10 Tips for Delivering Good Customer Service.

1) Treat everyone that walks into your door like somebody especially your requlars.

Because regular customers expect (and deserve) to be treated as someone special. Sometimes you don't need to remember their names, or what their favourite orders. You just need to acknowledge that he/ she has been there before. What I normally do if I notice a regular client, I will introduce or show the person to a senior member, manager or my hostess in my establishment. I will highlight all important information about the guest. The reason for this is that if I can't remember something about the guest, I have a backup memory system. And also if I'm not around the guest will be taken care off according to his likes and dislikes.

2) Be polite!

We often see the people behind the counter simply bark out "Account number" or "Name" without a please or even a smile. This we will normally see in Governmental Organizations. Train your staff to use the word "Please" and "Thank You" . The word "Name, Please" sounds a lot better than just "Name". And add that with a smile even if you are faking it, this will make the customer mellow down. Even if he came there to complain. Also it is never acceptable for a that person to insult a client.

Recently I read an article about a 2005 survey conducted by Schulich School of Business MBAs suggests that the problem of rude and not polite staff exists in over 30% of companies, and costs them hundreds of millions of dollars in lost customers (and revenues) each and every year.

3) Thank your customers.

Do it like you mean it. Make sure when your employees conclude a transaction, they should end it with a smile and a sincere "Thank you " . Nowadays we often receive or say a robotic "Thanks, Have a nice day. Next" . Train your staff not to be robotic, you must start first. Lead by example. I used to work in this hotel that had this restaurant that had a lot of bad comments mainly because of the slow kitchen. Then I hired a manager to assist me there. He started going around talking to the guest, assuring them that food was on the way. Just being nice to the guest eased their frustration on the slow food. He even smiled and thank the guest politely as they left even if they were angry. Later the staff followed him and there were a major increase in positive guest comments. The food was still slow but the guest was happy when they left.

When you get large purchases, verbal greeting should be followed up with a hand-written thank you note or card. One way that in order to get a sincere smile from my staff, I always remind them that the person leaving now is paying our salary.

4) First impression is important, you won't get a second chance.

In the article mentioned above there were two independent research done, that concluded that nearly 90% of customers form an impression about how competent and reputable your company is based on what they see when they walk through your doors.

This is true. People normally tend to judge the book by its cover. That is why its so important for your place to be clean, neat and also presentable. How would you feel if you go into your accountant's office and see files all over the place. On the table, on the floor ever on chairs. Would you have confidence that he is able to do you books nicely. Same thing for your customers. Ensure that the area that is in the view of your customers is clean and organised. Your staff needs also to be well groomed. Nothing turns a guest away fast than unkempt staff. Also ensure that your toilet is clean. An important point to note for those in the restaurant business. This is the area that is normally neglected.

5) Keep promises

One of the quickest ways to lose customer confidence is no follow-through, late delivery of a service or product, not notifying the customer in advance on the delay and providing an alternative solution if necessary. What this means is that "do what you have promised".

This normally happens when the sales team is not sure of the product or services they are selling. So they promise a lot of things, just to close the sale. When its time to deliver, the production team can’t deliver what was promised. The customer will be frustrated and angry. We will then lose his business and also have a bad reputation if the customer tells everyone.

My suggestion is everyone in your establishment should know their product and also the limit on what your company can deliver. Most guest prefer that you let them know that you are unable to meet certain of their requirements, rather then telling them can and later cannot fulfill.

6) Surprise the customer

When it is possible to provide an extra level of service, do so. As for me I normally surprise my regular guest with a complimentary dessert, a colouring book for the kids or ever offer them a free karaoke room on slow nights. These special gestures go a long way towards building customer loyalty and to winning you new customers. It has been known that a dissatisfied customer will tell 10 - 16 others, but people who have had an unexpectedly good experience also recount their stories.

7) Provide full service.

