Not too long ago Donna Cutting, author of The Celebrity Experience, "dropped by" here to give us some examples of companies who provide outstanding experiences. Well, recently I came across a video with Donna talking about one of those companies - how they roll out the red carpet for every new employee and what the difference is between mediocre businesses and outstanding businesses...
When it comes to hiring people for an organization, I think many businesses focus too much on what experience a person has versus their attitude. I know a guy who applied for a position in which he completely had no experience doing. However, the company took a chance on him and because of his attitude learned everything quickly - including a new language because his job was in China. He actually went from a $30K a year job to a salary over $100K simply because he had such a positive attitude. He contributes so much more to the company than people who get paid more than him!
Are you a mediocre business...or an outstanding business?
I absolutely agree with the author that a great attitude can overcome lack of experience!
I recently had an experience at the local food market where the cashier was baffled by my request to replace a damaged can of soup I purchased a week earlier with another. It was a simple exchange but the cashier gave me one of those blank-stare, "I'm not sure we can do that" types of response.
Just then, a young man bagging groceries at the next aisle rushed over, looked me dead in the eye and said "No problem sir, we can absolutely take care of that". Bryan then took the damaged can from the cashier and instructed him to proceed with checking out my other items. Finally, he turned to me, apologized on behalf of the store for any inconvenience this may have caused, then proceeded to bag my groceries.
I thanked Bryan for his help and began pushing my cart toward the exit when the thought hit me. If he could take such great care of me, what would he do for my customers? I turned around, went back, introduced myself and let him know how impressed I was with his "take charge" attitude toward customer service. I then told him about the customer service positions open in our call center and encouraged him to apply.
Even without any prior experience, Bryan's attitude and enthusiasm carried him through the interview process and he landed the job as an inbound customer support associate. His ability to recognize one of those "moments that matter" and turn what potentially could have been a negative customer experience to a positive one is infinitely more valuable to our customers!
Posted by: Larry Streeter - VP Customer Support, Constant Contact | April 30, 2008 2:50 PM | Permalink to Comment