Tuesday, April 29, 2014
You can't talk yourself out of...
I heard a great statement the other day while listening to a podcast. Stephen Covey (son of the author of "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People") stated:
"You can't talk yourself out of a problem that you behaved yourself into."
Just something to think about...
Monday, April 28, 2014
Guidelines for Service
Our Credo
The Rosebud Rd Kroger is a place where the genuine care of our guests is our highest mission.
We pledge to provide the finest personal service and facilities for our guests.
The Rosebud Road Kroger experience fulfills even the unexpressed wishes and needs of our guests.
The Four Keys
Our guests will say these 4 things about us:
Our People are Great
The Shopping Experience Makes Me Want to Return
I Get the Products I Want, Plus a Little
Our Prices are Good
The Three "A"s
Acknowledge
Assist
Appreciate
Make Eye Contact and Smile!
Start each and every Guest contact with direct eye contact and a sincere smile
Greet and Welcome Each and Every Guest
Extend the appropriate greeting to every Guest with whom you come into contact
“Good morning/afternoon/evening
“Welcome!”/”Have a good day”
“May I help you?”
Seek Out Guest Contact
It is the responsibility of every associate to seek out Guests who need help or assistance
Listen to Guest’s needs
Answer questions
Offer assistance
Provide Immediate Service Recovery
It is the responsibility of all associates to attempt, to the best of their abilities, to immediately resolve a Guest service problem before it becomes a Guest service failure. Whoever receives a complaint will own it and resolve it to the guest’s satisfaction
Display Appropriate Body Language at All Times
It is the responsibility of every associate to display approachable body language at all times when wearing the Kroger uniform
Attentive appearance
Good Posture
Appropriate facial expression
Always yield to the guest when meeting in aisles
Preserve the Guest Experience
Always focus on the positive rather then the rules and regulations
Always find the answer to the Guest and/or find another associate who can help the Guest
Talking about personal or job-related problems in front of our Guests is unacceptable
Thank Each and Every Guest
Extend every Guest a sincere thank-you at the conclusion of every transaction
Extend every Guest a thank-you or similar expression of appreciation as he/she leaves your area
(Thank you to Disney, Ritz Carlton and of course Kroger for contributing to these guidelines - even if they didn't know it!)
The Rosebud Rd Kroger is a place where the genuine care of our guests is our highest mission.
We pledge to provide the finest personal service and facilities for our guests.
The Rosebud Road Kroger experience fulfills even the unexpressed wishes and needs of our guests.
The Four Keys
Our guests will say these 4 things about us:
Our People are Great
The Shopping Experience Makes Me Want to Return
I Get the Products I Want, Plus a Little
Our Prices are Good
The Three "A"s
Acknowledge
Assist
Appreciate
Kroger #443 Guidelines for Guest Service
Make Eye Contact and Smile!
Start each and every Guest contact with direct eye contact and a sincere smile
Greet and Welcome Each and Every Guest
Extend the appropriate greeting to every Guest with whom you come into contact
“Good morning/afternoon/evening
“Welcome!”/”Have a good day”
“May I help you?”
Seek Out Guest Contact
It is the responsibility of every associate to seek out Guests who need help or assistance
Listen to Guest’s needs
Answer questions
Offer assistance
Provide Immediate Service Recovery
It is the responsibility of all associates to attempt, to the best of their abilities, to immediately resolve a Guest service problem before it becomes a Guest service failure. Whoever receives a complaint will own it and resolve it to the guest’s satisfaction
Display Appropriate Body Language at All Times
It is the responsibility of every associate to display approachable body language at all times when wearing the Kroger uniform
Attentive appearance
Good Posture
Appropriate facial expression
Always yield to the guest when meeting in aisles
Preserve the Guest Experience
Always focus on the positive rather then the rules and regulations
Always find the answer to the Guest and/or find another associate who can help the Guest
Talking about personal or job-related problems in front of our Guests is unacceptable
Thank Each and Every Guest
Extend every Guest a sincere thank-you at the conclusion of every transaction
Extend every Guest a thank-you or similar expression of appreciation as he/she leaves your area
(Thank you to Disney, Ritz Carlton and of course Kroger for contributing to these guidelines - even if they didn't know it!)
