tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40343030704600467272024-02-08T09:42:33.197-08:00Wyoming Community DevelopmentA look at the issues and opportunities facing Wyoming communities. Tara Kuipershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01756609954274402210noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4034303070460046727.post-61458617982429081602013-03-05T12:00:00.000-08:002013-03-05T12:00:04.583-08:00Resolutions, or just GOOD Goals?<br />
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We’re around two full months into 2013. How are your New Year’s resolutions going?</div>
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Not so good? Don’t worry, you're not alone. </div>
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Breaking our New Years' resolutions seems to be a national pastime. This may
not be the first time you’ve watched New Year’s resolutions go down in flames
before your calendar turned to March - or even February!</div>
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Rather than beating ourselves up over broken resolutions, let’s look
instead at how we can make positive and necessary changes a lasting force in
our life. Here are some ideas on setting and keeping goals:</div>
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When you set a goal, tell someone about it. Simply knowing that others
are aware of your goal might keep you on the right track to achieve it. Tell a
spouse or a colleague; post it on Facebook or Twitter; write it in an email to
your siblings; or, make a bold move and write a professional goal in your
company’s newsletter. Peer pressure can work wonders even (or, especially) for
adults. </div>
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In addition to telling others, be sure you write it down. A journal or
notebook works fine, but think about other places that might serve as active
reminders. Write your financial savings goal on a sticky note stuck to your ATM
card so you see it each time you make a purchase. Write your healthy diet goal
on a piece of paper under a magnet on your fridge so you are reminded each time
you choose a bite to eat. Write your commitment to more family time on a note
by your computer monitor so a board game or bedtime book with your kids doesn’t
get intercepted by after-dinner web-surfing. </div>
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Finally, when setting your goal, be specific. “Working out more” or
“spending more time with family” or “eating healthier” are excellent, worthy
goals – but what do they mean? Pledge to a reasonable, practical, and
achievable change that you can clearly define for yourself. Change the elusive,
too-broad goals to things that you can quantify, like these: “work out 3 times
a week for an hour”; ”eat 3 servings of vegetables each day”; ”play games twice
a week for at least an hour with the entire family”. </div>
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Goals that are shared with others, written down, and include the right
amount of details give us something to measure. And more importantly, they give
us something to CELEBRATE when they’re achieved! </div>
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Tara Kuipershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01756609954274402210noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4034303070460046727.post-86020230435853530392013-02-26T12:00:00.000-08:002013-02-26T12:00:01.254-08:00The 5 P's of Budgeting<br />
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A budget is a financial tool, but it goes far beyond columns and rows
of numbers to the values and priorities of a business, an organization, or a
family. While budgeting can be a complex
and sometimes ambiguous process, keep in mind that a budget reflects 5
important things: it is a <b>Proposal, Promise, Priority, Purpose, and Prediction.
</b></div>
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A budget is your <b><i>proposal</i></b> to your stakeholders or
your stockholders. Through your budget, you are proposing what you will do with
the funds entrusted to you and your organization. </div>
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Similarly, a budget is also a <b><i>promise</i></b>. You are making an assurance
that your resources will go for specific things. A budget is often used as a
tool for accountability; it is a way to make sure your resources have gone to
where you intended them to go. </div>
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A budget is also a <b><i>priority</i></b>, in two unique ways. First, your budget reflects the priorities of
your business or organization, and also, it should ultimately be a priority in
and of itself. Having and following a plan that complements your strategy and direction
should be a priority to assure your organization is ‘on track.’ </div>
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Likewise, budgets allow organizations to do things with <b><i>purpose</i></b>.
