Category Archives: Professional Communications

Professional office and other business communication strategies

Update: Summerhill Spa Responds

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UPDATE:  I just got a call from the spa manager’s husband, who wanted to pass on an apology from the spa manager, who is currently out of the country.  They saw the review I made online and wanted to explain that there was a personal problem (I don’t want to go into details) and it accidentally led to the confusion.  They wanted to offer my wife and I a free 90 min massage.  I told the husband that I accepted the apology and we would certainly consider coming back and also amending my online review (He did not ask for this, but I added it.)
Take-home Notes –
1 – It is great that they review reviews – every business should
2 – it is great that they apologized, even though we can understand the circumstances were not ‘normal’
3 – Always take care of your returning customers
4 – Give a little now and get more later

I did not write the review to get something for free, and as a matter of fact that is what drives me nuts about this country is that the only way to get listened to it seems is to cry loudly, and then most people expect some free gift for compensation.

At the time of writing this I have not received compensation but I have accepted their apology and therefore will amend my review.

Good recovery Summerhill Spa!  We will see you again!

Keep Your Promise and Call Your Customer Back!

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Below is the actual review I have just submitted to WaySpa.com, not regarding their service but regarding one of the spas they cater to.  WaySpa encourages customers to write reviews, and I have obliged.  This is the submitted review:

“This is a split review – My wife and I have been to Summerhill Spa a few times before and usually have a pretty good time.  I myself really enjoyed the hot stone massages.  So my birthday was coming up and my wife surprised me with Way Spa gift certs for $100, and suggested I get a hot stone massage with my favourite therapist (Jessica) at Summerhill.  Okay – great idea!

I called the spa around 11 am on the 18th.  Got answering machine.  Left clear, slow, detailed message.  They called back just before 5 pm.  🙁

Person whom I spoke with said I could do hot stone massage with another therapist (not my requested one) on Friday OR they would call me back Fri to book with my favourite therapist for Saturday.  I wanted to have the same good treatment so I decided to have it Sat. with Jessica, my fav.
Guess what?  They never called me back (even up to now as I’m writing this on Sat at noon).

So obviously I’m not going to get a massage there.
WHY?  That’s the question.  They had an easy sale!  They had a returning, satisfied customer (actually 2 of us) who wanted to give them money for a 90 min massage, and we always tip well, and all they had to do was call me back Fri afternoon as promised, or even Sat. morning.  But NO.

Here are some Qs for Summerhill Spa management:
How did that make me feel?
How many other spas are in Toronto that I can choose from?
How do I feel about going back?
Why should I have to feel pressure to call again, when I was promised I would be called to arrange a massage for Saturday?

Yes the massage itself is good and Jessica is excellent, but overall I have been left with a bad taste in my mouth over this lack of customer care and response.  How hard is it to write a note in the system or on paper to remind yourself to “call back the returning customer to arrange his massage”?
That is money they lost, not just today, but for all the other times my wife and I go somewhere else now.
Buyer beware.  As it has been noted before – I expected more from a spa in Yorkville.”

The Customer is NOT Always Right

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A while ago I attended a seminar in Toronto where the presenter talked about the value of good customer service in all types of industries.  He actually has a background in the restaurant and hospitality industries, so as you can imagine there was a lot of discussion about good and bas service at restaurants, and how to handle complaining customers, even if you are sure they are ‘scamming’ you for free-bees.  His solution was across-the-board give in and put out.  Give in to their complaints and give them complimentary food, coupons, etc.  I have to admit my stomach was unsettled.
Many of us have heard the mantra “The customer is always right.”  But my question is, what type of message are we, as a worker, a manager, a company or a society giving when we give in 100% to fraudsters?  Does that very act not devalue our company?  Does it not encourage people to continue to shout loudly for free stuff?  And how do you think your company waitresses, clerks, phone operators etc. feel when they are told they must accept the abuse?
Years ago when I worked for Copelco Capital, a global financial company later taken over by Citibank, I had the dubious honour of working both customer service AND collections!  So my phone calls were often dealing with angry or complaining clients.  I developed some pretty cool conflict management techniques, which I can share with you another time.  But for today I want to tell you about the time a client called and was complaining loudly, swearing, and not listening to my calm appeals to slow down, and to dignify her language. 
I advised her to stop swearing, and when she didn’t stop, and wouldn’t listen to a word I was saying, I simply hung up on her!  Yes, you heard me, I disconnected the call.
She called the company back, asked for my manager and began to complain about my actions.  My manager told her she would investigate promptly, put the client on hold and came over to my cubicle (p.s. I do NOT miss cubicles) to ask me why I had hung up on her.  I explained that the client would not calm down and refused to heed my warning about her foul language, so I disconnected the call.
My manager said okay, returned to her desk, took the client off hold, and said “yes the reason why Ric hung up on you is that we do not tolerate aggressive or abusive language here.”
The client was dumb-founded for about 5 seconds, and then immediately began apologizing for her previous behaviour.   My manager went on to help her get the problem sorted out peacefully, which any one of us in the customer service department could have done had the client been calmer in the first place. 
I did not get a lecture or any punishment.  It was understood the company would protect its staff from abuse.  I was very proud of my manager that day.

