Professional Dimension
Human Dimension
Aesthetic Dimension
3 INGREDIENTS, 12 RECIPES TO TREAT YOUR CUSTOMERS
THE GREAT CLASSICS OF CUSTOMER SERVICE
Be bold: Delight your Clients 1997 Two cordon bleu chefs, Erik Perey and Lionel Meyer, created Luxury Attitude. Why? To help brands around the world to leave a stronger emotional imprint on their Clients. Their view was that, all too often, Clients asked about their service experience, ticked the “satisfied” box, but no more. Their experience lacked savour, bouquet, delight time... in a word, it was unmemorable! To make the difference, it was time to add extra ingredients, whet the Client’s appetite with mouth-watering ingredients and give them pleasure to remember… Together, Erik Perey and Lionel Meyer conceived their service design methodology and offered it to luxury hotels whose prime aspiration was to make each Client experience unforgettable. A few years later numerous luxury and premium brands, seeking inspiration from the style-setting grand hotels, turned to Luxury Attitude for our savoir-faire. 2010 By now, Luxury Attitude had established a reputation in the world of luxury hotels, so it was time to create Customer Experience. Our ambition? To help the leading brands to differentiate themselves in highly competitive business areas, via simple, yet exquisite service. Since 1997, we have accompanied our Clients in their quest for service excellence. Today, we savour the opportunity to bring you our ‘Great Classics of Customer Service’.
In this book you will find twelve recipes based on three families of vital ingredients, the three dimensions of service: the professional dimension, the human dimension and the aesthetic dimension. For each recipe our specialist consultant chefs take the lid off their personal ingredients (what?), the crispy details of the cooking instructions (how?) and the secrets you can use to turn up the heat (why?). Whether you are a professional Chef or a passionate amateur, whether your job is to sell or advise, whether you work at the reception desk, the bar, the dining hall, the cloakroom, or the backroom… you now have everything you need to try out the first eleven recipes – matching them to your taste, of course – and provide daily, instant delight to all your Clients. Our book does not stop there! The final pages contain a nugget: recipe n° 12. This recipe is yours! It’s your own personal creation. It is the extra special je ne sais quoi that will make you a Master Chef, a creator of emotions. After the appetizer, we offer you the chance to invent your own recipe, bake, fry, toast or roast it, bring it to your Client’s table and add tasty new ideas to it each day. So it’s time to don your toque and apron and set to work preparing these service recipes and delight your Client’s taste buds, every day of the week!
Hervé de Gouvion Saint Cyr Director, Customer Experience and Luxury Attitude
1
CONTENTS
2 3 4 5 6
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7 8 9 10 11 12
1 Service temperature: excellence
Preparation and cooking time: unlimited
INGREDIENTS A zest of professional dimension: • 50 g of care about keeping your working environment spotless and tidy • 50 g of knowing the competition • 75 g of knowing your own brand: its history, its products, its Clients • 100 g of knowing your Clients A pinch of human dimension: • 200 g of thinking Client: before they have even arrived • 250 g of team spirit and the quality of your relationships with your team mates A few grains of aesthetic dimension: • 150 g of elegance: your dress, hair, makeup… • 150 g of attention to detail in presentation, merchandising…
Delight time: for ever
INSTRUCTIONS Coat your work top with precise expertise about your brand and awareness of your rivals. Sprinkle on a dose of continuous knowledge acquisition. Add some detailed research on the Clients you are expecting to meet. Memorise their names, their taste, their habits… Prepare the table, paying special attention to each detail. Mix some sizzling music with a scented bouquet, not to forget two spoonfuls of candlelight. Your goal: offer a potent sensorial experience. Sprinkle a few touches of elegance on to your personal appearance: from the shine on your shoes to perfect nails and a spotless suit, each detail deserves painstaking care. Prepare the moment you step into the room by projecting yourself positively into that first eye-to-eye contact with your first Client. Be set to succeed!
? A few minutes before welcoming your guests, assemble your kitchen and dining room staff to remind everyone of your goals and, above all, highlight the team spirit shared by all. Season the whole with enthusiasm and curiosity, so that when you step through the door, the impact will be sublime!
