L.L.Bean’s Post

Putting the Fun in Customer Service I met someone over the holidays who knew how to make a long car trip more fun – or at least less tedious. She was the cashier at a travel plaza where I stopped for gas and a snack. The Pretenders were playing on the sound system when I walked in. I quietly sang along, enjoying “My City Was Gone.” I was on my way back to Ohio myself. I chose a drink and a snack and headed for the nearest line. The cashier waved me over from the second register. I hadn’t seen her until then. She was smiling, looking me in the eye. As she rang my items, I mentioned that I thought Chrissie Hynde was European for a long time. But she is from Ohio, just like in the song. That cashier didn’t miss a beat. “Oh, I thought so too!” We shared a bit of chit-chat about Chrissie’s autobiography as she finished ringing my order, thanked me for my business, and I got on my way. It was a nice moment and it didn’t take any extra time. Not only did it break the monotony of the day, it made me feel good. With her positive attitude and charming conversation skills, she created an excellent interaction from beginning to end. And she seemed to enjoy her work. Her experience was obvious. She knew how to make customers feel seen and appreciated.  Are your customer service reps creating great moments? I can help with interaction skills and practice. It can make all the difference in creating a great experience for both customers and service reps - like that awesome cashier.  #customer service #conversation

We recently posted our core values in our retail warehouse. We want every customer who makes a purchase or just walks in to be reminded of what we represent. When we created our core values, the management team met at my round table in my office, and we simply asked ourselves: What would be the best way to describe ourselves in a few words that truly represent us at our core? It was honestly quite easy. Everything we do stems from our commitment to providing our customers with the best possible experience during their transactions with us. This is simple: you need customers to have business. Keep them coming back, and you have a shot. To work for us, you must be adaptable and able to keep pace. I adopted this ideology when I was given the keys to operate a call center here in Manila, and it has trickled down to our company. The approach is simple: throw ideas at the wall and see what sticks. If they don't, adjust and try again—learning to fail quickly is underrated. To succeed, you need an innovative team that can formulate strategies to give us a competitive edge, cut costs, improve efficiency, etc. These things dont happen magically, and you won't be able to do it alone. Accountability and integrity are non-negotiable for us, as they are for any organization. A great company is only as strong as its team. This requires buy-in from everyone and unselfish individuals prioritizing the greater good over personal interests. Your values are the essence of our identity and the standards we should never compromise.

Can we please treat customer serving associates with respect and remember to thank them? We often find ourselves seeking the manager when things go wrong, but it's time we shift our mindset as a collective society. (Ever wonder why maybe our customer focused positions are short staffed?) You should have seen the face of the 3 servers/hosts when I asked tonight to talk to their manager - I had to quickly assure them “it’s nothing bad!” They said they haven’t had someone ask for the manager for a positive comment since BEFORE COVID! Let's make an effort to recognize and appreciate the outstanding service we receive - whether it's from a cashier, a customer support representative, or any professional. By doing so, we can cultivate a culture of appreciation and inspire others to strive for excellence. Our society needs this mindset shift more than ever. It's time to change the narrative and celebrate the positive impact individuals make every day. 🙌 #PositiveRecognition #AppreciationMatters #MindsetShift #SayThankYou

Our people, our mahi   Hawke’s Bay Regional Council is a diverse team, from our customer service team to our engineers, to our scientists and our finance team. We employ many different types of people with a broad range of skills. We are your neighbours, your family, and your community. We would like to introduce you to some of our people to show the mahi we do for Hawke’s Bay and our environment.   Mikaire Barlow – Customer Service Representative   Ngā Puke ki Hauraki ka tarehua E mihi ana ki te whenua E tangi ana ki te tangata Ko Te Aroha kei roto Ko Moehau kei waho Ko Tikapa te moana Ko Hauraki te whenua, Ko Ngāti Maru tōku iwi, Ko Mikaire Barlow tōku ingoa. Nō reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā tātou katoa.   How long have you been at HBRC? -       I have been working with HBRC since early March this year. I enjoy working in my role here, as I get to serve and assist our beautiful region, and all of its residents too. What do you do within HBRC? -       Within this role, we are the first contact point for the general public, and we get to see all of the hard work our other amazing teams are doing in the community at large. Our role is to support these teams and make sure that we can all get the job done for the community. What do you like about your job? -       I look forward to lending a hand to each and every one of you that comes through our doors or finds another way to get in contact. We’re always here to help! What ambitions do you have in your role? -       I have big aspirations in this role. Coming into the role, we had a lot of resources for our team spread out over different platforms, and since starting I have had the pleasure of building up our Knowledge Base. It’s like our own internal cheat sheet on everything my team could possibly need to know. I aim to help improve our team, making it into a well-oiled machine, that is fit and ready to help anyone, internally and externally. How did you get into your field? -       Customer Experience has always played a large role in my previous jobs in different fields, I suppose that it comes naturally to me. I believe in genuine connection, and because of that, it is my goal to create these connections with each person that passes through our doors. What was your path of study? -       In a previous life, I graduated from Whitecliffe/NZ Fashion Tech after three years of study and moved into a hybrid customer service/clothing manufacturing role. I still do a bit of this on the side. Occasionally, you will get to see my newest creation being worn around the office, or when I’m out and about grabbing a bite for lunch.

