Are you taking charge of your career? I’ve learned a lot about the subject lately.
I love what I do for a living and am constantly learning from really inspiring people. One of my clients has hired me to speak for their annual conference for the last six years in a row. They have heard all of my speeches, so they asked me to customize a speech for them titled “Taking Charge of Your Career.” I proceeded to track down really successful people in the industry, this one being the foodservice industry, and interview them on how they took charge of their career. I am amazed at how generous people are with their best practices and here are a couple of them.
Dawn Sweeney, President and CEO of the National Restaurant Association said; “If you want to take charge of your career, make sure you knock it out of the park in your current job. Don’t neglect your current position while focusing too much on your next job.”
Clarice Turner, SVP of Starbucks said; “Be crystal clear on what your next job is, get that job description, and go get the skills or experience necessary to qualify.”
Kathleen Wood, author of ‘The Best Shift of Your Life’ and past president of Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers said; “Don’t rely on your company for all of your personal development. Take the initiative to read books, attend courses, and webinars, and invest in your own development.”
Debi Benedetti, Executive Coach and Strategist said; “To take charge of your career, take charge of your life.” She talked to me about how people have different passions in different phases in their life and now is the time to focus on leaving a legacy. When a door opens for you, don’t forget to leave it open for others.
I love it! The preparation for my speech is almost complete - I have a few more interviews to do and a practice run with a foodservice company. I guess that means I’m doing whatever it takes to knock it out of the park for my client which means I am taking charge of my career! I hope this helps you get a front-row seat in your career and your life!
Are you tired of hearing about all the stress and loss these days? Try one or more of these 10 to-do’s to stay positive:
1. Search for your uplifting quotes, passages, or scripture and post your favorite in your office
2. Call someone out of the blue and tell them how much you appreciate them
3. Send someone a card saying you were thinking of them
4. Take a break from your office and walk around the block - take in some fresh air and appreciate nature around you
5. Set a goal for yourself - something you would like to accomplish by this date next year
6. Send an e-mail to someone you know that could use a boost today and offer to support them
7. Find some funny stories or jokes that make you laugh and share them with someone - hopefully making you both laugh in the process
8. Make a list of things that you are truly grateful for
9. Get rid of a pile - any pile - something that is cluttering your office or home
10. Say thank you to someone - and really mean it
Over 20 years ago I visited Paris France for the first time and had a marvelous time with my mom. I translated for her with my memories of 7th and 8th grade French. I had a long way to go that’s for sure. Although I didn’t speak their language fluently, I fell in love with their culture. There was something about Paris that sparked something in me - and pictures of the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe were then always on my goal boards as a place to return to. Then when I was writing my now famous list (all the traits I wanted in a mate) of 356 traits, the man I was to be with had to speak fluent French! In fact - it made the top ten list of traits I desired! Fast forward to today - my dreams are about to come true and I can hardly contain myself! 18 years after my first visit to Paris - I am now married to Yves de Boisredon who just happens to be from France. In 3 short hours I will be on a plane with him to visit all the places that mean so much to him. We are going for a funeral mass for Uncle Henry and Tante Rolande - so the trip will have some bitter sweet moments, but Uncle Henry wanted us to be there for his final resting place. My dreams are coming true - and I am the happiest girl in the world! Take the time today to think about your dreams - and then have a ball!
A bientot!
The world lost a very good man this morning. Henry van der Voort was my husband Yves’ uncle. Yves often referred to Uncle Henry as “My second dad”. I never knew Yves dad, so in the beginning of our relationship I often said “your dad called” and quickly caught myself saying “I mean, Uncle Henry called”.
Yves and Uncle Henry were very close… so very close. I believe Uncle Henry helped shape Yves into the man he is today. So I love Uncle Henry and thank him for his unending positive influence on the man I married.
Uncle Henry died peacefully early this morning surrounded by his two daughters and Yves. It was a very moving passing of a very special man. He lived a very full life and turned 92 this past December. He was a gem, a rare find in this day and age. In a world where marriages have a 50% success rate, he is survived by his wife Rolande who he has been married to for 62 years. His two sons and one of his daughters have been married for over 20 and 30 years. Uncle Henry was an example of kindness, generosity, warmth, faith and love. He showed affection to “My Rolande” even as she suffered from Alzheimer’s.
