Paula, a receptionist, decided to add her name when she answered the phone. "Good Morning, XYZ Industries, this is Paula."

For the first time in her nine years, said Paula, customers responded by calling her by name . . . and then offering their names, "Hello there, Paula. This is Jonathan Price. I'm calling to check on my order."

"Thank you, Mr. Price, I'll connect you to Marie Smith."

"But then," Paula said, "something different happened to my feeling about that call. I was more careful to come back to my Mr. Price if Marie hadn't picked up within 30 seconds. When I came back on the line to ask if he wanted to hold longer, Mr. Price called me Paula when he thanked me.

"I now felt more ownership of this customer. If I thought Marie was more likely to respond to voice mail, I went back to Mr. Price and recommended that he leave a voice message. If I thought she might respond more quickly to my page, I paged her. Mr. Prince would say, 'You must know her habits pretty well.' I said, 'Well, I've been here for nine years.' 'That's a long time, is that your hometown?' he asked. We chatted while he waited.

"When Marie passed by my desk, I'd ask: 'Did you talk with Jonathan Price?' If she said no, I'd light a fire under her to call him.

"Suddenly, Jonathan Price had become my customer as well as my company's. I like that feeling. I feel I'm getting to know these customers a bit, even though we'll never meet.

"And it all started when I simply introduced myself with one little word. My amazing name."

(Paula is pictured in the center above wearing sunglasses.)

Receiving feedback is several times worse for many of us. We like to believe we’re doing everything right, or if we aren’t, that no one has noticed.

My title above is extreme (to get your attention, of course). Few of us believe we’re fabulous. But we usually think we’re O.K.

I keep working to become less thin-skinned. Some folks admit they have "no skin." Almost all of us hate rejection, however we may define it.

As a result, we may be kept in the dark by someone who has valuable feedback for us, but dreads our defensive reaction.

I don’t want to be the last to know how someone views my work, I want to be the first to know!

So I’ve finally learned to ASK for feedback, and then RECEIVE it with appreciation and without arguing, justifying, or defending.

After conducting a seminar, I asked my customer, "What would you like more of next time? What would you like less of next time?"

This made it easier for him to give me feedback. Here’s why:

1.  I asked for it.

2.  I gave him two specific (also quick & easy) questions to answer.

3.  I wrote down his answers immediately, with no argument, saying only "Thank you."

When you think about it, the answers to those two questions cover what we really need to know from our bosses and customers: what do you want more of and less of from me?

Honest feedback - as valuable as gold. 

As hard to find. 

When you get it, treasure it.

Karen Mazza took me from being a technophobe, to being an excited website/e-newsletter/blog addict . . . addicted to working on my own tech stuff, that is.

Here are seven examples of her actions – -  tips for you on how to educate your customers:

1. Karen responds same-day, often same-hour, to my questions, changes, and requests.
2. Karen sets me up for success by giving very specific instructions – she puts herself in my place and explains everything from the non-tech person’s point of view.
3. Karen answers my dumb questions with respect and brevity.
4. Karen shows me how to do (what feel like) complex operations for myself, rather than automatically doing them for me, thereby teaching me to fish rather than giving me a fish (so I’ll “eat for a lifetime”). This means I’ll become independent or semi-independent of her, which costs her money – but her actions tell me that she puts my success and independence first.
5. Karen sends me a quick postive comment every time I do something right in setting up my blog, e-newsletter, or editing my website. There are such a myriad of separate operations, she has lots of opportunities, and she uses them.
6. Karen follows up on every request, researching answers till she gets the right one. I’m happily surprised when they appear (I may have forgotten about them, but Karen never does).
7. I look forward to opening my email, because I often have something educational and exciting from Karen.

And a bonus: she sends playful notes and plays fun little tricks with me that make me smile while I’m learning.

We’ve all heard the phrase “Selling is actually educating your customers so they can make good choices.” That’s what Karen does. She makes me feel smarter every day that I work with her. I’m now bragging to my friends and colleagues about all that I can do. Priceless.

You can reach Karen at www.charlottesweb-design.com

So the New York Department of Motor Vehicles decided to do somethng about it. They embarked on a mission to improve their customer service. They reinvented themselves and shortened their customers’ average wait time from 96 minutes to 27 minutes.

How did they do it?

By using team members’ brainstormed ideas:
1. Adding a speed-line for postcard license renewals
2. Stationing a greeter to check for documents, and direct customers to the correct source if any document was needed
3. Posting team members’ ideas on a bulletin board with names attached. Fellow team members added positive notes and stickers to give co-worker recognition.
Their customers now spent only 1/3 the previous time at the DMV, and so much helpful activity was happening, if felt even shorter!