In banking and investing and insurance, many thousands of service-minded people enjoy client loyalty. Yet, most labour under a false basic assumption about why clients are loyal to them or their institution, rather than competitors. What really generates loyalty is warmth.

The dominant view of loyalty in financial services equates loyalty with simple continuity of service. “If they keep on dealing with you, that means they’re loyal.” This makes sense, but it lacks a basic understanding of what motivates people to be loyal.

This view also supposes that people become loyal to whomever best satisfies their service requirements. “If they can read statements that arrive on time, and find good numbers in them, then you just need be nice and keep it up.” This makes sense, too. But does loyalty come simply from satisfying requirements and smiling?

By conventional wisdom, good investment performance and reliable admin are not quite enough from investment advisors or financial planners. Indeed, they strive to have impressive diplomas and professional certifications, to dress for success, and to express clever perspectives. This makes sense, too. Yet, most of their clients simply assume the diplomas and certifications. People want something more.

connectedness the edge

The conventional wisdom lacks edge. Here’s that edge: connectedness &ndash mutual connection with the individual or institution. Some have it and don’t know how or why. Some credit their office d

Though most people are now turning to wireless, DSL, and broadband connections for their Internet access, those with dial-up modems still know how, occasionally, you can miss a call from someone important while surfing the web. That’s where an Internet answering service comes in.

An Internet answering service more or less screens phone calls for subscribers, allowing them to decide whether or not they want to take the phone call immediately as it is received or to have it transferred to an answering machine/voicemail. Just as many e-mail services these days have “spam” filters, an Internet answering service works in much the same way.

It works as a caller ID for an individual while they are online. A caller’s name and number are shown to the subscriber, and a message they leave can be accessed and played through the PC’s speakers, allowing the subscriber to either answer the phone call, or let the caller leave a message to be picked up at a later time.

Convenience is the name of the game with an Internet answering service. Everything can be controlled with the click of a mouse. An Internet answering service allows a subscriber to take more control over their calls and have greater flexibility in how they take those calls.

Internet answering service providers have now branched out to take advantage of other venues that could find their services useful &ndash businesses and cell phone users. By expanding into these markets, Internet answering service providers offer subscribers a sense of peace as they not only identify anonymous callers, but block such callers from getting through to the subscriber. Cell phone callers no longer have to use their precious minutes on unwanted calls, and businesses no longer have to ward off unwanted telemarketing calls. With an Internet answering service, nearly anyone can be in complete control over the calls they accept, with the peace of mind that those calls that they don’t accept are taken care of properly.

It’s time to beat the old bad customer service drum again. I know, I’m sick of beating the drum, too, but as long as bad customer service runs rampant through so many businesses I feel it is my entrepreneurial duty to bring it to your attention. So grab a pew and prepare to listen to the sermon I’ve preached before: bad customer service is the bane of business. If the Almighty smote down every business that dispenses bad customer service, the world would be a much friendlier, albeit much sparser place. Consider a world without malls and fast food joints… would it really be so bad?

What puzzles me most is if bad customer service is such a death knell for business, why do so many businesses allow it to go on? Don’t they read my column, for Pete’s sake? I think the problem is that most bad customer service is doled out (or at least condoned) by business owners and managers who have ceased caring what their customers think. When you stop caring what your customers think it’s time to close the doors. Go find a day job. You’ll make someone a wonderfully disgruntled employee.

My latest parable of lousy customer service was actually experienced by my better half while attempting to buy my daughter a pair of basketball shoes. I won’t mention the name of the sporting goods chain store in which the bad customer service took place, but I will tell you that its name is similar to the sound a frog with hiccups might make.

As my wife waited for someone to assit, the four or five teenagers who had been charged with manning the store stood in a clump at the cash register giggling and flirting with one another as if they were at the prom instead of at work.

When my wife pointed out this fact, one of the employees, a cheeky lass of 16 or so, put her hands on her hips and said, “How rude!” The males in the group didn’t react at all. They were too busy arguing over who could take a break so they could chase other cheeky lasses about the mall.

Needless to say my lovely bride, who has the ability to instill fear into the hearts of even the most worthless employees, left the gaggle of giggling teen idiots standing with their mouths open in disbelief. How dare a customer tell them to do that with a pair of basketball shoes?

