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Viral Attitude

Guest post by: Brian Sullivan

Article Overview: How to Serve Right/Learn Right

Viral Attitude

Take a moment right now and think of your worst experience as a customer. Perhaps it was the flight attendant who told you, "My primary job is NOT to wait on you," when all you did was ask for a refill of water. Or maybe it was the customer "bad" service rep who told you almost gladly she couldn't make an exception because "that's company policy." Or the waiter with squinted eyes and tight lips who stared at you and his watch while your kids were torn between the chicken nuggets and the corn dogs. (Who knows what really ended up on THAT plate?) Bad feeling isn't it? While many folks (much more forgiving than this writer) may be able to chalk those lame performances up to a person "just having a bad day," its important for all of us who serve customers to realize that BAD SERVICE carries a bigger punishment than ever before.

Think about this. When you go to Amazon to buy a book, where do you almost always look? Reviews, Customer Opinions, Testimonials, correct? You can get almost all the information you need from what other people have already experienced. And these days, before people go on trips, many spend more time checking out sites like Trip Advisor than they do the website of the hotel or destination they are considering. Once again, because they want to know what others have experienced. To support this, an eVoc Insights study sites that 48 percent of consumers need to consult reviews before making a purchase. Which means, each customer experience you provide might be shared with hundreds or even thousands of people.

In short, one BAD ATTITUDE DAY by a customer service rep, a salesperson or any associate in an organization can define your company. It also means each experience YOU provide your customers daily is in fact MORE impactful than that fancy logo your marketing team created, your colorful brochures or even that interactive website your company invested in. Scary thought, huh? In fact, treat a customer badly today and in less than five minutes the Twitter and Facebook universe will decide whether you are worthy of their nickels.

Now let's look at the hard numbers associated with an employee's "bad day" at work:

A 2007 Customer Impact Report by RightNow Technologies reported:

• 80 percent of US adults will never go back to a company after a negative experience
• 74% of consumers will register a complaint or tell others of a bad experience (pre-Twitter)
• 47% swore or shouted
• 29% reported they got a headache, felt their chest tighten or cried (Wow)

Now let's get something straight. There IS a difference between a negative customer experience as a result of an honest mistake versus as a result of an apathetic employee. In fact, negative customer feedback that comes as a result of an oversight or error is the type of feedback that makes organizations and individuals better. Microsoft founder Bill Gates said it well when he said, "It's fine to celebrate success but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure." So when failure and then criticism comes, you need to react appropriately.

In her book, A Complaint is a Gift, Janelle Barlow discusses five different reactions to personal criticism:

• 1. You don't openly admit you made a mistake but instead remind the other person of the mistake he or she made.
• 2. You reluctantly admit the mistake, spending more time explaining it than fixing it
• 3. You openly admit the mistake but secretly feel like you were attacked.
• 4. You take the criticism positively, apologize and then correct the action.
• 5. You take the criticism positively, apologize and look at it as an opportunity to improve.

Remember, while business process failure (ex. Inaccurate order, late shipment, etc) is tolerable, business attitude failure is NOT. Because attitude failure not only creates customer experiences that can take your company down, but it also prevents you from ever improving. So for the rest of this year, make a commitment to never let a bad day be visible to your customer...knowing the long-term risks of creating a bad customer experience. Second, when you or your company screws up (and you will), take the criticism, learn from it, and let it fuel you to perform your job at the highest levels. By doing so, you just might end up creating a ton of bad days for your competition!

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Article Tags: apologizing, attitude, bad service, communication skills, criticism, customer complaints, failure, good service, insurance sales training, learning, medical sales training, negative feedback, opportunities to improve, precise selling, sales tactics, sales training, service, success



Related Forum Posts
Re: THE SECRET TO SUCCESS IS ALL IN YOUR HEAD...RIGHT NOW!!! - Yes, you are right Mal. Attitude plays a big role in it. Robert
Re: New man with Twitter Studies - Hi Pete, Thanks for your input and the info about the Viral Tweeter Business tool which I have checked out and for the sake of a one off fee for affilaite access at $7 it is worth a punt, regards, Mal.
Re: 4 Ideas for Viral Marketing - I do agree with GT. Viral Marketing has various face and many people adopt different strategies. Some go for impressive sales pages, e-mail marketing, etc. I couldn't see much answer to this post. Let's hear from others too. Thanks, Robert
Re: Search Engine Friendly Web Development - I would like to add some more things in search engine friendly web development. 1. PPC campaign 2. Viral marketing 3. Social Media Marketing Avoid flash in website and other use CSS files to shows the content style.
Re: What to do at the first roadblock? - Upon first discouragement, dig in and see if things are as they seem. Sometimes, even though there are several products out there that appear comparable, they are no match. Maybe they do don't a good job of what they are intended for, or maybe there are several glitches in their system, or perhaps their customer service just plain stinks. Decide how you can "one up" all of these things and decide that you are going to create a better product that more people would want. Attitude is 95% of the battle. If you feel defeated before you've done any research on any of the other products, you're doing yourself a huge disservice. Give yourself a chance and see if you can be the BEST in every way. This will get you far no matter what the venture.


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