And if you don’t believe me, click on the link below:

Receptionist recording

Please listen to the audio above, it is a real company but I have edited out the names.

A clear corporate image is essential for communicating with clients, everything communicates and at every point of contact. Therefore, I am always surprised when companies put temporary staff or untrained staff on their reception desks to greet visitors and answer the phone.

People are the brand, they create an impression within seconds. The immediate impact that your front office make is crucial. It is often the strongest and longest, both verbally and visually. Get it wrong and it is very difficult to change the image that your customers have imprinted in their minds.

They say “you never get a second chance to make a first impression”.

This point may seem so simple, but customers want to know “what’s in it for me?”.

“Companies that enjoy enduring success have a core purpose and core values that remain fixed while their strategies and practices endlessly adapt to a changing world. The rare ability to balance continuity and change – requiring a consciously practiced discipline – is closely linked to the ability to develop a vision. Vision provides guidance about what to preserve and what to change. A new prescriptive framework adds clarity and rigor to the vague and fuzzy vision concepts at large today. Managers who master a discovery process to identify core ideology can link their vision statements to the fundamental dynamic that motivates truly visionary companies – that is, the dynamic of preserving the core and stimulating progress.”  – James Collins and Jerry Porras.

Joanna Lumley realised that Gordon Brown was a reader, and once she had given him the information in a format that he liked, she got a result, “Being a man of figures, he was able to look at it, and this has speeded up”.

http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid1184614595?bctid=23945421001

Rosabeth Moss Kanter wrote on her HBR blog last week, “There are three little words that extraordinary leaders know how to say, and I’m not thinking of “I love you” (but those are pretty good). The magic words are “I was wrong.” Husbands and wives know that saying those words to each other can be even more endearing than endearments. When leaders say them to their teams in a timely fashion, they build confidence and can move on to a better path.

The simple sentence “I was wrong” is the hardest for leaders to utter and the most necessary for them to learn.

Alan Greenspan came close to saying it in the heat of the global financial meltdown, but not quite. When the former chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, revered as the guru of global growth, testified before Congress last fall, he said he was “in a state of shocked disbelief” – but not that his actions had been wrong. He conceded that “Yes, I have found a flaw. I don’t know how significant or permanent it is.” When asked directly by California’s Henry Waxman, “Were you wrong?” he hedged by replying, “Partially.”

Former President Bill Clinton is slightly better at saying it. He told a recent United Nations World Food Day audience that “we all blew it including me” by neglecting aid for farmers in development strategies. I’ve heard him say he was wrong for failing to intervene in the Rwanda genocide. But he was impeached for failing to say under oath, “I did it, and I was wrong” about his private behavior.

If a leader cannot admit being wrong in a timely fashion, he or she can never correct mistakes, change direction, and restore success. The consequences get worse the longer denial prevails. Hiding bad news from stockholders and creditors while offering rosy forecasts has brought down many a CEO. Samsung’s 20-year chairman stepped down after being indicted on tax evasion charges, but this was not his first mistake. He faced corruption scandals and a bribery charge in the 1990s. Had he said then “I was wrong” and chosen a more ethical course, perhaps he could have preserved his job and his legacy.

Some people find it so hard to admit a mistake that they dig themselves into a deeper hole even when given an easy chance to correct themselves. Eason Jordan’s inability to back down from an extreme position taken at a World Economic Forum session in Davos cost him his job. On a panel in a packed room (I was there), Jordan, then head of CNN International’s news operations, accused the American military of targeting journalists in Iraq, causing injuries and deaths. Shock waves rippled through the audience of leaders. The moderator gave him several opportunities to modify his stance and soften his words, but Jordan ignored them. He was forced to resign from CNN the next day.

The arrogance of success is well-known. Powerful people start to believe that they are above the rules, that what applies to ordinary people does not apply to them. That’s how officials get into trouble in the first place, using their power to suppress criticism. They never have to say “I was wrong,” because everyone conspires to hide mistakes.

Fortunately, there are better leaders who do not view themselves as infallible. Jim Kilts, former Gillette CEO, characterized himself as “often wrong, never uncertain.” Decisive yes, but also ready to be swayed by new information to change direction. Maurice Levy, CEO of Publicis Groupe, said “I was wrong” to himself, his board, and later, the public — and meant it. Publicis is now the world’s fourth largest advertising and communications group, but in the early 1990s it was just a French-based European network looking for global reach. Levy formed an alliance with True North in the U.S that unraveled in acrimony after a few years. Saying “I was wrong” about the alliance turned Levy from bitter victim to active acquirer. He won several big prizes, including buying Saatchi and Saatchi, Leo Burnett, and Digitas.

Of course, we do not want leaders who are forced to say “I was wrong” too often. We count on leaders to exercise good judgment. The best leaders manage the risk that they could be wrong by surrounding themselves with people are smarter than they are, at least in some things. They create conversations, weigh facts, listen to arguments, and then make better-informed and less self-serving decisions.

Perhaps apology training will become a growth business. Actually, I hope not. But I do hope that smart leaders will be more alert to problems, and if mistakes are made, they can utter the three magic words and take corrective action.”

Providing a great customer experience encourages people to refer your services to others.  Referral being the best type of marketing, and customer service the cheapest.

