Distracted driving is dangerous, claiming 3,166 lives in 2017 alone. Texting on the road and the Dangers of Distracted Driving is a major problem.

Distracted driving is any activity that diverts attention from driving, including talking or texting on your phone, eating and drinking, talking to people in your vehicle, fiddling with the stereo, entertainment or navigation system—anything that takes your attention away from the task of safe driving.

Texting is the most alarming distraction. Sending or reading a text takes your eyes off the road for 5 seconds. At 55 mph, that's like driving the length of an entire football field with your eyes closed.
You cannot drive safely unless the task of driving has your full attention. Any non-driving activity you engage in is a potential distraction and increases your risk of crashing.

Every day, at least nine Americans die and 100 are injured in distracted driving crashes. Cell phones, dashboard touchscreens, voice commands and other in-vehicle technologies pose a threat to our safety. Consequences of those distractions are not worth the convenience they offer. Ignore the distractions and #justdrive.
Distracted Driving Awareness Month in April is a united effort to recognize the dangers of and eliminate preventable deaths from distracted driving. Join us to help save lives.
 

In addition to the internet, there is the fact that we have mobile technology for everyone now. Back in the day, having a wired phone was a massive deal. Now, even homeless people have cell phones. One of the cardinal rules of driving a vehicle anywhere in the world is to keep both hands on the wheel.

However, people are now so used to mobile phones that they think that they can drive while using them. It doesn’t matter how mad you think your driving skills are, you still can’t text while driving. Unless you are capable of seeing and concentrating on two separate things with equal intensity, of course. This isn’t humanly possible, so you can put that thought away.

From texting to calling to using mobile navigation systems, people are always finding ways to use their mobile phones. It almost feels like they just can’t keep their paws off those screens, not even for the time it takes to drive from point A to point B every day.

Texting while driving is an epidemic, and it must be cured before it is too late to do anything about it. In fact, the use of mobile phones in vehicles has to be banned too. There are already a lot of states in the US that have laws against the use of cell phones and texting in the vehicle.

General Cell Phone Statistics

• The National Safety Council reports that cell phone use while driving leads to 1.6 million crashes each year.
• Nearly 390,000 injuries occur each year from accidents caused by texting while driving.
• 1 out of every 4 car accidents in the United States is caused by texting and driving.
• Texting while driving is 6x more likely to cause an accident than driving drunk.
• Answering a text takes away your attention for about five seconds. Traveling at 55 mph, that's enough time to travel the length of a football field.
• Texting while driving causes a 400 percent increase in time spent with eyes off the road.
• Of all cell phone related tasks, texting is by far the most dangerous activity.
• 94 percent of drivers support a ban on texting while driving.
• 74 percent of drivers support a ban on hand-held cell phone use.

By understanding how deadly and dangerous texting and driving is, we can help prevent future generations from participating in this detrimental activity.

Currently there is no national ban on texting or using a wireless phone while driving, but a number of states have passed laws banning texting or wireless phones or requiring hands-free use of wireless phones while driving.

Encouraging Your Customers To Complain will Improve Your Customer Experience results

Customers Complaints Will Force You To Improve Your Product/Business. Inviting complaints from customers is one of the very best ways to improve customer retention. 

Ask  your customers to tell you about what makes them unhappy about your product and/or service. Why? So that you can learn and get better.

1. You aren’t getting the whole story about your business.

The vast majority of unhappy customers (research shows around 96%) don’t bother to complain, they simply walk away. So you’re only hearing from 4% of your unhappy customers. Imagine what the other 96% would tell you. Think about what that 96% are saying to their peers about your company. Imagine what you could start, stop or keep doing as a result of asking for their feedback and taking appropriate action as a result.


2. Bad news about your business travels faster than good A study by the University of Nottingham has shown that


“80% will vent their anger to at least ten people
 and 20% sound off to at least 20 others !”

The internet has made this phenomenon even more dangerous. Every customer now has the equivalent of a front-page article in the New York Times by creating an amusing post or video article. So it’s even more essential to fix customer problems before they hit social media. Ask for the problems as soon as you can and fix them quickly.

3. Fixing problems turns angry customers into loyal advocates

Jake Poore, who looked after “service recovery” for Disney says, “everyone makes mistakes, that’s human.

But how do you solicit those mistakes and rectify them so that the story is now possibly better than if there were no mistake at all?”

He makes the point that customers who go home mad tell their story, whereas those who go home happy tell your story. Often a bad experience that was turned around makes for a happier customer and a better story than a customer who had a good experience in the first place.

4. Your staff will be more focused on making the customer happy.

If customer service is important to you, and you demonstrate it at every opportunity by asking customers how you can improve, your staff will become acutely aware of how their actions impact customer satisfaction. It becomes part of the fabric of the way you do business.

At Zappos for example, all new staff regardless of role, spend time in the customer service department taking customer calls.