TURN UP THE HEAT
Erik Perey and Lionel Meyer
Co-founders of Luxury Attitude and Customer Experience
...share their secrets!
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“Preparedness is all about being aware of what your Clients expect. Clients have never been so demanding and well-informed. They have never before had such a vast choice of products, services, lifestyles and distribution channels. For many years it was more than enough just to be there: conveniently available and competent enough to provide a service. Those days are gone. Our job now is to reinvent and deliver real added value so that Clients have no doubt about what they prefer: it is better to be served by a human being than by a machine or an algorithm. Just like top Chefs, we, as service professionals, have to aim for the highest possible standards in our Client relations. We have to be ready at all times to create enchantment. Competition and the demands of our business leave us no alternative. Fitness, motivation, mindset, knowledge of the basics, practice, coaching… there is no end to the parallel. Like top Chefs, we must “Stay sharp!” As in gastronomy, the n° 1 service professional is the one who has so fully mastered technique that he can go the extra mile into making enthusiasm, commitment, generosity and attention to others the values that count... So, be prepared and driven by the ambition to offer each Client a truly unforgettable experience!”
2 Service temperature: human warmth
Preparation and cooking time: a few seconds
INGREDIENTS A zest of professional dimension: • 200 g of validating each item on your checklist A pinch of human dimension: • 100 g of good humour and enthusiasm • 100 g of energy • 100 g of open-mindedness • 200 g of thoughtfulness and acknowledgment A few grains of aesthetic dimension: • 150 g of big smiles • 150 g of open gesture • 200 g of words with high emotional added value
Delight time: for ever
INSTRUCTIONS Turn “on” the burner as you enter the scene. The Chef recommends that you think “theatre”: use the lowering of the lights before the curtain rises as a sign to switch “on”. Season your hospitality with a sincere smile, warm words of welcome, an open posture and frank eyes. Do you know the colour of your Client’s eyes? Blend in generous signs of empathy and recognition: stand up, go to meet the Client, open the door, offer to take a coat.? As soon as you have access to your Client’s name, use it and you will delight your Client. Leave the burner “on” , but adjust the flame according to your Client’s context and personality. Sprinkle on a compliment in a touching, attentive but deliciously low-key way, your Client cannot fail to savour. Allow the whole to simmer and you can be confident that you have established a strong bond with your Client!
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“You never get a second chance to make a good first impression”. Coco Chanel
TURN UP THE HEAT
“Those first seconds, first minutes of a Client relation are crucial. Our attitude, gestures, voice, words, dress, fragrance, makeup, hair… Clients consciously or unconsciously record every detail as they form the good or bad first impression they will never forget. This is why it is vital to leave nothing to chance, firstly through meticulous preparation, then by making sure to switch to ‘on’ mode.
Alexandra Bonelli Consultant
Florence Signoret Consultant
Sophie Neumiche Consultant
...share their secrets!
Human beings have a natural tendency to adopt a closed, ‘off’ position (due to stress, shyness, routine, etc.). However, every time professionals step on to the stage that is their work place, they have to leave their moods behind them and ‘switch on’, in other words adopt a posture and an attitude that are open and attentive to others. By showing an open attitude, gestures and words, you can, in turn, switch your Client to ‘on’ mode. This won’t guarantee results but it is nonetheless your responsibility to do everything in your power to establish a strong bond with your Client.”
To find out more, learn all the secrets of our “on/off” concept in our publications, our training courses and our eMovie Learning.