Saturday, April 26, 2014
Believe the Best
In the absence of evidence always believe the best in people.
Don't always assume that someone is going to do bad or has ill intent. In many circumstances when something goes wrong it wasn't because the intent was bad but the execution or the application was poor.
We judge ourselves on intent but we judge others by what we see, the behaviors. If we can figure out what the other person's intent was - "I wanted to do good. I wanted to do well but I executed poorly" then we have a great chance to keep moving everything in a positive direction.
If we can believe the best then we have the opportunity to coach, teach and correct the execution and behavior while keeping the intent positive.
Just something to think about...
Wednesday, April 23, 2014
Trust...Successful Change
In previous blog posts we discussed relationships, trust and change. What I want to do today is to explore how those things go together.
Businesses are changing all of the time. We have all seen the stats of retailers that were in business 20 years ago along with Kroger who are no longer around now. They did not change…we did.
We are changing all of the time. We are constantly pushing change on our people. This can be a good thing and is a necessary thing but what is the secret to sustaining the change?
We sustain change based upon the strength of our relationships.
Strong relationships bring trust to our business.
With trust many things are possible. Without trust few things are possible. Without trust nothing can be sustained.
To have successful change one must develop strong, long lasting relationships which breed strong bonds of trust.
With this trust people are willing to take on risk. People will be willing to take on the change because you have proven to them that you care about them and that you will lead them in the right direction.
A simple example of this is comes from how you choose where to eat when you are in a strange city. Do you choose the familiar place because you know it, trust it to supply ok but not great food. Or do you choose a place you have never heard of before and are unsure of the quality of food they serve even if you have heard the food was great? Many will choose the lesser quality because they know and trust the food. The “risk” to try something new is not as attractive because no trust has been developed between the restaurant and you.
So if you are having issues with getting your folks to accept what you are asking them to do, explore your relationship with them.
Businesses are changing all of the time. We have all seen the stats of retailers that were in business 20 years ago along with Kroger who are no longer around now. They did not change…we did.
We are changing all of the time. We are constantly pushing change on our people. This can be a good thing and is a necessary thing but what is the secret to sustaining the change?
We sustain change based upon the strength of our relationships.
Strong relationships bring trust to our business.
With trust many things are possible. Without trust few things are possible. Without trust nothing can be sustained.
To have successful change one must develop strong, long lasting relationships which breed strong bonds of trust.
With this trust people are willing to take on risk. People will be willing to take on the change because you have proven to them that you care about them and that you will lead them in the right direction.
A simple example of this is comes from how you choose where to eat when you are in a strange city. Do you choose the familiar place because you know it, trust it to supply ok but not great food. Or do you choose a place you have never heard of before and are unsure of the quality of food they serve even if you have heard the food was great? Many will choose the lesser quality because they know and trust the food. The “risk” to try something new is not as attractive because no trust has been developed between the restaurant and you.
So if you are having issues with getting your folks to accept what you are asking them to do, explore your relationship with them.
Tuesday, April 22, 2014
Hopeful
Everyday when we wake up we have reasons to be discouraged and reasons to be hopeful.
We have to make a decision on how we are going to approach the day.
Are we going to approach it in a discouraging manner or in a hopeful manner? And we have to make this decision every day. It's not something where you can say one time "I'm going to be hopeful" and have it carry you through the rest of your life.
You have to make this decision...
Every
Single
Day
We have to make a decision on how we are going to approach the day.
Are we going to approach it in a discouraging manner or in a hopeful manner? And we have to make this decision every day. It's not something where you can say one time "I'm going to be hopeful" and have it carry you through the rest of your life.
You have to make this decision...
Every
Single
Day
Monday, April 21, 2014
Change
Change artist. Change Agent. Change Master.
We hear about change a lot.
Those who don’t change perish.
