I know the concept of effectively communicating with customers is critical, but I never appreciate how critical until I’m on the receiving end of bad customer communication.

I’m not good at dealing with bad customer service.  I tend to come across as harsh and straightforward even in non-confrontational situations.  It’s not pretty when it does get confrontational.   My son once told someone that when my ears turn red, bad things are about to happen.  He should know.

As a customer, I realize that been given adequate information makes me much happier.  Not giving updates or giving incomplete or misleading information is bad practice.  My experience is that open and honest information throughout the process can help solve a problem before it becomes a crisis.

In my old Army public affairs days, we had an operations phrase – go ugly early.  The concept was that when dealing with bad or negative information, getting it out in the open early was much better than attempting to bury it.  Experience proved that it would stink worse when it was eventually dug up.

After a dreadful experience of being given bad and misleading information that caused me to fail in a critical delivery to a customer, I have to evaluate my own organization’s communication efforts.

We try to communicate well with customers.  I constantly encourage employees to communicate with customers.  We have mechanisms in place to communicate with customers about jobs in process.  But, I know we don’t do enough.  I know there is more we could do.  In our constant deadline and high-pressure business, we are always pushing to get things done.  We sometimes miss deadlines for lots of reasons.  In our haste to get things done, we sometimes fail to communicate with the customer.  That’s not good.  We’ll do better.

On my last day in Zaremtenga, in the East Mamprusi region of Ghana, I was invited to join the old men’s after breakfast group.  I could speculate on way I was invited but I’m certain it was not because of any wisdom I could add to the group.

They specifically didn’t invite the young guys.  They didn’t invite our interpreter.  (That was my clue that conversation with me was not on their agenda.)

It was kind of like the men gathering at Hardee’s, or at Moss’ in Clarksville.  They each had a gourd of their morning brew to sip on as they discussed topics of the day.  I suspect it was very much like the gathering of men that happens pretty much anywhere in the world.

I suspect that their objective for inviting me was the laugh they enjoyed as they passed a gourd of brew for me to sip on.   They were all in anticipation of my reaction at my first sip.  I didn’t disappoint them.

I would liked to have been able to listen in to the conversation with understanding.  It would have been interesting to know what the wiser elders discuss as they gather in the cool of the morning.

But, I have to think about the gatherings I am involved in many mornings – at Starbucks, Arby’s, Lasaters, my office, and other places such as the one I had this morning.  I hope that the sessions I am involved in are God-honoring and positive rather than gripe sessions.  What is the discussion like when you sit down with brothers and sip on a gourd of your favorite brew?

In a culture where we are bombarded with promises, it is difficult to take promises and commitments seriously.   But, in business, in churches, and in civic organizations, that is exactly what we must do.

Forget about the promises others make.  Think about the promises we make and evaluate them seriously.  We must be careful that our promises to overextend our ability to delivery.

I’m not necessarily talking about big issue promises.  I’m thinking more about the smaller, seemingly more insignificant promises we make on a regular basis.  “I’ll meet you Tuesday morning at 7:30.”  “I’ll call you next week.”  “We’ll have that posted on our website this afternoon.”  “I’ll get that shipped out today.”

Every time we fail to make good on one of those small promises, our credibility is damaged.  Maybe it’s not a torpedo to the superstructure, but it is a chink in the armor.

As difficult as it may be, it is better in the long run to have never promised at all than to have promised and failed to deliver.  I promise.

A trip home always produces some nostalgia.  This past weekend was no exception.  As estates have closed out, there are few urgent reasons to go back.  This weekend offered great weather for a day hike along the Ocoee River watershed with two of my sisters.  That is an adventure story in a class by itself.

The nostalgia came from a local news tidbit mentioned by my sister and reinforced with a newspaper clipping provided by my sister-in-law.  My high school newspaper had resumed publication after a 10-year hiatus.  At a time when newspapers across the country are dying, high school crusaders are optimistic.  I am hoping that the students are ardent crusaders as they dabble in the classic art of journalism.

