Posted by scott bell on Fri, Feb 03, 2012 @ 08:31 AM
Legendary Hotelier Horst Schulze (Ritz-Carlton) wrote the forward to Exceptional Service, Exceptional Profit - The Secrets of Building a Five-Star Customer Service Organization by Inghilleri and Solomon. “…what truly matters, what builds strategic value for a business, is loyalty: customer loyalty, employee loyalty.” Mr. Schultz goes on to caution us that it is hard being committed to a framework of quality service that is indeed extraordinary.
The authors of “Five Star Service” assert several times in their best seller that being attended to is a nearly universal human desire. We get this and we go to great lengths to make customers feel attended to. In all honesty though, this isn’t an easy thing to measure. One proxy for the “attended to” measure is the quality of specific customer interactions that we score for training and coaching purposes. Every week, Trase Miller’s Supervisors and Leadership meet for calibration sessions to review a sampling of customer care calls. The calibration session consists of listening to recorded calls and critiquing the performance based on 22 attributes. There are four categories that we calibrate to one of which is the “Needs of the Customer” which represents 6 of the 22 things we look for. In our meetings however, more recently we have gone beyond the monitoring form and 22 attributes. At the end of the recorded call we ask the simple reflective question - would you recommend THAT agent to your friends and family based on THAT call? Isn’t that what truly matters? Isn’t that a great measure of knowing whether or not someone truly felt attended to?
We are not afraid of hard work around here and sometimes it’s helpful to remind ourselves that there are simple truths about the work that we do. One idea as presented in the video above is putting a personal signature on customer interactions. We deal with loyal customers every day and handle their points (earning and redemption). So here is OUR “thought of the day” relative to driving loyalty: Loyalty points matter – Exceptional service matters more. We’re here to help you.
Posted by scott bell on Tue, Jan 24, 2012 @ 01:20 PM
This is the time of year that industry analysts, experts and pundits get out their crystal ball and make predictions. We closely follow the musings and analyses of Henry Harteveldt who recently published a somewhat guarded but encouraging view of 2012. “Fortunately, some optimism exists for 2012; with more than two in five people surveyed expecting their financial conditions will improve” but Henry cautions that overall there is uncertainty in the mind of the traveling consumer based on a fluctuating global economic climate. In another research brief Henry reminds us that these days “…travelers are both emotionally and financially exhausted”.
Just yesterday morning a very bright eyed group of fresh new hires (customer care agents) joined us in our brand new Tulsa operations center. The demographically diverse group seemed to share the anticipation and anxiety of new beginnings mixed together with excitement. And they like the shared psyche of the travelling public probably feel some uncertainty too wondering how their careers will unfold here at Trase Miller.
We had our Leaders welcome and present the new team members an overview of our history and heritage. We also chatted with the group about our views on quality and how quality and brand perceptions are shaped on every single customer interaction. Without exception every new member of our team nodded their heads with understanding about how to recognize quality customer service. We talked with our new team members about the brands that they are loyal to and why they are loyal. There is an absolute truth that frames the answers to questions about brand loyalty. It’s got something to do with products and services but it has all to do with the people that are in place to help. It’s comforting to know that everyone we just hired has a really good grasp of this and can connect the dots of the Golden Rule of treating people like we like to be treated.
We don’t need a crystal ball to help us predict that we will deliver hundreds of thousands of remarkable customer experiences in 2012. “We’re here to help” And we are delighted to welcome the first new hire class of 2012 into the Trase Miller family.
Posted by scott bell on Wed, Jan 04, 2012 @ 04:13 PM
This is the time of year that many people are thinking about resolutions. There are tons of studies about the phenomenon of New Year’s Resolutions. Why we make them, what they are and why we break them. The usual suspects are always the same – It’s about change: i.e. spend more time with family, quit smoking and lose weight. The bottom line though is that in general, people don't change simply because they resolve to do so.
At Trase Miller, we think about resolution 24/7/365 but in a slightly different context. In contact center context it is about first call resolution and we do our best to resolve customer issues on the first call. Our client partners care about this because it keeps their costs down but more importantly it keeps their customers happy and loyal.
