Steve Hoffacker's Sales Quips

Remember the TV show Family Feud with the catchphrase "and the survey says"?

As an old-time survey researcher where we constructed survey instruments, tested them, revised them, selected a sample, administered them, and tabulated the results, I am dismayed by the blantant use of online surveys today - and especially for the wrong reasons. They have become so trite and common as to have hardly any value.

I rarely respond to an online survey although I usually will open it and look at it. Somewhere between the 3rd and 4th question I'm usually exiting.

Call customer service or interact by phone with anyone as a consumer, and you'll get a survey within seconds of hanging up the call.

If the call went badly, I'll gladly fill out the survey - even though I'm sure no one ever looks at the responses. At least I get to vent.

If the call wen't well, they don't validation. They should know it went well - just as they should know when it doesn't.

Surveys used to let companies know about customer issues, planned marketing campaigns, new ideas that were being tested, or proposed market expansions. Now they just serve to tell companies how good they are doing so they can quote the statistics.

Since many people don't respond, I question the value of those statistics.

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For more information on my coaching and educational programs and services, visit my website stevehoffacker.com, or go to my other bloghomesalesinsights.com for additional sales tips, insights, and commentary. Listen to my free podcast messages at Steve Hoffacker's Happenings.

Steve Hoffacker - Consultant, Coach, Author, Blogger, Photographer, Motivator, Teacher, & Strategist - for Realtors, Real Estate Sales Professionals, Home Builders, New Home Salespeople, Entrepreneurs, Small Business Owners, and Independent Sales Representatives.

© Steve Hoffacker, 2011. All Rights Reserved.

We all appreciate great customer service - maybe because it is so rare to find.

Many companies today have begun using customer satisfaction surveys and recorded intake telephone calls as a way of monitoring their performance - although I think the majority of these are perfunctory rather than strategic.

Nevertheless, I got a recorded telephone survey today from a national company asking me to rate the service I received on my refrigerator yesterday. It was only 2 questions they said, but I didn't have service yesterday. Fortunately I didn't require any.

Nice that they checked, but why would they think they were here when they weren't?

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For more information on my coaching and educational programs and services, visit my website stevehoffacker.com, or go to my other bloghomesalesinsights.com for additional sales tips, insights, and commentary. Listen to my free podcast messages at Steve Hoffacker's Happenings.

Steve Hoffacker - Consultant, Coach, Author, Blogger, Photographer, Motivator, Teacher, & Strategist - for Realtors, Real Estate Sales Professionals, Home Builders, New Home Salespeople, Entrepreneurs, Small Business Owners, and Independent Sales Representatives.

© Steve Hoffacker, 2011. All Rights Reserved.

Speaking of banks, as I was in my last post, here's an incredible series of events that happened to me.

I had a small balance on my credit card which I paid off last year. Actually I miscalculated and overpaid by $1.99. That credit balance sat on the books for a few months and then they sent me a check for $1.99. I couldn't decide where to spend it so I put it in the drawer.

Then it got buried until recently. It says on the face that it is only valid for 180 days. Then what, the ink disappears? A check is contract - a promise to pay. It cannot be legally canceled or have limits placed on it.

So I put it in the ATM - all $1.99. Mind you it is my money - always has been. It was a refund of overpayment from the bank. They cannot hold onto the money.

A few days later, I get a letter in the mail. The $1.99 check was dishonored - the bank had stopped payment on it.

Not only that, the bank charged me a $6.00 returned check service fee.

So, instead of getting the $1.99 refund I was legally owed, I got charged $7.99. No wonder banks are doing well.

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For more information on my coaching and educational programs and services, visit my website stevehoffacker.com, or go to my other blog homesalesinsights.com for additional sales tips, insights, and commentary. Listen to my free podcast messages at Steve Hoffacker's Happenings.

Steve Hoffacker - Consultant, Coach, Author, Blogger, Photographer, Motivator, Teacher, & Strategist - for Realtors, Real Estate Sales Professionals, Home Builders, New Home Salespeople, Entrepreneurs, Small Business Owners, and Independent Sales Representatives.

