Hello from Reggie and Joel
Greetings - Reggie and I welcome you to the SMILE! blog. Every so often we'll be sharing ideas and tips from the road, where customer service and a positive attitude is tested everyday. Hope you'll stay tuned and send us your feedback.
Recently, I traveled to Seattle to present a SMILE! seminar for a non-profit group that works with pets. What a great facility. They showed me all the beautiful dogs, cats and other "pre-owned" pets - I wanted to take them all home! I was very impressed with the staff's level of commitment. They shared some touching stories about situations that arise... I'm sure you can imagine.
Preparing for the seminar, I wasn't sure what improved customer service at this facility would look like - more treats for the dogs? As we talked, they identified three benefits of excellent customer service:
1. Creates TRUST.
2. Develops LOYALTY with the community of clients and donors.
3. Builds MORALE for the staff to enjoy.
What a great set-up for the meeting. I promptly cued up the DVD and rolled SMILE! There were a lot of smiles during the showing, and also a few rolled eyes at Reggie's jokes - yes, some of them are pretty corny.
After the tape, there were a lot of comments and we had a very interesting conversation about customer care and what it takes to choose a positive attitude. Some funny stories there, too.
Internal customer service: Here's an aspect that many companies don't consider. "They know I care, let's just get this done." The staff shared their feelings about inter-departmental customer service. If you haven't had a conversation about this, I recommend it.
NEW TRAINING TIP: I broke the group into small teams and gave them an assignment to come up with an acronym like SMILE! that reflects the kind of customer service they wish to provide. Imaginations ran wild and the room was filled with a lot of laughs. Then, each team presented their word - SNIFF, HEART, EMPATHY, and... POOP! I can't remember what each letter stood for, but everyone had fun. I made a note to add that to the Leader's Guide for the next printing. In the meantime, if you're leading a SMILE! session soon, give it a try.
Many people ask me, does Reggie still drive the bus? Yes, he's still a full-time driver for Seattle Metro. Next time you're in Seattle, you can actually ride his route. I'll try to get the info and post it here. Every 6 to 8 weeks, the routes change and Reggie introduces a new bunch of riders to SMILE! He's always giving out SMILE! buttons and real smiles. I visited him last week and he repeated what he's been saying since the beginning, "I love people and I love doing something that will make their day. It just feels good for me."
Sounds good to me.
Recently, I traveled to Seattle to present a SMILE! seminar for a non-profit group that works with pets. What a great facility. They showed me all the beautiful dogs, cats and other "pre-owned" pets - I wanted to take them all home! I was very impressed with the staff's level of commitment. They shared some touching stories about situations that arise... I'm sure you can imagine.
Preparing for the seminar, I wasn't sure what improved customer service at this facility would look like - more treats for the dogs? As we talked, they identified three benefits of excellent customer service:
1. Creates TRUST.
2. Develops LOYALTY with the community of clients and donors.
3. Builds MORALE for the staff to enjoy.
What a great set-up for the meeting. I promptly cued up the DVD and rolled SMILE! There were a lot of smiles during the showing, and also a few rolled eyes at Reggie's jokes - yes, some of them are pretty corny.
After the tape, there were a lot of comments and we had a very interesting conversation about customer care and what it takes to choose a positive attitude. Some funny stories there, too.
Internal customer service: Here's an aspect that many companies don't consider. "They know I care, let's just get this done." The staff shared their feelings about inter-departmental customer service. If you haven't had a conversation about this, I recommend it.
NEW TRAINING TIP: I broke the group into small teams and gave them an assignment to come up with an acronym like SMILE! that reflects the kind of customer service they wish to provide. Imaginations ran wild and the room was filled with a lot of laughs. Then, each team presented their word - SNIFF, HEART, EMPATHY, and... POOP! I can't remember what each letter stood for, but everyone had fun. I made a note to add that to the Leader's Guide for the next printing. In the meantime, if you're leading a SMILE! session soon, give it a try.
Many people ask me, does Reggie still drive the bus? Yes, he's still a full-time driver for Seattle Metro. Next time you're in Seattle, you can actually ride his route. I'll try to get the info and post it here. Every 6 to 8 weeks, the routes change and Reggie introduces a new bunch of riders to SMILE! He's always giving out SMILE! buttons and real smiles. I visited him last week and he repeated what he's been saying since the beginning, "I love people and I love doing something that will make their day. It just feels good for me."
Sounds good to me.
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