I know you’ve heard or read a statement like that before. I think we all pretty much agree that change does happen and is part of life. Most believe that change is hard. It is difficult to change. You can’t teach an old dog new tricks…right?
Wrong.
I submit that change is easy.
If I want to change my socks right now all I have to do is unties my shoes and slip them off my feet. Then I slide one sock down and over my right foot and then the other sock down over my left foot. I then walk to the sock drawer and pick out a new pair of socks, sit back down and place them over my feet. Presto, my socks have been changed and it was pretty darn easy. Changing behavior can be as easy.
If I am always late wherever I go I can change that right now. I can set my alarm clock to go off fifteen minutes earlier and then leave the house fifteen minutes earlier and Presto! I arrive at work on time. Change is that easy.
Maintaining change is hard...
If I want to stop smoking all I have to do is put the cigarette out...throw away the remaining cigarettes and I have stopped smoking.
Maintaining change is hard…
Right now if you want to change your behavior you have the power to do so immediately. You can go from angry to happy by just thinking about it, taking a deep breath and setting your mind to it.
Can you sustain the happiness? That is much harder.
Change is easy…maintaining change is hard…it is an everyday, one day at a time process. If you truly want change to be maintained you must focus on it everyday, many times a day.
Change is easy…maintaining change is hard…
We hear about change a lot.
Those who don’t change perish.
I know you’ve heard or read a statement like that before. I think we all pretty much agree that change does happen and is part of life. Most believe that change is hard. It is difficult to change. You can’t teach an old dog new tricks…right?
Wrong.
I submit that change is easy.
If I want to change my socks right now all I have to do is unties my shoes and slip them off my feet. Then I slide one sock down and over my right foot and then the other sock down over my left foot. I then walk to the sock drawer and pick out a new pair of socks, sit back down and place them over my feet. Presto, my socks have been changed and it was pretty darn easy. Changing behavior can be as easy.
If I am always late wherever I go I can change that right now. I can set my alarm clock to go off fifteen minutes earlier and then leave the house fifteen minutes earlier and Presto! I arrive at work on time. Change is that easy.
Maintaining change is hard...
If I want to stop smoking all I have to do is put the cigarette out...throw away the remaining cigarettes and I have stopped smoking.
Maintaining change is hard…
Right now if you want to change your behavior you have the power to do so immediately. You can go from angry to happy by just thinking about it, taking a deep breath and setting your mind to it.
Can you sustain the happiness? That is much harder.
Change is easy…maintaining change is hard…it is an everyday, one day at a time process. If you truly want change to be maintained you must focus on it everyday, many times a day.
Change is easy…maintaining change is hard…
Thursday, April 17, 2014
Wednesday, April 16, 2014
Commitment to My Co-Workers
I was cleaning up my desk the other day and I found this...(please note the great photography skills...impressive right?)
Tuesday, April 15, 2014
Relationships
Let’s build on my "Engage" blog post a bit and discuss relationships further. I do not think that people really understand the part relationships play in a career – be it successful or unsuccessful.
This point was first introduced to me a few years ago during a conversation with a HR guy. He stated that if a person doesn’t like you he or she will not promote you or hire you for a position you are seeking. (of course there was a lot more context around this statement and "like" may be replaced by respect)
I have to say I was a bit shocked by that statement but it made me think.
After thinking about it I was again shocked.
Shocked by what a simple idea it was and how it made sense. I put it into my perspective… if I were looking to replace my Administrative Assistant would I hire someone who I did not respect or enjoy being around? No way! I have to work very closely with this person. Of course I would hire someone I got along with and had the same business philosophy as I do.
This has led me on a further path of study in regards to relationships. I have come to the conclusion that building relationships builds success.
This is in everything that you do – business, home life, outside interest, everything. The relationships that you build will lead you to where you want to go. They will help you gain the knowledge you need to know. They will help you develop the contacts that you need which leads to more relationships.
They just allow you to get through life.
