Lori Miller, President of Tooty Inc., stated, “Customer service teams are under unbelievable pressure as Covid-19 has disrupted the workplace and personal lives. But customer service is where the heart of any organization resides, and they are wired to love on people no matter what is happening. When your employees know you care, they can show your customers that they care.”
Lynne Franklin, one of the Tooty Training ® team experts (neuroscience and business communication) provided Tooty employees and their families encouragement by sharing the following message of hope.
Lockdown
federal government customer service
The W.A.V.-Wording, Attitude and Voice
I had the opportunity to speak with 100 marketing students at a prestigious Chicago university this week. I asked them if they knew what the W.A.V. was and one student sheepishly raised his hand to share that the wave was something the crowd did at a sporting event. He gave me the perfect opening to explain that the W.A.V. represented wording, attitude and voice which are used strategically in marketing and sales efforts. My objective was to show them that their personal W.A.V. would affect their future. The students had 3 specific “ah hah” moments and we can learn from them, too.
The Phone Interview
A panel of students was instructed to assess the Wording, Attitude and the Voice of a job candidate as they listened to less than 1 minute of a phone interview. They had to decide on whether they would offer the candidate the job based on his W.A.V. The panel and all the students were unified in their assessment and decision to not offer the candidate the job because:
1. His wording showed he was only interested in himself and what the company could do for him.
2. The attitudes he projected were bored, tired and sarcastic.
3. His voice was monotone and lifeless which made anything positive he may have done in the interview to go unnoticed.
The “ah hah” moment for the students: A diploma isn’t enough to get the job.
Sales and Marketing
Several students were given the role of salesperson and they were provided a scripted phrase to deliver to the group using their voices to project a specific attitude. The group of students who were the observers needed to vote for 1 salesperson they would give their money to and they needed to be able to explain why.
Student #1- Used a perfectly worded statement to close on the sale but, the student sounded bored and tired. No one chose this student. Because of his lifeless voice they stopped listening and didn’t like him.
Student #2- Had a friendly voice and attitude as she said, “The price is $250.00. Is there anything else I can help you with?” Half of the students really liked this approach although they weren’t sure if they would have given the student their money. But they liked the salesperson!
Student #3-Projected a caring attitude but, had disastrous wording for a salesperson. “Do you want to start service or call around for other prices?” Most students thought this was the most considerate approach and would have taken the advice given and called the competition.
I did tell the students that if student #3 worked for me he would have been fired for intentionally sending my prospective customers to the competition. That got their attention! Words matter.
The “ah hah” moment for the students: My W.A.V. matters and when the right words are partnered with a friendly attitude and confident voice it is easier to succeed.
Choosing Your W.A.V.
I wanted to help each person in this large group realize that what comes out of them, their W.A.V., demonstrates who they are. I asked the group if they had all heard their voices recorded and of course they said they had. I asked for a show of hands if they liked the sound of their voice and only 3 people raised their hands. There was a lot of nervous laughter. Each student had the opportunity to speak and share the two main attitudes they wanted to convey to others through their W.A.V. Both confident and knowledgeable were at the top of everyone’s list. Unfortunately, many of them sounded timid and tired.
The “ah hah” moment for the students: I may feel a certain way inside, but if I don’t work on my voice, I may alienate people or be passed over for opportunities.
The Phone Interview
A panel of students was instructed to assess the Wording, Attitude and the Voice of a job candidate as they listened to less than 1 minute of a phone interview. They had to decide on whether they would offer the candidate the job based on his W.A.V. The panel and all the students were unified in their assessment and decision to not offer the candidate the job because:
1. His wording showed he was only interested in himself and what the company could do for him.
2. The attitudes he projected were bored, tired and sarcastic.
3. His voice was monotone and lifeless which made anything positive he may have done in the interview to go unnoticed.
The “ah hah” moment for the students: A diploma isn’t enough to get the job.
Sales and Marketing
Several students were given the role of salesperson and they were provided a scripted phrase to deliver to the group using their voices to project a specific attitude. The group of students who were the observers needed to vote for 1 salesperson they would give their money to and they needed to be able to explain why.
Student #1- Used a perfectly worded statement to close on the sale but, the student sounded bored and tired. No one chose this student. Because of his lifeless voice they stopped listening and didn’t like him.
Student #2- Had a friendly voice and attitude as she said, “The price is $250.00. Is there anything else I can help you with?” Half of the students really liked this approach although they weren’t sure if they would have given the student their money. But they liked the salesperson!
Student #3-Projected a caring attitude but, had disastrous wording for a salesperson. “Do you want to start service or call around for other prices?” Most students thought this was the most considerate approach and would have taken the advice given and called the competition.
I did tell the students that if student #3 worked for me he would have been fired for intentionally sending my prospective customers to the competition. That got their attention! Words matter.
The “ah hah” moment for the students: My W.A.V. matters and when the right words are partnered with a friendly attitude and confident voice it is easier to succeed.
Choosing Your W.A.V.
