Fired for Being Stressed / Word of 2025 / Increasing 5 Star Reviews / Gen Z
Company Fires Employees Who Admit Being Stressed / What is your word of 2025? How one company Received 225 “5-Star” reviews in one year / Gen Z will not wait on hold
How one company Received 225 “5-Star” reviews in one year
It took Outer Banks Blue Realty Services, a property management company, ten years to collect 175 “5-star” reviews, then only one year to get 225.
“I made business cards for all my front-line staff with their personal information on the front and a QR code on the back, making it easier for folks to leave a 5-star review for great service experiences. If an employee got their name mentioned, 
I gave a $50 cash bonus. The punch line is that I have now upped my 5-star reviews by an additional 225 this year alone (to date),” said Tim Cafferty, President of Outer Banks Blue Realty Services. “I had one of my maintenance guys get an astounding 163 5-star reviews by himself. In his case, the best $8,150 I’ve ever spent. We’ve nicknamed him “5-Star.” The entire front-line staff who leave the office to render service to our guests in the morning are now seeking out opportunities to surprise and delight our rental guests, and our “FORD Method” database has grown immeasurably due to these interactions, which are now purposeful. We are now seeing property owners seek us out to manage their property because of our enhanced reputation when we aren’t doing anything different other than recognizing our service stars.”
Word of 2025
For as long as I can remember, I have chosen a word of the year to focus on. I give this great thought; it needs to be meaningful, and I advertise the word to myself in different ways to keep it TOMA (Top of Mind Awareness). 
My word for 2025 is “WAIT.” It focuses on being a better listener, not interrupting the other person, and pausing before responding. WAIT has multiple meanings. It means having more patience before allowing my unfiltered response to come out of my mouth. Process what the other person has said and give a more considerate response if a response is even needed. WAIT also stands for “Why am I Talking?” I am extremely passionate about what I do, helping my clients improve their customer and employees’ experience. However, that excitement and enthusiasm tend to take over, and I start sharing solutions long before my customers have a chance to explain their situations and problems. As you can see in the picture, I put a Post-it note on my monitor during Zoom calls with my clients to remind me to talk less and listen more. What is your word of 2025?
Gen Z will not wait on hold
Is there anything left to cancel? Now “Please hold” has officially been canceled. In an Entrepreneur article titled ‘Please Hold’ is Officially Cancelled — How to Future-Proof Your Customer Service for Gen Z and Beyond reported nearly half of Gen Zs will simply hang up when asked to hold on to a call. While too many leaders like to complain about Gen Zs as a whole, it might be time to start listening. Gen Z is already the largest generation in history, and its spending power is forecast to hit $12 trillion by the decade’s end. Ignoring their customer service preferences would be fatal.
Company Fires Employees Who Admit Being Stressed at Work
YesMadam, a company that offers a tech platform for beauty and wellness, had a leaked internal email appear on LinkedIn that caused quite a controversy.
“Recently, we conducted a survey to understand your feelings about stress at work. Many of you shared your concerns, which we deeply value and respect. As a company committed to fostering a healthy and supportive work environment, we have carefully considered the feedback. To ensure that no one remains stressed at work, we have made the difficult decision to part ways with employees who indicated significant stress. This decision is effective immediately, and impacted employees will receive further details separately. Thank you for your contributions.”
The company in the statement said:
“Were YesMadam employees really fired for being stressed? Absolutely not. Notifications. They weren’t fired; they were given a break to reset. They weren’t let go; they were encouraged to release their stress. They weren’t laid off; they were offered a chance to relax. They weren’t sacked; they were urged to rest and recharge.”
Not sure their clarification is any better.
Episode 184: Stop Surveying Your Customers; Measure This Instead
On this episode of The Customer Service Revolution Podcast, Chief Revolution Officer John DiJulius discusses how today’s customers are suffering from survey fatigue. There may be better ways to measure your customer satisfaction than surveys. John shares the best KPIs and how every business should have a ROX (Return on eXperience) Dashboard.
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