Control Your Attitude to Improve Your Communications
Hello everyone, Tis the season to be holly, jolly and happy, but unfortunately a few people out there have not received the message. Yesterday I saw two guys almost get in a fist fight on the subway platform, until an undercover cop broke them up. The day before, during a big snow storm, I heard […]
Waiter or Slave?
As I was flipping through the channels this morning, sipping my coffee, I came across the Rachael Ray show. On it were a couple of ladies who authored a book about the experiences of waiters and how to get good service. I watched for a couple of minutes, enough for them to expose their top […]
Polite Customer Service in Japan
I am enjoying my time in Japan. I have spent my time in Yokohama, Tokyo and Kyoto. Although I have been working with Japanese people in Toronto for 8 years this is actually my first visit here. There are many things I could write about, but today I will focus on the politeness that is […]
Do Not Abuse Voicemail
One thing I am sure we all hate is getting home after a long day’s work and checking phone messages, only to find out that half of the messages or more are from telemarketers. They leave a lovely message describing in painful detail all of the advantages of using their system, or buying their product, […]
Build Relationships Even When Travelling
Greetings from Moscow, Russia again! As most of you know I teach relationship-building techniques, the art of small talk and the secrets of winning first impressions. These interpersonal communication skills are vital in life. I also teach networking skills, as these soft-skills are imperative in building business and commerce relationships. How many successful sales people […]
The Best Delivery Folks Carry Phones
Today I got a call at 8:11am, which as far as I know is NOT during business hours. Needless to say I did not make it to the phone on time. There was no message left. At 7:30pm I got a call from Purolator Couriers letting me know that that was them, and can they […]
Banker-Buddy Follow up
Some people are curious about what prompted my last blog re: communicating with the bank. There were 2 prompts: The first one is that I used to work at a financial institution doing Customer Service and Collections, so I know how important money is to people. I also know that I would favour the nicer, […]
Communicating Loyalty to Staff
I recently attended a seminar where the presenter talked about the value of good or even great customer service in all types of industries. He actually has a background in the restaurant and hospitality industries, so as you can imagine there was a lot of discussion about good and bad service at restaurants, and how […]
R-E-O Improves Your Active Listening Skills
Active listening skills are important to utilize in your everyday life, in the workplace and at home. Passively listening while multi-tasking several things can give the impression that you are not paying attention, and could cause people to avoid you or maybe even resent you. Recently I met a senior manager at a global financial […]
Quick Tip Rules for Professional Phone Duties
Through my experience working in Customer Service for a global company, plus working with SMEs (including my own) since 2000, and as a current customer service trainer, I have come to rely on a few “golden rules” of telephone management. I hope you find these useful for your business, job, internship, or when you are […]