3 Keys to Building a Kindness Revolution: Q&A with Ed Horrell

Professional speaker and author of The Kindness Revolution, Ed Horrell joined us for a webinar on April 22nd, and, in it, he’ shared why starting a kindness revolution in your company will positively impact the support you provide to customers, and how to get one started.

To get ready for the event, we spoke with Ed about the role support plays in a kindness revolution.

Your book, The Kindness Revolution, is full of real-life customer service examples from companies such as L.L. Bean, Nordstrom, Mrs. Fields, St. Jude Children’s Research Center, The Ritz Carlton, FedEx, and more. What are these organizations all getting right when it comes to the customer experience?
They are “values-focused.” They each have a focus that every employee understands and virtually lives by on the job. In the case of LL Bean, it is their unconditional money back guarantee. At FedEx it is the desire to achieve 100% successful overnight delivery. They back this commitment with behavior that reinforces it. And the behavior is the key—that’s what the customer observes. When all employees in an organization are taught behaviors that aim towards a common goal, you tend to have a winning organization.

You’ll be sharing three ways that customer service leaders can start a kindness revolution in their own organizations in the upcoming webinar. Can a kindness revolution start elsewhere? For example, are there steps a customer service agent can follow to get one started?
If one agent can begin to 1) do their job with dignity, understanding that their job is important, 2) treat others with respect, including their co-workers, 3) show courtesy to their customers, even angry customers, and 4) practice kindness, they will set a standard for others to follow. The standard will be reflected as they rise through the organization (and if they follow those steps, they will). And others will observe how the agent’s behavior has advanced them, prompting them to want to do the same. By the way, this is how revolutions begin—with just one person.

Do you have any tips for keeping your cool when dealing with an upset or angry customer?
Remember two things…first, they are not angry with me; they are upset about the circumstance, and I can change that. Second, we need to focus on how to get the ox out of the ditch, not how it got there.

Watch the recording of our Zen Master webinar with Ed Horrell:
3 Keys to Building a Kindness Revolution