Uncle Henry had very special friends, and one of his closest friends was his sister Thérese. I never met her, Yves mother, either. I loved to learn more about her through stories from Uncle Henry. He always had a sparkle in his eye when he talked of his sister. Then again, he was a charming man and he almost always had that sparkle in his eye.
I often told Uncle Henry that if I had a fraction of his wisdom, I would be very wise indeed. I can‘t remember his exact words, but his message to me was ‘it’s all about love’.
I am glad I got to see him last night, kiss him and tell him thank you. He has opened his family to me which I am a part of now. He has enriched my life. Thank you Uncle Henry…Au revoir.
Once again, I am absolutely blown away by the lack of customer service displayed in today’s competitive market, and this time from my own neighborhood bank! I love the convenience of my bank being inside my local grocery store. It’s so close and the long hours that they are open, make it nice to conduct transactions on my time schedule. However, just because it’s local and it’s a bank I have been going to for two and a half years, I was amazed how not one person recognized me today.
Aren’t banks supposed to be competitive today? Aren’t banks trying to bend over backwards to get your business? And, it is not like I was trying to withdrawal money without ID, that would have been WAY too much to expect from my local neighborhood bank (did I say I have been going to this bank for two and a half years?). My husband and I were coming home from the gym and we stopped by my post office box and was happy to receive a check. Instead of going home and getting my business stamp, deposit slips and ID, I just had my husband swing by my bank across the street thinking it would be really simple to give them the money and know that they were more than capable of depositing the money into my account. I told the woman at the business window that I wanted to deposit a check and that I didn’t have my ATM card with me or my deposit slip. And, since I was coming home from the gym, didn’t have my ID. I told her I had 4 accounts with them and surely there is only one UpFront Presentations, only one in Nevada and only one in Nevada at 9030 W. Sahara Ave. She found my account. Then the real opportunity to treat a loyal customer well, was lost.
The way this woman treated me felt as if I were a complete stranger asking her for an unreasonable request. I was shocked. She really treated me like “Hey, I don’t know you so I don’t want to take your money.” I looked at the other teller who always deposits my checks and who usually says something nice (albeit now I realize not sincere) and off I would go. So I looked at her and said; ‘Hey, you recognize me don’t you? I’ve been coming here for two and a half years!’. ‘Nope. Sorry.’
She acted like she had never seen me before and that I was trying to do something totally outrageous. When I get this kind of customer service, or lack of customer service, I usually ask for the manager. However, much to my surprise, this woman who wasn’t taking my money, was the manager. Now, I am wondering, not only where is the customer service training in this small, neighborhood branch in my local grocery store, but where is the empowerment of the manager?
I tried to make it easy on her. I said ‘I trust you. You can see on your screen UpFront Presentations, Marilyn Sherman. I trust you to put this money in that account. Really, I don’t want anything back, just deposit it.’ She then tried to tell me she was protecting me, that they could have put it in the wrong account and I assured her, that if they did, I would come back with all of my ID, deposit slips and signature stamp and the receipt of her deposit so that she could correct her mistake if she made one.
Here’s my message. Don’t treat your customers like they are doing something wrong. Give your customers the benefit of the doubt if every once in awhile, they forget their ID. Oh, yeah, and here’s a good one – when you greet your customers with “Next in line” and “How can I help you today?” try looking at them in the eye, not only establishing eye contact but establishing a relationship. If you haven’t gotten on board the “Selling and Keeping Customers is All about Relationships” boat, you’re out of luck because that boat is sailing away with your customers on it, docking across the parking lot to your competition.
I do like to look at the bright side of things, so here’s how I choose to look at this:
I am grateful that I have a great career in speaking and training.
I am grateful money is coming in from my clients.
I am grateful that I have a choice in where I bank and that I can now choose another bank.
I am grateful that after spending a frustrating 10 minutes in my neighborhood bank, that I now have another story for my corporate speeches on how NOT to treat customers.
