How Many First Impressions Do You Make?

“There can be as much value in the blink of an eye as in months of rational analysis.” ~ Malcome Gladwell ~ author of Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking

I’ve been thinking a lot this week about first impressions, especially as to how first impressions influence customer decisions and I believe Gladwell’s quote exposes a lot of truisms when it comes to customer decisions. Let me illustrate with a rather unpleasant experience I had not too long ago. I had viewed a brief episode on one of the cooking channels during a rare moment of TV viewing and heard raving reviews about the chicken fried steak available at a diner in nearby San Antonio. Being Texas born and raised, chicken fried steak is sort of its own food group for me. So, the next time I was near this particular diner, I gave it a try. The meal was respectable and upon finishing, I deducted that I could probably do it again in the future, but then after paying for my meal, I made the fatal mistake of going to the men’s room. I will never set foot in this diner again.

We’ve all heard it said that, “you only get one chance to make a good first impression”. I don’t believe that to be a true statement. I believe, especially when it comes to dealing with customers, we have many opportunities to make a great first impression and if we mess up any one of those opportunities, we risk losing that customer.

Referring back to this particular diner, the food was acceptable, the prices were reasonable and the service was good – that’s three good first impressions this establishment made, and while the kitchen may very well have been spotless, one look at the restroom raised some serious doubts in my mind.

Just to use the self-storage industry as an example, think of all the various “first impressions” that must be made to each and every customer we come into contact with. Here is just a partial list:

●             answering the phone – are we smiling (it transfers through your voice) and able to answer their questions professionally?

●             what the customer sees when they drive up to our office – is there trash in the parking lot or does the landscape need work?

●             what the customer sees when they open the office door – is there clutter all around and dirty countertops, floors and windows?

●             how the customer is greeted – did you speak first or did you unintentionally give the impression that they were interrupting you?

●             how you appear to the customer – are you dressed professionally, well groomed prepared to meet someone for the very first time?

●             how you met their needs – are you knowledgeable, a good listener and able to give helpful advice?

●             were you prepared and organized or was your presentation more like a comedy of errors?

●             when they excused themselves to the restroom, was is spotless with a good supply of toilet paper, soap and paper towels?

●             when you take them out to show a space, was your golf cart clean and professional or did they have visions of the Joad family trekking to Californey in The Grapes of Wrath?

●             were all of the spaces you showed them clean or was there an unpleasant surprise waiting behind door number 3?

I can go on and on, but the point I want to make is – any one of these bad first impressions could easily cost a rental and potentially a lost customer forever, as well as the bad publicity they might give to their friends and family about the unpleasant experience they had in YOUR RESTROOM!

I think you do get more than one chance to make a great first impression. I also think one bad first impression can ruin a number of good ones. It’s kind of like going on a first date. Everything could be hunky dory and then when you sit down to eat at a nice restaurant you discover your date has the table manners of hyena – it just sort of ruins things.

When it comes to impressing our customers, nothing is unimportant. Attention to detail must be the mantra we live by and we must elevate our own standards. What may be unimportant to us may be extremely important to our customers. Don’t let one bad first impression destroy all of your hard work. As Gladwell said, a poor impression made in the blink of an eye can erase months of work.

Related articles

• These Are The Insights That Made Malcolm Gladwell Famous (businessinsider.com)
• Telephone Answering (kendlebellcountydublin.wordpress.com)
• The Four Golden Rules for Entrepreneurs (hiscoxusa.com)

Book Review: PRODUCTIVE PERFORMANCE APPRAISALS

With performance reviews due next month, I thought it might be a perfect time to try to pick up some innovative new ideas by reading something on performance from the “experts”. I’ve read couple of books on performance reviews before, and although they don’t exactly rank up there with a Stephen King thriller, I’ve always managed to learn a few new things and feel like my time reading them was well spent. So I decided with performance reviews on the near horizon, I would see if I could pick up a few new pointers.

Before buying something new, I scanned my shelves to see if there was something I may have overlooked and sure enough, I ran across a copy of PRODUCTIVE PERFORMANCE APPRAISALS by Paul Falcone. I knew immediately why I had not read the book. This is from the “WorkSmart” series. I’ve read a couple of other books from this series and have been pretty disappointed with them, so this one made its way onto the shelf unread. I decided it was time to give it a fair shake. Perhaps the other books I have read in this series were simply an anomaly and this one would turn out to be just what I was looking for.

