Infographic | Customer Service Solutions, Inc.

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

Define Customer Service Success Differently - 2/6/24


When I’m watching television, listening to the radio, or listening to a podcast, it’s always interesting when the topic moves to the question:  How can you be a success?  The speakers often discuss the process of becoming a success with the assumption that people believe success is defined by Read more

Care Enough to Give Them a Heads Up - 1/30/24


Nothing bad at all might happen.  Every day in the office could seem like every other day.  Sights and sounds and smells might continue to be the same.  But we have a lot of construction going on around our offices, and the building manager knows the type of work Read more

Be Better than AI Customer Service - 1/23/24


There was a recent CBS Sunday Morning Show story called: How artificial intelligence is revamping customer call centers. The journalist described how artificial intelligence is being used in customer service, and he noted the millions of pieces of information that can be processed in a matter of seconds. There are clear Read more

2014 Customer Service Crystal Ball – Part 1 of Trends

Posted on in Business Advice, World of Customer Service Please leave a comment

Blog 2-25-14What Customer Service Trends do we predict for 2014? Well here are the first 3 of 7 key trends we see:

We’ll Learn to Rekindle the Fire in 2014

What does that mean? No I’m not talking romance in the world of customer service, although there could be an uncomfortable emotional engagement in this particular trend…What I’m speaking of is face-to-face customer service via the web. If you haven’t seen the new Kindle Fire commercials, they involve someone holding a Kindle tablet, clicking a button to contact customer service, and having a pretty customer service representative appear for a video chat.

The attraction of the video chat is that people prefer a two-way conversation, particularly when dealing with an issue, and it’s easier to understand someone and communicate with them if you can see them. Plus, with the Fire technology, they can see your tablet and highlight information for you.

This trend toward video customer service will move forward slowly though. Beyond the obvious tech issues involved in any widespread rollout, there’s also the creepiness factor of people talking face-to-face without any idea of what they might do in this personal yet physically detached conversation. Another point to consider is where are you going to find people pleasant to talk to, to look at, with good body language regardless of the situation, and who are knowledgeable/smart enough to serve this CSR role? It won’t be easy, and they will be WELL paid.

We Will Realize that We are All the Same

A Healthcare client of ours has an issue with their security staff in the Emergency Department. The head of security believes the sole role of his staff is security, busting the bad guys, keeping the peace, etc. And while that’s the main role, these staff are stationed at the entrance of the Emergency Department, and they are the first person that walk-in patients encounter. So they need to have some communication skills, some knowledge of protocol and procedure, some customer service-orientation.

When I say “we are all the same,” what’s meant is that in 2014 there will be a more holistic approach to customer service – albeit slowly again. This approach includes the act of serving customers being viewed as a mission and taught throughout all levels of an organization rather than the activity of a separate “customer service department.” So watch out if you’re in technology, security, or facilities management – you are customer service, too!

We Will Become Infographics

Have you heard of Infographics? They’re essentially a pictorial representation of something – think Instagram with words and numbers…or a 1-page PowerPoint. It conveys information simply, graphically – hence the name – and it grabs your attention. Generally speaking, as people begin to like to see and absorb information in a certain way (think about surfing the web on a smart phone or sharing pictures on Facebook), that way gets co-opted by “gurus” to apply to their world.

Now imagine a 1-page Infographic for assembling a ceiling fan instead of a 40-page document in small print. Imagine instructions, information, directions, etc. being conveyed in Infographic format instead of a detailed narrative or text-heavy format. I predict we’ll see this trend as well.

What do you think of these first 3 trends? What is your Crystal Ball telling you? Share a comment today!

Check out Part 2 of 2014 Customer Service Trends

To learn more about how to improve customer service in a changing economy and world, visit our NEW website at http://cssamerica.com/home/