3 Service temperature: simmering consideration
Preparation and cooking time: a few seconds to a few minutes
INGREDIENTS A zest of professional dimension: • 100 g of proactivity and anticipation • 200 g of thorough care for Client comfort A pinch of human dimension: • 100 g of courtesy • 100 g of enthusiasm • 200 g of thoughtfulness • 300 g of consideration A few grains of aesthetic dimension: • 100 g of attention to detail • 100 g of elegant gestures • 200 g of smile and warmth in your eyes
Delight time: enduring
INSTRUCTIONS
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If you are expecting a busy service, coat your work top with anticipation: let the Client know that you may be less available than you would like. Don’t succumb to the temptation to short-change the Client in order to shorten the queue. Don’t steal away the details that will contribute to the magic for the Client. Face to face: season your attitude with signs of consideration towards each Client (a sincere smile, a warm look, elegant head gestures). If you are interrupted – for example, by the phone ringing – sprinkle on a few grains of thoughtfulness. Apologise to the Client. Then greet the next Clients enthusiastically before inviting them to be patient. As far as possible, add a pinch of empathy, giving them an idea of how long they may have to wait. Thank the first Client for being so understanding and, as soon as the conversation is over, show that you are completely available to the next Clients and thank them for their patience. Show generosity: turn your guests’ wait into a moment of pleasure by paying particular attention to their needs: offer them a drink, something to read, etc. Bring them on board, capture their interest by giving them a foretaste of what they are about to experience. Blend (unhurried) dynamism, the impact of surprise and human warmth, so that waiting will not be a gap in the Client’s experience, but an intrinsic part of it!
TURN UP THE HEAT
Mélaïd Ben Daoud Management Assistant
Nathalie Franco Major Account Development Manager, Customer Experience
Patricia Morier des Diguères Sales Development Manager, Luxury Attitude
...share their secrets!
“Waiting can be different things to different people and can depend so much on circumstances. Do the personnel do everything possible to make it enjoyable, or do they let it be dull or even painful for the Client? It also depends on whether the Client is able to see that it’s a busy day! When the relationship is established blind – on the telephone or from a hotel room, for example – the Client has no way of knowing whether you are suddenly overwhelmed by a coach load of guests, and may become impatient. Alternatively, Clients in situ – in a boutique or an agency, for example – can see for themselves the time they can expect to wait, so will be more amenable. This means that any business must show empathy and understanding towards Clients who have to wait, especially as this is the n° 1 source of dissatisfaction in the services sector! Our job is to do our utmost to reduce waiting to a minimum and make it as pleasant as possible. It is our job here to create a connection with Clients, to give them a clear perspective and generate positive emotions. In a word, waiting should be a step towards delight. For us it is a perfect opportunity to make Clients look forward with positive impatience to what is coming next, to a fresh surprise, an experience throughout which they are acknowledged and considered. Make them impatient to confirm their initial intention… ‘I’ll be back!’”
4
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Service temperature: keen enthusiasm
Preparation and cooking time: a few minutes
INGREDIENTS A zest of professional dimension: • 100 g of knowledge of your work place • 100 g of very detailed knowledge of your team (everyone’s name, what they do) • 150 g of proactivity A pinch of human dimension: • 150 g of consideration • 150 g of desire to find out about the Client • 150 of mobility and availability • 200 g of gift A few grains of aesthetic dimension: • 150 g of smile and a fulsome voice • 150 of words with emotional impact • 200 g of delicacy
Delight time: for ever
INSTRUCTIONS Pour in your first ingredient: proactivity. Observe your Clients and identify those who have a lost look in their eyes. Add a few grains of empathy: approach the Client and offer to help, guiding them to a place, introducing them to a colleague. Show how much you enjoy showing hospitality: the pleasure you take in helping and creating connections. Your smile, the look in your eyes, and the warmth in your voice should convey your enthusiasm. Sprinkle on gestures that indicate consideration: walk alongside your Client – rather than in front – adapt to his/her pace. The Client should be able to see part of your face at all times. If this isn’t the case, it means you are too far ahead and that the Client is following you, when he or she should be escorted! Forget that you ever said “Follow me”. “Please, let me to take you through”, for example, is so much more inviting. Blend in your desire to find out more about your Client: use the opportunity to enquire discretely about the reason for the visit. When handing Clients over to a colleague, create the connection, present them and explain any requests they have made, to save them from repeating themselves. Continue to stir gently and your Client will enjoy delicious moments!
TURN UP THE HEAT
Marie Joly Project Manager
Jenny Poiret Office Manager
...share their secrets!