I don’t like writing negative reviews and normally, if a book is really disappointing I end up not reviewing it at all, but that’s not really fair to other readers. Like me, I’m sure others dislike spending their hard earned money on poorly written books that are of very little value. So let me summarize here by saying, “This is a poorly written book that I found to be of very little value.”

The “WorkSmart” series is published by American Management Association under the name of AMACOM. I don’t know anything about American Management Association, but in my mind’s eye, I envision something similar to a newspaper staff room. When a scoop comes in, the editor assigns a writer to do a story on it. I envision a group of staff writers sitting around the office waiting for their next assignment. Unfortunately for Mr. Falcone, he was tasked with putting together a publication on performance reviews.

Am I being too harsh? Too critical? I don’t think so. I believe most people who are going to invest their valuable time into a reading a book on this type subject are look, as I am, for valuable takeaways that will truly improve their own job performance, and those takeaways simply are not here. Anyone who has been managing people for more than a week or two is going to already know the vast majority of the content here.

I want to provide something of an insight as to why I’m being this critical. Here’s an example of what I found within these pages – when during a performance review the employee becomes angered and begins shouting, you should try to remain calm. If you engage in shouting, the situation will escalate. Really? I paid money for this? I won’t be buying any more books from the “WorkSmart” series.

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Dream Killers

“Do not let small minds convince you that your dreams are too big.” ~ Author unknown

Are your dreams being destroyed by the small minds that surround you?  The late Jim Rohn was one of my greatest mentors. One of the things Mr. Rohn was known for saying was that, “you become the average of the five people you spend the most time with”. If that thought just scares the daylights out of you, then perhaps it is time to reevaluate your personal relationships.

But I want to look at this from a different angle. Are WE being small minded about the dreams of others? Wait! Before you answer that with a resounding, “NO! Absolutely not!” consider this. As adults we tell our children, “You can grow up to be anything you want to be.” But then somewhere along the way, usually about the time children finish high school and are in their college years, we begin to tell them, “You need to be more realistic.”

So my message this week is really two-fold, avoid small minded people who want to stifle your dreams and secondly, do be small minded when it comes to supporting the dreams of others.  Let me expand on both of these situations for just a bit.

If we find that the small minds that surround us are doing their best to convince us to reevaluate our dreams, it may seem easy to simply avoid those people, but it’s not easy at all when some of those people might be family members or co-workers. When that is the situation, avoiding these people becomes impractical. That’s when it may become necessary to have a difficult conversation with them. Be courteous but forceful, “These are my dreams. I hope you will support me with them. If you can’t do that, then at least respect me enough to keep your negativity to yourself.” Now, of course you can expect a retort that they aren’t being negative, they are being realistic. Just be persistent that you have made your decision and you are going to go for it. You hope they will support you.

Perhaps the more difficult situation is when we want to “give advice” to someone we care about. This can be quite difficult because we are trying to instill our values and experience onto someone else. Here’s a great example of this; many people have tried (and failed) at network marketing. No doubt, there are many network marketing companies out there that are, shall we say, “Unscrupulous” at best and downright unethical at their worst. But that doesn’t mean there are not some legitimate companies with legitimate fortunes to be made in network marketing. Just because we might have tried our hand at network marketing 2 or 3 or 7 times and failed, that doesn’t mean a friend, relative or co-worker might not be perfect for it.

Whenever we have a bad experience with something, we tend to pigeon hole everything related to that thing as yet another bad experience. The reality is, we don’t all have the same talent level, the same support system, the same dedication or commitment, or the same knowledge base. It’s okay to express your concern, but in the end, give your support. Remember this, people told Steve Jobs he was nuts for wanting to start a computer business.

Monty Rainey

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Make Great Customer Service a Habit

“We see our customers as invited guests to a party, and we are the hosts. It’s our job every day to make every important aspect of the customer experience a little bit better.” ~ Jeff Bezos

Giving outstanding customer service is like many other things in life, it becomes a learned habit, just like driving a vehicle. Think about the first time you took the wheel. You probably weren’t very good at it, but with time and practice, driving became a habit and you got much better at it. The same is true for many other endeavors in life, such as cooking, playing golf or giving a speech. When you learn the ground rules and it becomes a habit, it becomes much easier, and more enjoyable.

Giving great customer service is no different, so today I want to talk about some of the ground rules of customer service. Learn these and make them a habit and the whole customer service game will become much easier and more enjoyable.

