Podcasts about getting your employees obsessed

What do your customers say about you? What sort of customer experience do you deliver? Today's guest, Jeff Toister, has quite literally written the book (well, four books) on service culture, and he's here to discuss his latest book - The Service Culture Handbook. Jeff has trained over 1 million people in customer service. He has the number one training course on LinkedIn Learning, and he makes a living from being a public speaker and author on this very topic. So just how do you guarantee customer experience? What can you do to set your business apart from the competition? Don't miss this fantastic conversation, and listen to the very end where Jeff shares a fantastic exercise for leaders to try - something they can do today to make a difference to the customer service in their organisation. On today's podcast:Do employees need to love the products?What customer experience are you trying to create?What guarantee customer experience looks likeHow to make a difference tomorrowLinks:Book: The Service Culture Handbook: A Step-by-Step Guide to Getting Your Employees Obsessed with Customer ServiceTwitter – @toisterLinkedIn: Jeff ToisterWebsite: Toister Performance Solutions

The cost of a mishandled complaint can cost you thousands in lost revenue. And then there is a cost of damage control and reputation management. Angela Brown, The House Cleaning Guru says take responsibility for your actions. If customer satisfaction is the question accept responsibility and do a re-clean or offer a refund. If you break an item while house cleaning offer to fix it, or offer to pay for a replacement. The cost of a mishandled complaint is an angry customer who is social media savvy. And when customers are angry it magnifies complaints. Today's Ask a House Cleaner sponsors are Savvy Cleaner (Training for house cleaners and maids.) And Savvy Perks (an affordable benefits program for cleaning business owners and their cleaning staff. #Responsibility #SavvyPerks #AngelaBrown *** HOW DID WE DO? (Help us improve) *** Do you like Kristin’s editing of this video? https://savvycleaner.com/reviews/kristin-o Do you like Angela’s delivery of this video? https://savvycleaner.com/reviews/angela-brown *** MOST REQUESTED LIST OF CLEANING STUFF I USE *** https://www.Amazon.com/shop/AngelaBrown *** MORE VIDEOS ON THIS TOPIC *** 5 Step Process for Handling Complaints - Shep Hyken: Customer Service & CX Expert - https://youtu.be/gLRIW64ZcOo How to Handle Customer Complaints Like A Pro - Valuetainment - https://youtu.be/kx7-S9jvVXM I Was Seduced by Exceptional Customer Service | John Boccuzzi, Jr. | TEDx Talks - https://youtu.be/GH1TXfQSwUQ How to Provide Extraordinary Customer Service: The Fred Factor - Mark Sanborn Official Booking Site - https://youtu.be/4GKQ9kTnSg4 What is customer service? The 7 Essentials to Excellent Customer Service - David Brownlee - https://youtu.be/tn0veQ7_stI *** GOOD KARMA RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE *** These good karma links connect you to Amazon.com and affiliated sites that offer products or services that relate to today’s show. When you click on the links and buy the items you pay the exact same prices or less than if you found the links on your own elsewhere. The difference is that we make a small commission here at the show for sharing these links with you. So, you create good karma by supporting 8 families who work on this show. Hug Your Haters: How to Embrace Complaints and Keep Your Customers - https://amzn.to/2RnNxIO WTF?! (Willing to Fail): How Failure Can Be Your Key to Success - https://amzn.to/2Pdgg0m The Service Culture Handbook: A Step-by-Step Guide to Getting Your Employees Obsessed with Customer Service - https://amzn.to/2DOdDfY Customer Service Tip of the Week: Over 52 ideas and reminders to sharpen your skills - https://amzn.to/34RnxJM Raving Fans: A Revolutionary Approach to Customer Service - https://amzn.to/2YgrCot *** CONNECT WITH ANGELA ON SOCIAL MEDIA *** LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/savvycleaner/ Facebook: https://Facebook.com/SavvyCleaner Twitter: https://Twitter.com/SavvyCleane Instagram: https://Instagram.com/SavvyCleaner Pinterest: https://Pinterest.com/SavvyCleaner *** GOT A QUESTION FOR A SHOW? *** Email it to Angela[at]AskaHouseCleaner.com Voice Mail: Click on the blue button at https://askahousecleaner.com *** HOUSE CLEANING TIPS VAULT *** (DELIVERED VIA EMAIL) - https://savvycleaner.com/tips   *** PROFESSIONAL HOUSE CLEANERS PRIVATE FACEBOOK GROUP *** https://www.facebook.com/groups/ProfessionalHouseCleaners/ *** VRBO AIRBNB CLEANING FACEBOOK GROUP *** https://www.facebook.com/groups/VRBO.Airbnb.Cleaning/ *** LOOKING FOR WAY TO GET MORE CLEANING LEADS *** https://housecleaning360.com *** WHAT IS ASK A HOUSE CLEANER? *** Ask a House Cleaner is a daily show where you get to ask your house cleaning questions and we provide answers. Learn how to clean. How to start a cleaning business. Marketing and Advertising tips for your cleaning service. How to find top quality house cleaners, housekeepers, and maids. Employee motivation tactics. Strategies to boost your cleaning clientele. Cleaning company expansion help. Time-saving Hacks for DIY cleaners and more. Hosted by Angela Brown, 25-year house cleaning expert and founder of Savvy Cleaner Training for House Cleaners and Maids. *** SPONSORSHIPS & BRANDS *** We do work with sponsors and brands. If you are interested in working with us and you have a product or service that is cohesive to the cleaning industry read this: https://savvycleaner.com/product-review *** THIS SHOW WAS SPONSORED BY *** SAVVY CLEANER - House Cleaner Training and Certification – https://savvycleaner.com MY CLEANING CONNECTION – Your hub for all things cleaning – https://mycleaningconnection.com HOUSECLEANING360.COM – Connecting House Cleaners with Homeowners – https://housecleaning360.com SAVVY PERKS – Employee Benefits for Small Business Owners – https://savvyperks.com VRBO AIRBNB CLEANING – Cleaning tips and strategies for your short-term rental https://TurnoverCleaningTips.com

Jeff Toister is the author of The Service Culture Handbook: A Step-by-Step Guide to Getting Your Employees Obsessed with Customer Service. He has also authored customer service training videos on LinkedIn Learning, including Customer Service Fundamentals and Leading a Customer-Centric Culture. Jeff was named one of the Top 30 customer service professionals in the world by Global Gurus. He was also named one of the Top 50 Thought Leaders to Follow on Twitter by the International Customer Management Institute. Follow Worthix on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/worthix/ Follow Worthix on Twitter: @worthix Follow Mary Drumond on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/marydrumond/ Follow Mary Drumond on Twitter: @drumondmary Follow Jeff Toister on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jefftoister/ Follow Jeff Toister on Twitter: @toister Buy "The Service Culture Handbook" here: https://www.serviceculturebook.com/

Excellence is quality driven. And this is the inside scoop with Martha Woodward, CEO of Quality Driven Software, a.k.a. QDS. So if you have a service business with employees, independent contractors or virtual assistants, this is for you. Cleaning business owners want to know how to boost employee performance. The answer lies in quality checks and a client satisfaction survey that holds house cleaners accountable. Every maid service needs to measure customer satisfaction. Today's #AskaHouseCleaner sponsors are #SavvyCleaner. (Training and Certification for maid service companies.) *** CHECK OUT MARTHA WOODWARD *** Quality Driven Software - https://QualityDrivenSoftware.com Pay for Performance Training - https://ThePayforPerformanceExpert.com *** COMPLETE SHOW NOTES FOR THIS EPISODE *** https://askahousecleaner.com/show *** MOST REQUESTED LIST OF STUFF I USE *** https://bit.ly/AngelasStuff *** MORE VIDEOS ON THIS TOPIC *** Quality Driven - Getting Started - Quality Driven Software - https://youtu.be/Ejg9ApVPG1w Quality Driven - Reports - Quality Driven Software - https://youtu.be/1ssGqA7KXIE Pay for Performance (Compensation Plan) - Gregg Learning - https://youtu.be/-XqfsfLiy90 Stop Trying to Motivate Your Employees | Kerry Goyette | TEDx Talks - https://youtu.be/7lhVUedc1a4 RSA ANIMATE: Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us - The RSA - https://youtu.be/u6XAPnuFjJc *** RESOURCES ABOUT EXCELLENT QUALITY IN YOUR SERVICE BUSINESS *** Power of Ultimate Six Sigma(r), The: Keki Bhote's Proven System for Moving Beyond Quality Excellence to Total - https://amzn.to/31SZiJh Getting Service Right: Overcoming the Hidden Obstacles to Outstanding Customer Service - https://amzn.to/2ZbGtEc The Service Culture Handbook: A Step-by-Step Guide to Getting Your Employees Obsessed with Customer Service - https://amzn.to/320UMsp Customer Service Tip of the Week: Over 52 ideas and reminders to sharpen your skills - https://amzn.to/2Hlsukp Serve to Lead: 21st Century Leaders Manual - https://amzn.to/2ZkKSzY We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.   *** OTHER WAYS TO ENJOY THIS SHOW *** ITUNES - http://apple.co/2xhxnoj STITCHER - http://bit.ly/2fcm5JM SOUNDCLOUD - http://bit.ly/2xpRgLH GOOGLE PLAY - http://bit.ly/2fdkQd7 YOUTUBE - https://goo.gl/UCs92v *** GOT A QUESTION FOR A SHOW? *** Email it to Angela[at]AskaHouseCleaner.com Voice Mail: Click on the blue button at https://askahousecleaner.com *** HOUSE CLEANING TIPS VAULT *** (DELIVERED VIA EMAIL) - https://savvycleaner.com/tips *** FREE EBOOK – HOW TO START YOUR OWN HOUSE CLEANING COMPANY *** http://amzn.to/2xUAF3Z *** PROFESSIONAL HOUSE CLEANERS PRIVATE FACEBOOK GROUP *** https://www.facebook.com/groups/ProfessionalHouseCleaners/ *** VRBO AIRBNB CLEANING FACEBOOK GROUP *** https://www.facebook.com/groups/VRBO.Airbnb.Cleaning/ *** LOOKING FOR WAY TO GET MORE CLEANING LEADS *** https://housecleaning360.com *** FOLLOW ANGELA BROWN ON SOCIAL MEDIA *** https://Facebook.com/SavvyCleaner https://Twitter.com/SavvyCleaner https://Instagram.com/SavvyCleaner https://Pinterest.com/SavvyCleaner https://Linkedin.com/in/SavvyCleaner *** WHAT IS ASK A HOUSE CLEANER? *** Ask a House Cleaner is a daily show where you get to ask your house cleaning questions and we provide answers. Learn how to clean. How to start a cleaning business. Marketing and Advertising tips for your cleaning service. How to find top quality house cleaners, housekeepers, and maids. Employee motivation tactics. Strategies to boost your cleaning clientele. Cleaning company expansion help. Time-saving Hacks for DIY cleaners and more. Hosted by Angela Brown, 25-year house cleaning expert and founder of Savvy Cleaner Training for House Cleaners and Maids. *** SPONSORSHIPS & BRANDS *** We do work with sponsors and brands. If you are interested in working with us and you have a product or service that is cohesive to the cleaning industry reach out to our promotional department info[at]AskaHouseCleaner.com *** THIS SHOW WAS SPONSORED BY *** SAVVY CLEANER - House Cleaner Training and Certification – https://savvycleaner.com MY CLEANING CONNECTION – Your hub for all things cleaning – https://mycleaningconnection.com HOUSECLEANING360.COM – Connecting House Cleaners with Homeowners – https://housecleaning360.com SAVVY PERKS – Employee Benefits for Small Business Owners – https://savvyperks.com VRBO AIRBNB CLEANING – Cleaning tips and strategies for your short-term rental https://TurnoverCleaningTips.com

https://housecallpro.com/Angela to automate your house cleaning business. Rules and guidelines can streamline your turnover service. Maids and housekeepers need rules and guidelines so things don't get crazy in their cleaning business. Angela Brown, The House Cleaning Guru says every maid service has scheduling issues and cancellations. Know your rules and guidelines and share them with your customers and employees and Airbnb hosts. Today's Vacation Rental Mailbag keeps everyone playing on the same page. Our #AskaHousecleaner sponsors are #SavvyCleaner (Training for your maid service.) And #HousecallPro   *** COMPLETE SHOW NOTES FOR THIS EPISODE *** https://AskaHouseCleaner.com/rules-and-guidelines  *** MOST REQUESTED LIST OF CLEANING STUFF I USE *** https://www.Amazon.com/shop/AngelaBrown *** MORE VIDEOS ON THIS TOPIC *** Sample Contract for House Cleaning - Angela Brown - https://youtu.be/bKT5EYjqhNs Driving Rules for House Cleaners and Maids - Angela Brown - https://youtu.be/ElxlAhM3H8o House/Home cleaning training videos for starting a cleaning business - Rags Riches - https://youtu.be/BaET4T6-oGw Basic Clean - What House Cleaning Chores Should I https://youtu.be/pc07KKR2CTU Include? - Angela Brown - https://youtu.be/pc07KKR2CTU 10 Secrets to Hiring a House Cleaning Service - Clean My Space - https://youtu.be/gR4BiOBJfEc *** GOOD KARMA RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE *** These good karma links connect you to Amazon.com and affiliated sites that offer products or services that relate to today’s show. When you click on the links and buy the items you pay the exact same prices or less than if you found the links on your own elsewhere. The difference is that we make a small commission here at the show for sharing these links with you. So, you create good karma by supporting 5 families who work on this show. And when you go to sell something the good karma will make its way back and people will buy from you. Boundaries Updated and Expanded Edition: When to Say Yes, How to Say No to Take Control of Your Life - https://amzn.to/2RAQDY2 Boundaries for Leaders: Results, Relationships, and Being Ridiculously in Charge - https://amzn.to/2RxVeKC The Customer Rules: The 39 Essential Rules for Delivering Sensational Service - https://amzn.to/2RzH63h The Service Culture Handbook: A Step-by-Step Guide to Getting Your Employees Obsessed with Customer Service - https://amzn.to/2X2YA9p Be Our Guest: Revised and Updated Edition: Perfecting the Art of Customer Service - https://amzn.to/2YeNIqr *** OTHER WAYS TO ENJOY THIS SHOW *** ITUNES - http://apple.co/2xhxnoj STITCHER - http://bit.ly/2fcm5JM SOUNDCLOUD - http://bit.ly/2xpRgLH GOOGLE PLAY - http://bit.ly/2fdkQd7 YOUTUBE - https://goo.gl/UCs92v *** GOT A QUESTION FOR A SHOW? *** Email it to Angela[at]AskaHouseCleaner.com Voice Mail: Click on the blue button at https://askahousecleaner.com *** HOUSE CLEANING TIPS VAULT *** (DELIVERED VIA EMAIL) - https://savvycleaner.com/tips *** FREE EBOOK – HOW TO START YOUR OWN HOUSE CLEANING COMPANY *** http://amzn.to/2xUAF3Z *** PROFESSIONAL HOUSE CLEANERS PRIVATE FACEBOOK GROUP *** https://www.facebook.com/groups/ProfessionalHouseCleaners/ *** VRBO AIRBNB CLEANING FACEBOOK GROUP *** https://www.facebook.com/groups/VRBO.Airbnb.Cleaning/ *** LOOKING FOR WAY TO GET MORE CLEANING LEADS *** https://housecleaning360.com *** WHAT IS ASK A HOUSE CLEANER? *** Ask a House Cleaner is a daily show where you get to ask your house cleaning questions and we provide answers. Learn how to clean. How to start a cleaning business. Marketing and Advertising tips for your cleaning service. How to find top quality house cleaners, housekeepers, and maids. Employee motivation tactics. Strategies to boost your cleaning clientele. Cleaning company expansion help. Time-saving Hacks for DIY cleaners and more. Hosted by Angela Brown, 25-year house cleaning expert and founder of Savvy Cleaner Training for House Cleaners and Maids. *** SPONSORSHIPS & BRANDS *** We do work with sponsors and brands. If you are interested in working with us and you have a product or service that is cohesive to the cleaning industry read this: https://savvycleaner.com/product-review *** THIS SHOW WAS SPONSORED BY *** SAVVY CLEANER - House Cleaner Training and Certification – https://savvycleaner.com MY CLEANING CONNECTION – Your hub for all things cleaning – https://mycleaningconnection.com HOUSECLEANING360.COM – Connecting House Cleaners with Homeowners – https://housecleaning360.com SAVVY PERKS – Employee Benefits for Small Business Owners – https://savvyperks.com VRBO AIRBNB CLEANING – Cleaning tips and strategies for your short-term rental https://TurnoverCleaningTips.com