We do, however have 10 resolutions that we happily wish to share:
- Continue to delight our clients and their customers every single day
- Be even more rigorous about quality and with our quality assurance program
- Welcome NEW clients
- Settle into our new operations center in Tulsa (we’ll start by putting some pictures up)
- Hire fantastic new team members that help us to keep up with our growth
- Encourage our team members to be more externally involved with our community and various trade associations
- TRAVEL – We’re going to coordinate more FAMS and travel opportunities for team members
- Change - Continue to adjust our MENTAL MODEL
- Celebrate more!
- Remind ourselves daily that the essence of our job fits neatly into this phrase ~ “WE ARE HERE TO HELP YOU”
We are looking forward to a fantastic year and have come into 2012 loaded with optimism and prepared for hard work. We are also hiring so contact us if you are interested in joining our team!
Posted by scott bell on Mon, Dec 19, 2011 @ 10:37 AM
We have blogged relentlessly about our special celebration culture here at Trase Miller. We celebrate big personal accomplishment and small team victories alike. And once a year we dress up festively for our Christmas party gathering to celebrate the season and offer recognition to our team stand-outs. For several years now our party has been hosted at Five Oaks Lodge over in Jenks, Oklahoma. “Rustic Elegance” is how the proprietors appropriately describe their very special venue and for several reasons that kind of experience just really works for us.
A few words about the Five Oaks proprietors and their business - - - When you meet Nicole Graber and her father Randy (shown in photo above with our own Lynette Sparks) you quickly understand that these people “get it”. Their product is phenomenal and their passion for what they do is noticeable to say the least. Above all they are proud of their business and that comes through loud and clear in every detail (right down to their delicious gourmet macaroni and cheese).
Back to Trase Miller and the accomplishments we celebrated at Five Oaks. This year we celebrated eight 15 year anniversaries and scores of 5+ years. Our retention rate is better than any contact center that we know about and we tend to make a big deal about it. We have two “MAJOR AWARDS” that merit mention here.
- Mike Millsap is this year’s “Awesome Achiever”. Mike was nominated for being a “joy to work with” as well as “his willingness to help and go above and beyond as a team player”.
- Nicole Heard is this year’s “Employee of the Year”. Nicole’s peer nominator submits that “Nicole has proven to be an outstanding team player and no matter what the request, Nicole is always willing to help.”
Our General Manager, Frank Silzer shared a few words with us at the Christmas party. Frank reminded us all of what an extraordinary year we have had together and how so many people went above and beyond in their jobs to help us with our growth and transformation. There are several common themes here we should emphasize. Team work. Willingness to Help. Rustic Elegance. Strung together these themes describe our very special place of work.
It’s the most wonderful time of the year and we are here to help you 24/7/365 - even on Christmas!
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all!
Posted by scott bell on Fri, Dec 09, 2011 @ 11:54 AM
One of our core Agent training messages involves the avoidance of jargon and acronym when we speak with customers. This blog will compromise the guidance we provide our agents in this matter. We apologize, but buckle up. “To fasten your seatbelt, place the metal tip into the buckle, and tighten the straps so that it fits low and tight across your hips…
Trase Miller is active in QATC which is the Quality Assurance & Training Connection. QATC is an organization devoted to facilitating the education, sharing of ideas, and distribution of knowledge among quality assurance and training professionals in the call center biz. We also participate in ICSA – The International Customer Service Association. The ICSA mission is to advance, strengthen, and promote the industry of Professional Customer Service. They help our organization with development and belonging provides us with a means to link with service professionals world-wide.
Then there is The Society of Workforce Planning Professionals (SWPP) which is an organization to which we belong that is devoted to facilitating education and networking opportunities among workforce planners across all industries. Contact centers like ours rely an precision planning tools and practices and SWPP has been a key guiding light for us in efficiency. Loyalty 360 is another organization that we more recently became affiliated with. Too bad they don’t have an acronym.