Marilyn Sherman
Owner, UpFront Presentations (The only one at 9030 W. Sahara Ave #444 in Las Vegas Nevada)
For more information on helping your employees not make the same mistake this bank did, go to www.MarilynSherman.com or call 1-800-323-6287. FREE ARTICLE ON HOW TO HANDLE AN UPSET CUSTOMER - If you would like to know the steps to use when turning an upset customer into a fan, e-mail Marilyn@marilynsherman.com and request “Steps for Handling Upset Customers”. Enjoy!
I am constantly surprised at the lack of customer service I encounter. Just last night, my husband and I were searching for an American flag to send as a gift to a friend who always wanted one. You’d be amazed how hard it is to find an American flag…they say it’s ‘out of season’. Who knew. So, we were referred to a party store, you know where they sell hats, balloons, paper products, gifts, anything for any kind of party.
It was about 8:50 last night when we pulled up. The lights of the store seemed off, but then I saw people inside and I realized the balloon displays made the windows look dark. Then we saw the sign on the doors that posted the hours of operation. They close at 9:00pm, so we had 10 minutes to shop. At least that’s what I thought.
We walked in as they were turning off the lights and a group of young people behind the counter looked at us, daring us to come in at this late hour. They didn’t say “Hello” or “Welcome to Party City”. No, they looked at us and said with an annoyed tone of voice “We close in five minutes.”
I stopped in my tracks, not wanting to invade their space anymore then I already had and asked “Do you have any American Flags?”. They told me no, they’re out of season. What is that? Then as I turned to walk out of the store, one of them followed me and locked the door behind me. They were in such a hurry to close the door it made me not be in a hurry to come back at anytime, let alone 10 minutes before closing.
At least they didn’t have the title of Customer Service Manager. With a title like that, you would assume that the person is at least versed in customer service. Not so at our car dealership. My husband took our car in for it’s checkup that included rotating the tires. After a couple of days, our friend noticed that the cap that covers the lug nuts was missing. This isn’t a hub cap, but a cover that’s about 5” in diameter that snaps into place. Apparently, the service attendant forgot to replace the cap after he rotated our tires.
We went back to the dealership and let them know that we needed the cap to be put back on. The service attendant wanted to see our receipt from the service call, to prove what date we had our car serviced. What? I know for a fact that they have records to show exactly what date our car was serviced, who serviced it and at what time. I know this, because if I am late bringing in the car for a scheduled check up, I get a cute little letter reminding me what date I came in and what date I need to come it. But, this service person (I use the term ‘service’ loosely here) turned us away and told us to come back with a receipt. We left. We felt a little confused and a lot put off. Then we got busy with our lives. We travel, we work, we travel for work. Then we had another service checkup and realized we never had our cap replaced and now, 3000 miles had come and gone. My husband took the car in and requested the cap be replaced and the ‘service’ attendant told him it had been too long, and how could he prove that it wasn’t stolen.
Stolen? I have never heard of a rush on lug nut covers…But, he came back from the dealership very upset, and no lug nut cover. So, I called the Customer Service Manager, hoping he knew something about managing customer service. I explained to him that we came in once right after we noticed the cap missing and were turned away. I told him we came back with the receipt but it was after church on a Sunday, and they weren’t open. I told him we then waited for our next scheduled service time to come in and get it replaced then. MUCH to my surprise, he didn’t apologize. He didn’t say how sorry he was for the inconvenience. He didn’t say “You must be frustrated to not have had someone take care of this right away the first time you came in”. No, he asked a question. Asking questions is fine, you always want to gather information to assess the situation. However, he asked a question to build a case AGAINST us! “Which tire had the missing cap?” I told him it was the left side, rear tire.” To which he said, “Why didn’t your husband see that it was missing when he picked up the car? If it was on the drivers side, clearly he would have noticed it.”. I was shocked. I calmly said, “Probably because he trusted that when he brought the car in for service that the attendants would replace all the parts. He didn’t know he had to check their work (now we know).”
