MIND FOOD

Does your workplace have somewhere to feed the staff or an area to allow them to enjoy a few minutes coffee and sit down?.

Is that area merely filled with newspapers declaring gloom around the world, or glossy picture mags with celebrity gossip and dubious claims on the lives of others?

This does nothing to foster an upbeat 'can-do' mentality amongst the crew and merely defeats any goodwill or positive feeling somebody would have had before starting work.

Instead there needs to be an ever changing supply of wisdom and mind expanding education there available for people to learn and develop their mind and themselves. Have some quotes from famous motivators and leaders on the wall, or even staff contributions of anecdotes from the work place. Change the content so that it stays interesting. Have a small library of books and magazines which celebrate success, wealth and personal development.

This is a good area to declare the success of your employee of the month or anecdotes about which staff member went the extra mile for a customer.

It is important for this area to be kept in a similar fashion, standard and decoration to the front of house or customer areas too. It is no good staff walking from a highly polished expensive looking work area then relaxing on a break in a dirty tattered cold room which to them merely states subconsciously that the customer is valued higher and differently to the staff......not good.

MOTIVATION

Contrary to what many employees think, motivation has to come from the individual....not from the employer.

It is true you may get some brief satisfaction from a pay increase or a promotion, but in truth a long lasting and heartfelt desire to do well in life has to come from within and is not dependent on where you work, or who you work for.

True motivation leads from a willingness to pursue your goals and desires, so it is essential that you begin by setting out your desires for your future and setting a timeline to achieve them.

Find out what your passions are, go within yourself and seek out what your life should be like if you had no restraints on time or finance.

Dream big. Set out what these life goals are and reach upward as if you were already wealthy and could do whatever you wanted.

Write it all down, better still create a picture folder with photos of your new dream lifestyle.

This practice of reading your dream folder every day will build a fire of desire over time and most probably will propel you on to bigger and better things. That may be within your current work scenario, or could quite possibly lead you on to something different altogether.

Just know you are on a journey and it is one to be savoured and enjoyed. The destination is in front of you but it is not the all, just allow yourself to get to where you are going in the right time and know that everything is right with the world for now as it is.

MAGIC WITH WORDS

A little development with your every day vocabulary can pay huge dividends in your relationships with both customers and colleagues.

The basic premise is this, speak and treat others how you would love to be treated.

Coming from that perspective will work wonders every time, and goes beyond just saying please and thank you. when it is a habit and comes from the heart, which it will given regular use, the effects will seem magical.

Just starting with the basics : " Could I trouble you to ......"

Moving on to more developed

And listening skills are just as important, be present in a conversation.

TIME MANAGEMENT

As someone who wants to excel and improve in your job, you need to be conscious of how your time is spent.

Given that your goal is to provide an excellent service, you need to lose the feeling of being hurried or always rushing around.
When you are organised and confident in your day anything glides effortlessly into and from your routine, and you have an air of confidence that whatever the world brings to you that day will be alright. " I can cope with anything" kind of attitude.

For example, if you are due to begin your shift at noon, that is not when you show up for work. You need to have been there 20 to 30 minutes prior in order to assess what the day has in store, take any handovers from colleagues in a relaxed unhurried fashion, and make sure you are dressed with all the tools needed for your day.
This is so that even if a customer approaches you on the strike of noon, you are not flustered and fumbling around saying "oh er erm, I've just started, sorry give me a minute here". That customer may not have a minute and it doesn't make you look that professional either.

HOW CAN I BE OF SERVICE?

Top employers are looking for those individuals who have the ability and natural inclination to serve customers well. A powerful and dedicated workforce will 'wow' customers with their caring mindset that says from the heart ' HOW CAN I SERVE?'

The way for an individual to adopt this mindset is to make it a 24 hour lifestyle. You can not turn on such characteristics simply for the duration of your 8 hour shift. Your whole persona needs to be tuned into this concept of service to others all the time.

Example : If on your day off you are sitting eating at a food court and somebody trips and spills their food tray nearby. Do you ignore them because you do not know them? Or do you get up and help and put them at ease?

If that happened at work and they were a customer you would have rushed to help. So why is this scenario different? The point is we have to look at ourselves as all human beings and all deserving of love, kindness and foster an affinity to one another regardless of where we are at the time. That is how you develop an attitude of great service to others.

AN IMAGE THING

Be your best when it comes to looking good. Your grooming speaks volumes about your attitude and your level of care.

If you do not care about your personal grooming much, it often follows you do'nt really care about details.

So, if you are in uniform or not, being dressed well transforms your poise and demeanor. It can affect your method of work, for if you are dressed slovenly, your work will be average too, but if you are dressed at your best, your work will be top rate. Look sharp....work sharp!

Have a full length mirror available at strategic places in the workplace. In the front office, in the staff canteen or cloakrooms.

Does your uniform still fit you? Is your name badge faded? Could my shoes do with a clean? These are all pertinent qustions to ask yourself regularly in the pursuit of excellence.

SO WHAT'S THIS ALL ABOUT?

The service industry succeeds or fails on the delivery of their service and product. That success or failure rate rests on the shoulders of the men and women on the frontline of that service, not on buildings, machinery or fancy decor.

We need to develop and nurture our frontline service providers with top class skills, confidence and knowledge to foster a fantastic mindset within that person so that outstanding service becomes the natural mode of that individual at all times.

This blog intends to showcase these tools and skills available to all service providers to show how anyone can learn how to be a service superstar.

trainers.