Here are 7 things I’ve learnt while working in the Warehouse department: 1. Make time for people. Small talk with customers as you serve them can help build rapport and create opportunities for more meaningful conversations that can help you and the business. You never know who could give you your next best ideas for improvement. 2. Stay level-headed. A lot of times there’s more than one task demanding my attention and phone calls are constantly coming in. Keeping a cool and calm demeanor, staying organized, and assisting to the best of my ability helps me keep things moving. 3. Put out your best work everyday, consistently. I am aware that I’m holding up one end of the team and when each team member does their part right the whole team wins. I believe in being for the team. 4. Be humane when dealing with casual workers; exercising fairness when making payment negotiations for work they’ve performed under my supervision, communicating clearly and staying organized when calling upon them to do some lifting and handling. 5. Constantly look out for ways I can make processes better for improved efficiency. There’s always room for improvement. 6. Don’t overlook the small details, they have the potential to become big issues. I try to always cover my bases 7. Handle the paper work as it comes. Misplacing delivery notes and supplier invoices will not only affect your workflow but it has the far reaching consequence of potentially disrupting someone else’s business. Suppliers are a very important business partner and need to be treated right. #warehousing #organization #peoplemanagement

⭐️ Customer Service Skills are Paramount in Retail ⭐️ “You are a credit to Tesco “ - Customer Interacting with customers is sometimes considered to be the most #challenging aspect of working in #retail, which is why good customer service skills are essential! Whether you're directly #working with customers, or you're in a back-office role, you always need to be able to have positive and friendly interactions with customers. This means staying polite even when customers are unhappy, using positive language, providing assistance and escalating any concerns or issues to a manager when appropriate. Today I had so much positive feedback from customers. “You’ve really made me day”. “Thank you so much I won’t forget all you have done for me today, you have really gone out of your way to help me and I know you are busy”. “I’ve been in a rubbish mood all day and you’ve just turned that around”. And my absolute favourite… “You are a credit to Tesco”. These comments came just from me being friendly, polite & a little cheeky (the older customers love it when I say … “are you sure you are over 18” when they’re buying alcohol 😂 ⚠️ Remember customers are who keep you in a job… if the customers don’t keep coming back then there’s no need for you to be there 🙄 A positive shopping experience is key, and you could be the difference when it comes to if they return or not. #tesco #everylittlehelps #retail #customerservice #jobs #management #tips #success #skills

Two thousand, nine hundred, and fifty-six days. That's how long Rebel Logistics has been operating. Rebel is open 24/7, 362 days a year. That's seventy thousand, three hundred and sixty-eight logistic hours since the beginning, ensuring the utmost quality in service and partnership (no sleeping allowed). Of those 70,368 logistic hours, 23,456 is consumed by screen time spent in office tracking and tracing loads, auditing invoices, supporting our partners, problem solving for reliable solutions, answering inquires, customer relations, reporting, conference calls and quality controlling. The remaining 46,912 hours, our Rebel team is accessible offsite for any and all assistance needed to ensure 24/7 support. That is a lot of blood, sweat, and tears that have gone into the making of Rebel Logistics! When our members aren’t in office, you can find them at home with their kids, on vacations, at concerts, supporting a local baseball team, or simply kicking it back with a margarita in hand (after all, we are human). For every Rebel team member, we can guarantee your trust through our constant hard work, compassion, and dedication. The only other confirmed constant in the world, is Pi π. That's a promise.