Melbourne sure does love it’s coffee.
As a society whether you are a massive foodie or not, we are generally proud to say we are of the best in the food, drink & hospitality industry worldwide. And whether or not you are a big coffee (or perhaps you are a chai drinker?) Melbourne is never too shy to boast that we have the best coffee especially if you were in desperate need or were wanting a warm beverage to relaxing with and meet up with friends.
Our Baristas are the key to Melbourne’s biggest success.
Cafe coffee meetings are also where business, team and client meetings are more often these days held.
And here in Melbourne we do very much love our Baristas. Generally, our baristas are always more than friendly & willing to chat, give advice, laugh with you, know more than just your regular order, serve and we are known to be the city where the Baristas take the most amount of pride in the work they do – their ‘Art’.
For this one Barista though Dom, Dom represents what so many excellent Baristas bring to their work & their art. If you have the pleasure of chatting to the majority of these cool Baristas you’ll actually start to see that they are some of the most well travelled, well experienced people in Melbourne, they do have a lot of heart and soul which they pour deeply into the coffee cup as they are creating your caffeine delight.
Apart from being a fantastic all rounder, and a person who is always ready to ‘have a go’ at multiple opportunities, Dom especially is also clear on what really makes the industry tick and on what makes the masses happy and it is actually the Customer Service mindset that he brings.
Dom regardless of any of the multiple roles he plays from tennis coach, dad & hubby, business owner, husband to an entrepreneur, and ofcourse barista, Dom takes the most amount of his pride in providing his best possible in Customer Service and it’s obvious from the moment you meet him. And the best part about it all is that through the excellent Customer Services Dom’s sparkly personality shines through.
Dom’s Customer Service mentality is much like an iceberg, what we enjoy in being one of Dom’s customers is not only based on the surface level stuff either. Let’s hear what Dom has to share:
THE TOP 3 QUICK SIMPLE TIPS – (THE STUFF WE SEE ABOVE THE WATER LEVEL)
1. 1-1 – do this genuinely, give your customers 1-1 care & treatment and build in steps to demonstrate this, however big or small the interaction.
2. Ask Questions – don’t be afraid to ask questions, especially at the time of resolving problems, remember that customer service is built around resolving and solving problems, answering questions and educating and therefore questions is a chance to grow, learn and solve the problems for your customer. Don’t feel like you are going to be condemned if you are unsure, better to just check what the team culture and rules are so you can give your best service, confidently.
3. First impressions count – work out your professional look that represents your brand; ‘be a product of what you’re selling’, smile because this does make a difference, know your product, know what packages are available and how much control you have to tailor to suit the customer. Be determined and enjoy the interactions required to serve & provide assistance to your customers & clients.
THE HOW TO’S – (JUST UNDER THE WATER OF THE ICEBERG)
Passion about your product
Being passionate about your product will intrinsically lead to you exploring and knowing the ins and outs of your product; sticking with the sales process means going through every type of objection handling scenario and having deep confidence, belief that your product is amazing from all angles. It truly is your passion/love.
Show
The ability to build trust & truly show, not just by words but by actions – that you are there to serve & assist, fit in as a team member.
Love & Care
Don’t be afraid to love & care for your client. It’s what makes going out of your way that little bit easier too. It’s about knowing them well also.
Find your strong points
Ask for feedback in the team, talk about everyone’s strong points in your personality, character & knowledge and use this to shine.
RECOVER WELL & AIM TO LAND ON YOUR FEET – TOP TIPS WHEN SITUATION/CLIENT INTERACTION GOES WRONG (FURTHER DOWN THE ICEBERG INTO THE DEEP SEA)
Inevitably when a customer interaction or a situation goes wrong, the client will back away and revisit within themselves if you are still to be a provider of choice.
- Be responsive to your client’s behaviour, questions & listen carefully to their complaints when they are showing signs of breaking away.
- Be flexible & give what the client needs, your ability to read and be intuitive is key
- Letting go of your own ego is also key and for some people this is a practice that will force you out of a comfort zone of reverting back into Ego state (e.g. trying to over argue/excessively defend your side of the story when all the customer needs is a work around or their inconvenience to be empathized with)
- If you don’t know answers, get advice, don’t be afraid to ask to get the solution, break down and solve the problem for the customer, assist them with what the parts that they truly need
BUILDING YOUR CUSTOMER SERVICE MINDSET – (THE DEPTH OF THE ICEBERG)
Life Check point – as you get older you begin to realise that being happy, being confident, sharing with others, truly feeling connected is something that you do begin to cherish. Dom’s warm & welcoming attitude encourages us all to relax enjoy, roll with it, and he suggests this same/similar attitude of strong internal well being is important to your Customer Service mindset.
