Have you ever found yourself in an awkward situation where you finally had enough time to tackle your To Do list but an untimely accident left you incapable of completing any task that required mobility? I found myself in that precarious position when I broke my ankle last December. During my immobile phase I was dependent on the service of others to do even the most mundane task. I was faced with people daily who were not listening to my requests. I had to make numerous phone calls to get minor things done. I heard complaints from company representatives about their co-workers that I thought were inappropriate since I was calling the company for a service I needed. My experience prompted me to think about customer service in business today.

In the book Customer Service for Dummies authors Karen Leland and Keith Bailey talk about three basic ideas that companies need to incorporate into their customer service plan.

 Expanding your definition of service
 Reconsidering who your customers are
 Developing a customer friendly attitude

Without these three elements in your company customer service plan you are missing the mark of excellence. Consider your everyday dealings with any company. Do you want your interaction to be adequate or are you more impressed and inclined to do return business with a company that exceeds your expectation? Have you ever noticed the interaction between employees at a company where you are the customer? Does the atmosphere appear congenial and respectful or adversarial and disconnected? If the later is true then the company management may not stress that their employees are internal customers of one another. The company success depends on positive interactions between all customers both internal and external. Friendliness builds relationships that translate into profits.

Every year business magazines highlight companies that supposedly provide “excellent” customer service. In 2008 Business Week hailed Amazon.com, USAA, Publix Supermarket and Zappos.com among the top 10 best customer service providers in the USA. I couldn’t help but wonder as I read about the factors that made these companies a success why only three companies that appeared on BusinessWeek’s top ten also made it onto Fortune magazine’s best places to work? If according to Jim Collins in the book Good to Great “…Greatness is not a function of circumstance. Greatness, it turns out, is largely a matter of choice”, then don’t great companies make a conscious effort to be good to their employees to create a company culture of providing excellent service? Shouldn’t the best places to work also be the places that provide the best customer service? It seems to me that the two business strategies go hand in hand. Have the concepts my professors taught in Business 101 changed?

When you think about premier customer service does your company come to mind? If you can honestly answer yes, can you name five attributes that your company has that would put it in the superior category? Try the following markers on for size:

 The company mission is clear to all employees.
 Company culture, customers and profits are integrally linked.
 Fair treatment of internal and external customers is a priority.
 Management is a combination of top down and bottom up because profitable ideas emanate from all areas.
 Evaluation of customer service is a constant process.

After a few months of limited movement I now have a cast on my ankle. This has been an eye opening experience. I will continue to depend on the “kindness of strangers” as Blanche Dubois said in a Streetcar Named Desire, but with a critical eye for companies that provide great customer service. In a time where we have to tighten our belts I can no longer be cavalier and accept less than superior customer service. I want to spend my dollars with companies that exceed my expectation. And I have made a commitment to my customers that APLS Group will continue to balance the value of relationships with profit to insure excellent customer service.

Find customer service books and other products on our on-line store:  www.aplsgroup.com then click on on-line store

There are several variables that can be attributed to success in the workplace. None however are as important as the basic skill of “thinking.” Thinking is a form of exercise for the brain. We all know or should be aware that exercising any organ in the body nets positive results. Therefore thinking is an exercise we should be practicing daily to guide us in successful career management. Unfortunately our fast paced, media –marketing driven lives have robbed us of basic thinking skills. We have lost the meaning behind the adage “I think, therefore I am.” We have traded the basic human skill that gives us the power of creation, individuality, and initiative for fitting in, political correctness, and laziness. Any new invention begins with a thought.

Lately, I have stumbled across three separate situations that “thinking” was the culprit, possible savior, or solution to a work dilemma. In one instance the employee was written up and put on an action plan for “thinking independently” and attempting to shake up the company culture. She came up with a more efficient way to communicate internally and to do the company payroll.  Management informed her she was not being paid “to think”. What is wrong with this picture?  As a manager should you empower your employees “to think” or chastise them for “thinking”? What is the better business strategy? Has “thinking outside of the box” become passé or taboo?

