I would never have thought that as I was being given my $300 ticket by the police officer yesterday morning on the side of the highway, that the polite, respectful manner in which he addressed me, and the time he took to explain clearly my options, would be the customer service highlight of my day.
When I arrived at my destination a few hours later, a hotel where I was to give a training session related to Trucker Management to a group of JCI members from across Ontario, I went to the front desk and said "You have a JCI Conference here this weekend?", expecting that the clerk would provide me the name of the meeting room. Instead, I was answered with a shrug of the shoulders and a smirk that could only be interpreted as "I don't know." That's all. No "I'm not sure, let me check for you." Nothing.
Thankfully, a maintenance worker was closeby, and heard me ask, and as the desk clerk continued on with her other work without answering my question, he gave me the name of the room.
When a ticket-issuing police officer beats your business for the feeling of "welcome" someone enjoys, you have some work to do! Make sure to properly police the first impressions your staff are giving your visitors.
3 comments:
Matt,
Good advice. If I may, I have two other pieces of advice for this posting.
1) Take a few minutes and plan your journey - it can save you a lot. In this example $300. Plan the trip in advance so you know when you have to leave to get to your destination. This may even involve building in some buffer time. Truckers are paid to arrive on time. They run on slim margins and a $300 ticket may be enough to have them work for "free" that day.
2) Take a couple of minutes and make sure the supervisor knows their employee is doing a good job. As an employer it is very helpful to know what employees are making an impact. I doubt the OPP receive many letters of gratitude. A quick note will make the supervisors day, the Police Officer's day and who knows - this could even turn into a marketing opportunity of your seminars.
That is all from the west for today. Keep up the good work and happy publishing!!!
Matt,
Some good advice - as usual!!
If I may, I do have 2 other pieces of advice for this post.
1) Truckers are paid to get to their destination on time. They also work on slim margins so unexpected expenses may lead to a "free" work day. They avoid this as much as possible by taking a few minutes to plan their trip and build in buffer time if needed. A bit of planning and execution of the plan can save your time and money - in this case $300.
2) Take a couple of minutes and let the supervisor know when you receive great service. I would hazard a guess that the OPP do not receive very many complimentary letters from people that have received tickets. I am sure a letter like this would make the supervisor's day as well as the Officer that issued the ticket. It will also look good in their file for the annual review. The can be tremendous impact from these letters. It may even lead to a few seminars for you - you never know what training the OPP is looking for or who the supervisor knows.
Keep up the good work and that is all from the west - at least for today:)
Great point about planning your journey - in this instance, the ticket wasn't a result of poor planning, just the normal cruising speed I drive! But, had I been speeding because I HAD to to get there on time....you're right on the money!
Post a Comment