In striving for great Customer Service we encounter problems to solve on behalf of your Customers, whether it be in righting a wrong or educating on product or policy. At times the scenario or problem to solve doesn’t always have a first time resolution. Your knowledge is what makes and breaks your interaction and your personal reputation and ofcourse the reputation of the business brand that you are working for. Dom’s tip is to learn everything you can about your workspace so that you are well equipped to handle the problem. Know the processes, the boundaries, what you can use for win-win short term resolutions and have the mindset of doing what you can to remove the disruption for your customers and allowing them to find a workable, interim solution while larger issues are being resolved. Knowing what is expected of you by working through scenarios with the ‘boss’ to see how they have handled the situation in the past and what they consider to be great ‘commercial decision making’ skills will also lead you to being not only empowered in your role but also, may see you soon moving into leadership, process improvement, policy making and product input positions. As a leader build the team up in a safe environment by helping them to practice their customer service muscles in offline situations with you. The more agile the team can move in their Customer Service ability, the lower the resolution times, the better the customer experience as the customer beings to encounter issues, breakages, faults etc not as a stand still but as a minor glitch which is being taken care of as seamlessly as possible.
“RESPECT find out what it means to me” – using this song lyric, Dom swears by providing utmost in service, know them well enough to respond to them quicker/before they ask you for assistance (so that it almost feels like you are there at the customer’s ‘beck and call’, 1-1 personal service where you are almost dear friends with your customers).
Though having said that, Dom also holds an incredibly strict mindset around expectations of respect in your Customer interaction at all times. This goes both strictly both ways. Dom views it that the mere fact that you go above and beyond consistently and give the best value and quality at all times especially during resolution handling process this means that if this good service is unfairly taken for granted or the customer may be pushing on boundaries for their personal gain, then your Customer mindset needs to be very clear that customer service is not there for you to be used and abused, disrespected. Remember you are serving from a place of knowledge, expertise, consultation, good intention, pride in your product and brand, patience to educate and resolve, politeness, fun, and closeness and equality. Dom advises to invest great time and effort to practice assertive communication techniques to ensure that under stress you are being respectful but able to draw and communicate a clear boundary in such a way that you can gain back the respect from your Customer during their times of frustration.
Dom views embedding this practice and training as part of a Customer Service mindset as an empowerment activity. In the act of serving others it can lead to an ultimate form of self-development; respect for oneself, a refining of oneself and staying calm under pressure is the mark of an empowered professional and an skill sharpening activity that will help you and your teams enjoy the challenge of being part of it all.
FOCUS NOW OBSERVATIONS
The greatest insight we observed from Dom’s Customer Service tips are that it’s all actually based on ‘mindset’, not just a set of skills or rules/guidelines or method to follow.
- Be thier assistant! (Not at a beck and call) but as we started to discuss this more with Dom, we began to realise that his mindset meant that the term ‘Serving’ is similar to an assistant role, as if you are a team member of their own. It’s almost like fitting directly into the Client’s team of resources.
- “Know more than just your regular order” means just that. You walk up to the Barista and they are already greeting you (as Dom does) with such gusto and warmth you feel like you are the ‘one and only’. This instant rapport and constant 1-1 feel is truly what most large organisations hope to provide in the way of facilitating good customer experience but have you really got the basics down on an efficient your client needs? Are you #winning with your client?
What we so often forget is that we are in business. Clients come to us to fulfil a transactional need. They (the client) are on a mission, they use your product/service to fulfill their needs. If you can enable them as fully as you can, giving them the know how, confidence, upskilling the client on how best to use the product, or allowing the customer to relax in your hands safe in the knowledge that you too truly understand their goals and are there to facilitate it as best as you can with what you provide you are one up on the game. You’re part of their team, their ‘trusted advisors’. That’s what building the bond, building customer relationship is all about. What a go to, ‘trusted advisor’ is – a provider by choice. Longer term rolling contracts & repeat business is then a simple matter of fact. Lastly, based off the trusted conversations with your customers this is the spring board to where true Innovation then occur.
Overall we think Dom’s Customer Service mindset is built to last. Didn’t think we’d get that much of insight over a well made Melbourne cup of coffee, did we?!
