In my past dining room work experiences, I remember certain actions lifting service to this higher level of “care.” One time a customer requested margarine that wasn’t available in restaurant. The owner walked across street to grocery purchased margarine and brought it tableside. The patron was delighted. There was a regular customer (diabetic) who always got immediate attention with some kind of bread or crackers to keep from feeling feint before her food arrived. If there was a baby present at a table, our staff ensured their food would come out as soon as possible to pacify. These kinds of actions create a lasting positive image for any company or establishment. The owner cared about his guests and it permeated thru dining room and staff -- even after he left to open other restaurants for company.

Customer Service involves major 3 points:

1) Care and Concern for Customer 2) Spontaneity and Flexibility of frontline workers which enhances ability for on-the-spot problem-solving. 3) Recovery- making things right with customer when process has gone astray.

These 3 points should always be highlighted in any customer service training program. If they are kept in mind, then quality service will occur.

Clearly, a PR goal without a strategy to show you how to get there, is like lasagna without marinara sauce. As you select one of three strategies especially constructed to create perception or opinion where there may be none, or change existing perception, or reinforce it, what you want to do is insure that goal and its strategy match each other. You wouldn’t want to select “change existing perception” when current perception is just right suggesting a “reinforce” strategy.

Now, you create a compelling message carefully put together to alter your key target audience’s perception, as specified by your public relations goal.

Here’s a thought. Combine your corrective message with another news announcement or presentation which may provide more credibility by downplaying need for such a correction.

Your message must be compelling and quite clear about what perception needs clarification or correction, and why. Of course you must be truthful and your position logically explained and believable if it is to hold attention of members of that target audience, and actually move perception in your direction.

I like to call communications tactics you will use to move your message to attention of that key external audience, “beasts of burden” because they must carry your persuasive new thoughts to eyes and ears of those important outside people.

Happily, you have a wide choice because list of tactics is long indeed. It includes letters-to-the-editor, brochures, press releases and speeches. Or, you might choose radio and newspaper interviews, personal contacts, facility tours or customer briefings. There are scores available and only selection requirement is that communications tactics you choose have a record of reaching people just like members of your key target audience.

We are all lucky in this business because things can always be accelerated by adding more communications tactics, AND by increasing their frequencies.

Colleagues and others will soon be asking about progress. Of course, you will already be hard at work remonitoring perceptions among your target audience members. Using questions similar to those used during your earlier monitoring session, you’ll now be sharp-eyed and on lookout for signs that audience perceptions are beginning to move in your general direction.

Satisfying curiosity in this regard is largely a matter of serving up results you will receive when you undertake this aggressive public relations plan. Put another way, it’s Happy Hour time when you achieve kind of key stakeholder behavior change that leads directly to achieving your department, division or subsidiary objectives.

end

Bob Kelly counsels, writes and speaks to managers about using the fundamental premise of public relations to achieve their operating objectives. He has been DPR, Pepsi-Cola Co.; AGM-PR, Texaco Inc.; VP-PR, Olin Corp.; VP-PR, Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co.; director of communications, U.S. Department of the Interior, and deputy assistant press secretary, The White House. mailto:bobkelly@TNI.net Visit:http://www.prcommentary.com