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Love Fuels a WOW Culture
Love Fuels a WOW Culture Six Ways to Share the Love with Employees and Customers
The National Dipper March/April 2020 Reader Service #111
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23 As part of our family, here are some of the benefits you will enjoy • Network with your peers • Great Newsletter • Consult with your suppliers • Improve profits • Enhance shop operations • Learn about new products • Improve employer-employee relations For information contact: Margaret Anderson New England Ice Cream Restaurant Association 781-551-4450 E-mail: mca319@gmail.com Web Site: www.neicra.com When you join NEICRA, you are family! by Deb Boelkes
We typically don’t think of love and business as existing in the same universe. Not only does love belong in the business world, Deb Boelkes says it should fuel everything you do, both internally and in your interactions with customers.
“Your customers are the reason you exist, and your job is to earn their love and loyalty,” says Boelkes, author of the WOW Factor Workplace: How to Create a Best Pace to Work Culture. “That means you must first love them. And that, in turn, means you must first love your employees.”
None of this will happen if you just go through the motions, she cautions. You can’t “fake” love for employees or customers. You must go all in. You must infuse love into all that you do. And that means building it in from the ground up.
To get the love flowing, says Boelkes, commit to becoming a WOW factor workplace. That’s a workplace in which heartfelt leaders inspire employees to create extraordinary products and deliver impeccable service at a great value. This creates an unparalleled experience for both employees and customers and in turn, makes them both feel special, appreciated and respected. Don’t be Afraid to use the “L” Word In her book Boelkes quotes the late Teresa Laraba, former vice president of Southwest Airlines, as saying, “Early on, when we started, one of the taglines was: Somebody up here loves you. We used the word love in a space where it had not been used, especially in the airline industry. Our stock symbol is LUV. We were open about introducing love to corporate America and the airline industry. We were going to have a product which loved you and a company which was going to serve you and appreciate you doing business with us versus the attitude: ‘You exist to keep us in business.’”
“Find fun, creative ways to show the customer that you love them,” suggests Boelkes. “Send then a heartadorned coupon book with discounted offerings. Pen personalized cards listing the reasons you love them. Put together ‘We Love Our Customers’ gift boxes. Or make a charitable donation to a local soup kitchen or animal shelter in honor of your customer. There are countless ways to show you care.” Recommit to Your Relationship with Employees
Engaged employees are happy employees, and happy employees create happy customers. That’s why leaders make it a priority to work on their relationship with employees. And as with any good relationship, it means putting in time and effort. Teresa Laraba said, “We do not subscribe to ‘you leave your problems at
the door’ You do, in the sense the customer shouldn’t have to pay for your employees’ problems, but as leaders you ought to know what’s going on with them and find out if there’s something that’s stopping your employees from delivering on their work promise that day.
“If you take the time to get to know your employees as you work with them everyday as you walk by them every day, if you have just two or three one-minute engagements as you walk through your workplace, it builds,” added Laraba. “If you don’t bother asking employees how they’re really doing except every six months, or if you don’t stop to talk to them except once a year when you give them a performance appraisal, it is going to take too much time, because you’re trying to build a relationship in a tenminute conversation when you should have been building a relationship every day.”
Think of Yourself as a Superior Service Role Model
When you WOW customers, employees will too. If you commit to giving the best possible service to every customer and making decisions that benefit the customer first, your employees will do the same. They are watching and taking cues from your behavior. WOW them with heartfelt leadership and they will WOW the clients every time.
Boelkes says legendary coach John Wooden is a prime example. Wooden said, “I’m convinced that regardless of the task, leaders must be enthusiastic and really enjoy what they are doing if they expect those under their supervision to work near their respective levels of competency. With few exceptions, an unenthusiastic leader will keep those under his or her charge from achieving their collective best.”
Look for the Servant’s Heart in Those You Hire
To win your customers’ love, you must truly love the work you do. No one should ever phone it in. Great leaders and employees alike develop what Teresa Laraba called a “Servant’s Heart.” She said, “We’re lucky at Southwest. We first try to hire people who care. Our hiring process is looking for people who genuinely enjoy what they do. We call it the Servant’s Heart. People who have a Servant’s Heart are people who, especially if you’re going to be on the service side of it, enjoy serving, not somebody who merely pretends they enjoy serving.”
Learn to Look at Your Customers Through “Soft Eyes”
Don’t treat them like transactions. Boelkes quotes Howard Behar, former president of Starbucks Coffee, as saying: “I have this idea. Rather than seeing people as customers or seeing people in their roles as bankers or teachers or authors or whatever, we need to see all people in the context of their humanness, of being a human being. Then when you’re dealing with somebody and whatever the job happens to be, whether you are trying to get a loan for your house or you are a banker trying to make a loan, you look at everybody through human eyes, through soft eyes.
It doesn’t mean you’re not going to turn the person down,” Behar clarifies. “It does mean you come at it with a caring attitude, with a belief in him or her as a human being and a belief in yourself as a human being. That piece of it only requires practice. We all get caught up in the transactions. We’re all in a hurry to get things done. Being in a hurry adds to it. Slow down. Take your time. Think about what you’re doing. Don’t let yourself go there.”
