Barbara Glanz Communications

Another story of CARE-ing!

November 01st, 2010 | Category: Customer Service, Ideas

I just received this email from an audience member:

I have to share a neat “Penny” story with you (see the blog entry on “The Power of Five Pennies.”) . The other night I had taken down a bunch of helium balloons after our Women’s Cancer Awareness Day at the Co-op, and I had missed one. I took it down, and just as I was going into the hall to see if any children were left, the mall janitor was walking by. I smiled and gave him the balloon. He told me thank you and that he was going to tie it to his “chariot.” He then walked over and tied it to the handle of his cleaning cart. We both laughed, and I told him what a joyful attitude he had.

As I was going back to my office, I remembered I had a quote on my wall from Martin Luther King that said we should do our jobs with the same passion as Beethoven conducted a symphony or as Micheangelo painted. I photocopied the the quote and took it to him as he was cleaning the cafeteria. He smiled and thanked me, and I again went back to my office.

A few minutes later he came rushing in and thanked me again, now that he had read the quote. He asked me to sign it for him as he thought it was such a lovely gift he was going to frame it. We spent the next few minutes talking and getting to know each other. He had worked for the company ten years, one year less than me, yet we had never visited.

Isn’t it sad that we get so busy and wrapped up in our own lives, we miss the beauty in the people around us! Now each time I see Rueben we smile and chat a little, and I get an especially big smile when I see him go by, pushing his “chariot!” Thank you for helping us remember to appreciate others.

Love, Tammy

Hear is the quotation Tammy gave Reuben:

“If a man is called to be a streetsweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, here lived a great streetsweeper who did his job well.” Martin Luther King, Jr.

How precious that Tammy began to appreciate someone who had been around every day yet they had never connected on a human level. Now they have a special relationship of caring because she noticed and thanked Reuben. Whom in your daily life do you need to appreciate and thank?

To learn more about Barbara and to hear more inspiring stories and ideas, go to www.barbaraglanz.com/articles

“Johnny the Bagger” Movie

October 22nd, 2010 | Category: Customer Service, Products

For those of you who have not seen the 16 minute dramatization of my story of “Johnny the Bagger®,” you can preview it here. It is a wonderful, very realistic version of the true story about how one young man who was a grocery bagger with Down syndrome changed the entire culture of his store after hearing me speak. One of the ideas I shared with the audience of over 3000 grocery store employees inspired Johnny to add his personal signature to his work by putting a “Thought for the Day” in all the groceries he bagged.

In the movie, you will see the skeptic, the cynic, and the manager who had no idea what was going on…… as well as all the delighted customers who were willing to wait much longer in Johnny’s line rather than go anywhere else. There are poignant parts, funny parts, and parts that will make you want to cheer. When you finish, I guarantee you will feel good all over!

ohnny putting his “Thought for the Day” into the customer’s bag

Over 7 million people have also watched the 3 minute version of the story with the words set to music which you can likewise preview, under the book, “The Simple Truths of Service” with DVD.

So many people have been inspired with the hope that they CAN make a difference, no matter what their job is, by Johnny’s story, that I want everyone to see it. Please forward these links to your friends and co-workers so that they, too, can choose to be “Johnny’s” every single day. How blessed I feel to have been the catalyst for this story and how much better our world would be with more people like Johnny!

If you are looking for a speaker or workshop for an event or training, know that the message of service I share with all my audiences is the same one that inspired Johnny the Bagger. Just go to www.barbaraglanz.com for more details or call us at 941-312-9169.

Johnny the Bagger® in Europe!

October 12th, 2010 | Category: General

I recently received this email from a person in Europe sharing how she and KLM, Royal Dutch Airlines, are using my story of “Johnny the Bagger®” to inspire their clients and employees:

My dear Barbara,

In concordance with your ‘theme of the month,’ “Giving”, I would like to share something with you since with giving comes grace and gratitude to those who have given to you. You may not realize it, but you have given me so much with the story of “Johnny the Bagger®.”

The first gift was receiving the inspiration of your story of Johnny when I was acting as Chief Customer Officer on the European board of UPC Broadband, the European subsidiary of Liberty Global. The end result of that inspiration was that the reputation of the company made a 180 degree turnaround from worst to best in class in the telco & cable industry in Europe, not mentioning the bottom-line impact it also had! But to me, most gratifying was the fun and pride the customer service people had started to take in their jobs. They themselves were the ones who turned around a negative, self-fulfilling prophecy into a positive one, and Johnny definitely made a large contribution to that!