As much as I bemoan bad customer service I celebrate good customer service. It should be applauded and the purveyor of said good customer service should be rewarded for actually delivering satisfaction to the customer, above and beyond the call of duty.

So let me tell you the story of my new hero, Ken. I won’t tell you the name of the store in which Ken works, but let’s just say they started out selling radios in a shack somewhere long, long ago.

I first met Ken when I went into the store to buy a mixing board for my business that records audio products for the Web. In a nutshell, you plug microphones into the mixing board then connect it to the computer and you can record audio directly to digital format. Totally beside the point of this article, but I didn’t want you thinking that I was purchasing non-manly cooking utensils.

When I got the mixer installed it didn’t work. So I boxed it up and headed back to the store to return it. When I told Ken my problem he didn’t just grunt and give me my money back as so many bad customer service reps would do. Instead he asked, “Do you mind if I try it?”

“Knock yourself out,” was my reply, confident that if I couldn’t get it to work, neither could Ken. Ken took the mixer out of the box and went about hooking it up to one of the computers on display. He started pulling power cords and cables off the display racks and ripping them open and plugging them in. He tore open a new microphone and an adapter and kept going until he had the mixer hooked up and working. Yes, I said working. It turns out the mixer was fine. I just had the wrong power adapter.

Ken could have just given me my money back and been done with me. Instead he spent 15 minutes and opened a number of other packages that I was under no obligation to buy just to help me get the thing working.

I was so impressed that I not only kept the mixing board, I also bought another $50 worth of products. And the next time I need anything electronic guess where I will buy it? Even if it costs twice as much, I’ll buy it from Ken.

Now here’s the moral of the story: if you are a business owner who has a gaggle of teenagers in charge of customer service at your store you would be better off replacing them with wild monkeys.

At least monkeys can be trained.

When it comes to services I sometimes wonder if the asking price is really worth it. I can usually find the service that I am looking for online. Then I have to look around to find witch one is going to give me the most for the money. Well I have found that if I go with the low ball guy, he is reeling me in for a huge sales pitch to asks me to spend more than I would with the high roller guy. Maybe that’s where I should have started my search.

Then again I wrote an article a couple of months ago about an auto repair shop that promised to fix my truck for $1,000.00. Fair price to install a new rear end and I agreed. 2 months later I could not get my truck out of the shop for less then $2,000.00. They actually told me “two grand or we will auction off your truck to pay the charges.” I was robbed!!

I found out once again that maybe checking with a higher priced guy may have been a good idea. I am sure the price is higher because the put all of the add on stuff in the original quote. The quote is supposed to at least be close to the actual price, right?

The gist of my article is this. I have been in the carpet cleaning industry for almost ten years. We get a bad rap, no doubt about it. We have to earn the respect that others have spit on and ripped off. There are a lot of great cleaners out there and there are a few that kill the reputation of the entire industry.

Now we all have to make a living and I have chosen to make mine honestly. I may not be the cheapest, but my quotes are on the mark. If I give you a quote and then try to charge more for the same amount of work after you let me in. I am sure you will kick me out then or never call me back, so I prefer giving a little extra than taking what ever I can squeeze out of you.

I say go with the guy in the middle when it comes to choosing your service providers. If it seems to good to be true then it probably is. If it seems way too high compared to the competition then it probably is for the more elite or just plain over priced. Talk to others to find out whom they use and give an honest man the job.

Last week I made an early morning trip to a seminar/book promo breakfast to promote my web site. After putting out flyers all over the place I took a moment to step in to the facility and caught a few moments of a morning with Jack Welch, the former CEO of GE.

As I stepped through the door, a question and answer session was in progress. A woman stepped up to the microphone and asked “Is the customer always right?”

Jack smiled and said, “You might not think so, and they may believe so, but if you don’t make it so, you’re dead!”

Jack, that is a pretty strong consequence. Dead. But let’s face it. Who will come to do business with you again after you argue with them about their dissatisfaction? I think most people will just go somewhere else.

Isn’t is just common sense that we let our customer complain and then make it right? Well for the business owner, we usually just grin and say ” what would it take to make you happy today?” but what about our employees?