How to use the house cleaner mulligan to get more referrals is a house cleaning FAQ. Angela Brown, The House Cleaning Guru says play the mulligan game every week. This is when you exceed customer expectations and go the extra mile in your housecleaning. The customer says clean my space, but they only pay the maid service for so much time. So, when you have a chance to do a #mulligan it's like doing a good deed beyond your housekeeper salary. And we know excellent #CustomerService makes customers talk. Word of mouth referrals is the result and the house cleaner mulligan is the way to get those referrals. Today's #AskaHouseCleaner sponsors are Savvy Cleaner. (Training and certification for house cleaners and maids.) And Savvy Perks (a way for you to give a mulligan to your cleaning team.) *** COMPLETE SHOW NOTES FOR THIS EPISODE *** https://askahousecleaner.com/mulligan *** MORE VIDEOS ON THIS TOPIC *** Going The Extra Mile | Doing More Than Required - Rafael Eliassen - https://youtu.be/Kq8UZrr3kCs Going the Extra Mile for You - Access Bank - https://youtu.be/Zgun38esMzo ExtraMile Extras Cashier Training Video - Chevron with Techron - https://youtu.be/EXf3CRsMWiQ Customer Service Expert: How to Provide a Better Customer Experience - Shep Hyken - https://youtu.be/uQWoeD-ufXU Customer Service. Make the difference - Planet Booking - https://youtu.be/0jgI93fXzs *** RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE *** Extra Mile: 500 Customer Service Tips for Success: Tools to Attract, Satisfy, & Retain Even the Most Difficult Customer - https://amzn.to/2RiFQE0 It's Never Crowded Along the Extra Mile: 10 Secrets for Success and Inner Peace - https://amzn.to/2V5Yv55 Mile 2: 31 Extra Mile Secrets For An Extraordinary Life - https://amzn.to/2R9EsDR The Service Culture Handbook: A Step-by-Step Guide to Getting Your Employees Obsessed with Customer Service - https://amzn.to/2BAEZ82 The Customer Rules: The 39 Essential Rules for Delivering Sensational Service - https://amzn.to/2LzBnHR We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. *** OTHER WAYS TO ENJOY THIS SHOW *** ITUNES - http://apple.co/2xhxnoj STITCHER - http://bit.ly/2fcm5JM SOUNDCLOUD - http://bit.ly/2xpRgLH GOOGLE PLAY - http://bit.ly/2fdkQd7 YOUTUBE - https://goo.gl/UCs92v *** GOT A QUESTION FOR A SHOW? *** Email it to Angela[at]AskaHouseCleaner.com Voice Mail: Click on the blue button at https://askahousecleaner.com *** HOUSE CLEANING TIPS VAULT *** (DELIVERED VIA EMAIL) - https://savvycleaner.com/tips *** FREE EBOOK – HOW TO START YOUR OWN HOUSE CLEANING COMPANY *** http://amzn.to/2xUAF3Z *** PROFESSIONAL HOUSE CLEANERS PRIVATE FACEBOOK GROUP *** https://www.facebook.com/groups/ProfessionalHouseCleaners/ *** VRBO AIRBNB CLEANING FACEBOOK GROUP *** https://www.facebook.com/groups/VRBO.Airbnb.Cleaning/ *** LOOKING FOR WAY TO GET MORE CLEANING LEADS *** https://housecleaning360.com *** FOLLOW ANGELA BROWN ON SOCIAL MEDIA *** https://Facebook.com/SavvyCleaner https://Twitter.com/SavvyCleaner https://Instagram.com/SavvyCleaner https://Pinterest.com/SavvyCleaner https://Linkedin.com/in/SavvyCleaner *** WHAT IS ASK A HOUSE CLEANER? *** Ask a House Cleaner is a daily show where you get to ask your house cleaning questions and we provide answers. Learn how to clean. How to start a cleaning business. Marketing and Advertising tips for your cleaning service. How to find top quality house cleaners, housekeepers, and maids. Employee motivation tactics. Strategies to boost your cleaning clientele. Cleaning company expansion help. Time-saving Hacks for DIY cleaners and more. Hosted by Angela Brown, 25-year house cleaning expert and founder of Savvy Cleaner Training for House Cleaners and Maids. *** SPONSORSHIPS & BRANDS *** We do work with sponsors and brands. If you are interested in working with us and you have a product or service that is cohesive to the cleaning industry reach out to our promotional department info[at]AskaHouseCleaner.com *** THIS SHOW WAS SPONSORED BY *** SAVVY CLEANER - House Cleaner Training and Certification – https://savvycleaner.com MY CLEANING CONNECTION – Your hub for all things cleaning – https://mycleaningconnection.com HOUSECLEANING360.COM – Connecting House Cleaners with Homeowners – https://housecleaning360.com SAVVY PERKS – Employee Benefits for Small Business Owners – https://savvyperks.com VRBO AIRBNB CLEANING – Cleaning tips and strategies for your short-term rental https://TurnoverCleaningTips.com

Bestselling author and global speaker Jeff Toister returns to the show with amazing tips and actions for creating and executing on your vision for an outstanding service culture. What’s your vision for a solid customer service culture? If you want to deliver outstanding customer service that inspires loyalty and positive word-of-mouth, then you need a customer-focused service culture. But while many leaders think they provide excellent service, they have an unrealistic vision of what that means. As a result, business strategies continue to cause conflicts that make maintaining a customer-focused culture an uphill battle. “It’s a journey that takes long-term commitment.” -Jeff Toister That’s why we’re delighted to have Jeff Toister on the show! In fact, Jeff joined us in the early days of Crack the Customer Code for a great discussion around the root causes of customer service failures. But now he’s back to help us create and execute a vision for customer service excellence. “You can’t just declare ‘from now on we’re going to move from a toxic culture to a service culture…’” - Jeff Toister Jeff has helped many leaders create realistic, scalable service visions, so the wisdom he brings to this episode is priceless. Not only does he share where many great leaders go wrong, but through great examples and actions you can take today, he shows us some simple ways to get on the right track. Good things come in threes! Here are some of the core disciplines and exercises Jeff gives you in this episode: 3 characteristics of a good service vision 3 rules for leaders to shape a customer-focused service culture A 3-question assessment for your service training Jeff explains all of these in detail, so you’ll know exactly what to do next. And as a bonus, he tells you where to find additional free resources to power up your transformation. Are you ready to create a service vision that motivates employees, delights customers and brings measurable results? Then listen in! Interview Highlights There are many parts to a good service vision, but what are the 3 most important characteristics? [4:10] Why is it so important to balance aspiration with reality in your service vision? [9:10] There’s a popular belief that culture is built from the bottom up. However, Jeff has a different take on this. [13:20] Training plays a huge role, so Jeff shares how you can assess how well employees are aligned with your service vision. [17:00] Want to do better at creating a service vision? Then Jeff has vital tips and a free resource to get you started! [21:40] About our guest Jeff is the best selling author of The Service Culture Handbook: A Step-by-Step Guide to Getting Your Employees Obsessed with Customer Service. More than 140,000 people on six continents have taken one of his video-based training courses on LinkedIn Learning (a.k.a. Lynda.com). Jeff was named one of the Top 30 customer service professionals in the world by Global Gurus. He was also named one of the Top 50 Thought Leaders to Follow on Twitter by the International Customer Management Institute and Feedspot has named his Inside Customer Service blog one of the Top 50 customer service blogs on the planet. Jeff brings an adult learning background to his customer service work and holds a Certified Professional in Learning and Performance (CPLP) certification from the Association for Talent Development. Connect with Jeff Twitter Sign up for Jeff’s Customer Service Tips of the Week Download Jeff’s Service Culture Handbook Toolkit Related Content 360Connext® post, How to Unlock Your Outstanding Service Culture for Good Customers That Stick® post, Creating a Customer Service Culture with Jeff Toister Episode 014:  Handling Pressure, Jeff Toister, and The Customer as Hero Episode 222: (Tip) Instilling Culture Throughout the Organization We’re on C-Suite Radio! Check it out for more great podcasts   Take care of yourself and take care of your customers.