The Sanford Berenberg Experience: Message of the Day - Attitude is everything, and you chose yours

Good Morning,

The following message was one I sent out to a team I led back in October of 2006. The company is in the credit card processing industry. Many of you may have never seen it. It was a message to help the team better understand that to give excellent customer service, it started with them, and their own attitude. It has been modified to remove company specifics.

Good Morning,

This is a long email, but I would like each of you to take a moment and read it through and think about it for a bit. This is not a mandate, but an opportunity to rethink everything in how you approach your roles in the service center. You may find that this is you and find it a nice support of what you are doing. You may find that this is not you, but you can use it help you become something more. You know I want each of you to succeed in whatever your goals are both long term and now, today, in Our Team.

Attitude is everything. Remember this.

When you go to the store or go to a restaurant, you often encounter other people When those people are positive it has a positive impact on you. When those people are negative, then it may have a negative impact on you. Think about a waiter or waitress who serves you. Your tip often depends on the server's own attitude, even more so than their overall performance. That is, if they left you with a good feeling, the size of the tip increases, and vise versa. They may have given you average or worse service, but their attitude reached you, and reward them for that over the service. It happens every day.

If you turn the tables and envision yourself as the server in the above example, what attitude would you try to exude, knowing which would give you a bigger tip, and also a more pleasurable time.

Think about it. Being positive has many ramifications toward making your day better. It is in the Bible as the Golden Rule, the all well known "Do Unto Others, as you would have them Do Unto You." How do you want to be treated? With respect, with caring, being welcomed? Then do unto others these things.

As you take your calls, think about this. How would you like others who talk to you treat you? Do you want those you talk to be cheerful? Positive? or would you rather have those who you have to call sound upset to hear your voice again, or make you sound less than acceptable?

Your attitude on the phones can drive someone's day. You can make their day, or you can break it. It may sound preposterous, but it is true. If you know that you have to call someone and you know they are going to give you a terrible time, then most likely, you will start feeling bad even before you make the call. So, expecting to get a crappy attitude can darken your day even before you call someone. Imagine the power of this. You do not have to do anything and others can be affected. Haven't you ever had one of those encounters where someone's positive attitude made you feel great, and then had one of those encounters where someone's terrible attitude just drained you? Which do you want to be? The one who empowers others with positive energy, or the one who drains others with negative?

Think about this. What do you want folks who call us to think of before they call you (assuming that they knew they would reach you if they called)? Would you want them to be happy they are going to speak to you and look forward to it, or do you want them to get depressed and just grin and bear the drudgery of the experience?

Yes we get stupid questions. But these are important to the Sales Team. So don't you think we should make it important to us? We never know the full story, we only hear what we hear from being on the phones. We do not see the day in the life of the Sales Staff (but we have a better idea from our team member’s trip to work alongside the sales force and see what a day in their life is like). There will be days that smart folks call with dumb questions, and calm folks call in all stressed out and overly excited.

Think of your family at Thanksgiving. Many families have large get-togethers or at least have had them or been to them in the past. At Thanksgiving, we gather to give thanks, and yet, we deal with people that we probably do not have too much fondness for. How do we deal with these folks? Do we cram a drumstick down their throat when they say something stupid? Or do we try to say something kind and make the time more pleasant?

Every family has someone who is annoying to others, even if only some times. Yet we find a way to accept these folks and not let them ruin the special days. Think about it, for years, you have found ways to spend time civilly with folks who just plan disgust you or make you shake your head, or whatever. Every family has these people. It seems like we have some people skills here and we use them all the time at home!

The Sales Force is an extension of our Service Team Family. They are some of the fun loving, hard driving, and passionate members of our team who are often under a lot of stress and pressure from the merchants they are trying to appease and sell, from the Sales Management which demands production and completed sales, to calling into the Service Center when they need help on something they just forgot and get treated like they are dumber than a box of rocks. There are members of this team who can download and troubleshoot a terminal as well as our best in the Service Center, and some days, they just can't seem to get the simplest of terminals to connect, no matter how hard they try, after four to five calls.

Why can't we change the paradigm and have the servicing team be a delight to call, even on the fourth or fifth call. Why can't we be positive when the sales team members call in. Why can't we pat them on the back and give them encouragement. Share a bit of yourself with them, get to know them. Why can't we make it a joy to call in, knowing that someone who cares about them will be on the other end of the phone. Someone who knows that there are problems, that things do not always go as planned, that even the most skilled sales people have off days and ask what seem to be stupid questions.

Why can't the sales staff hear us being HAPPY to hear from them when they call? If you have to think about it this way, without the sales staff you do not have a job or paycheck. That might be reason enough to be happen when they call in.

Your attitude is then key in making these calls go better and letting those who call that YOU care about THEM. That you are there to help. That no matter what is happening, you CARE about them and LOOK FORWARD to helping them.

It is no longer an us against them. They are part of our team, and we are part of their team. Our pay and raises and incentives are determined by their performance and accomplishments that we assist in. It is true that no installs would happen without our help, but it is even more true that we would not have a job if there were no sales and no merchants. We have those sales due to our Sales Team.

Now there are some of the sales staff who call repeatedly for issues we have trained them on and cross the line of taking advantage of our staff. I will deal with those with the sales management. Luckily, they are few and far between, and usually include only the newest of sales team members.

They have a difficult and demanding job with face to face encounters with people who would rather rip out their throats at the slightest error, than give them a pat on the back for helping them. They should not be alone. Some of our merchants are quite demanding and expect everything to go their way, or else. We should be there for them. We can help them, train them, and make their day better. Let's not ridicule or them or talk down to them. How does that help anything?

When you talk to a member of the sales team, ask them how they are doing. Ask them how their day is going. Tell them a short joke. Share some personal information if you feel up to it.

Make your Attitude say "WE CARE ABOUT YOU, PLEASE CALL US IF YOU NEED ANYTHING, AND WE WILL HELP YOU ANY WAY WE CAN WITH A SMILE ON OUR FACE AND A SPRING IN OUR STEP, BECAUSE YOU ARE IMPORTANT!"

Imagine how the world would be if everyone you encountered raised you up and made you feel welcome and cared for? Take that image and be that person who makes others feel good. Start the ball rolling and pass it along.

Attitude is everything, and you chose yours.

Choose to be positive, choose to make every caller your friend.

That is what customer service is all about.

And when you are talking to friends all day, helping them out, your day goes by faster and you have more fun and less stress.

It is your choice. Choose the right attitude.

I am here if you need any help or want to talk about this or anything else. You know I care about each and every one of you. What I want is that you emulate my caring to each person you talk to, every day.

Again, it is up to you.

The ball is in your court. What are you going to do with it?

Thank you.

Sanford Berenberg

Your Caring And Supportive Team Mate.

"What can I do for you today?"

Sanford Berenberg

Sanford@berenberg.net
http://www.berenberg.net

http://sanfordberenberg.blogspot.com/
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