CenterPoint Blog - Customer Service

Is Cell Phone Abuse Creeping into Your Workplace?

Client Retention — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 20:00:00 GMT

Cell phones and smart phones are here to stay and we love them!

The convenience of making or receiving a call at any time, any place (well, almost), far outweighs the negatives about cell phones and smart phones.

So how can a cell phone possibly be troublesome in the workplace? What exactly is the growing concern?

Perhaps this inexcusable scenario may sound familiar to you:

A senior executive walks into a staff meeting unexpectedly. She wants to use this time while everyone is gathered around, to express sincere appreciation for the hard work and team effort accomplished in the department. Definitely a welcome interruption!

About 5 minutes into praising everyone, her cell phone rings or sings. She actually stops what she is saying and takes a moment to look at the display, sets the phone back down and says, “OK let’s see, where was I?” This ritual is then repeated a few more times. Her short presentation now turns into 20 minutes. Sadly, this executive’s action spoke much louder than any praise she attempted to give.

The employees start rolling their eyes and start whispering to each other about their displeasure. No doubt they are experiencing frustration and stunned disbelief that this executive could behave so rudely. Respect? It sure didn’t happen in this meeting. In fact, her efforts were deflated because she clearly sent a strong message to her employees that none of them were as important as her cell phone calls. With good reason, employees start to say to each other, “why did she even bother?”

The University of Michigan did a survey to over 750 adults and found that 6 in 10 cell phone users say that using a cell phone in public can be “a major irritation.” Not only is it irritating, it can be down right rude and inconsiderate in the workplace. Interesting statistics coming from the users.

Let’s Get Bold Here

Let’s get bold here. Employees are paid to work, not take personal calls. The busier an employee is, the less likely he/she will take time to make or receive personal calls.

On the flip side, employees with time on their hands will fill that gap with personal calls.

Statistics show that 50% of businesses experience annoyance or irritation among employees because there are no guidelines in place.

Do some of these situations sound familiar?

Phones ringing at an unoccupied desk - Do you feel like answering it and saying “nobody is home!”
Annoying ring tones - not everyone likes to hear the cutesy recordings from your children.
Employees who take a call in the middle of a meeting – Disruptive and disrespectful.
A meeting presenter that interrupts his/her speech to take a call – Hmmm, sound familiar?
Non-emergency personal calls that everyone overhears like, “what’s for dinner, honey?” This is really annoying especially if co-workers are doing their work and yours too! This also leads to animosity among co-workers.
An employee who puts a customer on hold to answer a personal call from their cell phone. Don’t even get us going on this one!

If cell phone use and abuse are occurring in your place of business, it is time to implement some etiquette guidelines. If you are not in a position to implement rules or guidelines, you may want to check with your HR department or your supervisor and get something in the works.

Here is a starting point:

Limit personal cell phone use to lunch and breaks.
Do not allow ring tones of any kind.
Company issued cell phones are the property of the company. This means the company can prohibit personable use.
Personal cell phones should be turned off during work hours. Check messages on your break or lunch hour.
If you work in an area that does not have a company land line, personal cell phones should be permissible for emergencies only.

All of us have many stories about cell phone abuse. How irritating is it to be in a store and the sales clerk assisting you is simultaneously talking on the phone with her sister about a new cheesecake recipe? Makes you feel pretty insignificant, doesn’t it. You start to question whether or not they really want your business. Certainly not a good way to build customer loyalty!

First and foremost, always think about the impact your actions have on your customers when you do not give them your full attention. They deserve it.

In the meantime, common courtesy is the best.

What cell phone stories do you have? Share with us, we would love to hear from you!

About Client Retention
Client Retention is a customer service company. Keeping businesses connected to their valued customers and clients is our passion. Our mission is to help business owners and entrepreneurs consistently follow up with and connect with their customers in an effort to build customer loyalty. We create and implement customized greeting card programs for you that promote business growth.
Helping you achieve loyal customers that continually reward you with repeat and referral business is our commitment. Individual connection and personal service are what business relationships are built on, and our fabulous cards achieve this.
Check us out online at www.ClientRetentionInc.com

Turn The Beat Around: Music In The Workplace

Client Retention — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 20:00:00 GMT

Ever notice all the music around you?

It’s played in grocery stores, restaurants, elevators, doctors’ offices, nail salons, car dealerships, gas stations (yes, while you are pumping gas), business offices and even the parking lots!

Is music appropriate in the workplace? You bet it is.

Does music boost employee morale? Yes to that one too.

Music plays a positive role in most of our lives personally and professionally.

Music acts as an important component in building a customer service culture in the workplace.

It improves alertness
Creates team interaction
Increases employee morale – break out in song once in a while and see what happens!
Stimulates productivity
Music makes us happy! (We love happy)
and the beat goes on

Your favorite music automatically puts you in a good mood. And most importantly, an employee’s good mood means a happy customer!

Back in the corporate days on my way to work, I would pop in a CD and listen to, ”We Are the Champions” by Queen for quick motivation. Don’t know why this song had the impact it did, but it helped me motivate my team for sales contests at work. (Really, crank it up and see!)

If you know you have a tough day ahead, try listening to some of your favorite songs before you get to work or right before an event. Seriously, this works.

We recently attended a workshop and observed our speaker putting on a headset just prior to starting the event. Watching as she moved to an unpopulated area, we instantly knew she was listening to a song(s) that moved her mind and soul into the motivation and energy she needed for a long day ahead. Wow, the impact and power of music. By the way, it was by far one of the most informative workshops we have ever attended.

We are big believers that starting off your day with music can set the tone for the entire day. We would be remiss if we didn’t make a comment of how it has its place at home too. Being Motown gals, Aretha and Smokey continue to be our constant motivator for some serious house cleaning!

Bullies In The Workplace

Client Retention — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 20:00:00 GMT

What determines a bully? Bullies purposely try to make people feel uncomfortable OR purposely put people down. Some also have a habit of keeping you in a state of “psychological emergency.” This makes them feel important by continually keeping you in a scrambling mode. You are constantly walking on eggshells around them and they love it. This is one of the worst forms of bullying.

Here are some other tactic bullies at work use:

Condescending or demeaning language
Flaunt their authority
Talk about others behind their back
Use the “silent” treatment
Yell, shout or insult
Dirty looks or negative eye contact - rolling their eyes
Belittle someone’s opinion - such as, ”What a stupid idea.”
Purposely choosing not to respond to emails or calls

What can you do about bullying at work?

First of all, you must stop being silent. This is tough on many levels but you must speak up or this unacceptable bully behavior will continue. Confront that person on neutral ground. Restrict to basic behavior and don’t try to analyze. During this conversation, specify what behavior change you want from that person. Something like, “you not only embarrassed me but you also embarrassed yourself.” If there are any specific issues that need to be addressed, state that you would appreciate the respect of talking about them privately.

In addition, don’t give your personal power away. Regardless of the setting, stop listening to their lies and insults and walk away. This actually is very powerful because it defuses the bully and he/she does not know what to do.

For additional support, you may want to recruit some allies. Check with co-workers and ask if they are experiencing the same thing you are. Talk openly and stand together. Listen to others, but trust yourself. If you have an option, you may want to move to a different area or department.

Something else you must do is document each and every incident. Keep your opinion out of it. Document the date, time, witnesses and the facts. Hold on to this information in the event you need it for further action. You can also email this information to your boss and/or talk to someone in HR.

You may also prefer to talk to a counselor or someone objective. If the bully happens to be your boss, you may have to make a tougher decision.

Remember . . . People cannot bully you if you don’t allow it!