Worcester Business Journal

www.wbjournal.com February 1, 2016 • Worcester Business Journal 19 T oday, every business should consider itself to be part of the hospitality industry. Whether you're in a retail business, a service business or a manufacturing business, how you treat your customers will impact revenues, referrals and customer retention. For restaurants, a superior dining experience can transform a visitor into a lifetime guest. Once you've experienced bad service, though, you may never return. As Maya Angelou said, "People may forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." So how can your business deliver superior customer service? Hire carefully. At Worcester Restaurant Group, we look for people who buy into our mission of "Feeding and Exceeding Expectations." We want smart, friendly, passionate team players. Train extensively. If asked to provide three ways to deliver superior customer service, we would answer: training, training and training. Everyone, from staff who bus tables to managers, requires ongoing training. While training is important, the best way to improve is by doing the job and being observed. As managers observe staff, they are encouraged to teach by asking questions, rather than lecturing. Act positively. A culture of yes typically succeeds. A culture of no does not. Take your family to Walt Disney World, and you'll never see Mickey Mouse in a bad mood, because employees are trained to respond positively to customers. Your employees may not suit up, but when it's showtime — when they're with customers — they need to be ready to perform. They need to be prepared and focused, ready to earn the loyalty of customers. Address problems immediately. No matter how well trained and how positive your staff is, not every customer is going to be satisfied. Even well-trained staff make mistakes; and some customers are more difficult to please than others. The goal should be to address the customer's concern and make the overall experience positive. The more quickly the problem is addressed, the better. Staff should listen closely without interrupting while the customer explains the problem. They should acknowledge the mistake, apologize and offer an appropriate solution. They should embrace the long-term opportunity: developing a loyal, happy customer. Use technology appropriately. When a customer returns to one of our restaurants, our computer reservation system helps us remember important things, like seating preferences and favorite foods. It's a nice tool that complements good, old-fashion etiquette, like remembering names. Human contact is also important, so we assign a team of two servers to each table. If one becomes busy, someone is still available to provide timely service. Our managers are also on hand to observe, advise and assist. People have many choices in where they dine, where they buy their next car and where they get their hair cut. Keep in mind that you are always competing; superior customer service will help you compete successfully. n Madeleine Ahlquist is co-owner with her husband Robb of Worcester Restaurant Group, which includes The Sole Proprietor, 111 Chop House and VIA. By Denise Carr Denise Carr is the owner of FASTSIGNS in Worcester. Reach her at Denise.Carr@fastsigns.com. 10 Things I Know About... How to deliver superior customer service KNOW HOW 10. They influence. More than one-third of buyers associate sign quality with quality. The wide spectrum of visual messaging influences perception in countless ways. 9. They guide buying decisions. Disorganization and difficulty finding items will drive consumers to leave a store without making a purchase. The absence of visuals regarding products, price, services or location repeals customers. 8. They are powerful tools. Buyers will purchase a full-priced item with strong visual communications (i.e. good signs) over a nearby discount-priced item with no signage. Signs with product information in addition to selling price increase sales of that item. 7. Signs cover a vast scope. Visuals cover a range of ways to present to clients, customers and employees, from parking and building signs, vehicle graphics, directory, wayfinding and regulatory signs. Information can enhance or detract customer experience. 6. They provide direction. Navigate through an office complex. Quickly find a product or sale item. Locate a department, emergency exit or parking area. Strong directional signs enhance the experience, while the absence of directional signs leads to frustration. 5. Digital is dynamic. Digital has the power to educate, inform and entertain quickly. Digital programming can highlight anything from dinner specials to area attractions. Touchscreen displays kick it up a notch. 4. Design is key. Maximize readability with high contrast color combinations, easy to read font styles, and pictures or recognizable symbols to supplement words. 3. They effectively motivate. Signs are effective for reinforcing behaviors with employees. In a research study, employees at a healthcare facility were encouraged to use the stairs only through the placement of signs. This led to a substantial increase in stair usage. 2. Signs are regulated. Every city and town publishes individual regulations regarding both static and digital signs. 1. "Signs, Signs, Everywhere a Sign" The Five Man Electrical Band said it all with this song in 1971. I t's one thing to set goals and priorities for your team in 2016 and each sales quarter within. It's another thing to set up an environment of accountability to give those goals and priorities the best chance possible of getting accomplished. Here are three ways to guide your company along an upward trajectory — to measurable results: Know that accountability is about specificity. Accountability is answering for your actions and results. The expectations need to be crystal clear in order for that to happen, says Lee Colan at Inc.com. "The gears of your accountability engine are expectations, consequences, language and coaching," writes Colan. "The oil that enables these gears to run rapidly and smoothly is specificity." Without it, he says, a team is more susceptible to miscommunication, rework and a myriad of other bumps in the road to efficient productivity. Get agreement, give perspective, then, reiterate. After you've discussed what's required — whether its 10 new leads or four contracts signed per month — detail why it's important to the company on a larger scale. Offer team members a perspective on how their efforts contribute to overall goals. Then, recap. "This means ending a quick conversation or email with, 'OK then, I'll be looking out for it next Tuesday. Thanks!' For a larger project, this could be a project plan with a detailed schedule and dates," writes Jennine Heller at Women2.com. As a leader, don't get angry. This always backfires, says Peter Bregman in an article at Forbes.com. Instead of inspiring people, it decreases their motivation. "Accountability is not simply taking the blame when something goes wrong," Bregman writes. "It's … about delivering on a commitment. It's responsibility to an outcome, not just a set of tasks," he writes. Getting angry will simply reduce performance — and employee motivation, points out Bregman. n 101: TEAM ACCOUNTABILITY >> BY SUSAN SHALHOUB Special to the Worcester Business Journal BY MADELEINE AHLQUIST Special to the Worcester Business Journal Visual communications P H O T O / C O U R T E S Y

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