Some 40 years ago, my passion for newspapers and journalism was birthed in the incubator of high school journalism.  My sister had edited the high school paper before me.  My wife-to-be followed me as editor.

In the years to follow, I charged into the world of Army journalism and public affairs with rare youthful opportunities to edit newspapers at Fort Benning and in Korea.  After leaving active duty, I continued my education crusaded in a true 1970s style at my university newspaper.  Studying at the Indiana University School of Journalism, I was very much aware of the heritage left there by war correspondent Ernie Pyle.  I eventually worked out the crusading passion but never the interest in print, media, and politics.  Those things have shaped me for better or worse over the last 40 years.

As those young students take up the pen (alright, it’s a keyboard these days), I trust they, too, will be shaped by the lessons learned in producing a product that goes under public scrutiny.

Customer service must be constantly evaluated to maintain a sharp edge.

Last week a client sent a terse email asking why he had not received follow up on an earlier request.  I was out of the office for two days but Dustin quickly took care of it.  When I got back in the office, I told the client I would investigate why we had failed.  I told him I would visit him by the end of the week to tell him what I found out.

The client encouraged me not to come down hard on Dustin because Dustin had ultimately taken care of the request.  Investigating the process is not a matter of laying blame but finding problems in the system.  We found that an email I had sent to Dustin and copied to the client was received by the client but not by Dustin.  Who knows way; we can only credit it to cyberspace demons.  The lesson for us is to be sure we follow up on communication and close the loop.

The customer was amazed when I stopped by to report my findings even though I told him I would.  He had forgotten the issue.  One perspective would be that I could have left it alone and not brought up a negative issue again.  I believe following up was the right option.  It said to the client that we are serious about customer service.  He knows that we consistently provide excellent service and this was an anomaly.  But, following up said to him that we always want to do better.

Dustin and I – and everyone in our organization — are serious about serving customers.  That’s why customer service is the foundation of our mission statement.  If we don’t evaluate how we do it and investigate problems, we will never stay on top of the game.

I have been rethinking customer service lately by looking at it from the perspective of my own experiences as a customer. That has been a helpful approach in evaluation whether we provide excellent customer service or not.

Some of the comments I received last week are in line with my own conclusions. It is not always possible to make every customer happy. It is more likely possible to meet the customer’s expectations if we have clearly stated our capabilities and schedules. As one commenter said, “you have to be realistic.”

If a customer asks for a job to be done today and we know it can’t be done today, we need to be clear in saying when it can be done. Don’t overpromise your capabilities in an attempt to appease the customer. In the long run, you will have an unhappy customer.

I truly hate it when we disappoint a customer. It really does bother me. We had such a situation last week. I promised something to a loyal customer with the expectation of a one-week turn around. Going into the second week, the customer was asking me when it would be done; I was putting pressure on the staff to get it done and no one was happy.

Quality is understood as a basic minimum of our service. Sometimes, with demands of production schedules, that may take longer than expected. Clearly communicating those schedule restraints is a primary key to customer satisfaction.

Keep giving me your feedback.

All we really wanted to do was change our flight and head home early.  It was not a complicated request.  Nor is it uncommon.  But, it was a major lesson in customer service.

The ticket agent spent 45 minutes telling us first there would be a $150 charge to change, and then it became $186, then $400, and finally $800.  It only got worse when I, in frustration, asked to speak to a supervisor.  I got a lecture on schedules.  I was told I was rude.  (I was frustrated, not rude.)  I was then called a liar.   She insisted we had no other option but to wait until the following day and fly as scheduled and that no other airline would possibly honor our ticket a day early.  She refused to transfer our tickets to another airline.

After considering our options, we went to another airline ticket counter where Kim was friendly and more than willing to accommodate us.  Unfortunately, we would have to get the first airline to release our ticket.

When I went back and told the supervisor the other airline would honor our tickets, she again called me a liar and insisted I had given incomplete information.  She literally flew over the ticket counter to query the accommodating ticket agent. (I’m sure she had a broom for said flight.)  Yes, I had explained that our flight was scheduled for the following day; and yes, they would take it.