Executive English Coaching is Valuable

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If you a manager, leader or executive, and you have ESL (English as a Second Language), you may need my help.  If you have immigrated to the Toronto area, or you are working here for a while, you may have noticed that we ‘do things differently’ here than what you had read in books.

Culture affects communication in a big big way.  How we Torontonians/Canadians/North Americans use slang and cultural references even in our formal speeches can throw off a lot of people not born here.  How we use our rhythm and volume of our voice while speaking can be very different from your home country.  It might even seem ‘too excited’ or ‘rude’!

Body language is a huge deal here.  How you move your arms and hands while at a meeting or giving a presentation can dramatically affect how you are perceived.  Are you seen as trustworthy?  Sincere?  Confident?  Or are you viewed as weak, gentle, too humble, or aloof (uncaring)?

If you are concerned about how you sound and present yourself at your job and in your career please connect with me for a free consultation in Toronto.   It is not too late to get some very valuable coaching from someone who knows both your culture and ours.  🙂

A Very Busy April Weekend!

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Well first off I’d like to congratulate the newest royal married couple, Will and Kate. It was a fantastic wedding, and I wish you the best. As a Communication Coach, I hope that you continue to relate directly to your public, and don’t be afraid to be real in front of the camera, within reason of course!

Next, I have to send a big Good Luck to GSP (Georges St. Pierre), Mark Hominick, Jason MacDonald and the rest of the Canadian contingent who will be representing this great country on the mat and in the ring this Saturday at UFC 129. It is the first time the UFC has held an event in Toronto, and it was the biggest sell-out so far at 55 thousand seats. I’ll be watching and cheering them on. In the octagon, you cannot hide who you are. The truth will reveal itself. Buckle up.

Speaking of representing our great nation, who is going to win the Canadian federal election? May 2nd is the time to vote and support whichever party leader you believe will do the best job. Or, as some people have suggested, you can pick the one who does the least trash-talking and dirty ad campaigns. (That would be why Smilin’ Jack Layton has doubled his numbers in the last 2 weeks – people are sick and tired of the Liberal and Conservative dirty politics!)

I have to toot my own horn here for a second – it was a great honour to be asked to give my expert communication assessment of the federal leaders’ body language (and other non-verbal communications) after their Federal Leaders’ Debate held April 12th. I was interviewed by 1130 News in Vancouver, AM640 Toronto – The John Oakley Show as well as by host Stephen LeDrew on CP24 LeDrew Live TV show shortly after. I told everyone basically the same thing, which is that from a communication point of view, Mr. Harper had the best showing. He was calm, in control, did not get rattled when he was attacked, and he made symmetrical open hand/arm gestures stemming from his navel, which is an area called the ‘truth plane’. It’s a good place to keep your hands when you are trying to win trust.

Mr. Ignatieff used some poor hand gestures and was caught with his hand on his hip, but did use the ‘rule of 3’ well, which is when you use 3 words that are easy to remember. He repeated “jets, jails and corporate tax cuts” often enough that I still remember them! Problem is, if you overuse this technique, it sounds stale.

Mr. Layton used his smile well, in that he looked great deflecting the criticism with a smile and a joke. He has pretty good posture in general and leads with a strong voice. He was smoother that night that I expected, since Jack usually sounds choppy. He did a great job and I’m not surprised his ratings improved after the debate.

Mr. Duceppe has an obvious disadvantage in that English is his second language, but I can tell you that in any language you do not want to be caught reading your notes, which he was a couple of times. When he speaks fast and impromptu he does not sound as good as when he is prepared and calm.

