Working Wardrobes Back in Jail: Part 4

Okay, not really. Yesterday morning was our 4th class at the Musick jail facility in Irvine. Our focus was on better serving through better understanding. That's something author, speaker, and consultant Stephen Covey could tell us a thing or two about:

First seek to understand and then to be understood.

Bet that quote would've been useful before jumping to conclusions about the title of this post, huh?

We are down to six women, as four have been released since beginning the program. However, they are amazing-- they're learning almost as much from each other as they are from us.

We had a great discussion on our experiences in the crazy world of customer service. What made a good experience good? For all of us, it was when someone went out of their way to do something special, like adding something extra or making an exception.

Many of our participants have worked retail and customer service jobs before, so we could turn the discussion to how they provided good customer service, and it was the same: someone took a second to do a little something extra and made a lasting memory.

One of our participants has never had a job before, and she just loves feeling like she is getting the inside scoop on all of this. (I wish I had this kind of insight before my first customer service job--it would have saved me from heaps of embarrassing moments.)

We also focused on how to provide for customers with special needs, both visible and hidden. (My spidey-sense tells me I can help you by...)

All joking aside, we're very excited about how this program is going-- we are down to just two more weeks! All the participants have been invited to come to the Center to take the assessment exam after they are released so they can receive their certification from the National Retail Federation. This is great, and will really give them an edge when it is time for them to rejoin the community. I'm sure they'll be ready for whatever comes next!