all about BEing.

We all spend so much time DOing, but what are we BEing?
This technique I learned from Teresa Romain, one of the greatest personal development coaches I've ever had the pleasure of working with.

We all have To Do lists. But don't they feel a little less than "Good" sometimes? They can be overwhelming and reminders of what we have NOT accomplished in the day. Doesn't feel good...especially when the "To Do" list has so much left to be done at the end of the day. Do you feel grateful when that happens?

So Teresa introduced me to the idea of the "To BE" list.
Instead of DOing, we're BEing.

Say you have "To Do" opening bills.
What feels better?
To Do: Open Bills
Or...
To BE: Responsible by opening my bills and organizing/paying them.

To me it is clearly the second.

So for #FollowFriday I'm honoring those who are BEing on Twitter.
BEing Inspirational. BEing Love. BEing informative. BEing helpful.

So search for #BEing from @Dagenais and start BEing enriched by the lives of these Twitter people who resonate with who and what you are and wish to BE.

Common Sense Customer Service

I wrote this article back in 2004. Now providing it as a resource to my Twitterverse friends. :) Let me know what you think. I may have more insights on Customer Service now than I did back then, so I'll be redoing it if needed...

Common Sense Customer Service

by Daniel Dashnier (@Dagenais)

The key to growth in any business; whether it be the largest corporation on the planet or someone working a home business from their laptop on the dining room table; is exceptional Customer Service. Customer Service can't just be "good" or "OK"; it must be exceptional, above the bar, and above anyone who may be competing with you for the business of those customers. However; there is a major difference between a large corporation and your home business: Customer Retention must be one of your top priorities if you are to succeed. Target™ or Wal-Mart™ can lose a couple of customers per month as a result of poor customer service and it won't even be noticed; yet the loss of one or two customers per year due to lacking customer service can (and will) be devastating to a home business. The whole idea behind "Common Sense Customer Service" is simple; if you don't provide proper Customer Service, you fail. Word of mouth is the best advertising venue on the face of this earth; and in the Internet age it can spread within minutes instead of days or weeks…sucking away potential customers to an ecstatic competitor.

Let's first take a look at what we call "Common Sense" and how it relates to Customer Service for your home business. The first question you need to ask yourself (every day, every call, every e-mail) is this: "If I were the customer, how would I want to be treated?" We've all probably encountered situations where we have had to deal with a company whose product or service we have questions or even complaints about. What was your experience like? Would you have done it differently on your end? If so, how? Did they show empathy to your situation? These are just some of the questions you need to look at when evaluating whether or not you are going to provide "good" or "exceptional" customer service. 

If there is a complaint, you can't be defensive or argumentative. EVER! If there is a question, you better be ready to answer it; or provide the customer with a call back time estimation as to when you will have an answer if you need to contact the vendor, a mentor, or another company to get the answer for the customer. Whenever possible, do not simply refer them to another person or department, because that will turn them off. Try to resolve the issue yourself first, and if it is something where they in fact do need to talk to someone else, conference them in or transfer them to the correct department, along with contact name, business name, etc. Here are some basics, right from the "bible" of some of the best customer service call centers in the world:

Be Courteous: Always answer the phone (or an e-mail) in a prompt and friendly manner. For phone calls, always answer with, "Thank you for calling (Business Name); this is (Your Name); how may I be of assistance today?" SMILE when you answer the phone. Believe me, the person on the other line knows whether you are smiling or not on a phone call!! This has the immediate effect of disarming the angriest customer. They may still be angry, but their defensive lines have already been breached by the way you just answered their call.

Gather Information (LISTEN!): Get their name (and then address them by their name); phone number, e-mail address, and the product they use. Write it down. It serves as an immediate reference during the call, plus allows you to create documentation of whom you have spoken with and when -- especially if you need to call this individual back in the future or suspect they may call again.

