Matt. Thanks for your comments. I was in the UK last week. Service in US and UK may have different motivations (or lack of) and different cultural differences, however key to great customer service in either county’s is always common goals, buy-in from employees and customer-centric empowerment.
The biggest challenges come when resources are lacking (current economic climate), resources such as training, communications and personnel.
None of these replace great attitude from employees that love what they do, but they go a long way to making the place where they work more conducive to an environment where people actually want to work.
Some people just don’t “get it,” (and never will!) For the rest of the workforce there’s hope, just needs management that cares and enough resources (or creative options) to let people do the best job they’re capable of.
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By: Matt Williams
https://www.onerockatatime.com/2008/12/how-much-is-a-christmas-hot-chocolate/comment-page-1/#comment-708
Sun, 08 Mar 2009 20:35:10 +0000http://www.onerockatatime.com/?p=357#comment-708Waitrose is one of the better supermarkets in the UK and our local one is worth travelling to the edge of town for. They have a cafe which I’ve always found enjoyable to stop at while you’re shopping. Last week we went and it was awful. It was at the end of a long Saturday, there weren’t enough staff attending, the floor was littered with food that hadn’t been swept up, and the people serving had obviously gone beyond the end of their tether. I have always felt that you get to see the real quality of an organisation when conditions are hard. At the start of the days it’s really easy to give your best, to be attentive to the next customer even if the last one was hard to deal with, but when you are exhausted, things change, you have to dig deeper into your personal reserves of energy. A good company doesn’t allow harrassed employees to risk its brand, so it puts measures in place. I think the simple answer is that if you can’t give good customer service you are better off shutting the shop for the day.
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By: Grant
https://www.onerockatatime.com/2008/12/how-much-is-a-christmas-hot-chocolate/comment-page-1/#comment-671
Sat, 03 Jan 2009 23:54:32 +0000http://www.onerockatatime.com/?p=357#comment-671In reply to Steven Bristol.
Work in LA… live in Vegas, it’s a helluva commute, but these days it’s about chasing the opportunities. Here all week and every other weekend. Tweetup welcome and looking forward to it!
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By: Steven Bristol
https://www.onerockatatime.com/2008/12/how-much-is-a-christmas-hot-chocolate/comment-page-1/#comment-670
Sat, 03 Jan 2009 01:55:27 +0000http://www.onerockatatime.com/?p=357#comment-670I didn’t know you lived in LA. I’ll let you know the next time I’m in town.