Customer Service Tip of the Week

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Complement Empathy with Action - 8/4/26


A man falls into a hole, and he can’t get out.  He starts yelling for help, and a doctor walks by and looks down the hole.  The man in the hole yells to the doctor “Please help me.  I’ve fallen into this hole!”  And the doctor takes out a Read more

My 8-Minute Visit at the DMV- 7/28/26


I needed to get a Real ID, which in North Carolina facilitates airline travel and other identity verifications.  My wife suggested I go to one particular DMV that was a LONG way away from home, but where she had experienced great customer service.  I was lucky to find an Read more

When They Might Walk Out the Door…Permanently- 7/21/26


Have you ever had one of those conversations with the customer where they literally tell you they’re about to stop doing business with your company?  This is it.  They may bring up a competitor or found another way to get their need met, or they are just leaving. When we Read more

Transparency in Customer Service- 7/14/26


We’ve worked with a lot of clients in the local government sector, and many of these clients have Customer Service Standards and/or corporate values that include Transparency. Think about an old-fashioned transparency sheet, that malleable see-through page you put on an overhead projector.  You can see everything on one side Read more

See the Customer’s Journey from Their Perspective- 7/7/26


That customer is face-to-face with you right now, and you are fielding their questions or delivering your service to them.  And oftentimes and understandably, we are so immersed in the moment that we don’t think about what came before or think enough about what comes next. But in the life Read more

Gaining the Benefits of the Greeter- 6/30/26


Most likely, we’ve all entered some establishment – a retail store, restaurant, or service center - when there is a greeter at the door.  The most famous greeter position is probably the Walmart greeter.  I often thought that my father-in-law would have been a fantastic Walmart greeter, because he Read more

Seamlessness - Why the Customer Thanked You - 6/23/26


This doesn’t happen enough nowadays, but the employee received a long thank you e-mail from the customer.  A financial services account manager had taken care of the client during a period of time that was stressful for the customer. Life was unexpectedly changing quickly, and personal emotions, additional financial responsibilities, Read more

When to Avoid the Escalation - 6/16/26


The customer calls with a complaint, and the easy thing to do is to escalate it to your supervisor. That may also be the right thing to do, but how do you know when to avoid the escalation? Why You Would Escalate The first thing to consider is why you would Read more

Let’s be Clear on Clarity - 6/9/26


When trying to manage expectations, it’s vital to be clear with the customer.  But what specifically does it mean to be “clear?” Clarity is in the eyes and ears of the beholder, so what may be clear to one customer may be unclear to another.  However, there are some basic Read more

Allow Yourself to Solve a Couple Puzzles Every Day - 6/2/26


Frank had never been a dog owner before, and when he first got Bosco at the shelter, Frank didn't really know what he was doing.  He would try to be a good parent - feed the dog, play with it, take it on walks - but he was doing Read more

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Seamlessness – Why the Customer Thanked You – 6/23/26

Posted on June 23, 2026 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

This doesn’t happen enough nowadays, but the employee received a long thank you e-mail from the customer.  A financial services account manager had taken care of the client during a period of time that was stressful for the customer.

Life was unexpectedly changing quickly, and personal emotions, additional financial responsibilities, and extra work resulted.

The Many Serving the One

The reason for the e-mail wasn’t just about thanking this employee for the great service, but it was also about how the first employee contacted really listened and understood the uniqueness of the situation.  How subsequent employees were patient in dealing with the personal emotions as they helped set up new accounts, change account holders, and educate the customer on options.

It was about some staff being unavailable on a given day, but others jumping in.  It was about notes being taken so that the customer didn’t have to retell their story over and over again, and – in the end – it was a story of appreciation because employees listened, they documented, they did what a customer wanted and offered options, and they did it all with patience and care.

As the customer said in their letter, the employees were able to balance being “understanding and knowledgeable.”