Then, he shocked me again and told me that we had waited an awful long time and maybe someone had stole the cap, you just never know. Ah, just makes you feel good about being a customer, doesn’t it? And, we’re not talking about really expensive custom rims…we’re talking about a $45 cap that covers lug nuts. That’s when I started to get loud. I usually keep my cool, but when he took an accusatory tone over a $45 cap, I had to give him a little piece of my mind. He put me on hold to see if they had the cap in stock, came back on the line and told me to come in and someone would snap it back on.
Yikes. Can you imagine losing a $30,000 customer over a $45 part? This particular car dealership wouldn’t have if the Customer Service Manager put a little customer service in his title.
I just returned from speaking at Toastmaster’s International convention in Washington DC and I had a blast! I gave my keynote presentation “Why Settle for the Balcony? How to get a Front-Row Seat in Life” and something happened that has never happened before. Someone took action. Now, my whole goal is to have people take action on their goals and their dreams…moving their chairs of life closer to the front-row. However, this crowd was different. Most people call me or write me about the steps they have taken AFTER my speech. On this day, someone took action DURING my speech!
If you haven’t seen my keynote, I have seven strategies on getting a front-row seat in life. I start my speech with seven chairs randomly scattered toward the back of the stage. Each chair has a T-Shirt on it with a strategy written in bold letters. As I speak of each strategy, I literally move that chair toward the front of the stage. At the end of the speech, I have created a front-row. My message both in my words and in my visual demonstration, is that if you don’t like your seat in life, move! You can create your own front-row. And, you can take action today to move you toward the front-row of your life, however you define a front-row for yourself. Like I said, most people take action after my speech and I hear their inspiring stories and examples. But, on Saturday, while I was talking about investing in your own personal and professional development to get ahead in life, someone from the audience came up on stage and literally took a seat in one of the chairs! The audience (as well as me) was stunned! I actually thought that it was great because I had just finished talking about taking action on your vision, and this man did take some action, and he wasn’t going to wait until the end of the speech to do it!
He didn’t stay long, but he could have, I didn’t mind. It’s funny too because the chair he sat in was the “Be Gutsy” chair! He certainly displayed being gutsy and it was a really wonderful, unplanned moment of my speech.
I made a call to a man who had purchased a couple of my books. I like to surprise people with a call to thank them for attending my speech and thank them for buying something or referring me for a speaking engagement. Much to my surprise, he told me he had already used what he learned from me. He had taken his son to the emergency room yesterday and felt overwhelmed and lost. Then he remembered something I said and went directly to someone in charge and said “I need to see someone immediately about my son, and if you can’t help me I need to see someone who can.” And, he was immediately helped. I didn’t ask, but I’m sure he acknowledged and appreciated that person for helping him right away.
It always makes me feel good to know something I have said has inspired someone to step out of their comfort zone and take action on getting a front-row seat in life. What action have you taken? What have you done lately to get yourself a well-deserved seat in the front-row? Post a comment here, or write me an e-mail at Marilyn@MarilynSherman.com. Thanks for reading, and as always, I’ll see you in the Front-Row!
I was watching the Academy awards on Sunday and thoroughly enjoyed it. Not because Jon Stewart was particularly funny, or because of what people were wearing. I could really care less what people are wearing on the red carpet. But I enjoyed watching the faces of the winners, because in that moment, their life changed. George Clooney even said it in his acceptance speech; ‘Forever I will be known as Oscar winner, George Clooney’. And, it’s true. You don’t hear people in the entertainment industry being introduced as ‘People’s Choice Award winner’ or ‘Golden Globe winner’, but you will hear ‘Oscar winner…’ attached to their name for rest if their life. And, in that moment on Sunday, I witnessed it over and over again; the excitement, the shock, and the realization that they have reached the pinnacle of their career.
Then I got to thinking.
When was the last time I had a life-changing moment? When was the last time I felt that excitement? Was there ever one moment, when time felt as if it had stopped, and my life would never be the same? I did have one recently in my personal life. On November 19th, 2005, I was married to Yves de Boisredon. The wedding was a beautiful traditional catholic wedding and Yves surprised me during the ceremony. At the moment when we both said ‘yes’ during our vows, Yves took out his new watch that I had given him as a wedding present. It didn’t fit him, so he had it in his pocket. Later after the ceremony, I asked him what he was doing when he pulled out his new watch from his pocket, and he said “I wanted to know exactly what time it was when we became husband and wife.” I think that counts as a moment that changed my life.
