The YoU-Factor

Applying common-sense principles to achieve an uncommon level of customer service

In the age of reality television, keeping viewers engaged is a challenge. Decades-old training videos that lecture on dry, often outdated principles can leave any well-intentioned trainee bored and inattentive.

But Support Services has brought reality TV to a new level with the YoU-Factor— a customer service training video that uses positive and negative experiences of real employees to drive home the idea that each of us holds the keys to good customer service.

“The YoU-Factor is a set of eight principles to live by at work and at home,” says Kori Cotter, senior administrative assistant in Safety Management Services. “We’ve found that people don’t handle the same situations the same way. The video helps staff see how they can exercise these principles in their own way. It’s about changing your perspective, not following a set of pre-defined steps.

The 28-minute video features eight vignettes that provide a candid and often humorous look at how each scenario was handled. After each vignette, feedback from a member of Support Services leadership highlights the opportunity to exercise one of the principles.

“We wanted the video to provide reality-based customer service scenarios that anyone can relate to regardless of what they do,” Cotter says.

And while learning how to provide good customer service is no joke, the video has quite a few funny moments, including bloopers that feature several leaders fumbling their lines during filming.

Applying the YoU-Factor to Daily Life

• Find solutions, not excuses.
• Be consistent.
• Do the right thing from the patient's perspective.
• Be sincere.
• Step out of your safety zone.
• Maintian patience and control.
• Make eye contact and smile!

To request a copy of the video, e-mail Kori Cotter. To watch the video or learn about the new YoU-Factor recognition program, visit www.med.umich.edu/i/youfactor.