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Customers you can't please. Are they wrecking your business? When you have customers, you can't please sometimes it's just a gap in your work agreement. There needs to be teamwork between homeowner priorities and the house cleaner priorities. Another reason Angela Brown, The House Cleaning Guru recommends using worksheets. Customers you can't please activate your satisfaction guarantee which cost you your company profit. End the relationship with the never happy, nit-picky, high-maintenance customers. Solve the problem or move on. Today's Ask a House Cleaner sponsors are Savvy Cleaner (Maid service training.) HouseCleaning360 (the place to find maids and house cleaners.) Savvy Perks (benefits for house cleaning business owners and their staff.) And My Cleaning Connection (a hub for pro cleaning tips.) *** COMPLETE SHOW NOTES FOR THIS EPISODE *** https://askahousecleaner.com/show *** MORE VIDEOS LIKE THIS *** Broken Vacuum - https://youtu.be/wmCpLk43Eic Damage Control for House Cleaners - https://youtu.be/eFHErJW-f5k Housekeepers Having a Bad Day - https://youtu.be/iwpQq1Dasfg Accused of Theft While House Cleaning - https://youtu.be/hWBVEs0XoLk 11 Ways to Overcome a 1-star review - https://youtu.be/6d-CyNAXfKw   *** RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE *** FREE WORKSHEETS YOU CAN DOWNLOAD – https://savvycleaner.com/worksheets The Customer Rules: The 39 Essential Rules for Delivering Sensational Service - https://amzn.to/2N1eihH Powerful Phrases for Effective Customer Service: Over 700 Ready-to-Use Phrases and Scripts That Really Get Results - https://amzn.to/2KxWCss Extra Mile: 500 Customer Service Tips for Success: Tools to Attract, Satisfy, & Retain Even the Most Difficult Customer - https://amzn.to/2tN076X The Service Culture Handbook: A Step-by-Step Guide to Getting Your Employees Obsessed with Customer Service - https://amzn.to/2MtHsEY The Big Book of Customer Service Training Games - https://amzn.to/2KsRTYN We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. *** OTHER WAYS TO ENJOY THIS SHOW *** ITUNES - http://apple.co/2xhxnoj STITCHER - http://bit.ly/2fcm5JM SOUNDCLOUD - http://bit.ly/2xpRgLH GOOGLE PLAY - http://bit.ly/2fdkQd7 YOUTUBE - https://goo.gl/UCs92v *** GOT A QUESTION FOR A SHOW? *** Email it to Angela[at]AskaHouseCleaner.com Voice Mail: Click on the blue button at https://askahousecleaner.com *** HOUSE CLEANING TIPS VAULT *** (DELIVERED VIA EMAIL) - https://savvycleaner.com/tips *** FREE EBOOK – HOW TO START YOUR OWN HOUSE CLEANING COMPANY *** http://amzn.to/2xUAF3Z *** PROFESSIONAL HOUSE CLEANERS PRIVATE FACEBOOK GROUP *** https://www.facebook.com/groups/ProfessionalHouseCleaners/ *** FOLLOW ANGELA BROWN ON SOCIAL MEDIA *** https://Facebook.com/SavvyCleaner https://Twitter.com/SavvyCleaner https://Instagram.com/SavvyCleaner https://Pinterest.com/SavvyCleaner https://Linkedin.com/in/SavvyCleaner *** WHAT IS ASK A HOUSE CLEANER? *** Ask a House Cleaner is a daily show where you get to ask your house cleaning questions and we provide answers. Learn how to clean. How to start a cleaning business. Marketing and Advertising tips for your cleaning service. How to find top quality house cleaners, housekeepers, and maids. Employee motivation tactics. Strategies to boost your cleaning clientele. Cleaning company expansion help. Time-saving Hacks for DIY cleaners and more. Hosted by Angela Brown, 25-year house cleaning expert and founder of Savvy Cleaner Training for House Cleaners and Maids. *** DISCLAIMER *** During the shows we recommend services, sites, and products to help you improve your cleaning and grow your cleaning business. We have partnerships or sponsorships with these companies to provide you with discounts, and savings. By clicking on and buying from these links we may receive a commission which helps pay for the production costs of the show. Support the show so we can continue to bring you free tips and strategies to improve your cleaning and help you grow your cleaning business. THANK YOU! *** SPONSORSHIPS & BRANDS *** We do work with sponsors and brands. If you are interested in working with us and you have a product or service that is cohesive to the cleaning industry reach out to our promotional department info[at]AskaHouseCleaner.com *** THIS SHOW WAS SPONSORED BY *** SAVVY CLEANER - House Cleaner Training and Certification – https://savvycleaner.com MY CLEANING CONNECTION – Your hub for all things cleaning – https://mycleaningconnection.com HOUSECLEANING360.COM – Connecting House Cleaners with Homeowners – https://housecleaning360.com SAVVY PERKS – Employee Benefits for Small Business Owners – https://savvyperks.com

"Obnoxious customers on the loose. Help! I just want to clean my space alone without an annoying customer looming. And it ain't speed cleaning if I have to re-clean after obnoxious customers mess stuff up. What pro cleaning tips do you have?" Angela Brown, The House Cleaning Guru on today's Ask a House Cleaner gives tips on that obnoxious customers. Your maid service stays in business because of your crazy customers. This cleaning advice is not what you want to hear but may save your business.  Today’s sponsors are Savvy Cleaner (Maid service training.) HouseCleaning360 (Create a business fanpage where homeowners can read your glowing ratings and reviews.) Savvy Perks (Employee discount network and benefits for small business owners.)   *** COMPLETE SHOW NOTES FOR THIS EPISODE *** https://askahousecleaner.com/obnoxious-customers *** MORE VIDEOS LIKE THIS *** Broken Vacuum - https://youtu.be/wmCpLk43Eic Damage Control for House Cleaners - https://youtu.be/eFHErJW-f5k Housekeepers Having a Bad Day - https://youtu.be/iwpQq1Dasfg Accused of Theft While House Cleaning - https://youtu.be/hWBVEs0XoLk 11 Ways to Overcome a 1-star review - https://youtu.be/6d-CyNAXfKw *** RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE *** Dealing with Difficult Customers: How to Turn Demanding, Dissatisfied, and Disagreeable Clients into Your Best Customers - https://amzn.to/2Jwc6fu Extra Mile: 500 Customer Service Tips for Success: Tools to Attract, Satisfy, & Retain Even the Most Difficult Customer - https://amzn.to/2I7TNOp The Service Culture Handbook: A Step-by-Step Guide to Getting Your Employees Obsessed with Customer Service - https://amzn.to/2HtK3AK Customer Service Training 101: Quick and Easy Techniques That Get Great Results - https://amzn.to/2FjpO2X Powerful Phrases for Dealing with Difficult People: Over 325 Ready-to-Use Words and Phrases for Working with Challenging Personalities - https://amzn.to/2Jwg6wm We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. *** OTHER WAYS TO ENJOY THIS SHOW *** ITUNES - http://apple.co/2xhxnoj STITCHER - http://bit.ly/2fcm5JM SOUNDCLOUD - http://bit.ly/2xpRgLH GOOGLE PLAY - http://bit.ly/2fdkQd7 YOUTUBE - https://goo.gl/UCs92v *** GOT A QUESTION FOR A SHOW? *** Email it to Angela[at]AskaHouseCleaner.com Voice Mail: Click on the blue button at https://askahousecleaner.com *** HOUSE CLEANING TIPS VAULT *** (DELIVERED VIA EMAIL) - https://savvycleaner.com/tips *** FREE EBOOK – HOW TO START YOUR OWN HOUSE CLEANING COMPANY *** http://amzn.to/2xUAF3Z *** PROFESSIONAL HOUSE CLEANERS PRIVATE FACEBOOK GROUP *** https://www.facebook.com/groups/ProfessionalHouseCleaners/ *** FOLLOW ANGELA BROWN ON SOCIAL MEDIA *** https://Facebook.com/SavvyCleaner https://Twitter.com/SavvyCleaner https://Instagram.com/SavvyCleaner https://Pinterest.com/SavvyCleaner https://Linkedin.com/in/SavvyCleaner *** WHAT IS ASK A HOUSE CLEANER? *** Ask a House Cleaner is a daily show where you get to ask your house cleaning questions and we provide answers. Learn how to clean. How to start a cleaning business. Marketing and Advertising tips for your cleaning service. How to find top quality house cleaners, housekeepers, and maids. Employee motivation tactics. Strategies to boost your cleaning clientele. Cleaning company expansion help. Time-saving Hacks for DIY cleaners and more. Hosted by Angela Brown, 25-year house cleaning expert and founder of Savvy Cleaner Training for House Cleaners and Maids. *** DISCLAIMER *** During the shows we recommend services, sites, and products to help you improve your cleaning and grow your cleaning business. We have partnerships or sponsorships with these companies to provide you with discounts, and savings. By clicking on and buying from these links we may receive a commission which helps pay for the production costs of the show. Support the show so we can continue to bring you free tips and strategies to improve your cleaning and help you grow your cleaning business. THANK YOU! *** SPONSORSHIPS & BRANDS *** We do work with sponsors and brands. If you are interested in working with us and you have a product or service that is cohesive to the cleaning industry reach out to our promotional department info[at]AskaHouseCleaner.com *** THIS SHOW WAS SPONSORED BY *** SAVVY CLEANER - House Cleaner Training and Certification – https://savvycleaner.com MY CLEANING CONNECTION – Your hub for all things cleaning – https://mycleaningconnection.com HOUSECLEANING360.COM – Connecting House Cleaners with Homeowners – https://housecleaning360.com

