Manage Your Stress Before It Manages You–free ebook

I will be conducting Stress Management workshop for seven weeks.

The first session was last week which was a blast, and I am expecting the same thing today. Anyway, I just dropped by to share with you an ebook on Stress Management which you can download. Even my workshop participants will benefit from this ebook as they will get additional notes on how to manage their stress after the workshop.

If you like to download the ebook How to Manage Stress Before It Manages You, get it here.

Have a happy day.

Jef

SmartBro-ken Service

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Smart Bro Wireless Broadband Internet is offered at Plan 999 with a speed of up to 384 kbps. With Smart Bro Plan 999 you get a broadband connection that’s up to 7x faster than dial-up, as well as other Value Added Services for your Smart BRO connection, changing the way you surf the net.

For only P999 per month, you get internet at broadband speed, and more. That means faster downloading of music, better communication with loved ones, and a more fulfilling internet experience.

–From http://smart.com.ph/smartbro

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I just got a reminder from SmartBro representative. I need to pay 2600+ for three months internet service. She was nice on the phone, and really well-trained. If I were to measure SmartBro’s customer service quality based on her ability to connect with the customer, I would say that it was excellent. Unfortunately, customer service is not only about connecting with people. Customer service comes with quality product.

I thanked her for reminding me and I requested that she tell her boss why I was not encouraged to pay.

The last time I paid was May 2008. I needed only to pay 2700+. The rest is for the collecting agent who also cannot solve my problem with SmartBro. It took them weeks to reconnect my Internet connection, but I was told that it was already connected three days after my payment. I was not surprised. I got used to no connection. I just paid because I got a letter that said they are going to bring me to court. And that I would be blacklisted–be announced to the world that I don’t pay (Of course, they won’t tell the world that I did not pay for zero service) I don’t want to waste my time telling the court that I don’t have internet connection for I must bring the courtroom to my room to do that.

Anyway, I hope I did not waste my time with the polite customer service representative when I told her my sad story with their ” more fulfilling internet experience” service.

I subscribed for one year. And since the second week of connection, I kept on calling the customer service hotline. Most of the times, the robot (answering machine) entertain my calls, directing me to dial 1 for this, 2 for that, and after connecting, direct me again to dial 1 for this, and dial 2 for that. Of course, everytime I dial, there is a 15-30 seconds promotion about the amazing broadband.

I subscribed to Smartbro because I want to connect to internet when I go home after a workshop. This means that I used Smartbro only for three hours at night. But many times, three hours is spend for calling the customer service hotline, and waiting for the connection. In fairness, there are times when I have fast connection–but I did expect that. That was what they promised when I subscribed. What I did not expect was the frequent “limited connection” which is the same as no connection.

Three months ago, I remember myself recording the length of time I wasted  by calling the customer service hotline of SmartBro. On average, it took  me 45 minutes (after five attempts) to connect to a real person, Typically customer service representatives were very polite, and they end their the conversation with “Is there anything sir” though the problem was not solved.

The last time I got a visit from Smartbro technical people was the last time I got connected with a human being from the company. If I am not mistaken, that was in June. They were not able to solve the problem. There was no connection when they left. They told me that the signal was okay. Maybe the problem my computer. They said maybe there was not enough memory, or there was virus, or whatever….the signal was okay.

Then I told them that the computer was just reformatted, almost empty, and works with dial up connection. I called up their company because I was paying for their low quality service. And I wonder how many consumers experience the same way as I did–cheated.

So, I reiterated to the lady customer service representative to tell her boss that…

1. I was not encouraged to pay because I was not able to use the service for three months now. I did not even receive any bill reminder from them.  Smartbro was not in my mind until she called up a while ago.

2. And I cannot ask them to disconnect the line five months ago, or three months ago, or even now because I will be required to pay all the remaining months.

Simply put, they are asking me to pay for services I was not able to use as they don’t provide it when I need it, and when I tell them to stop giving me the non-service, I will be required to pay future months of non-service now.

I wonder how many subscribers are now in this situation. I told the lady customer service representative that she must really tell her boss. This is my way of helping them. And yes, I told her also that I informed my friends about Smartbro brand of service.