Now I use Johnny as an example almost daily. In 2008, as a practitioner, I published my book, “Customer Advocacy–When You Care, People Notice.” I mention Johnny in my book. A while back, I gave my book to a friend, who works as a captain for the Dutch Royal Airlines, KLM. I gave him the book to inspire him and help him understand how each employee can choose to make a difference for themselves, each other, and the passengers they serve.

As a result, he invented the “blue mouse” which has a positive connotation, opposed to the “gray mouse” which is negative, Blue is the signal color of KLM– the Dutch speak of “the blue feeling” as representing the emotional pride they have in KLM. A gray mouse, on the other hand, is a Dutch expression for an insignificant person nobody pays attention to.

Read More…

The Power of Five Pennies

October 05th, 2010 | Category: General, Ideas

This story was sent to me from Tammy Ramsay after I spoke in the Battlefords, Saskatchewan, Canada. I shared with them a simple strategy to remember to appreciate people every day: Put five pennies in your right pocket when you leave for work in the morning. Every time you thank someone, you move a penny from your right to your left pocket. You do not go home at night until all five pennies are in your right pocket. It is fun to share with your family and others the stories of whom you thanked.

Dear Barbara,

It was an absolute pleasure meeting you in North Battleford, Saskatchewan, Canada. Your inspirational stories were wonderful, and I carry them close to my heart. I loved the 5 penny idea and have made it a personal quest of mine to act out each day. Already I see the hearts of those who are hurting smile when they see me walk their way, I often giggle inside in anticipation as I wait to act out my next penny move.

For example. last week I stopped in at a local grocery store to pick up a bouquet of fresh flowers for a wonderful lady I knew. There were only three tills opened and the line ups were honestly half way down the aisles. I overheard the cashiers talking that an employee had not shown up for his last shift. The older lady cashier that was running the line I was in was definitely over worked and stressed. She had forgot to give the gentleman ( I use the term loosely) his change and was so flustered by his rolling of the eyes that she needed a calculator to figure out she owed him three dollars.

By time I got up to the till her lovely eyes were swimming in tears. By that time, I had waited about 15 – 20 minutes in line. She rang me through and thanked me for shopping at the store. I then turned to her as she was about to start the next transaction and said, “Excuse me. I would like to tell you something.” You could have heard a pin drop. All the cashiers stopped what they were doing and looked over in wait of what they thought was going to be an explosion.

I then proceeded to take some fresh flowers out of the bouquet and hand them to her. I told her, “THANK YOU for doing such a great job getting me served quickly. I appreciate the stress you are under,” and then told her she had done a great job. Tears rolled down her face and a grin a mile wide covered that weathered face. As I walked out, I am sure I hard her humming as she worked!

I left with so much more than a bouquet of flowers. Thank you, Barbara! You gave me something so much more than a seminar. You gave me a hope in mankind, that we CAN change the world….. one penny at a time.

Who will you give your pennies to? Tell us your stories.

A Wonderful Time in Saskatchewan!

September 27th, 2010 | Category: General

Last week I was blessed to present a whole day seminar for the Battlefords Chamber of Commerce in North Battlefield, Saskatchewan, Canada. They billed it as “The Customer Service Event of the Year” and invited all the businesses in the town. I did the morning session on “Spreading Contagious Enthusiasm™– Creating Workplaces of Passion, Purpose and Productivity” which focused on the INTERNAL customer and the afternoon on “The Simple Truths of Service Inspired by Johnny the Bagger®” which focused on the EXTERNAL customer.

Barbara and the Battlefords Buffalo

The Royal Mounted Police of Canada!

There were a number of things about this day that really touched my heart! Derek Schmidt, a young man who is a partner in a haberdashery in town, drove 90 miles to pick me up in Saskatoon the day before and repeated the round trip to the airport two days later. When I arrived in my hotel room, there was a lovely arrangement of fresh flowers and a “goody bag” filled with mementos from the area. The next day Linda Machniak and her staff had decorated the whole presentation area with balloons and butterflies (my logo), and each table had grocery bags (Johnny the Bagger) with one of my books and CDs in each one for the participants.

Read More…

Video Q & A with Barbara Glanz

September 24th, 2010 | Category: General, Video Q&A

Question: How can I quickly find out what customers think of our company?
Barbara Answers
Click on the link above to see Barbara’s answer to this question.

For more questions and answers with Barbara, visit www.barbaraglanz.com/iquestions.

Barbara Receives “Legend of the Speaking Profession” Award

September 07th, 2010 | Category: General

Press Release: This past weekend Barbara Glanz, Certified Speaking Professional, received the 2010 distinguished “Legends” award at the 23rd annual Veteran Speaker’s Retreat at the Allenberry Resort in Boiling Springs, PA. The criteria for selection for the “Legends – A Lifetime Achievement Award” is that each honoree must have outstanding national/international stature, have a minimum of 20 years as a professional speaker, and make unique contributions to the speaking profession.

