Answer Upon - Business

The Single Most Important Thing to Know about Verbal Agreements
How many times have we run afoul of film producer Samuel Goldwyn’s famous maxim: "A verbal contract isn't worth the paper it's written on"? (I’ve certainly done it). And yet, isn’t life nicer, simpler when you don’t have to worry about creating a paper trail? Why not just trust the people you’re doing business with? Isn’t my word my bond?"Jared" had had the same attitude. Jared is an easy-going computer geek, more interested in creative problem-solving for his tech support clients than printing out every possible piece of paper to cross "t"s and dot "i"s. That said, Jared had a written lease for his office space, under which he was responsible for p

normal,” “That’s horrible!” “That’s strange,” or, if possible, “In all the years I’ve been working here, that’s never happened!”

CUSTOMER: “Hi, this is Miss Jackson from room 2321. Um, I asked for a non-smoking room, but I think Joe Camel must have stayed here last night.”

YOU: “Really? I’m sorry about that Miss Jackson, thanks for telling me. You know, that’s not normal at my hotel.”

Excellent! You’ve showed surprise, thanked her, even taken ownership and reassured Miss Jackson that her problem isn’t the standard of service. Now it’s time to win her back.

Job Search Campaign Tip: An Activity Diary
Looking for a job involves a wide range of responsibilities: preparing a resume, looking at ads, contacting employers, calling and visiting friends and acquaintances, follow ups, interviews. While none of us ever plan to be out of work for very long, it can be very useful to immediately start documenting your activities and your feelings to provide a road map of where you have been and where you want to go. It helps to have a central location for recording your daily actions so you don't miss anything important or forget a critical deadline. It is also reassuring to have somewhere to go when you're feeling blue and too lethargic to go anywhere or do anything you

