Customer Service

Well, this has been a busy week. Calgary at the beginning, where we stayed at a beautiful hotel in downtown Calgary with a really nice room and all the amenities. We had a fire alarm in the middle of the night (ironically it was a Fire Chiefs Conference) and the hotel was professional and sent a letter of apology the next morning to every guest. Good customer service.

Then on Wednesday and Thursday I attended another conference in Toronto. This time as a delegate for the Board I serve on. A little strange not to be the one on the podium. Great perspective though as I saw the presentations through the eyes of the audience.

Again this was a four star hotel with many fine facilities. In fact, when you arrive they greet you with a warm chocolate chip cookie. Who would not feel welcome with a warm, gooey, chocolate chip cookie? Check in was fast and efficient, truly a great experience. My thoughts were, "Wow, these folks are good!"

Then I got to my room.

At the end of the long hall, furthest from the elevators, and in the corner of the building. When I tried to enter the room there was no light switch and it being late at night, I was confused as to how I would keep one hand on the door and reach to the desk several feet away to flip on the light. So ever resourceful, I jammed my bag against the door and flipped on the light. That should have been a clue...

When I looked around the room I noticed the bed was VERY low. Hmmm, I will check out the bathroom, not bad, but boy that bed is really low... Now I am 6'2" and 255 pounds, not a small man, and I am thinking, I will die trying to get into and out of that bed.

That's when I noticed, HEY THAT'S A MURPHY BED!!!!

$200 bucks a night for a Murphy bed? I don't think so. My "S" style quickly vanished and out came the "D" in me.  On the phone to the front desk to explain the situation, transferred to another person who tells me the hotel is  fully booked. Not my problem, I politely tell her ("S" starting to creep back), my association paid for a for a full room not a closet. After some further "discussion", I was directed to come back to the lobby to pick up the key to my new room.

The new room was much better and exactly what I had requested.

The welcome cookie was now cold....

The point of all this is, what value did the cookie have? When a staff member lies about the hotel being full and then "finds" a room? How do you feel about the cookie now?

Companies spend millions on gimmicks to welcome guests in the hotel industry, perhaps some additional training on customer service would be in order.

We know of a great company that can help with that!

Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs Conference-Calgary Alberta

Well, here we are back home in Ontario after a terrific conference out west. Western folk sure know how to make you feel welcome!

As we were waiting for our luggage at the airport our driver said to us "Do you know this other fellow I am picking up?" I said who is that? He says, Julian Fantino!

Mr Fantino is the Associate Minister of Defence for Canada. So what personality style do you suppose he is? We had a chance to chat about Police services as I serve on a Police Services Board here in our community and he has an extensive police background. Needless to say I kept the conversation direct with little fluff...

Thank goodness for the personality knowledge that I was able to utilize. I enjoyed speaking with him and hearing his thoughts.

The conference was terrific with several hundred Fire Chiefs from across the country participating. We saw many familiar faces from our conferences attended in Toronto, North Bay, and Saskatchewan. It was a bit like old home week with some of the fellas.

Of course this group is comprised of a LOT of very high "D" and "C" styles. Sometimes you wonder if they are buying into the information. Well, at the end of talk, we had a HUGE number of participants come up to talk to us at our resource table about their situations and shared their thoughts. The response of the comment cards was over the top with excitement and enthusiasm.

Later that night we got to see yet another side of these local heroes when we went out to the ranch and saw a real life rodeo, complete with bull riding, western music and great food! This was a chance for many to just relax, let down their guard and party on...

So the next time you think you are having trouble with a "D" or "C" remember to give them to process and give their opinions and comments. It makes a huge difference.

Fire Fighting and Changing Roles

This week we are presenting to the Canadian Fire Chiefs Association. If there was ever a career that is seeing massive changes this it. Gone are the good old days of a bunch of the boys racing to put out a fire.
In today's world these dedicated professionals have to posess leadership, communication and people skills at a level never experienced in the past.
It is an honour to work together with these pros.

Lessons from a 2 year old...