The Class of 2010 award recipients are Ray Pelletier, posthumously (his brother accepted for him), Jim Rhode, Larry Baker, Barbara Glanz, Gil Eagles, Manny Steil, and also posthumously, Bill Brooks . Barbara is honored and thrilled to have received this prestigious award.

Barbara receiving the award from Naomi Rhode

All the past legends in attendance

Since those of you who are reading this blog are also my clients and friends, I thought you might want to read my acceptance speech:

Barbara giving her acceptance speech

LEGEND SPEECH – August 2010

Read More…

Valerie’s Happy Restroom!

August 31st, 2010 | Category: Customer Service

Last week I experienced an amazing example of customer service – in an airport restroom, of all places! When I walked into the Ladies Room at the beginning of Terminal E in the Charlotte airport, I was greeted with a booming voice, “Welcome to Valerie’s Happy Restroom!” A lovely woman then proceeded to keep us all laughing: “Don’t worry. Pee happy. Can I find you a seat?” To everyone who came in, there was a greeting and words of mirth such as, “If you BE happy, you PEE happy!”

When I talked with her about her “job,” she said, “My mama always said, ‘If you can’t have fun at work, then you should just stay home.’ I think it is my job to make it fun — for everyone.’ ” She then told me she has FOUR videos on YouTube!

What a tribute to employee engagement you are, Valerie. NO ONE leaves your restroom without a smile!

“Service From the Heart” in a School

August 21st, 2010 | Category: Customer Service

Francine Lazarus, the Assistant Principal at Muller Elementary Magnet School in Tampa, Florida, has spearheaded the first school initiative I am aware of to adopt the “Johnny the Bagger®” philosophy in a school system. “Service from the Heart” is their theme for the 2010 – 1011 school year.

They are going to focus on 6 core tenets of service, both internal and external:

• Service to Students
• Service to the District
• Service to Parents
• Service to the Community
• Service to Colleagues
• Service to Yourself

They plan to educate students on the service concept as well, and they will be rewarded when they display positive service behaviors.

This is the email Francine sent to me about specific things they are doing:

Hi Barbara,

We’re thrilled that you are excited about our “Johnny” initiative at school! We’ve started planning,g and the ideas keep coming…We plan to kick things off when the teachers return for the year on August 16th. The room will be decorated with pictures of shopping bags and quotes from the Simple Truths book. My principal and I plan to wear Publix aprons and have breakfast brought in for the staff.

We’re going to show the Johnny movie and then give teachers a gift of a reusable grocery bag with our school name on it. Your book will be inside the bags so they can share the message with their students. Teachers will then break up into small groups to brainstorm ways that the “Johnny” philosophy and the” Simple Truths of Servic”e can be adapted to the school setting. We will encourage them to include ideas for how they can be like Johnny and go the extra mile for our students and parents.

We plan to tie this idea in with our character education program by encouraging the students to give “service to themselves” by working hard and behaving in class. We also want them to give “service to their peers and the school community” by respecting their classmates and their teachers. We are creating a “pass” that faculty/staff can give to students who demonstrate exceptional service. Students will bring the pass to the office for a trip to our special treasure box 🙂

We have decided to put a large “Johnny” bag up in the cafeteria. Since it is “service from the heart” that we are aiming for, we will use heart cut-outs on this bag to recognize students, teachers and parents who exemplify this ideal.

I plan to recognize teachers who go the extra mile each week in my weekly staff newsletter and we will also share this initiative with parents in our monthly school newsletter.

It just so happened that I was in town on August 16 when they kicked off this initiative, so I offered to stop by and speak to the teachers.

The marquis when I arrived at the school!

Read More…

Encouraging Words Can Be Found in Many Places

August 17th, 2010 | Category: General

I love quotations, and I always leave a “Thought for the Week” on my answering machine, so I am always looking for good ones. I was delighted to find Bounty paper towels last week that were covered with these inspiring and fun thoughts:

* Let your dreams guide your steps.
* Laughter is life’s sunshine.
* Each life needs its own quiet place.
* Breathe in the joy of the moment.
* Smiles are for sharing; always carry a spare!
* Peace is a journey, not a destination.
* Discover the magic within yourself.
* Find the wonderful in today.
* Let the world surprise you every day!
* Gratitude is an attitude of love.
* Be beautiful. Be yourself.
* Make a difference.
* Dare to live well!
* Bless this mess!
* Good moods are contagious!
* Dance in the direction of your dreams.

Is there one you especially like? Just goes to show that you can find inspiration in MANY places! 😉

This is one of the flip charts my daughter, Erin, did for me. They really brighten a classroom or ball room!

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