TGIF – Slow Service Bad Service

As the week winds down, we wind down with some tidbits for your information, education, health, and enjoyment.

Quote of the Week: “If we don’t take care of our customers, someone else will.” Unknown

Humor Break: Bev and Al were cleaning out the attic one day when Al came across a ticket from the local shoe repair shop. The date stamped on the ticket showed that it was over 11-years old. They laughed and tried to remember which of them might have forgotten to pick up a pair of shoes over a decade ago.

“Do you think the shoes will still be in the shop?” Bev asked.

“Not very likely,” replied Al.   “But It’s worth a try,” He went downstairs, hopped into the car, and drove to the store.

With a straight face, Al handed the ticket to the man behind the counter.

With a face just as straight, the man said, “Just a minute. I’ll have to look for these.”

He disappeared into a dark corner at the back of the shop.

Two minutes later, the man called out from the back, “Here they are!”

“No kidding?” Al called back. “That’s terrific! Who would have thought they’d still be here after all this time.”

The man came back to the counter, empty-handed.  “They’ll be ready Thursday,” he said calmly.

Stat of the Week: “How often do consumers cut companies loose because of terrible service? All the time. They exact revenge….”  So says the Customer Contact Council, a division of the Corporate Executive Board, after they conducted a study of more than 75,000 people who had interacted over the phone with contact-center representatives or through self-service channels such as the web, voice prompts, chat, and e-mail.  Click on the Obstacles All Too Common side bar to learn 5 effective ways to drive away customers.  Or click on The Bad-Service Ripple Effect to learn 4 things customers do after a service contact.  DO YOU HEAR ME DIRECT –TV … I am talking about you!

Weight Watch – Week 12:  (A personal 16 week Healthy Life Style report)

The 12th week’s results are in: I GAINED 1.4 pounds on the official digital scale.  Twelve weeks into the program and I am down 13.9 pounds.

Two days ago I posted a review called “You Cheat – Honest”.  After I weighed in this week and saw the unwanted results, I started to reflect on “What happened?”  I cheated.  I cheated myself.  I lied.

I have had a cold/flu lately.  That would be my excuse.  But it would also be a lie.  The truth is I gave myself permission to exercise a little less over the past 3 weeks.  At the same time I lied to myself about my diet.  I went to a restaurant and had a carb-loaded meal that I promised myself I wouldn’t have during this 16 week experiment.  I had bread on several occasions.  My portions are just a little larger.  I am allowing myself one snack a day, a Fiber Plus Chewy Bar (120 calories).  But some days I have two.

None of these decisions are, of themselves, significant.  But they all add up.

The scale didn’t lie … I did.

Bill Bradley

Bill Bradley (mostly) retired after 35 years in organizational consulting, training and management development. During those years he worked internally with seven organizations and trained and consulted externally with more than 90 large and small businesses, government agencies, hospitals and schools.