Welcome to Judi Moreo’s monthly ezine, developed specifically for people who want to be the best they can be and enjoy much success in their lives! Please feel free to forward this to associates, friends, and family!

• Feature: If You Ain’t Got No Cut Lemons…
• National Assocation of Blind Merchants
• Tribute to Tessa
• Product of the Month: Conquer the Brain Drain
• Mind Workout: "Rap" Solutions
• What Judi's Customers Are Saying

Hello ,

It’s May already!  Mother’s Day is here.  Some of you will celebrate by serving your mother breakfast in bed.  Others will give your mothers gifts.  Remember, the official Mother’s Day flowers are red carnations, if you want to send a bouquet.  People like me, with mothers who have made their transitions, will bring white carnations to the gravesite and think back on the wonderful memories of the person who loved them most.  I will, of course, mix in a few daisies as my Mom’s name was Daisy. I will go to lunch with friends and relate wonderful stories of my mothers love, giving nature, and gypsy spirit.  I’ll tell them about the furniture she covered in fur, the homes she decorated, the costumes she designed, and the summer we ran away with the circus.  The one she produced, of course.  And I’ll say a special prayer of thanks…that she was the Mom I picked out. 

Remember, this is the busiest day of the year at American restaurants, so if you are taking your mother out to lunch, make a reservation early!

Have a great day with your Mom!  Hope you enjoy the ezine this month.

Judi

While hurrying off to work one morning, Beverly, an executive assistant, pulled into a fast food drive-thru.  When asked what she wanted to order, she requested, “Iced tea with cut lemon.” The clerk replied immediately, “We ain’t got no cut lemons!” Shocked by such rudeness, Beverly asked politely, “Can you cut some?” The clerk’s abrasive reply was, “It’s not my job and the guy that does it ain’t in yet!”

In a recent customer satisfaction survey by the University of Michigan, two of the reasons cited for poor service were complacency and lack of training. For example: Let’s say that the reason the clerk was unable to give his customer cut lemons was because he was short staffed.  In addition, the line at the drive-thru was quickly getting out of control and he knew he didn’t have time to cut lemons. Had he worked for a company who focused on providing a superior form of service and therefore ensured all employees had the right training, his more appropriate answer to Beverly might have been, “I’m sorry for the inconvenience Miss. We’re out of lemons right now. It doesn’t happen very often and we do apologize.”

If an employee doesn’t have the right skills to deliver customer service in an ordinary everyday situation, you can imagine what will happen in the case of a difficult incident or an irate customer. The chances of resolving the situation and/or complaint will be near impossible.

In this global economy, customers are more savvy, more informed and have more choices than ever before. They will do business with the companies that give them better service. The competitive edge will ultimately go to the company with the highest level of service; one where service is almost an art form. 

Companies that believe that customers are a “dime a dozen” in these times very often make the mistake of believing their customers are expendable.  If you lose one, there are many more!  If and when times change, this complacency is going to backfire.

Curtis Nelson, President and Chief Executive of Carlson Hospitality Worldwide, parent corporation of a family of privately held companies that span several tourism sectors, addressed several hundred Carlson managers in an emotional keynote after September 11 saying, “The best customers are the ones that are value driven, not the ones that have no loyalty and will go to whoever is offering the lowest price.” He went on to say, “Building customer loyalty with superior service, not offering products at deep discounts, is what companies must do to win customers.”

There is not one company that can choose to ignore any possibility now or in the future of a downturn in the economy due to local or international factors.   The key to winning customers will be to consistently deliver superior service.  This ultimately translates into loyalty as a critical factor to retaining customers. When there are difficult times, companies who focus on satisfying customer needs, wants and expectations will be the ones who survive.

Remember, if you “ain’t got no cut lemons”, give them a serving of courtesy.

I had the most incredible experience this month.  I was the keynote speaker for the National Association of Blind Merchants Business Leadership and Superior Training.  There were 500 blind attendees all of whom participated in consumer driven training, motivation, and networking roundtables to address issues of the blind entrepreneur.

Also attending were professionals in the field of blindness.  It was awesome just to be with these positive people and to see them not only cope, but thrive in the world of entrepreneurs. 

I also participated in the Women’s Forum and met some of the most fascinating, intelligent, exciting, powerful women that I have ever been around.  They had asked me to come and motivate them.  Truth is…I was the one that came away motivated. 

This past week, our wonderful friend, Tessa Goldsworthy, was killed during an attempted car jacking near her home in Johannesburg.  As her husband passed away just a few months ago, this has been a tragic year for her children. 

Fiona and I met Tessa about three years ago when she began promoting our new book.  She was extremely instrumental in making that book, “Ignite the Spark” a big success.

We will always remember Tessa.  She was a person of unique gifts, abilities, and talents. And a blessing to everyone who ever knew her.  And what a go getter!  She had us speaking to all the Who’s Who of South Africa promoting that book. 

To Tessa’s children, we wish you love and support.  Your Mother was a special friend, an admired colleague, and a very, very special part of Fiona’s and my life.  We will carry her in our hearts forever!  God Bless You and Keep You.

What It Is

A technique to loosen up your thinking by engaging your imagination in finding new ways of looking at how to do things

What You’ll Need

• Flip chart to record responses

How It Works

To use it, choose a forthcoming task or a problem you have to solve and ask, “What if?”  ie  What if we visited all of our customers personally this month?  Or “What if we mailed out handwritten thank you notes?

Have the group write down the answer in a period of one to two minutes, and then ask another “what if” and so on.

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