Rating Customer Satisfaction Levels

How important is customer service to you? Is customer service more important when you dine at a restaurant, or more important when you subscribe to an internet service? Customer expectations for good service directly affect how much satisfaction they get from the services they seek.

Some industries have really high customer satisfaction levels. Restaurants and breweries have high rankings. Other industries have low customer service satisfaction levels, such as gas stations and internet service providers.

Take a look at these findings that rate customer satisfaction levels by industry.

Do you agree with the findings? Are there industries in which you have a higher expectation for good customer service?

5 Ways to Get People to Remember You

Let’s make lasting impressions because you’re easy to remember and hard to forget. Whether it’s a social situation, a job interview, or a business situation, you want people to speak with you because they like you and you created a strong initial impression. To help you achieve that goal, here are five ways to get people to remember you.

1 Say the Other Person’s Name

After you meet someone new, say their name during your conversation as soon as possible. Repeat their name at the end, closing with, “It was nice meeting you, (name).” People like to be remembered, and if you make an effort to remember this person, they are more likely to remember you as well.

2 Give a Gift

When someone gives you something, you feel obligated to give them something in return. This is the Law of Reciprocity. You see this often when you go shopping. A staff member gives out free food samples, increasing the chances that the shopper will reciprocate by buying an item from the store. Similarly, when you open the door for someone, buy a co-worker a coffee, or share useful information (like telling someone about a 2-for-1 deal you heard about), that person will view you more positively.

3 Be Vulnerable

One way to get people to remember you is to be vulnerable. When you make mistakes, others see you as more human and relatable. When you meet someone for the first time, share a quick anecdote about an embarrassing moment. For example, share how you ate the spicy green wasabi because you thought it was mint ice cream. People like people they can relate to.

4 Share an Insight

People remember stories. If you have a name that is difficult to remember, an anecdote about your name makes it easier to recall. Something catchy is as simple as an adjective + name: smart Sam or adventurous Alex. Then they will remember your name and something about your personality.

5 Radiate Positive Energy

People associate you with what you say. If you complain a lot about the news, the weather, or other people, you may be perceived as negative. If you compliment others and speak positively about people, places, and events, others will associate you with this optimism. Make positive energy your brand, and that is what people will remember about you.

Key Takeaways

Sometimes our first interaction with someone is brief. To create a lasting impact, try one of these five techniques to make yourself more memorable. As the saying goes, you have one chance to make a lasting impression.

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Self-Care Tips Based on Your Personality Type

We’re updating a previously published blog about self-care during quarantine and the pandemic. Now, with rising prices and inflation, self-care is just as important. All around us, we are facing the rising costs of everything, from food to household items, and big-ticket items that are further out of reach, such as vacations and housing. You deserve a break from the everyday stresses of life to relax and de-stress. You need some self-care by personality type.

Why self-care by personality type? Some people by nature feel that taking a break is a sign of laziness, while others are concerned about how their self-care impacts the people around them. To figure out which self-care routine is best for you, let’s look at which personality type you are, then what type of self-care is best for you.

Self-Driven High Achiever

The self-driven hard worker runs on never-ending, rechargeable batteries. They will forget to eat while they pursue a goal for the day and wave off sleep to get a head start on their next goal. These people are leader types who like to get straight to the point in a conversation because they don’t have time to waste while they pursue their next achievement. 

The high achiever enjoys the finer things in life, desiring a lifestyle of luxury and wealth as an ultimate goal. They are also drawn to successful people and want to be like the successful people they admire. If they are on vacation or playing a game or sport, they tend to be competitive and need to set an objective for the activity. They can be extremely focused.

Taking a moment for self-care is most challenging for the self-driven, high achiever. They will ask questions such as, “How does watching this movie help me reach my goals?” Or, “If I take a walk now, I could get some fresh air and use that time to brainstorm what I need to do for my project! What a great use of time!”

Unfortunately, these hard workers could burn out and suffer from health and relationship problems. They need to take a much-needed break to eat a proper meal and spend time with friends or family. Having a little fun will not result in disaster or an episode of laziness, which is difficult for them to accept.

Devoted Humanitarian

The humanitarian puts friends and family first. Their objectives in life and career revolve around what they can do for the people they care about and humankind in general. They tend to be shy, quiet, risk-averse introverts.

They will work harder if it means their paycheck will cover the cost of hockey practice and uniforms for their child, or ensure that their parents have a nicer place to live. They will gladly contribute funds or their time for a cause, such as rescuing a stray dog. They tend to be selfless.

