For the first time since the Bathroom Blogfest started back in 2006 we have a sponsor... Thanks to Kaboom for providing us a sample of their products to check out and review!
I think it goes without saying that clean restrooms do make an impression on your customers, but I'll say it anyways just in case...
Out of the Kaboom products I received, I tried out the Bowl Blaster and the Foam-Tastic. I'm really picky when it comes to bathroom cleaners because my nose is sensitive to all the different chemicals that are put in them.
The Foam-Tastic worked like a charm on my bathtub. Usually I have to scrub, scrub, scrub to get it clean, but all I had to do with Foam-Tastic is spray and wipe once. The foam is blue when you spray it, and you know it has done its job when the foam turns white. Easy-breezy!
What I especially like about Foam-Tastic is that there are no fumes that make me gag - unlike other cleaners I've used in the past. This is especially good if you have to clean a restroom without windows - which is usually the case in many retail establishments.
Now, as for the Bowl Blaster...I did like how well it cleaned my toilet bowl. The only thing I had an issue with is the dust from the crystals. It had a strong scent which caused me to cough quite a bit. If you are sensitive to fumes like me, you may want to put on a mask while using this product.
Thanks again to Kaboom for allowing Bathroom Blogfest bloggers to review their products! Here's an exclusive offer from Kaboom you may want to check out if you'd like to try out their products for yourself: www.bathroomblogfestdeal.com
If you have any tips or advice on how to clean your restrooms for customers, leave a comment...
On the corner of 9th and "G" Street in downtown San Diego is a quaint little French cafe called Cafe Chloe. I have passed this cafe dozens and dozens of times on my way to my post office box, but never ventured in until recently. I heard that their macaroni was Dee-li-cious, so I finally decided to go in for lunch to taste the macaroni for myself.
Oh, yes, the macaroni was good. Really good. I enjoyed it with a glass of white wine as I took in the relaxed ambience of the cafe and did a little people watching...
Before I left Cafe Chloe, I used the restroom. Given the very cute and modern decor in the dining area, I wasn't surprised to see that the bathroom decor was just as cute. It reminded me of a page right out of House Beautiful. In fact, it almost felt like you had just stepped into a restroom in someone's home. There was nothing stale or cookie cutter about this restroom. I even gave it an extra star because of the hook to hang my purse ;) All you women out there know what I'm talking about!
Dear restaurant owners: Women do pay attention to the details - even the details of a restroom. A mere five minutes in a cafe restroom changed my whole perception of the establishment...from great to WOW!
Let's contrast this experience with another experience in a "kitchenette". The food was good, but the restroom was absolutely Horrid. Yes, with a capital "H'! The door looked as if the termites had eaten half of it and the restroom floor probably hadn't been mopped in a month. After walking out of that restroom I didn't even want to eat anymore. My appetite was completely gone. I wanted to get out of that bathroom so fast that I forgot to take a picture!
Read more thoughts about bathrooms from other bloggers at the Bathroom Blogfest hompage...
Welcome to the fall edition of the Customer Service Carnivale! Around this time many of you are gearing up for the holidays and holiday sales. It's also a great time to brush up on your customer service skills, so hopefully this carnivale will give you the inspiration you need to make those connections...
Customer Service Tips
Part of customer service is about determining people's needs. This happens during the sales process and Gavin Ingham shows us how to handle rejections.
When it's time to re-connect with your internal customers, Bill Hogg says that "All Meetings Are Cancelled!"
Sara Onstine shares Social Media Customer Service: Watch Out for YouTube!, saying, "A sampling of some businesses that don't seem to "get" YouTube when it comes to customer service and one company who does."
Customer Service News
Credit Shout presents Customer satisfaction with credit cards drops posted at CreditShout.
Customer Service Tools
Are you a customer-centric organization that doesn't make your customers go through IVR hell? Find out by reading Call Abandonment Basics.
That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of customer service carnivale using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.
People consider Google to be the "Big Brother" of the internet...and it's true. Google helps people find information in a matter of milliseconds - including information about your business.
I'm sure many of you regular readers understand this, but I find it interesting that there are still many people out there who don't realize that their actions (or inactions) can and will be published for the whole world to read.
Take, for instance, the cupcake story told by Libertylondongirl. Of course, there are countless other stories similar in nature out there that have been indexed by Google and other search engines - stories that will remain for as long as there is an internet.
Poor Billy's Bakery. Hopefully they'll learn their lesson.
And speaking of cupcakes, the other day I visited a new cupcake shop in downtown San Diego called "Heavenly Cupcake". I read the reviews on Yelp before I went in so I knew what to expect.
Just like many people said, the cupcakes were topped with an abundance of yummy sweet frosting. They were quite good. However, I must say that they didn't even come close to the cupcakes from Costco - the most delicious cupcakes I've ever tasted.
A note to the owner of Heavenly Cupcake: Please invest in display cases with doors. I almost didn't buy any cupcakes because of the flies. It seemed like the girl behind the counter spent more time trying to get the flies out of the display case than she did on other tasks.
Currently I'm reading a book, Fierce Leadership, by Susan Scott which has been a great read so far. I wanted to share a little excerpt from the book that hopefully will get you thinking about how you are connecting with your customers...
Human connectivity is the uberskill that captures the ideal combination of IQ and EQ. You simply cannot connect with colleagues and customers at a deep level unless you are able to bring valuable expertise to the relationship and you are able to access and manage your own emotions and the emotions of others...
I'm almost halfway through with the book and will be writing up a review here when I'm done.
The real "bottom line" in business is how you connect with your customers. They're not buying from you because how smart you are or how polished you look. They're buying from you because they enjoy the experience of interacting with you. They trust you. They believe in you.