Jeff Toister Show Notes Jeff Toister helps customer service teams unlock their hidden potential. He is the best-selling author of The Service Culture Handbook: A Step-by-Step Guide To Getting Your Employees Obsessed with Customer Service. More than 140,000 people on six (6) continents has taken his video base training courses on LinkedIn Learning aka Lynda.com. Jeff’s 15 training videos on LinkedIn Learning include Customer Service Foundations and Leading a Customer Centric Culture. Jeff was named one of the top 30 customer service professionals in the world by Global Gurus. He was also named one of the top 50 Thought Leaders to Follow on Twitter by the International Customer Management Institute. Feedspot has named his Inside Customer Service Blog one of the Top 50 customer service blogs on the planet. Jeff holds a Certified Professional in Learning and Performance (CPLP) certification from The Association for Talent Development. Questions Tell us a little bit about yourself and your journey Can you tell us about your journey in writing the book – The Service Culture Handbook: A Step-by-Step Guide to Getting Your Employees Obsessed with Customer Service? What is culture? As entrepreneurs, what are some of the things they should be thinking about? What are some advice you would give to an employee or a business owner who is trying to sustain a service culture and with growth they have not been able to manage the culture with the massive growth that they have experienced? How do they scale but at the same time maintain that same service culture and experience? How do you stay motivated every day? What is the one online resource, website, tool or app that you absolutely cannot live without in your business? What are some of the books that have had the biggest impact on you? What is one thing in your life right now that you are really excited about – something that you are working on to develop yourself or people? Where can our listeners find your information online? What is one quote or saying that you live by or that inspires you in times of adversity? Highlights   Jeff Toister stated that what compelled him the spectrum of customer experience was the very first customer he served. He would love to say that it was a success story but it wasn’t, he didn’t do a good job and that changed things for him. He was 16 years old, he was working in a retail clothing store and he had gotten about 15 minutes of training and the person that was supposed to be training him said, “I’m going on break, good luck, here’s the key to the dressing room. Do the best you can, I’ll be back.” He was nervous as young kids often are and I didn’t know what he was supposed to do. A customer comes up to him and he’s just thinking, “Oh no, I don’t know anything” and that’s obviously the wrong mindset but that’s the mind set he had. The customer asked, “Do you carry Dockers?” it’s a brand of khakis and he knew what they were, he had no idea if they carried them or not and so he’s looking around the store and he’s hoping that there’s a big neon sign that says, “Dockers right here” but there was not. And being 16 years old and being inexperienced, the first words that came out of his mouth were, “I don’t know” and without getting a second chance to recover, he got angry and he said, “Wow, this is terrible service” and he stormed out of the store. He knows that that was the wrong answer, the challenge is when you’re employee in that situation how do you stop yourself from giving that wrong answer, that comes with experience, life experience and training knowledge and so in that moment he knew it wasn’t the right answer, he knew he didn’t do well and he never wanted to feel that way again, that was many years ago but throughout his entire career, he has always gravitated towards 2 things: customer service but in particular, What makes employees tick? How do we help our customer service employees perform their very best? And how do we remove these obstacles where we put them in a position where they are not as able to be successful? He has always been fascinated with customer service, he has always been fascinated with training and all of his jobs have focused on that and for the last 12 years he has been a consultant who helps organizations tackle these types of problems.   Yanique stated that she finds it interesting that it was a not so positive experience that propelled you into this because as a consultant that many times when a customer becomes loyal to business, if you track back the root cause, it’s usually a dissatisfied customer who dealt with an employee who was able to turn the situation around and just because of how it was handled, now every time they come back to that business they only want to deal with that particular employee, they’ll even wait sometimes if they’re on vacation to come back from vacation to transact business with that company and it all came out of a negative experience.   Jeff mentioned the “Peak-End Rule” (Psychology Term), he stated that it explains what Yanique said is true. It’s about customer perception or perception in general that we tend to not notice things that are normal. We tend to notice things that are different than normal and what really stands out is the thing that is most different and so the bad experience if you kind of think of that as the heartbeat of customer service, the bad experience is kind of like this really bad deviation from our normal experience and then a really good correction, really good fix is a huge difference. So, it stands out because it’s such a leap from a horrible experience to this great experience, it becomes imprinted in our memories and that’s the peak part, if it’s the last experience we had with that organization or that person, that really gets imprinted in our memories. So, the Peak End Rule kind of explains why that big gap, it’s so true when we recover from a bad experience, that’s what really sticks in our customers’ mind.   Jeff Toister shared that he’s glad that Yanique’s impression of his book was that it’s a practical guide and he really appreciate that because that was the goal in writing it. He found a couple things and one was that he consistently had this theme with his client which was culture, “How do we get our employees obsess with service?” and the other thing he found quite frankly was that companies tend to have money to invest in technology, they often don’t have the budget to invest in people and he thought, “If I could put this into a book and make it a practical step by step guide, maybe they can’t afford to hire me or you to come in, we wish they would. If they don’t have the budget for that, this book will give them everything I’m already sharing with my clients.” That was the starting point to say he’s going to make these ideas available. So where did they come from, they came from work he was doing but then he wanted to profile companies that were successful, and one of his biggest challenges in writing the book was, he didn’t want to include some of the usual suspects - the Zappos, the Southwest Airlines, the Nordstrom, the Disney, the Ritz Carlton, not to take anything away from those organizations, it’s just that we’ve heard their stories so many times, there are other companies out there that are delivering amazing service. So, you ask where did those stories come from? He started researching what other organizations have a strong service culture where they’re known, they have the reputation, maybe it’s service ratings, maybe it’s stories written about them, they’re known for having employees who are obsessed with service and then he started researching, what do they do and it was amazing to him that there was a consistency across all of these companies, in terms of how they approach it and so he was able to pull his own work and in the research he did into these companies and put them into the step by step guide and say, “Hey, there is something here. There’s a process that all of these organizations are following and we can give this recipe to anybody who cares to follow it.”   