We also belong to IATA, ATME and CLIA and a few other organizations. The point is that we don’t just send a check to any of the affiliations that we list on our website – We participate. And we learn and grow as a result of that participation. Several of our key managers have recently been out at conferences, board meetings and events. The fresh ideas that come back to Tulsa are always welcome and always good validation that perspective from outside of our walls provides healthy inspiration to drive our performance 24/7/365.
Posted by scott bell on Wed, Nov 16, 2011 @ 04:30 PM
Working
At the beginning of 2010, Tulsa County’s unemployment level was reported to be 8.5%. When we contrast this against the January 2011 entire USA rate of 9.8% it appears that we were in better shape here in Tulsa versus the US. But still, 8.5% is a concerning figure. Since January of 2011, Tulsa has consistently widened the gap by lowering its unemployment levels far below the national rate. In a small way, Trase Miller has contributed to Tulsa’s success in battling unemployment. We created jobs for dozens of individuals; a lot of whom were out of work. Many of these people will likely be including the thought of their job as part of their Thanksgiving reflection.
Friendships
Travel itself paves the way for meeting new friends. Sometimes new friendships happen simply by talking to the person in the airplane seat next to you. Maybe they are fleeting moments but we are on airplanes constantly and we see true connections happen all the time. For all the new friends we have made this year, we give thanks.
The workplace is always a great place to cultivate new friendships. Trase Miller’s culture encourages fun and friendships often come as a result. Many of us around here are involved in ways that transcend “co-worker” status. How lucky we are that this is the case and our work friends are a part of our Thanksgiving reflection.
Friendships sometimes blossom from our external work contacts too. We feel blessed about all the people that we deal with as suppliers as well as our client partners. They have become friends and we give thanks for that.
Family Matters
Trase Miller is truly like a family. Genuinely. Our people here relate to each other in warm and respectful ways. We look out for each other and help each other out. But the truth is that we all have our own real families. In the past year several of our team members lost loved ones. Their Thanksgiving tables will not be the same next week but we know that as part of their Thanksgiving reflections that they are thankful for their families and for the time they did share with the ones that have departed.
Posted by scott bell on Thu, Nov 10, 2011 @ 08:59 AM
As we scream toward the end of 2011, we need to pause and reflect on what was perhaps the most transformational years in our 17 year history. By the way we turned 17 on October 31st and celebrated with our rich tradition of a throwing a working day costume party. This year’s “Boo-Bash” was fun and festive but slightly understated given the amount of transformation we continue to manage to and around.
Our 2011 transformation wasn’t accidental. It was strategic based on a new mental model that all of us here at Trase Miller have agreed to subscribe to. We welcomed new clients and along with that many new employees. We reorganized and we embraced the departure of several key long-time employees. And to end the year (with a bang) we are in process of moving our primary reservations/operations center across town here in Tulsa.
Moving as everyone knows can be a real pain – Especially after 17 years. We collect stuff and in a move we must take the time to decide what to discard. The logistics must be carefully planned and executed. We have crack planners and project managers here so the logistics aspect is easy for us. Execution is also not something we fret about. Frank Silzer is Trase Miller’s GM and as he says “we just get it done”. So in the coming week we leave our present home and start a new life in Corporate Woods Tulsa.
Last weekend we held a “New Home” open house for our team members and their families. The new digs are a big hit as people love the building and amenities. More than 60% of our employees came and most brought family with them. Wait a minute - - A day off work and people came into work and brought family with them? WOW! It turned out to be a great day that came about from great team work. Everyone had a terrific time and we have received only positive feedback about the event. Highlights were Prize Drawings, a Scavenger Hunt and a Poker Run...
Any day now big trucks pull up to our doors here to load up. We’re packed and we’re ready. One of our moving companies is Graebel. Prominently painted on their trucks is their corporate slogan “helping people move ahead”. How fantastically appropriate for us!
Posted by scott bell on Fri, Nov 04, 2011 @ 10:08 AM
Adults learn differently than children. There are many theories about why this is and there are many theories about how to help adults best learn. At Trase Miller we give learning a ton of attention. One of the key principles of adult learning is motivation. Our “Learning and Development” team makes it their business to understand the importance of what motivates our agents. Training classes are conceived and constructed with motivation very much in mind. One thing very clear around here is that our agents are famished for knowledge and motivated by travel.
