StoryWeavers
by Kathy Yoder, Vice President of Membership, Reddy Toastmasters
"To tell a story is to open a little window to the soul."
|
Local Storytellers Take Part in Worldwide TELLABRATION! 2000
|
Six area residents will join thousands of storytellers and listeners around
the world in observing TELLABRATION! 2000 on Saturday, November 18 at 7:30
p.m. at the Lincoln Center on the Morningside College Campus in Sioux City.
|
The annual event, which caps off National Storytelling Week, is being
sponsored by StoryWeavers in conjunction with the National Storytelling
Network (NSN). Co-producers Kathy Yoder, Sioux City, and Cheraine Bromander,
Sloan, are happy to announce that this year Morningside College's literary
magazine, The Kiosk, is also helping to sponsor the event.
|
"TELLABRATION! originated 12 years ago as part of the ongoing revival of the
ancient oral tradition," said Yoder, adding:
"NSN members in 41 states and 16 countries are planning their first
TELLABRATION! of the new millenium at the same time on the same evening with
a wide variety of folktales and personal stories."
|
This is the fourth year that StoryWeavers has participated in Tellabration!.
According to Bromander, all of the tellers have one thing in common. "We love
the ancient art of storytelling, an oral tradition that predates the written
word."
|
"However," adds Yoder, "our stories are as different as we are."
|
Tellers will be June Wishman (former Toastmaster), Sioux City; Lou Ann
Verzani (former Toastmaster), Ponca, Nebraska; Jim Gilbert (Area Toastmaster
Governor), Sioux City; Kris Mohning, LeMars; Bromander (former Reddy
Toastmaster) and Yoder (Toastmaster). Emcee will be Maralyn Grimoskas
(Ciceros Toastmaster), Sioux City.
|
StoryWeavers is a nonprofit club under IRS classification. The club donates
money from Tellabration! profits every year. In the past they have donated to
the Children's Miracle Network, Sioux City Community Theatre Youth Program
and Christian Singles Network, to name a few. "This year we plan to donate to
The Kiosk literary magazine," said Bromander.
|
StoryWeavers also holds an annual nature telling at the Dorothy Peacut nature
Center in early October and a Ghosting for all ages at the Sioux City Art
Center. This afternoon of scary fun was held on Sunday, October 22. "This
year we had record attendance for both events," says Wishman. "This is our
third year for both tellings and we literally had ten times as many people
attend," says Yoder.
|
Some of the StoryWeavers (Wishman, Grimoskas, Verzani, Bromander and Yoder)
will tell stories relating to quilts at the historic O'Connor House in Homer,
Nebraska this year on November 12 in the one-room schoolhouse.
|
But the big annual event is Tellabration. Tickets are $5. They are available
at the door, but seating is limited. To buy tickets in advance contact
Cheraine Bromander at 943-3805 or Kathy Yoder at 274-1289.
|
|
Customers for Life
|
It's often easy to get good customer service when you're dealing with a
business for the first time.
Companies are usually willing to go the extra distance to win a new customer.
|
Good service isn't as common, however, after the sale is made.
The companies that focus all their attention on getting new customers
miss a golden opportunity to keep their current customers for life.
|
When queried about their repurchase intentions,
consumers who complained and had their problems rectified
were most likely to buy from that company
again-even more than consumers who had no problems at all!
That makes customers with complaints a valuable asset to any organization.
|
Learning how to turn complaining customers into satisfied customers
is a skill that directly affects the success of your company.
Dissatisfied callers present a special opportunity-and a special
challenge-to those of us who answer the phones.
|
The first rule in handling complaints is to
listen carefully.
Make sure you understand the exact set of circumstances
that caused the customer's dissatisfaction.
Rather than interrupt to verify the information you are gathering,
hear your caller out.
When he or she has finished venting,
it's your turn to speak.
|
Smile
before you speak.
You want to sound as pleasant and helpful as possible,
even if you feel you are under attack.
It's difficult to sound nasty or defensive
when the corners of your mouth are turned upward.
Try it-it works!
|
Intentionally
lower your pitch and your volume.
When people become excited or stressed,
the pitch of their voice becomes higher than normal.
Be conscious of this tendency, and do the opposite with yours.
A low, mellow-sounding voice will soothe the dissatisfied caller's emotions.
|
Recognize
that the complaint isn't a personal attack against you or your abilities.
Whether the complaint is valid or not,
the caller feels your organization has done something wrong.
You are the messenger, not the wrongdoer.
The caller realizes you have not caused the problem.
But he or she also wants you to recognize the impact
of the wrongful incident so that you can carry it
to the people in your organization who can prevent it in the future.
|
Acknowledge the emotion
before you deal with the facts.
Dissatisfied callers want you to understand that they are upset.
Don't overlook those feelings.
Say something to show you understand what they are going through,
such as, "I can see how frustrating this has been for you."
If you ignore their emotions and immediately address the incident,
they will think you missed their point and will try, once more,
to drive home the fact that they are upset.
|
Apologize.
An expression of apology is always in order when customers complain.
But you need to be careful that you are apologizing for the right things!
If the caller is upset about a company policy or standard procedure,
you would not want to say,
"I'm sorry, but that's the way we bill all our customers."
You might just as well say,
"Too bad."
A more appropriate statement would be,
"I'm sorry this procedure has inconvenienced you, Mr. Trent.
I'll certainly tell our billing manager about the problems
our policy appears to be causing.
Thanks for bringing this to our attention."
|
You are always safe apologizing for the customer's feelings,
an inconvenience, or a mistake your company has made.
Never apologize for a company policy
or another employee's actions or behaviors.
|
Present a solution.
Avoid making excuses, explaining who was to blame,
or describing how the error happened.
Callers are interested only in having their complaint rectified.
They don't need to know the steps that led to the problem.
They are only interested in the steps you plan to take to keep their business.
Simply tell your callers what you can do to remedy the situation,
and give your reassurance that it won't happen again.
|
If you know you will be handling customer complaints,
learn what you can and can't do for your callers.
Become an expert about your company's policies,
and learn how to explain them in a way that makes callers understand their purpose.
Question your manager about the best courses of action under various circumstances.
That way you'll be able to present an immediate solution
without putting the caller on hold or calling back later.
|
When the solution you present is not exactly what the caller had in mind,
you need to explain your decision so that it's perceived as fair compensation.
"I know we usually have a loaner car available for you, Mrs. Rennet,
but I promise you our driver will have you to work on time,
and he'll be there to pick you up five minutes after you call his direct line."
|
It is next to impossible for a customer to stay angry
when the complaint is handled promptly and professionally.
A satisfied complaint is as good as gold.
It's not until you show customers how attentive, courteous,
and fair you are after the sale that they are truly sold!
|
|
Reprinted by permission.
Copyright 1997,
The Economics Press, Inc.,
12 Daniel Road,
Fairfield NJ 07004-2565;
Phone: 800-526-2554
FAX: 973-227-9742.
E-mail:
[email protected]
Web site:
www.epinc.com
|