Yanique agreed that he tries to look at a very practical, operational way that any business, even if it’s a small business with just 5 employees would be able to extract that information and run with it in their own company.   Jeff stated that even a team because one of the biggest questions he gets is that people say, “I read the book but I’m not the CEO and I don’t even think my CEO cares too much about service, she says it important but I know she really cares about the budget.” And that’s fine, you can still use the book. He has examples in there with specific teams or departments, so whatever the size, whether you’re the CEO or you’re just leading the small team within a bigger company, the goals and the ideas that you can use these tools to create a service culture in whatever you control.   Jeff stated that he thinks sometimes culture is one of those words that we take for granted, we all say, “Culture is important” but maybe we mean different things. To him, culture when we’re talking about an organizational perspective, it’s a system of behaviors and beliefs, it’s how a group of people act or thinks and understand the world. Sometimes we think culture is a statement that says, “This is our motto or these are our values” and that’s not quite accurate. Culture is what people actually do, so if people are living those values each and every day then those values are accurate and they reflect your culture, if not, then they’re pretty empty. He gave an example, there was a bank in the United States about a year ago, there was this huge scandal because what they were doing was opening accounts for customers that didn’t request them. Millions of accounts were affected and the reason it was happening is because there were a lot of pressure for the individual employees to meet these very aggressive sales targets, so that’s what led to this huge scandal that the CEO resigned, there was a lot of fines, the Federal Government started to look into it. What was interesting though was that the CEO even in the moment when it was announce that the scandal broke and the CEO still had his job and he was announcing this scandal and this big settlement of a lawsuit, he still pointed to their culture as being customer focused and to him, that’s the perfect example of Your words doesn’t really matter if they’re not backed up by your deeds. How did people actually act? In that organization, the culture was about sales pressure and doing anything at all cost to sell a product. That was their actual culture. So, when you think about organizations and one of the organizations he wrote about in the book is a place call REI, if you love the outdoors, that’s the place to go for your camping equipment, your hiking equipment, bicycling, whatever. REI is an example of culture that really matches what they say. For example, if you go in and you’re looking for camping equipment, you’re not going to have somebody just kind of point you to the camping equipment aisle, the person who works there who’s going to help you is an avid camper, they love camping and they can’t wait to share with you what they know so that you can love camping too and that’s by design because they purposely stated that their goal as an organization is to help us all enjoy the outdoors. That to him is when culture matches what we’re saying, that’s pretty healthy but at the end of the day, culture is what we do, it’s how we perceive the world, it’s what we actually believe.   Yanique agreed and stated that in her process of dealing with some businesses this week, she called a company that deals with cooking gas and their office is not located in the city, it’s located on the outskirts of the city so it’s a 20-minute drive and she asked them if didn’t have any other mode of payment because she told the sales representative before they came that she will be paying by card and she specifically requested that the gentleman coming brings the card machine. He comes and he didn’t bring the card machine and of course he now informs her that she needs to drive all the way to the location to make the payment. So, she called them and said, “Can the payment be taken over the phone?” “Oh no, we just changed out our card machines and that’s not possible anymore.” Yanique called and ask them, “Do you expect me to drive 20 minutes outside the city just to get to you to make a payment for a service that you provided, I think you really need to talk to your finance department and think about a more customer friendly way to accept payments from your customers.” And it’s interesting because they were voted one of the best customer service organization in their industry and that left a bad experience. Even when the guys came, the service was good but then the payment part is a part of the service as well.   Jeff agreed and stated that whenever that happens, he always wonder why does it happen and is it that the person doesn’t want to do their job, sometimes but often it’s that they are put in that position or no one shared with that driver that Yanique had had that communication or that driver was specifically told, “We’re not doing cards so this is what you have to tell people.” Those employees are often put in a bad position where they almost can’t win.   Jeff stated that maintaining the same service culture and experience is a big challenge for a couple of reasons. One is that keeping culture exactly the same is impossible because culture changes, every time you add a new person to the team, every time you add a new product or a new line of service or a new channel, it changes just a little bit. He doesn’t know if it’s possible to keep culture the same but maybe consistent and have it grow and evolve in the right way, that’s maybe the goal for those businesses. The other challenge is scale, as businesses grow it becomes necessary for the business owner or the business leader to trust more people to do the work and that business owner can’t be in all places at all times, they can’t talk to every single customer and so the process of building a service culture really is about that scale question, “How do I instill in my employees what I believe in my core?” and the way to do that is that you have to make it clear, you have to articulate it. Just like how he was asked, “Let’s define service culture.” In these organization you have to define, “What does our culture look like?” and the tool that he uses is something called The Customer Service Vision, it’s a very simple statement, it could be something that you already have like a Vission or vision statement for your company but it’s very simple statement that says, “This is what outstanding service looks like.” And every employee in the organization has to understand what that vision statement is, what does it mean and most importantly, how do they personally contribute in their role and once you achieve that, then you can scale using that vision as a guide and that’s the first step, you’ve got to have that vision. The second step is employees all have to understand it and the third step is that you have to use that as a way of doing business, one thing he sees that business owners/ business leaders do that really hurt that effort is that they treat culture as a separate project, so people will maybe take time out of their normal job to do some cultural things, maybe on a culture committee or we’re doing culture as the theme for this year strategic planning and then we go back to work and just do our jobs, that’s not how you evolve culture, culture is our behavior so we need to use culture as a guide for making all decisions, it’s how we create strategy, it how we invest in technology and processes, it’s how we hire, it’s how we train people, it’s how as a leader you’re deciding what to put in front of your employees and talk about every single day and if we are not talking about culture and how outstanding service should look like then your employees are not going to believe that it’s important, they’ll focus and what you talk about and that’s the biggest challenge for leaders. Jeff also hear a lot of companies say to him, “We’re just so busy, we’re too busy to deal with culture.” And he would say, “No, you’re not because what you’re really doing is you’re still creating a culture, it’s just not the culture you need.”   