I wanted to help each person in this large group realize that what comes out of them, their W.A.V., demonstrates who they are. I asked the group if they had all heard their voices recorded and of course they said they had. I asked for a show of hands if they liked the sound of their voice and only 3 people raised their hands. There was a lot of nervous laughter. Each student had the opportunity to speak and share the two main attitudes they wanted to convey to others through their W.A.V. Both confident and knowledgeable were at the top of everyone’s list. Unfortunately, many of them sounded timid and tired.
The “ah hah” moment for the students: I may feel a certain way inside, but if I don’t work on my voice, I may alienate people or be passed over for opportunities.
For more information on Tooty Training™ for your team contact lori_miller@tootyinc.com.
Customer Service for Municipal Waste Services
Municipal agreements can have a variety of different requirements that speak directly to the customer service a hauler will provide. Often-times the customer interaction points are not clearly defined. 1. The primary focus is on what a driver will be doing which is only one customer interaction point.
2. Your customer service department may also work directly with citizens to set up service or handle questions. That is a second customer interaction point.
3. The third interaction point tends to be what Tooty calls a Back of the Room Customer Service Representatives or BR-CSR. These are individuals who interact directly with the municipality via phone or e-mail and they tend to be in dispatch and accounting departments. In some cases, the only interaction citizens will have is with these BR-CSRs. These representatives tend to operate without any customer service training or standards which can lead to problems with your valuable municipal clients.
I want to share with you a recent request I received from a municipality. A county official asked if Tooty would secret shop the two haulers that split the service for their county. The county had been receiving complaints from the citizens and wanted to get in front of those complaints. (No one enjoys hearing from an angry citizen at a city council meeting!) The county also had inspectors out in the community who were assessing what citizens had at the curb, illegal dumping and other issues that make citizens angry and frustrate a hauling company’s operations department. Since the county uses Tooty training for its solid waste and utilities departments to improve their efficiencies and customer care, they were counting on some unbiased assessment that would help them help the haulers and make the citizens they serve happy.
Tooty made 44 secret shopper calls to the two haulers and posed as citizens with questions on everything from recycling and bulk items to recycle bin deliveries.
Key Points
1. All 44 calls were answered by someone in dispatch.
2. All representatives were untrained in customer service.
3. Every representative had different answers for common questions from the citizens they serve.
4. Each representative panicked when asked about a cart/bin delivery status.
5. The background noise from within the dispatch offices was disturbing.
6. Each person worked for a well-known hauler that had a separate customer service department.
2. Your customer service department may also work directly with citizens to set up service or handle questions. That is a second customer interaction point.
3. The third interaction point tends to be what Tooty calls a Back of the Room Customer Service Representatives or BR-CSR. These are individuals who interact directly with the municipality via phone or e-mail and they tend to be in dispatch and accounting departments. In some cases, the only interaction citizens will have is with these BR-CSRs. These representatives tend to operate without any customer service training or standards which can lead to problems with your valuable municipal clients.
I want to share with you a recent request I received from a municipality. A county official asked if Tooty would secret shop the two haulers that split the service for their county. The county had been receiving complaints from the citizens and wanted to get in front of those complaints. (No one enjoys hearing from an angry citizen at a city council meeting!) The county also had inspectors out in the community who were assessing what citizens had at the curb, illegal dumping and other issues that make citizens angry and frustrate a hauling company’s operations department. Since the county uses Tooty training for its solid waste and utilities departments to improve their efficiencies and customer care, they were counting on some unbiased assessment that would help them help the haulers and make the citizens they serve happy.
Tooty made 44 secret shopper calls to the two haulers and posed as citizens with questions on everything from recycling and bulk items to recycle bin deliveries.
Key Points
1. All 44 calls were answered by someone in dispatch.
2. All representatives were untrained in customer service.
3. Every representative had different answers for common questions from the citizens they serve.
4. Each representative panicked when asked about a cart/bin delivery status.
5. The background noise from within the dispatch offices was disturbing.
6. Each person worked for a well-known hauler that had a separate customer service department.
Identifying your Back of the Room CSRs
I know that some of you have them. I’ve seen them! When I have the privilege to visit an office I do try to meet as many people as I can to see how they connect to customer service. There are times when I am told that “those people” only work with the municipality or brokers. They don’t talk to customers.” It is important, maybe even critical, for you to evaluate those who seem to work behind the scenes.
1. Do they send emails?
2. Do they talk on the phone?
3. Are they as great as your customer service representatives?
4. Have they been through training?
You have an opportunity to surprise your current municipal customers with improved customer service and to share some key differentiators with those municipalities you are hoping to close a deal with. Be proactive versus waiting for municipal officials to identify your customer service weakness.
Customer service is not a job title or a department, but a philosophy of how we care for those we are lucky enough to serve.
If you would like to try a Tooty Secret Shopper campaign or your back of the Room Customer Service people need training, please contact: Lori Miller at 708-478-5772 or lori_miller@tootyinc.com