© Steve Hoffacker, 2010. All Rights Reserved.

This week, we witnessed a large organization with a lot of parts - a lot of moving parts actually - show that things can happen quickly if and when you want them to. I'm speaking of NASCAR.

Saturday night, the fans got shortchanged as the Bud Shootout ended with a checkered flad (the winner) and a yellow flag (caution) flying at the same time. This means that the competition was over as no one is allowed to advance their position or challenge during a caution. Essentially the filed was frozen prior to the finish.

The way it got to that point was with the green-white-checker provision that NASCAR put in a couple of years ago - also after fans clamored for a change. There was a caution before the end of the race so it was started again with a chance - but only one - of completing the race at speed. If there was another caution in the overtime, the race wowas over and would finish under caution. Such was the case.

There was a lot of talk and speculation as to how to give the fans more of what they came to see - an actual race to the the finish line. SO NASCAR now had ruled that there will be three attempts to complete the race in overtime. If the first one doesn't work, they'll do it again , and one more time - if necessary.

That was Saturday. Yesterday, they announced the change - in time for this weekend's big slate of races at Daytona.

It didn't need a series of meetings and focus groups. No committees to mull it over. Less than 4 days and it was done. See what can happen when you remember your customers?

Toyota, take notice.

Congress, are you listening?

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For more information on my coaching and educational programs and services, visit my website stevehoffacker.com or go to my other blog homesalesinsights.com for additional sales tips, insights, and commentary. You can also listen to my free podcast messages at Steve Hoffacker's Happenings.

© Steve Hoffacker, 2010. All Rights Reserved.

No one likes to experience talking to a customer service technician when they don't understand your issue or can't really help you resolve it whether they are experienced or not. They almost make it seem somehow like it's your fault the product isn't performing. I had such a call yesteday - for over an hour. Rather than resolve the issue, which I think they should have been able to do, they essentially wanted me to keep trying to fix it myself. I am waiting for a supervisor to call next.

Then, there is the other type of call, albeit considerably rarer. The one where you are treated well and the person you are talking to actually knowsa what they are doing, anticipates your needs, and makes helpful suggestions. You don't feel silly for having called. You didn't waste their time. You actually feel good asbout continuing to use their product. I had this call yesterday also.

Call it the tale of two calls.

If companies are going to continue to put people on the front lines like in the first example, they are going to continue to lose customer loyalaty and positiove WOMM. For the record, I have dealt with some very good, talented, engaing people at this company, and several like this person. There clearly is a disconnect with so many companies on the importance of customer relations.

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For more information on my coaching and educational programs and services, visit my website stevehoffacker.com or go to my other blog homesalesinsights.com for additional sales tips, insights, and commentary. You can also listen to my free podcast messages at Steve Hoffacker's Happenings.

© Steve Hoffacker, 2010. All Rights Reserved.

Airlines already have done just about all they can to nickel and dime the flying public - just about.

Remember meals on nearly every flight? Remember 2 or more carry-on bags? Remember not paying for sodas and water? Remember getting bumped and getting a free ticket instead of a fixed amount? Remember airlines waiting for passengers from a connecting flight? Remember airlines putting people up for the night when it was their fault that passengers couldn't make their last connection? Remember checking several bags at no charge?

Those were the days.

Now, in addition to paying for everything except the seatbelt, airlines are discussing charging for carry-on luggage. Would a purse or briefcase then be subject to charge?

Regardless. The airlines charge and charge, and we let them. We need to demand refunds when the service is bad. We don't pay full price for a poor meal, and often are comped altogether. We receive a discount when there is a problem with our hotel room or rental car.

Airlines so far are above this. Maybe this is because they know they provide such poor customer satisfaction.

If we held airlines accountable, we would backcharge them or request vouchers or refunds when they are late (on either end), when they cancel flights for reasons other than snowstorms, when they leave us parked on the tarmac or taxiway for extended periods of time, when they oversell the flight and squeeze us in like sardines, when they are condescending or patronizing, or when they lose or damage our luggage.