These are just a few of the things that I noted during the debate. Unfortunately the video from the TV show and the audio from the two radio interviews are not available at this time. However here is a link to a short article from the Vancouver news station, should you be interested:
http://www.news1130.com/news/local/article/211782–harper-was-debate-winner-in-body-language-expert

Have a great weekend, and if you are Canadian, please vote May 2nd. The future is in our hands.

PS – if you or someone you know needs executive coaching, especially for media, public speaking or presentations, please pass along my website contact info. These days it is extremely important that managers and other executives representing the government or a company are clear and confident in their messages to the public, or to the shareholders.

The John Oakley Show – Body Language of Cdn Leaders

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Hello,

After a radio interview this morning and a TV appearance today on the Stephen LeDrew Live show, I have been asked to continue sharing my analysis of the non-verbal communication of the 4 Canadian Leaders during their Tuesday evening debate.

I am happy that I will be on the John Oakley Show – AM 640 – Toronto, at 7:30am (April 14th).

Here is a link to his show’s website, where you can find a link to listen live, if you wish, or listen afterward, as long as the link is up.

Thanks John!

http://www.640toronto.com/HostsandShows/JohnOakley/Main.aspx

Don’t Settle for Less Respect with an Accounting Firm

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At this time of year many people are either doing their taxes themselves or having an accountant help them. I have a little story about trying to find an accountant.

I did an internet search for small-business oriented Toronto-based accountants, and came up with a few. After reviewing their websites I chose one to pursue: Ca4IT.com.

Even though I am not an IT professional, I am a contractor, and it was close enough for me and I assumed close enough for them.

I had a free consultation with a wonderful lady named Rachel. She was professional, knowledgeable and very helpful in helping me feel like my taxes would finally be organized in the best way possible. She even arranged for me to come in for a second free consultation early the next week, so that she could ensure my articles of incorporation and HST were in order. Not 1 but 2 free consultations – nice!

After that second meeting I REALLY felt good about my new accounting firm. I was hooked and happy to sign up. The meeting was left with Rachel informing me that she is not an accountant herself, so she would connect me to one at their firm. She would email me a couple documents, and after that I could proceed. I was a very happy potential customer.

THEN – nothing. No email. I waited a week, then emailed her to remind her. Nothing. I waited another week, then called her and left a message. Nothing. Now I was taking it personally. I hate being ignored. Don’t you?

On top of everything there was to be an accounting software workshop coming up soon that I was supposed to attend (sponsored through their firm) and I had yet to receive confirmation of registration for it.

Finally I emailed the Big Boss Andrew through LinkedIn and explained to him that I came to his firm based on his father’s reputation, and was very impressed with Rachel, until she dropped contact with me for no reason. I told him that his almost-new customer’s patience was wearing thin really fast, and asked that if he didn’t want me as a customer then to please recommend a new accounting firm for me.

I’m sure he didn’t like that but I was pissed.

Did he respond? Not to me directly (which I think he should have) but I think he passed on my displeasure to Rachel because the next business day, at 5:30pm, she emailed me finally. Sounds good right?

Wrong. She took no responsibility for dropping me and even lied by saying that my email was lost in her spam box (which made no sense since she had my business file with all the info plus my email from when I originally emailed into the firm, not to mention that she emailed me to 2 different email addresses at the same time, clearly proving that she had my email).

Then in a cold, ‘professional’ tone she proceeded to tell me to fill out a bunch of forms attached and have everything in by the next day, plus an advanced payment, and then I could attend the accounting workshop being held the next evening. Nice.

So what would you do?

I understood that Rachel is an excellent sales woman, and maybe she was too busy to follow up with me or maybe she passed on my file to others who didn’t follow up. She seemed stressed in the email. I don’t need stress. CRA gives me enough on it’s own.

I never filled out the forms, never sent a cheque and never heard from them again. I guess I was expendable, even though they would have had a client for life, not to mention a client who would have recommended them to others. Now they are stuck with an unhappy blogger!

I have since found a new accountant to help me out this year, and going forward. I am happy so far, but this story reminds me (and should remind you too) that there are plenty of accountants and accounting firms in Toronto and the G.T.A., and in whatever are you live in.

Don’t settle on being treated like a file or number. Insist on being treated with respect – as a person.

Good Hunting!