What about you? Have you had anything in your life that you can remember as being a moment that changed you forever? When I published my latest motivational book “Why Settle for the Balcony? How to get a Front-Row Seat in Life”, I included stories of people who shared what their front row seats were. Lou Heckler wrote that his favorite front-row seat was watching the birth of his only son. Beatrice van der Voort wrote that she was driving a stick shift to a clients house on the famous crooked street in San Francisco and she was paralyzed with fear. However, she overcame her fear, successfully navigated the street and from that day forward she felt as if she could do anything.
I love to hear stories of life-changing moments. Feel free to write a comment to this blog and share your moments of inspiration and hope. If you can’t think of a life-changing moment, then it’s time to start creating them. What would it mean to be at the pinnacle of your career? What connection do you need to make in order realize you are living your life in the front-row?
If you can’t think of what it would take to be in front-row, if you can’t imagine what a life-changing moment would be for you, then let me help you right now. I learned this from Mark Victor Hansen, the co-author of the New York Times best selling book series ‘Chicken Soup for the Soul’. He told me to take 20 minutes and write down 101 goals for myself. Now, whenever I am speaking on goal setting and getting out of a comfort zone, I always tell my audiences to do this exercise. Here’s what happens. After about 15 seconds, people are already done with their ’standards’. Those are the 4 most common goals people have every year for new year’s resolutions. Lose weight, stop smoking, exercise more, and earn/save more money. Then it gets a little harder. People now have to think about things that they really want in their life, and 101 is a big number! Then people start to get creative, and they really start to get crazy around nubers 65-70 on the list of 101! That’s the whole point of doing this exercise. That creativity stimulates energy which stimulates action, and action is what motivates people. Especially, action that helps you move toward your goals.
Try it! Create a list of 101 goals, go through your list and focus on the one’s that are most important to you. Organize them by priority, and then set a time table for action. Get excited about the possibility of creating your own life-changing moments! Then, when that goal becomes your reality, you have your own ‘Oscar’ moment!
Have fun with this, let me know how you are doing by commenting on this blog and pretty soon I’ll see you in the front-row!
Marilyn Sherman
UpFront Presentations - Helping people get a front-row seat in life!www.MarilynSherman.com Info@Marilynsherman.com
Today, being Ash Wednesday, my husband and I went to mass. Ash Wednesday is the first of the 40 days of Lent. This is the time where catholics are preparing their hearts for Easter. This is commonly known as the most important time of the year for catholics, a time for spiritual renewal.
Many people, when they talk of Lent, ask: “So, what are you going to give up this year?” But going to mass today, the message had quite a different slant to the typical cliche of these 40 days of Lent. The priest included in his homily an anonymous quote to illustrate his point and I loved it! Immediately after church, I asked the priest if I could have a copy of it. He said; “They are making copies of it in the office.” I went to the office and there were 25 people waiting for copies!
I am posting this in my BLOG under my ‘Spirituality’ category, but it could also go just as easily under other categories as well.
What I especially liked about the following words is that you don’t have to be catholic to connect with them. I hope you enjoy this as much as we did today.
“Lent is a season of fasting. We can use Lent to fast from certain things and to feast on others. An anonymous author has pinned these words regarding fasting and feasting:
Lent is a season in which we can:
Fast from judging others; feast on the Christ dwelling in them
Fast from emphasis on differences; feast on the unity of life.
Fast from thoughts of illness; feast on the healing power of God.
Fast from words that pollute; feast on phrases that purify.
Fast from discontent; feast on gratitude.
Fast from Anger; feast on patience.
Fast from pessimism; feast on optimism.
Fast from worry; feast on trusting God.
Fast from complaining; feast on appreciation.
Fast from negatives; feast on positive.
Fast from bitterness; feast on forgiveness.
Fast from excessive self concern; feast on compassion for others.
