The Power of Negative Thinking™
Customer Disservice: What ever happened to customer service?
Get the cell off the phone!

The Power of Negative Thinking™
By Craig Price

They say that, with a positive attitude, you can do anything. Is that true? I mean, is it really true? I know that, no matter how hard I work and no matter how positive I am, I can never be Miss America. It’s a fact. Never going to happen. Why? Well, for one there is an age limit: You need to be between 17 and 24 years old, and those days have long passed me by. For another, I’m married (sorry, ladies, I know how disappointed you must be). So I can’t be Miss America. Maybe I can be Mrs. America instead. That would be great. If only I was a woman. So Mrs. America is out too. Maybe Mr. America will work. Then again, maybe not. I know what you’re thinking: “Craig, you delicious piece of man candy. Of course you can be Mr. America.” Well, I appreciate that, but let’s be honest and realistic. For me to enter a nationwide beauty contest … well, things would not end well. Let me put it this way: I don’t scare small children and I don’t need meat around my neck to play with dogs, but I am under no illusion that I have beauty pageant looks.

So I have to look at the reasons for my goal. Understanding why we want a goal can allow us to find other ways of reaching it. This is where negative thinking comes in. Why would I want to be Miss America? I can only think of three reasons (I’m sure there are many more):

1. I want scholarship money. The Miss America program is a great way for young women to get scholarships for college. But do I need to be Miss America to go to school? Not at all. There are a lot of more effective ways to earn money. There are other scholarships, grants and loans available. God forbid that I have to go work to earn the money and then go back to school a few years down the road.
2. I have a social agenda to promote. You have to have a platform to be Miss America—some sort of agenda you wish to enlighten people on—be it poverty, homelessness, illnesses, injustice … something of significance that could be your cause. But do you need to be Miss America to do that? Not at all. Sure being a minor celebrity and all might help as far as publicity goes. But in the long run, hard work and drive will be more helpful than publicity. You can donate your time, give your money, or start a foundation. But again, you don’t need to be Miss America.
3. The only other reason I can think of to be Miss America is that you want people to think you’re pretty. You don’t need to be Miss America to do that. My solution: Hang out with ugly people; they’ll make you look a lot better. Like the old saying goes, “How can you look thin? Get fat friends.” So find some troglodyte friends so you’ll be the best-looking person in the bunch!

I’ve just proved my point that a positive attitude won’t get you everything you want. Keep in mind that I didn’t say it’s not helpful. I’m simply saying that positivity isn’t the end-all/be-all to success that some would have you believe. In fact, we’re told to eliminate negativity entirely from our lives. But why would you eliminate a tool from your arsenal? It’s like saying, “Here. Build a house, but you can’t use a tape measure.” Can you build a house without a tape measure? Sure. Would you want to? Not unless you don’t mind living in a crazy, unstable, circus funhouse. Negativity is just another tool. Use all the tools you have.

Negative thinking allows you to plan. You can identify problems before they happen so you can avoid them. A football team has a backup quarterback. Why? Wouldn’t positive thinking tell us that our starting quarterback will be fine? That he’ll go all season without getting hurt, so why bother having a backup?

Computers are proof that negative thinking has a major part to play in our daily lives: You have antivirus software on your computer (at least I hope you do). Why? Positive thinking tells us everything will be fine. But common sense and negative thinking say that bad things happen to computers every day: viruses, crashes, power surges, hackers and identity thieves. We try to be as proactive as possible to protect ourselves from harm, so we get the firewalls, the hard drive backups and the surge protectors.

Why wear seatbelts? Positive thinking tells us that we’ll be fine if we just have a good attitude. Negative thinking allows us to look at the dangers of driving and to do something about it. Airbags, seatbelts and speed limits are all negative-based things that are good for us.

Negativity is part of our lives and we can either use it to our advantage or be victims of it. So look at your negative thoughts. Find the kernel of truth in them and use it to move forward. Being negative can be a positive if you’re willing to open yourself to the idea that it is another tool at your disposal.

©Craig Price 2007

Customer Disservice

What ever happened to customer service?

By Craig Price

Remember the good old days, way back when businesses treated you like you were actually important to them? When their employees recognized that you were vital to the company’s well-being and should be treated accordingly? Ah yes, days gone by.

While many companies still provide excellent customer service, more and more treat their customers as account numbers instead of people. Have you encountered employees who treat you like you’ve interfered with their lives because you’re simply looking for an item? They brush you off with “That’s not my department” or, my favorite, “I dunno.” You don’t know? You work here! I don’t know either but I don’t have the snappy embroidered shirt with the cool company logo on it to draw unsuspecting customers into my web of ignorance and frustration. Why wander the store, looking so helpful? Are you shopping too?