Our Lessons Learned

More often than not, your interactions with customers are not 1-time transactions.  There is a series of conversations and requests and emotions and education, and often it’s not one employee being the only point of contact.  Rather, it’s many employees collaborating – sometimes in real time, and sometimes when there are weeks between each individual encounter.

To any given staff person, this may just be 1 customer.  So, there’s the risk of 6 different employees treating the situation as 6 different customers.  But to the customer, it’s all one company, all one series of needs, and all one long thread of communications.

From the customer’s perspective, their communication with you is part of a long thread that weaves throughout the relationship with your company, with many communications before today and likely many after today.

Make sure the thread is strong, continuous, and seamless for the customer.

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When to Avoid the Escalation – 6/16/26

Posted on June 16, 2026 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

The customer calls with a complaint, and the easy thing to do is to escalate it to your supervisor. That may also be the right thing to do, but how do you know when to avoid the escalation?

Why You Would Escalate

The first thing to consider is why you would escalate.

Is it that you don’t have the authority or responsibility to make the policy or process exception that the customer requests – or that’s needed to address the issue?

On this particular topic, you may not have the experience or skills needed to identify and implement a resolution.  The customer could demand to talk to the supervisor, and their behavior could be teetering on abuse.

Is the situation too important not to escalate?  Maybe it’s that ultimate keep or lose the customer situation, and the risk is too great not to escalate.

Issues with Escalation

Now, if these are some of the top reasons to escalate the customer contact, it also becomes more clear when to avoid it.  Remember that escalations take more of the company’s time because two employees (you and your boss) are now involved.  Since a handoff is taking place, the customer may have to repeat themselves, so that takes more of the customer’s time and can frustrate them even more.  In the end, your supervisor may get frustrated about being brought into communications that they feel you should be able to address without them.

When to Avoid Escalation

If you have the authority and responsibility to address the issue, if you have dealt with a similar situation before or have the resources handy to guide you through the service recovery process, try to address instead of escalate.  If they’re being aggressive, first use your training to defuse the situation, lower the emotional temperature, and gain some control.  If you feel there’s risk of customer loss but you’re not certain, ask clarifying questions to gauge their concern levels instead of assuming this 1-time issue will be a long-term loss.

Then, if you can’t avoid it, bring in the supervisor, equipping them with the information you’ve gathered so they can more quickly help to resolve.

When dealing with the complaining customer, seek to avoid the escalation.

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Let’s be Clear on Clarity – 6/9/26

Posted on June 9, 2026 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

When trying to manage expectations, it’s vital to be clear with the customer.  But what specifically does it mean to be “clear?”

Clarity is in the eyes and ears of the beholder, so what may be clear to one customer may be unclear to another.  However, there are some basic tenets to keep in mind when you’re trying to ensure the customer is clear.

When Customer Education is Needed

Let’s use the example of giving instructions.  These could be discharge instructions given to a patient when they’re getting ready to leave the facility.  It could be instructions to a homeowner trying to understand how to appeal the tax value of their home.  The new season ticket holder account for a sports team could require instructions for how to use the team’s app.

Instruct with Clarity

First, use a multi-mode approach – a mix of verbal and written.  Different people learn different ways, and there aren’t many of us that “get” instructions given in one way one time.  Make sure people have a takeaway to complement and reinforce what you’ve said to them.

Second, add specificity – dates, times, specific URLs, specific guidance on the sequence of tasks.

Third, avoid the confusing terminology.  Eliminate or define acronyms.  Use layman’s terms that a first-time customer would know and understand.

Fourth, limit the verbiage, being as brief as possible.  More information results in more mud that could cloud the waters, making the clear unclear.

Fifth, convey what WILL happen v. what MAY happen, so the expectation isn’t for everything to occur.  That way, they’re not confused if certain steps don’t take place.

Finally, allow time for the Q&A.  One-way communication is not the recipe for consistent clarity.  Allow the person to ask questions or restate their understanding of the instructions back to you.  This is the best way to understand how clear things are in the mind of the customer before you wrap up the conversation.

Be clear on what creates clarity with the customer.

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