home Success stories Gerasichev training schedule. People cry at his trainings

Gerasichev training schedule. People cry at his trainings

High level service is vital for many companies. But how can we make sure that it is not the result of a system of strict control, but comes from the employees themselves? After all, real service can only be sincere. The author of this book has serious practical experience. Therefore, it contains many examples, including Russian ones, which clearly show how to manage a service not through strict regulations and punishments, but through the creation of a client-oriented environment. For owners, managers and employees of stores, restaurants, hotels, banks, airlines, mobile operators - everyone who wants to turn customers into their fans and make service their true competitive advantage. 4th edition.

A series: Business. How it works in Russia

* * *

by liters company.

Part I. What is it sincere service

Is it possible to make employees smile, or Why service standards do not work

How important do you think service is? I think you will agree with me - this is the most important competitive advantage of all possible. Personally, I consider him the main one.

The client can forgive a lot. Lack of the goods he needs. The price is higher than that of a competitor. Almost everything except bad service.

About ten years ago I heard an interesting thought: a person is generally ready to forgive absolutely everything except humiliation. It is a pity that this is the feeling we so often experience in shops and banks, restaurants and hotels.

How many times, leaving a store or cafe, have you said in your hearts: “I’ll never come back here again!” Was the price of the product or service the reason? Most likely no. According to my observations, in every second such case the service is “to blame”. And I'm not talking about outright rudeness. I mean something that is difficult to describe. You can only feel it. I think you know what I mean.

The main question I want to ask all readers is: “Why is this?” I don’t know a single company where corporate standards do not begin with the words: “We don’t care about the client!” Any manager constantly talks about the importance of service. We cover the walls with posters with customer service rules. We create service standards. We come up with complex systems of performance indicators and methods of motivation. We implement the strictest quality control. But nothing changes. We still ask ourselves: why is this so?

The answer is very simple. So that you understand what I mean, I’ll tell you the first story.

I've been managing for over ten years now. retail stores. I first stood behind a counter at the age of fourteen, when I decided to earn my own money and got a job as a salesman for my father. But you must admit, managing yourself and managing others are “two big differences,” so we will skip this period of my life.

So, a few years ago I acquired a stake in the Lipetsk supermarket chain SPAR and began managing them. I could write a separate book about what you can come up with in this area. Now there are a lot of chips in our stores. Like these:

Tip No. 1. You can try everything

When you come to our store, you can try any product before you buy it. Moreover, any means any (except for alcohol, for obvious reasons). Walking up to the sausage counter, you can have a good meal while tasting everything that is presented there. You can try any fruits or vegetables (they will be washed and cut right away). At least potatoes. Of course, it must first be boiled. It is important that you are not obliged to buy anything. In principle, you don’t have to buy anything from us at all, you just have to try it, but I didn’t tell you that.

Tip No. 2. Happiness is guaranteed

If you want to try it, try it; if you don’t want to, you can buy it at random. You can't go wrong because we have a happiness guarantee. What is it about? I'll explain now. You can purchase anything in our store without trying, smelling or looking at the product at all. In any case, we guarantee that you will be satisfied. How? Very simple. For example, you bought potatoes. They brought her home. Washed, cleaned, cooked. We made puree... and you didn't like it. Then everything is simple. You come back to the store and we refund your money. Or give us another potato. Or any other product of the same value and a gift on top, just to be sure. Moreover, you do not need to carry potatoes with you or peel them. You don't need a receipt or packaging. No witness needed. All you need to do is come and say: I bought potatoes from you, I didn’t like it. And then we will do everything to make you happy. This is a guarantee of happiness.

Chip number 3. Gifts

We don't have sales and don't like discounts. Instead we give gifts.

If a customer stands in line for a long time, or hasn’t found something, or we’ve done something wrong with him in some other way, we definitely give him something: an apple, an orange, a pastry, a cake. Employees choose the gift themselves.