“In the service professions, when accompanying a Client, the last thing you want to do is create an oppressive void. Think back to that time when the hotel receptionist accompanied you to your room on the eighth floor. Wordlessly, he indicated that you should follow him to the lift. Still saying nothing, he pressed the button. Then again, still without a word, he subjected you to his mute presence, punctuated by glances up at the ceiling or down at his shoes. All the way to the eighth floor. You felt so alone that you were desperate to arrive. Escorting a Client should be neither embarrassing nor painful. Employees should not see it as an obligation, a waste of time or a favour to the Client. This is not just a time-out in the Client experience, it is an integral part! To accompany means to be ‘in the company of’. This means that you must provide a presence. True, accompanying a Client is a function, but it is easy to add emotional value. Help a Client with armfuls of shopping back to the car. Take an umbrella and share it to the taxi. Offer to take the Client’s coat, gloves and hat as you enter the dining room … These key moments offer thousands of opportunities to make an impact on the Client. What better reward can there be than to hear a surprised, reassured and charmed Client say quite simply ‘Thank you’?”
5 Service temperature: the highest degree of empathy
Preparation and cooking time: unlimited
INGREDIENTS A zest of professional dimension: • 10 g of closed questions • 100 g of a calm place • 150 g of open questions • 150 g of rewording A pinch of human dimension: • 100 g of sincere interest and generosity • 100 g of humility • 100 g of positive non-verbal expression • 150 g of questions about the person as a person and not about their reason for being there A few grains of aesthetic dimension: • 100 g of clear, slow elocution • 150 g of smiles • 150 g of delicacy in the choice of words
Delight time: for ever
INSTRUCTIONS Be generous: enter your Client’s world with a desire to understand, get to know them better – without being intrusive – … and not to change their words into products. Develop the Client’s thirst to be understood and recognised as an individual: offer the opportunity for complete self-expression by asking open questions – “How”, “Where”, “Which”, “Why”. If your Client wants to buy a recipe book, find out more about their taste, how well their kitchen is equipped, the time they enjoy spending there every day, etc. Savour at heart an attentive and generous ability to listen, one that will reveal the person you are talking to in their full human dimension, not just as purchasing power. Consider their feelings and needs. Take off the filter, all judgement, interpretation of what they are saying, and avoid proceeding by elimination. Bring a visual touch to show that you are actively listening: nod the head, keep eye-to-eye contact, smile, take notes… Mix in signs of agreement, reword, ask new questions and offer encouragement to find out more. Stir well and your dish will start to take shape as the magic works. You will be sure that, having got to know your Client, you will be able to offer the best advice. Your Client will feel more important and will be confident of having found THE person to give advice, a person who understands and recognises their personality!
TURN UP THE HEAT
“It’s all a question of intention: Are we listening because we want to understand … or just to answer? Are we really being attentive to what the Client is saying or are we too focused on our own choice of words? Are we going in the Client’s direction or enforcing our own? 30% to 50% of what is said is not heard. The result is misunderstanding, misinterpretation and missed opportunities.
Caroline Grimaud Project Manager
Myriam Vallelian Consultant
...share their secrets!
Yet a Client who has been listened to, understood and acknowledged is a Client who will open up and trust us. Our ability and willingness to listen in order to understand and to perceive another person’s feelings, is one of our finest qualities. In a word it is what we call ‘empathy’.”
6 Service temperature: delicate
Preparation and cooking time: a few seconds
INGREDIENTS A zest of professional dimension: • 150 g of knowledge of your own brand • 150 g of knowledge of your products and those of the competition • 200 g of observation and curiosity A pinch of human dimension: • 200 g of enthusiasm • 200 g of empathy • 250 g of desire to share A few grains of aesthetic dimension: • 300 g of elegant, subtle and enhancing action • 300 g of words with high emotional added value
Delight time: years and years
INSTRUCTIONS First and foremost, when meeting new Clients, find out what your brand triggers for each of them. Enrich their knowledge of the brand by letting them in on some secrets of your brand’s history. Make your Client’s mouth water: describe your offering – product or service – taking care to use words with high emotional added value. Do you feel the same about offering “coffee”, “Ethiopian coffee” or “Premium blend Ethiopian coffee”? Link your presentation to your Client’s tastes, preferences and expectations. Add elegant gesture when you are talking about or presenting a product: show it with the palm of the hand open, take it between your fingertips, place it on a tray with the logo facing the Client… Remember to keep eye contact with the Client, and not look at the product. Invite the Client to taste, touch or feel the product in order to trigger a wealth of sensorial emotions. Whip up the sense of enchantment by imagining the ways the product will be used in a variety of situations. Treat Clients by revealing one or two personal tips that might help them in practice. Don’t forget the key ingredient: if a Client asks you the price outright, never answer before having first enhanced the image of the product or service and making it really desirable!
