Ron Kaufman

UP! Your Service

Ron Kaufman is the world's leading educator and motivator for uplifting customer service and building service cultures. Ron started UP! Your Service in 2006 to help organizations gain a sustainable advantage through uplifting service and building service cultures.

A Challenge to Recognize Great Service

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Posted on 2012-03-27

It was a busy intersection. My taxi was stopped at the light. Pedestrians walked in front us.

Look to the left. I saw a young man walking toward the crosswalk, his cell-phone perched by his ear. He was obviously in a heated conversation.

Look to the right. An elderly woman was stalled in the middle of the crosswalk on her mobility scooter. In about 20 seconds I would either witness a massive traffic jam, or a horrific accident.

I instantly reached for the door handle so I could jump out and help. But, that’s when I witnessed something phenomenal. While all the other pedestrians kept moving, the young man with the cell phone saw the woman’s situation and stopped his heated conversation. He jammed the cell phone in his pocket and ran quickly to help the elderly woman in distress.

But as the young man stepped behind the woman’s scooter, she turned and did something unexpected. She yelled at him. I couldn’t hear the conversation but from the young mans...

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Want better service? Be a better customer!

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Posted on 2011-12-14

When you give a great service, customers appreciate you more. When you give bad service, customers can be a pain in the neck. The other view is also true. When you are an appreciative and considerate customer, service providers will often serve you better. If you rant and pound the table, people will serve you grudgingly if at all.

Here are the tips I use to be a better customer and enjoy receiving better service:

1. Be appreciative and polite. Remember, there is a fellow human being on the other end of your telephone call, e-mail message or just across the counter. I begin every service interaction with a quick: “Hi. Thank you for helping me. I really appreciate it.” This takes about two seconds and can dramatically improve the mood of a service provider.

2. Get the service provider’s name, and use it. I make this short and friendly by asking, “Who am I speaking with please?” or if we are face-to-face, simply “May I know your...

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What matters more? What you do, or how they feel?

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Posted on 2011-04-06

“See the world from your customers’ point of view” is a catchy and familiar phrase, but not always easy to accomplish. The world view of any other person is influenced by his or her past experiences, current concerns, future hopes and fears – not yours.

It may not be easy, but understanding what someone else perceives is essential to improving the service you provide. How else can you know what to do, change or do better if you can’t get an accurate view of how you are performing in your customer’s eyes right now? This means shifting your attention from what you are doing to caring about what someone else is experiencing.

Definition of Service: Service is taking action to create value for someone else.

This is not an easy task because many of your daily activities focus on getting things done, not figuring out what other people think and feel about the things you are doing. The attention you place on your own activity intensifies every time...

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Make the Shift from ‘Me’ To ‘We’

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Posted on 2011-02-16

The most listened-to radio station in the world is WIIFM, which stands for “What’s in it for me?” Some people throw this question like a trump card: answer with enough for me and you win my cooperation, but if I find your answer insufficient I may ignore you and your request completely.

I’m tired of this question being used so often and with such depressing power. Here’s why: Small children live for individual attention and immediate gratification: “Give me,” “I want,” “It’s mine.” But we’re not little kids anymore, and “it’s all for me” is a pretty narrow place from which to participate in the world.

When you make the shift from “me” to “we,” as in “What’s in it for us?,” other people become as important to you as you. His frustration counts as much as yours, so you listen more carefully and offer better help. Her needs make a difference in your life, so you pay more attention and do a better job.

When you...

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Think you know your customers? Think again!

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Posted on 2011-02-08

Many people say they know who their customers are. But an alarming number, especially in the B2B world, have only a shallow clue.

Ask yourself these questions, and then think again:

Do you understand your customers’…

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How Singapore is meeting a national service challenge

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Posted on 2011-02-01

Singapore is a unique and extraordinary island. The country has no natural resources other than its people and location. It takes less than an hour to drive from one coast to the other yet this tiny city-state is home to the world’s most awarded airline, top rated airport and is consistently ranked among the best places in the world to live and do business.

When I moved to Singapore in 1990, all was not well on the economic front. The industrial base of manufacturing operations was moving to China and many back office tasks were being sent to India and other lower-cost locations. Value-adding services featured prominently in the economic future of the country: medical, financial and legal, supply chain and logistics, conventions with thriving hospitality, restaurants, retail and entertainment, educational services, multi-media, research and development.

But the country’s educational system was tuned to support the manufacturing...

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A timely lesson from Southwest Airlines. Do your employees see “The BIG Picture”, too?

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Posted on 2011-01-25

Another company consistently in the news for providing great service, besides Amazon.com, is Southwest Airlines.

Their inspirational hero pilot story made headlines across the globe last week. The best service isn’t necessarily about getting a plane to depart on time or sticking to policy. In fact, it can mean making a decision to put one customer above others.

The pilot held back a plane with hundreds of passengers for twelve minutes – so that one passenger could make the flight. As Christopher...

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Are you building powerful partnerships where you work?

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Posted on 2011-01-17

In the last blog post, we described how Amazon builds powerful partnerships. How can you do the same?

Each time you explore, agree, deliver and assure, the possibility for trust grows between you and the other party. In fact, this may be the only way human beings can build trust with one another.

1. EXPLORE: Find out what is important to the other person.
2. AGREE: Make a promise to do something on their behalf.
3. DELIVER: Do what you promised.
4. ASSURE: Check and make sure they are satisfied.

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Amazon does not deliver customer service, they build powerful partnerships.

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Posted on 2011-01-12

Yet another customer satisfaction survey has rated Amazon as #1 among all online retailers.

Amazon’s customer service has always been recognized and applauded as world-class.
This is remarkable, especially since it is a purely online retailer. Amazon has hardly any ‘human’ interactions – often considered crucial perception points for increasing customer satisfaction and loyalty – in the value delivery chain.

Many companies try to emulate Amazon and cost-effectively provide higher levels of service through leveraging technology. But Amazon does not only ‘deliver customer service’ – they build powerful partnerships with their customers.

Every service cycle is a series of interconnected conversations: Explore, Agree, Deliver and Assure.

1. EXPLORE: find out what is important to the other person.
2. AGREE: make a...

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2011: A Year of Uplifting Service

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Posted on 2011-01-05

Dear Readers, Friends and Colleagues,

As we leave 2010 behind and move into a new year shining with promise, I ponder how to make this the best year yet. I believe the key is an unwavering dedication to uplifting service toward others: in relationships, in family, in business, and in the world.

Many sages have shared profound quotes and insights about the purpose and power of service. Some say it is the foundation for a good life. Others call it the rent you must pay for your space upon the Earth. I say that uplifting service is the reason we are here.

Uplifting service can be shared with others in many ways, some as simple as a warm smile, a kind word or just listening carefully to someone else. Service can also be a deeply committed undertaking, demanding the best of our time, intelligence and effort.

What these have in common is the desire to be of service, to...

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