Delivering ‘WOW’

What does delivering ‘WOW’ mean? I read this and hear this constantly, as if it is THE new solution to exceptional customer service.

WOW can mean a lot of different things. I am ‘WOWed’ often in my service experiences and most all are not positive. I do realize that ‘WOWing’ in regards to service is alluding to creating a positive customer experience.

I read something I really liked in a recent interview published by Inc. Magazine with Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos. The article indicated that ‘Hsieh prefers to work with something altogether more complex and volatile: human beings themselves’. When I first read this line, I read it incorrectly, I read ‘humans, being themselves’. Which got me to thinking, isn’t that exactly when we, as humans, experience positive WOW moments? When a human is being themselves?

This is another intriguing facet of Zappos. No scripts, no AHT, no guide as to how much customer spend equals a certain amount in compensation. Zappos uses human beings, being themselves to achieve these exceptional moments. Not ‘empowerment’, but simply being human to humans. And, because the culture was created with the employee in mind, with a focus on work/life balance and not the bottom line – success was inevitable.

In all situations I experience, I am dealing with a human being; whether I am dealing only with myself and my perception to things, or if I am dealing with another individual or individuals. It is this exact thing that I think about when I read articles about new and improved technology and methods to assist with routing calls or monitoring agents, empowering people, state of the art CRM Systems, etc. I believe these items and leadership methods have their place, however, are current resources being used to their fullest potential? I think not.

Deliver WOW – Be Human.

Become the ‘Summer’ in Someone’s Day

With summer approaching and the sun making its way back out into the world, at least in Chicago, I have noticed that people in general have a certain sparkle in their eyes. They are excited for all that summer offers; the time outdoors, connecting with friends, being active, festivals and music, days at the beach or lake.

So why is summer so exciting? Is it simply that the sun is out? That people can use their BBQs and bikes? I think that is part of it, but mostly it is the additional interaction with friends, family and colleagues that make summer so special. The experience of summer has as much to do with the people in your season as the weather.

As a customer service expert, what this proves to me is that creating an experience for your customers is what will keep them coming back for more. If a person is made to smile, the memory of the experience stays with them. Often these memories are simply the ability to remember how they were made to feel.

To quote Maya Angelou, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

What is it that you can do today to make someone else smile? There is simply no better feeling in the world than knowing that you made someone smile, and made their day a little brighter. Decide to become the ’summer’ in someone’s day.