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Talk About Yourself to Build Customer Confidence - 4/16/24


When you’re dealing with somebody who is anxious or nervous about a situation, a customer who feels like they don’t have much control, an individual who is unsure and uncertain, it’s important to put the customer at ease.  It’s important to build their comfort level.  It’s important to help Read more

The Proven Value in What You Do - 4/9/24


Forbes wrote an article last year based on a compilation of the results of research on customer service and the customer experience; it was titled:  100 Customer Experience Stats For 2023. In reading the article, you’ll note that many of these key research findings are about you – the value Read more

A Tale of Two Texts - 4/2/24


Having to get allergy shots once a week is never fun, and for Janet, it became an even bigger frustration. She had the shots typically scheduled on Tuesday around 10:30 in the morning, figuring she would avoid the morning rush as well as the lunch rush by going mid-morning.  However, Read more

The Secret Sauce for Great Customer Service - 3/26/24


I was working with the League Office for a major American sport several years back, and one of the executives asked me to describe our Secret Sauce that helped our clients improve the fan experience and customer retention.  I gave him a sense of what makes us unique and Read more

The Miracle of an Apology - 3/19/24


Unfortunate but true story… The manager basically lost his mind.  He terminated his employee on the spot.  She had told the customer that there was going to be a delay in the shipment.  The employee called up the customer ahead of time to let the customer know what was about Read more

It’s Not About the 5-Minute Wait - 3/12/24


Robert went into his supervisor’s office to update her on a situation at the payment desk.  Robert said that a customer was about fourth or fifth in line, waiting to be served, and the customer was complaining loudly about the wait.  He was there to make a property tax Read more

Lessons from the Greats - 3/5/24


I was recently facilitating a workshop on the customer experience, and I made the point that it’s usually beneficial to look at your personal life for great experiences; identify what really resonates with you in a positive way in order to uncover ideas to improve your own customer service. So, Read more

The Empathy Roadmap - 2/27/24


For some people, empathy comes naturally.  There’s an innate desire to learn about the other person and to sincerely convey that sense of interest and caring.  But for many of us, sometimes it helps to have a communication plan.  It helps to know what to do in order to Read more

“You’re the Boss” - 2/20/24


Terrence is excellent at what he does.  From a technical standpoint, he knows how to keep the facility clean.  He’s the lead custodian, and he knows that keeping things straight does not necessarily mean keeping things sanitary.  He knows what chemicals to use and not to use, how to Read more

Customer Understanding Leads to Relationship Growth - 2/13/24


We’ve worked with educational organizations at all grade levels over the years.  One special and unique characteristic about the staff who work in these organizations is that there’s a clear intent to know about the students as individuals, to focus on them rather than purely focusing on what’s delivered Read more

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Be the Culture – 10/16/18

Posted on October 16, 2018 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment


As a customer service consultant, I am often in situations with clients where we’re trying to figure out how to deliver a better experience to the customer. It might be an effort undertaken to retain more clients and grow the top line. It may be an effort to streamline operations to serve the customer more efficiently or consistently. It may be an effort to improve quality.

But underpinning any kind of a process redesign or strategy initiative has to be an understanding that the employees are what make those redesigns or initiatives work. The employees are the ones who are implementing those designs. Employees are the ones who are delivering the service or resolving the issue.

So, how the organization sets expectations with staff, trains staff, rewards and holds staff accountable, and models behaviors to staff – in the end – drives staff performance. While many staff are self-motivated, in any organization, employees who are there for any length of time are going to be impacted by that organization’s culture.

And when I say the organization, I’m not talking purely about leadership. How employees treat each other, how they engage with one another, how they do or do not work as a team, how they show appreciation, how responsive and respectful they are to each other has a huge impact on the attitudes and actions of those co-workers.

To deliver a great customer experience, realize that that delivery is happening through you and your co-workers. Make sure you’re creating the kind of culture for those you work with that you hope the organization is creating for everyone.

Be the culture that you desire for your organization.

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Make it OK to Sell the Parrot – 8/21/18

Posted on August 21, 2018 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment


This has been said so many different ways. I’ve noted how an attitude cannot be like a light switch, where you turn it on with your customer and you turn it off when you’re with the co-worker. Last week’s Tip discussed how communication is like water rippling in a pond, because of how it can affect the environment within which you work – words are not just part of the conversation. They often impact the person you’re speaking with or others in the organization. When noting body language, we often suggest picturing yourself in front of a mirror, because your body language provides a reflection of the attitude that the other person perceives.

All of these examples offer a couple key points. First is that – to deliver great service and be a positive influence on the culture, we should look at our attitudes and actions as something that needs to be consistent, an all-the-time thing. Second, we need to have some understanding of how we can influence or impact others.

Will Rogers once said, “Live in such a way that you would not be ashamed to sell your parrot to the town gossip.”

It’s important to be conscious of how we act and how we speak, because in life and in customer service, it’s not always about us. People who are great at customer service realize that so much of what we do is about and for others. So, consciously think about the impact of your attitudes and actions on others. Strive for more discipline in thinking through what is said and what is done…before it is said and done.

While it’s a difficult thing to do for me and I’m sure many of you, working hard to be a more consistent model to others is a key to long-term customer service success.

The parrot sees and hears EVERYTHING! Make it OK to sell the parrot.

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Water Rippling in the Pond – 8/14/18

Posted on August 14, 2018 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment


You drop a rock into a creek, and you see the mini waves created. You watch a golf tournament, and a golfer dumps a shot in a lake – and it ripples. You see a water sculpture with a basin below, you toss in a penny to make a wish, and the water flows in every direction.

Ripples in the pond.

So much of the environment that we’re in – literally, and more so the mental environment that we’re in – is influenced by the words of others. If we hear constant negativity, if others voice constant obstacles, if there is rancor and anger and confusion, then there’s a great risk for those in the environment. We can allow those words to affect our mindset, our behavior, and maybe our own words as well.

Sometimes the environment that we’re in is full of encouragement, reinforcement, positivity, and appreciation. Sometimes those words build us up and are filled with thanks. The words in our environment can emphasize what COULD work and what possibilities for good exist. Those words also affect our mindset, our behavior, and maybe the words that we use as well.

Realize that the environment that we are in is often influenced by communication. The environment created by the words we use is like water rippling in the pond. Our words can influence others. They have the ability to change a perception or a mindset or a behavior or an outlook.

So, when we need to use words, choose words that move the environment in a direction of good.

Remember, your words create an effect like water rippling in the pond.

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