5. Soliciting customers’ complaints and fixing them builds a remarkable business.

Many companies struggle to keep the customer at the heart of their business. Over time, processes, new staff and market changes can obscure the original vision of the business and make it difficult to be truly customer-centric. The best customer-serving businesses never lose sight of what their customer really wants.

By constantly and proactively listening you can introduce little touches that make customers really happy, without breaking the bank. These touches make doing business with you more interesting… making you more talked-about in the process.

Ultimately, the more feedback you solicit, the more you can tailor your service to your best customers, fix problems when they arise and keep them for life.

 Better and more useful feedback

Encouraging customers to complain is one way that firms can encourage their customers to talk to them more freely and to provide better feedback such that it helps them serve them better. Ian Siegel from ZipRecruiter in an interviewputs it very well when he says that “customers are great at telling you what you should do next ….by telling you what they are frustrated with”. ZipRecruiter has really embraced this idea and has used it to help them develop their goal of ‘reducing their customer service calls to zero’. The idea being that if they build a business that is so good and has products that are so easy to use such that customers didn’t need to call them then they would have built the perfect product and perfect business.

What about customer reviews

Customer Reviews help you learn from your mistakes. There are a number of ways in which bad reviews can actually help your business. Notable among them is that bad reviews provide insight into what's not working with your product or service so that you can fix problems. Acknowledging this in the reviews section, then highlighting that a change was made in response to customer feedback, shows that you care about what customers think and are always trying to create a better experience for them.

Customer Reviews give you a public opportunity to get it right the second time. Okay, maybe you really screwed up: A customers' dinner was a disaster. You ran out of roses right before Valentine's Day. Or a big storm trashed your pristine beach before a couple's destination wedding. Responding quickly, in a caring and constructive way, shows that even on your worst day, your customer service is the best. Remember: Most consumers will do business with a company again after a negative experience if their customer service issue is resolved favorably.

Let them complain. Do something good afterwards and you will build loyal followers

 

The way we work is changing so significantly that our minds can’t keep up. Constant change is widespread, and workers are tasked with high demand while having low control over their environment. What’s the effect on the organization? A workforce with anxiety, burnout, sky-high stress, turnover and people checking out.

Have you ever wondered what it is you can do to to make you a difference maker? There are three things people notice that can help or hinder you in setting yourself apart: your attitude, how you treat others, and how you act when you think no one is watching.  Here are 10 ways to make a successful impression in the workplace:

1. Become a trailblazer.

One of the best ways to make an impact is by breaking ground with new ideas, spearheading new concepts, and originating new proposals. Be a trailblazer--don't be afraid to make your own tracks. Work to always be the person who can offer a creative solution or a solid Plan B. Be resourceful enough to do a lot with a little.

2. Keep people informed.

No one likes chasing people or information. Do everyone a favor and update them often. People often think they should wait to communicate when a task is finished or they have specific information. When you let people know what's happening--even if it means saying you don't know--you're saving them from speculation, distraction, and rumors. A simple status update can buy a lot of peace of mind.

3. Be the go-to person.

Become the person other people count on. Few things make a bigger impression. Don't work to become a person of success but a person of value.

4. Become a forecaster.

Keep your thinking a step ahead of the rest. If everyone is worrying about today's problems, think about tomorrow's solutions. Don't wait for things reactively; instead, be responsive to issues and trends before there's a problem. It comes down to paying attention to the people and problems you're dealing with and noticing patterns or potential pitfalls. We've all had moments when we know we could have done more. Long before you get to that moment, come up with a plan and set it in motion.

5. Have confidence to speak up.

Have you ever sat in a meeting where there were only two people doing all the talking? If you want to make an impact, be willing to speak up and speak out. Share what you know and let others know how you can be supportive and helpful. Leaders are never silent in meetings.

6. Do things without being asked.

Never ask, "Is there anything I can do?" Just look around and find something useful to do. Making an impact means seeing what needs to get done and taking the initiative to make sure it happens. Try to do something every day that no one asked you to do.

7. Be a great listener.

Most people think that making an impact is all about what you say and do. Often overlooked is another important way you can leave your mark--by becoming a great listener. Pay attention to what people say. Listen to understand and focus on the speaker instead of thinking ahead to your reply.

8. Go the extra mile.

Above all, you have to do your job and do it with excellence. But that's where most people stop--and that means you can make an impact by going further and being more helpful, more supportive, more valuable. The extra mile is never crowded.

9. Have a positive mindset.

Whether you're just starting out in your first job or are leading a team of your own, remember that people gravitate toward those who have a positive attitude. It's the person who takes on every task--even the most tedious--with enthusiasm and joy who truly stands out. If you view everything through a negative lens then you're likely to have a negative mindset, but if you cultivate a positive attitude it will take you far.

10. Take the lead.

Everyone has the choice to be a leader, to make an impact and leave their mark. Too many people back off from taking the lead in the mistaken belief that leadership and greatness are reserved for a select few. But in the many years I've served as an executive leadership coach, spending time with top leaders in virtually every field, I have witnessed that the only way people give away their power is by thinking they don't have any. If you take it upon yourself to lead with the idea of serving others, you will not only stand out but will also leave a strong and lasting impression.