Positive relationships, honest relationships, trusting relationships lead to success. If you want a successful engagement program in your store, start by building your relationships with your people. If you want to improve your Overall Satisfaction scores, your ELMS scores, your Green half-hours, instead of looking at stats and best practices, look toward improving your relationships with the people you are counting on to help you achieve these numbers.
People will want to help if they are part of a positive relationship.
Again, this is a simple thing to do. We are in the people business. Establishing positive relationships is guaranteed to bring success to a people business.
This point was first introduced to me a few years ago during a conversation with a HR guy. He stated that if a person doesn’t like you he or she will not promote you or hire you for a position you are seeking. (of course there was a lot more context around this statement and "like" may be replaced by respect)
I have to say I was a bit shocked by that statement but it made me think.
After thinking about it I was again shocked.
Shocked by what a simple idea it was and how it made sense. I put it into my perspective… if I were looking to replace my Administrative Assistant would I hire someone who I did not respect or enjoy being around? No way! I have to work very closely with this person. Of course I would hire someone I got along with and had the same business philosophy as I do.
This has led me on a further path of study in regards to relationships. I have come to the conclusion that building relationships builds success.
This is in everything that you do – business, home life, outside interest, everything. The relationships that you build will lead you to where you want to go. They will help you gain the knowledge you need to know. They will help you develop the contacts that you need which leads to more relationships.
They just allow you to get through life.
Positive relationships, honest relationships, trusting relationships lead to success. If you want a successful engagement program in your store, start by building your relationships with your people. If you want to improve your Overall Satisfaction scores, your ELMS scores, your Green half-hours, instead of looking at stats and best practices, look toward improving your relationships with the people you are counting on to help you achieve these numbers.
People will want to help if they are part of a positive relationship.
Again, this is a simple thing to do. We are in the people business. Establishing positive relationships is guaranteed to bring success to a people business.
Saturday, April 12, 2014
Shout it Out!
Shout out great service from Kroger - or Dillon's in the case of this video!
(I know...two videos in a row but sometimes that's just the way it happens...the flow of the universe and all)
Monday, April 7, 2014
Sunday, April 6, 2014
Engage
To pledge or promise, especially to marry.
To attract and hold the attention of; engross: a hobby that engaged her for hours at a time.
To win over or attract: His smile engages everyone he meets.
To draw into; involve: engage a shy person in conversation.
We have all heard about engagement. We must engage our customers – our guests (my preference) – while they shop with us. We also have a responsibility to engage our co-workers, our associates. All engagement really is is the act of establishing a positive relationship with the individual.
That’s it – a very simple idea.
A fun idea too!
How often do we concentrate on establishing relationships with our co-workers, our associates? This should be a top priority each day for us. It really is what makes our lives and more specifically, our business go. Think about it…without relationships with others what do you have?
If we truly want engagement to happen in our stores then we must establish consistency in our behavior to engage everyone we meet in a positive manner. This will establish a positive relationship which will lead to deeper engagements, which will lead to deeper relationships which will lead to…you get the idea…
Everyone wants to work in a situation where they are needed. Establishing positive relationships works on this need. I need you, you need me…let’s engage!
To attract and hold the attention of; engross: a hobby that engaged her for hours at a time.
To win over or attract: His smile engages everyone he meets.
To draw into; involve: engage a shy person in conversation.
We have all heard about engagement. We must engage our customers – our guests (my preference) – while they shop with us. We also have a responsibility to engage our co-workers, our associates. All engagement really is is the act of establishing a positive relationship with the individual.
That’s it – a very simple idea.
A fun idea too!
How often do we concentrate on establishing relationships with our co-workers, our associates? This should be a top priority each day for us. It really is what makes our lives and more specifically, our business go. Think about it…without relationships with others what do you have?
If we truly want engagement to happen in our stores then we must establish consistency in our behavior to engage everyone we meet in a positive manner. This will establish a positive relationship which will lead to deeper engagements, which will lead to deeper relationships which will lead to…you get the idea…
Everyone wants to work in a situation where they are needed. Establishing positive relationships works on this need. I need you, you need me…let’s engage!
Tuesday, April 1, 2014
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