Greet the customer first. Challenge yourself to greet the customer before he or she greets you. When a customer walks in, if they speak first, you lose. Think about walking into a clothing store where the 2 or 3 people “working” are gathered around the cash register or stocking a back corner. You walk in, browse around, look at a few items, check prices and walk out and no one ever said a word to you. Your primary function is to assist the customer. Communication is the key ingredient and by being the first to speak you set the tone that you are there to help the customer.

Smile! Yes, it’s just that simple. Smile! Make smiling on the job a condition of employment and the lack of smiling grounds for termination. Body language and facial expressions speak much louder than words and a big smile puts even the most menacing of customers at ease. A smile also alters the inflection of your voice. This is why you should ALWAYS smile before you answer a phone. The customer can actually hear the smile in your voice.

Be enthusiastic. Dale Carnegie said, “Enthusiasm is a disease. Let’s start an epidemic.”  When a customer tells you what they are looking for, get excited about it. When a customer sees and hears your enthusiasm you will make more sales. It’s that simple.

Never point – go show. Believe it or not, I was secret shopping a self storage competitor once when it was cold and raining out. She actually gave me the keys to her golf cart and told me where the empty unit was for me to look at. Seriously? Everyone has gone to a big box or grocery store and been told, “Oh, I think that’s on aisle 5”. Walk the customer to where they need to be and then wait to see if they have any questions about it.

Common courtesy. Please, thank you and it’s my pleasure still go a long way towards building rapport. One of my pet peeves is the “No problem-er”. When a customer says, Thank you”, get in the habit (there’s that word again) of saying, “It’s my pleasure” and break the habit of using, “No problem”. To many people, no problem is telling them they were not nearly as big of a problem as you thought they would be. On the other hand, “It’s my pleasure” is a very uplifting phrase that will put an instant smile on their face.

Evaluate every interaction. A customer leaves your store thinking one of two things, “Hey, that person was GREAT!” or “That sucked. I’m not coming back here again.” On those occasions where a customer interaction doesn’t go as planned, don’t just shrug it off. Learn from it. Ask yourself what you could have done to reach a different outcome.

Make it fun. If you’re having fun doing your job it will rub off on your customers. Quite simply, people like to have fun. If they see that you are having fun helping them, they will have fun buying from you.

Related articles

• Smiling Through … Always Good Customer Service? (strategiclearner.wordpress.com)
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Book Review: PROOF OF HEAVEN

I always find it fascinating when someone, in this case a neurosurgeon, comes to terms with the reality that God really does exist and that what the Bible tells us about the afterlife is real. PROOF OF HEAVEN is the account of Dr. Eben Alexander and his journey of discovery through his own near death experience (NDE) and the week he spent in a coma after contracting meningitis. Because Dr. Alexander is a “man of science” this book is supposed to solve the question once and for all, but it will hardly do so. In fact, there is already a book out disclaiming Dr. Alexander’s account.

The truth is, there will always be countless numbers who will discount any evidence whatsoever of a supreme being, and that number is growing daily. As our society pushes away from God and faith, it will become more and more difficult for people who have for years, rejected a notion, even campaigned to have it removed even further from society, to all of the sudden accept it. That would require admitting they were wrong and people, especially politicos, academes and scientific types, just don’t like to do that.

But there is another contingent of people, those who believe in the Word on God, but are conflicted because of the societal pressures that have been applied. No one wants to be considered foolish or nonsensical because of their beliefs, so in time, they begin to question their beliefs. They may even pray for “some sort of proof” of existence. They just want to be certain their faith is based on something real before they will go “all in” with it. For this group of people, this book is a “must read”.

I’ve not read much about NDE’s, and I would not have read this book if my wife hadn’t ordered it after hearing Dr. Alexander on one of those daytime drivel shows while she was recovering from an illness. Me being the consummate reader and her only usually reading 2 or 3 books per year, I’m always intrigued by the books she does decide to read, so as usual, I read the book before she get to it.

The book is well written and will most certainly solidify those of questionable faith and will perhaps bring them some of the answers they seek.  For me, as a Pastor and person very comfortable with my faith and my relationship with God, this didn’t really tell me much I didn’t already know, other than perhaps some of the actual mechanics of journeying into the afterlife. I already know there will be no sorrow, no pain, and no regret. I already know about the indescribable sights, sounds and emotions. I’ve been anxiously awaiting these things most of my life, but I’m very in tune with the reality that most people are petrified of death and what lies in store. This book will help those people to relieve some of those unnecessary fears.

