Experiences from living remotely

 

Long ago about 8 years before COVID-19 pandemic, I began working remotely. Online meetings, online ordering, just about everything that was available in the virtual world at the time that interests me I would use. Yes, this included software subscriptions that allowed me to better cope within such an environment. In short I utilized and provided services via the online environment. 

Over time, I realized that there are a number of things that are still missing and businesses are stopping short of really using such an asset to their benefit. There is a sort of latency of if it ain't broke don't fix it that has become broadbased in terms of patterns. 

In short, I have realized that many businesses are leaving money on the table and are not realizing their full potential. We have become numb to identifying new opportunities. 

For all the online presence that we are seeking to adopt, we lag terribly in the following areas and this is not an exhausted list. 

• Online ordering and fulfillment
• Banking portals for online transactions 
• Exhanced export conduits to get the goods/services to customers more efficiently
• Access to individuals in business to get clarity/clarification prior to cementing an online transaction 
• Methods of rendering service examples so customers can understand and determine if that's what they truly want

This impacts:

• Property usage, access, and rentals
• Transportation 
• Delivery services 
• The ability and flexibility with which customers can make alterations to orders
• The timeliness of deliveries [most seemed to have settled for next day fulfillment even if orders cam in early in the morning]
• Ongoing research and development to enhance the experiences for the online shopper - evolution and expansion is slow
• The telecommunications conduits have come to a halt. Only the fees for telecommunications are increasing, even as the levels of service decline. It seems that the newer devices have to step down to figure out how to work on old networks. 
• Internet security is lagging behind the market needs and requirements. Hackers still have the upper hand. 
• Integration of the financial institutions to businesses/individuals is lagging
• Not enough businesses are testing their online environments for security breaches
• Not enough businesses are embarking on avenues for growing their business online - seldom are articles written that allow them showcase their goods/services. We are too heavily reliant on ads. 
• Online meeting formats are weak and therefore not allowing for the greatest productivity to take place. 
• Decision making is too slow and cumbersome for the buyers
• There's a sense of this is how it's done within the market and industry standards are fully tested to see if there are opportunities for enhancement

Money at the table on the table that we don't meet

I can go on but I believe by now you've gotten the picture. We need to do better. We need to really examine our value that we bring to the public we serve and look at how our business models need to be tweaked so that we optimize how we conduct business and form relationship linkages within our communities. 

If you're unclear as to how these can work for you. Just contact me and perhaps we may have opportunity to work together for solutions. 

Enjoy your weekend. Make your days ahead as productive as possible. 

Too often we miss it

Life can be an adventure particularly when you are functioning in the world of business. People around the globe generally try to keep their work / personal lives separate and distinct. There are instances however that cause the two worlds to meet. They are quite real and often will not be denied recognition by those who are experiencing the situations at the times they take place. 

Very often, if left unchecked we can get into the setting of what was once described as PLOM disease. [Poor Little Old Me] It's when the odds seem stacked against you and mentally you become a victim due to the frequency of the mishaps taking place.  

When things happen with us

Life can through is into situations where we are presented with "the curve ball". It's when circumstances happen to us that we can't necessarily explain or even understand. The can comprise of a variety of elements that impact us. E.g. Illnesses, relationship changes, financial storms, are said to be around the usual suspects. 

Often we are in the mode of minding our own business totally oblivious to the experiences of another who can be right beside us. The are plagued with uncertainties and doubts which can hamper their productivity at work. 

How we interpret it? 

People are so strange that when you observe various behaviours it's important not to necessarily take it personal. Sometimes the individual being observed may be going through some challenges that stem from a variety of areas that have absolutely nothing to do with you. Don't be so quick to "write yourself into the script".  

Situations from people's childhood, another life they once lived and a myriad of other experiences can manifest themselves in your current environment. They impact you, but you are not the cause of it and it's important that you recognize it early or that relationship can go on the rocks of non-recovery because of the intolerance of the parties. 

The need to get out of our own way 

If you have been around in life long enough. You'd hear the older people say things like "Be still", "Peace be still", "It's in God's hands", and other such sayings. They are meant to comfort you, however in many instances you may not understand what they are trying to convey especially if your experiences or readings are limited. You may not have the experience base on which to draw. 