Let’s say a customer comes to you with a complaint.
Maybe in person, via email or over the phone.
What’s the best approach?
It’s simple: SSTOP!
No, that wasn’t a typo. You read it right: SSTOP. And it represents a five-step process for approaching problems, diffusing anger, changing minds and winning the customer back. Let’s take a look.
S is for SURPRISE. Psychologically, if you respond to a problem, complaint or accusation with surprise, three things happen. First, you begin to diffuse anger. Secondly, your reactive response comes off as natural and sincere. Lastly, the customer is more willing to forgive you.
PHRASES THAT PAYSES: “Really?”
Really is one of the most versatile words in the English language. It exudes both concern and curiosity. And based on the severity of the problem, changing the inflection of your voice indicates numerous emotions. For example, stop reading right now. Try saying the word really two times: first with a low pitch and second with a high pitch.
Two totally different meanings, right?
CUSTOMER: “Hi, this is Miss Jackson from room 2321. Um, I asked for a non-smoking room, but I think Joe Camel must have stayed here last night.”
YOU: “Really?”
OK. Great job. You’ve immediately displayed concern for the problem. Let’s move on to step two.
S is for SORRY. Customers don’t want apologies, they want solutions. Still, saying you’re sorry never hurts. You still need to take ownership of the problem. And an effective technique for doing so is to combine “Sorry” with its polar opposite: thank you.
PHRASES THAT PAYSES: Sorry + Thank You.
CUSTOMER: “Hi, this is Miss Jackson from room 2321. Um, I asked for a non-smoking room, but I think Joe Camel must have stayed here last night.”
YOU: “Really? I’m sorry about that Miss Jackson, thanks for telling me.”
Good. You’ve showed surprise. You’ve thanked the customer. Now Miss Jackson is reassured that you’re on top of the problem. Let’s continue on.
T is for THAT’S. Step three is absolutely crucial. This is where you ensure the customer that her problem isn’t normal. That it’s an anomaly. And whatever happened to her is inconsistent with the type of service your company traditionally provides.
PHRASES THAT PAYSES: “That’s not normal,” “That’s horrible!” “That’s strange,” or, if possible, “In all the years I’ve been working here, that’s never happened!”
CUSTOMER: “Hi, this is Miss Jackson from room 2321. Um, I asked for a non-smoking room, but I think Joe Camel must have stayed here last night.”
YOU: “Really? I’m sorry about that Miss Jackson, thanks for telling me. You know, that’s not normal at my hotel.”
Excellent! You’ve showed surprise, thanked her, even taken ownership and reassured Miss Jackson that her problem isn’t the standard of service. Now it’s time to win her back.
O i
How to Bust Bureaucracy
"Bureaucracy - any administration where action is impeded by unnecessary procedures" - Collins Concise English DictionaryIn your own organisation, do you ever think "Why are we doing this?" or "Why aren't things moving as planned or desired? Do you notice people becoming more difficult to deal with? Do you sense a rising level of frustration? Has your workplace lost its shine? Perhaps it's becoming or already is bureaucratic.Often unnoticed in an organisation's growth is a tendency towards bureaucracy. It's rarely intentional, yet very common.Here are some other symptoms of bureaucracy:• Ineffective meetings - too long, to
l and sincere. Lastly, the customer is more willing to forgive you.
PHRASES THAT PAYSES: “Really?”
Really is one of the most versatile words in the English language. It exudes both concern and curiosity. And based on the severity of the problem, changing the inflection of your voice indicates numerous emotions. For example, stop reading right now. Try saying the word really two times: first with a low pitch and second with a high pitch.
Two totally different meanings, right?
CUSTOMER: “Hi, this is Miss Jackson from room 2321. Um, I asked for a non-smoking room, but I think Joe Camel must have stayed here last night.”
YOU: “Really?”
OK. Great job. You’ve immediately displayed concern for the problem. Let’s move on to step two.
S is for SORRY. Customers don’t want apologies, they want solutions. Still, saying you’re sorry never hurts. You still need to take ownership of the problem. And an effective technique for doing so is to combine “Sorry” with its polar opposite: thank you.
PHRASES THAT PAYSES: Sorry + Thank You.
CUSTOMER: “Hi, this is Miss Jackson from room 2321. Um, I asked for a non-smoking room, but I think Joe Camel must have stayed here last night.”
YOU: “Really? I’m sorry about that Miss Jackson, thanks for telling me.”
Good. You’ve showed surprise. You’ve thanked the customer. Now Miss Jackson is reassured that you’re on top of the problem. Let’s continue on.
T is for THAT’S. Step three is absolutely crucial. This is where you ensure the customer that her problem isn’t normal. That it’s an anomaly. And whatever happened to her is inconsistent with the type of service your company traditionally provides.
PHRASES THAT PAYSES: “That’s not normal,” “That’s horrible!” “That’s strange,” or, if possible, “In all the years I’ve been working here, that’s never happened!”
CUSTOMER: “Hi, this is Miss Jackson from room 2321. Um, I asked for a non-smoking room, but I think Joe Camel must have stayed here last night.”
YOU: “Really? I’m sorry about that Miss Jackson, thanks for telling me. You know, that’s not normal at my hotel.”
Excellent! You’ve showed surprise, thanked her, even taken ownership and reassured Miss Jackson that her problem isn’t the standard of service. Now it’s time to win her back.
O
Are You a Good Interviewer-Here Are 5 Tips to Help You Improve Your Skills
It is not hard to find information on how to prepare for a job interview. What if you are sitting on the other side of the desk. Asking the questions is just as important as the answers you get.Great interviewers are made not born. In this article let's look at what makes a great interviewer and whether you think you are one or not.1. First of all make it fun. Your job is to hire the right person for the job they are interviewing. This is not a police inquisition. You both will do a better job if everyone is relaxed and enjoying themselves.2. You control the way the conversation goes. When people are nervous they may talk to much or they may
but I think Joe Camel must have stayed here last night.”
YOU: “Really?”
OK. Great job. You’ve immediately displayed concern for the problem. Let’s move on to step two.
S is for SORRY. Customers don’t want apologies, they want solutions. Still, saying you’re sorry never hurts. You still need to take ownership of the problem. And an effective technique for doing so is to combine “Sorry” with its polar opposite: thank you.