It's no wonder many people choose driving over flying whenever possible.

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For more information on my coaching and educational programs and services, visit my website stevehoffacker.com or go to my other blog homesalesinsights.com for additional sales tips, insights, and commentary. You can also listen to my free podcast messages at Steve Hoffacker's Happenings.

© Steve Hoffacker, 2009. All Rights Reserved.

Just buying a billboard and printing a slogan doesn't make it true.

This afternoon I saw a billboard on the highway that proclaimed that customers were #1 at Wachovia. I almost drove off the road. That's one of the funniest things I've heard in a long time.

I have lost track of the number of times I have failed to get a straight answer  from a Wachovia person, and no one will accept the word of any other staff person. They are masters of shifting responsibilty to someone else, however. 

If you work at Wachovia and I have inadvertently lumped you in with all the slackers at your bank, I'm sorry. I'd like to think there were some people at the bank who knew what they were doing and related well to the public. I just haven't found any yet.

I think that billboard should come down before someone has a accident.

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To learn more about my coaching and educational programs and services, visit my website stevehoffacker.com or go to my other blog homesalesinsights.com for additional sales tips, insights, and commentary. You can also listen to my free podcast messages at Steve Hoffacker's Happenings.

© Steve Hoffacker, 2009. All Rights Reserved.

Don't you love it when you call someone for computer or software technical support - when you can actually talk to a real person  - and they give you one of two standard responses? It doesn't matter what the issue is. They'll suggest you reboot ot that you reinstall the program or both. The third common one is turn off, unplug and replug.

Occasionally - and it seems to be less frequent than it used to be - you'll find someone who knows more about the issue than what they read on the information page in their manual while talking with you.

I know many of us know more about the issue than the people we're talking with - which is both frustrating and nonproductive.

This sets customer service back even farther.

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For more information on my coaching and educational programs and services, visit my website stevehoffacker.com or go to my other blog homesalesinsights.com for additional sales tips, insights, and commentary. You can also listen to my free podcast messages at Steve Hoffacker's Happenings. © Steve Hoffacker, 2009. All Rights Reserved.

People who are in retail, service, or sales pursuits owe as much or more to the public as they do to their companies.

So many times, people just go through the motions or act like they are trying to do their job, but they are ignoring a very important aspect of that work - their customer or the general public.

If someone doen't like working with people and being polite, courteous, helpful, enthusiastic, optimistic, friendly, and outgoing, then working with the public is probably not their ideal calling. They should think about a career change - or an attitude change.

I really am amazed at how valets, taxi drivers, waiters, retail clerks, salespeople, technicians, and others whose business primarily involves serving the public act as if the public is bothering them. They have a "just leave me alone and let me do my job" attitude, which is totally misplaced because their job is serving the public.

Let's be careful as salespeople that we never let our drive or intensity in getting something done overshadow our true focus which is our customers.

Without customers we have no business. Without satisfied customers we have no referrals or hope of future business.

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For more information on my coaching and educational programs and services, sales tips, insights, or strategies, visit my website stevehoffacker.com or my other blog homesalesinsights.com. © Steve Hoffacker, 2009. All Rights Reserved.

Customer service - and usually the lack of it - is a topic that is frequently discussed on this forum.

A few nights ago, we were at a restaurant where the epitome of a great customer service attitude was uttered by the manager.

Apparently they were short staffed. This seems to be a rather common issue in the restaurant and retail arenas - so the manager was helping out at the salad bar. Another customer remarked about how happy he seemed and his great attitude, and his response was classic.

He said, "I'm the manager and I love it here. I'll do whatever needs to be done."

Wow, if more managers felt that way, then more employees might feel that way, and then there would be more satisfied customers. Then, we'd be able to return to stores that we no longer patronize because of their deplorable attitude and execution.

Regardless of what we do, we need to do it enthusiastically and set a great example to those around us - associates and the public.

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For more information on my coaching and educational programs and services, sales tips, insights, or strategies, visit my website stevehoffacker.com or my other blog homesalesinsights.com. © Steve Hoffacker, 2009. All Rights Reserved.