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Do Some Yard Work To Improve Customer Service!
by: Sandi Carson
Yes, yard work. What I mean is that you may have to do some weeding in your garden of employees to improve customer service. Imagine that you are pulling weeds out of your flower garden so that your flowers don't become choked off. Huh? "Just go with me on this., O.K.?" Weed out the employees that are more likely to waste your water and fertilizer before you even hire them. By that, I mean that you need to stop the ultimate time wasters that will kill your customer service. How? Before you hire anyone, there are some things that you should do to make sure that your business will help your customers better. First, conduct telephone interviews with applicants so that you can see how the applicant will sound to your customers. While conducting the phone interview, ask yourself these questions: 1. Does the applicant sound courteous and helpful? 2. Does the applicant sound short or slightly grouchy? If the applicant sounds short or grouchy, then don't hire them. Then do a regular interview. During the interview see how the potential employee's appearance is. If the potential employee comes in with raggedy clothing, or poorly groomed then don't consider the applicant no matter what the excuse is because if the applicant doesn't care now then he/she won't later. No matter what, if the potential employee has a bad attitude during the interview, then that is a major red flag. No matter how good that the applicant looks. If you think that his/her attitude will change for the better later then you will be in for a rude shock. Trust me on this. Perform back round checks on each potential employee. Before doing any type of back round checks make sure that you get permission for each type of check that you plan on doing. See if you can do a reference check with someone that the employee used to work with. And when checking that reference, ask how the potential employee got along with others. If the person hesitates, or beats around the bush, then you may have your answer. I would also recommend checking criminal records. A lot of people think that it is an invasion of privacy. I don't, and the reason why is because you really don't know who this person really is that you are interviewing. Before hiring anyone Make sure that you specify your expectations beforehand. If you do, then the potential employee will be able to judge whether or not to take the position that you offer. It is better to lose a potential applicant than waste your time to train the person. Only to have to start over later. If it's too late, and you already have an employee that has a bad attitude, don't allow that person to poison your employee pot any more. An employee that gripes all day, or is abusive towards the other employees will ruin your business. Guaranteed. The nasty attitude will rub off on the other employees because it's contagious. If your customers are able to sense the tension, then they will feel like your employees are rude. "You don't want that." You need to have a talk with that person with the attitude problem in private. Put it down in writing that the behavior will not be tolerated. That way, if you have to fire that person, you will already have the necessary documentation that you need. Make sure that the person understands that the behavior will never be tolerated. (You can call this a career decision time for the employee.) If the behavior does not cease immediately and permanently, then they are gone. Don't hesitate on this matter. If you are squeamish about firing someone then think about this: even if that employee has no contact with your customers, that very same employee will affect your other employees. This is very important. If you allow a negative, or abusive person to run loose around your other employees, then the nice employees will resent you. You may not agree, but your employees will be more loyal and productive if you make sure that their working atmosphere is pleasant. And, the more loyal and productive that your employees are, the higher your profits will be. Besides, you want your customers to hear a smiling voice on the phone, or to see a smiling face when they come in. Right? Right! Make sure that you always lead by example. Remember, monkey see, monkey do. Written by S Carson. All rights reserved. Discover Tips http://www.discovertips.com/ is the place where you can go to get free customer service and employee loyalty tips. ABOUT THE AUTHOR After being in management for several years, I learned what it really takes to gain customer and employee loyalty. My articles were written for those managers and business owners that are looking for advice and tips on how to have even more loyal customers and employees. And because... ...the way I see it, if you don't care about what your customers and employees think, then you might as well close your business doors for good.

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