5 Reasons Companies Fail at CustomerService

 

Deliver Excellent Customer Service

Customer service; it is common sense. You may know how to deliver an excellent customer service experience, but do you?
Not long ago a potential client called my office. We discussed the reason he was calling, the problems he’s having and the results he wanted to achieve. He claimed his employees weren’t executing on the “basics.” Within a day I presented an outline of a proposed program. A week later his response was, “We already know how to do that.”
My response was, “Of course you do. Much of customer service is common sense. Unfortunately, it’s not always so common.” What I really wanted to say to him was, “If you really do know how to do it, then why are you so bad at it?” After all, he already admitted that his people weren’t delivering the basics of good service. What I had proposed is exactly what he needed.
You see, it turns out that most companies do know what to do. They just have a hard time executing. So, if so much of customer service is common sense, then why don’t most people do it better?
There are lots of answers, and here are five of them; common sense answers to why common sense customer service fails:

1. Companies don’t take the time to hire the right people. 
2.  Hiring right isn’t just for skill or competence. People have to have some aptitude for customer service, the ability to be trained and they must fit into the company’s culture.
3. The company vision, at least for customer service, is not clear. Many times it’s a vision that is long and wordy. The best customer service vision statement is one sentence or less in length – and employees get it.
4. Companies don’t take the time and effort to train everyone in the company. Everyone has to be on board and in alignment with customer service vision. That can only come through training and ongoing reinforcement of the vision.
5. People who have roles that don’t interact with the customer don’t believe that customer service applies to them. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Everyone has a customer, be it the outside customer or the internal customer. Customer service is part of the culture of a company, not a department with customer service reps. Jan Carlson, former president of Scandinavian Airlines once said, “If you aren’t dealing directly with the customer, you probably support someone who does.”
6. The customer service is not consistent. The inconsistency erodes confidence. The key is to deliver a positive customer service experience that is consistent and predictable.

There are obviously many more reasons companies fail at customer service. To be successful, it starts with the basics, which are common sense. Sure, most people know it. And, if you’re someone who reads my articles, watches my videos and follows me on social media, I bet you not only know it, you get it, and you deliver.

WHAT IS A GAZETTE OR EXCISION?

I know many people or few buyers might have heard the word gazette or excision without knowing the meaning well this is to enlighten you.

A gazette or excision is a document giving the local indigenes of a community, the write to own their ancestral land which have been previously taken or revoked by the government. Now, let me take Lekki for example. The Lagos state government through the land use act acquired all the land in Lekki peninsula. This means that all right to own a land by the indigenes of a community was revoked. Because of this law, the indigenes of Lekki peninsula lost the right of ownership to their ancestral land and started agitating to the government to give them back their land so that they and their children can have a place to live. The Lagos state government seeing the fact that this people needed land for expansion, decided to issues out the gazette (excision) of some portion of land back to the indigenous communities

5 costly mistakes buyers make in real estate

Below are five common mistakes buyers make when buying properties that cost them millions of naira.
Buying a property without setting eyes on it: Never buy any property you or your representative have not seen or confirmed its existence.

Paying money into agent account instead of seller account: Never make the mistake of paying money
for a property into an agents account. The payment for the purchase of a property must be paid into the account of the seller and not the agents account.

Paying cash for property purchase: Always make sure your property transactions go through the banking system. Always issue check instead of cash. Transactions done through the banking system are generally saver and avoided by real estate frauds.

Paying for a property without conducting search first: Never assume the property is genuine. Investigate the title and ownership of the property first before making any financial commitment.

Using their agent to conduct search on a property: Never use your agent to conduct search on a property. Limit their role to only looking for the right property for you. If you want an unbiased result, use a neutral person to conduct the search, most preferably your lawyer.

TIPS ON GETTING A MORTGAGE LOAN

Mortgage money has become harder to get because of bank foreclosures that occurred as a result of the "sub-prime mortgage era." This financial slap has caused some lenders and banks to close their doors. Those that have survived are taking a much more conservative approach to all lending (not just mortgages). Guidelines have been tightened and credit is scrutinized more closely. This has had an impact on old and new borrowers, because a credit record that was passable in the early 2000s is no longer acceptable. Smart borrowers prepare before applying for a mortgage.

