PPB November 2016

36 / 116

The
WHIZ
Jamie Catarnichi
Customer Relation Specialist
Geiger
St. Louis, Missouri
Tenure at Geiger: Three years; 15 years in the promotional products industry
Nominated by: Wendy Franklin, MAS, promotional branding expert, Geiger
WHY SHE’S A SUPERHERO:
Catarnichi works directly with Franklin to support the company’s sales
efforts. “Jamie is my superhero because she has excellent communication,
phone and email skills, and will run with any situation handed to her. She’s
a whiz at sourcing products, exceptionally responsive to customer requests
and thorough in her presentations and follow-up.”
HOW JAMIE SAVED THE DAY:
“I had both of my hips replaced in 2015; the first on Memorial Day and the
second on Labor Day,” says Franklin. “On both occasions, Jamie rose to the
task of not only keeping my business going, but keeping my customers happy.
I’m a top sales person with Geiger and this is a huge undertaking for one
person. She worked long and hard to make sure everything went smoothly so
I was able to take the time needed to recuperate after each surgery.”
Best Part Of The Job:
“I enjoy the daily interactions with our suppliers, customers and co-workers. Also, knowing our
customers depend on us for their promotional solutions is very rewarding.”
Biggest Challenges:
“The biggest challenges are trying to manage enough time to keep up with all the details and
provide the best customer service possible.”
Most Valuable Customer Service Lesson Learned:
“Always ask questions, don’t assume anything. In the past, I was afraid to bother anyone with
questions, therefore I would ‘assume’ something could be done and it came back to haunt me.”
No. 1 Tip For Great Customer Service:
“Always be open and honest, and don’t make promises you can’t keep.”
The Superhero Power I Wish I Had:
“I would wish for the ability to heal; with this power no one would suffer from pain or loss.”
Best Personal Customer Service Experience:
“I had surgery at my local hospital and received excellent care and customer service. I was
very well taken care of and felt like I was their only patient. All my questions and concerns were
answered without hesitation.”
ONE ON ONE WITH
JAMIE CATARNICHI
I
Jobs: I play the orchestra.
Jobs knew he could never have accomplished
what he did alone. He needed engineers, marketers,
designers. His skill was in bringing those people
together and keeping them in harmony.
Similarly, at Amazon, Jeff Bezos’ skill is bringing
talented people together and focusing them on the vision
for Amazon. They work in harmony. Each does their part for
the success of the team, for the success of the company.
It’s called a “service strategy.” He allows employees to
assist in creating new and innovative approaches that
have a profound impact on the customer experience.
Be a magnet for talent. As managers, team leaders and
engaged employees it’s not enough to say that we need to
get the right people in our company. We must identify who
the right people are and create a process that gets them on
board and in the position to succeed.
1 Identify who the right people are. Each
organization and team will have different
needs so your “right” people may be different
than other companies and teams.
2 Identify several people in your organization who you
wish you could clone. Write down their characteristics
and traits and create your own benchmark of the
right person for each position therefore setting
the expectations for all other team members.
3 Identify the type of person that fits your company
and team culture. For example, if you want to
create a positive culture make sure you hire
positive people. If you want to create a culture
that is creative, then hire creative people.
4 If you invest your time, resources and energy
to get the right people on board you’ll have
fewer headaches and expenses later on. Take
your time during the hiring/recruiting process
to make sure you are all on the same path.
5 Remember, the people you surround
yourself with will often determine the
kind of company you’re going to be.
6 Continued training is essential. If you expect
your team members to develop their skills and
stay on top of changes, don’t get complacent
about establishing and updating your training.
John Tschohl is an international service strategist, author
and speaker, and founder and president of the Service Quality
Institute. He has just released the 10th edition of Achieving
Excellence Through Customer Service. Subscribe to his free
monthly e-newsletter at , or
reach him on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
Tina Berres Filipski is editor of PPB.
continued from page 33
FEATURE | Service Superheroes
2016
34 | NOVEMBER 2016 |