Budgets have a managerial purpose for a business or organization. They establish
a ‘steering’ function by providing efficiency in planning and control. </div>
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Finally, a budget is a <b><i>prediction</i></b>. When creating a budget,
we are working in the realm of possibility and presumption. The unexpected
occurs in both the “expense” and “income” columns of a budget, so it might simply
be our ‘best guess’ of where resources will come in and out during a period of
time. </div>
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Everyone in your organization is likely to view the budget quite
differently. A board of directors may be interested in the ideology of a budget
and how likely it will lead to wealth accumulation or perpetuate
sustainability. A Director or CEO may place the managerial aspects of a budget
at the forefront, using the budget as a planning and management tool for
assuring the organization runs smoothly. Additionally, a bookkeeper,
accountant, or treasurer is more likely to focus on the processes and
technically-driven aspects of the budget so it can be executed well. </div>
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<br /><b>
Recognize that a budget isn’t ONE thing, but MANY things to many different
constituents; </b>that is the first step in an effective budgeting process. It may
not be simple, but it will certainly be beneficial, when you allow your budget
to serve a broader purpose than simply adding and subtracting your dollars and
cents. </div>
Tara Kuipershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01756609954274402210noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4034303070460046727.post-87822210769258811112013-02-19T12:00:00.000-08:002013-02-19T12:00:00.813-08:00The REAL Value of Budgeting<br />
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The word “budget” strikes fear in the hearts of many, and there are
several reasons why. </div>
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Creating a budget may evoke images of shoe boxes spilling over with
wrinkled receipts and checkbook registers with columns of numbers that refuse
to add up. Living on a budget sounds like a constricting and fun-diminishing
way to approach life. Understanding a budget might appear to require a daunting
level of expertise in spreadsheets and number-crunching. </div>
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But put aside for a moment the images of number-crunching, calculating,
and balancing. </div>
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Instead, <b>think about what a budget truly IS, and what it DOES. </b>Sure, a
budget is associated with accounts and balances, but in reality budget has a
lot less to do with dollars and cents and a lot more to do with values and
priorities. </div>
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In simple terms, <b>a budget is the way your business, organization, or
family allocates its’ limited resources among a number of competing interests.</b> Journalist
Gloria Steinem is credited with saying, “We can tell our values by looking at
our checkbooks.” Your budget speaks volumes about what’s important to you,
because where your resources go is likely where your priorities lie. </div>
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The term “values-based budgeting” is a term commonly invoked by
government entities, highlighting their attempt to reflect constituents’ values
in their budgeting process. But nearly all budgets – businesses, nonprofit
organizations, families, departments, and even families – implement some level
of values-based budgeting. If your business places value on cutting-edge
technology, you may prioritize a tech upgrade over new furniture in the employee
break room. Likewise, if your family values outdoor recreation, you may see
more money going toward skiing equipment rather than fast-food meals or a
bigger television. </div>
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So if you are one of the people who fears budgeting because it seems
too complex, restrictive or confusing, <b>don’t focus as much on the MECHANICS of
the budget but rather the MEANING it represents. </b></div>
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To be effective with a budget in your business, organization, or
family, you don’t need a degree in accounting, and you don’t need to be an
Excel spreadsheet expert. Instead, you need to understand your priorities, communicate
your values, find ways to compromise, and ultimately, be flexible. </div>
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A budget goes far beyond columns and rows of numbers to the heart of a
business, an organization, or a family ... that is the REAL value of budgeting. </div>
Tara Kuipershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01756609954274402210noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4034303070460046727.post-9521112743070479182012-12-18T12:00:00.000-08:002013-02-12T11:35:16.483-08:00Leader or Manager: Who are YOU? <br />
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The terms ‘management’ and ‘leadership’ are
often used interchangeably, but don’t be fooled – they are unique and distinct
in a multitude of ways. While both are critical to any organization or
business, they require different capabilities and talents. </div>
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Leaders and mangers: both are important and both are necessary. <b>Which
one are YOU?</b></div>
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Consider the roles or tasks you feel most naturally drawn or inclined
to. What kinds of work do you choose to do, when the choice is yours to make?
What tasks or roles do you enjoy the most? </div>
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You are probably more comfortable and more experienced in one or the
other. Once you know where your natural comfort and skill is found, think about
how to build up the other. </div>
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<b>Do you have some leadership muscle, but need to build up your
management strength? </b></div>
<ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">Read and become familiar with the concepts
of project management and process improvement for your industry. </li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">Identify and list all the ways you could
better organization your office, your department, or your
business/organization, and tackle one organization project each week. </li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">Find a colleague who you deem competent in
budgeting and ask to shadow them as they work on budget-related tasks. </li>
</ul>
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<b>Do your management skills shine while your leadership skills need some
polishing?</b></div>
<ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">Develop broader knowledge of your business
or industry. Look to and learn about other departments, partners, or
sectors, both internally and externally, to become more ‘generalist’ than
‘specialist.’ </li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">Focus on relationships – with
subordinated, peers, clientele, and managers. Building relationships help
you gain influence in meaningful, multidirectional ways. </li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">Find ways to partner with others. Sharing
responsibilities, risks, and rewards will help you gain trust and support
others in their success. </li>
</ul>
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Mastering all of the skills for both leadership and management is a
tall order. It may not be accomplished quickly or easily, but knowing the
differences – and above all, <b>knowing YOURSELF</b> – can help you build your
leadership AND management capabilities. </div>
Tara Kuipershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01756609954274402210noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4034303070460046727.post-77201318404962882002012-12-11T17:37:00.001-08:002012-12-11T17:37:43.284-08:00Leadership vs. Management: KNOWING the difference can MAKE a difference<br />
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<b>Are you a manager, or are you a leader?</b></div>
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The terms ‘management’ and ‘leadership’ are often used interchangeably.