In another situation a college student enjoyed his summer work at an engineering firm and decided to go into engineering without “thinking” about his aptitude for math and science. If he had given his choice any thought he would have realized that his personality and skill sets did not match up with probable success as an engineer. Now he is faced with being placed on probation at his college because he never really “thought” about his major or career choice. How are we preparing our next generation for future employment? Are we giving them adequate career counseling? Do your company employees visit college or high school campuses to give the students information on careers in your company? Are you networking with schools so that students have real career information to think about?

In the last situation a department head attempted to rearrange her department but did not “think” about the strengths and weaknesses of her employees. She reorganized based on streamlining paperwork and is now wondering why customer complaints have escalated. Her staff is spending most of their time in meetings and filling out paperwork regardless of their skill sets. The staff is unavailable to their clients and the secretary is being forced to handle clients. Have you ever decided to shake up your department? What was your “thought process”? Did you consider goals and objectives for your department or did you make arbitrary changes without “thinking” about the big picture?

According to Jim Elliker in an article entitled, “ What was I thinking?” in Next Step magazine, there is a four- step formula to get thinking back in proper perspective.

• Thinking takes time (turn off the TV, ipod, and cell phone, sit quietly and reflect)
• Reading improves thinking (educate yourself, reading stimulates brain activity)
• Thinking is work  (exercise your options, look at all sides of a situation)
• Thinking requires dialogue to bring it to life (talk to others, exchange ideas)

The ability to think separates humans from other animals. Like anything else if we don’t exercise our ability to think we will lose it. In a time when we have double- digit unemployment it seems we need to tap into our ability “to think” more than ever. Where is the solution to our unemployment problem going to come from? Where are the minds that are going to create the new industries?  I am putting my money on “thinkers’.

  If you get a chance take a look at a few books from some active free- thinkers:

 Live Boldly by Mary Anne Radmacher

  Dream Big by Lisa Hammond

   Fearless Living by Guy Finley

 Make this the year that you THINK!

                                                                        Books are available at APLS Online Store

Happy New Year! I like to use the new year as a time to reflect on the year that just passed. What a year it was! If you watched any of the news programs do a year in review it was mind-boggling. Barack Obama succeeded George Bush as president. Michael Jackson and Walter Cronkite were silenced. We the people bailed out the banks, a mega insurance company and the automobile industry even though we had double digit unemployment and upside down mortgages. But as Sonny and Cher sang in the 60’s, “…and the beat goes on.”

It is now officially 2010.  If you are employed, instead of making resolutions, make this the year for action. Adopt the Nike motto, “just do it!”  Use the words; make this the year, as your springboard to a more fulfilling career. Try the following action statements on for size.

Make this the year …

• I take charge of my career
• I self-evaluate my performance over the last twelve months
• I increase work behaviors that net positive results
• I relinquish work behaviors and attitudes that produce negative outcomes
• I increase my career value by sharpening my skill sets
• I seek a mentor or I become a mentor depending on my professional needs
• I create a portfolio to showcase my various talents
• I model ethical work behavior
• I manage up and down to create a more inclusive workplace

Now that I’ve got your motor running and you are at the starting gate do you need some direction? You may be wondering, how do I take charge of my career? For starters make this the year you decide to discover the right career for you. Do an honest assessment of your current position and examine your skill sets to determine compatibility.  Ask yourself if you are earning a living or enjoying the work with the pay as the reward? Your answer will determine your next step. Stay at your current position and grow if you love what you do. If you are discontent; reassess, network, return to school, seek other employment, or readjust your career strategy.

Consider the following reading material to assist you with strategies to take charge of your career. 

• Your Success GPS
• Career Skills for the New Economy
• Networking for Success
• Ethics In Business

And if reading makes you dizzy, try a night out at the movies.  Go see Up In the Air with George Clooney. He gives a valid demonstration of how to take charge of your career.

Make this the year you succeed!

*** All titles are available through APLS Online Store.