TURN UP THE HEAT
Fabienne Farneti Consultant
Eric Van de Valle Consultant
...share their secrets!
“Everyone in the team must be a channel connecting a Client to a product or service. Their job is to drive home the added value by enhancing the brand’s offering, ensuring that the article or service perfectly matches the Client’s expectations. “That’s exactly what I’m looking for…” If the product or service we are selling is a classic, our mission is to make it just a little more extraordinary. However, if it is exceptional, our job is not just to emphasise its uniqueness but to sublimate it still further through words with emotional impact and elegant gestures. This means that each team member has immense power: to enhance the image of the offering, or, on the contrary deflate it completely. By making the ordinary extraordinary, by sublimating the sublime, each team member can usher the Client into a wonderland of dream and delight!”
7 Service temperature: the high point of an attentive relationship
Preparation and cooking time: enough to be creative
INGREDIENTS A zest of professional dimension: • 150 g of observation • 150 g of anticipation • 200 g of thorough knowledge of the Client A pinch of human dimension: • 150 g of consideration • 200 g of empathy • 250 g of desire to please • 300 g of willingness to personalise even more A few grains of aesthetic dimension: • 200 g of the beauty of the gesture • 250 g of honeysweet words flavoured with human warmth
Delight time: memorable for such a quick preparation
INSTRUCTIONS Because surprises only hit the sweet spot when they come with a personal touch, pay special attention to the Client’s tastes, from the word go, listing the favourite spices that will really make his day. Coat your worktop with boldness and creativity, and even add a handful of grains of madness. Blend in the essential ingredient: the personalised touch. Even the most delicious tiramisu will not please a diner who is not fond of coffee. Add a large dose of empathy. All you want to do is please. Mix the whole and the result will be a made-to-measure surprise. Turn down the oven and bake at a low heat, taking care to remove only when done to a turn. When the time is right, whet your Client’s appetite by bringing a subtle touch of elegance and emotion to your gift. Your words, your actions and your attentiveness will open his appetite. Coat the dish with energy, naturalness and humour and let the magic work: your Client will be definitively delighted.
TURN UP THE HEAT
Pierre Cousineau Consultant
Veerle Raemdonck Consultant
“A surprise is a supreme form of consideration. In fact, a Client may be more moved by your intention to give pleasure than by the surprise itself! To touch Clients, you must take an interest and be creative. It is always easier to just buy a gift off the shelf than to find the idea of an extra touch that will truly charm. However, to be sure that a surprise does not become a given, you must make maximum use of the intangible. So how do we go about being creative? Quite simply by drawing on the sources of inspiration all around us to give life to that special, new, and personal extra touch. This means neither falling into the mould by copying existing ideas, nor stopping at the first bright idea. No. It means being ambitious and constantly asking ourselves the right questions, so that today’s surprise does not become tomorrow’s bore!”
...share their secrets!
To take your culinary skills still further and find out the secrets of the immaterial gift, explore our gift vs. debt concept in our publications, our training courses and our eMovie Learning.
