Have you ever wanted to address something “tough” with a coworker but not known where to start? Or perhaps you’re someone who prefers to avoid conflict altogether? Conflict in the workplace can be tricky and knowing how to navigate it well can make a huge difference to yourself, your staff and your coworkers. At Zingerman’s, […]
Talk to any business owner who has kept their doors open year after year and chances are they’ll credit their longevity, at least in part, to giving great customer service. Similarly, many customers who stay loyal to specific businesses and brands will often cite great customer service as a big (if not the biggest) reason […]
Ever been to one of *those* meetings? You know the one… somebody is grandstanding and won’t get off their soapbox. Somebody else is having a side conversation. The person sitting across from you might as well be alone in the room with their smartphone. Nobody is making decisions. The energy is low, and almost everyone […]
Business as art? There’s a concept you don’t often hear swirling around the business world these days… What would happen if everyone approached their lives as artists? What if business leaders looked at their organizations as if they were making art for the ages instead of being just vehicles for making money? What if everyone—not […]
If you’re in the business of serving customers, it’s no secret just how important giving great customer service is to the success of your business. But how do you know if you’re doing it well? As they say, what gets measured gets done. At Zingerman’s, we do a lot of work around customer service and […]
At Zingerman’s, we define a Vision as a picture of success at a particular time in the future. It’s different than a mission statement (those are never-changing) and it’s not a strategic plan either, as it doesn’t lay out a step-by-step guide for how to move forward. Rather, the Vision is the desired destination, described […]
Ask any trainer at ZingTrain what their favorite service tools are, and it’s a safe bet that the 10-4 Rule will be at the top everyone list. It’s a simple, behavioral customer service tool that ensures that every single person who enters your orbit is acknowledged and greeted. Ask anyone who has attended a ZingTrain […]
When you start a new job there’s always a lot to learn—right? That has certainly been my experience, and every manager I’ve ever talked to about staff training has agreed. So when we’re interviewing prospective employees, it makes sense to evaluate not only the skills and knowledge that they bring to the table, but their […]
When clients ask us to help them develop customer service training for their businesses, we always start by helping them articulate and document what “great service” means to them. That’s because effective training starts by defining what the trainees will be expected to know or be able to do at the end of the training. […]
Have you ever caught yourself saying, “once things calm down a bit, I’ll …(fill in the blank)”? I don’t know about you, but those “calm times” I keep waiting for don’t ever seem to arrive. So if I don’t just make time for whatever it is I want to accomplish, it’s never going to get […]
How do you welcome new hires into your organization? Do you hand them an apron and point them in the general direction of the deli counter? Do you have them attend several days of classroom training before they ever talk to a customer? Do they learn about your organization’s history and vision from someone in […]
My first Staff Training column in Gourmet Retailer was published in January 2000 – 14 years ago! It’s hard for me to remember how different things were back then, both in my personal life and at ZingTrain. What I do remember is how I was both honored and scared to death to have been asked […]
