Landscape Management, December 2015

MARISA PALMIERI eDITOr Contact Marisa at 216 706 3764 or mpalmieri@ northcoastmedia net Nevers Always I f you own or run a landscape or lawn care business you likely have a knack for customer service You wouldnt be here reading LM right now if you didnt Thats why it may be diffcult for you to understand why employees dont come to work with the same mindset you do Dave Murray a customer experience consultant for Cleveland based The DiJulius Group says several elements contribute to a persons service aptitude Murray was the outstanding workshop presenter at the LM Lawn Care Forum last month in Orlando He defnes service aptitude as a persons ability to recognize opportunities to exceed a customers expectation regardless of circumstances There are three main factors including 1 Previous life experiences 2 Previous work experiences and 3 Current work experiences You have zero infuence over the frst two things on the list but youre certainly in a position to affect No 3 And Murray makes it clear that excellent customer service starts at the top Thats why your team needs to understand your vision for your companys service culture In most cases the most recently hired least trained lowest paid employees are the ones who deal with customers the most They need your guidance For starters he suggests developing a short list of your companys always and nevers He calls these principles the burden of the brand Your list might include always offer a friendly greeting always make it easy to be a customer never prioritize tasks over customers or never view customers as an interruption He urges companies to throw policies out the window and offer guidelines instead Guidelines empower your employees policies hinder them Too often good employees are doing things that dont make a lot of sense for customers Murray says Its also important to note employees often dont understand the customers viewpoint he says For example they might not be married with kids or homeowners like many of your clients Or they may be busy getting the job done and forget the customer is just a regular person who could be having a bad day Murray followed up this point by playing a training video Chick fil A shows all employees before they ever get in front of a customer You may fnd it over the top for a fast food restaurant but its worth watching vimeo com 13509635 The company says it created the video called Every Life Has a Story to remind us that everyone we interact with is a chance to create a remarkable experience Do your employees think about your customers that way Just as importantly do you think about your employees that way Its easy to forget employees are our internal clients They need good customer service too As Murray says Your customers will never be any happier than your employees are LANDSCAPEMANAGEMENT NET December 2015 4 HEADQUARTERS 1360 East 9th St Suite 1070 Cleveland OH 44114 EDITORIAL STAFF editor Marisa Palmieri 216 706 3764 mpalmieri@ northcoastmedia net Associate editor Dillon Stewart 216 706 3756 dstewart@ northcoastmedia net Art Director Tracie Martinez 216 363 7924 tmartinez@ northcoastmedia net Graphic Designer Courtney Townsend 216 363 7931 ctownsend@ northcoastmedia net Digital media content Producer Allison Barwacz 216 706 3796 abarwacz@ northcoastmedia net ADVERTISING STAFF Publisher Bill Roddy 216 706 3758 broddy@ northcoastmedia net North American Sales manager Craig MacGregor 216 706 3787 cmacgregor@ northcoastmedia net Account manager Jake Goodman 216 363 7923 jgoodman@ northcoastmedia net Account executive classifieds Kelli Velasquez 216 706 3767 kvelasquez@ northcoastmedia net BUSINESS STAFF Vice President Sales Patrick Roberts 216 706 3736 proberts@ northcoastmedia net Administrative coordinator Petra Turko 216 706 3768 pturko@ northcoastmedia net manager meetings and events Ryan Bockmuller 216 706 3772 rbockmuller@ northcoastmedia net marketing manager Scott Gebler 216 363 7932 sgebler@ northcoastmedia net manager Production Services Terri Johnstone 216 978 9622 tjohnstone@ northcoastmedia net Senior Audience Development manager Antoinette Sanchez Perkins 216 706 3750 asanchez perkins@ northcoastmedia net Digital Operations manager Bethany Chambers 216 706 3771 bchambers@ northcoastmedia net Web Developer Jesse Malcmacher 216 363 7925 jmalcmacher@ northcoastmedia net MARKETING MAGAZINE SERVICES reprints Permissions Brett Petillo 877 652 5295 bpetillo@ wrightsmedia com circulation List rental Antoinette Sanchez Perkins 216 706 3750 asanchez perkins@ northcoastmedia net Subscriber customer Service 847 763 4942 For current single copy or back issues CORPORATE OFFICERS President ceO Kevin Stoltman 216 706 3740 kstoltman@ northcoastmedia net VP Finance Operations Steve Galperin 216 706 3705 sgalperin@ northcoastmedia net VP Graphic Design Production Pete Seltzer 216 706 3737 pseltzer@ northcoastmedia net editorial Director Marty Whitford 216 706 3766 mwhitford@ northcoastmedia net EDITORS NOTE r t Its easy to forget employees are our internal customers