If we have not taken the time to train our employees how to deal with an unhappy customer, how will they react when one attacks them with ” the food was cold and tasted like crap!” or “I only had it for three days and the wheel fell off!”

It is important that as part of training any employee who has contact with the customer they have training on dealing with complaints as well as how to work the register or take the order. As a business owner you probably have already thought of that. Is there a piece of this puzzle missing?

The missing piece might be empowerment. The employee can be trained how to be calm and not take complaints personally. But what if they are not empowered to take action and correct the problem immediately themselves? What if you have instructed them to get you if there is a problem and you are on your way to the bank to make a deposit?

In most cases an angry consumer will not wait for you to return.

This would mean that if your employee is not empowered to make a correction or offer a compromise to make the customer happy, you would lose their business forever. How much does it cost to get a new customer? How much does it cost to make them happy when they are dissatisfied? The difference on paper is staggering.

Therefore, as part of the training of a new employee, it should be taught what is possible to do to make a customer happy when they are complaining. A quick response to a problem is appreciated almost more than the actual solution in most cases.

You see in life, we are all customers at some time or other, and I don’t know about you, but when I am an upset customer, I am always right!

While some surveys show that 9 out of 10 consumers are unaware what their credit score is, I’d like to quickly share with you how your credit score could be costing you a fortune (in more ways than you can imagine). We all know a low credit score will make everything in the world of finance more expensive because of higher interests rates from lenders due to being considered a greater credit risk ( i.e. higher interest rates on cars, homes and credit cards). While this may be considered common knowledge by some, it’s truly devastating effects are understood by few. For example, If you purchase a $200,000 home on a 30 year fixed mortgage at 8% interest instead of 6% (because of your credit score); that 2% is going to end up costing you a total of $96, 934.11 over the term of the loan. Now, think about how many extra years you’ll have to work to pay off $96,934.11 because of an extra 2% in interest?

The part few people talk about is all the other areas in life where a low score will increase your cost of living on an annual basis. For example. In addition to paying more for a car, home and credit cards, a low credit score will most likely have you paying more for the following as well:

1.) AUTO INSURANCE. As many as 92% of the 100 largest personal automobile insurers use credit information to underwrite new business, according to a 2001 study by Conning & Co., an insurance-research and asset-management firm.

2.) HOMEOWNERS INSURANCE. It’s thought many insurance companies see a correlation between low credit scores and increased property insurance claims. Therefore, a low score will result in higher rates.

3.) LIFE and HEALTH INSURANCE. Customers who are unable to pay their monthly insurance premium thereby pass along that increased cost to the insurance company whose stuck with the bill (resulting in a loss for the company). Since customers who pay without lapse are more profitable it is felt by many that a low credit score now even affects a monthly life and/or health insurance premium negatively. One of the more shocking areas where a low credit score will you cost you is in the area of employment. It’s estimated as many as 42% of employers now do credit checks on applicants before hiring them (according to a 1998 survey by the Society for Human Resource Management). While many employers claim they only do it to verify information on your application (such as where you live and where you have worked etc.) we can both assume they are taking the liberty to have a peek at how you handle your financial affairs as well. According to the Public Research Interest Group (PIRG) as many as 79% all credit reports contain errors, 25% of which are serious enough to cause the denial of credit (according to a 2004 report). And that’s all the more troubling in light of the increasing impact a bad credit report can have, says Ed Mierzwinski, director of PIRG’s consumer program. “It’s outrageous that the credit bureaus are claiming their scores are accurate enough to take people’s lives and screw with them like this”.

In the next segment we’ll be talking about something very, very exciting. It’s called…

“Insider Techniques to Raise Your Credit Score… FAST!”

See you in a couple days…

Good customer service is crucial to success in business; there’s nothing high-tech about helping customers get exactly what they need. But technology can make the process easier and more efficient.

For most small businesses, investing in information technology (IT) can pay dividends in more ways than one. Not only can technology help companies establish a corporate identity and lower the cost of doing business, it can also help level the playing field.

The Dell/National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) Small Business Excellence Award, established in 2004, honors small businesses that instill the spirit of innovation and apply IT to improve the customer experience.