That's alright. It's not necessarily your fault. As a people we try to apportion fault to situations too much. It is our way of trying to understand what's going on; to make sense of situations. We take things quite personally often projecting anticipated behaviours of interactions that may never take place. 

Learn to accept everything on its own merit. You may not be the only one receiving a particular treatment. We may be too defensive from our personal viewpoint when the other person may need help and just NOT know how to ask for it. 

Now that celebrities have shown their own vulnerabilities, some are actually being more aware of and have enhanced their tolerance of mental issues. Pressures that impact behaviour are not always about you, though it may be difficult don't take it personal. 

Moving ahead 

Can you really say that you know someone? Can you be a character reference for them and they for you? Often people live within the same house, work within the same environments; yet there are behaviours that arise that surprise everyone completely since they are completely left field. 

I'm not identifying any situations since they are so widespread and can impact the same individual in different ways. Though I am not formally trained in Psychology, these are observations made over an extensive times. 

It's not a license to behave as you like, neither is it to say that you must accept all behaviours that go outside the norm of what you've become accustomed. However, you must be aware so that you can better navigate the stages of the relationship(s) with people that you interact with. Some, including you, may have quite a bit of baggage to attend as you deal with the issues you confront. We don't ever really know. 

Here are somethings that you can employ to help you better function in your interactions with people:

• Empathy
• Patience
• Courtesy
• Fairness 
• Enhanced tolerance levels 
• Being non-judgmental
• Understanding you can only address your personal issues since you can't change anyone else
• Listening

These eight (8) are not the total list, but it's a start. I'm sure you will encounter others as your awareness grows. 

Walk a little faster, give someone a compliment to brighten their day, smile (one that is genuine and goes up to your eyes), decide to be a winner and not a whiner. Stop complaining, focus on solutions and don't dwell on a problem. You have what it takes - be a difference maker. 

Celebrity Service

Have you ever been somewhere and received service that had you totally delighted? I mean you totally did not expect it, yet the service was such that it created a memorable experience for you rather than just mingle well camouflaged among the thoughts that you would have had for a lifetime. When you talk with your friends and colleagues afterwards you totally rave about how the service made you feel important - you were made to feel like a celebrity.

Would some of these statements describe your service experience?

• I didn't have to ask for anything really, they brought it before I thought it. 
• When they described what the experience would be and then exceeded it, I thought I found my piece of heaven.
• I felt like family there! 
• Have you ever been pampered; having your every need catered to? ....just when you thought that was all, then they catered to your wants? Wow!

You begin to get the picture. The experience that you received made you feel so great, that as you think about it, you realized that you received Celebrity Service.  Sure you can use the term, my only caveat is that you don't try to own it, but to share it thereby raising all the service standards one at a time with everyone that you come into contact with regardless of where in the world you are.

What's celebrity service? You get the opportunity to decide it, since there's no cookie cutter approach. It can be a standard that has application across cultures, races, classes, and creeds. It doesn't matter who you interact with, it matters that you made an extremely positive difference to their lives that they not only feel the gratitude of being on the receiving end of the service, but goes a step further in their wanting to serve whoever they come in contact with in a way that makes the experience most memorable.

• It goes beyond good customer service, since the emphasis is not on whether or not the other person is a customer.  
• It's not about differentiating between the internal / external customer. 
• Class demarcations like first, club, executive cannot define it. 
• It's personal; in that the experience of one person's celebrity service does not define that of another.
• Those with whom you interact must feel special, almost as if they are the only one that mattered at that time. Yet the feeling of celebrity service must extend beyond the interaction that they have had with you.
• Celebrity service is the journey, not a destination to be reached. 
• It is tangible, yet vague and wispy; neither governed by stars nor ratings.
• Celebrity service is when your people skills become you most important marketing asset. Not being governed by if the environment is highly classy or rustic. 
• It is reached by training in standards, where the key elements being developed are better people, not better looking environments. 