8 Service temperature: subtle
Preparation and cooking time: several minutes
INGREDIENTS A zest of professional dimension: • 75 g of sense of responsibility • 100 g of sense of observation • 150 g of anticipation and proactivity • 200 g of courage A pinch of human dimension: • 100 g of ability to listen, so as to understand, not answer • 100 g of open questions • 150 g of enthusiasm and positivity A few grains of aesthetic dimension: • 100 g of calm voice and gestures • 100 g of reassuring and confident attitude • 150 g of positive words with powerful emotional value
Delight time: enduring
INSTRUCTIONS Pre-heat your oven, identifying all the Client requests that you will not be able to satisfy. Nearly 95% of situations leading to a negative response on your part can be anticipated. Prepare your basic ingredients – your response scenarios – to avoid being caught off-guard. Line each dish with a fine layer of anticipation. Be proactive when an unexpected situation arises by pre-empting a potential “no” answer to an awkward request. “I must apologise but, before we go any further, I must tell you that the three-chocolate muffin has been so successful that we’re out of stock…” Blend in your ability to listen. When Clients have made a request that you cannot satisfy, invite them to go into more detail. Add a proposal for a personalised alternative solution, insisting on what can be done rather than the opposite. Banish the word “no” from your vocabulary! Think about what you CAN do: “… I seem to recall that you have a soft spot for raspberries,... our Chef has just created…” Connect your suggestions to the Client’s tastes. Cook on a low heat and your Client will leave delighted, because you will have done everything possible to help!
TURN UP THE HEAT
Yvan Ferrer Consultant
Alexandra Van Haerens Consultant
...share their secrets!
“As a matter of principle, you should always avoid saying ‘no’ in a Client relationship. To say ‘no’, is to insist on the fact that you cannot fulfil the Client’s request, for whatever reason: unavailability, an unrealistic demand, a momentary technical hitch… There is no benefit to be gained from emphasising what you cannot do. On the contrary, there is much to be gained from highlighting possible alternatives. Let’s take an example. We are contacted by a Client looking for a cake tin in the shape of a medieval castle. We know it’s out of stock, but how will he respond if we just say that it’s impossible? Clearly, he will go away frustrated and disappointed… However, if we ask about the background to his request, we may find, for example, that he wants to offer his son a birthday surprise. His son, Mathieu, who is also crazy about cars. With anticipation and empathy we can offer several alternatives liable to satisfy him. We can order the first tin and have it delivered to his doorstep, or offer a different design… in the shape of a car and available immediately. Always remember that not saying ‘no’ is also a way of exploring new avenues your Clients would not have thought of, and offering yourself an opportunity to discover a new way of enchanting them and cultivating their loyalty!”
9 Service temperature: the highest level of consideration
Preparation and cooking time: a few seconds
INGREDIENTS A zest of professional dimension: • 100 g of observation • 150 g of anticipation • 200 g of loyalty A pinch of human dimension: • 150 g of generosity • 150 g of gentleness • 200 g of attention dedicated to the Client and nobody else • 250 g of personalisation A few grains of aesthetic dimension: • 150 g of smile and a warm look • 150 g of open posture
Delight time: unlimited
INSTRUCTIONS Remain attentive to the Client’s preferences until the moment you part company, making this as personal as possible. When it is time for the Client to depart, ensure that you maintain an attentive attitude: neither off-hand nor precipitated. Light up your face with a sincere smile and a warm look. Accompany your Client to the exit and even further: savour the last minutes walking by his side and chatting informally. Treat your Client by using his or her name with discretion and surprising him with truly personal attention. Avoid using automatic formulae, preferring some rich words of gratitude. If you can’t be there for the last few moments, invite your colleague to convey your gratitude orally, or send a delicious hand-written letter. Coat your dish generously with human dimension: wait till Clients are out of sight before returning indoors. Aware that you are still there, literally seeing them off, the Client’s only wish will be to return!
TURN UP THE HEAT
“The moment you part company is the extension of the Client’s experience. It must be done in harmony, with the human warmth and consideration that we have been showing since the moment the Client arrived. In fact, it should never be thought of as an ending, but rather as the moment when the relationship moves on to the next stage: an opportunity to meet again, to take part in an event… Parting company is also a chance to invite a Client to join us in a new experience.
Nathalie Paldacci Consultant
Patrick Taffignon Consultant
...share their secrets!
Aware as we are that, by coming into contact with our brand, the Client has offered us a gift, we must make every effort – including when we part company – to make sure that when he leaves, he has a feeling of being indebted towards us. Delighted and completely won over, he will feel he owes us something and will offer us complete loyalty. This is what we call the gift vs. debt concept!”
To take your culinary skills still further and find out the secrets of the gift vs. debt concept, check out our publications, our training courses and our eMovie Learning.
