So, I am standing in line at Smoothie King this morning getting my mid-morning snack and there is only one employee behind the counter. No problem, I was the only customer in the store so I knew it would not take me long to get in and out.  Well, quickly after I ordered and walked down to the cash register to pay, another customer walks in and after she puts my drink on the blender she walks over to the new customer to get his drink order and get it started. Again, not to concerned because I know it will not take her long and I was not in that big of a hurry. I also noticed that a second employee walked in the door and thought that she would ring me up and then I could grab my smoothie and head out the door. The employee who just showed up, walks around the counter, talks with the woman working, punches in at the cash register and to my amazement walks into the backroom without even say hi to me or tell me she will be right back to ring me out.  I am sure I had a look of shock on my face, roll back the video tape in the backroom and have a good laugh. I then realized, she just gave me another blog post for the day.

Here I am about to spend money in their establishment, a reason she has a job, and you cannot even acknowledge me? I know that she cannot be the owner because no owner would treat a customer like that, not even saying hi. I have been in there too many times to know it does not take long to ring out the customer, so put down your bags, put a smile on your face and handle the customer standing in front of you with money. Remember, keep them happy and they will keep coming back to spend money. Make them unhappy and they will take their money to another establishment and your place will go out of business and you will be out of a job.

Make it a great day and keep your customers happy!

Today, I was on a shuttle bus, taking me from the water taxi to the terminal at Logan airport and when we arrived at the first stop the bus stops, a few people get off the bus and then the bus totally shuts down.  We continued our conversation and quickly noticed how hot it was getting on the bus.  We made a couple of jokes and continued talking.  I noticed the bus driver talking on the radio and was wondering if he was going on break and he was letting dispatch know he was not going to be moving for awhile.  The driver then got up and opened his door to let fresh air in and at this point it had been over 5 MINUTES of us just sitting in the heat on the bus.  The sad thing is that we are to afraid to get up and say something when really the driver, who is in charge of the bus should be communicating with the passengers about what is going on with the bus.  I got up  to finally say something, when another passenger closer to the driver got up as well and the driver informed him that the bus had broken down and was trying to get another bus for us to take us to the other stops at the airport.  My hat goes off to the driver for trying to arrange back up transportation but he missed the most important thing, communicate this to your passengers! This is where everyone falls down in all these situations, they fail to communicate to the guest what is happening and leaves them hanging and getting frustrated.

I have seen this or not heard this from airline pilots who leave a plane full of passengers wondering what is going on when they can easily pick up the microphone and COMMUNICATE to the passengers what is happening. Yes, some things are out of their control but if they communicate what is happening they will not have a plane full of angry frustrated passengers.

Both scenarios are just proof that we fail to communicate to frequently because we are scared of what might happen instead of being strong and speaking the truth  and giving what the guest/customer what they really want to hear, some simple information that will set them at ease.

Please just communicate! Remember that when you might be facing a similar situation.

Make it a Great Day!!!

I am amazed everyday when I talk with the customer service department for a large company and hear the irritation in their voice, when they are suppose to be helping solve my problem.  It is like I am keeping them away from playing solitaire on their computer instead of them doing the job they have been hired for and taking care of the customer, the reason why they have a job in the first place.  I feel that the customer service departments both large and small just do not care about their customers anymore.  I can tell you first hand as a previous owner of a small personal training studio, that customer service is one of the most important things you need to do to run a successful business.  I excelled in customer service and did bend over backwards for my clients.  They are the reason that I can put food on the table and employ 6 people.  If you do not take care of your customers they will find another place to spend their money.

Yes, I do believe that the customer is always right.  They have a problem with your service or product and you need to fix that problem and make them happy.  Yes, sometimes it is not always easy or fair but whoever said life was fair.  The client wants to be listened to and understood.  The last thing that a customer service agent or owner/manager should do is explain their policies, that is the last thing that the customer wants to hear.  Yes, you know them great!  Listen to the client and do everything in your power to fix their problem.  The Ritz Carlton did the right thing by empowering all their employees to fix any guest’s problem, even given them a monetary spend to make them happy.

That seems to be the biggest problem companies face with customer service, letting their employees know what they can and cannot do to help make the customer happy.  These companies both large and small need to invest some serious money in training everyone in their company in how to treat their customers/clients.  If everyone in the company is properly trained then you will keep clients for a very long time spending money with you.  This seems easier said then done, the reason is because most owners/managers look at the expense of the training and they would rather spend their money in other areas to build their department/company.  This is so short sighted on their part, yes, you need to be spending money on sales and marketing to get the customer in the door in the first place but if you team does not know how to handle the customers when they  come in then you are really flushing money down the toilet.

I do believe that we can get these companies to turn around and treat their clients/customers the proper way and keep them happy, smiling and spending money.  They just need to look behind the curtain and see where they are broken and get it fixed.  If I keep on this horse we will get this done.

Have a Happy 4th of July weekend and remember, make it a great day!

Matt McKinnis

So we are mid-way through the year and how are you doing with keeping up with your health and wellness goals? I would love to think that you are head of plan and just killing it with your workouts every week. I though have been around way to long in this industry and have spoken to so many people to know that you probably gave up a long, long time ago and keep using the excuse that you do not have enough time. We all have the same amount of time each week, 168 hours to get everything done that we want to make time for in our lives. At a minimum you should be working out at least 3 of those 168 hours. So, if you have used the excuse of I do not have time, you really need to re-think that line, especially if you have a family that you need to be taking care of and they need you healthy. Think of yourself for once because they will appreciate you working out and feeling good about yourself.
For the second half of the year make it about yourself and getting healthy. You owe this to yourself and to your loved ones. There is no better time than the presence to make this happen. Call a personal trainer today and schedule your first session with them. They will hold you accountable and get you started on the right path for you health and wellness goals. I know you can do this so STOP making the excuses, they just get in the way of your goals.
I wish you the best of luck and make it a great day!