Create Service Experiences that take the Customer’s Breath Away
In her book Boelkes cites her own experience with dining at Bern’s Steak House as one of her favorite examples of delightful customer service. She says the dining rooms were opulent. The menu was extensive and the food sublime. The Harry Waugh Dessert Room was spectacular. Finally, the wait staff was a testament to their mission of delivering impeccable service. We were so impressed with the service from our young waiter,” recalls Boelkes. “He never hovered, but magically appeared the instant we wanted him. When I asked how long he had been a waiter there, he answered, ‘two
weeks.” Given his professionalism, manners, attention to detail and superior service attitude, this was a surprise. We learned he had worked at Bern’s for two years. Everyone there starts out working in the kitchen. If they do well enough, they are promoted to assist in the dining room, and so on. Founder Bern Laxer was a firm believer in hiring for attitude and work ethic, not experience. Clearly, it pays off.
Allow Employees to go Above and Beyond for Customers
Take a cue from Donald Stamets, general manager for Solage, an Auberge resort in Calistoga, CA, and don’t make employees ask permission to go the extra mile to WOW customers. As part of his Expected, Requested and Delighted philosophy, Stamets encourages them to go above and beyond what the customer expects or requests and try to delight them at every turn. For instance, if a guest is sick, employees can bring them tissues and chicken soup without asking a manager.
“Likewise, tell your employees their goal is to delight customers,” says Boelkes. “Let them use their own judgment and tap into their creativity. Being allowed to do it ‘their way’ will encourage and inspire them to go in whole-heartedly.”
“Yes, it’s hard to work to be a heartfelt organization, but the rewards are so much greater for you, your team and most of all, your customers,” says Boelkes. “Life is just better when you give and receive love every day, in all that you do. There’s no reason why this truth can’t apply to the workplace.v
About the Author
Deb Boelkes is not just a role model heartfelt leader: she is the ultimate authority on creating best places to work, with 25+ years in Fortune 150 high-tech firms, leading superstar business development and professional service teams. As an entrepreneur, she has accelerated advancement for women to senior leadership. Deb has delighted and inspired over 1,000 audiences across North America. Her book, The WOW Factor Workplace: How to Create a Best Place to Work Culture is available from major online booksellers.
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ASSOCIATIONS Great Lakes Ice Cream & Fast Food Assn. ..................810/618-0605 New England Ice Cream Restaurant Assn. .........mca319@gmail.com
BATCH FREEZERS Emery Thompson......www.emerythompson.com……..718-588-7300
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POINT OF SALE POSTERS JLM Unlimited, Inc., ........Elk Grove Village, IL ..............847/301-8400 Ice Cream Banana Split and Sundaes Posters
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NEGUS PACKAGING SOLUTIONS
March 26 – Carpigiani Frozen Dessert University – Store Operations & Brand Management Class, Carpigiani Headquarters, High Pooint, NC. Contact: Bobbie Dilldine, Frozen Dessert University, 800-648-4389. E-mail: info@carpigiani-usa. com
April 8 - Make It Fresh Seminar. Emery Thompson Machine, Brooksville, FL. Contact: Steve Thompson, Emery Thompson Machine, 15350 Flight Path Dr., Brooksville, FL 34604. 718/588-7300. Fax: 352/796-0720. E-mail: steve@emerythompson.com
April 23 – Kohl Wholesale Spring Food Show, Oakley-Lindsay Center, Quincy, IL. Contact: Andrew Romano, Kohl Wholesale, 130 Jersey, Quincy, IL 62306. 217/222-5000. E-mail: andrewr@kohlwholesale.com
May 4-6 - Carpigiani Frozen Dessert University Ice Cream Course. Carpigiani Headquarters, High Point, NC,. Contact Bobbie Dilldine, Frozen Dessert University, 800-648-4389. E-mail: info@carpigiani-usa.com
May 6 – Taylor U.S. Open House, Taylor U.S. Weston, FL. Contact: Frank Baquedano, Taylor U.S., 1780 N. Commerce Pkwy, Weston, FL 33326. 800-940-4848. Fax: 954/217-0994. E-mail: sales@taylorus.com
May 7 – Carpigiani Frozen Dessert University – Store Operations & Brand Management Class, Carpigiani Headquarters, High Point, NC. Contact: Bobbie Dilldine, Frozen Dessert University, 800-648-4389. E-mail: info@carpigiani-usa. com
May 16-19 - National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show. McCormick Place, Chicago, IL. Contact: National Restaurant Association, 150 N. Michigan Ave., Suite 2000, Chicago, IL 60601. 312/853-2525. Fax: 312/853-2548. E-mail: restaurant.org/show.
May 21-23 - Sweets & Snacks Expo. McCormick Place, Chicago, IL. Contact: National Confectioners Association, 1101 - 30th St., NW, #200, Washington, DC 20007. 202/534-1440.
June 28-30 - Summer Fancy Food Show, Jacob K. Javits Center, New York, NY. Contact: National Association for the Specialty Food Trade, Inc. (NASFT), 120 Wall St., 27th Fl., New York, NY 10005. 212/482-6440. Fax: 212/482-6459.
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26 Reader Service #112 All Star Carts & Vehicles, Inc...........17 Cardinal Carts...................................21 Carpigiani-USA...................4th Cover Costing Manuals................................6 The Cone Guys…………………….13 Dingman’s Dairy................................5 Dipwell Techware..............................7 Great Lakes Ice Cream & Fast Food Association................................15 Green Mountain Flavors…………...17 Hill & Markes……………………...11 Stella Lorens Photography..3rd Cover Negus Packaging Solutions..............26 New England Ice Cream Restaurant Association.................................23 A.Panza & Sons, Ltd..........2nd Cover
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