JOYFUL PARENTS

Happy Parents/Happy Family

 

As a husband and parent of two young daughters, I know first-hand the challenges (and successes) of being a parent these days. However, I know my struggle isn’t my own. I see it everywhere I go: the grocery store, the gas station, pick up and drop off at school, kids’ sport activities, birthday parties, etc. So many parents I see look tired, frustrated and sometime disengaged. Short tempers, little patience and lack of compassion can then take over.

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Why is this? And why do we struggle to keep our kids from feelings these same feelings we do?

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I believe a huge part of that answer comes from us looking in the mirror. They feed off of us and learn from their environment. Kids are much smarter and aware than we sometimes give them credit to be - I know mine definitely are!

 

As a mindfulness trainer, I have spent a large amount of time studying how to raise happy kids and there are countless books, articles and websites that speak to that very subject (some very good ones are out there, by the way!) But I think solving the happy kid puzzle begins with us, the parent/s. 

 

I would like to invite you (couples and single parents) to a complimentary hour-long discussion on the topic of “happy parenting” to begin a dialogue of talking about our struggles but also finding reasonable and tangible solutions to maintaining a happy family.

 

To schedule, contact me at gregg.joyfulliving@gmail.com.

 

 

 

JOYFUL SERVICE

 

A holistic approach to customer service is a form of service that considers the whole person - body, mind, spirit, and emotions - both the customer AND the employee - in the quest for an exceptional service experience. According to this philosophy, one can achieve an optimal experience, regardless of industry, which is the primary goal of holistic service practice -- by gaining proper balance in the enjoyment of your work by delivering exceptional service purely because how it makes you FEEL seeing your guests satisfied and delighted. Everyone should be trained on how to delight customers and understand why that is important.

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Having come from eighteen-plus years in the wellness industry and nine within hotel and resorts, I have been giving motivational talks to organizations about the importance of providing "joyful service" rather than good service to their customers to build brand loyalty. My years working for Four Seasons, Hyatt Regency, Westin and Fairmont properties instilled this mindset of not only pride in your work but an emphasis of always striving to do better in exceeding customers' expectations.

 

Providing good customer service is used quite a bit in terms of how businesses say they want to treat customers and make their experience a memorable one. Unfortunately, it seems that the true emphasis on executing good (not even exceptional) customer service has been largely forgotten. I doubt that there is a company today that you could work for that doesn't have something written in their policies and procedures manual that focuses on customer service. I also believe that when you go through training for that company, large amounts of time and effort is used to teach you about what it means to give excellent customer service. Finally, I would also say that in many companies, your performance evaluation is based in large part on how your specific customer service efforts are helping or hurting the organization and the company. 

 

The truth is, customer service is talked a lot about but rarely done consistently. Recent news has highlighted the lack of service being executed these days (United Airlines comes to mind, for example) and I'm sure you, your family, friends and co-workers all have stories to tell about poor service they experienced, even as recently as this week! You know the saying -  if you have a positive service experience you will tell one person. However, if you have a bad service experience, you will end up telling ten people. It seems striking to me that while it's human nature to express frustrations and yield people from experiencing bad service, why don't we tell that same number when the service has blown us away? Do we not want to let the secret out that a business just knows how to do it right? In this day and age where service that exceeds our expectations seems scarce, wouldn't it be amazing if that was the NORM rather than the exception? Shifting to a service-oriented, customer-focused world is a massive effort, but at its heart it’s a cultural change - and that change is switching to a mind-set of providing “good service” to JOYFUL SERVICE. The mission of Joyful Service is to instill a consistent, committed and connected form of work ethic in all that we do in the service to our customers - each and every day.

 

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JOYFUL SERVICE

 

Joyful Service is simply defined this way:

 

Good service - providing service that makes your customers happy

Joyful service - providing service to your customers that makes YOU happy

 

When you ENJOY providing service to customers, the service will become exceptional. The magic ingredient that you add to service is your joy. You can experience the joy everyday when you serve customers. When you enjoy serving customers, you will be recharged with energy every time a customer thanks you with sincere gratitude.

 

Can you think of an occasion when you received amazing customer service and you felt so delighted? It could be at a restaurant, a grocery store or even just getting a coffee. How did you feel? Wouldn’t creating such moments of joy for your customers be an exceptional component of your work each day?

 

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Characteristics of Joyful Service

 

- Employees should focus on the holistic experience of customers - an experience that extends way beyond the doors of the hotel. The organization’s culture is in service of that experience, and the systems in place were in service of that culture. Focus on how your guests feel. 

 

- Employees need to be genuinely interested in taking care of their customers by loving the work they do and they love taking care of their customers in return.

 

- Create an environment of excellence within the hotel starting with committed managers and leaders whose job is to support their employees to make sure that they can do the best job that they can every single day. Employees must feel competent and confident in their work and that they have what they need to do their job to the best of their ability. Having a manager who is going to listen to them and want to engage their input on how to do things better to make the guest experience the best it can be. The secret of this success is “treating others as you expect to be treated”, and creating that atmosphere throughout the entire organization.

 

- Empowering employees and give them the ability to take care of customers’ needs and feel the rewards of those decisions, especially when they get great compliments from your customers.

 

- Enjoy what you do. Enjoy seeing your hotels thrive and succeed. Enjoy seeing others’ successes and growth within the organization and encourage growth and opportunity.

 

- The goal everyday should be to try to make everybody leave with a smile on their face, whether a guest or an employee.

 

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The Five Pillars of Joyful Service 

 

1. Be Connected - The power of CONNECTION; the importance of making a first and last impression; pulling out all the stops to make your customers feel welcome, appreciated and heard

 

2. Be Passionate - A passion to SERVE; being authentic and exceptional in all aspects of your work; showing high levels of integrity and live up to your word; always thanking your customers inviting them customers back

 

3. Be Confident - Confidence in YOURSELF; excel in your knowledge of work - be an “expert” in your field; know all of the FAQ’s that guests tend to ask; “walk the walk” along with “talking the talk”

 

4. Be Committed - Building RELATIONSHIPS and LOYALTY; establishing trust and boundaries; utilizing strong intuition and intent listening, making absolutely sure you make your customers feel appreciated and respected 

 

5. Be Consistent - Consistency of SERVICE - every guest, every time, every day - NO EXCEPTIONS; under-promise, over-deliver and strive to go the extra mile to take care of your customer’s needs

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To schedule a motivational talk or seminar for your business, contact me at gregg.joyfulliving@gmail.com.