G.R.E.A.T Service

My best experience of customer service was 2 years ago when I attended a buffet dinner function at the Ritz-Carlton Singapore. Amongst the famished hundreds that night, I could not find the cocktail island. When I chanced on an assistant chef from the kitchen, removing several empty platters from the buffet tables, I asked for directions. With his hands full, he told me to wait right there and promptly disappeared from sight, as he waded into the mass of diners. As I stood there rooted to the ground, I began wondering, "He didn't even tell me where the drinks were to be found! How rude! What happened to the acclaimed Ritz Carlton service???"

To my surprise, he soon came back with a drink in his hand; and said sheepishly, "I forgot to ask you what drink you wanted, so I hope the Coke is alright." I was flabbergasted, to say the least. After taking the drink from his hand, the assistant chef soon went about his business, leaving me to revel in my own personal experience of 6-star service. I've not been delighted in a similar manner since then elsewhere, I must add.

Thinking about my Ritz-Carlton experience, I can offer insight into what G.R.E.A.T service is:
G: Genuine - This aspect of service excellence comes from within, arising from a mindset change. 'Fake' service can be easily detected. It must be based on the attitude that the customer's or client's needs come first and that the service provider is in a position to meet these needs.

R: Responsive - The service provider is swift in meeting customer needs because he recognises that if he was the customer, he'd expect the same degree of speed. It comes from understanding that out of the many other providers around, he has chosen you. Through a swift response, you show that

E: Exceeds expectations - This aspect of service excellence is actually the 'value proposition' in any transaction. By surpassing expectations, the customer is given powerful reasons to return to you rather than your competitors. Importantly, he becomes an advocate for you, through word-of-mouth advertising which is more powerful than costly marketing campaigns.

A - Anticipatory - In order to exceed expectations, a provider of excellent service needs to anticipate them. One way is to adopt what marketers have done: to profile customers by market segmentation. We use our Whole Brain Thinking tools to help our clients identify more closely their potential customers and their needs. At the same time, this knowledge alone is insufficient, the same tools can be applied to front-line staff to better understand how they individually approach service situations.

T - Total experience - Service Excellence is a holistic experience that goes beyond a polished (trained) greeting at the door, followed by trailing the customer like a phantom till he leaves. It is about being there when your advice is needed, providing the necessary options for the customer to make a decision, and even if he does not buy this time, excellent service gives him a reason to return in future.

Service providers need to recognise that customers do not just provide us with a living; they are the reason for our existence. Customers are also potentially our best advocates and their message usually has a lot of mileage. So think about your level of service and see how you can raise it to a G.R.E.A.T level.

Noel
Resident Philosopher

(* All text is copyright of Trailblazer Trainers Pte Ltd)

Get S.M.A.R.T with your Goals!

Ask anyone you meet today if they thought goals are important, and there would be no doubt that they would agree without thinking twice. Whether you want to climb Mt Everest, swim the English Channel, get that driver's licence or to ace an academic examination, such goals provide a clear focus for our time and energy. Without goals, there might not be a point to our effort. Imagine you trained for months, readying yourself for the StanChart Marathon, only to sleep in on the eventful morning itself! What a waste of one's discipline and sacrifice, not to mention time!

From the process point of view, getting to those goals also provide us with 'creative tension' which gives us the motivation to meet life and all its challenges. Without goals, we simply would not have the drive to get on with life. As we begin the year with our resolutions, the key to making them happen lies in being S.M.A.R.T. Not just the goal-makers, the GOALS we mean.

The acronym S.M.A.R.T refers to the key characteristics of attainable goals.

• S - Specific: Goals need to be SPECIFIC; ie when stating a goal, the goal has to state clearly the desired end-state. For a student, a SPECIFIC goal would be "to recite the various causes and effects of wave processes in shaping beaches". "To know wave processes"is certainly not going to be enough. A person embarking on an exercise programme has to say that he wants to "be fitter than last year" is going to have less success than if he said he wanted to improve his muscular strength or aerobic fitness this year.
• M - Measurable: A MEASURABLE goal for our wave process student would be "To score at least 85% on the wave processes test". Being measurable, he could then assess if he was able to attain it. The person attempting to improve his aerobic fitness might want to say that he wants to run a quarter-marathon this year.
• A - Attainable: Some readers might say 'Duh!' at this point. Goals need to be attainable, based on the resources at hand. Not back then, not in the future. By analysing our resources available before we begin directing our efforts, we spare ourselves the disappointment of not being able to reach our goals. For our wave process student, he might need to consider if he has enough time or even resource material to consult on his venture. The fitness guy might need to consult his doctor, to know if he has other medical conditions that might impede his progress. There's no real point in planning running a quarter-marathon if he has not dealt with his 180 kg weight.
• R - Realistic: Goals have to be Realistic ie whether they are indeed feasible, even if we do have the resources to attain them. It might mean drawing on other resources meant for other goals, well and good if you can afford sparing them. If you can't, and that these goals are more important then a decision has to be made. Our wave process student might already be an 'A' student in Geography, but might be floundering in Math. He might very well get another 'A' on the wave process test, but he might be better off devoting his time and energy on passing the coming Trigonometry test.
• T - Time-based: Goals have to be Time-based, because without a time-element attached, PROCRASTINATION often sets in. The time element gives us an urgency to complete the goal because there would be other goals on the horizon that require our attention and effort. We can apply greater focus and diligence as the dateline for completion draws closer, because the date allows us to see how much more progress needs to be made.

Making our goals S.M.A.R.T, we can identify more clearly what we need to do in order to align our efforts with the ends we have in mind. Whether you are a student or someone keen to work on an area of your life, sit down for a moment one of these evenings and work on those Whole-Brained New Year resolutions and convert them into S.M.A.R.T goals. Have fun with them!

Noel
Resident Philosopher

(*All text are copyright of Trailblazer Trainers Pte Ltd)