The letter from South West Trains is an example of getting it very wrong, a simple, “Sorry, here’s a refund” would have sufficed:

Ref: 388022 / 143912

06 May 2009

Thank you for your website comment that we received on 5 May 2009.

Replacement bus service on 2 May 2009

I understand that the Faversham to Whitstable portion of your journey was replaced by a bus as a result of engineering work. Considering you were not given information about the replacement buses when planning your journey, I can understand your disappointment about this. I regret that you did not enjoy your bank holiday break as much as you hoped as a result. I am also very sorry that the bus was delayed by 15 minutes because the driver of the bus was unfamiliar with the route.   Whenever buses replace trains, you are quite right to expect to receive an equal or better service from the buses. In addition any companies that we employ for such purposes are issued with a strict Code of Practice that they are obliged to adhere to. The provision of drivers that are knowledgeable of the route that they are required to cover is a prerequisite. Furthermore, these companies represent Southeastern at such times so we expect them to provide a service that we can be proud of. Considering this, I am particularly sorry that we let you down.   I can confirm that we view any failings very seriously. So I have brought this matter to the attention of Nik Kuric, our Road Transport Manager, who will investigate this matter in detail. I can also assure you that this matter will not be allowed to pass without repercussion, as we are not complacent whenever we are alerted to such failures. This is more so the case where companies have been specifically employed to deliver a service and have evidently failed.   You may also be interested to know that our contracts are reviewed regularly taking into consideration Passenger feedback about specific incidents. Where an unsatisfactory service has been identified from particular companies, we seriously reconsider their contract. To this end, Mr Kuric reviews all the comments that we receive about our replacement buses. I therefore hope that you don’t encounter such difficulties again.   With regard to the incorrect information you were provided with by our website, I am sorry that you encountered this problem. Nevertheless, I should say that there can be occasions, especially during times of disruption, when our staff may struggle to obtain updated information about train services. This is because some problems can have a knock-on effect on other parts of the network. When this happens, service updates can change constantly, and it can be difficult for staff to give correct information at such times. It does also become frustrating for staff when they find that they are not able to keep passengers updated.   All the same regardless of the situation, this is no excuse. Because of this I have brought your comments to the attention of the Website Manager, who will look into ways that we can avoid similar problems from arising in the future. I also have brought your experience to the attention of our Customer Information Manager, who will identify the cause of this failure and make certain that the relay of information from our Control Centre to passengers becomes more efficient. To this end, we are also planning to improve the communication link infrastructure, so that information is relayed more effectively.  Once again, please accept my apologies for the disruption to your journey, and thank you for taking the time to bring your concerns to our attention. Passenger feedback, whether good or bad, is always appreciated so that we can continue to improve on the service we offer, and I hope you can be reassured that we take all issues and concerns very seriously. I also hope that despite this episode you will continue to travel on our services.

Yours sincerely

Dan Westlake

Customer Service Officer Southeastern

Southeastern

Customer Relations

PO Box 63428

London

SE1P 5FD

Tel: 0845 000 2222

www.southeasternrailway.co.uk

Please do not reply to this email. We are unable to respond to emails we receive at this address. If you’d like to email us another question or comment please use our email contact webform www.southeasternrailway.co.uk/contact.php Thank you.Please visit our website at: www.southeasternrailway.co.uk

London & South Eastern Railway Limited is a company registered in England (No.04860660).
Registered office: 3rd Floor, 41-45 Grey Street, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 6EE.

“The risks, whenever you try and lead an organisation through difficult but necessary change, are high because change that transforms an organisation demands that people give up things that they hold dear: daily habits, loyalties, ways of thinking. In return for these sacrifices they may be offered nothing more than the possibility of a better future.”
Ronald A. Heifetz and Marty Linsky – ‘A Survival Guide for Leaders’ Harvard Business Review, 2002

“The colossal misunderstanding of our time is the assumption that insight will work with people who are unmotivated to change.  Communication does not depend on syntax, or eloquence, or rhetoric, or articulation but on the emotional context in which the message is being heard.  People can only hear when they are moving toward you, and they are not likely to when your words are pursuing them.  Even the choices words lose their power when they are used to overpower.  Attitudes are the real figures of speech.”   Edwin H. Friedman

To arrange a meeting with Marketing Statements, please contact Jenny Patterson on 07957 473 270/020 8983 3984 or jenny.patterson@marketingstatements.com

Listen closely to your customers and revise your market segmentation assumptions.

Are people looking at your service and product in the same way as they were?

As the recession progresses, have the copy mechanisms of people become ingrained and define a new normal?

The ability to suspend your judgement, when listening to somebody speaking, is a skill that is very hard to master.

To arrange a meeting with Marketing Statements, please contact Jenny Patterson on 07957 473 270/020 8983 3984 or jenny.patterson@marketingstatements.com

Change is the only thing that will remain constant.

The longer and deeper the recession, the more likely consumers will adjust their attitudes and behaviors permanently.  Don’t assume a return to normal.

To arrange a meeting with Marketing Statements, please contact Jenny Patterson on 07957 473 270/020 8983 3984 or jenny.patterson@marketingstatements.com