In the last week, I’ve thanked two cashiers, one bar tender and one server for one thing or another. And guess what I heard in reply? Not the usual ‘no problem’ you hear from everyone everywhere all the time, but a much more professional and courteous ‘My pleasure’. The server even snuck in ‘You’re very welcome’.
Rants & Raves
Why I Hate Plural Names
I recently read an article on business writers, referring to the ‘ … Malcom Gladwells, Jim Collinses and Harvey MacKays of this century.’ I really hate plural name references, as if there is more than one Malcom Gladwell or Jim Collins in a group somewhere.
Why I Love ‘PlusDelta’ Feedback
Giving constructive feedback is an essential management skill that escapes most supervisors. Feedback is all about helping people get better at what they’re doing. Effective feedback is neither positive or negative – it’s just information. Information that is specific, observable, constructive, timely and focused.
Why I Hate ‘Soft Skills’
I love the concept but hate the term – let me explain. I’ve dedicated my entire career to empowering business leaders to enhance their workplace communication skills. Taking away some of their pain when they interact with colleagues, staff, managers or customers in writing, in person and in presentations – that’s what I love most and do best.
I Love ‘reply to sender’
On the opposite of this month’a rant, I really appreciate it when people select ‘reply to sender’ or something similar on a group response email. I actually don’t know when that happens because I never see the response, I just assume the person responded properly.
I Hate ‘reply all’
I hate being copied on responses that I don’t need to see. I bet you do, too. Someone responds to a question asked in a group email with a careless ‘reply all’ response because they were lazy or inept to do the right thing.
Why I Hate Lame Customer Service
While no one believes that customers are really always right, CSRs and Sales Reps should believe that customers are always critically important to their jobs and the success of the company. And they should act like that all the time. Problems occur when employees make these mistakes:
Why I Love Customer Centricity
People have different preferences about how they communicate. Some people would rather talk than write. Others would rather write than talk. Yet others have very high response rate to text. No surprises there!
Why I Love ‘Or’ Networking Relationships
I willingly admit that many of my networking strategies and best practices dance to a different drummer. That’s why I love ‘or’ networking relationships. They’re opposite from and much better than ‘and’ relationships.
Why I Hate ‘No Problem’
Why do so many people respond to ‘Thank you.’ with ‘No Problem.’ today? I doubt that many of them felt that the act I just thanked them for was, in fact, a problem. Maybe it would usually be a problem, but not this time. Or maybe a problem with other people, but not me.