Easy on the Eyes

If you’re like most American workers, you receive over 80 emails a day and chances are your eyes are tired. But you need your email to be read! Let's compare these two emails.

Subject: Bad Email
Hi Customer, we got the order you sent in and this confirms that we got it but we can’t get started on it because you didn’t tell us some of the specifics that we need to process the order.   I’m not sure if you got the memo about our intake process or not but it has changed and now when you send in the orders you need to tell us upfront about the number and when you need it so we can start to work on it.

---

Subject:  Order 123 – Awaiting further instructions
Hi Customer,
Thank you for your order.  

We will get to work once we have your answers to two questions:
1.     How many do you need?
2.     Do you prefer single or double-sided?

Waiting for your reply,
CSR-Superstar

Ahhh... that’s better! Make your emails easy on your customers’ eyes. Use bullet points. Keep it simple. Aim to have more whitespace than words.

Who's there?

Think about the last time you called a business (cell phone, health insurance or power company) or even, rare as it may be, the last time you went into a store.

Do you remember what they said to you? Probably not.

Do you remember whether you felt good when you left?  Probably.

Today, think about making your customers feel good. Try to make them laugh.
Idea 1:  If they mention a vacation - ask to come along!
Idea 2:  If you are in front of clients and need to get something behind the counter, pretend you are walking down the stairs.

Share your stories, what did you say that got your customer to chuckle?

When Easter falls on April Fool's Day

April Fool's Day landed on a Sunday this year, which robbed many offices pranksters of the opportunity to mess with their colleagues.  If that's you, did you find a way to fool your family?

And you might have been fooled into over-indulging; food, beverages, family and friends.  If you're feeling a little sluggish today then it's time to get moving!

Today, aim to walk as much as possible:

• Offer to pick up someone else's printing or fax.
• Offer to go get a coffee refill for a colleague.
• Walk that email up to Accounting.
• Walk that special order over to Dispatch and explain in person what your text was trying to convey.  

The goal is simply to move. So go on, and hope that non of your coworkers decided to keep pranking today, like this office:

What's an earworm?

According to wikipedia, an earworm is a catchy piece of music that continually repeats through a person's mind after it is no longer playing. 

We're sending you this earworm to pump you up on a Monday morning.  Feeling good is the first step to doing good. 

Smile. Breath. Rock on. You Got This.

- Team Ward Certified

A Quiz for you

Here's a quiz for you.  Can you identify what this waitress in a diner is ordering?

A) "Burn one, take it through the garden, pin a rose on it!"
B) "Shingle with shimmy and shake, squeeze one."
C) "Keep off the grass!"

There is a shorthand type of ordering and addressing people that seems very appropriate and fun in that setting, but is confusing to the rest of us. This week, make sure you don't confuse your customers with your industry-specific terms.  Keep it simple!

Oh yeah, and here's what her customers ordered:
A) "Hamburger with Lettuce, Tomato, and Onion!"
B) "Buttered toast with jam and OJ."
C) "Hold the lettuce!"

Still not convinced that you use lingo? Watch this video.

How long will it take?

The number one challenge most of our clients face is unrealistic expectations.  Seems like everyone wants it faster and cheaper.  What's a professional to do?

Try this:

• The Customer doesn't know your process, so make time to share (in a non-defensive tone) what steps are involved.
• Ask questions to understand their needs so that you can provide options
• Aim for open-ended questions: "How will you be using this chart, ppt, program, data?" 
• Tell them what's in it for them to answer your questions: "...so we can come up with some options". 
• Then share the options and allow them choose, like in this video. 
  • "We can provide a comic book ready drawing of Spiderman in 10 minutes or a rough draft in 10 seconds, which do you prefer?"
  • "We can provide a fully translated and proofed document in 6 hours, or just the translation in 3 hours.  Which do you prefer?

You can't manage customers, but you can manage expectations.

And the Oscar goes to...

Did you watch last night? 

Did you notice what did they all had in common?

Yes, they have award-winning acting skills, roles, outfits, and stylists, but there's something else as well. 

Their posture.

Actors, like the rest of us, get nervous when they are out of their comfort zone. so they stand a little taller to make themselves feel more powerful and confident then deliver the lines with poise. 

Next time you get a tough call or caller, strike an Oscar-worthy pose. Stand or sit up tall and deliver customer service with grace.

You know what to say, so say it with confidence.