Archived Newsletters

Below are a collection of our archived newsletter articles from the last three years. Click on the links to read the entire articles.

Clean = Good, Spotless = Five Star. 

I’m writing this chapter on a train. It’s big, seats hundreds of people and can travel at well over 100 miles an hour. I’m sitting in First Class, which is a privilege I never take for granted, and your eyes (like mine) would water if you knew the cost of the tickets.  There is a challenge though. It’s a bit dirty.  There are crumbs on the table from the last traveller, an unidentifiable stain on the window and the Guard – sorry Revenue Protection Officer – has dirty nails. The latter was pointed out by Christine, who spots nasty nail fungi at fifty paces. 

Honestly? Did you jump out of bed with a spring in your step, excited about the day ahead? Or did you press the middle button hoping for nine more minutes on ‘snooze’?

We’ve all had days when your duvet wins over the ‘to do list’. The danger comes when your duvet is winning more often. If that’s the case it’s time to make a change. 

With a few well-placed kind words you can really make a persons day. So let me start by thanking you for reading this newsletter and I hope you’ll find 5 minutes to peruse it through to the end.

I once asked a group of managers how good they thought they were at encouraging their teams. One said, ‘I know I can do more but I’m terrified of my encouragement being mistaken for being patronising, so I just wait until formal reviews’.  

Who do you think this description refers to? 

“...possessing neither by experience or talent any managerial ability at all.” 

That was how Sir Alex Ferguson was described when he was sacked as the Manager of St Mirren FC 30 years ago. Yes, that’s the same Alex Ferguson who is described by many as the greatest football manager of all time. 

Jeffrey Gitomer asks the question, 'Who is the most important person in the world?' and the answer? It's not the customer - it's you!

And until you learn to motivate yourself (and those around you) to want to be better for yourself first, then your customer service success will be shallow at best. 

The expectations of every one of your customers are changing. They demand more from less but they just don’t tell you about it. ‘But I don’t know what to do!’ is a frail excuse because the answer is easier than you think.

Have you ever been out for a meal where the service was slow, the order went wrong, the food was lousy and the ambience could be best described as tense? 

78% of organisations think they are actually doing a good job when it comes to their levels of customer service.

Yet only 11% regularly achieve high satisfaction levels from their customers.  That's a mis-match of 67% - ouch! 

I was 15 when I started my first band. Oh yes, The Obnoxious Goblins were destined for great things. Especially with Nessy on guitar (a red flying V with red dots), Nonky on drums (bit like the bloke from Motorhead’s but louder) and me on keyboards (a Roland SH101 with shoulder strap).  

Ladies and gentlemen, the low hanging fruit has gone. Now you have a choice.

Moan and groan, or get a ladder.

I know quite a bit about ladders having spent the first seven years of my working life as a roofing contractor. I remember we used to do regular repairs on a NHS building close to our office. This building was huge - three storeys tall with high rooms. When the contract came up for renewal, my Dad (the boss) confidently pitched and got the work. He wasn’t the cheapest by far and yet it was still ours as it had been for the past 10 years. 

Don't you just love New Year?! It is without doubt the best time of the year to set some serious goals for a brilliant future.
 

However New Year can often be associated with failed resolutions and unfulfilled goals. Momentum can be quickly lost, good intentions quashed and wonderful ambitions put on the backburner. 

I was going to write a new Christmas newsletter but having re-read last years I think the sentiment is probably even more important this time around.

Of all the news letters we produce our popular 'how to...' pieces get the best response so for our special Christmas edition we've asked Michael to write a how to get the best out of Christmas 2008.  Here it is. 

Sarah (watching TV): What’s that Christmas Carol they were just singing?

Christine: Sorry sweetheart I didn’t hear, what did it sound like?

Sarah: It was something about Kate Winslet. 

The cold of winter is upon us in the Northern hemisphere (brrrrr) but there’s another winter upon us too - an economic and social winter; some call it a ‘down turn’, others a ‘credit crunch’. In the midst of it all I think we just need something to smile about.

In my last newsletter I wrote about ‘hope’ and received more comments than any other subject I’d written about all year. This time it’s more than hope, it’s about how to deal with an emotional ‘winter’.

A few years ago, I read a book called ‘Hope is not a strategy’ by Rick Page. On Sunday morning I decided he was wrong - it is.

I was in Leadgate Methodist Church listening to a brilliant man and one of my great mentors, Rev Barrie Lees. Leesy, as I’ve grown to know him, was talking about St Paul and he quoted him as saying, ‘Let hope keep you joyful’.  Aren’t they wonderful words? ‘Let hope keep you joyful’. He went on to explain the different levels of hope: from minor hope - ie. I hope it doesn’t rain or I hope I can get parked, to major hope – ie. I hope they find a cure or hope for the world. 

It’s been National Customer Service Week, again. Did you notice anything different?

Did you spot the call centre waiting times drop by a third?
 

What about the smiles? The genuine ‘please’ and ‘thank you’s’ in the supermarket?

Or did you just notice how much more helpful everyone became this week?

What, you didn’t?

You’re driving along and making good time. You turn up the radio and nudge your foot firmly against the accelerator.

Perhaps your mind is elsewhere or maybe you’re busy singing along to your favourite song but you eventually come to the realisation – you’re lost! 

Regular readers will know that I’m passionate about 90 day plans. In January I challenged you to making sure you had your best 90 day ever.  So how did it go?  Well you are probably thinking one of 3 responses right now: