Words to live by

Published July 1, 2009 | By Lee

A few months ago, I had to take my little VW beetle in for a check up before making a trip cross country. I was in a new town and was not familiar with the service department. When I walked in, I was greeted immediately by a woman behind the counter. After telling her my name, she politely excused herself to go get the service manager for me. While waiting, I noticed a very large sign at my eye level just behind the counter. It read as follows:

OUR PROMISE

The 5 Customer (Guest) Wants:

Quality in Every Detail
Fast Response
Solution to the Problem
Personal Assistance
Sincere Cheer

I had to smile as I read them. They were simply common sense and the fact that they posted them was brilliant in my humble opinion. What does having this list do for the “guests” that walk in? And how about the employees? What does this say about the company?

I enjoyed a long career with a company that had their Shared Values posted in every store. This was a company that believed in empowering every member of their team to make good decisions based on the company’s values, vision and mission. As a new team member, the first day of training was just about these shared values with the thought that if you found yourself in a position where you weren’t sure what to do, you could follow the values and make the “right” decisions…every time.

It worked like a charm.

What words does your business have to live by?

What is your business’s customer service philosophy?

Would you post them?

Testimonials

I live in a wonderful old house and, after many exterior upgrades and replacements, it was finally time for a fun interior renovation. The plans and the contractor were in place and I was very excited. Everything in the space had to be cleared which included my office, dense with file cabinets. My home was already full to the brim; 20 years of accumulation plus additional influx after cleaning out my childhood home where my parents had lived for 50 years. The task ahead felt daunting, to say the least. I needed a ‘thinking partner’, and immediately contacted Lee. What I love about working with Lee is how she blends her professional coaching skills with her expertise in the home furnishings industry; they are equally valuable in this arena. Lee was creative, caring, and curious when it came to assessing my situation and recommending options. Before taking any action, Lee looked at every room in my home, while finding out what mattered most to me through her gentle, supportive, and assuring process. I felt confident in Lee’s guidance. In order to ‘clear some space’, we identified categories that would make the biggest impact; clothing and bedding were the first targets. Lee worked side-by-side with me, asking questions and making observations, all of which helped me to let go of items. At the end of the session, there was an enormous amount of “stuff” in my car, ready for donation. I also had a set of questions to ask myself when working alone between sessions. What a great feeling to have made significant progress in one session! It is that great feeling that spurs continuing action. Lee is masterful in anchoring that feeling through the combination of ‘hands on’ sessions and intermittent coaching sessions. Not only does the project at hand resolve itself, one develops the capacity to continue ‘clearing’ what is no longer desired; physical “stuff”, extra body pounds, old thoughts. Lee makes the process of ‘letting go’ a pleasure. - Patty Gump, Newburyport, MA