Yanique agreed that with the point that even though they’re not focusing on culture, every organization has a culture but is it the culture that they really want and so if you don’t have intentionally activities, whether it be meetings, conversations, group outings, strategies built around what you’re trying to achieve, then the culture will emerge on its own. And so, you’d have a culture you don’t want all because there was no intentional act but not because you didn’t put any attention there doesn’t mean it’s not formed.   Jeff mentioned that often when you don’t put the intention there, it goes in the direction you really don’t want it to go.   Yanique mention that the take away from this interview is culture is not something that just doesn’t happen, it happens even without your intentional behavior behind it, it’s going to manifest and this is why you really have to intentionally work towards the culture you want. It’s like eating because we have to eat every day but if we don’t intentionally make an effort to eat healthy then we’ll eat anything and of course the body will just consume whatever you put inside of it and if you’re consuming negative thing then it will lead to disease and chronic illnesses versus taking an intentional approach towards eating, ensuring you do your meal preps, you exercise 3 to 4 times a week, you’re getting 8 to 9 hours of sleep per night, those are things that are intentional activities you schedule into your life to ensure it’s done every single day.   Jeff stated that he really likes this question because motivation is a part of something he looks at all the time, not just his own motivation but employee motivation. He thinks we often look at it the wrong way, we look at how we get motivated versus how to not be demotivated and so for him, motivation is easy, he does what he loves. He finds the inner section of what he loves to do and what he can be successful doing and where he has a little bit of skill. Jim Collins’ Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Other’s Don’t’ Built to Last : Successful Habits of Visionary Companies, one of his landmark books. He talked about this head shock concept for companies, it’s an inner section of what you love, what can you do well, what can you get paid to do and he takes that personally. And so, he gets up every day excited because he loves this. The demotivation happens not just for him but for everybody where we perceive that there’s obstacles that stand in the way of doing what we love. In a service environment, referring to his story about his first service encounter, that happens to employees every single day where they want to provide great service, almost every employee wants to provide great service but there’s some obstacle that they perceive is standing in their way and that’s what’s demotivating them. Every day he works on himself but he helps organizations and employees work on finding what are those obstacles and they can remove those obstacles, motivation becomes really natural.   Yanique stated that it’s interesting because she does workshops for organizations and a lot of questions that she hears from employees is that sometimes you can’t do what you love because you have bills to pay but then, if you have that kind of mindset which goes back into your attitude. Is it your motivation that affects your attitude or your attitude that affects your motivation?   In reference to Yanique’s question if motivation affects attitude or attitude affects motivation. Jeff stated that he is a big sports fan, so the team that’s winning, are they because they are motivator or are they motivated because they are winning. He thinks success breathes that and those two go together. Doing well, we feel good, we’re motivated and if we’re not doing well we feel bad with a bad attitude, we feel demotivated. There’s a concept called, “Learned Helplessness” that a lot of employees’ experience. What it is that over time they feel like they failed trying so they just stop trying. It gets really bad is a lot of times they stay in the same job, not every job is right for every person and so they’ll stay in the job or maybe they have those bills to pay and they don’t feel like they have another good option and so they kind of give up but they keep coming to work everyday and that makes it so much worst because it’s defeating.   Jeff stated that the tool that he uses every single day is a website called Highrise, it’s a way of keeping track of clients and projects all in one place. One of his core value is accountability and he believes if you say you’re going to do something, you do it. As an entrepreneur, you have a million things going on and trying to meet deadlines and maintain commitments and do what you say you’re going to do is extremely difficult. So, he uses that through every single day to keep track projects, initiatives, people and making sure he maintains all of his commitments but he also uses it to not just look at an individual commitment but how does that connect to all the other commitments he has made so that he’s not overloading his plate. He uses LinkedIn and Twitter every day as well and primarily to connect with other people and learn from other people and see what other people are doing as he thinks we are definitely in a relationship business. As someone whose passionate about training and adult learning, he’s always learning as well and that’s often where he finds “What are people doing that’s interesting?” So those would he his second and third picks.   Jeff shared that he loves to read and is sometimes reading 2 to 3 books at a time. He thought about and said, “What are the books that stick with me?” and that’s the challenge with the book, that we read a book and say, “Oh it’s good” and then you ask, “What have you used from that book?” Jeff shared that these are some book that he uses a lot. One is called Street Smarts by Norm Brodsky and Bo Burlingham and what he loves about it is that it’s an entrepreneurial perspective on the business side of running a business and he thinks in the world of customer service and customer experience, too many of us are unfamiliar or tentative around the business side, the number side. He had a discussion online with someone the other day where they were upset that executives only care about the budget and the point he tried to make and comes from this book is, the way to get executives to care about customer service is you have to translate customer service into numbers because that’s their language and if we’re not doing that or if we don’t know how, we’re only hurting ourselves. The next one is a book called Getting Things Done by David Allen, it’s a system for managing your time and commitments and it’s a principle based system rather than go out and buy this portfolio and you have to use this specific software, it’s more about principles to use whatever you feel comfortable using. He uses those principles to do things that allow him to keep on top of things. For example, at the end of everyday he has zero messages in his email inbox and for most people that’s unbelievable but it’s because he has these set of principles that David Allen shared with him in his book that he uses every day. The third book is a book that really made an impact on him, it’s called Lincoln on Leadership by Donald T. Phillips and what he did was he studied the United States’ 16th president which some people would say would be one of their most amazing leaders in history and he looked at some of the things that Abraham Lincoln did as a leader that we can pull from today. One of his favorite examples that he uses as a consultant and trainer is Lincoln was really the first president to spend a lot of time going to people rather than expecting people to come to him for a meeting or a conversation and the reason he did that, it’s management by walking around which we know now but the idea was, if you approach people in an environment where they feel comfortable and make them feel like we’re on an even keel and you’re not trying to intimidate them then they’re much more likely to open up to you and have an honest and frank conversation and he learned when he’s working with a client and he meets with their front line staff and ask them about their job, they are always ready to tell him exactly what is working well and exactly what they think is going wrong and he thinks it’s because of that principle of coming to them and making them comfortable.   