The audience at MenuDirections 2015 consisted of some 120 specialists in menu development and nutrition, but the conference opened yesterday with an often humorous look at the effort every member of a noncommercial team should muster to improve guest service.
“Your job is to build wow team members, and they will pass that wow onto your customers,” opening speaker Rob Bell explained in his kick-off at MenuDirections 2015, a three-day conference in Memphis, Tenn. that is sponsored by FoodService Director magazine.
Bell’s presentation, “Absolutely Everything Counts,” focused on the importance of delivering outstanding customer service through words and body language, not just interactions with customers.
The teams that do it best, the author and professional speaker said, exhibit four characteristics:
- Vision. Set wildly important goals that inspire staff members and distinguish their performance.
- Passion. The team leader needs “fire to inspire,” but that passion has to be authentic—not “rah rah,” Bell said.
- Communication. Include all team members when introducing a new idea or process. Show respect for their ideas
- Consistency. Build trust by doing what you said you would do.
Bell credits Dick’s Supermarkets in Wisconsin, where he started working at age 17, for laying the groundwork for his customer service philosophy.
“All customer service professionals share certain traits,” he said, adding that a sense of humor is the most important of those characteristics. It can absolutely be the key to fostering relationships in a serious situation. “The shortest distance between two people is a good laugh,” Bell quipped.
He also cited the importance of empathy, good listening skills and the ability to build relationships.
To reinforce his points, Bell had the audience perform several team-building exercises with their tablemates. Among the points he stressed during the exercise:
- The words you choose have to be consistent with the body language you use. “You can’t say you’re in a good mood and forget to notify your face,” he said.
- Listening is an active skill. You have to suspend your own thoughts and feelings to give complete attention to the customer.
- Every word counts. Too many negatives can turn off the person you’re trying to help. “Success comes in cans, not in cannots,” Bell joked.
- Avoid getting “psychosclerosis.“ Bell explained. Don’t say “we’ve always done it that way; your way won’t work,” he added.
In closing, Bell told the audience, “We’re here to plant seeds, to help each other succeed. It’s more fun to be excellent than mediocre.”