If you want to be above the rest of your competitors, you need to provide something extra. For example mobile phones, most will sell only mobile phones and the accessories separate. By law in most countries and for safety reasons you need to use a headphone if you want to talk on your mobile while driving. Why don't just throw in a Bluetooth wireless with every purchase of a mobile. And if you are selling battery operated toys include the batteries with the toys. Small things will be greatly appreciated.

Think about what you can add to help make things easier for your customers.

8. Admit your mistake.

If you have made a mistake, admit it and set things straight. When customers have a complaint or comment listen, truly listen. If possible take notes, that will show the customer you are interested in his complaints. Then apologize and take corrective action. In most cases, the very act of listening (without interrupting) is enough to diffuse the situation and make the person feel worthy as a customer. In my years of experience I have found out if complaints are handled properly and professionally, you can turn the guy complaining into a happy and reqular guest. Be prompt answering when your customers have a problem or enquiry with your company. Try to answer all enquiries within 24 hours. If by any chance you can't (maybe you need to get more clarification), then inform the customer (also within 24 hours ) what actions that you are taking.

9) Listen to your customers.

Talk to your customers and get feedback on what they like and don't like. Do the corrective action if something goes wrong. Let customers know that their business is appreciated and that their opinions are important to you. We get comments that there is no variety in our food. We tried doing different promotions monthly but still got the same comments. We also got bad comments on quality and taste but couldn't identify which product or who was causing the complain. So what I did was get all my staff to go around talking with the guest and fill it in detail in a book which is read by chef and me. From here we identified which cook was not a good cook and chef gave him training until he improves. We also learnt some interesting things about what the guest means by no variety.

10. J.B.N- Just Be Nice

This is perhaps the most important procedure in any service industry especially the restaurant business. Word of mouth is the most effective promotional method. So if your restaurant are nice, the food is good and the wait staff are friendly and effecient, people will tell their friends. And their friends will tell their friends and the list goes on and on. Visit your regulars or event potential business at their workplace or even their homes. The most effective way is on special occasion like birthdays, anniversaries and so on. If you have a band bring the band along. What we did this Christmas was prepare a few yulelogs cakes and gave them personally to our regulars. We even brought our band, singing Christmas carols. Well we got a better response for a festive dinner this year.

None of these suggestions takes a lot of time or money to implement, yet they can pay dividends in increased customer satisfaction and retention. The key, though, is to ensuring that employees understand the importance of their front-line role and get good training and supervision.

Book Review - Rich Dad's Guide to Investing. - Robert Kiyosaki

This is the third book in the Rich Dad Poor Dad Series. One of the things that I have found useful in this book is that in come in short chapters of 3-4 pages each, so I usually read a chapter a night before I sleep to digest and ponder each chapter. In this book, Robert shows how to get started and how it does not take money to make money. As with the first two books, this is not a book for those who want hot tips and quick fixes.

What I like about this book, is that Kiyosaki says that if we look properly we can create our wealth out of nothing. Before finding out about Internet Marketing, I thought that this was a lot of bull. I always thought you need money to make money. But with the internet, it has never been easier to create wealth out of nothing. Take Squidoo for instance, you can write about your favourite topic and make money from it. He also says you should make a plan to be financially secure, a plan to be financially comfortable, and a plan to be rich.
As in all his other books, Kiyosaki's book is worth reading again and again.  This book is a must for those who want to be Financially Independent
One final recommendation I have is to buy his Cashflow Games. Cashflow 101 is a board game that will teach you how to get out of the rat race whatever your status is.
I have a computer version of the game and found it really interesting. It really depicts real life, once you start playing.

To know more about books by Robert Kiyosaki please click here The Book that Inspired Me to be Financial Free

Crazy cameron highlands

This school holidays has been really crazy here in Cameron Highlands. I guess the business community here must have made a killing. For two weeks there were loads and loads of people coming up here. As usual the traffic jam was horrendous. A four kilometer road from Brinchang to Kea Farm which normally takes 10-15 minutes, took one hour during this two weeks. Most people blame the local council or the police. But me being a resident of Cameron for the pass twelve years, I feel everyone is partly responsible. The jam is caused by people slowing down to see what's in the shops or stalls on the side of the roads. Why don't they just park somewhere and take a look around. After all you are on a holiday! Haphazard parking is also another reason for the jam. Everyone parks wherever they like. Buses park on the sides of roads, blocking on going traffic. So what do you expect a traffic snarl.


