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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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The Miracle of an Apology – 3/19/24

Posted on March 19, 2024 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

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 to (or not about to happen), and to see what the customer wanted to do.  The only options were to wait for the late shipment or to cancel the order.

The manager was livid.  His employee had put the sale at risk by telling the customer about the impending delay and letting the customer know they could cancel.

The next day, the manager called the employee, was contrite, apologized profusely, and asked the employee to come back to work.

This employee was one of the best in the office.  She was being proactive with the customer.  She had the customer’s best interests at heart, and she was trying to provide good customer service.

The manager was so focused on the potential lost transaction that he didn’t recognize everything that his team member was doing, and why she was doing it.  He was so focused on that potential lost transaction, that he didn’t consider the magnitude of the loss of one of his best employees, the potential loss of her clients, the loss of trust and credibility with those employees who remained.

Fortunately for the manager, the apology worked.  It was basically a miracle that he could be so knee-jerk in the reaction one day, and the next day have the employee accept the apology and say she would return to work.

There are mistakes, and then there are MISTAKES.  And many of these mistakes are with our team members, our co-workers – not just with our clients.  Often, the best way to address the mistakes is to quickly and sincerely apologize.

To apologize is to humble one’s self.  The humility of an apology can sometimes work miracles.

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A Lesson in Humility – 10/27/15 TOW

Posted on October 27, 2015 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment


Sarah was very excited about her new reading partner. Miss Jenny had never volunteered at this elementary school before, so she wasn’t certain what to expect when she showed up for her first day with her new reading buddy. When she met Sarah, Miss Jenny smiled, and Sarah’s eyes lit up.

They went to the school library together and read and talked, then read and talked some more. Then week after week throughout the school year, they met again – and read and talked again.

At the end of the school year on their last day together, Sarah gave Miss Jenny a hug and said “thank you for reading to me.” Miss Jenny thanked Sarah and talked about how much she enjoyed the time they had together.

As Miss Jenny walked away, Sarah’s teacher asked Sarah if she knew what her readying buddy does. “Yes,” replied Sarah, “she reads with me.” The teacher said, “Oh, I meant, do you know what she does for her job?”

“No,” Sarah replied.

“Well she’s a very successful business owner here in town,” said the teacher.

“Okay,” Sarah said, and then Sarah walked back to her desk – apparently impressed with Miss Jenny, but not impressed with her job. What was clear is that Sarah didn’t care about Miss Jenny’s job – she just appreciated her reading buddy. What’s also clear is that Miss Jenny never bragged about her job or her professional accomplishments – all of the time and discussions with Sarah were about…Sarah.

Why am I bringing up a community service story to discuss customer service? Because greatness in community service has a thread of humility in it. The community service is for those being served, not about those serving.

Similarly, great customer service isn’t about the service provider. In that moment of truth with the customer, it’s about the customer. It’s about addressing their need, their emotions, their issues, and their goals. It’s not about our ego or our experience or our superior knowledge of policies, procedures, rules, and regulations.

Although it would be great if the customer stroked our ego, that’s not their responsibility. That’s more our own responsibility and that of our employer.

When engaged with the customer, when serving others, we need to bring humility to the encounter.

In customer service, let us help others with a humble heart.

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