Positively Outrageous Service – Page 5

Connoisseurs of Wines

By Andrew Szabo

Brian Godzik fell for not the oldest trick in the book but one of the newest. It’s a trick that proves the value of cheap, ubiquitous computer power. Ironically, it took place in a restaurant named after a father/son act that bit the dust, thanks to the improper use of technology. And now, the story: Brian and his father chose to dine at Icarus, a tiny restaurant on Boston’s rapidly gentrifying south side. Their choice was highly influenced by the recommendation of their hotel’s concierge. … [Read more...]

Vonlane

By Andrew Szabo

Ken Blanchard calls them “raving fans.” T. Scott Gross, author of Positively Outrageous Service says a result is always positive, compelling word of mouth. Whatever you call them, the gorgeous buses of Vonlane private jet on wheels have all the luxury, service, and yes, even speed, of a private jet. The instant you lay eyes on the beautiful, immaculately clean buses and sharply uniformed staff you cannot help wanting to know who is on the bus and where are they going? When you see … [Read more...]

Repo Man

By T. Scott Gross

Jeff wears a Wal-Mart vest complete with name-tag on the front and a box cutter in the right side pocket. His wife, Melissa, writes in neat, feminine cursive remembered from grade school. Their daughter Cassandra gets good grades as attested by the report card found in the console of their Suburban. I know because I helped steal their Suburban last night. Well, we didn’t exactly steal it. It was more a matter of stealing it back. The legal owner of the aging Suburban is my long time … [Read more...]

Hot Chocolate

By T. Scott Gross

It’s never too cold for cheerleaders although God forbid the team has a great season and the schedule drags their frozen legs all the way into December. Cheerleaders aren’t supposed to look sexy but who would want to watch cheerleaders in sweatpants? Besides, it’s mom’s job to remind the girls to dress in layers that can be quickly peeled in the event someone dares to interrupt the desperate sideline shivering and scores. No doubt cheerleader moms all over town reminded their daughters a dozen … [Read more...]

Failure to Communicate

“What we’ve got here is failure to communicate” ~ Cool Hand Luke – 1967 Poor Communication Undermines Relationships Guess who said this wonderful Positively Outrageous Service® (POS) statement: “This age of fast-moving events requires quick, dependable communication in time of emergency.” That was President John F. Kennedy. The necessity for rapid, instantaneous, and full-time communication […]

Inspiring Interactions Lead to Positively Outrageous Service

“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” ~ President John Quincy Adams The Influence of Inspiring Interactions on Positively Outrageous Service® and Relationships Recently I heard these words, “inspiring interactions” – WOW! Five thoughts immediately came to mind: Inspiring interactions require superior […]

How to Positively Outrageously Combat Virtual Meeting Fatigue

You Can Have Too Much of a Good Thing! Boss: “What do you think?” Me: [going to the bathroom] Boss: “Can you hear me?” Me: [getting another beer] Boss: “I think he’s on mute.” Me: [getting chips] Boss: “Hello?” Me: “Sorry I was on mute” @RodneyLacroix Do you feel exhausted after attending too many back-to-back […]

What Is Customer-Centric?

“The key is to set realistic customer expectations, and then not to just meet them, but to exceed them—preferably in unexpected and helpful ways”. ~ Sir Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Group What Does Customer-Centric Mean? If you ask ten people, you may get ten different answers. If your organization’s vision is customer-centricity, then we’d better agree on a single definition and what that […]

I’m FINE! Positively Outrageous Service That!

“One chord is fine. Two chords is pushing it. Three chords and you’re into jazz.” ~ Lou Reed “FINE” Is an Open Door for Positively Outrageous Service® “How are you doing?” “I’m Fine!” How often have you heard that! Business is all about relationships. Relationships are elevated or eroded by the experience one encounters. Most […]

Positively Outrageous Service – Be a Person of Influence

“Think twice before you speak because your words and influence will plant the seed of either success or failure in the mind of another.” ~ Napoleon Hill Influence and Impact Intensifies Positively Outrageous Service® Don’t you love being the Sheriff! Where you walk into that situation where what you say and what you do is […]

Everyone Has a Customer – Positively Outrageous Service Them Too!

“The internal customer experience drives the external customer experience” ~ Andrew Szabo Don’t Overlook a Very Important Customer — Your Employees and Teammates! Who is your customer? Who are you serving? Whoever you provide a service to is your customer. Positively Outrageous Service® (POS) isn’t only about creating an excellent experience for your external customers, […]

Positively Outrageous Service Your Emails Part 2

Why are Emails so Rarely Positively Outrageous Service®? “WOW, I didn’t expect that! That’s positively outrageous!”   That’s a rare comment in response to an email. Why is that? Research indicates that 7 percent of a message is derived from the words, 38 percent from the intonation, and 55 percent from the facial expression or […]

Positively Outrageous Service Your Emails Part 1

Is Your Email Creating a Positively Outrageous Experience? “I want to do a business with a company that treats emailing me as a privilege, not a transaction.” ~ Andrea Mignolo The one complaint-the one problem-that nearly every customer puts at (or close to) the top of their list of challenges is communication. George Bernard Shaw, […]

A Rose By Any Other Name

“A person’s name is to him or her the sweetest and most important sound in any language.” ~ Dale Carnegie Names Are Important for Positively Outrageous Service® William Shakespeare, around here we call him “Bill,” wrote, “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” In customer-speak, we guess Bill Shakespeare was making the […]

Having Fun Yet?

Fun and Playfulness are the Virus of Positively Outrageous Service® “You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation” ~ President Harry S. Truman Rarely do we wake up in the morning thinking today I’m going to fail miserably, and I’m going to bring everyone down […]

Never Say No

Find Ways to Say Yes to the Customer – That’s Positively Outrageous Service® I roared into the microphone, “What’s the best hotel in the city?!” Three hundred employees in unison yelled, “Park Hyatt Washington!” “What’s the one word we never say?!” “NO!”, they all screamed. We had an extreme philosophy of Positively Outrageous Service to […]