Author: myragolden

Myra is a favorite training partner to Fortune 500 companies with her customized, engaging, behavior-changing (and fun) customer service workshops, working with McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, Frito-Lay, Michelin, Vera Bradley and other brands.

Customer Experience Design by myragoldenMay 7, 201910:22 AM

What’s Your Customer’s Panic Question?

After three weeks in the hospital, we got the news that Dad would be released and that he would go to a rehab center eight miles away. Mom called me frantic, “He’s so weak, I have no idea how I’ll get your dad into the car to take him to rehab.”

In my customer service workshops, I improve the customer experience by challenging employees to consider, “What else does my customer need to know?” And then meeting that need without the customer having to wonder, fret, or even ask.

If you’re a hospital case manager, and you’re telling a 71-year-old spouse that her husband needs to check in to rehab tomorrow, what questions might the wife have? The name and address of the rehab facility, indeed. An estimate of how long rehab will last, sure. She’d also need to know how she’s going to transport her husband to the facility.

It turns out Mom had been stewing in fear of how she’d get Dad to rehab for several hours before she called me. She knew Dad couldn’t walk – he could scarcely stand at that point, which is why he was going into rehab – to learn to walk again. “Mom, the rehab center will send a van to transport Dad from the hospital to their facility. All you’ll have to do is make sure Dad’s bag is packed and ready.” On the phone I sensed mom’s anxiety fall off her, like a sack of onions.

Answer Your Customer’s Most Pressing Questions Before They Panic

De-escalation by myragoldenMay 6, 20199:25 PM

3 Steps to Reducing Stress and Escalations With Customer Service Teams

Smiling beautiful African American woman working in call center with diverse team

Back in my call center days, I paid a consultant a wad to tell me to, “Give your employees time after each call to debrief with their co-workers, and create a culture where they can turn to each other for advice and guidance for how to navigate a tough call.” Here are the top three things my consultant advised me to do immediately to achieve the goals she set for me.

1. Create a spider web type layout where all of your employees can see and interact with one another at once.

2. Encourage employees to place callers on hold while they seek advice from the team on how to manage tough situations.

3. Build in time after calls for employees to cool down after a particularly grilling interaction and to talk the situation through with colleagues.

I took the consultant’s advice, and here’s what happened.

De-escalation by myragoldenApr 29, 20196:50 PM

Take Challenging Customers From a Boil to a Simmer Using the Reframe Method (Step 2 of My De-escalation Strategy)

Reframe.001 When you need to pre-empt an escalation in aggression with a customer, reframe the conversation using the three steps politicians and CEOs use for damage control and to control the message.

Explain:

Customer Experience Design by myragoldenApr 15, 20193:30 PM

Start. Stop. Continue — Three Powerful Words for Goal-Setting, Process Improvement, and Self-Improvement.

I end all of my customer service workshops by asking participants to write down three words. Start, Stop, and Continue. Then I invite them to reflect on the day by jotting down:

One thing they will START doing based on something they learned in the training

One thing they’ll STOP doing because they’ve discovered this thing is not useful, or it’s holding them back

And one thing they commit to CONTINUE to do because I know everyone is already using techniques that work well, ideas more profound than what I could teach them.

My Start, Stop, Continue activity is a goal setting and reflection exercise in one. By reflecting on the day and successes, and setting goals, my workshop attendees are more likely to adopt and apply their insights, and this makes my training more effective.

But I also use Start, Stop, Continue as a 360-degree feedback tool, and a process improvement instrument. Here’s how you can use Start, Stop, Continue for self-improvement and process improvement.

Customer Experience Design by myragoldenApr 8, 20193:23 PM

Things That Happen When You Go From Employee to Supervisor

I got my first management title when I was twenty-six years old. The person I’d beat out for the position had been with the company 26 years, and in one hiring decision, this woman, who wanted my job, become my direct report.

She’d been with the company since before I was in kindergarten. And now I was her boss. Nobody said my new management job would be easy.