11. Emotion Control: The ability to control one’s emotions and feelings in the midst of adversity and stressful situations—a skill that’s fundamental to staying engaged and focused under pressure.

12. Impulse Control: The physical counterpart of emotion control. The ability to control one’s behaviors and remain goal focused under stress and adversity.

13. Active Problem Solving: Critical thinking and problem solving so that you don’t make the same mistakes again and again.

14.  Self-Efficacy: The belief in yourself that keeps you going even under adverse situations where your skills are tested.

15. Realistic Optimism: The ability to be realistic about the situation while striving to achieve results.

16. Empathy: The ability to see things from someone else’s perspective and to relate to other people—extremely important in teamwork and leadership.

17.  Reaching out: The ability to reach out and grab hold of opportunity and to make meaningful connections that support you through challenge and adversity.

From Inc. and   Jan Bruce   &  Jan Bruce

 

 

Here are 13 key customer service skills that you may need to enhance:

Technical skills

 

Technical skills are the abilities and knowledge needed to perform specific tasks. They are practical, and often relate to mechanical, information technology, mathematical, or scientific tasks. Some examples include knowledge of programming languages, mechanical equipment, or tools.

 

Tech Skills consist of but are not limited to:

• Big data analysis
• Coding and programing
• Project management
• Technical writing
• Social media experience

Critical thinking

What is critical thinking? It refers to the ability to analyze information objectively and make a reasoned judgment. Critical thinking involves the evaluation of sources such as data, facts, observable phenomenon, and research findings. Good critical thinkers can draw reasonable conclusions from a set of information and discriminate between useful and less useful details to solve a problem or make a decision. 


Abstract thinking

Abstract thinking is the ability to think about objects, principles, and ideas that are not physically present. It is related to symbolic thinking, which uses the substitution of a symbol for an object or idea. A variety of everyday behaviors constitute abstract thinking.

 

Language skills

Good communication is the lifeblood of the service industry and it’s important that your language should be devoid of grammatical errors. While we have all learnt the basics of grammar in school, the most important attributes in spoken English are: sentence construction (your ability to form meaningful sentences) and word order (ability to use the right words as per context). Talk to people in English as far as possible and watch English news and sit-coms. The objective here is to develop conversational skills.

Vocabulary

Your vocabulary should be good so that you can tackle challenging communication and customer service scenarios. You should be able to demonstrate a satisfactory use of word choice so that your customer maintains confidence in your skill sets. Follow the TIS rule (think it, ink it, sink it). When you come across a new word, make a note of it in your personal diary and read it out loud at least thrice.

Pronunciation

You need to have a clear pronunciation and diction, such that, it does not interfere with your overall communication with the customer. This includes stress, rhythm and intonation patterns in your speech. Many institutes like the British Council offer courses in communication skills for call centers and service oriented jobs. These programs also help you in neutralising your accent and sounding more professional.

Tone

You need to speak in an upbeat and positive tone. This enables you to connect with your customers and colleagues and also build long lasting relationships. A lot of negative emotions like anger, sarcasm, impatience, etc also get communicated through your tone, so it’s important to watch out for it. Your tone should reflect empathy and concern for your customer.

Listening skills

Good listening skills will help you understand the main ideas of the person you are communicating with. It also enables you to understand the specifics of a particular situation that you could be dealing with. Good listening skills will also ensure that you provide appropriate answers to questions and understand the emotional clues that your customer may drop.

Problem-solving skilss

You should be committed and have a sincere desire to solve the problems of your customer. Your ability to ask the right kind of questions will be a key factor in providing an effective solution. You also need to prioritise your time and understand your customers’ needs and wants.

Flexibility

You need to adapt to your customer’s unique needs and changing circumstances. You should be open to change and be willing to take the customer’s feedback and act on it. Being flexible also helps you identify new business opportunities and make more sales for your organisation.

Initiative and proactiveness

You need to be proactive and anticipate customer problems. You should be able to apologise and correct a mistake rather than hide behind company policies. Walking an extra mile for the customer will cement the relationship and would lead to repeat business.

Professionalism

You need to be professional, friendly and courteous. Being direct and expressive helps to build a strong relationship with the customer. Showing your respect to the customer, team members, company, and competitors is also important as this demonstrates confidence in self and the organisation. A professional attitude will leave the customer with a positive feeling.

Task orientation

As a customer service professional, it’s important to strike a balance between the job at hand, relationship and rapport building activities. While you need to engage in building a positive relationship with the customer, you must keep issue resolution and meeting targets as your top priority. “Most tele-sales consultants keep sweet talking with customers without asking the customer for the order (closing the sale). This is ineffective as the objective of the organisation is also to make sales and profits” says Kanishka Malhotra, Managing Partner of New Delhi based – Hotel Solutions India.

So brush up on these skills and succeed in customer service careers.