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Bear with Me - 3/31/26


As a customer, you’ve probably called a company and heard the phrase “bear with me.”  At that point, you know there’s going to be some sort of delay.  The CSR is giving you a heads up that there’s going to be additional wait time.  Essentially, they are trying to Read more

Slowing Down the Fast Talker - 3/24/26


Jeffrey had always been told by his manager to figure out the issue quickly and wrap up the conversation as fast as possible.  So, Jeffrey was hyper-focused at finding that one key word that could identify the issue and help him to transition quickly to what might be some possible Read more

Don’t Bury the Lede - 3/17/26


Mary was working at the office, and she received an e-mail alert from the water company.  There was a water outage in her neighborhood.  It looked like it was going to be a couple hours to fix the issue. Sure enough, a few hours later around mid-afternoon, Mary received another Read more

Confirm the Real Issue Before You Start Solving - 3/10/26


Have you ever gone “down the rabbit hole?”  It involves going deep into some topic, some discussion – with analysis that creates complexity as much as it resolves it.  And that dive into the rabbit hole often starts with a simple question. Going down that rabbit hole takes time and Read more

One Question to Prevent a Follow-up Call - 3/3/26


The way some performance metrics work, you would think companies would prefer for their staff to talk to the same customer 4 times on the same topic for 8 minutes each rather than talking to them once for 10 minutes.  Many management metrics are too focused on average length Read more

Stay Calm When the Customer Isn’t - 2/24/26


There are all sorts of others’ emotions that you have to deal with as a customer service professional.  The other person could be anxious or upset, they could be angry or agitated.  It can run the gamut of emotions, but for you to deal with them in the best Read more

Don’t Begin with the Dead End in Mind - 2/17/26


Habit #2 of Stephen Covey’s “Seven Habits of Highly Successful People” is “Begin with the End in Mind.”  It speaks to the need to have a clear vision or goal for what you’re trying to ultimately achieve, so you understand the purpose of what you’re doing.  It helps you Read more

Explain without Over Explaining - 2/10/26


The customer has a question, and we have an answer.  They need to learn something, and we’re in the position to be the educator.  There’s a process they have to go through, and we need them to understand. We know so much, and we could impart so much, but sometimes Read more

Look for a Stop Sign - 2/3/26


As a customer service professional, what you say matters.  The information you’re providing is useful.  The direction you’re giving the other person is helpful.  But... As you’re speaking, you also need to be reading.  Reading the other person.  Watching the customer, determining whether and how they’re receiving what you’re sharing.  Read more

When They Want the Supervisor - 1/27/26


Maybe you did your best with the customer, or maybe the customer didn’t even give you a chance.  They want to talk to your supervisor.  They see you, notice your title does not have “supervisor” or “manager” or “director” or “President and CEO” in it, so they want to Read more

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Bear with Me – 3/31/26

Posted on March 31, 2026 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

As a customer, you’ve probably called a company and heard the phrase “bear with me.”  At that point, you know there’s going to be some sort of delay.  The CSR is giving you a heads up that there’s going to be additional wait time.  Essentially, they are trying to reset the customer’s expectations.

As a customer service professional, there are many reasons why you could be delayed in responding to the customer or getting the answer they want quickly while on the phone or face-to-face with them.  This can even happen when the customer’s accessing the online chat platform, and we’re trying to provide that professional answer quickly.  So, if we want to find some professional phrases to communicate to the customer, here are a few to consider:

  • This process will take about a minute. Thanks for your patience.
  • The computer is running a little slow today, so I apologize, Ms. Jefferson.
  • Looks like it’s going to take a couple of minutes to access the information, so please stay on the line.
  • I’m moving on to the last step in the process. That means we’re almost done.
  • I’m awaiting a response from the escalation team, and then I’ll be able to provide you an answer.
  • I’m in the process of pulling up the details on your account, and it takes a little while, so please bear with me for another minute or so.
  • Just confirming a couple details on the system, and then we’ll be ready to address your question.