Just a little thought for the weekend ;)
Next week starts the annual Bathroom Blogfest where quite a few bloggers, including myself, will be sharing our experiences with public restrooms. The Blogfest started three years ago and has grown into a helpful resource for retailers and restaurants that are looking for tips on how to create a better experience for customers.
Some of you may be thinking, Now what does a bathroom have to do with customer service? Perhaps more women than men will understand the importance of the restroom experience. Finding a place to hang your purse, diaper changing stations, and toilet seat covers can be deal breakers (or makers) when visiting a place of business!
In the past I've talked about my bathroom phobia, what every restroom should have, the retailer who knows how to design restrooms, and creative public restrooms.
To give you an idea of what to expect next week, check out the official Bathroom Blogfest Blog.
The bloggers who will be participating in the Blogfest include:
Susan Abbott at Customer Experience Crossroads http://www.customercrossroads.com/
· Reshma Anand at Qualitative Research Blog http://onqualitativeresearch.blogspot.com/
· Shannon Bilby at From the Floors Up http://fromthefloorsup.com/
· Shannon Bilby and Brad Millner at My Big Bob’s Blog http://blog.mybigbobs.com/
· Laurence Borel at Blog Till You Drop http://www.laurenceborel.com/
· Jeanne Byington at The Importance of Earnest Service http://blog.jmbyington.com/
· Becky Carroll at Customers Rock! http://www.customersrock.net/;
· Leslie Clagett at KB Culture http://www.kbculture.blogspot.com/
· Katie Clark at Practical Katie http://practicalkatie.blogspot.com/;
· Iris Shreve Garrott at Checking In and Checking Out http://circulating.wordpress.com/;
· Julie at Julie’s Cleaning Secrets Blog http://cleaningsecrets.greatcleaners.com/
· Marianna Hayes at Results Revolution http://www.resultsrevolution.com/
· Maria Palma at People To People Service http://www.people2peopleservice.com/
· Professor Toilet at Professor Toilet’s Blog http://www.professortoilet.com/
· David Reich at My 2 Cents http://reichcomm.typepad.com/
· Bethany Richmond at The Carpet and Rug Institute Blog http://www.carpet-and-rug-institute-blog.com/
· Carolyn Townes at Becoming a Woman of Purpose http://spiritwomen.blogpsot.com/
· Stephanie Weaver at Experienceology http://experienceology.blogspot.com/;
· C.B. Whittemore at Flooring The Consumer http://flooringtheconsumer.blogspot.com/ and Simple Marketing Blog http://www.simplemarketingblog.com/
· Linda Wright at Lindaloo.com: Build Better Business with Better Bathrooms http://lindaloo.com/
Become a fan of the Bathroom Blogfest on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bathroom-Blogfest/124443309541?ref=ts or follow on Twitter: @BathroomBlogfes or search for #ladiesrooms09
Step right on up for peanuts and popcorn! Yes, you're definitely in for a treat today as the Customer Service Carnivale is full of good stuff. Hopefully after celebrating National Customer Service Week last week you are revved up and inspired to take your business to the next level.
Let the show begin!
Customer Service Tips
Most of us don't like to deal with customer complaints, so Bill Hogg offers some excellent tips to deal with unhappy customers.
Love this step-by-step solution! World Class Customer Service - How To Handle Customer Complaints.
So you've gone from working one-on-one with customers to leading the people who work with customers. Find out how a new manager succeeds.
Steve C. shares good advice in What Your Customer Really Wants ? Lessons Learned From Taking Customer Support Calls. It's true, the talkative customers are the ones who make significant purchases!
Find out how to offer customer service the old-fashioned way...Actually, it's new fashion too!
Lauren Bloom wants to know: Is it ethical to haggle with your customers?
Not sure what questions to ask that potential hire? Check out Call Center Interview Questions and Answers: Call Center Interview Tips or Help Desk Interview Questions and Answers: IT, Computer and Analyst.
Here are some interesting thoughts about how to handle customers who want more of your time: Why some Internet Marketing experts will tell you no!
Are you blaming the recession for slow business? Find out how to recession proof your small business.
Customer Service Rants Stories.
For a chuckle, here's a story about The Time Traveler's Wife posted at Stuck Serving. Ah, the woes of being a waiter!
Have you ever walked into the store and been welcomed by a cutout cop warning that shoplifting won't be tolerated? Here's a great example of where customers are not wanted!
If you work in a call center, then you should probably think about Lance's rant: If One More Customer Service Representative Hangs Up the Phone...
Some of us like to complain about things to fellow coworkers without thinking about how it affects their stress levels. For example: "Don't Pitch About the Payroll". Obviously, the sales department is unaware of the Banquet Manager's stress level ;)
That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of customer service carnivale using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.
To end the week on a fun note, I thought I'd share this video about bad customer service "in the hood"...
Funny thing is, I've actually experienced service like this! It didn't go as far as someone calling "Sah-curity!" on me, but it was pretty bad.
National Customer Service Week is going on...What are you doing to celebrate? What are you doing to appreciate your customers?
Here are some ideas from fellow bloggers:
- Phil Gerbyshak of Slacker Manager shares tips for successful job appreciation.
- Lydia's Uniforms is celebrating their awesome team of customer service employees with theme days.
- Anne Keenan of EchDitto shares a couple customer service stories that we can all learn from
- Here are more suggestions on how to celebrate customer service week on eHow.
If you're on Twitter and want to share how your company is celebrating Customer Service Week, use #csweek or #customerservice so people can find your tweets.
Also, check out the official Customer Service Week source for information and resources.
Happy celebrating!
P.S. Although CS Week ends on October 9th, I think it's a good idea to continue the celebration throughout the whole year!
Photo Credit: Crystl
