Chip R. Bell's Blog, page 13

Service Like a Candle

“Is this a happy day for you?” I cheerfully asked the sales clerk as I was checking out of a large retail store. Ironically, “Joy to the World” was playing in the background and twinkling holiday lights were everywhere. To be honest, my query had an ulterior motive. I was trying to left up the outer corners of her despondent countenance.

But, she was not taking my obvious cheer-you-up bait. Without looking up from her toil she said, “I am paid to correctly ring up and bag up what people buy...

Storytelling Power

HOW TO IGNITE YOUR BRAIN WITH STORYTELLING

Those who do not have power over the story that dominates their lives, the power to retell it, rethink it, deconstruct it, joke about it, and change it as times change, truly are powerless,because they cannot think new thoughts.

—Salman Rushdie

THE STORY THAT UPENDED MY PERCEPTIONS AND CHANGED MY REALITY

At the age of 51, I discovered, quite by accident, that my father adopted me when I was three.

Here’s how the story unfolded: My younger brother Da...

Hardwire Learning into Customer Contact Performance

A reputable B2B company recently received feedback indicating widespread customer concern they were not helping their customers remain on the cutting edge of their own industries. The company was so focused on trying to sell they lost sight of helping their customers stay informed on their new applications, new techniques for product use, and more.In an effort to resolve the issue, the company then implemented a “hardwire learning” initiative that included daily posts of “The Stall Street Jou...

Why Not Add Elegance?

We checked into the Lake Lure Inn. Built in 1927, the antique North Carolina hotel served as command central for the making of the movie Dirty Dancing. You now can stay in the Patrick Swayze Suite or the Jennifer Gray Suite. Furnished with exquisite period furniture with meticulous attention to detail, guests feel elevated, enchanted and enriched.

We had dinner in their Veranda Restaurant overlooking the full moonlit lake only a stones through away from our front-row table. The staff was all...

Olympic Service with Abundance

The owner answered the phone. “Are you still open?” I asked him incredulously. “Oh no, we close at 6pm. But, I call forward the store phone to my cell in case of a customer emergency.” I explained my attempt to repair my aging pipe and the part I needed. “Why don’t you meet me at the store,” he said. “I can be there in five minutes.” You know the rest of this story. I still smile when I drive by his store and recall his abundant service.

Abundance is a self-less gesture that changes the calc...

A Ring for Your Customer’s Horses

The Medici family was the richest family in Italy in the 15th and 16th centuries. Based in Florence, their banks (one of the first branch banking systems in history) loaned money to kings and rulers throughout Europe. They were to Europe what John Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie or J.P. Morgan was to the U.S. The Medici family was as powerful as it was generous. The powerful family (especially Lorenzo de Medici) was patrons of the arts and funded famous artists like Michelangelo, Leonardo de Vi...

Star Spangled Service

Walk into the lobby of a Westin Hotel and your nose knows the scent suddenly shifts from the “smell of the street” to a signature fragrance called “White Tea.” Reach the checkout counter of Dallas garden center Nicholson-Hardie and you can pet a big calico cat sprawled across the counter complete with business card with the title “House Cat.” Stroll around a Bass Pro Shop and take in the sporting goods displays amplified by such visual desserts as a giant fish tank and museum quality wildlife...

Serving Customers When Pain Is Involved

The Cincinnati Zoo is forced to shoot a rare gorilla that potentially threatened a boy who had fallen into the gorilla cage. Disney World lost a 2-year old guest to an alligator in an on-property lagoon. A massive hurricane put the local utility company in its bull’s eye. All these tragedies involve customer pain. And, all such incidents risk leaving customers with a foul taste about the business in the context regardless of their culpability.

While some glitches are rare massive tragedies, m...

Lighting Up Customers With Sprinkles

Today was my semi-annual dental cleaning. My dentist, Dr. Norm Lee, is a big fan of “only cleaning the teeth you plan to keep!” I got more than clean teeth; I got service with sprinkles. But, I am getting way ahead of myself. My teeth cleaning started with a text two weeks ago reminding me of the date and time. The day before my appointment, I got another text with another reminder and super friendly call to let me know everyone was very excited to see me. Knowing I can get sometimes distrac...

The Secrets of Leadership Revealed!

There is an old adage that goes, “authority is the last resort of the inept and frustrated.” Parents who have found themselves relying on “…Because I said so” to direct a reluctant child know the absolute truth of this adage. When rank becomes the only means of ensuring compliance, one has long lost the battle to effectively influence.

The art of influencing has challenged leaders for centuries. In autocratic settings, influencing is relatively easy to accomplish–you simply give an order. Obe...