I am using PLDT DSL at my office. This is one is far from perfect, but a lot better than “limited connectivity” of Smartbro. I hope people from Smart can read this entry. But I doubt that. They seemed to forget me after I signed the contract. If my experience is an isolated one, please do tell me. If not, tell your friends so they will not go through the same stressful internet experience.

If I were as big as Smart, I would demand return of my money. Poor customer service is a breach of contract. But I will continue paying them for their non-service. I signed a contract that did not say that I could stop subscription when SmartBro does not deliver.  Besides, I have first-hand example of poor customer service which I can share during my customer service workshops. Not really a bad bargain.

Smart, I believe, thinks that I must call them every time I don’t have connection. I did, out of necessity, but it was difficult to connect with answering robots. I haven’t connected with a human being from that company for three months.

Of course, not until today when the polite customer service representative reminded me to pay my bill.

Customer Service Excellence Quotes

Customer Centered Team

I look forward to a Customer Service Excellence workshop I will be conducting on Friday for the HR Personnel of the Department of Energy. This will be my second time to conduct Customer Service workshop for a government agency. I thought the first time was very challenging because like many Filipinos, I am a victim of poor customer service. Some government offices rival the services of MRT. If you live in Cubao, you will have an idea of service given to commuters who don’t have enough money to get a cab or drive their own cars. Or those who cannot endure the heavy traffic, thanks to the management of MMDA and bus drivers who make EDSA one long bus terminal.

Service for some government agency is a misnomer. I won’t mention the names of these agencies anymore. Enough it is to say that some goverment people think they are your bosses.

I am excited to this customer workshop with the Department of Energy. During my initial conversation with them, I found out that they want to improve their relationship with each other. Their co-employees are their first customers anyway. When they can happily work together, the quality of service they provide the public will inevitably improve. That’s the exciting part. YOu will love this people even before you start the workshop. The mere intention of serving us (the citizens) before is already inspiring. And I hope to help them the best way I can.

In one of our activities, I will share with them some of my favorite Customer Service Quotes. Let me share with you some which you may also use to inspire your employees.

My Top Twelve

ONE
 ”You have to perform at a consistently higher level than others. That’s the mark of a true professional. Professionalism has nothing to do with getting paid for your services.”
- Joe Paterno

TWO
If you want to be creative in your company, your career, your life, all it takes is one easy step… the extra one. When you encounter a familiar plan, you just ask one question: What ELSE could we do?
Dale Dauten

THREE
People don’t want to communicate with an organization or a computer. They want to talk to a real, live, responsive, responsible person who will listen and help them get satisfaction.
Theo Michelson, State Farm Insurance

FOUR
”People expect good service but few are willing to give it.”
- Robert Gately

FIVE
Do what you do so well that they will want to see it again and bring their friends.
WALT DISNEY

SIX
If the shopper feels like it was poor service, then it was poor service. We are in the customer perception business.
Mark Perrault, Rally Stores

SEVEN
A customer is the most important visitor on our premises. He is not dependent on us – we are dependent on him.
Unknown

EIGHT
If you make customers unhappy in the physical world, they might each tell 6 friends. If you make customers unhappy on the Internet, they can each tell 6,000 friends.
JEFF BEZOS

NINE
As far as customers are concerned you are the company. This is not a burden, but the core of your job. You hold in your hands the power to keep customers coming back – perhaps even to make or break the company.
Unknown

TEN
Customers don’t expect you to be perfect.
They do expect you to fix things when they go wrong.
DONALD PORTER

ELEVEN
The goal as a company is to have customer service that is
not just the best, but legendary.
SAM WALTON

TWELVE
”There are no traffic jams along the extra mile.”
- Roger Staubach

AND OTHER CUSTOMER SERVICE QUOTES

In the world of Internet Customer Service, it’s important to remember your competitor is only one mouse click away.
Doug Warner

Good service is good business.
Siebel ad

If we don’t take care of our customers, someone else will.
UNKNOWN

Our life is frittered away by detail. Simplify, simplify!
HENRY DAVID THOREAU

Give trust, and you’ll get it double in return
KEES KAMIES

The quality of our work depends on the quality of our people.
UNKNOWN

One of the deep secrets of life is that all that is really worth doing
is what we do for others.
LEWIS CAROL

Mistakes are the portals of discovery.
JAMES JOYCE

Being on par in terms of price and quality only gets you into the game.
Service wins the game.
TONY ALESSANDRA

Our greatest asset is the customer! Treat each customer as if they are the only one!
LAURICE LEITAO

People expect good service but few are willing to give it.
ROBERT GATELY

Well done is better than well said.
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN

To my customer.
I may not have the answer, but I’ll find it.
I may not have the time, but I’ll make it.
UNKNOWN

Tiny Things Have Big Meanings

Tiny things—the tone of your voice, the exact words you use as you go through otherwise ordinary events—communicate volumes.

Do little things, like a slight change in your facial expression, really matter?

Humans don’t swell up like blowfish or change colors like chameleons. Our reactions are seen in more subtle expressions, tones of voice, and body language.

Consider this: recognizing someone’s facial expression takes less than one-sixth of a second. We can process expressions from as far as 100 yards away. How can we do this? We pay attention.

Humans are attuned to facial expressions as an indicator of what their companions are thinking. Because we think facial expressions are important, we pay attention to them. Because we pay attention to facial expressions, we react to them. Because we react, facial expressions become important to our communication.

The next time someone asks you if you like the dinner they made, and you say “It’s good,” remember the other person is paying attention not only to what you say, but also to other messages you might be communicating.

It depends upon your perspective

There is no objective way to tell you if you have had a good life, a good day, or a good hour. Your life is a success based only upon your judgment.

A study was done recently in which people on opposite sides of an issue where given the same newspaper article to read. The people were asked to read the article carefully and to offer their reaction. On average, people said they thought the article was biased—against their own position. That is, people on both sides of the issue thought the exact same article was biased against their side. The article could not possibly have been biased against both sides of the issue. Obviously, it wasn’t the content of the article that drove the reaction, but the perspective of the readers. Life events have the same effect. The same event can be seen positively, or it can be seen negatively. It depends upon your perspective.

Better Busy than Bored

Find something to do, because the feeling that we have too much to do is much more pleasing than the feeling that we have nothing to do.

A philosopher once noted that people long for immortality but run out of things to do on a rainy afternoon. If we planned out our time in long chunks, say twenty years, we would never consider penciling in five or ten of those years for wasting time. Yet during the average day, we often let a few hours slip away.

Time is a strange commodity, because we seem to have so much of it, until the moment we have none at all. We often complain about having too much to do. Yet having too much to do is a positive problem of abundance, while having too little to do is a negative problem of shortage.

Metro Plastics Technology in Indiana tested out this principle by cutting the length of the workweek for its employees from forty hours to thirty hours. And do you know what happened after the switch? The quality of the company’s products improved, and the company actually made more money.

Management found that giving workers more to do in less time made the workers more efficient, energetic, and enthusiastic and gave workers more free time outside of the workplace.

Evelyn Glennie: How to listen to music with your whole body

Listening is a magnetic and strange thing, a creative force. When we really listen to people there is an alternating current, and this recharges us so that we never get tired of each other. We are constantly being re-created. –Brenda Ueland

Glennie on Ted
Deaf percussionist Evelyn Glennie’s music challenges the listener to ask where music comes from: Is it more than simply a translation from score to instrument to audience? How can a musician who has almost no hearing play with such sensitivity and compassion? The Grammy-winning percussionist and composer became almost completely deaf by the age of 12, but her hearing loss brought her a deeper understanding of and connection to the music she loves. In this soaring video demonstration, Glennie leads the audience through an exploration of music not as notes on a page, but as an expression of the human experience. Playing with sensitivity and nuance informed by a deep understanding of and connection to music, she illustrates a richer picture that begins with listening to yourself. [ Watch Glennie in action ]

Be The Change:
Practice listening today.