Empathize: This is probably the most important of them all! Show empathy (concern and understanding) about their situation. Whether it is a product question, complaint, billing concern, etc. This is where "The Customer Is Always Right" enters the equation. , even if they're wrong or simply misguided. By listening carefully; repeating back the issue to the customer; and not being apologetic but concerned, you will establish immediate rapport with that customer and break down any other defensive barriers the caller may have. And if you're still smiling, you can disintegrate negativity and turn this into an educational experience and opportunity for you both. An example of apology vs. empathy:

oApology (not recommended for most situations, shows you are wrong, they are right, and you will never be right again): "I'm really sorry that you are not happy with the product. It's my fault entirely. We'll do (whatever your resolution is) to get this taken care of. Again, I'm sorry."

oEmpathy (the right approach): "I completely understand your displeasure with (product). I'd like to do what I can to assist you through this (complaint matter; descriptive, shows you were listening). First, let me make sure I have the information correctly (repeat issue, verify, thank them)." Move on to Resolution.

Seek Resolution: I feel it is important to first state a little "disclaimer" as to what you will do for your resolution: it is up to you. The most important thing to remember is that there must be resolution to your customer's question, complaint, or concern, even if it is a temporary resolution. If you don't have a way to resolve the issue, for good or for the short term, you might as well not even take the call, because you will lose that customer! This is where we step back to "Common Sense": Would you remain a customer somewhere where they did all of the above and then said, "Well, I really can't help you."? What would you do? Hang up? Walk out? Demand a resolution regardless of what they just said? 

**Personally; I've been through the latter just recently. Demanding a resolution worked for me; I refused to leave the building (a large appliance and electronics "Superstore") until I had my refund and an explanation as to why they delivered a product that wasn't even close to what I ordered. This once again shows "The Customer IS always right"! The sad thing is, because they didn't help me, and I had to become a demanding and stand-offish customer (which I avoid at all costs); that company has lost my business forever. They tried to "appease" me with a gift card, which I ripped in half in front of them. Why? Because if they can't even try to resolve a problem right then and there, then why would I ever want to buy a product from them again? So they lost, I "won." It doesn't ever have to be that way!** 

Now you must show the customer that they are right; but so are you, so are your policies, and so is your plan of resolution…

You should have solid policies and procedures in place for your business to use as guidelines when it comes to resolutions.

If you are in a distributorship type of business, be sure to have all Policies and Procedures of the company memorized as much as possible and available at ALL times to be able to reference in case of a complaint.

Be open to ideas; don't use guidelines that are too rigid. This however is a very careful balance. You need to be able to bend, but if you bend too far, every customer will know about it and try to get the same thing out of you that you give a particular customer to satisfy them. 

Be ready while listening and repeating issues or asking leading questions to be able to have a rough idea of what resolution will be, so there is no awkward silence or long delay in communication between yourself and your customer (of course this depends a bit on method of contact, phone, e-mail, fax, or letter).

EXECUTE the Resolution. This can be painless for you and for the customer. Concisely state (with Empathy) the issue at hand and your proposed resolution to the customer. Do not say "Well, our policy says…," as that puts the customer back on the offensive and you on the defensive and you don't want to be there. Disaster will follow, and you will always lose. Give your proposed resolution not as an "Is this OK?" type of resolution, but "We can do this." 

If the customer continues to argue or disagrees with your resolution statement, then you can bring up policies or procedures that are in place (and the customer should have a copy to reference themselves). Be firm about adhering to your policies while expressing a desire to do everything possible to resolve the issue. Do not state anything in a defensive way. Try to practice stating or writing things in a way that shows you are actually "bending" for the customer while still holding true to the guidelines you have in place. 

After an issue is resolved with a customer, there is something that should be "Common Sense" but is often missed by many companies and individuals. They assume the problem is solved and move on. Wrong. The customer may have "accepted" your resolution, but did it SOLVE the problem? This is where the most powerful customer retention tool comes into play: Follow-up

You probably follow up with prospects and potential customers, right? You probably even follow up after a customer has ordered something to ensure everything is to their liking. Customer Service and Issue Resolutions should be no different. This time, if the customer had contacted you by phone and you have their e-mail address, follow up by e-mail. If the back and forth customer service that led to resolution was through e-mail, follow up with e-mail and a phone call. Starting to see it? It shows extra effort. You already placed a ton of effort into a phone conversation, but through e-mail it is much easier as you don't need to respond in real time and they can't "see" the hesitation in your voice. However, always remember, they can see hesitation in the written word.