START WITH CREDIT
A good credit history is of utmost importance. At least 12 months prior to buying a home, tighten your self-discipline about making payments. It is imperative that your last two years of payment history be timely, but the 12 months just prior to processing a loan are crucial.

LOOK AT DEBTS:
If you are carrying debts with high monthly payments, look at the total minimum monthly payments (including your rent). Divide this by your gross (before taxes) monthly income. The result is your debt ratio, which should be lower than 40 percent of your gross income. FHA allows a little higher than 40 percent, but keeping the ratio lower is financially healthier. This debt ratio will be run again when you apply for a home loan, when it will include a monthly payment for the home, plus monthly taxes and insurance, but not your current rent payment. If your debt ratio looks too high, pay off some debts to eliminate monthly payments and decrease the debt ratios.

SAVE MONEY:
Saving money for a down payment or to pay off debt is a tough job that takes dedication and concentration. You will need down payment money when you buy a home. Even if your seller agrees to pay your closing costs, you will need funds for insurance and tax escrow. The type of loan you qualify for might require some reserves left in your bank after you close. Take a look at your spending and budget. For a week, write down every naira your spend. At the end of the week, you will find out where your small "leaks" are, which can be plugged. Some of these might be fast-food breakfasts and take outs, movie nights, and lunches out at work. Change some of your habits by buying microwaveable breakfasts. Other ways to cut the budget would be to look at your current bills. Making payments on time not only helps credit but saves late fees. Place all of your savings in an account called "home."

STRIVE FOR STABILITY
In most families, the stability of your employment is the family financial stability. If this is true for you, your job is what is used to support the debt of a mortgage. Lenders look hard at the past two years of job history when approving a loan. Hopping from one job to another in different fields is proof that a person is working, but does not prove stability. Pay increase, better benefits or location are all good reasons for job changes in your current field. Layoffs and cutbacks cannot be helped but will need to be explained.

DEVELOP A MORTGAGE RELATIONSHIP:
Realtors will not begin showing homes to prospective clients until you possess a qualification letter from a lender, so call a mortgage professional early. They will work with you to ease you through qualifying for a mortgage by giving advice and guidance. Guidelines change over time, and they will be informed. Beginning this process early will give you insight into issues you need to work on. They will know about grant money and programs to help ease you through what it takes to close on a home. Write down all your questions and call for an appointment. Let them know that you are early in the process but wish to use their services

HOW SITTING ALL DAY IS DAMAGING YOUR BODY

Do you sit in an office chair or on your couch for more than six hours a day? Then here are some disturbing facts: Your risk of heart disease has increased by up to 64 percent. You’re shaving off seven years of quality life. You’re also more at risk for certain types of cancer. Simply put, sitting is killing you. That’s the bad news. The good news: It’s easy to counteract no matter how lazy you are.

Let’s start with the basics. Since childhood you’ve known being a couch potato is bad. But why? Simply put, our bodies weren’t made to sit all day. Sitting for long periods of time, even with exercise, has a negative effect on our health. What’s worse, many of us sit up to 15 hours a day. That means some of us spend the bulk of our waking moments on the couch, in an office chair, or in a car.

Sitting all day long isn’t hard to counteract, but you have to keep your eye on two details: your daily activity and the amount of time you sit. Let’s start by taking a look at what sitting all day does to your body.

An Estimated Timeline of the Effects of Sitting:
It’s difficult to get an accurate assessment of what sitting all day will do to you because the effects work in tandem with diet and other risk factors. So we’re going to start with a relatively healthy person who does not drink in excess, smoke, and who isn’t overweight. Then we’ll estimate the effects of sitting for over six hours a day based on what starts happening immediately after you sit down. For a general overview of the effects, take a look at this chart from Medical Billing and Coding to see a breakdown of what that happens in your body when you sit down. (If the majority of your sitting time takes place at a desk, keep in mind that a standing desk has its own problems

WHAT HAPPENS IMMEDIATELY AFTER SITTING DOWN:
Right after you sit down, the electrical activity in your muscles slows down and your calorie-burning rate drops to one calorie per minute. This is about a third of what it does if you’re walking. If you sit for a full 24-hour period, you experience a 40 percent reduction in glucose uptake in insulin, which can eventually cause type 2 diabetes.