Think big, win big

The winner will receive $30,000 in technology and professional services from Dell; a Day with Dell program with Dell executives, including Michael Dell, to share best business practices; a lifetime membership to NFIB; and other prizes. Nine other companies will receive a Dell Latitude notebook and a one-year membership to NFIB. The finalists for the 2006 award are:

• AMAD Logistics, an international freight forwarder and logistics company.

• DataCert Inc., a fast-growing supplier of electronic invoicing and corporate legal spend-management solutions.

• Errand Solutions, which provides customized errand-running and concierge services as an employee benefit and customer relationship enhancement to health care, hospitality, residential property and corporate organizations.

• Harrison’s Roof Truss, L.L.C., a manufacturer of engineered wooden roof and floor trusses.

• Micro Technology Services Inc., which develops and manufactures electronic products.

• National Association of System Administrators Inc., provides a 24-hour, Web-based customer portal through which clients can track service calls and on-site parts storage.

• Ntelicor L.P., an information-technology consulting and staffing firm.

• Pipal Research Corp., a team of strategists and investment bankers who provide research and analytical services.

• Sew What? Inc., a theatrical drapery manufacturer and custom sewing service.

• TRS Consultants Inc., a multidisciplinary engineering and construction management firm.

A day in the life of a business person can be filled with joy and satisfaction or it can be frustrating and stressful. When things go wrong, some people lose control. Holding emotions in check and reacting professionally under fire are not always easy. It is particularly difficult to be nice to people who are not being nice to you.

So what do you do to keep your cool when the customer is chewing you out? Most of the time, it is not even your fault. It could be that the problem was with a product or a service delivered by someone else in your organization. You’re getting the blame because the unhappy person found you first, and it’s not pleasant. When faced with angry people, there are four key steps that will help diffuse the situation.

Step one is to apologize. “But,” you say, “it’s not my fault.” It doesn’t matter who’s to blame; apologize anyway. As a representative of your company you have a responsibility to see that things go well. Your willingness to be accountable will have a positive effect. After all, it takes two to have an argument. If one of you refuses to be disagreeable you can’t have a disagreement. You are not accepting blame-you are simply saying, “I’m sorry about the problem.” You are wasting your breath unless you apologize with complete sincerity so be sure that your tone of voice matches your words.

Step two is to sympathize with the irate customer. Let the person know that you can identify with his feelings. Say that you understand the frustration of receiving a faulty product or poor service. The angry person begins to feel better as soon as his reaction is validated.

Step three is to accept responsibility for the situation. Be accountable to the customer. Let him know that you intend to do whatever it takes to make things right. You can’t help what has already happened, but you will come up with a solution to the problem or you will find someone who can.

The last step is to take action. Decide what you can do and tell the customer. You will replace the defective or incorrect product as quickly as possible. If the issue was poor service deliver better service. Whenever you can offer a bonus of some sort or waive fees, the tiger before you is transformed into a pussycat.

Use the acronym “ASAP” to remember these four steps for calming upset customers. Each letter stands for part of the process.

A is “apologize.”

S represents “sympathize.”

A stands for “accept responsibility.”

P means “prepare to take action.”

Nothing will be solved by becoming argumentative and reactionary. Instead, diffuse the client’s anger by being apologetic and sympathetic and focus on positive steps that will resolve the situation. Before you know it, your adversaries will become your allies.

Oh yes, remember to smile. It will make everyone feel better and behave better.

(c) 2005, Lydia Ramsey. All rights in all media reserved. Please reprint article with by-line intact and all links made live.

Honoring individuals for their achievements may say a great deal about the person but can also demonstrate the sincere appreciation of the one awarding and recognizing the recipients’ success. Everyone enjoys receiving awards and being recognized for their efforts. Many times our trophies and plaques are proudly displayed in a prominent place in the home or office. This may be a wall, trophy case or fireplace mantel that in some environments can represent a small shrine.

Reflecting back on awards that have captured my attention, it’s always been the logo or graphic picture that first caught my eye. After looking at the design (or the structure of the award itself), I then focus my eyes towards the inscription engraved on the plaque.

There are numerous types of awards from appreciation, acknowledgement, retirement, sports and more. One of the easiest ways to dress up your presentation and make it stand out among others is done by simply applying graphics to the item you are presenting. By adding or implementing a cool design, you will give more personality to the award and make it more attractive to the recipient and the individuals who view it.