The follow-up should be simple and should also include courtesy and empathy. Wait at least 24 hours if it is an "instant" resolution; if it is something where an exchange takes place, wait until you know the customer has received the replacement product or service (or refund) before doing the follow-up. Something as simple as the following would suffice:

Dear George,

We at Widget Enterprises want to thank you for your business, and wanted to take this opportunity to follow up with you to ensure that the resolution to your issue (Short, concise restatement of issue here) was satisfactory and that your communication with our company was pleasant and what you expected.

If you have any questions or concerns, please give us a call at (555) 555-1235 or e-mail us at CusotmerService@CompanyName.com. We'll also be sending you a short survey via e-mail so that we may better serve our customers in the future and ensure the highest satisfaction rate.

It has been a pleasure doing business with you, George, and we at Widget Enterprises look forward to serving you in the near future!

Regards,

Customer Service Name
Widget Enterprises
Phone
E-mail

Follow-up is that easy. They feel GOOD when they get a letter like this!!! Have you ever gotten one? How did you feel? See? If you want to do a survey, ask simple questions about what we could have done better, etc. This gives you the opportunity to adjust anything that may need correction in your Customer Service Structure. 

I hope you take the opportunity to use these valuable pointers in your next contact with a customer. Have fun, help people. Customer Retention will always follow!

RESOURCES:

Customer Retention Associates: "Complaints: Customer Loyalty Torpedoes or Lifesavers. "

Dashnier, Daniel L. "Level I Helpdesk Training Manual." Instrumentarium USA, 2002.

Dashnier, Daniel L. "Quality Assurance Guidelines for Palm Customer Service." SITEL Technology Services, Inc. (Daniel L. Dashnier, 2000).

Dashnier, Daniel L. "Quality Assurance Guidelines for Palm Web Chat." SITEL Technology Services, Inc., 2000.

The many customers I have dealt with over the years from McDonald's to GE Medical and my own company. I appreciate you!

On The Web:
http://www.sitel.com/ (SITEL Corporation)
http://www.crmcommunity.com/ (CRM Community Online)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
© Daniel L. Dashnier. All rights reserved worldwide.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The author has written Quality Assurance Guidelines, score sheets and held hundreds of coaching sessions with Customer Service (phone), Technical Support (phone and web chat) staff for SITEL Technology Services, Inc. He has also written guidelines and training materials for management and employees to use for Quality guidelines in providing internal technical support to the over 1,450 employees of Instrumentarium USA, now a part of GE Medical Systems.

Daniel Dashnier is a Freelance Writer and Abundance "Coach in Training" based in Madison, Wisconsin, USA.

Deal with Emotions with Out Food

We eat for a lot of different reasons other than for fuel such as celebrations, comfort, and out of boredom. Every once in awhile indulging is ok, but if you feel like it is happening more on a reoccurring basis it is best to analyze your emotions and focus on seeking solutions for those emotions in other ways besides with food. 

Anger 
We turn to food as a way to calm our feelings of displeasure caused by a situation, a person, or your own behaviors, thoughts, and actions. 
Instead: 
Practice deep breathing. 
Distract yourself. Listen to pleasant music, do a task on your To Do List, write down your feelings in a journal, or go for a walk. 
Don’t resort to eating, nagging, or door slamming. Try to resolve the conflict. 
Ask your self “Why am I angry?” 
State “I know that eating will not help me handle this situation long term. I need to deal with the problem and not cover it up.” 

Boredom 
When you are tired of doing the same thing or you can not think of anything to do it is easy to rummage through the kitchen or cupboards to stay occupied. 
Instead: 
Mix up your daily routine as to not get bored. Drive a different way to work as an alternative of right by McDonalds. Instead of plopping down in front of the TV have an activity planned. 
Take your work outside on a nice day if possible. 
Exercise. 
Have a list of things you can do on the fridge so you can just pick one instead of opening the door and grabbing food. 
Pick up a new hobby. 

Depression 
Feeling sad, hopeless, and/or worthless. Constantly tired, having a hard time concentrating or making decisions. Often times we find comfort from these feelings in the food we eat. If you are lonely sometimes food is looked at as a friend. 
Instead: 
Get a new hair style or pamper yourself with some new makeup. 
Watch your favorite movie or TV show. 
Tell yourself, “I do not find comfort in food.” 
Focus on doing things that you will get satisfaction from other than eating. 
Help someone else with a project. 
Call a friend when feeling lonely. 

Anxiety 
 The feeling of dread, fear, or distress over things that exist or things that you image being a threat. Often times people eat in order to avoid a situation that causes anxiety. 
Instead: 
Sit in your favorite spot and focus on relaxing. 
Ask yourself, “What is the worse thing that can happen in this situation?” 
Ask yourself,” What am I truly upset about?” 
State “I know that food will not make this situation go away.” Imagine the situation being resolved.

What are you grateful for today?

The Grateful list. List 10 things only...no more & no less, this is very important. No matter how trivial they may seem! Do it as fast as you can. Don't think that anything is "not good enough" to be grateful for, as it defeats the purpose of this exercise. I look forward to seeing your grateful lists! My list for today:

1) Coffee

2) This Blog

3) The Twitterverse

4) My Followers

5) My cat, Pumpkin

6) A union job!

7) My vehicle

8) Money 

9) My good, no, BEST friend Jimmy PS Hayes (@JimmyPSHayes)

10) Homemade fudge (no matter what it does to my waistline)

Comment to post your Grateful list!!!!

You can follow me on Twitter @Dagenais. I follow back.

If you're on Twitter, please Retweet this post.

Have an awesome & fulfilling Tuesday!!!!

Crazy in Minnesota: Rep. Michelle Bachmann

Rep. Michell Bachmann (R-MN) is doing it. Again. Absolute wingnut. And traitor?
In an interview last Saturday when asked about Obama's Cap & Trade Plan, had this to say:

BACHMANN: And really now in Washington, I’m a foreign correspondent in enemy lines. And I try to keep everyone back here in Minnesota know exactly the nefarious activities that are taking place in Washington. […]

I want people in Minnesota armed and dangerous on this issue of the energy tax because we need to fight back. Thomas Jefferson told us, having a revolution every now and then is a good thing, and the people — we the people — are going to have to fight back hard if we’re not going to lose our country. And I think this has the potential of changing the dynamic of freedom forever in the United States.

Does what she said make her treasonous? I would say yes, but it does squarely fall under Sedition.

Sedition (N)
1. Incitement of discontent or rebellion against a government. 2. any action in speech or writing promoting such discontent or rebellion. 3. Archaic, rebellious disorder.

If we rewound the clock one year, and made it the Bush presidency again (ugh) and a Democratic Representative said the same things, what would have happened? Not only in the Mainstream Media, but in the halls of Washington. All hell would've broken loose...and here we are, a crazy bitch from Minnesota inciting sedition against the Federal Government, and all we see is a blip on the radar screen. And really, over cap and trade? To protect the polluters? She would incite a revolution for pollution rights? C'mon lady.

I really hope our friends in Minnesota recall their crazy lady.
And in all seriousness, after a shooting in Pittsburgh yesterday claimed the lives of three police officers , we should be seriously looking at the virtual incitement of violence being instigated by people actually claiming to represent their constituents. The shooter in this attack:

Mr. Poplawski had supported Republican candidate John McCain in the presidential election and had "very spirited debates" about Democratic candidate Barack Obama, Mr. Vire said. Mr. Poplawski was opposed to Mr. Obama's election, which he thought would result in the loss of his rights, Mr. Vire said.



So, friends, I highly recommend the Dump Bachmann blog for reading the insanity.

Get rid of her!

More on New Reserve Currency...

It looks like more are falling behind the U.N. Panel's recommendation that is due out soon...
Original post is here: One World Currency.

"Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of the People’s Bank of China, argued that what he called a super-sovereign reserve currency would not only eliminate the risks inherent in currencies such as the dollar, which are backed only by the credit of the issuing country and not by gold or silver, but would also make it possible to manage global liquidity," reported the Times Online.

However, the technical and political hurdles to implementing China's recommendation are enormous, so even if backed by other nations, the proposal is unlikely to change the dollar's role in the short term. Central banks around the world hold more U.S. dollars and dollar securities than they do assets denominated in any other individual foreign currency. Such reserves can be used to stabilize the value of the central banks' domestic currencies. Mr. Zhou's comments -- coming on the heels of Mr. Wen's musing about the safety of China's dollar holdings -- appear to be a warning to the U.S. that it can't expect China to finance its spending indefinitely.

he central banker's proposal reflects both China's desire to hold its $1.95 trillion in reserves in something other than U.S. dollars and the fact that Beijing has few alternatives. With more U.S. dollars continuing to pour into China from trade and investment, Beijing has no realistic option other than storing them in U.S. debt.

Information from Times Online & The Wall Street Journal Online

Wisconsin Rapids Man Accused of Assaulting Toddler

From my hometown of Wisconsin Rapids.

If guilty, this guy is a sick bastard. 25 year-old Jeremy Lund of Wisconsin Rapids is accused of sexually assaulting and abusing a 17 month old toddler. If he's convicted he faces 79+ years in prison. Some will say if he is guilty he should be killed, castrated, strung up by his junk, etc. I say just let him go to prison. I hear prison is a very unpleasant place for child rapists. Justice would be served.

According to the criminal complaint:
On Jan. 20, a Wisconsin Rapids couple left their daughter with Lund while they went grocery shopping. They were gone a little more than two hours. When they returned, Lund was not there, and the woman found baby wipes with blood on them on the floor of her daughter's playroom. She found the baby in her crib, injured and bleeding. The woman wrapped her daughter in a blanket and took her to the Riverview Hospital Emergency Room, while the man waited for Lund to return.

At the hospital, doctors reported the baby had a large bruise on the left side of her face, a large bruise on the left side of her forehead, scratch marks throughout her neck and bruising on both of her ears. She also had injuries consistent with sexual abuse. When confronted by the baby's father, Lund said he didn't mean to hurt the child and asked for a chance to explain. The father got into a physical confrontation with Lund, and a janitor pulled the two men apart. Lund told Wisconsin Rapids detectives that he "blacked out" and didn't remember what happened to the baby. He said he was willing to take responsibility for what happened, even though he didn't remember doing it. DNA evidence from the baby was found on Lund and DNA evidence from Lund was recovered from the baby. According to court documents, Lund was sentenced to six months in jail in 2003 for a Marshfield child abuse case. In that case, Lund told authorities a baby fell from a table.

In the Wisconsin Rapids case, Lund first told the father the girl fell from the couch, the complaint said.

Jeremy Lund, 25

One World Currency Conspiracy-Heading Towards Reality?

Just a few minutes ago I was thinking about writing a post about how I'm tired of politics being such a negative force in our world today. I was thinking about focusing all on the positive. Then my conspiracy bug took hold when I ran across a story about a U.N. Panel's findings:

Truthout has a story about a recommendation to be made next week by the U.N. Commission of Experts on International Finance Reform (I'll call them CEIFR). CEIFR seems to believe that the dollar should be ditched by the world as its reserve currency in favor of a "shared basket of currencies."

I am in no way a financial expert. Not even close! But this move concerns me. It further degrades the value of the dollar during this current financial crisis. It also allows Russia to have a stronger position when introducing their plan for the creation of a new reserve currency at the G20 meeting in April. One positive is that it could prevent the move towards using the Chinese Yuan as the global currency reserve. Does this mean that if the proposal becomes policy, we move one step closer towards a world currency? 

Now I'm seriously considering investing in gold. Gold is the standard by which all currencies are based. Having that significantly improves our chances of staying financially strong and viable in a rapidly changing global economy. 

I'm open to people's thoughts about this. Is some group purposely trying to devalue the dollar to prevent or delay economic recovery for the United States?