10 Service temperature: a simmering desire to keep the Client warm
Preparation and cooking time: a few minutes to a few years
INGREDIENTS A zest of professional dimension: • 100 g of thoroughness, organisation and computer skills • 200 g of proactivity • 300 g of availability • 350 g of keeping commitments A pinch of human dimension: • 100 g of humility • 100 g of curiosity • 250 g of sincere interest • 250 g of personalisation A few grains of aesthetic dimension: • 150 g of slow, clear elocution • 200 g of warmth in the voice • 200 g of words with strong emotional value • 250 g of delicate and attentive words
Delight time: renewed
INSTRUCTIONS Prepare the key ingredients needed for a personal follow-up by identifying the Client’s preferences from the word go. Make a list of your observations. Write them down, be sure that you will remember them and use the tools available to you to transmit the information to your colleagues. When you part company, remember to tell your Client about a probable relevant opportunity to be in touch again soon. Leave your relationship to settle for a few days after the Client has left. Then be proactive by making a non-intrusive contact to get news of the Client. Did he manage to make the raspberry meringue spirals for his daughter’s birthday? Make sure that you have the right reason, ideally two reasons, to call or write. Add a drop of curiosity to find out the Client’s level of satisfaction, after his experience – something you will already have enquired about several times during his visit. Show that you are open to any answer or suggestion that he might make. Keep the link that you have established with your customer warm by keeping personal contact: celebrate important moments in the Client’s life, pick up on the private passions. Take the time to write by hand or make a phone call... Keep on adding to what you already know about the Client as you go, enriching your capacity to surprise. Stir regularly, but remember that “regular” does not mean heavyhanded and dull. This way you will secure your Client’s loyalty!
TURN UP THE HEAT
“Our responsibility as members of a team is to do everything in our power to create an enduring relational link with our Clients. From the very first moments of the Client experience, we take great care to express our generosity, each time going a step further than their expectations. Yet as soon as the Client has gone, we often become obsessed with winning new ones, and this can soon leave the Client with a sense of disillusionment or mistrust.
Christine Dautriche Management Assistant
Kimberley Tabi Sales and Marketing Assistant
...share their secrets!
This means that our biggest challenge is to sustainably preserve the relationship that we have created. Remember that a Client’s loyalty is always there to lose. After all, a Client can always be led to discover other brands and be welcomed and served with just as much human warmth. This means that it is our role to take the time to keep the contact alive, to listen, to perceive new aspirations and new habits. Brands change and so do people. Only by proper follow-up can we discover this. This means that follow-up must be personal: ‘just for you’. It is our job to show Clients that they are important to us, and that we take an interest in them as individuals. This is our only way to surprise them again with delicate consideration and subtle gifts. Year after year, a Client’s long-term loyalty becomes our biggest success.”
11 Service temperature: the highest level of understanding
Preparation and cooking time: a few moments
INGREDIENTS A zest of professional dimension: • 200 g of sense of responsibility • 250 g of proactivity: identify solutions and possible scenarios in advance • 250 g of courage and self-confidence A pinch of human dimension: • 100 g of calm and serenity • 200 g of ability to listen and reword • 350 g of empathy A few grains of aesthetic dimension: • 200 g of words with positive emotional value • 250 g of human warmth and dynamism in the voice
Delight time: memorable
INSTRUCTIONS Before you go any further, prepare your work top by identifying the scenarios that will help you to best deal with the 10% of sources of dissatisfaction that lead to 90% of complaints. Take a whisk and whip up your sense of responsibility. Remember that you are not personally responsible for the causes of the dissatisfaction, but you are responsible for dealing with it. Add a large dash of self-control so that you can respond appropriately in both form and content. Melt down your temptation to focus on the problem. Take care of the Client instead. Be capable of putting your professional reflexes on hold and develop your human dimension. If someone cuts themselves preparing a vegetable julienne, do you worry first about the bloodstains on the carrots? Blend in your empathy, ability to listen and talent for rewording. Give priority to identifying the direct and indirect consequences of the problem that caused the dissatisfaction, not the origin. Be bold enough to ask the Client what you can do to alleviate the situation. Finalise the recipe by offering a tangible, personal solution and the problem will evaporate: the Client is human enough to understand all kinds of problems, including a mistake, a malfunction or a machine breaking down.
