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Voice over Demos

Case Study in Good Customer Service: Trader Joe’s and What Can Be Learned

February 13, 2024 by Laura Schreiber

The Text

Yesterday morning my husband and I woke up to a text from our daughter Emma. Emma is a sophomore in college a small liberalMe and Emma at school trop off arts school in central Pennsylvania called Elizabthethtown College. She texted us this photo of gluten free donut holes. She said she urgently needed us to go to Trader Joe’s right away to get them for her. She was concerned that they would sell out immediately. Even though Emma has a car, there is no Trader Joes near her school so she was very much hoping we could help her out with this.

Our Mission

Harlan had to travel for work yesterday, so tasked with our highly sensitive and urgent message, as soon as the store opened I went to Trader Joe’s, armed with my iPhone so that if need be I had the photo. First, I did two laps myself, looking in the logical places I thought they would be. No dice, the donut holes were no where to be found.

The Rescue Team 

Not wanting to disappoint me super sweet kid, both because she is super sweet and because I am totally Type A and could not Trader Joe's Donut Holesleave without the donut holes, I sought assistance. The first guy was working on oranges. He went to where he thought they’d be. They were not there. He pulled in another gal who then pulled in a third woman from the bakery who then pulled in a fourth woman, a manager. So yes, I had FOUR people helping me look for the donut holes. We worked hard and were thorough. Two of them were positive they had been in the store.

Ultimately, the manager took to the computer. She discovered that the highly coveted donut holes needed to be special ordered. They placed an order and told me to call tomorrow morning and that they would set some aside for us. I felt so valued and was so appreciative of the help. Then, as if that was not enough, they let me take a lollipop even though I had not located the stuffed turtle hidden somewhere in the store. I’m not kidding.

Customer Service Takeaways

If Trader Joe’s was being ranked as a business or a super marked or for what kind of human beings they were, basically on every single lever, they deserve an A plus plus. As voice actors, we can all learn a lot from their behavior and over all mentality so let’s take a moment to dissect what happened at Trader Joes:

  • They were a shining example of team work. One person did not need to steal the show. They worked together to accomplish a common goal. In voice over some of us have the opportunity to work as a team. Whether we are demo producers and have partners, or work on a multi-talent cast, or are at a conference and are on a panel with industry friends, sometimes we are fortunate enough to work with others. This is our moment to take a note and lift everyone up. It goes back to the old falcon saying, “the rising tide lifts all the ships in the harbor.” This has always been my experience in VO, and it was for sure my experience at Trader Joe’s. I am quite sure this is why the store is packed as soon as the doors open on a Monday morning, and if you want your voice over business to be booming, this is a great lesson to learn!
  • In this incidence, the price tag didn’t matter. I did not go in saying I needed 100 boxes of donut holes. I was not some prized Trader Joe’s client. Yet each member of the team treated me like I was the most important sale of the day. I will confess that this is an area where even I need to do some re-thinking. I do not treat all of my clients the same. I certainly will treat a national spot differently than a $200 one-off gig. Perhaps this needs to be re-thought. It made me feel really good to be helped and values, period.
  • At Trader Joe’s the employees bent over backwards to help. I do always try to do this. Whether I have a voice over client, a demo client, or a coaching client, I want their experience working with me to leave them feeling exceedingly happy. In a business like VO where clients have an abundance of choice on all fronts, I am extremely appreciative of their trust in me and in return I ben over backwards to work as hard as I can to do a good job.
  • At Trader Joe’s the entire experience, from beginning to end, with the lolly pop, was extra. I try to do this! I am always reachable. I have helped get students on rosters of clients and agents. I have redone their resumes. I audit their auditions. But being extra is typically not something that is asked of you, it’s just something you bring. So my friends, bring it!!
  • Most importantly, my recent shopping experience left me, the, client feeling valued. When it comes time to go back… where will I go? That’s right. And that is how we want each and every one of our voice over clients to feel.

We want to do our very best in voice over always. Well often times being and doing our best has nothing to do with our sound and our audio. A lot of the time it has to do with who we are, how we treat others, and the services we provide that go beyond our voice. 

Often the voice over is the last piece of the puzzle. Video producers and others who are casting may come to you very close to the deadline and need help to make their project incredible. We have an opportunity to take their time of stress, take them by the hand, and turn it into something wonderful. As someone who also coaches and does demos, it’s the same thing. I can use this as a defining moment in someone career to help make it memorable. My experience in Trader Joe’s can only be described as excellent. I only want to leave my clients feeling this way. 