AFTER 2 WEEKS OF SITTING FOR MORE THAN 2 HOURS A DAY:
Within five days of changing to a sedentary lifestyle, your body increases plasma triglycerides (fatty molecules), LDL cholesterol (aka bad cholesterol), and insulin resistance. This means your muscles aren’t taking in fat and your blood sugar levels go up, putting you at risk for weight gain. After just two weeks your muscles start to atrophy and your maximum oxygen consumption drops. This makes stairs harder to climb and walks harder to take. Even if you were working out every day the deterioration starts the second you stop moving (to be contd)

How To Maximize Storage Space in Your New Home

  Moving to a new home is stressful and you might be tempted to start unpacking your stuff and putting them into any available space — simply to be done with the ordeal. Developing an unpacking plan is definitely tedious but it pays off in the long run. You may discover that your home has even more storage space when you carry out your unpacking correctly.

The tips below will help you maximize your storage space effectively:

Kitchen
The kitchen is arguably the most important room in the home. When you make good use of available storage, you can easily find objects thereby saving time spent in searching for objects. This makes the time you spend in the Kitchen productive and enjoyable.


You can plan your kitchen using the following tips:
   - Free up countertop space by placing rarely used items in cabinets.
   - Place rarely used items in storage spaces that are more accessible.
   - Place knives near the countertop where you prepare food most often.
   - Arrange like items in the same place so you can know exactly where each item is located at any time.
   - Keep bigger items like cutting boards, pans, vessels and other items in the cabinet until you need to use them.

Bathroom
The bathroom is also an important room but unlike the kitchen, you might find less space here. It is necessary to have a tidy arrangement of objects in the bathroom.

The following tips should help:
   - Buy a towel rack if you don’t find one installed.
   - Mount a single or multi-layer shelf under the sink for toiletries and other miscellaneous items.
   - Add a new cabinet above the sink if you need more storage but ensure it works with the design of your bathroom. You may use one that features a mirror to serve as storage as well as a mirror.


Other Parts Of The Home
   - Construct shelves on the upper part of the passage way wall to store other items that you can’t keep in the bedroom.
   - Build a shoe rack for proper arrangement of your shoes in your bedroom.


You will definitely enjoy staying in your new home if you make appropriate planning, so please don’t be in a hurry to unpack.

How To Meet Up With Your Mortgage Payments

Paying for a mortgage and other recurrent bills may prove to be challenging some times and if you are not careful, you might start falling behind on your payments.  When you fail to make your mortgage payments, you run the risk of foreclosure and this is not good news. Below are some tips to help you handle your finances to ensure you don’t default on your mortgage payments:

Stick To Your Budget
One sure way to run into financial problems is refusing to stick to your budget. A budget helps you keep track of your expenses and make better financial decisions. Before making purchases, check your budget and find out if it is wise to proceed with the purchase or not. Another way to stick to your budget is to limit the amount of cash you carry with you. When you carry more cash than you plan to spend, you might be tempted to do some impulse buying and this is not a wise financial move.

Buy Only What You Need
One key saving strategy is to effectively separate your needs from your wants. Avoid buying things you don’t need just because everybody is buying it or your child wants it. Cut down on or totally eliminate purchase of luxury goods. 

Make Extra Savings
Save a little extra money every month in your “rainy day” account. This extra savings can be used to pay for or supplement your mortgage when unforeseen expenses or emergencies arise.

Save Before Spending
Cultivate a smart saving attitude by saving before spending. Once you receive your monthly income, set aside a certain amount of money as savings before spending the remaining. This will ensure that your spending does not have an adverse effect on your savings.

Limit/Avoid Borrowing
You are already on a tight budget and borrowing is only going to make your financial situation worse. Avoid borrowing as much as you can and concentrate on repaying your mortgage.
Using these tips above, you can attain a considerable level of financial discipline. This will place you in a better position to manage your finances and make mortgage payments on time.