Give Yourself an Auditory Audit
I
was in Santa Fe, New Mexico and got a wake-up
call in my hotel room. I had asked for 6:30 am. The
call came at 6:43.
I had an early morning appointment, so the delay was
indeed unwelcome. But the automated wake-up message
was worse. It said, ‘Good morning. This is your
wake-up call. The time is 7:30 am.’
The automated hotel wake-up system had gone off the
correct time by an hour and thirteen minutes.
I wondered how long it had been that way. I wondered
how many other guests had heard equally off-base recordings.
I wondered if the hotel management or staff would ever
discover the problem.
Being the kind of guy I am, I called the Front Office
to tell them about the situation. A disinterested morning
voice replied, ‘Thank you. I’ll tell someone
to do something about it.’ I wondered if she would.
Later in the week I stayed at the JFK Hilton in New
York. I asked for a wake-up call at 6:00 am. The call
came at 6:00 am sharp, but the crude recording had all
the vocal appeal of a mugging in process: ‘This
is a wake-up call from the Hilton at JFK.’ Click.
Buzz. Over.
In Singapore, I often call upon a local association
that employs the handicapped for office projects. They
do a great job with assembly, mailing and database input.
But their telephone system is a nightmare.
If you get transferred from one caller to another, or
get put ‘on hold’ during the conversation,
you will hear the pain. Loud static. Loud radio
station static. The kind of static you get when the
radio is not tuned to any particular station, but the
volume is cranked up high!
I’ve told them about it five times, but they haven’t
fixed the problem. After all, they don’t hear
it. They don’t put themselves on hold.
Key
Learning Point
Listen up! You can
learn from these misadventures. Auditory perception points
make a big difference to your customers and colleagues.
Action Steps
Double-check your
voice mail message. Listen to your on-hold words and music.
Write warm and welcoming scripts for all your telephone
staff. Pay attention to the musical background in your
office and lobby areas. And put a smile on your face.
We can hear it in the sound of your voice.
Next Article in Customer Service Perception Points >>
So Simple, So Small, Yet Means So Much!
First Article in Customer Service Recovery >>
What to do When Your Customer is About to Explode
Did you appreciate this customer service training article?
Get more like this at no charge. Subscribe now to the UP Your Service! newsletter.
YOU MAY USE THIS CUSTOMER SERVICE TRAINING ARTICLE IN YOUR FREE NEWSLETTER OR YOUR WEB SITE
as long as you include this complete statement:
Copyright, Ron Kaufman. Used with permission.
Ron Kaufman is an internationally acclaimed customer service training educator for quality service.
He is author of the bestselling series "UP Your Service!" and founder of
"UP Your Service College".
To enjoy more customer service training articles,
visit www.RonKaufman.com and www.UpYourService.com
FOR COMMERCIAL USE of this article in a paid newsletter, publication, or training program, please refer to our Terms of Use.
|