Jeff stated he has this thing where he realizes that his audience doesn’t have a lot of budget to spend on customer service maybe technology but not on people. So, one of the things he has been trying to do is transform his own business where he can make resources, tool, concepts available to people at little to no cost and somehow still get paid. A few examples are his book, the investment on the book is USD $14.95 for the paperback or USD $9.99 for the kindle, that’s a pretty low investment yet he puts all the tools he uses as a consultant in that book so you don’t have to hire him because you probably have USD $14.95, you may not have his consultant fee. He has training videos on LinkedIn Learning and Lynda.com and he has learned that a lot of his clients and companies that he works with already has a subscription to one of those platforms, so you can get his training without having to pay for him to come in, the video is right there, it’s available to you and if you don’t have a subscription, it’s fairly inexpensive and then things like this podcast, he loved this opportunity and really appreciate it because it’s a chance for them to have a dialogue about service but it doesn’t cost anything to subscribe to the podcast and learn from it and learn from not just himself but from some of the other amazing experts that Yanique interview. Those are free resources that anybody can take advantage of and he’s really excited about the opportunity to help people wherever they are in their journey.                                                                                          Jeff shared listeners can find him at – Twitter - @toister (www.twitter.com/toister) Customer Service Tip of the Week – www.toistersolutions.com/tips Insider Customer Service Blog – www.toistersolutions.com/blog   Jeff shared that he’s not a big quote person, the reason he’s not a quote person, the first reason is because he sees quotes and they sound great but then what do we do with them. He’s more of an action person and the second reason is he has done research on some quotes and he has been disappointed to find that that person never said that or that’s not what they meant. He gave an example, the quote, “The customer is always right” no one said that and it bothers him that we have accepted this as some mantra in customer service and he did some research on where did this come from, why do we believe this and there is not really an agreement but it came from a few places. One possible source says Ritz Carlton and he said, “The customer is never wrong” and the context was that even if the customer is wrong, of course they are sometimes, you don’t argue with them, you just find a way for them to help them become right. Marshall Fields who is a famous retailer, he said, “Right or wrong, the customer is always right” and his point was the same thing that the customers will of course make mistakes but we don’t argue with them, our role here is to help them become right, to help them succeed. He wished he had a great quote to share but when he finds those quotes and he found out no one ever said that but the story behind the quote often is much more interesting.   Yanique mentioned that in most of her workshops towards the end of the session, she always explains to the participants that the customer is always right literally is not a true statement because there are times when the customer is wrong but what we should be guided by is the principle that as employees, we are not here to prove the customer wrong, we are here to help them, they are wrong but we are not here say, “Hey Mr. Customer, you’re wrong and we are going to punish you.” But more like, “It’s okay, let’s work back to how we can undo what’s happened and find a solution so that you can leave here feeling good, let’s make this right.”   Links Highrise Street Smart by Norm Brodsky and Bo Burlingham Getting Things Done by David Allen Lincoln on Leadership by Donald T. Phillips The Service Culture Handbook: A Step-by-Step Guide to Getting Your Employees Obsessed with Customer Service by Jeff Toister

Nearly every company says that they want to have a customer-focused culture, but then why are so many companies lacking one? What are the steps that your company needs to take to be committed to becoming customer focused? Shep Hyken speaks with Jeff Toister about his new book, The Service Culture Handbook: A Step-by-Step Guide to Getting Your Employees Obsessed with Customer Service. First Up: Shep Hyken’s opening comments focus on how the best companies have an amazing service culture, because they have an amazing culture. Period. For instance, Zappos has their Ten Core Principles on how to create that customer-focused culture. CEO Tony Hsieh has even been known to fire employees if they can only buy into nine of the ten principles. Tony doesn’t even particularly care if his employees like shoes, but he is adamant that all his employees fit into the culture. The culture starts on the inside and is felt on the outside by the customer. If a company has a good customer-focused culture, there is a pretty good chance that the company has a great internal culture. The companies known for providing the best customer service are typically the best companies to work for. Featured Interview: Shep begins his interview by asking Jeff Toister, “Why don’t more companies have a customer-focused culture?” Toister claims the challenge is that we simply don’t know how to get there. There is so much information about how to develop a customer-focused culture. Some of it lines up, and some of the information is conflicting. With so much conflicting advice, how can you make sense of it all? To help you to get there, Jeff Toister wrote his book as a guide that anyone could pick up and follow as a step-by-step plan to develop a customer-focused culture in their organization. When you have finally achieved the goal of creating a customer-focused culture, you will find that your employees are absolutely obsessed with service. They know what they are supposed to be doing. They’re committed. And they always seem to do the right thing. Top Takeaways: Three steps to developing your customer-focused culture: 1. Define what your culture is going to be. Your customer service vision needs to be one sentence, that everyone can remember. It needs to focus on the customer, not that you will be “industry-leading” or will make a lot of money. It cannot be a fluffy statement that no one believes in, but it must become a way of life for everyone in the organization. Who are we on our best day? Example: In-And-Out Burger’s “Quality, Consistency, and Courtesy” 2. Engage your employees and get them committed. Employees must fully understand what makes the organization successful, and they are committed to achieving that success. Many organizations have a difficult time having their employees give a consistent answer as to what “success” means. 3. Align everything in your organization around that definition of success, that customer service vision. We tend to do things that create conflicts and, that make it harder for our employees to deliver outstanding customer service. For example, we focus on customer service survey scores, and reward or penalize employees accordingly. Instead, we should focus on the feedback and learn how to use it, so that we can continually improve and deliver even better customer service. About: Jeff Toister helps customer service teams unlock their hidden potential. He has authored customer service training videos on Lynda.com and was named one of the Top 30 customer service professionals in the world by Global Gurus. He was also named one of the Top 50 Thought Leaders to Follow on Twitter by the International Customer Management Institute. Jeff holds Certified Professional in Learning and Performance (CPLP) certification from the Association for Talent Development. Shep Hyken is a customer service and experience expert, best-selling author and your host of Amazing Business Radio. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices