Staff Training: Code Greens - Documenting Customer Compliments

Often, I've noticed that managers and business owners are inclined to focus on what's going wrong rather than on what is going right. This inclination frequently manifests itself in an obsession to "fix" problem employees — the underperformers — rather than to support and motivate the stars, those employees who are doing a good job. Most management texts, however, encourage us to invest our time, energy, and resources in the stars rather than the underperformers. The theory is that you will get more bang for your buck with a 10-percent improvement at the top than with a 10-percent improvement at the bottom.

I'd argue that instead of managers making subjective judgments about their employees, a good case could be made for judging employees through the analysis of customer feedback. Although there is certainly much to be learned by analyzing customer complaints, even more may be gained by gathering data on customer compliments. We definitely need to understand where we've fallen short so that we can correct it, but it also makes sense that if we pay attention to what our customers especially like about our businesses, we can then ensure that we continue to do more of that special something.

Such thinking led to the development of Zingerman's Code Green reports to document customer compliments. We also have a Code Red report for complaints, and to tell the truth, we implemented the Code Reds first. But it only took us a month or two to realize that the picture of customer satisfaction that we were receiving was lopsided. So now we have both forms, and we document as many compliments (and complaints) as we possibly can. (If you'd like a copy of our Code Green form, e-mail me at mbayless@zingermans.com.)

I bet you're thinking, "We get lots of complimentary letters from our customers, and we always post them in the employee break room or read them in staff meetings, so we're already keeping track of customer compliments. We don't need another form. We have too much paperwork already."

Though you may be right about too much paperwork, this isn't the place to cut back. We've always posted or circulated customer letters for staff members to read. I'm not advocating that you stop doing those things, I'm just suggesting that it makes sense to document the specific compliments in those letters, as well as compliments that your customers give you orally. Here's why.

1. When you specifically document compliments, you start capturing oral customer feedback, as well as what is received in writing. Without a system installed to capture compliments, all that great feedback your customers tell you in person never is written down and shared.

2. By creating a system to document this information, you are much more likely to analyze it, derive valuable lessons, and as a result, do something differently (or decide not to do something differently).

3. Asking everyone in the organization — not just managers — to document customer compliments focuses everyone on the many success stories that happen every day.

4. Documenting compliments takes the feedback beyond the front-line service staff and into the back of the house where many products are produced. Those in production roles deserve to hear how customers are responding to the fruits of their labors.

Without data, we're making decisions based on gut instincts, which can be very good, especially if you're on the floor with your customers nearly every hour that your store is open. But once your organization reaches a certain size, no single person can hear all of the customer feedback. If you set up a system to collect that feedback, then it can be shared — and acted upon — by everyone.

So what kind of data have we collected by using Code Greens? In a single month last fall, we collected about 100 Code Greens and from them gleaned the following information:

• Every business segment within our operation received at least one Code Green, but our Mail Order (30 percent) and Delicatessen (24 percent) divisions had the most complimentary customer responses.

• What did people like? 57 percent loved the product, 19 percent loved the service, 14 percent loved the entire experience, and 10 percent loved the merchandising.

• Of those who loved the product, 34 percent were thankful for the pumpkin gelato, 14 percent complimented the bagels, 13 percent waxed poetic about the babka, and an equal number (10 percent each) praised the sandwiches and the sourdough bread.

This type of information can be used in a variety of ways. For example:

• Decide to carry a seasonal product (e.g., pumpkin gelato) for an additional month.

• Accumulate material for teaching new hires about what your customers like, including ideas to use in role-play scenarios. (Dessert for your party? Both pumpkin gelato and babka have been receiving rave reviews.)

• Gather testimonials for merchandising materials. ("Now that I've tasted yours, other bagels make me mad. They're squishy and flavorless.")

• Create opportunities to thank customers for specific feedback and let them know about upcoming specials. (Gelato flavor of the month)

• Generate ideas for future promotions. (All sandwiches with sourdough on special this month.)

Perhaps the most dramatic example of how important and useful tracking customer feedback — both positive and negative — can be came as we introduced traditional, hand-rolled bagels from Zingerman's Bakehouse a year and a half ago. As with all new product introductions, there was pressure to begin selling before every last glitch was worked out in the production process. And there was the inevitable customer resistance to change, especially since the new bagels were going to cost more.

Before the first of the new bagels hit the retail shelves, we decided to take an unusually close look at the customer feedback we anticipated and asked all staff members to be even more diligent than usual in documenting compliments and complaints on the bagels. The first month, bagel Code Reds ("too hard," "hole is too big") and bagel Code Greens ("much better than the old ones," "these are great") were split 50/50. By the second month, bagel Code Greens outnumbered bagel Code Reds by seven to three. By the third month, bagel Code Reds were only four percent of all Code Reds for that month, while bagel Code Greens made up 34 percent of the month's Code Greens.

What wonderful, concrete feedback to be able to give to the bagel bakers who were working through the night hand-rolling each bagel and perfecting the recipes: "It's all worth it guys; the bagels are a huge success. Our customers have told us so."



Maggie Bayless is the managing partner of ZingTrain, which is the consulting arm of Zingerman's, the specialty food retailer in Ann Arbor, Mich. If you have specific topics you would like to see addressed, please send your suggestions to Maggie at mbayless@zingermans.com.