And it was not. Easy, that is. Managing a person old enough to be my mother, was just one of the challenges I faced in that job. I had peers who resented me leaving the familiar flock and joining management. I was seen by many as too young, too inexperienced, too favored – based on my education.

When I look back at the decision that took me from employee to boss, and all that followed, I realize I did several things right. I made lots and lots of mistakes, but I managed to do some things right. Here’s my story.

Customer Experience Design by myragoldenApr 4, 201911:45 AM

Are Your Employees Blocking Your Customer Satisfaction Surveys?

Customer Service Feedback Happy Rating

Are Your Employees Blocking Your Customer Satisfaction Surveys?

“In about a week you’ll get a survey from us. It’s pass or fail. If you don’t give us all perfect marks, I’ll be penalized. So, if you don’t like your experience today, please don’t fill out the survey.”

Actual words from an employee seconds after completing a sale with me.

If you’re not getting back as many customer satisfaction surveys as research says you should be getting, you need to check to make sure your employees aren’t blocking feedback.

Customer Experience Design by myragoldenApr 2, 20198:40 AM

The Truth About Transitioning From Employee To Supervisor

Your communication ability, leadership strengths, ambition, and people skills got you this promotion. Now comes the hard part – dealing with conflict, giving feedback, toxic employees, and managing your time.

You can’t lead your company in delivering exceptional customer experiences if you don’t get first the people management down.

Here are 4 things you can expect to experience during the first phase of your transition from peer to supervisor.

1. Your biggest challenge is going to be managing friends and close associates. You’ll be nervous about leading them and giving constructive feedback. They’ll expect you to cut them slack.

2. You’ll be accused of being unfair and inconsistent, and this is just because you’re new at this giving feedback thing.

Customer Experience Design by myragoldenApr 1, 20191:43 PM

3 Useful Tips for Talking To An Employee About a Problem

Group of young happy people discussing business plan

1. Label the Employee’s Emotional Reaction

When you merely label what you think your employee is feeling, you show your understanding while at the same time expressing empathy. Labeling is just naming what you observe. Don’t judge or harp on the issue. Here’s what labeling looks like.

“It sounds like you disagree with my perception of you coming across as terse.”
“It seems like you feel this expectation is unfair.”

Most employees respond to successful labeling by giving you much more detail as a way to justify their feeling. You can then take the information they hand you and have a dialogue about the real issue – their unacceptable behavior or performance.

If you don’t label and instead jump right into disciplinary action, you’re going to get resistance, so label as a way to invite dialogue and honest communication.

2. Put the Responsibility for Improvement On the Employee

De-escalation by myragoldenApr 1, 20199:48 AM

The 3-Prong Method To Get Customers Who Think They Need a Manager To Calm Down and Let You Help Them

Portrait of business executives talking on headset in office

Let’s say have a customer who right out of the gate demands to talk to a supervisor. You can take the three easy steps I teach in my workshops to keep some customers from escalating.

1. Recognize/Acknowledge

When a customer immediately asks to speak to a supervisor, not wanting to give you a chance to assist, you can Recognize emotions like this.

“I can certainly understand why you’d want to speak to my manager. I want to get to the bottom of this just as much as you do.”

By saying this, or something similar, you acknowledge the customer’s perceived need to talk to someone else.

2. Reframe

De-escalation by myragoldenMar 25, 20191:20 PM

The First Step to De-escalating Is to Recognize The Customer’s Emotional Reaction

Let me ask you something. If you’re pissed off at your partner, and you’re yelling,
maybe even cursing, and in response, they say…
nothing.
How do you react?

Do you calm down?
Or does their silence make you more intense?

Me? I talk more. Louder. My attitude gets fierce.
What I don’t do is back down or tranquilize.

Turns out, if you give your customers the silent treatment when they’re going off on you, they can get fierce, too.

Here’s why.

Answer Your Customer’s Most Pressing Questions Before They Panic

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Here are 4 things you can expect to experience during the first phase of your transition from peer to supervisor.

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1. Label the Employee’s Emotional Reaction

2. Put the Responsibility for Improvement On the Employee

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1. Recognize/Acknowledge

2. Reframe

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