 
Notice some of the common themes: (1) If you have an accurate sense of timing, give them a specific timeline. (2) Let them know you’re working on their behalf. (3) It’s OK to subtly blame the system, but avoid blaming the co-worker. (4) Note that you’re appreciative of them and their patience. (5) Let them know that what you’re doing is for them.

When things are moving slowly for you, don’t panic, and don’t keep your customer in the dark.

Professionally reset their expectations in that moment of delay.

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Slowing Down the Fast Talker – 3/24/26

Posted on March 24, 2026 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

Jeffrey had always been told by his manager to figure out the issue quickly and wrap up the conversation as fast as possible. 

So, Jeffrey was hyper-focused at finding that one key word that could identify the issue and help him to transition quickly to what might be some possible solutions.

He was especially happy to engage a fast-talking customer, because he could identify that one key word more quickly.

The Issue with his Approach to Problem-Solving

In theory, a fast-talking customer may be conducive to accessing a lot of information and wrapping up the conversation quickly, but it might NOT be conducive to wrapping up the issue correctly.

Jeffrey found that finding that one word led to assumptions about other key poinsts, and he would go down the wrong path only to have to do some rework or engage the customer multiple times to rectify what was truly the problem.

So, he devised his own methodology.  He took this non-stop or fast talker, and he came up with a way to slow down the customer.  Jeffrey realized that – to fully help the other person – he needed to understand the situation and its uniqueness.  And having a customer that was pinballing all over the place when describing what was going on wasn’t helping either of them to get to the right answer.

The Solutions He Developed

Jeffrey learned to interrupt politely and professionally: “I’m sorry to interrupt.  I just want to make sure I’m understanding exactly what you’re saying.  Is it OK if I ask you a couple quick questions?”

Jeffrey learned to clarify key points: “Just so I’m clear, did you say that that transaction happened in person or on the website?  Was that two weeks ago or last week?”

Jeffrey learned to summarize key points: “My understanding of what you just said is that the return was made last Tuesday, you were supposed to get a notification and never did, and you haven’t received the refund on your account at this point.  Did I understand those points correctly?”

In dealing with the fast talker, use these techniques when you need to slow them down.

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Don’t Bury the Lede – 3/17/26

Posted on March 17, 2026 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

Mary was working at the office, and she received an e-mail alert from the water company.  There was a water outage in her neighborhood.  It looked like it was going to be a couple hours to fix the issue.

Sure enough, a few hours later around mid-afternoon, Mary received another e-mail with the Subject “Water outage is fixed.” It was a long e-mail, but the Subject seemed to say it all, so she went back to her work.  When Mary got home and got a snack, she brought a glass to the kitchen faucet to get a drink of water.  Out of that faucet came some of the most disgusting looking and smelling brown water you’ve ever unexpectedly seen sputtering out of a faucet.  Nasty!

After the initial shock, it clicked with her that this was probably because of the water outage and whatever work they were doing to fix the pipes. So, she let the water run in the sink for about 5 minutes, but it still wasn’t clear and still smelled pretty bad.  She called the utility’s information center, but they were closed for the day.

Frustrated, she got something else to drink, made a quick dinner, and watched TV.  After dinner, she went back to the e-mail to see if there was some other way she could get in touch with somebody to let them know about the water quality issue.

Going Back to the Notification

She started reading the e-mail, going through paragraph after paragraph, and all of a sudden she read that the water could be brown after a repair such as this, and she needed to use a high-volume outlet – like either run the garden hose or run water in the bathtub – to get a lot of water cleared out of the pipes quickly so that water quality could get back to normal.

The information she needed was in the e-mail, but it was buried late in the message.  It wasn’t highlighted; there was no bolded header.

Highlighting the Points Most Important to the Customer

What could the utility have done better in this situation?  It could have realized that what was most important to the customer was having water quality and knowing her part to get clean water again.  The organization could have highlighted those points up front instead of expecting the customer to read through several paragraphs to see if there was anything important they needed to know or do.

When something is important to convey, don’t assume the customer’s going to read every detail.  Put the pertinent information up front.

Don’t bury the Lede.

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