From left, Sandra Deschamps
Siano and Danielle Deschamps of The Mast Farm
Inn, Troy Greer of AppalCart, Barb Landreth of
Mast General Store, and Dr. Herman Godwin, representing
the oncology nurses of Watauga Medical Center,
were recognized by the Boone Area Chamber of Commerce
for “Outrageous Customer Service.”
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Customer
Service Top 10 List
10. Convey an attitude of appreciation to your customers:
Make it a part of your corporate culture to show
your gratitude for their business.
9. Don’t judge customers: Treat them all as
if they are the only customers you have.
8. Keep your mind and body on the job 100 percent
of the time: Leave your personal baggage at the
door.
7. Show sincere interest and listen to what your
customers are saying: They will tell you what they
need.
6. Clearly communicate both positive and negative
news: Offer advice and options to reach solutions.
5. Believe in yourself: Your self-confidence helps
give your customers confidence in you.
4. Take full responsibility for all of your actions:
Don’t make excuses, don’t pass the blame,
admit errors and look for the best solution.
3. Make all your customers glad they spoke with
you: Put happiness in your voice by smiling.
2. Add a personal touch to your customer relationships:
Send appropriate congratulatory cards, and if you
see a positive article about them in the newspaper,
clip it out and mail it with a note.
1. Under promise, over deliver: Always give your
customers more than they expect.
Source: Emily Huling Selling Strategies
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By Frank Ruggiero
It was an outstanding luncheon for outrageous customer service.
Members of the Boone Area Chamber of Commerce gathered Tuesday
to enthusiastically praise those who work the frontlines
of business.
Those workers offer smiles, and the chamber offered customer
service awards.
Sue Counts, chairwoman-elect of the chamber, described the
awards, saying they offer business customers, employees
and employers an opportunity to pay tribute to individuals
who have performed “beyond expectations.”
“These are the people who are often the unsung heroes
of our community and, yet, by example, they raise the level
of community awareness about the importance of customer
service in our area,” Counts said. “For many,
they are the first impression people have of Boone.”
Recipients are nominated by either employers, employees
or customers and are honored with a framed certificate bearing
their name and “Amazing Customer Service Champion of
the Year.”
Chamber president Dan Meyer proceeded to present the awards,
the first going to Troy Greer of AppalCART.
Greer’s nomination form included the tale of a snowy
Saturday morning in 1993. An employee could not make it
in, and Greer was called to work instead, soon arriving
and opening the business. The snow kept coming, though,
and Greer was eventually trapped inside by 12-foot drifts
blocking the doors. He spent the night, surviving on crackers
and soft drinks, but, during that time, continued to answer
phones to reassure concerned family members of stranded
customers and direct them to the hotels where they could
be found.
“It was a snow storm to be remembered, and Troy Greer
of AppalCART is an employee who has time and again gone
above and beyond for the cause of public transportation,”
Meyer said.
Harry Davis, immediate past board chairman, presented the
second award. In this case, make that recipients, as the
award went to the oncology nursing staff of Watauga Medical
Center’s Seby B. Jones Cancer Center.
“Their nomination cites them as being ‘extremely
competent and professional,’ dealing with those who
are extremely sick and sometimes quite weak,” Davis
said. “They are friendly and helpful to those who need
kind attention. While giving shots, taking blood and hooking
up [chemotherapy] and other drugs all day, they constantly
ask patients how they feel and if there is anything they
can get for them. They work in an intense environment but
remain calm, even in emergencies.”
Davis mentioned a specific “for instance,” where
a husband and wife recalled a rainy day at the center, when
they were about to leave. As the husband pulled the car
around to pick up his wife, a nurse ran out to hug the wife,
saying she’d been so busy she hadn’t time to say
“hello” and wanted to do so before they left.
Richard Sparks, president of Appalachian Regional Healthcare
System, asked that Dr. Herman Godwin accept the award on
behalf of the nurses.
“As I reflected back over a career of ... over 40 years,
with many opportunities to be on something like 15, 16,
17 different medical staffs, it is my opinion, not clouded
by emotion, that this is the best group that I’ve ever
had the opportunity to work with,” Godwin said.
The third recipient received multiple nominations from what
Meyer called “delighted, enthusiastic” customers.
Such comments for Roy DeBord of Boone Drug on King Street
include, “He exemplifies good customer service. He
knows us so well that when we walk in he gets our drinks
before ever coming to the table to take our order.”
Another says, “He keeps a smile on his face and always
has something happy to say. It is obvious that he enjoys
what he is doing, and everyone enjoys having him wait on
then,” while yet another says, “He makes you feel
like you are at home. He knows how each customer wants their
meal fixed and pays attention to detail — right
down to which toppings and dressing we prefer on our salads.”
DeBord could not attend the luncheon, but Meyer said the
chamber would visit him at his place of business to make
the presentation.
The fourth award went to two individuals, described in their
nomination form as charming, sweet and kind. The nominator
was referring to Danielle Deschamps and Sandra Deschamps
Siano of the Mast Farm Inn.
“Their gracious enthusiasm for this inn and its heritage
in the local community and for the Boone area in general
made us want to thoroughly immerse ourselves in all the
High Country has to offer,” the comment reads. “They
are true ambassadors for the Boone area.”
Another comment tells of a weekend a couple will never forget,
due in part to Deschamps and Siano leaving them the keys
to a Porsche one morning, so they could “experience
the Blue Ridge Parkway in luxury.”
“When we checked in, they made us feel like we were
part of the family,” the comment reads. “Everything
about our escape getaway was wonderful. About eight weeks
later, we discovered another reason we will never forget
the Mast Farm Inn — we are expecting our first son
on June 3.”
The final award went to a retail employee that, according
to her nomination, “has touched the lives of visitors,
fellow employees, and local customers in her very special
way.” Described as a “merchandising genius, a
mentor to our young student employees and an inspiration
to those of us who are not so young,” Barb Landreth
of the Mast General Store was recognized for her outrageous
customer service.
Her nomination form tells a story set during the first day
of spring one year in the High Country. Twenty-two bicyclists
from Vermont had visited the area for spring break, mistaking
it for the Deep South and finding quite the winter surprise.
The bicyclists set out on N.C. 194 in the early morning,
and, by 11 a.m., found everything blanketed with several
inches of snow.
“Three cyclists came into the store in full cycling
attire — soaking wet, freezing cold, seeking refuge,”
the comment reads. “They sat around the pot-bellied
stove to warm up and ponder their net move. [Landreth] was
way ahead of them and piled the cyclists, bikes and all,
into her trusty Suburban and got them back safely to their
lodging.” |
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