When I started managing stores, I immediately gathered all the staff and told them about the new standards of work. I talked about the rules of service, among which were “Happiness Guarantee” and “You can try everything.” I explained everything in even more detail than to you. And, by the way, he immediately explained “at whose expense this banquet is.” IN retail trade There are norms for losses and write-offs (these are usually set by the owner), everything else is at the expense of the team. And it doesn’t matter what the reason for the loss is. The expiration date has expired or they stole it, gave it to them to try, or ate it themselves. Anything above the norm is at the expense of the staff. So here it is. We don't have rules. We do not deduct a penny from our employees. “If you give a customer something to try, we pay for it,” I declared, referring to the owners.

Anyone who implements standards knows that the next most important thing is control. And, naturally, after some time I launch the classic “Mystery Shopper” procedure.

Let me remind you what we're talking about. A secret agent comes to you and evaluates your staff and service under the guise of an ordinary buyer. There is one simple but important secret, without which “Mystery Shopping” as a procedure will not work. You yourself must create a questionnaire that he will fill out. You can’t take a questionnaire from an agency that specializes in this service, simply because they don’t know your tricks or weaknesses.

So, I compiled a questionnaire, writing down everything that is important to us. For example, when approaching the deli section, the mystery shopper had to ask two “stupid” questions. First: “Can I try the sausage?” Second: “And if you don’t like it, can you return it?” For most stores, the answer to these questions is obvious. Try to go to your nearest one today and ask something like this, and you will immediately understand what I mean.

And now the procedure is launched, a specially trained person comes to our store, approaches the counter with sausage and, looking into the eyes of the saleswoman, asks: “Can I try it?”

Let me remind you that the saleswoman was told a hundred times what to do in such a situation, but... “Are you going to take it?” - sounds in response. In general, it’s impossible. The special agent does not give up and says, as he was taught: “Okay, but if you don’t like it, can you return it?”

What happens next? My saleswoman looks at the buyer and asks in bewilderment: “Sausage?!” She turns to her colleague and shouts to her across the hall: “Sveta, did you hear? Bring back the sausage!!!" And the two of them start laughing at the buyer who asks such stupid questions.

It's a sad story indeed. Especially if you remember the beginning of this chapter, where we already talked about humiliation.

As I remember now: while reading the secret shopper’s report, I put it aside several times, taking a short smoke break. And he tried to calm down two emotions within himself: the desire to kill someone right now and extreme amazement.

How could this even happen in my store? We have set “You can try” and “Happiness Guarantee” as a standard! I personally explained this to everyone! And most importantly, the sausage is not tasted at their expense! For my! Employees have heard this more than once. What is the reason for this behavior?

The answer, in my opinion, is simple. Moreover, it is true not only for this extremely specific situation. He explains why the standards we put in place don't work. Why doesn't anyone read hundreds of pages of rules? And even if he reads it, he doesn’t remember it. And even if he remembers, he doesn’t comply. Why even the most complex motivation schemes don't work. Why are the most stringent systems of control over the quality of service very often ineffective? Why is it that what we call corporate rules and standards, mission and And Denial, what we cover all the walls in the office with and what we spend enormous amounts of money on printing does not work. Why do you tell your employees one thing and they do another?

Employees do not share your views! They think differently! They don't understand this!

You speak pompous phrases. Use smart and beautiful words. And those who stand opposite yawn in a whisper every now and then. They look at you, nod, but nothing changes. And no matter how you control them in the future, it still will not solve the problem. Why? For the same reason that you can't force employees to smile at customers. That is, you can, of course, force someone to do anything. I don’t know about you, but I, for example, can. Have I not yet said that I am a terrible despot and tyrant, the mere thought of whom causes horror and awe? ☺

If, for example, I put a gun to your head and ask you to do something, you will certainly do almost anything. No, of course, you won’t sell your Motherland, but at least you’ll say hello to the client. If I continue to demand and insist, you will certainly smile. Moreover, your smile will be as wide as I ask. She will be friendly and sophisticated. But what happens when I put the gun away? The smile will disappear along with it.

