Achieving Service Excellence

As noted in the pages of this issue, great service is at the core of any successful material handling operation. Sales are certainly essential, but if your organization doesn't have a focus on and passion for service excellence, your chances of long-term success are slim.

What are the keys to a service-focused organization? In my view, it all starts at the top. At any company, the leader must set the example for excellent service beginning with how you treat or “serve” your employees. Recently, I had the opportunity to attend a two-day “Leadership Intensive Conference” during which we shared ideas in a small group setting about successful leadership skills and behaviors. While our ideas were not new, the discussion reminded us all of the basic rules for good leadership—humility, gratitude and fairness. Your associates will always provide the best customer service when the leader is setting the first example. A team approach is important, but there also must be a sense of fairness and genuine appreciation. There is nothing I'd ask of my fellow MHEDA associates that I am not willing to do as well. And a simple “thank you” goes a long way. MHEDA members understand and practice this philosophy too.

Many MHEDA members focus first on their employees and then the customer, because they understand that the employee is critical to running a successful, service-oriented organization. Happy employees make happy customers. This means that fostering an environment in which employees are productive, rewarded and having fun is essential. On page 52, James Holmes, a MHEDA member with Barloworld Handling (Charlotte, NC), shares his views on creating an organization that “motivates and substantiates” an employee. It starts with recruiting the best talent, but it's up to the leader to create a positive environment where people want to work and are passionate about serving the customer.

Service and sales go hand in hand, and successful MHEDA members make sure their employees, particularly those involved in service, understand the importance as well as the opportunity associated with the selling of service and preventive maintenance programs to their customers. Read the articles on page 54, page 68 and the President's Perspective on page 9 to learn how MHEDA members are positioning the sale of service to their customers.

MHEDA offers a variety of tools to help your employees enhance their sales and service effort. Two free online training programs are available to you through MHEDA, Sales Training Podcasts and Serviceskills.com. These two programs are available on demand, 24/7, to help you and every employee in your company develop their sales and customer service skills. There are 12 Sales Training Podcasts you can download, listen to from your desktop or burn to a CD. The online customer service training is available through 21 Web-based video courses. Both are free to members and available via MHEDA's Web site at www.mheda.org. There are many other training opportunities available throughout the year to help you enhance your organization's service capabilities, including the Parts & Service Management Conference on September 11-12 and The 7 Keys to a Customer Service Culture on December 2. Check out all of MHEDA's educational offerings on page 134, and be sure to share these resources with your associates.

Thank you for giving MHEDA the opportunity to be of service to you!

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The MHEDA Journal • Third Quarter 2008 • Volume 37, No. 3 • Contents are Copyright © Data Key Communications, Inc.
All rights reserved. • Nothing may be reproduced in whole or part without written permission of the publisher.