May-Jun 2010.indd - Commissaries.com
May-Jun 2010.indd - Commissaries.com
May-Jun 2010.indd - Commissaries.com
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develop talent within<br />
the store and assist<br />
management in preparing<br />
and filling entry-level<br />
positions that are<br />
already challenging due<br />
to Office of Personnel<br />
Management regulations.<br />
Whiting Field: Two of the<br />
most important skills<br />
to have when you’re<br />
working with the<br />
public are diplomacy<br />
and tact; they are also,<br />
unfortunately, the two<br />
skills that always seem<br />
to be the hardest to<br />
use when someone is<br />
berating you. So, I’d<br />
like to suggest Dale<br />
Carnegie’s course called<br />
“How to Communicate with Diplomacy and Tact.”<br />
Three course objectives that seem especially<br />
relevant to our jobs are: 1. Control your “hot<br />
buttons” so that you respond instead of react, 2.<br />
Deal assertively and diplomatically with difficult<br />
people, and 3. Maintain your <strong>com</strong>posure when<br />
criticized. Even the most “put together” and<br />
professional employee can lose his or her temper<br />
with a difficult customer, so I think this training<br />
would be meaningful and productive for everyone.<br />
Wiesbaden: I think customer service training is<br />
a daily event. If we wait for formal training<br />
sessions, we have missed the boat. I would like<br />
to see in-depth manager training on customer<br />
service, employee interaction and supervisoremployee<br />
<strong>com</strong>munication skills.<br />
What suggestions have employees given on<br />
future WCCS training initiatives?<br />
Incirlik: They would like to be involved in and<br />
benefit from the experiences and ideas of fellow<br />
employees from other stores.<br />
McGuire: My observation has been that employees<br />
are more engaged and have be<strong>com</strong>e more<br />
receptive to customer needs, while listening to<br />
what the customer is <strong>com</strong>municating. While the<br />
Dale Carnegie training was a terrific first step,<br />
employees have expressed a desire for more total<br />
store training. I would suggest the Franklin Covey<br />
courses “Great Teams” and “Clarifying Your<br />
Store associate Natina Shaw and sales store checkers<br />
Maria Cabrera and Vanessa Ruiz, MacDill Commissary,<br />
Fla., enjoy the customer excitement at the U.S. Southern<br />
Command on-site sale in Miami, April 13-16. Sales totaled<br />
nearly $170,000. DeCA photo<br />
Team’s Purpose and Aligning Systems” would<br />
perhaps be beneficial for all.<br />
Whiting Field: They want to be able to serve our<br />
customers without sacrificing their dignity or<br />
“losing face” with their co-workers. They want<br />
examples of “what to say and how to say it” in<br />
their everyday interactions with customers.<br />
They want to be confident but not intimidating<br />
or put off in their service, and they want to be<br />
recognized for their work. I think nonmanagerial<br />
employees in general would like training that<br />
promotes fundamental management principles,<br />
such as: 1. Praise in public, punish in private, 2.<br />
Get to know your staff, and 3. Be loyal, honest<br />
and straightforward. This is what I mean by<br />
empowering your employees. If you as a manager<br />
look out for their best interests, the employees will<br />
look out for the customers.<br />
Wiesbaden: More frequent training and continue<br />
keeping an open line of <strong>com</strong>munication available<br />
to all.<br />
List suggestions for WCCS success:<br />
Incirlik: Create happiness for others. Expect<br />
ingratitude. Put enthusiasm in your work.<br />
�<br />
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