So we invest in learning outside of the classroom in the form of travel. Anybody professionally associated with the travel industry has heard of the familiarization trip or as it is commonly known FAM trip. FAM trips require, investment, planning and careful coordination. We have been at this a long time so through the years we have coordinated and participated in hundreds of FAMs. The stories we could tell…
More recently small teams of Trase Millerites were out on FAMS. The site inspections and fun happened under the sponsorship of our airline client partners. These people all came back with a fresh view of how to best take care of customer’s needs. Explaining the power of FAM trips comes best from the mouths of those most recently out there - - -
“It’s great to be in a position to explain the properties with actual knowledge of what a room looks like. Hotel proximity to other venues is another thing I brushed up on. It’s fantastic to be able to say that I have recent first-hand experience. With confidence I can tell a caller that they would not want to walk from New York New York to Caesars even though on maps they look only a few casinos apart!” Crystal B.
“Going on this trip really helped us as a group to understand the hotels and the room types available in Las Vegas. The experience was both memorable and amazing and we appreciate the opportunity very much! I will never forget the hotels we saw and how much fun we had!“ Heather M.
“It was very beneficial to get to see all of the properties we sell on a day to day basis. My knowledge of the product AND the airline brand has greatly improved. I have no doubt that FAMs like this will help us tremendously. Eugene K.
Posted by scott bell on Fri, Oct 21, 2011 @ 01:08 PM
This past week all Trase Miller employees were invited to a 25 minute meeting. The meeting was a follow up to our Manager’s Quarterly forum on Quality. The mini meetings had several related themes and messages. Quality was the central theme.
We shared a few laughs but more importantly we shared a few “ahaaa” moments. It’s entirely refreshing to do these kinds of meetings which serve as pulse checks. And based on feedback of the meetings, all is well in the hearts and minds of our frontline agents.
“I Love You MORE THAN My Dog” is a business book that has been making the rounds in the customer service industry for a few years now. Written by a veteran of customer service and contact centers, we love the premise of the book and author Jeanne Bliss’s perspective:
“Congruence of heart and habit form the backbone of beloved companies”
Very cool, right? We have our own corporate culture, identity and abiding tenets that we live by. And our agents project all this good stuff on every customer interaction. Our customer/consumer facing persona reflects our own high standards of quality as well as the unique brand attributes of our clients. One major airline client has us respond on the customer’s terms to any change request for any reason at any time. Another major airline client has one of the most celebrated loyalty programs in the history of loyalty programs which requires us to be organized in our approach in ways specific to the thinking of a brand loyal consumer.
So all this begs the question – Is Trase Miller a beloved company? We think so but if you are reading this blog and are considering our services - ask our clients....
Posted by scott bell on Thu, Oct 13, 2011 @ 08:53 AM
MOVE from Rick Mereki on Vimeo.
A talented young Australian film maker was recently commissioned by a student travel company to do three short films conducive to play on the Internet. The films went viral. A visually stunning presentation, catchy music and a handsome feature actor drove well over 10 million views – so far.
In our blog we are reflective but we stick to a narrow list of topics. One of the things we try to convey in our musings is our love for travel. We are the “go to” premium contact center for complex leisure travel. We evolved to the “go to” moniker based not on contrived language slapped into a business plan. We arrived here based on the fact that from the beginning we have attracted team members that are truly passionate about travel.
The three young guys that produced “Move” covered off on over 38,000 miles inside 44 days. Their adventure was captured on 2 cameras. They visited 11 countries and captured on film the essence of why people travel.
Anyone that visits our contact center in Tulsa will at any given time hear people in the break room talking about their recent travels. Anyone that visits us in Tulsa will see pictures on our walls that illustrate our passion and expertise for travel. We’ve been around for 17 years. We don’t have our travels crisply documented into a film capable of becoming a viral Internet sensation but we have collectively traveled MILLIONS of miles. Our customer care agents are always eager to share their adventures: 24/7/365.