» Guest Bloggers

“It’s hard to buy things today.”
By admin on May 8, 2006 | No Comments

Guest blogger Angela Lechtenberg speaks about the new trends in customer service

Welcome to our blog an insider diary to the world of self-storage and the Phone Smart call center

It is hard to buy things today

My dad had a favorite expression he liked to throw around every time he made a purchase. “It’s hard to buy things anymore” he’d say. And he believed it. I found it a little harder to understand, considering the affluent society we live in and the “gimmie-gimmie” culture that we have these days. If you want something, you can find it somewhere, and somebody would name you a price and that was that. But that wasn’t exactly what he meant.
I guess I get my tough customer status from him. “You go in a store these days and no one is there to help you buy what you want, you have to go hunt them down. They make it hard to buy things. And pay cash, why would anyone want to do that?” he’d asked incredulously. “They always want you to finance for a thousand months.”

He had others too. “You want to take that TV today? Oh, no, we’ll have to schedule a delivery time for next week, plus a small delivery fee of course. Or how about you order it online and it’ll be at your door in 5-7 working days, plus shipping and handling.” Oh yeah, a million of them, and he’d have a new one every time he bought something. It became a little joke, but he had a point. In some ways consumer spending has become more convenient, but it really can be hard to just walk in, get what you already know you want, and leave with it.

Are you easy, or hard on your clients?

Self Storage Search Engine Storage in: Florida

PhoneSmart Your Source for Lead Generation

Secret Shopping Blog Your inside peek

Tweet This Post
Words of Wisdom
By admin on April 27, 2006 | No Comments

The following is written by Sgt. Shields, of the United States Marine Corps. He recently returned from active duty in Iraq. Before his career in the Marines, Sgt. Shields was an expert salesman. Sgt. Shields has been giving our call center a little basic training of his own and offering some great advice. Here’s what he left us with before he returned to his station in California:

Words of Wisdom:

To all the valuable employees of PhoneSmart,

My time here is quickly coming to an end. It has been an experience to say the least. Hope all of you have been able to learn a little something, or at least stop and think for a moment about what is being said.

Before I go I wanted to leave you with a few words of wisdom. As all you know the Marine Corps is my life, and most of what I have to say comes from there. But I believe it can be put to great use here. J.J.DID TIE BUCKLE it’s the acronym we use to remember the 14 leadership traits. Even in civilian life everyone is a leader, and how you choose to use these traits determines many things in your life. Like how pleasant your daily working experience is; is you career on a fast track or are you just stuck in the middle of the ranks hiding out, are you the go to person in a time of crisis because you always get the job done? In a sales related job field these will also help you with your earning potential. Are you happy with how much you are earning? Are you happy with the progress of your career?

I’m going to give you the leadership traits. I want you to think about them and what they mean to you. I know what they mean to me.

Justice
Judgment
Dependability
Initiative
Decisiveness
Tact
Integrity
Enthusiasm
Bearing
Unselfishness
Courage
Knowledge
Loyalty
Endurance

I hope you constantly stop and think about what these mean to you and how you can apply them in all aspects of your life.

Now for a few words just on sales. Sales is one of the greatest careers. It is very challenging and rewarding both personally and financially. The majority of sales is mental. An a facility like this one if everyone carries themselves and acts like the adults we all are the majority of the petty office antics will stop. So you can focus on the customer and sales, not that stupid office quarrel. When you are able to get your head right and stay focused on the customer your sales numbers will go up.

Be professional to the customer at all times, no matter what the customer does. The customer is ALWAYS right. It is a proven fact if a customer has a bad experience they will tell 9 out of 10 friends about it. If you notice your numbers declining, always fall back on the basics. The system does work and it will work for you. If you are a new addition to the staff, learn the basics by heart. You have to crawl before you walk. Also, treat the customer the way you want to be treated. Don’t be afraid to try new things after you have the basics. Everyone will have a different style. Just relax and find your niche then enjoy the money.

Thanks for letting me work with you for a while.

Until next time,

Sgt. Shields
USMC

PhoneSmart Your Offsite Sales Solution

Secret Shopping Blog Your inside peek

Tweet This Post
Maybe they are all tough ones?
By admin on February 27, 2006 | No Comments

Welcome to the self storage blog, our self storage diary for the self storage insider. Today’s blog comes from our guest blogger Angela Lechtenberg.

Tough customer

Having worked in many retail sales and service industries in my career, I’ve come to realize I’m a tough customer. Not a rude customer or a bad customer, just a tough one. Having dealt with consumers on different levels I know how hard you have to work to please them, and how easy it is to displease them, thus losing their business.

I remember how hard I had to work to get that tip or that commission, so I’ve developed a pretty thick skin when it comes to parting with my money. Now on the other side of the coin, I want the companies and people I do business with to earn my loyalty and my cash as well. I am nit picky about appearance, technique, friendliness and the person’s interest in me as their client.

I watch closely to see how knowledgeable the associate is and how interested in meeting my needs they are. And I can tell when they are not interested and I react by taking my business elsewhere. Nothing personal. I just want the best experience I can get.

I may be a little over the top (probably from years working in the restaurant industry and busting my hump for every tip I earned!), but I believe it’s safe to say that if your employees treat every potential customer they come in contact with as a “tough customer” your business will thrive. Treat each customer as if he or she demands nothing less than exceptional service. You don’t have to be perfect, just hardworking, honest and knowledgeable about the product.

If you are willing to give each “toughie” the best you can give and are committed to meeting each clients needs, they will notice, and they reward that behavior with their business and loyalty. Everyone wins.

Angela L.

Tweet This Post

«
« Newer
1
2
3
4
5
Older »
»

» Guest Bloggers

Categories

Pages