You can't force employees to smile. Especially when you're not looking at them.

When I realized this, something clicked in my mind. I finally understood why many managers are simply unable to let processes get out of control. And if this happens, everything goes wrong. The cat is out of the house - the mice dance.

But at the same time, I understood the main thing.

You can’t make someone smile, but you can make an employee want to smile.

There is one more important point. Touching, since the conversation has already started, smiles. I'm talking about the attitude towards her in Russia.

In American retail network For over 50 years, every new recruit at Walmart has sworn an oath upon hiring: “I solemnly promise to smile and greet a customer within ten feet, so help me Sam.” And guess what? Later he actually smiles.

Why is it different for us? Why can't we achieve such a minimum as a smile? It's that simple! It’s just so much so that abroad a person smiles like he breathes, without paying any attention to it at all.

In my opinion, the reason is primarily in the attitude towards a smile.

Imagine that you are somewhere abroad, walking down the street, and an oncoming passer-by, coming alongside you, greets you and smiles at you. What happens next? I will offer several options - choose the best one.

1. You throw yourself on his neck shouting “Dad (or mom)! I've been looking for you for so long!

2. Again, you rush to him and climb in to kiss him.

Last? You guessed.

A smile abroad means nothing. A person simply smiles at you, and a second later he no longer remembers it.

In Russia, smiling is an act! After that, go straight to the registry office. Why? Because we are the country of Dostoevsky. The fact that someone smiled at us while passing by on the street is not enough for us. We need to understand why? Why did he smile at me? What does he want from me? What's really on his mind?

Do you know what I (and not only me) most often hear when I give the example of Americans with their service? Come on with the service, just smiles. In Russia they say: “Americans... They smile... But it’s not sincere! Their smiles are not real.”

This is the problem. You can't force a smile. That is, I’ll say it again, it’s possible. Sincerely, it’s impossible. But for us this is a problem.

It is not enough for us to make a person passing by smile. We need him to do it sincerely.

Sincere service is when you do for the client not only what you should, but also what you may not do.

Continuing the topic of service standards and their differences from real service, I would like to tell one more story.

I flew by plane from Astrakhan to Irkutsk via Moscow. I had in my hands a business class ticket for an Aeroflot flight, issued for the entire route at once. The so-called circular ticket.

The problem was that between the arrival in Moscow and the departure to Irkutsk there was only an hour. In principle, it is possible to make it in time, albeit with difficulty. It is important to check in for your flight immediately from Astrakhan. And the most important thing is that the plane arrives on time.

At the airport I had two problems at once. Firstly, when I arrived at the airport, I found out that the plane on which I was supposed to fly to Moscow was forty minutes late. That is, there are no longer sixty, but twenty minutes left between flights. And secondly, for unknown reasons, I can’t check in for the flight to Irkutsk. I'm panicking. There are 120 people waiting for me in Irkutsk.

I call the Aeroflot call center. I want to ask for a very small thing. Even if the plane is 40 minutes late (although there is a chance that it will make up some of this time in the air), I will have time to run from one flight to another in 20 minutes. All I need is to be registered with it.

And so I dial the treasured number to get help, and listen: “Your call is very important for us, stay on the line.” OK, I think I'll wait. After about five minutes, the operator picks up the phone and greets me in a pleasant voice, carefully pronouncing all the phrases he has memorized by heart. It is important that the conversation is recorded. That is, everything is in order with control.

