Take Care of Yourself Before You Take Care of Your CustomersWritten by Eric Plantenberg
One of most important questions people ask when they are focused on improving their quantity and quality of business is: “What is my competitive advantage? What makes me unique, memorable, special… what truly sets me apart from rest?" While there are no definitively right answers to that question, most people come to some conclusion that customer service is a critical component of your competitive advantage. For most businesses, service they offer can vary from exceptional to not so hot, depending upon circumstances. Why is that? Why does same company, and even same people within that company provide world class service some of time, and marginal service (or worse) other times? That answer can be found in asking a different question: “What makes you (or your staff) happy when serving your customers?” While these answers also vary, most people come up with some sort of variation of “I am happy when my customer is happy.” Do we enjoy dealing with agitated or disgruntled people? Normally not. We derive our joy from delivering value, by making others feel good about their experience, and by exceeding people’s expectations. What comes first then? The happy customer or happy person serving customer? This is not chicken or egg quandary. The happy person serving customer NEEDS to come first, because it is a very unusual day when your customer comes into your business looking to cheer YOU up.
| | Director of Public AffairsWritten by Matthew Bratschi
Hollander Consultants Rockets Into The New Year Hollander Consultants’ Record-Shattering Year Seen as Harbinger of 2005Portland, OR: Hollander Consultants, a nationally recognized business and practice management consulting company, is rocketing into New Year with highest ever revenue and sales, after ending 2004 with over $5.4 million in revenue. “In January 2004, we sprang right out of gate and hardly slowed down rest of year. The employees of Hollander Consultants showed what a true team they are by working together to achieve greatest levels of production in history of our company,” announced Fred King, CEO of Hollander Consultants, “I’m sure 2005 will see same type of continuing, extremely positive growth.” According to Erika Sullivan, Director of Human Resources for Hollander Consultants, “This year our staff proved how dedicated they truly are. Individual staff production levels were surpassed in every quarter of this year. It’s something each staff member is very proud of. ” Highlights included: The Consulting Department reported two record quarters in a row for services delivered. The Quality Control Department reported record client satisfaction. The Existing Client Sales Department reported highest sales quarter ever – another indicator of client satisfaction as so many of first year clients bought more and more service. The Human Resources Department reported highest percentage ever of trained specialists company-wide.
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