Adding clip art or logos to your presentation can be done at a small expense and at times even free, while adding value to the award. Usually the organization or company giving the presentation has their logo available in print or in a digital format that can be reproduced easily. Simply request to receive their insignia in the computer format you need. Now days, more and more company’s have their logo already available on CD that will work within the environment of your graphics software. Many times this is easily downloaded from the associations website or may be emailed directly to your address.

If for some reason a logo or design you wish to reproduce is not readily available, you can always have it created or have one “digitized” to meet your needs. By digitizing someone’s logo you enable it to be used with certain computer software programs while at the same time giving way to numerous other applications as well.

For example: If you were in need of reproducing a logo for use with a laser engraving process, you may have it digitized and supplied to you in an .EPS format. This particular format is one of the more universal files of type, which many of your leading software programs can import into their layout screen. Additionally, this type of format can be used for other types of applications too. The key to creating any image is to better understand the application (or process) in which the design is going to be reproduced. If you are unsure, it’s always best to contact a professional digitizing company to assist you with the production or reproduction of the logo.

You can find many sources on the World Wide Web that can help you from beginning to end, with logo design or clip art images all ready to engrave or print for most any application. The quickest way to locate some of these vendors is by typing in a “keyword” at any of your favorite search engines search bar.

Example: goto MSN.com and key in the words “laser engraving”, “logo company” or refine your keywords to a more specific industry such as, “wedding clip art” or “religious clip art”.

By using search engines to “search” for a specific type of logo or desired application for creating your awards, this enables you to locate numerous choices much faster and compare their services and/or products on line.

Once you begin to settle in on a company to assist you with your award creation or logo digitizing process, ask them what other type of industry applications they service. One of the reasons you want to acquire this information is for future uses of your digitized image. You may only need to have your logo laser engraved today however, next time you may need to have a banner created with the same design. If your vendor can create your logo to work with both applications without a re-work, it may same you time and money for up coming awards and presentations.

You don’t need to know every finite detail for dressing up your presentations. My suggestion is that by adding logos or a graphic design to your awards, it adds value and makes your item more attractive. Connecting with a cutting edge technology companies will help you create these types of designs and have your recipients proud to display their trophy for all to see.

If you are up to your ears in a stressful situation, it becomes difficult to think clearly. Sometimes, it is best to walk away from a problem, and think about it, rather than try to solve it with an instant solution.

My grandfather used to say: “Even the court jester can teach us something useful.” This saying goes much deeper in meaning and applies to many things - from a Yoga class, to not taking life too seriously, and to the unfortunate way customer feedback is commonly handled by the business world.

As a customer of any service or product - how do you feel when your Email is ignored, your voice mail message is never answered, and you don’t get any feedback or concern, at all, from customer service? We all feel the same &ndash nobody likes to be ignored. The shame of all this is that customer service is getting worse on a global scale.

Knowing this, we should take the time to listen when someone has taken the time to give us a constructive suggestion. When you do acknowledge a suggestion and consider, implement, or try it, you could possibly create a bond for life.

Here is a little story about how listening can pay off. Years ago, I was working at a health club and had a dilemma. I had a personal training client with a weight control problem, but I couldn’t figure out what the problem was.

She was exercising, eating the right things, following a new healthy diet, taking Yoga classes, and had made a 30 day turn around in lifestyle, with no results to measure.

I brainstormed with the health club owner with no real success, but we were interrupted by someone who said that I should have my client log everything she eats and drinks.

Well, I took the suggestion and ran with it. I discovered my client was drinking three Cokes a day. She didn’t equate Coke with sugar grams, and didn’t think it was important enough to mention.

After that, she lost five pounds a month, on average, for the next twelve months. That’s an optimum 60 pound weight loss in a year. This particular client kept the weight off.

The person who made that suggestion is still a dear friend to this day. Needless to say, I have every personal training client log their meals, and drinks - just to be certain.

In summary, it doesn’t take a “rocket scientist” to listen to customer feedback, or a colleague’s suggestions; but all of us, no matter how important we think we are, must be willing to sit back and listen to constructive advice. This will be the difference between managers of businesses that flourish and those that fail in the twenty-first century.