After listening to all the required speech standards, I finally tell them why I’m calling. Girl, I say, help. I’m flying to Irkutsk from Astrakhan... and I’m telling you the whole situation in detail. At the end, I ask you to help me register, explaining that I cannot do this on my own. “Did I understand you correctly,” the operator asks (and I just feel myself starting to boil), “do you need to check in for the flight?” - "Yes!" - I say. “Then you should go to the front desk or check in yourself online.” - "Young woman! Can't you hear me? – I almost scream. – I can’t register myself, that’s the problem! And I can’t go to the counter. That is, I can, but in Astrakhan, and they have the same problem. And in Moscow the reception desk will already be closed! OK,” I say, “please give me the telephone number of the Aeroflot representative in Sheremetyevo.” “Did I understand you correctly,” the standard polite dispatcher clarifies, “do you need the telephone number of the Aeroflot representative in Sheremetyevo?” “Yes,” I say almost in a whisper. “May I ask why?” - "What do you mean why?! If you can't help me, maybe he can! I want to ask him to check me in for the flight, or at least not to close check-in. There is no need to delay the plane. I have time before departure. Just don’t close registration.” “Please stay on the line,” says the magical girl. And I'm still waiting. And so she comes back to finish me off with the words: “Unfortunately, we don’t give out the telephone number of the representative at the airport, is there anything else I can help you with?”

I can't understand what's going on. I spent about twenty minutes explaining it, but in the end I feel like I'm entangled in cotton candy. They spoke to me so politely. All standards were met. They told me a hundred times how important I am to them. They just didn't help.

Important clarification. I'm flying business class. Plus I have a gold frequent flyer card. How else can I support my claims for help? What is the result? I'm on the verge of a nervous breakdown. And to be honest, half of it was because of the time I spent on all the words.

Important. They actually could have helped me. Just a month before, I found myself in a similar situation, stuck in a Moscow traffic jam on the way to the airport. I flew to Almaty with Air Astana. So, I arrived at the airport ten minutes before departure. They were waiting for me. Here I am not asking to delay the flight. Just help with registration. If I have time, I will have time, no, no. You already know the result.

In general, the plane is 45 minutes late. There is very little time. I climb on board and grab the hand of the flight attendant. “Girl,” I say, “only you can help me. “And I explain the situation to her again.” “I know,” I continue, “you can contact the earth.” I'm not asking to delay the plane. All I ask is that you print out my boarding pass or keep check-in open.” “Okay,” the flight attendant tells me without further ado, “I’ll talk to the captain.” I had just settled into a chair when she came up to me and said: “I asked the captain, and he promised that as soon as we entered the Moscow zone, he would definitely contact the ground services.”

After another twenty minutes, she comes up just to ask how I am feeling and to say that she once again reminded the captain of his promise. How am I feeling? I wouldn't say it's great. The problem is not solved. But I feel sincere participation. After another half hour, she reports that she was personally present during the captain’s conversation with the ground and they promised to help me - to send a special person who would guide me along secret paths. My heart goes away. 20 minutes later the flight attendant is there again to ask me how I am and offer me something from the bar. There are no unnecessary words. There are no hackneyed phrases. Just caring. Sincere concern.

How does the story end? As a result, the plane is late by 53 minutes. That is, I only have 7 left. It’s impossible to make it in time. Or, more correctly, I would have thought it was unrealistic if I had not already known something that no one on the plane already knows. My flight to Irkutsk is delayed by an hour. No, not because of me. It's just delayed for some reason beyond my control. And so I pass by that flight attendant and see that she is very worried. She's sure I'm late.

A person actually greets me in the arrivals hall. He holds my boarding pass over his head and shouts: “Nedyakin, passenger Nedyakin, come to me, Nedyakin...” I made it!

Unfortunately, I don't remember the name of that flight attendant. Most likely, I completely forgot to ask him in my haste. But this story is dedicated to her. It is she who is to blame for the fact that I still love Aeroflot.

Most main question. In what part of my history were all the standards met? That's right, in the first one. When I spoke with the operator. There is nothing to complain about. On the contrary, you need to give a bonus. I even heard about such a bonus - for meeting standards. It is important that the service was second.