Some people approach leadership and management as synonymous, considering them
“one in the same”. There certainly are similarities. Both typically have
influence over employees or constituents, and both possess some level of
authority or power. </div>
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Aside from these similarities, leadership and management have a great
deal of distinction. <b>So what are the
differences?</b> Let’s first take a look at how to define each of these important
roles. </div>
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<b>Management</b> usually deals
with making systems, people, and resources work together over time. This might
involve several different functions, from planning and budgeting to organizing
and staffing. Administering and evaluating projects, maintaining order, and
taking a problem-solving approach are all key roles of a manger. A good manager
will assure order and consistency while getting the job done, and getting it
done right. </div>
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<b>Leadership,</b> on the other
hand, is focused less on planning and organizing and more on visioning and
setting direction. A leader needs to be strategic and motivated, aligning the
right people around the right opportunities for the future of the business or
organization. Possessing a long-range perspective, a leader is innovative and
creative when approaching the future. </div>
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Leadership sets the course, while management navigates it. Leadership
builds trust with the team, and management provides accountability and
structure. Leadership dreams and develops “what might be” in the future, while
management maintains and strengthens “what is” in the here-and-now.
Leadership’s eyes are fixed on the horizon, while management’s eyes are fixed
on today. </div>
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Do all leaders make good managers? Probably not. Do all managers make
good leaders? Not necessarily. </div>
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If not the same person, it is ideal that leaders and managers cooperate
with each other. Leaders might establish long-term and visionary goals, while a
manager is tasked with planning and organizing the organization around those
goals. While managers focus on the logistics of a team, leaders focus on the
relational and interpersonal aspects of a team. Organizations and businesses
need both management and leadership to succeed. </div>
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So, we’ll reflect again on the opening question: <b>Are you a manager, or
are you a leader? </b>Knowing your own strengths and matching them to the needs of
your organization or business will help you develop in your leadership and management
roles.</div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal;"> </span></h2>
Tara Kuipershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01756609954274402210noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4034303070460046727.post-71135398717657060422012-12-03T12:46:00.001-08:002012-12-04T08:28:07.559-08:00To COMPETE, or to COOPERATE ... is that the question?<br />
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Our society has been touting the benefits of good ol’ fashioned competition
for centuries. </div>
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We laud being competitive because “…it brings out the BEST in us,”
we’re told. “Competition makes us smarter, faster, and stronger,” they say.
“You must compete to win…!” is a phrase I’ve heard more times than I can count.
</div>
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Competition is important, I certainly agree. </div>
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<i>But does it really bring out our
best?</i> Sometimes ….while other times
it can bring out our ‘beast’, our worst qualities and characteristics. </div>
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<i>Are we really getting smarter,
faster, and stronger through competition?</i> Possibly … but how fast can you
run when you are looking over your shoulder at who is closing the gap? </div>
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<i>Do we really need to compete to win?</i>
Maybe … but what if ‘winning’ isn’t always the goal? Striving to do well might
not always result in a ‘winner’ and a ‘loser’. </div>
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In many cases, competition might spur personal and professional
achievement. </div>
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However, decades of research in business, education, economic
development, health care, and even professional athletics are demonstrating
that something else drives innovation, creativity, profitability, and overall
success even more than competition. </div>
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That “something else” is cooperation. </div>
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Usually seen as the antithesis of competition, cooperation is becoming
the hidden secret to success in a variety of interesting ways. </div>
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Business leaders who rate high on scales of cooperation and openness
are seeing faster rates of growth and profitability in their companies.
Students who are learning in cooperative learning environments are scoring
higher on standardized tests and demonstrating higher rates of learning
retention. </div>
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Corporations that are viewed by the public as cooperative and
community-oriented have a greater sense of public trust, and a greater market
share to go with it. Professional athletes who train cooperatively with a
partner or team rate higher on overall scales of fitness and longevity in the
sport than their counterparts who train solo.
