Radclyffe Consulting, LLC

Jackie Warner's Work Out - I Wish I Went To Law School

Oh My Goodness!  As I watched in horror the latest episode of Jackie Warner's Work Out, I had only one thought! I wish I went to law school.

If any of you out there are wanting to emulate her "leadership style," please don't, unless you want to open yourself up to a big fat lawsuit. I don't know which issue horrified me the most, the terrible treatment of clients or the inappropriateness with which she interacts with her employees.

In this latest episode, one of Jackie's Sky Lab clients expresses a concern about her trainer.  She very nicely and meekly describes her feeling that he is more into his music career than in training her, as evidenced by his consistent lateness.  I thought for sure that Jackie would jump on this and proactivley follow up with the client for more details and then speak to the trainer, Greg.  But later she is interviewed and states clearly that she knows that clients use these type of excuses because they don't want to do the work required to lose the weight.  She blames it on "emotions."  I was stunned that she blew this off so casually.

Awhile later, that same client comes to work out with her trainer, Greg.  She waits.  And waits.  And waits.  Finally she seeks out the "Managing Director" and expresses her concern about how Greg blows her off, how he's late, how he doesn't return her calls.  She is clearly upset and the Managing Director tries to acknowledge her concern when Greg comes waltzing through the door, acting as if he is right on time and nothing should be wrong.  He is shocked and defensive when the client gives him feedback.  He starts to blame her and , as you can imagine, things escalate.  The ineffective Managing Director interrupts and tells Greg that the client just needs some love and affection.  The client flips on this one and then starts telling the Managing Director where to go, so to speak.  The whole episode is getting me furious and I'm on the edge of my seat, ready to jump through the television.

A few days later, Greg approaches Jackie in her office and raises the incident as a concern, thinking that Jackie would be mad at him.  She asks him no questions and starts focusing on the fact that the client had no right to speak to her staff that way and she's glad the client is gone.  Now I'm off the couch!  I am more than stunned!  I can't even speak!  I'm thinking, "does this woman have any idea what she is doing?"  Is she kidding me?  Of course, Greg can hardly contain his glee that Jackie is on his side. She has effectively reinforced his unacceptable behavior.  This is nothing compared to what happens next.

Jackie and the "Managing Director" are in Jackie's office watching Peeler (who Jackie disdains) train one of his clients from out of town.  This client is a fitness model.  "The Managing Director" makes a rude comment to Jackie about the client's breasts.  She thinks they look fake and like balls.  A gentlemen, who was standing outside Jackie's office in the hallway, hears the comment and walks into Jackie's office and tells both Jackie and the "Managing Director" that they are talking about his girlfriend who had breast cancer and he felt their snide comments were unforgivable.  The "Managing Director" apologies.

The two women think everything is over.  They apologized - no big deal.  However, the next day Peeler comes to talk to Jackie because his client's boyfriend shared with him what happened.  Jackie refused to talk about it.  He tried to start the conversation again and Jackie interrupted him by saying, "if you continue to talk about this, you're fired."  He responded, "Okay, fine."  She then said, "Get out!" Which he did, but not before he called her the "b" word.  But she said the "f" word back to him.

That's when it hit me.  I should have been a lawyer.  I would own Sky Sport, Sky Lab and her clothing business right now.

Service Differentiation For Your Business: What Do Your Customers Experience?

Being passionate about your business is certainly important, especially when you are the owner.  But does that passion come through to your customers as a service differentiator and do your employees reflect that passion during the moment of truth - when your customers contact your company?

I was sitting in the office of the president of a small women-owned service business the other day and while I was there it was obvious what a busy and growing business it was. I admire the owner, who is a perfectionist and has high standards for herself and her employees.  During our meeting, she was very organized and able to retrieve documents relevant to our conversation in seconds.  I was duly impressed...and then she answered the phone. While this engaging and charismatic woman had the "total package" in person, she was missing a very key element to business success.  That key element is insuring that customers not only receive accurate information and quality products, but also receive a world class experience while interacting with every single representative of the company, including the president.

The experience I had begs the question, "how can women business owners who are strong, confident and have high standards also insure that their staff and they consistently leverage the service experience as a differentiator for their business? In today’s self-service, global market, products can be had easily and inexpensively.  The only difference is the experience with the company and its employees.

For those business owners who want to create an outstanding experience for customers during every interaction, here are some tools and suggestions that might help:

1.    Create a standard greeting for your employees to use when answering the phone.  Make sure it includes the following components:

o    “Good Morning/Afternoon/Evening,”

o    “This is <employee name>, how may I help you?”

A standard greeting sends a subliminal message to customers that will receive consistent answers and prevents them from calling back to “shop” for the answer they want.  Additionally, it lets the caller know they have reached the correct company.

2.    Create a standard ending for your employees to use when ending the interaction.  Make sure it includes the following components:

o    “Is there anything else I can help you with today?”

o    “Thank you for calling ABC Company.”

o    “Good-bye”

A standard ending helps to bring the interaction to a natural close and provides the customer with a perceived choice.

3.    When hiring employees, conduct a phone interview and listen to the candidate’s vocal tone and quality.  Ask yourself if the candidate sounds pleasant and sincere.  Can you understand each word and how rapidly does the candidate speak?

Vocal tone and quality has an extremely strong impact on the perception of the customer’s experience during the interaction. In many cases, it is not what is said, it is how it is said.  For example, apologizing to a customer can sound insincere when delivered in a flat, monotone voice.

Implementing these three standards, while seem small, will make a huge difference to customers as they experience the moment of truth when calling into your company.