Elke klant verdient "I CARE"

Ken Blanchard is definitely one of the most inspiring speakers to me. Today I saw him at the ASTD 2014 convention in Washington where he spoke about giving I Care feeling to customers.

But what does it mean ?

First of all we should give customers Ideal service. Ideal service strives on beliefs. Beliefs that the customer no matter what comes first. Everything we do should deliver a better service to our customer. Whether we work for an inside or an outside customer, the should receive an ideal service.

Second : Culture of service. Every organization should deliver a culture of service. You never get the opportunity to make a first impression again to someone. Therefore the people who work at a customer service desk should be the directors of first impressions. They welcome a customer, they make sure customers can ask their questions and they pass through the correct information to other people within your organization. Therefore their most important competence should be listening.

Third : Attentiveness People should pay really attention to what others say or feel. And I don't mean just listening and meanwhile think about what you'll do tonight. No, I mean real sincere attention. Listening with both ears, your brain and your heart. 100% attention. By doing so, you'll really understand what your customer complains about and you'll receive qualitative information to improve your organization.

Forth : Responsiveness Give people a budget (this can vary on the organization and can be any amount - even € 10 can be fine). THis money can be used by employees to solve certain issues. Not for themselves, but to help customers. They don't need approval from their boss and the boss of you boss and his boss and … No, give people the opportunity to decide upon theirselves what they should do and give them a budget to solve issues.

Last but not least Empowerment Great leaders are not on top of their organization or org chart. They put themselves all the way down and ask their staff "how can I help you?" They support and help their people, but give all employees the opportunity to go for their self-management. Empowerment is about giving employees the responsibility to decide themselves.

All of this philosophy will work as long as you believe in what you say and you act upon it. Don't put it in a frame against the wall in the hall, but live it every day. This will lead to higher customer satisfaction and growth of any organization.