Standards are not a service. True service is something that goes beyond their limits, often even violating them. This is not something you should do for a client. Service begins where you may not do anything, but do something on your own behalf. Sincerely!

If you think about this problem more deeply, you will understand the same thing that I realized several years ago. It changed me as a manager. If we are talking about service, it can be called whatever you like, but real service can only be sincere. True service is like true loyalty, it comes from the heart. Real, sincere service does not come from tons of paper, not from hundreds of standards and rules, not from systems of indicators and control, remuneration or punishment. Real, sincere service comes from within. This is how your employee feels about the customer.

The main question remains. How to achieve this?

« Primary School": are rules necessary at all?

After I talk about the principle of sincere service, many make the same erroneous conclusion: “So, standards are not needed at all?”

While I'm sure most of them don't work, I'm not saying they aren't needed.

I remember writing the first standard in my life.

At that time I was an employee at a retail chain. I managed the entire chain, with my office located in one of the stores. Every day on the way to and from my office I passed through shopping room. It is important that, in principle, I could not sit in the office for a long time and spent as much time as possible directly on the trading floor. That's where it was most interesting for me. And now too. In general, after two weeks, all the employees of my store knew me by sight.

And so I once again walk through the shopping area onto the street and along the way I decide to buy something. I see a small queue of about three people at one of the cash registers and I stand at the end of it, hoping at the same time to see how our cashier works. More precisely, how it doesn't work. Not only does she not smile or say hello, she doesn’t say anything to any of the customers at all. He doesn’t even mention the purchase amount. The face is apathetic, gloomy. He chews gum. In general, ideal.

The line reaches me, and I (and I was in in a great mood) I say to her very kindly: “Well, maybe you can at least say hello to me?” The employee, lazily leaning on the counter, slowly looks up at me, looks me up and down contemptuously and says: “Well, hello.”

What did I do after that? Do you still remember that I am a despot and a tyrant? No, I didn't fire him. I didn’t say a word to her at all, turned around and went back to the office. I didn't even scold her. Why scold? Well, okay, I grew up in a decent family, from childhood I was taught to say “hello” and “goodbye”, “thank you” and “please”. Where did she grow up and what was she taught? Maybe she was taught to spit on the floor and swear. How can I demand anything from her?

It is important to understand one simple truth: before you demand anything from others, you must first communicate your expectations to them.

As mine said good friend, the whole world rests on agreements. If they don't exist, you don't have to do anything. Moreover we're talking about not just about contracts or verbal agreements. The law, as you know, is also an agreement, a form of social contract. There is no law - everything is possible. Yes is another matter.

So here it is. I returned to my office. Closed it. Turned on the computer. And he wrote his first standard in his life. Today, when I want to cheer myself up, I re-read it. He's really funny.

Firstly, it begins with the words “Cash registers are the main profit-generating link of the store” and further in the same spirit. It’s good that I didn’t think to talk about EBITDA.

Secondly, it is written in 10 point font with single spacing, and there really is a lot of text that no one reads.

Nevertheless, I got my first real document, and besides, I did it 12 years ago - be lenient with me.

Why did I write it? Firstly, I wanted to tell you why the work of a cashier is so important and why I am going to demand something. That is why I wrote about profit-generating links. Secondly, I wanted to describe my expectations and set the rules for service at the checkout.

What did I do after that? I didn’t make the mistake that many people make: they call employees for review and signature. I asked the administrators to duplicate the resulting standard according to the number of cashiers in all stores and distribute a copy to everyone. And then at every meeting, stand in a circle and read my creation out loud in chorus.

Of course, they looked at me like I was an idiot. But did I tell you that I am a despot? Therefore there was no choice. And I, walking past the locker room that same day and hearing discordant “choral singing,” realized that the process had begun.

I didn’t expect the standard to change the way employees think. I just wanted to develop a reflex. So that cashiers can serve the customer correctly on a subconscious level.

End of introductory fragment.