</div>
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So what does being cooperative in today’s society mean? How about some good ol’ fashioned cooperation – instead of, or in
conjunction with, competition – to REALLY benefit our personal and
professional pursuits?</div>
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<br /></div>
Tara Kuipershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01756609954274402210noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4034303070460046727.post-58919979824369893432012-11-28T09:03:00.002-08:002012-11-28T09:03:29.020-08:00Cooperation in a Competitive World <br />
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To paraphrase Sigmund Freud, “Competition is the royal road to
success.” </div>
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However, businesses and organizations that are known for their <b>cooperative</b>
efforts rather than their competitiveness do better on most scales of success: faster growth, increased profits,
stronger sense of public trust, and longer sustainability. </div>
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Cooperation in a competitive world is difficult to understand and even
more difficult to execute. Can you have both … can your business or
organization be cooperative while remaining competitive in the world today? </div>
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It may not be easy, but it certainly is worth it. From the corporate
board room to the pee wee football team, cooperation can be encouraged in a
number of ways. </div>
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<i>Place your highest priority on
doing your best.</i> Doing your best and
winning are two different things. One requires focus on your own performance,
while the other requires a focus divided between you someone or something else.
Concentrate on you or your team’s top performance as your ultimate goal so you
can maintain focus on things you can control. </div>
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<i>Be patient and allow ample time.</i>
Cooperation takes more time than going solo. If being cooperative is your
intention, known that it doesn’t happen quickly. It may seem like a “waste” of
time to go at a slower, cooperative pace. But if you consider how much time
disagreement, failed negotiations, resentment and misunderstanding can take,
cooperation isn’t such a waste of time after all. </div>
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<i>Share the leadership
responsibilities and rewards.</i> When there is an increased sense of
‘ownership’ by all members of a group or team, the environment is more
cooperative and typically more productive. Delegating or having team members
select which parts of a project they will lead creates instant buy-in from more
of your team, and buy-in is necessary for </div>
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<i>Reinforce and reward team
efforts. </i>Rewarding individual stand-outs might make one team member more
competitive, but praising the entire team promotes everyone’s cooperation and,
in the long run, everyone’s success. Maximize a productive team by recognizing
group efforts that require the input, energy, and cooperation of your team,
department, or committee. </div>
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Tara Kuipershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01756609954274402210noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4034303070460046727.post-40039516504317906412012-11-07T12:29:00.002-08:002012-11-07T12:29:15.421-08:00GETTING the best customer service<br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A majority of our shopping
memories – both positive and negative – comes from the experience we had in
customer service. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Customer service can be a
make-it-or-break-it factor in a shopping experience turning out fabulous or
frightening. The focus of “good” customer service is usually on the person giving
the service; we rely on the salesperson, store clerk, call center employee, or
service manager to GIVE good customer service. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But, as a customer, your role on
the receiving end of customer service is important, too! How can you increase
the likelihood of GETTING good customer service? Here are a few ideas:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Be nice.</i></b> A polite
demeanor and positive attitude will set you apart from other shoppers. A study
done by Penn State University found that customer service representatives were
cursed at, belittled, or threatened on the average of seven times a day. If you are a customer that is NOT cursing,
belittling, or threatening, but instead sharing a warm and friendly presence,
it will likely be noticed. And possibly rewarded. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While being nice might increase
your chances of getting good customer service, it’s simply the right thing to
do – after all, didn’t our mothers always tell us to “Be nice!”??</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Be honest. </i></b>Tell the truth
when speaking with a customer service professional. After all, they’re in a
position to help YOU; lies or half-truths make that a nearly impossible. If you
are returning or exchanging an item that is damaged or malfunctioning, say so.
If you are returning or exchanging an item that you simply don’t want or had
buyers’ remorse after purchasing, say that, too. Getting good customer service
requires disclosure and honesty on behalf of the customer; telling a lie or
covering up the truth can almost guarantee that in that moment or later on down
the road, you’ve set yourself up for a poor customer service experience. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You want to be on the same team
as the clerk, the cashier, or the salesperson. So act like a team by sharing
the same goals, advocating for each other, and being honest. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Be vocal when things go well. </i></b>Complaining
to other customers around us, telling your friends of an awful experience,
posting a ‘rant’ on Facebook or Twitter … these are all ways we are vocal when
things don’t go our way as a customer. If we were wronged or offended by a
customer service experience, we make sure to spread the word. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I wonder what would happen if we
were just as vocal when things go well? What if we raved to other customers
around us, told your friends of your fabulous experience, and posted ‘kudos’ on
Facebook or Twitter every time things went well? Or, what if we were in the
habit of sharing our appreciation directly with the employee and his or her
manager? Being vocal on the positives of customer service could set a tone for
consistently great customer experiences. </span></div>
Tara Kuipershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01756609954274402210noreply@blogger.com0