Self-care can be a challenge for these humanitarians. They are so focused on giving and caring for others that they sacrifice their own time, well-being, or finances for another person. They need to try to put themselves first occasionally to avoid burnout.

Instead of taking on more housework, for example, they should take the day off themselves and not feel guilty about it. Even if family members don’t show appreciation for what a humanitarian does, these selfless types can give themselves a well-deserved time off.

Detail-Oriented Analyst

Logical and systematic describes people with this personality type. They tend to overanalyze and are critical of many aspects of their lives. Unlike the high achiever or enthusiast, who will take risks, the analyst needs to know all the facts up front before making a decision. 

They love details and keep meticulous records. They can be very tidy and organized and they feel safest when they can anticipate their future. If you want to know the pros and cons of a big decision, the analyst can advise you.

Detail-oriented analysts will take the time to pamper themselves or take a vacation if they know that everything is under control and carefully planned out. They will take the night off after planning out their day for tomorrow. They will try out a new spa treatment or yoga class if they have researched it first for health benefits, pricing, and activities.

You can count on the analyst to thoroughly research your vacation destination, to plan out activities, schedules, and prices. It may intimidate them a bit at first but encourage an analyst to leap into something new without knowing what they are getting into. Ask them to join you for a night about town and tell them your destination will be a pleasant surprise. A little adventure can be fun!

Big-Picture Enthusiast

The big-picture enthusiast is highly social and loves being around people. They are the life of the party and the team member whom coworkers consider most amicable. However, they are sloppy with details and struggle to stay focused, especially if a task isn’t fun. Their biggest motivator is fun. Suggest something exciting and they will enthusiastically jump in and try it out, often without weighing the consequences.

Enthusiasts enjoy life, but they too need time for self-care. They need to set goals and check in to make sure that these goals are achieved. Did they reach their income goal for the month? Did they complete all the steps to get some important paperwork started? Otherwise, their disorganization and lack of focus could result in stress or disaster down the road.

Self-care includes checking in and making sure they’ve done all the steps needed if they want to buy a house. Or if they want to get from their current job to their ultimate career goal. Self-care includes having serious conversations with their significant other and asking if the relationship is healthy or if there are issues they need to deal with.

Taking the time to ground themselves in these less exciting aspects of life is important. Otherwise, enthusiasts may find themselves missing out on important deadlines or stressed out and dealing with the aftermath of bad decisions because they didn’t do enough research. Enjoying life is good, but everything needs balance.

Key Takeaways

No one is exactly 100 percent one of these personality types. You could be predominately one of these types when you’re working and another when you aren’t. You could be a combination of any of these types, like a combination of multiple flavors. Knowing the strengths and weaknesses of each type will help you focus on what you can do for your well-being. 

What self-care will you work on this week?

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Improving Your Writing Skills for Work

Writing is as important as speaking in the workplace. Whether you compose emails, write direct messages, draft reports, or compose speeches for presentations, clear writing can convey your ideas and avoid confusion. Many don’t find it easy to write well. School doesn’t prepare you to write clear and concise emails and messages for work. As a result, you may find yourself talking on the phone to clarify confusing messages to coworkers. To improve your writing skills for work, try the following tips.

Read and collect writing samples

Composing an email to ask for a favor or inform a team member they need to do a better job takes tact and a careful selection of words. If you’re wordy or too blunt when you write, start a collection of writing samples that you can refer to for specific writing situations.

Read blogs and books that teach you how to write the type of writing you want to improve on. Keep samples of these types of writing on file so you can copy the structure and wording the next time you need to compose a similar piece of writing.

Too busy to learn how to write better? Learn as you go. If you find a fantastic piece of writing in your email box, put a star on it to use as a template for a future email. These writing samples can come from sites you subscribe to, your coworkers’ emails, or your clients’ emails. Your examples can be as simple as some sentences or phrases that others use that you would like to include to improve your writing.

Write regularly and get feedback

Writing often and getting feedback sounds like school. Writing is the same as exercise – you need to do it often to improve your confidence and see improvement. 

Ask to write the first draft of a report or important email. The first draft is the hardest. You need to organize your ideas and decide what to say. Then ask a coworker to review and provide constructive feedback before you ask your supervisor to do the final approval before sending the report or email to a client. 

