"RE-ASK"

But, you say, we already thank our customers and ask them "How are we doing?"

Solution Details

"We already say 'Thank You' and ask our customers 'How did we do?' in daily operations" At ThankingCustomers.com we understand and appreciate that most every enterprise can say this and really mean it. Our practice takes up where the verbal appreciation and recognition leave off on the frontlines. The first rule is not to change a single thing you are doing now. While asking verbally is beneficial, we do not feel it is, by itself, adequate to keep associates involved, learning, and committed towards customers on a daily basis. And especially as many associates providing products and services do not have direct customer contact. What makes our practice different? "Propel Frontline Leaders" is not another program. Instead it is simply a process, or set of actions, which can be initiated by team leaders themselves. Needing only the support of their supervisor to maintain a user-centered practice for long-term customer focus, learning, and commitment from associates. A continuous cycle of non-verbal actions (usually in writing) to thank, invite, ask, share, and assess for everyone the most critical elements needed for success. Verbal thanking and asking is often initiated by training and customer service programs and becomes procedural. Over time it often becomes routine and falls short of demonstrating intentions, self-motivation, involvement, accountability, cooperation, and sometimes even attention to customers. Even falling shorter in demonstrating these human interactions to fellow associates and enterprise partners both internal and external. Yet it is these interactions between associates and partners that support and continue long-term the interactions with customers. They also provide, in addition to feedback from colleagues and supervisors, a critical and most often missing feedback --that from the work or daily activities themselves Our Conclusion? An enterprise cannot achieve long-term customer focus, learning, and commitments without maintaining human interactions such as those above simultaneously with 1) customers, 2) between associates, and with 3) partners. This cannot happen through managing operational programs alone. These human interactions must also be lead and not only from senior managers but also a user-centered approach from frontline leaders. This would include frontline managers, team leaders, and their supervisors. This is why we say workplace relationships must be lead as well as managed. Leading actions are key, just as with managing, to get results. This is the reason team leaders need processes which are simply sets of actions which they can initiate themselves to compliment and continue their existing operational programs and systems.