You may be asking yourself what possible lesson a 2 year old can teach you. Well,  here is our grand daughter Samantha. A few moments ago she called (with the help of mom) to speak with Grandma. I answered the phone and all I heard was, "it's not Grandma, its Grandpa!" Apparently I was not the intended receiver for her message. She wanted nothing to do with me, this one was all for Grandma.
So here is the lesson, have you ever made a call with such focus and intention to speak to your client, lead, prospect, that you ignored the assistant on the line? Talk about a death knell!
Of course, Samantha has not learned phone etiquette yet, who expect her to? But you? You, should know better! So many times I have seen people zip by the receptionist to rush toward the client, ignore the assistant on the phone because their message was more important.
Wow, one of the strongest contacts we make is with the executive assistants. These folks (both male and female) are not only like gold, apparently they are people too! Imagine that! I make it my mission to get to know them very well. They have the inside track and often become good friends over time.
So in the words of my mother, BE NICE when communicating with people on the phone. You never know when it will pay you huge dividends!
Oh, and Samantha, I called HER back!

Adapting-Good News For A Change!

Who says change has to be bad? For some this statement is easily said. For others they totally relate to the idea that change, however minor, is a major event in their lives. How you respond to change is largely personality driven. In our recent book DISCover Your Communication Style, you can learn a lot more about this and other pieces of your personality that make you unique. Check it out here at our website under store. www.dynamics4u.com 

Brrrrrr, what happened to summer? All of a sudden the leaves are changing and fall is fast approaching.

Sometimes it feels like that at work to right? Change is never ending, and how we cope with it largely depends on our personality and general approach to life. If you are a glass half full type person or half empty your views are often different.
For the D style they tend to roll with change. Heck, often they instigate it!!
The I style is pretty flexible, because it is an opportunity to meet new friends!
The S style is probably the most reluctant to change. Remember this when moving offices around, give them space and time to re-settle. That could be a day , it could be a week! This is time well invested for this style. The C will likely be a little resistant as well unless they are included in the planning of the move. Who better to logically think this move through? Utilize this style's strength in organization when preparing for a move.

No matter what the style get ready for Fall 'cause it is acomin' Think warm thoughts and batten down the hatches!

Anniversary

Last week Barb and I celebrated 36 years of marriage. We went together for 4 years before that so I am thinking it has been pretty much 40 years of togetherness. Many people want to know the secret to a happy marriage... answer; marry a Saint! At least that is what I said. I like the term Saint Bill don't you?

Apparently Barb had a different philosophy, something about patience, understanding, tolerance, etc... No idea what she is talking about!

The truth? The truth is it takes work. It takes a sense of humour. It does take patience, Barb is really the Saint for putting up with my weird way of doing some things.

Have all 36 years peaceful bliss? Hardly, lots of high level discussions and heated debates. But hey that is what it takes to make a couple. I wouldn't change a day... well, maybe one day on that trip to the east coast with the kids when it rained for 20 of the 21 days of our holidays packed into a Honda Civic with three kids, camping gear and a yellow lab. you get the idea, a recipe for disaster. That was a close one. Remember this was
pre-knowing about DISC!!!

But we made it through and now when we travel on a cruise ship to the east coast we chuckle about those crazy days.

Marriage like life is all about the memories; good and bad. It is what makes this couple stay in tune. So, go out and make some crazy memories, and you to will have stories to bore your kids with!

Cruising

So, as many of you know, I have just returned from 4 weeks on the bounding main. Speaking aboard a cruise ship is a rather unique experience. You meet a very wide variety of people form every walk of life. I have spoken to people of varied back grounds, from former ambassadors to plumbers, from rocket scientists (yes, he worked for NASA) to sharing a hot tub with the former FBI prosecutor who put mob bosses away. I was a little worried meeting him.

I will try to put a little chuckle into your day with some of the experiences of life on board a beautiful modern ocean liner. So stay tuned for more.

A new attempt.

Well, in looking for my old blog, it appears that Blogger has changed. Imagine my surprise! After all it has only been two years since I posted... Can't imagine why it would have changed. So, here is a new attempt to start a blog. No clue as to how to bring the old one over but hey, it's been two years so, here goes!