Asking for feedback is especially important for critical emails. Maybe your ideas aren’t coming across as clearly as you thought. Your coworker could suggest alternate wording, or suggest another idea you can include.

To improve your writing speed, set a timer or time to complete your task. If you procrastinate or experience writer’s block when you have to write something that isn’t a routine work task, setting a completion time can reduce time spent procrastinating.

Study grammar and use tools

A solid understanding of good grammar, sentence structure, punctuation, and spelling is important for good writing. You can improve by studying grammar books and taking writing courses on writing style and word choice.

If you don’t have time to study grammar (or consider studying grammar as boring), you have plenty of resources to help. Your word processing program has grammar and punctuation checker features, and a thesaurus to suggest writing tips to you. 

Take note of the writing suggestions that your writing tools are suggesting to you. Make it a goal to avoid making the same spelling and grammar mistakes the next time you write.

Key Takeaways

Writing is a crucial skill that can impact job advancement, salary, and career choices. Even a simple direct message at work can convey an important message. To improve your writing skills, study and collect writing samples that you can use as templates. Ask for feedback from coworkers and use editing tools to check your writing. These small steps you can apply daily can improve the quality of your writing over time.

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Dealing with 4 Challenges of Remote Work

Remote work, also called work from home (WFH), became a popular term after the pandemic, but many workers have been working from home long before 2020. Some people love WFH and will never return to commuting or working at an office.

The perks of remote work are numerous, but the lifestyle isn’t for everyone. The main difference is that WFH easily blurs the lines between work and home life. It’s easy to check work email while having breakfast in your pajamas or throw a load of clothes in the laundry in the five minutes you have before a meeting starts.

Remote work also comes with its unique challenges. If you haven’t tried work from home yet, consider these four challenges before you start. If you work from home, what do you think about these challenges with the lifestyle?

Lack of in-person interaction

You might think it’s a nice break from your coworkers if you’re working from home. No more co-workers interrupting your work to ask annoying questions. No more distracting noise from an open-office design layout.

For those who love socializing, you will miss having lunch with a co-worker who is your friend. You’ll miss the conversations you have whenever you collaborate with a team. You’ll have virtual team meetings, but you must stick to the topic and finish on time before people leave for other meetings.  

Remote work is perfect for those who love to work without interruption. You can avoid water cooler conversations with coworkers (although you might have them with those you live with). You can work in peace and get what you need done on time. The time you save from your commute is spent finishing work early so you can do other things after work.

A workplace that you live in

Working from home is quite literally working from your home. It may be difficult to draw a distinct line between your home life and work life. A home office with a door that you can open and close helps to create a physical separation between your two lives, but if your desk is in your living space, such as your kitchen, that distinction is harder to make.

You may be expected to check your work emails first thing in the morning, as well as in the evening. Remote companies with staff that live across the country function best when people are more flexible about when they work and when they check messages. You may need to be more adamant about your office hours and when you check messages if you want set hours away from work.

Work may also feel more intrusive because your coworkers have a window into your personal life when you have a virtual meeting. They can see what you have along one wall of your home office. They can hear if your children are talking loudly in the background.

Living where you work has its perks. You don’t have to spend time packing your lunch the night before. No trying to figure out what food is good to transport in your lunch bag and convenient to eat in the office. It will be like eating at home on the weekend.

During coffee and lunch breaks, you can be more productive: you can throw a load of laundry in the washer, take out the trash, or dust off some furniture. Best of all, if you have a flexible schedule and if you’re drowsy, it’s easy to take a comfortable nap.

Different dress code

Remote work is very easy on your clothing budget. You can wear the same clothes that you wear on the weekend to lounge around the house. Or you can dress up in office wear if that’s your preference to get in work mode.

The only time dress code matters is during virtual meetings when you are on camera. You may want to dress up a little and wear a sweater or shirt instead of your hoodie for a meeting with new clients or company members you don’t work with regularly.

New level of IT skills

“Avid problem solver” will become one of your top job skills. As a remote worker, you’ll encounter tech issues with internet availability, virtual meeting mic or camera issues, or other issues with your computer. 

Without someone from the company IT department to save you, you’ll need to resort to your resourcefulness to fix those tech issues. Either you’ll be calling favors from friends and family, or reading up on technology so you can become your own expert.  

Key Takeaways

Does working from home appeal to you? Those who prefer it love the flexible work hours, the short commute, and the relaxed dress code. With today’s technology, remote work will continue to be an option for the workplace.

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