Here's the clincher. It's something that the Old Caribbean offered that enabled people to speak about going back to their holiday domiciles before they even left to go back home. Celebrity service is enchanting and enhancing. I love it when I experience it, but I love it more when I give it. 

The secret is that it isn't just something that takes place at work, but goes into the household. It's:

• spousal 
• family oriented 
• colleagues cooperating 
• church related 
• just good hospitality 

Are you ready for celebrity service; willing to experience it and to demonstrate it? I would love to hear / read your stories. Be the celebrity hosting other celebrities. Changing you mindset and behaviors can result in better life experiences! We all owe it to ourselves to have a quality of life that's exemplary. Here's another secret. It's service offered in an environment of love and care.  

It's time to get serious...Customer Service

Observing the recent state of business development, one thing is clear. There is a uniform lack of customer service being given by Barbadian businesses. The thing is, we are quick to complain about other businesses with whom we interact, but seldom cast the eye on the operations within which we have control.

This article which shows Where to Get the World's Best Customer Service speaks volumes of where we need to go, if we are to even enter the map of the customer service grid. We have no end of people doing hospitality, tourism and hotel studies; they are not absorbed into the industry, yet there is a constant decline in customer service.

Programs of training speak to how we must address our internal customers, an arena where we can practice offering good service but is often ignored / neglected. There are even programs that have been developed which show clearly how to establish competence in customer service in your respective careers; yet customer service receives little more than "lip service".

You will notice from the article that the countries listed among the best in customer service don't even seem to focus on tourism. They just function on doing business under circumstances where their "customers" / clients are embraced in a welcoming environment and feel a degree of comfort wanting to do business repeatedly with them. They understand that the key ingredient in gaining business' market share is in fact the offering of the best customer service.

Customer service has to be tops in face to face contact, on the telephone, in your correspondence, in every aspect of interaction regardless of whether the person is perceived to be a high value customer or not.

Keep tuned in as we will over the next couple of weeks be looking at customer service and its impact - on businesses and the beneficial spin-offs on entire economies.

N.B. Kudos for the image. We don't know who produced it, but we wanted to say thanks for allowing its use.

My Teacher - Experience

Those who know me, would realize that when I interact with them, I tend to be direct. Up to this week, I was told that by someone who just met me fleetingly. Having heard it so often, I paused to think about how my characteristic trait was affecting others with whom I interacted. Further probing revealed that though direct, I am not brash.

Let's turn to what excites me immensely - Business. 

I just love it when people bring me business problems that seem insurmountable. It may seem strange but some people like puzzles, I like the ones that have real life effects. When people describe their challenges to me, I almost immediately or at least within a couple days am able to identify solutions to the challenge. Not from the standpoint of any special gifting that I may have. It often comes from experience. 

What gives me this immense experience?

Usually I would have gone through a similar experience before either via a third party or personally. Lots of things happen to me, and truthfully, I often ask God why these situations are happening to me. One time after  my pleading for an answer, I finally got it. "It's not about you." 

What a revelation that was...

Who trains the trainer? Who develops the consultant? In my case, it's experience. What has experience taught me? Here are a couple, just a few of those lessons. 

• It is possible to realize just about any business deal providing you communicate you case well. 
• All things are possible, when presented with the right conditions. The word can't exist only when all the angles haven't been developed / explored. 
• You don't necessarily need an asset base to obtain money. You need to demonstrate a clear and reliable, well thought out and practical system of operating, marketing, and financing. 

Because of these and similar lessons, through God's grace. We've successfully:

• Obtained financing from a local bank for a business established in another country
• Employ turn around strategies for entities that were in the "red" permitting them to get their finances in the black within rather short times. The fastest one was a one day turnaround. The second one was a six figure turnaround within 90 days. 
• Enabled an entity to secure 3 forms of financing with one document
• Loan
• Direct Investment
• Grant Funding
• Developed collaborations whereby teams have helped businesses and charities realize their business objectives within the required time lines and within budget. 

There's something about developing the plans and then providing the training for the implementation of the same plans. Those entities enjoy greater success. Did I tell you the amount of fun I have helping these entities? It's exhilarating! 

Maybe we can do business sometime... 

Thank you experience. You're a great teacher.