What are non-negotiables ("NN's")? When my daughters were growing up, I talked a lot about this topic. They knew from an early age that I would be asking them if they have determined any non-negotiables for themselves. I used to tell them that the beauty of this exercise is that it takes all the pressure off you once you have determined what is, or what is not, non-negotiable in your life. These are constants, we don't dabble in or waver or move them in and out of our lives. Once you have decided, you never need to make this decision again ~ wall-la! Life is full of decisions to make and it can be exhausting trying to determine "yes or no, should I or shouldn't I, will I or won't I, are they or aren't they..."

When you think of training, do you only think of it with a capital "T"? You are not alone, many of our customers come to us with the same thoughts, thinking that the only effective training is the formal, longer training class. We like to educate our customers that training can be so effective in small quick hits. For example, we find that our mystery shop's evaluations are perfect to use for swift training, not only for the manager/agent that was mystery shopped, but your entire team can learn from this exercise. For example, managers can take one or two points from a shop evaluation and use those topics to train the team. Managers can generically talk about the points that were made during the shop call and use our suggestions to train the team on how best to handle those points on future customer calls or situations.

In one day, I had three disturbing customer service exchanges that left me wondering ~ why are some businesses making this harder than it has to be?  Three different businesses: a bank, a retail business, and an airline. One very clear take away, I felt invisible. Each exchange was smothered in handling the process and moving things to closure, vs. recognizing the person in front of them in need of help. 

Teamwork...At the center of every high-preforming team is a common purpose that drives each member. This is a mission that goes above and beyond each of the individual team members. Each person has to commit and accept the rules that apply to your team, and this requires an extraordinary amount of trust, faith, and belief in one another. To be successful, the team's interests and needs must come first. Each team member's unique individual differences make up the team and make the team stronger. The word "team" is about focus and vision, and it is this collective effort that empowers a team and helps generate synergy ~ which fosters TEAMWORK. 

We are in the era of personalization. The modern customer today is part of a very large, dispersed, and educated group. They will always, and should always, expect the best value for their dollar. To answer that customer expectation, businesses and brands need to work diligently on providing a personalized experience for their customers. Getting it right in as close to "real time" as possible is what is key. And the only way to do that successfully is by knowing your customers and their wants and needs. Providing relevant and helpful experiences that are tailored to each customer's needs will always inspire loyalty.