While waiting (patiently and calmly, I would note) at the first ticket counter again, I watched seven other passengers be turned away including five who missed their international flight while arguing with the agent about their confirmed reservations.

The first ticket agent wanted to explain that the airline was in bankruptcy and they had limitations including excessive fees.  The airline’s problems were more important that customer service.  (The airline’s problem was customer service.)  The second ticket agent found a way to make it work and even worked around charging an extra fee for luggage.  And, our schedule change cost nothing.  (Saying a change often is at no charge was one of the points on which I was called a liar.)

What’s the lesson here?  Helping the customer is always the right option.  Sometime, it isn’t possible.  But, it can usually be done without calling the customer names.

Is a smile enough to keep customers happy or does it take more than that?

One evening last week, we pulled into West Yellowstone, MT, after a long day fishing. We zeroed in on a little rustic diner that touted fresh trout, buffalo steaks and buffalo burgers. It seemed to be unassuming among the tourist attractors.

We were quickly seated in a corner that we quickly realized was the bar area. We ordered and received our food promptly but that’s when the lack of service became apparent. Both our glasses were empty. I began to rattle my ice so much that other patrons noticed. Unfortunately, the server–who had taken on a life work or rearranging the bar–didn’t notice.

I caught the attention of one of the three servers standing in a huddle talking. I raised my empty glass to her and she smiled in response. Later another server came our way but failed to acknowledge our need. Several attempts were futile.

We eventually got our check after debating whether we would be noticed if we walked out without receiving or paying for a check. At the counter, the server who smiled in acknowledgement to my empty glass was the cashier. She never asked the traditional. “How was everything?” question. Had she asked, I would have told her.

I have a policy of leaving a generous tip when eating out. This was the exception. My only tip was a note on the credit card slip about the relationship between tips and service.

How are we doing in business? Are our customers trying to get our attention and we only acknowledge them with a smile? This experience challenges me to be more proactive in customer service.

How do you know when a marketing piece is well designed?

Design is so subjective that it is difficult to know the right way to go.  We see some clients paralyzed by asking too many people for their opinion.  If you get too much input, how do you weight the differing opinions?

Good, quality design is clean and simple.  Good quality design reflects the personality of your organization.  Or, it may reflect the tone of the message you want to convey.  And, the approach of the design may depend on how you plan to use it – a billboard will be significantly different from a brochure.

No matter what your presentation, your design is subordinate to your message.  The design helps covey the message.  The design generally is not the message.  If your design overpowers the message, the design is not effective.

An experienced, professional designer is invaluable in putting your marketing materials together. Trust a professional designer to develop an approach that works for you.  It will be worth the cost.  And, with the right design, your marketing dollars are more effective.

With a proven design team, you should be able to present a concept of your marketing objectives and then let them show you what works.

Take time to look at some of the MediaWorks design samples in the portfolio at www.mediaworksdesign.com.  Talk to us about how we can make great impressions for you.

A friend of mine posted one-line words of wisdom from the Southern Baptist Convention last week. In keeping with his style, most of them were irreverent. One in particular caught my attention because it hit home. He said, “When in conversation, watch the eyes of the person you’re talking to. It helps!”

I know I’m not the world’s worst, but I also know I’m guilty. How about you? Think about it. You’re standing in the foyer before church, in a gathering area at a Chamber of Commerce event, or at a wedding reception talking with someone. The person is intense in talking to you but your eyes are over their shoulder scanning the crowd. Maybe you’re just looking to see who’s there. Perhaps you are trying to scope out the person you’re going to talk to next.

Don’t think the person you are talking to won’t notice. They do. They know they don’t have your attention. And, if they do have it, they know they won’t have it for long. It’s really insulting to them.

The same thing happens when I’m eating out. I make a point to sit with my back to the wall and, preferably, facing the door. I joke about keeping my back to the wall. But, really, I have a compelling obsession with knowing who has entered the room.

Here’s my commitment – I’ll try to do better. I’ll try to stay focused on the person I’m talking with. You try it, too. Perhaps we can do better at communicating.