PHRASES THAT PAYSES: Sorry + Thank You.
CUSTOMER: “Hi, this is Miss Jackson from room 2321. Um, I asked for a non-smoking room, but I think Joe Camel must have stayed here last night.”
YOU: “Really? I’m sorry about that Miss Jackson, thanks for telling me.”
Good. You’ve showed surprise. You’ve thanked the customer. Now Miss Jackson is reassured that you’re on top of the problem. Let’s continue on.
T is for THAT’S. Step three is absolutely crucial. This is where you ensure the customer that her problem isn’t normal. That it’s an anomaly. And whatever happened to her is inconsistent with the type of service your company traditionally provides.
PHRASES THAT PAYSES: “That’s not normal,” “That’s horrible!” “That’s strange,” or, if possible, “In all the years I’ve been working here, that’s never happened!”
CUSTOMER: “Hi, this is Miss Jackson from room 2321. Um, I asked for a non-smoking room, but I think Joe Camel must have stayed here last night.”
YOU: “Really? I’m sorry about that Miss Jackson, thanks for telling me. You know, that’s not normal at my hotel.”
Excellent! You’ve showed surprise, thanked her, even taken ownership and reassured Miss Jackson that her problem isn’t the standard of service. Now it’s time to win her back.
O
Career as a Six Sigma Professional
Job pages in newspapers and on jobsites clear doubts in anyone’s mind about Six Sigma career opportunities. As companies place emphasis on quality and cost management with process improvement being the underlying foundation, Six Sigma is coming to the forefront because of its overall applicability in a business environment. With it comes an upswing in the demand for Six Sigma professionals.Career OpportunitiesCareer opportunities are on the rise in the Six Sigma sector at various capacities. For experienced professionals, launching their own venture can also be very lucrative. However, job opportunities probably exist within your organization as wel
, but I think Joe Camel must have stayed here last night.”
YOU: “Really? I’m sorry about that Miss Jackson, thanks for telling me.”
Good. You’ve showed surprise. You’ve thanked the customer. Now Miss Jackson is reassured that you’re on top of the problem. Let’s continue on.
T is for THAT’S. Step three is absolutely crucial. This is where you ensure the customer that her problem isn’t normal. That it’s an anomaly. And whatever happened to her is inconsistent with the type of service your company traditionally provides.
PHRASES THAT PAYSES: “That’s not normal,” “That’s horrible!” “That’s strange,” or, if possible, “In all the years I’ve been working here, that’s never happened!”
CUSTOMER: “Hi, this is Miss Jackson from room 2321. Um, I asked for a non-smoking room, but I think Joe Camel must have stayed here last night.”
YOU: “Really? I’m sorry about that Miss Jackson, thanks for telling me. You know, that’s not normal at my hotel.”
Excellent! You’ve showed surprise, thanked her, even taken ownership and reassured Miss Jackson that her problem isn’t the standard of service. Now it’s time to win her back.
O
Work At Home Doing Medical Transcriptions
QualificationsIn order to be able to do an efficient job as a medical transcriptionist, you need to receive conventional training so that you gain a better understanding of the medical procedures and terms. During the course of your job, you will have to deal with and comprehend different aspects of medical science like anatomy, diagnostics, treatments and the like.Various institutes and schools offer numerous online degrees and educational training programs. Some of them even provide assistance in job placement. However, to do your job satisfactorily, you should acquire practical work experience and knowledge. Besides this, the task of transcribing
normal,” “That’s horrible!” “That’s strange,” or, if possible, “In all the years I’ve been working here, that’s never happened!”
CUSTOMER: “Hi, this is Miss Jackson from room 2321. Um, I asked for a non-smoking room, but I think Joe Camel must have stayed here last night.”
YOU: “Really? I’m sorry about that Miss Jackson, thanks for telling me. You know, that’s not normal at my hotel.”
Excellent! You’ve showed surprise, thanked her, even taken ownership and reassured Miss Jackson that her problem isn’t the standard of service. Now it’s time to win her back.
O is for OFFERING. When I worked at the Ritz-Carlton, every employee was empowered up to $2000. It was pretty amazing. If a guest was so upset that an apology wouldn’t even scratch the surface, we had the power to offer them a free night (or weekend!) stay at our hotel. Sometimes the guest would be SO delighted at the offering, they’d actually come out better than if there hadn’t been a problem in the first place! (This is known as the Customer Recovery Paradox.)
PHRAES THAT PAYSES: Combine one of the following reassurance responders with your offering, “The best way for me to help you right now,” “Here’s what I can do,” (or if you want to have some fun), “You’re in luck!” “Well, I have good news for you!” “Today’s your lucky day!” or “Fortunately I work miracles!”
CUSTOMER: “Hi, this is Miss Jackson from room 2321. Um, I asked for a non-smoking room, but I think Joe Camel must have stayed here last night.”
YOU: “Really? I’m sorry about that Miss Jackson, thanks for telling me. You know, that’s not normal at my hotel. Fortunately, I work miracles!”
Perfect. You’re almost done SSTOPing this problem!
P is for PROMISE. The three most beautiful words of Approachable Service are PERSONALLY and RIGHT AWAY. Not someone else. Not your boss. YOU. And not “as soon as I can.” Not “as soon as possible.” RIGHT AWAY. As in, I promise to take care of this problem now.
CUSTOMER: “Hi, this is Miss Jackson from room 2321. Um, I asked for a non-smoking room, but I think Joe Camel must have stayed here last night.”
YOU: “Really? I’m sorry about that Miss Jackson, thanks for telling me. You know, that’s not normal at my hotel. Fortunately, I work miracles! And I will personally get you a new room right away.”
CUSTOMER: “Wow! Thanks for taking care of this problem quickly. That’s why I love this hotel. In fact, I am going to recommend that you be promoted to General Manager.”
Wow, GM? Look at you! Well done.
OK. Let’s do a quick review of SSTOP:
SURPRISE – respond as if the problem is news to you. SORY – apology PLUS thank you. THAT'S – inconsistent with your service. OFFERING – to win them back. PROMISE – to do it personally and right away.
Next time you need to approach a disappointed customer, remember these five steps, and you’ll be sure to SSTOP the

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Answer Upon - SSTOP! 5 Steps to Approach Complaining Customers

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