Also tourist should spare a thought for us the resident of the hill. The flat building where I live, some of the owners have converted their units into holiday homes. Well I think its ok with most of us, as everyone needs to make some kind of extra income. But what's not ok is this inconsiderate tourist throw rubbish everywhere, park everywhere and karaoke till the early hours of the morning. I know that you are on holiday but please spare a thought for those that need to work tomorrow or those that have little ones.

Gulai Lemak Siput Sedut in Port Dickson

Just came back from a great holiday in Port Dickson. Boy how much do we miss the beach? Now we are planning to go to Cherating in June.
Whenever I'm in PD I must look for my favourite "Siput Sedut Gulai Lemak". I have a favourite shop in front of the PD Yacht Club. But this time it was close, so went to the shop next to it. Taste was ok.
A word of caution, as with all shell fish be careful where you eat. I had a bad case of diarrhea last year when I had the siput in a shop in Teluk Kemang.

To know more about Port Dickso, please click Port Dickson

Be afraid, be very afraid- Off the social media

Nowdays most marketing gurus recommend the use of the social media like facebook, twitter to promote your product. While this is very true, the social media can also hurt us back. As anyone can put up something on the World Wide Web, we should be very vigilant in locating what people are saying about our product. One fine example just happen about a month ago. A hotel in Melaka, Malaysia had a few unfavorable comments about cleanlines in a tripadvisor website. Another person used that comments and put up a blog of the top 10 dirtiest hotels in the world. He put that hotel in the the list of the top 10 dirtiest hotel in Asia. I received that blog in my mail, already five times to date. I have stayed there on one occasion and found the cleanlines to be acceptable. Imagine what would happen if you would search the net for this hotel and find this blog, I'm sure you wouldn't think of staying there. Formerly we are always told to be careful of the word of mouth. Now the word of mouth is even bigger with the social media. My suggestion is to have a few staff dedicated to surfing the social sites looking for comments both good and bad. Improve on the bad and highlight the good. Replying the comments will show peple that you care about their feedback,never hit back or discredit the person. By doing this you will build lasting business.

Back from a rest

Just came back from a rest in my wife's hometown of Kuala Kangsar. Boy was it hot . Even in the kampung area was it hot. As usual went to my other half's favourite laksa place by the Sungai Perak. This time she showed me an old iron bridge near Karai. The bridge is still standing but not in use. Later went for the morning market there. Some people were selling second hand items but nothing was interesting to me.Glad to be back in Cool Cameron Highlands.

To know more about Kuala Kangsar, please click here Kuala Kangsar

Cameron Highlands

Its been really crazy this past few days in Cameron Highlands. The crowd, the jam and the noise. Imagine a 4 km road from Kea Farm to Brinchang which normally takes you 10 minutes, can take you 1 hour. Cameron Highlands is the much sought after holiday destination for those seeking to escape the heat in lowland.

However we often read how people complain about the dirty tourist destinations in Malaysia. The latest one was the Beaches in Penang. The blame of course fell to the local authorities. Its the people who is to be blamed. These past few days I saw a mother just dumping her child's soiled diaper in the drain whereas there was a rubbish bin just a few steps away. The other day I saw somebody just wind down the wind screen, throw out a large plastic bag which looked like it had 5-6 styrofoam containers into the drain while the car was moving. And people got the cool cheek to complain about dirty holiday destination.

Same goes with hotels. They are the ones who trash the hotel, they are the ones to complain the hotel is not well maintained or clean.

To know more about Cameron Highlands, please click here Cameron Highlands