* * *

The given introductory fragment of the book Sincere service (M. V. Nedyakin, 2014) provided by our book partner -

Dedicated to my parents, wife and sons.

Your love, patience and sincere concern always inspire me

Instead of an introduction

It is very important to understand the difference between what we offer our clients, that is, a certain set of services, and the process of delivering it.

I like to compare the entire set of services, options, bonuses and services with Santa Claus's bag. So, of course, it is important for the child what is in this bag. Surely you have seen more than once how a child’s eyes light up when he looks at a bag of gifts brought by Father Frost, who was carefully invited by his parents.

But what is even more important for the child is how he receives this gift. If Santa Claus is boring, gloomy, cheerless, if he does not joke, cannot offer a game, or this game is uninteresting, the child will not be happy, and the gift will not be loved.

So, you can put anything in the bag, but the key and most important issue is the process of delivering the service. I'm talking about what happens directly at the moment of contact with the client. As practice shows, this is where it is decided whether your services will be delivered to the client and whether he will be satisfied, falling in love with your company forever, or will be disappointed, completely devaluing all your investments in this element of the strategy.

In many companies, unfortunately, there is a gap between what is written in the strategy (or, more often, in the head of the manager) and what happens in the process of implementing this strategy.

Believe me, I don’t know a single company where they would say: “Spit on your client’s foot!” Instead, we simply shout: “The client is everything to us!” – but very often this phrase remains only an element of wall decor in the office. Moreover, the level of service does not depend on how many times we write and repeat our slogans.

As a result, everything comes down to answering just one question: “How do our employees feel about our strategy and our values, are they ready to provide exactly the level of service that we plan at the moment of contact with the client?” And more: are they ready to do more for the client than is required? job responsibilities and instructions. Can they add a little more on their own to what they should? Even when the boss isn't looking.

All this depends on how much we, as managers, are able to manage this, turning employees from employees into partners and followers of our values, sharing them with all our hearts.

The topic of service is more popular today than ever. We talk about service using all sorts of adjectives: excellent and amazing, first-class and wonderful. But if we really want to get it, to get it for real, then the first thing we must understand: real service can only be sincere.

How much does it cost

There is one more important point that I would like to talk about at the very beginning of the book and devote an entire chapter to it, albeit the shortest one. It's a matter of money.

We spend enormous sums on various service developments, implement complex loyalty programs, and develop ambitious remuneration systems. All this doesn't come cheap. Let's take for example standard work call center Imagine how much a system for monitoring a conversation between an operator and a subscriber costs. And you also need to hire a special employee who will listen to these conversations, draw conclusions, train operators, and so on. Now multiply all this by the number of companies that are making efforts to improve the level of service. We will receive the budget of a small African or even European country.

But as you read this book, you will probably find yourself thinking that almost everything I recommend can be done at no extra cost.

And this is true, because sincere service is, first of all, a relationship. How much is friendship worth? How much does devotion cost? How much does caring and participation cost?

Like everything real in our lives, real, sincere service does not cost money. It's not a question of what we do; it is primarily a question of how we do it.

What is sincere service

Is it possible to make employees smile, or Why service standards do not work

How important do you think service is? I think you will agree with me - this is the most important competitive advantage of all. Personally, I consider him the main one.

The client can forgive a lot. Lack of the goods he needs. The price is higher than that of a competitor. Almost everything except bad service.

The answer is very simple. So that you understand what I mean, I’ll tell you the first story.

I have been managing retail stores for over ten years now. I first stood behind a counter at the age of fourteen, when I decided to earn my own money and got a job as a salesman for my father. But you must admit, managing yourself and managing others are “two big differences,” so we will skip this period of my life.

So, a few years ago I acquired a stake in the Lipetsk supermarket chain SPAR and began managing them. I could write a separate book about what you can come up with in this area. Now there are a lot of chips in our stores. Like these:

Tip No. 1. You can try everything