Think of how glorious life on this earth really is. Physical death is when we leave this life and enter into the spiritual realm that is free from all of the pain and suffering of this life. That transition will be far more glorious than anything ever experienced in this life. Therefore, fearing death becomes an exercise in absurdity. Don’t put yourself through that! This book will help you not only accept, but anxiously anticipate the day the Lord calls you home.

Related articles

• When Proof Is Not Enough: Eben Alexander’s Proof of Heaven and the Problem of Objectivity in Science (realitysandwich.com)
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Book review: ESTABLISHING A SYSTEM OF POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

Timing is everything. This bit of truth can sometimes bring with it, a sadness. Such is the case for me when a quite well-written book is simply outdated by technology. I’m quite sure ESTABLISHING A SYSTEM OF POLICIES AND PROCEDURES, by Stephen Page was on the cutting edge of P&P development when it was published in 1998, however, technology has long ago rendered this well-written book, largely irrelevant.

At the time of its publication, web-based manuals were just beginning to become a reality. Many even so-called “progressive” companies still embraced the tradition of print manuals and the vast benefits of on-line manuals were only just beginning to be realized. Today however, is there still a company out there hasn’t converted all of their policies and procedures into an electronic format?

I’m sure there may still be a few hold-outs that may even have a valid reason for wanting the P&P’s in print form. For those select few, you will find valuable information here on the entire scope of creating a P&P system.  Conversely, if you are utilizing software (such as Zavanta by Comprose) specifically designed for manual writing, you’re going to find 75% or more of the information here will not incorporate into what you are doing.  While a few things haven’t been altered by technology and do apply to both print and on-line media, such as formatting, a good writing software such as Zavanta does that automatically.

I do want to specify that, in the event that you are having to create a paper manual for your P&P’s, this book would be a great help and I would highly recommend it. On the other hand, if your company has entered into the 21^st century and you are creating an electronic publication, I don’t think you find much here that is going to make the task any easier.

I can typically measure the usefulness and value I get out of a book by the amount of notes I wrote in the margins. This one is still in Near mint condition.

 

A Lesson From Dr. King

Our world is filled with people who have moments of greatness in their lives, but when it gets right down to it, there are very few truly great people in the world. Plato, Gandhi and Mother Teresa come to mind, and certainly Martin Luther King, Jr. must be added to that short list. Here was a man who not only inspired people with the words he spoke, but a man who lived by the words he spoke. Being one of my own primary sources of inspiration, each year to honor the life of Dr. King, I write about one of his many quotable quotes.

This year, in light of the recent Lance Armstrong admission, King’s quote, “The time is always right to do what is right” seems quite appropriate. It seems that even our heroes have difficulty always doing what is right. As I write this on a Sunday afternoon before the NFL playoff games begin, I’m hearing about a star player for the San Francisco 49ers who has been accused of sexual assault. There is certainly a cloud of controversy surrounding the Notre Dame stand-out linebacker, Manti Te’o and his “invisible” girlfriend (although I’m not quite sure why the press is giving the story so much time), but I’m not just pointing the finger at sports figures. Certainly our politicians fare no better. We hear constantly about corrupt business owners, police officers who abuse their authority, even military leaders caught up in scandals. The list seems endless.

The saddest truth about all of this is that our youth lack the role models they need to chart their own life courses. For many young people you encounter, YOU are their best hope for a positive role model. Don’t take that responsibility lightly. You may be thinking, “but I don’t even have any kids or I’m not around young people very much.” One thing I’ve learned with my grandchildren is that children are VERY observant. Even when you think they may not be paying attention, they are looking to you for guidance and inspiration. That means the time is always right to do what is right. It’s always right to hold the door open for someone. It’s always right to pick up a piece of trash, whether it’s your trash or not. It’s always right to treat others with respect, whether they return that respect to you or not.

In the self storage business it becomes very easy to not always do the right thing because ours is an industry with very little supervision. Often there is only one person in an office or on a property. That’s when personal accountability comes into play and that’s really what Dr. King’s quote is all about – personal accountability. It’s a matter of character, and I guess for me, that’s what truly made Dr. King a great leader. He was a man of great character.

When it comes to doing the right thing, I’m always reminded of one of my favorite movies – Scent of a Woman. In the closing scene where Al Pacino is dressing down the Baird faculty, he says that throughout his life, without question, he always knew what was the right thing to do, but he never did it, because it was just “too damn hard”.

Dr. King never said doing the right thing was easy. He just said “the time is always right to do what is right.”

 

Related articles

• Rothman: Three lesson from the genius of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (bizjournals.com)
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