And of course, there’s the customer service strategy of having only one employee in the store manning the register. This employee multitasks enough to ring up customers while on the cell phone but can’t understand how a gift certificate works if you don’t use the exact amount on the card.

So where did customer service go and how can we get it back?

Customer service entails more than just providing customers with a place to complain. It’s providing support, finding solutions, and showing that the customer’s well-earned money was spent with the right people. Customer service providers need to realize that customers are just as important after the sale as they are before they buy. Whether due to financial constraints, efficiency issues or plain lack of understanding their clients, businesses seem to focus less on serving the customer and more on the profit margin.

Now profits are great; I’m all for profits. But many companies forget or ignore the fact that customer service has direct impact on profits — especially future profits. You can’t get return business if no one wants to come again.

What can you do to get customer service back? The first and most important thing: Be nice. Remember, if someone is talking to a customer service provider, it usually means something’s wrong. Rarely do people walk up to customer service to hug you and tell you what a great job you’re doing. They have some sort of issue, great or small, and need help. So be nice. Be understanding. If you can see the issue through the customer’s eyes, you can usually understand how to correct the problem.

But how does one handle those loud, obnoxious customers who have “been to hundreds of stores across the country without being so mistreated,” customers who proclaim they will never come back, and so on? Their main goal is to be the squeaky wheel: No matter how small the problem, they carry on as though you have offended their family for generations to come. If at all reasonable, give them some oil and let them squeak somewhere else. But don’t let the occasional jerk of a customer throw you off your game. Try to maintain the “nice.”

Secondly, show some action. Telling me you understand how upset I am that you overcharged my credit card by several decimal points doesn’t make me feel as soothed as I would if you stopped sympathizing and just reversed the charges. Customers generally calm down when they see you are actually trying to help them, not just talking about it. Make sure it’s an honest attempt; looking like you’re helping is not actually helping. Don’t leave customers on hold for an hour while you research the issue. Come back to the phone frequently, if for no other reason than to see if they’re still breathing. The longer they sit in silence while you try to help them, the more frustrating their experience will be.

Another thing to keep in mind is to find a solution. Learn what the customer feels the solution should be and see whether it makes sense or matches a solution you have. The customer is not always right. In fact, customers rarely are. But by understanding the expected results, you can work your way as close to the customer’s expectations as possible. Customers demanding a free meal because the candle on the table was “too flickery” is a little extreme. But removing the candle as quickly as possible, away from the table filled with flick-intolerant crazy people, is not.

Customer service is not dead — at least not yet. It may need some CPR, a cup of tea and a nap to recuperate, but it’s not dead. Companies just need to take time to show that they care about the customer’s problem and are actively trying to correct it and, if that doesn’t work, to see if an alternate solution can be found. Customers are your greatest asset. Without them, what have you got?

©Craig Price 2006

Get the cell off the phone!

By Craig Price

In this technologically advancing world, the electronic leash we call a cell phone has become vital for many businesses. Many people can’t live without their cell phone. But with the new tools of business come new dangers as well. Most salespeople would rather cut off an arm than give up their cell phone. Contact with customers is life!

Contrary to popular belief, you don’t need to answer a cell phone every time it rings — particularly when in the car. (What? And lose a sale!?) Here are a few things to remember when driving and using a cell phone:

1. If you have to take a call, be brief. Use the conversation to schedule a time when you can give them your full attention. Remember, cell phones do not have nearly the same sound quality as land lines do and nothing is more annoying than having someone on the other end sound like they’re shouting at you from inside a wind tunnel. If the call is truly so important that you can’t miss it, then it’s important enough for you to ensure you don’t sound like a raving loon.
2. The car is not a conference room. Every day I see drivers scribbling notes with one hand, rifling through their briefcase with another, with the phone crammed between their chin and shoulder as they drive with their knee. Don’t think that going hands-free is better. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) found no significant decrease in accidents for people using hands-free devices. Sure, these people look like they’re working real hard — working hard to smash into a bus full of nuns.
3. This last item to remember is important whether you are in or out of the car: Anytime you are talking with a client (on the phone or in your office) and another call comes in, DO NOT ANSWER! Nothing tells clients they are unappreciated more than putting them on hold. By doing so, you communicate that the person on the other line, no matter who it is, is much more important than your current client will ever be. You won’t impress people with how busy you are or how many people are clamoring for your attention; taking that call just makes you look bad and makes the client feel worse.

Driving while on the cell phone is dangerous. Recent studies have shown that a person talking on a phone is four times more likely to get into an accident than someone who’s not on the phone. Believe me, nothing will make a customer choose a competitor more quickly than listening as a salesperson crashes on the other end of a phone call. If you can’t look after yourself, how can you look after clients or their business?

©Craig Price 2006