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1
21
May 2001
Quote
of the week:
- "If
you are out to describe the
truth, leave elegance to the
tailor".-
Albert Einstein
Book
of the week:
- What
Customers Like About You: adding
emotional value for service
excellence and competitive
advantage. Author:
David Freemantle. Publisher:
Nicholas Brealey. Some companies
excel at customer service
whereas others fail despite
their genuine efforts to achieve
it. So what is the difference
and what can companies do to
capitalise on it? This great
book answers both questions.
Website
link of the Week
This
week’s customer service
"Touchstone".
Ideal
Temperatures.
One
of the factors that can easily
get overlooked when considering
the comfort and safety of staff
and customers is the ‘ideal’
room temperature.
Of
course, the optimum temperature
for some working environments is
strictly determined by the
nature of the business. Freezer
storage units, hothouse plant
nurseries, some computer
installations and other
specialist commercial operations
require specific temperature
settings in order to carry out
their respective businesses.
Blast furnaces, baking ovens or
refrigeration units involved in
other industries naturally
influence the environment in
which they operate.
But
what is the optimum temperature
for your business?
We
all know how hard it is to
concentrate and focus on the
task at hand when the weather is
either hot and humid, or cold
and frosty. So it is when the
conditions that staff are
required to work under are too
hot or too cold. So what is too
hot or too cold?
When
conducting corporate or public
training workshops, I always
endeavour to set the room
temperature at approximately 19
degrees celsius. (66degrees
fahrenheit) Whilst seminar
participants sometimes complain
that this is a touch too cold,
my experience is that this
temperature maximises the
learning experience.
In
locations such as hotel lobbies,
restaurants, and aircraft
cabins, the temperature will
ideally be set at about 22 or 23
degrees so as to maximise
customer or passenger comfort,
whereas the room temperature for
an aerobics class at your local
health club will be set well
below this.
The
average human body at rest emits
approximately .25kw’s of
energy. Having four people in a
room equates to having a single
bar electric heater turned on.
Fill up a space with many more
customers, staff, passengers,
participants or spectators, and
you have one heck of a lot of
heat to contend with.
In
some instances, mainly in
outdoor locations, the provision
of air conditioning, heating or
cooling equipment is either not
possible or is cost prohibitive.
It is important on these
occasions to equip staff with,
and have available for
customers, suitable clothing to
match the environmental
conditions.
Paying
attention to the temperature of
your organisation’s working
environment will return many
benefits in terms of staff
productivity and customer
satisfaction.
Until
next week, many happy customer
returns!
Graham
Harvey APS
Next
week: Team rules of the game.
Previous
newsletters available at www.grahamharvey.com.au/Articles/
Please
feel free to recommend "Touchstones".
Tell your family, friends and
business colleagues that their
free subscription is waiting for
them at www.grahamharvey.com.au
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