Filed Under: Business Management, Client Relationships, Voiceover Tagged With: case study, customer service, demos, Experience, opportunity, Service, Trader Joe’s, VO, voice over, voice over coach, Voice over Demos, voiceover

Finding the Right Voice Over Coach

June 21, 2021 by Laura Schreiber

I’ve Been In Your Shoes

Laura Schreiber with Anne Ganguzz
Years ago at Atlantis Studios in Santa Monica with Anne Ganguzza, my beloved coach:)

It seems like just yesterday I was just starting my own voice over career. When I was new to voiceover, I, like you, had questions about everything from technique to gear. I had so much to learn, I was not sure where to begin. Coming from an academic background, my inclination was to research, but finding the right voice over coach that was the right fit for my vast VO goals was a goal in and of itself. If you look at my resume, it reads like a “Who’s Who” of the best of VO. I’ve coached with Anne Ganguzza, Bill DeWees, Nancy Wolfson, J. Michael Collins, Eric Romanowski, Dave Walsh, and the list goes on. You might be thinking, why has this gal worked with so many coaches? Well, there are three reasons: At different points in your career, you need different things. And, coaches have varying areas of expertise. Lastly, voice over, like many other professions, is a field for career-long learning.

Now, as a long-established full-time professional talent and working coach myself, Diana Birdsall and I have teamed up and started a Clubhouse room called “Ask the VO Coaches”

Ask the VO Coaches
Join Laura Schreiber and Diana Birdsall on Clubhouse weekly!

where we can have a weekly dialogue where people who are walking on the same path can now have a trusted space to pose their questions. Last week on Clubhouse Diana and I talked about finding a VO Coach that is right for you. Here are some of the issues that we considered:

Clubhouse Screenshot
Are you curious about Clubshouse? Find us there Thursday and Friday afternoons and chat about VO for free!

Vetting the Right Voice Over Coach

During our Clubhouse panel last week, Diana and I were excited to have Randy Thomas and Dan Friedman as guests. Both established voice talents and coaches like us. We discussed that group classes and conferences are great ways to test the waters and see if a voice over coach is the right fit for you. You should consider things like their demeanor and philosophy. See if you can get a sense of their methodology. What is their approach to studying voiceover like?

What Questions You Should Ask

  • You should ask voice over coaches about their policies. For instance, do they require 24 hours notice for cancellation or are they flexible?
  • Do they provide the scripts? Some coaches plan the lessons and provide scripts, others expect you to find your own scripts. I always provide scripts, but this is not standard, it really does vary and if you don’t want to go digging you should ask. Or, conversely, if you want to control the material, you should ask.
  • How do they know what you are ready to go to demo? Not all coaches produce demos. I do work with an amazing demo team, and I do not send my students to demo until their reads are repeatedly bookable.
  • Do they offer a free consultation? This is very common and is a great way to see if you are a good fit. Do they offer a consultation for demos? This is very helpful as well.

What Guarantees Can They Offer

None. That’s it. You can do everything right. You can have an amazing demo. No one can promise you work. Voice over is hard. It is a grind. It takes hours of commitment and sacrifice and more determination than you can measure. If you have demo producers promising you the starts you should run for the hills. There are no guarantees and anyone that suggests that there are should not be trusted. Gabby Nistico, another amazing coach who I know as an industry friend, has a video about the rule of 10. She talks about how you have to put in years of effort to reap the rewards. The secret is there is no secret.

https://youtu.be/MyuNcKjU9rs

The Right Voice Over Coach Should Make You Better

At the end of the day, you know where you are when you start. You should know how you learn. A good coach should bring

Building Blocks Class Image
It was such a joy to see our students make progress week to week. From top left: Laura Schreiber, Jeffrey Mahoney, Rosemary Le, Dave Scott.

out the best in you and push you. For example, I respond well to positive reinforcement. I do not respond well to criticism, harsh feedback, sarcasm, or cruelty. I am not the kind who can rise above to prove how awesome I am. I will, instead, just fall to pieced. It is not good. So for me, I look for a specific energy from coaches. Ultimately, I was very excited to build my VO career. Now, as a coach, when I work with students, I am trying to build a relationship with them just as I do with my clients. I want them to build a strong foundation of skills that will not disappear when they are nervous in a live session or when there is noise outside their apartment that they cannot control. I want them to hear my voice in their head cheering them on and lifting them up.

Filed Under: Client Relationships, Coaching, Voice Over Demos, Voiceover Tagged With: demos, gear, professional, technique, voice over coach, Voice over Demos

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