Exclusivefocus Spring 2013 - National Association of Professional ...

sales and marketing
Practicing the Golden Rule
By Ed Horrell
One of the ongoing surveys conducted
nationally by The Kindness
Revolution reflects that
over 65% of front-line service providers
feel underappreciated by their customers.
When probed further, the respondents
indicated that this lack of appreciation
stems from an absence of simple comments
or indications of “thank you” as
well as rudeness or inappropriate behavior
on the part of customers. They also
virtually all agree that they can spot rude
or indifferent customers by their behavior
as soon as they walk in the door.
In a similar survey, 95% of respondents
state that customers who are kind and respectful
to their server will receive better
service! In other words, kind, congenial
customers receive better customer service
from service providers.
As I travel around the country speaking
to different groups, one topic they all
seem to agree on is that customer service
has deteriorated greatly in the last decade
or two. So much so, the once-popular
motto used by many businesses of yesteryear
– “service with a smile” – now seems
anachronistic.
But is it a coincidence that the consumer’s
treatment of front-line service
providers has fallen to a new low as well
After all, how accommodating can we
expect front-line service providers to be
if they are routinely berated or otherwise
disrespected
If we ever want this condition to improve,
consumers and service providers
alike must realize that kindness begets
kindness. Our behavior as customers
can have a direct impact on the quality
of service we receive. In other words, we
have a great amount of influence over the
quality of service we receive as a result of
the way we behave and interact.
At The Kindness Revolution, we
have enjoyed numerous and engaging
conversations with front-line service
providers from restaurants to call centers.
While the training of these service
providers is varied, the opinions tend to
remain the same. Kind customers receive
better customer service than rude ones
and mean customers are not as likely to
get “gold standard” service that more respectful
customers might get.
Allstate agents and staff are also service
providers and sometimes feel the
“
Consumers
and service providers
must realize that
kindness begets
kindness.
“
brunt of rude or unappreciative customers.
But insurance agencies differ from
other service providers in that it is the
customer who opts to establish the relationship,
thereby forming a bond that is
commonly considered to be long-term.
As such, customers are inclined to shop
around before settling on an agent. Generally,
they buy from someone courteous,
caring and trustworthy. Most will shun
agents they distrust or dislike because
they know they’ll probably be unhappy
and don’t relish the thought of beginning
the search anew. So in the world
of insurance, customers establish loyalty
upfront because they recognize the permanency
of the relationship.
Compare this to the restaurant industry,
where it is common for diners to
patronize several different restaurants a
month. And while customers may have
a strong allegiance to certain restaurants,
the bond is seldom the same as it is be-
tween an agent and his customer. This
may be one reason why restaurant customers
are sometimes demanding and
rude to the wait staff, even when service is
satisfactory. Of course, this can happen at
Allstate agencies too, but my guess is that
it happens with much less frequency. The
bottom line is that changing restaurants
is easy, while changing insurance agents is
an unwelcome and time-consuming task.
Many Allstate agents have joined The
Kindness Revolution, where we encourage
the support of people on the front lines.
We do this via our “Kindness Cards,” which
are given to deserving front-line providers
with a “Thank You” from our initiative.
These cards are then showed to their managers
and company owners, whose normal
responses range from “Thank you” to “Tell
me how I can get involved with the kindness
movement.”
Our Community Champions – who
distribute these cards via their teams and
colleagues – tell wonderful stories about
the responses they receive as a result of
these small tokens of appreciation. The
fact that a customer would take a moment
to leave a simple thought of appreciation
can be the difference between just
another day and a really GOOD day.
Try it yourself… take a minute to be
kind to your service providers, including
the wait staff at your favorite restaurant
and the hard-working staff in your Allstate
agency. The key is to always go out
of your way to say “thanks” when you get
great service.
Lead with kindness. It will make your
day! Ef
Ed Horrell is the founder of The Kindness
Revolution and is the author of the bestselling
book of the same name. For more
information, visit www.thekindnessrevolution.net
or send e-mail to allstate@thekindnessrevolution.net.
24 — Exclusivefocus Spring 2013