Fast from personal anxiety; feast on divine providence.
Fast from facts that depress; feast on truths that uplift.
Fast from discouragement, feast on hope.
Fast from lethargy; feast on enthusiasm.
Fast from thoughts that weaken; feast on promises that inspire.
Fast from shadows of sorry; feast on the sunlight of serenity.
Fast from gossip; feast on purposeful silence.
Fast from problems that overwhelm; feast on prayer.”
This is inspiring! Now, if anyone asks you what are you giving up, you can say something from above and also mention what you’re going to feast on!
I know I am going to try to fast on several of these. Hopefully, this is a fast that will last for more than 40 days!
You blew it and you knew it. Your customer is understandably upset. Thankfully, they are communicating the problem to you (although you don’t seem very thankful at the time), knowing that it’s better they bring an issue to your attention then to go away, never use your product or service again. Plus, the worse case scenario could be they tell all of their friends about it and you now have ‘negative word of mouth’ advertising.
How do you handle an angry customer? What do you say to them, on the spot, to defuse their anger and perhaps be a hero in the end? Follow this script:
#1. Apologize
I know this sounds obvious, but you would be surprised by how many front-line employees who are willing to sell out management or a co-worker thinking ‘hey, I didn’t do it!’. But, if you work for the company that in some way let down a customer, you need to own up to it. “On behalf of (insert the name of your company here) I sincerely apologize for this inconvenience”.
#1. Empathize with the customer
Make the customer know that what they are feeling is understandable. “I know that if (fill in the mistake here) happened to me, I would be (insert customers emotion here). Basically here, you are saying, man if that happened to me, I sure would be upset too. In fact, you could really score some points by going a little bit further. “If that happened to me, I would be really upset. I’d be even more upset than you are right now! So I appreciate how calm you actually are under these circumstances.” This will only work if you are sincere. You don’t want to sound patronizing to a customer.
#3. Thank them for bringing the issue to your attention
We all know that it’s harder to bring in a new customer than to keep an existing one. So you should do whatever it takes to keep an existing customer happy so that they come back again and again. What you don’t want is for people to be unhappy with your company and silently go off never to be heard from again. Thank them for bringing it to your attention and let them know how you appreciate the opportunity to make it up to them.
#4. Ask them how you can make it up to them
Many people are scared to ask a customer, especially an angry customer, what can they do to make it up to them. However, if you ask a customer what they want, many times they will ask for less than what you were willing to give them. For example, I was at a nice hotel before a speaking engagement and the windows had a popping sound that was quite disturbing. I called downstairs to ask what the problem was, and had anyone ever complained about this weird noise before. The operator said they never had any complaints, but she would send an engineer up right away.
The engineer came up and told me that the noise was due to the sun beating down on windows that don’t fit the frames of the windows. The management at the hotel would have to spend too much money to replace the windows, so he comes up an average of 2 times a day telling customers that the sounds would stop as soon as the sun went down. What a difference from the operators’ account of the situation. I appreciated the explanation, but the sound never stopped. I called 2 more times to talk to the manager on duty, and no one returned my call. The next morning, I met the meeting planner and I told her of my situation. She told me to go and tell the front desk and ask for half of my room charge back.
I approached the front desk, prepared to tell the manager what my complaint was and when he or she would ask me what I would like to make up for a poor night’s sleep, I was prepared to say ‘half my room charge would be fine’. Much to my surprise, when I told the manager about the situation, she went right for the quick fix. She said “you shouldn’t have to pay for your room. Let me waive the whole charge for last night.” I was happy, but I realized, she could have simply asked for what I wanted and saved half the money she gave back to me.
When you our your company messes up with a customer, and then you fix it, you could actually be a hero to your customer. Customers who have a problem that is immediately fixed gives them a better impression than if nothing went wrong at all. People are more likely to talk about the service recovery and how great you were. If everything went status quo, then why would they talk about it? This doesn’t mean that you should purposefully plan something to go wrong so you can fix it. There will be plenty of opportunity for things to go wrong! And when they do, try this four step approach to service recovery and watch your customers come back again and again!