“Even though some functions are more exposed than others, skilful management of a difficult situation is part of the responsibility of each professional in a Client relationship.
TURN UP THE HEAT
Eddy Blanchet Consultant
Déborah Welle Consultant
...share their secrets!
A Client who honours us by sharing his dissatisfaction is offering us the opportunity to at least transform it into satisfaction. Thus, any difficult situation paradoxically represents a fantastic opportunity to make a positive mark on a Client. In fact we all know that, one day or another, many Clients who have become unconditional fans of a brand, initially experienced a dissatisfaction that was handled perfectly. So how do you deal with dissatisfaction? The key to success lies, above all, in real and sincere empathy. However, you should make sure not to confuse empathy – that stems from understanding feelings – with compassion – which means making those feelings your own. By showing empathy through personalised solutions, we make a gift to the Client, and this has an even stronger impact than any financial or material compensation!”
To take your culinary skills still further and find out the secrets of the gift vs. debt concept, check out our publications, our training courses and our eMovie Learning.
12 Service temperature: ardent creativity
Preparation and cooking time: unlimited
INGREDIENTS A zest of professional dimension: • 100 g of ................................................. • 200 g of ................................................. A pinch of human dimension: • 100 g of ................................................. • 200 g of ................................................. A few grains of aesthetic dimension: • 100 g of ................................................. • 200 g of .................................................
Delight time: for ever
INSTRUCTIONS Before starting your recipe, lay out all the ingredients, pots, pans and utensils that you will need to enchant your Clients’ taste buds. You are perhaps about to make the step up from simple cookery to cordon bleu cuisine: - Love what you do so that you can share your passion better. - Appropriate existing recipes before adding your own grain of salt. - Practice: repeat, recite, and when you get it wrong, start again and you will soon attain excellence. - Draw inspiration from great Chefs to create your own recipes and, in turn, become a source of inspiration! It’s time to start preparing dinner, so don your toque, and remember that service quality is only as good as the people who bring it! MY RECIPE : ……………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………....
TURN UP THE HEAT
Erick Fischer Consultant
Eric Guérin Consultant
“Just like the best cuisine, the great classics of Customer service are timeless. Yet, to remain contemporary, each recipe needs to be readapted and reinvented. The challenge of creativity and sincerity is in your hands. When it comes to Client relations, each one of us can bring something special to the table. What a Client is looking for is precisely the added value that you express. In fact, Clients are less and less willing to live with a banal experience, made up of standardised words and gestures. So, be bold. Express your personality! Imagine, create, conceive the recipe that you will use to delight your Client. Start by finding a source of inspiration. Remember your grandmother’s recipes. Wasn’t she a great cook? In fact, by adding your own personal touch, you have made one of her recipes your own. The cherry on the cake is that your friends have named the recipe after you. You will also gain extra recognition when you showcase your own service recipe. Your colleagues and managers will see you as a leader, a reference, an example to follow…
...share their secrets! Your recipe may be inspired by the specialities of great Chefs that you idolise, taking something from each of them, or maybe you just invented it out of the blue! No matter, because in either case it will reflect the deepest inspirations or intentions that lie dormant deep inside you. It will express your most delicious secret. Because the secret of a successful recipe is you!”
We’ve whetted your appetite and now you want to find out more about our recipes and the secrets of the Client experience.
Sophie’s Tips Every month, we share Sophie’s Tips hot from the oven! Our tonguein-cheek drawings reveal the keys of how to ensure excellence in service. Get her Tips free. Mail us at: sophie@luxury-attitude.com
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OUR BOOK From grand hotels to luxurious houses, from boutiques to restaurants, we bring you a unique view of the world of service. Via concrete examples picked up over years of global experience, Erik Perey and Lionel Meyer, joint founders of Luxury Attitude and Customer Experience, share their unique viewpoint on the world of service: brand promise, Client perception, co-worker perception… They bring businesses’ ambitions into sharp focus, face to face with the real lives of Clients.
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