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The Key Building Block for Your Customer Relationship - 10/13/26


An automotive manufacturer gets supplies for their vehicles from all over the world.  They have arrangements, service level agreements, expectations for timing and quality of all the parts.  And when they gather all these supplies, they assemble the cars.  They test the cars.  Then they take pictures of those Read more

Be Flexible to Fill the Gaps - 10/6/26


The non-profit has the expected challenges.  There are only 3 people in the organization, yet, they have the same responsibilities of a larger company.  They have to do finance, sales, marketing; they deliver their services to the community, and they need to keep a pulse on what’s going on Read more

Is This Good Customer Service? - 9/29/26


A friend of mine reached out to me recently as she waited for the electrical technician to show up at her house to do some minor repairs.  She had never worked with this company before, but they sent a text about the tech who was soon to arrive. The message Read more

Ownership when Fixing Others’ Errors - 9/22/26


We were conducting training with a client recently, and one of the participants, Jackie, is in a role in his organization where he goes out to the customer site to investigate issues, address customer complaints, and fix problems.  While he’s at the site, he often gets an earful from Read more

Why “No” is So Important - 9/15/26


The employee told the caller: “I don’t think that is possible.” The customer eventually hung up, and redialed to ask a different employee the same question. The employee responded to the customer: “That’s probably not the best way to do it.”  Then, the customer kept asking question after question, arguing Read more

It’s Not “You,” It’s “I” - 9/8/26


During a business writing course that I took years ago, the instructor had us write an e-mail.  I can’t recall if it was written to a co-worker or customer, but after writing this e-mail, she had us count every “I” and “You.”  We talked about how we need to Read more

It Shouldn’t Make a Difference, But… - 9/1/26


We have this conversation with lots of our sports clients, but the principles apply across all different industries.  Too many service representatives view a conversation with a customer as a transaction.  Just get him off the phone as quickly as possible.  The customer is Joe Public, not Joseph Pendergrass.  Read more

Use What the Customer Gives You - 8/25/26


Scenario #1: The customer sent an e-mail to the general inbox at the company.  The message noted that the customer needed to get a family member added to their account, but they couldn’t tell from the website how to do so. The next morning an employee opened up the e-mail, Read more

How Better Customer Service is Better for You - 8/18/26


Oftentimes, we have employees in training or workshops who really want to understand what’s in it for them to deliver better customer service.  How does the employee benefit from a better customer experience? Noted below are 5 different aspects of a great experience desired by the customer.  What if... The customer Read more

Manage New Customer Expectations - 8/11/26


The fan had never been to a motorsports event before, but they had been to concerts.  They had been to big conferences.  At those other events, they could park right next to the venue, many of the activities were indoors, and weather was a non-issue.  So, they were not Read more

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Complement Empathy with Action – 8/4/26

Posted on August 4, 2026 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

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 piece of paper, writes a prescription, throws it in the hole, and walks on.  Words.

A little while later Paul walks by the hole, and the man in the hole yells to Paul “Please help me!  I’m in this hole, and I can’t get out!”  Then Paul jumps in the hole with the man, and the man looks incredulous and says “You dummy!  Why did you jump in the hole?  Now we’re both stuck!”  And Paul says “Because I’ve been down here before…and I know the way out.”

This is not a new story.  It’s just one that I modified a little bit to illustrate a point..

So, here’s the point.  The doctor is a customer service representative (CSR).  And the customer – the man in the hole – has an issue.  The CSR shares a few words and goes on to his next task.

Paul is a different CSR.  And call it empathy or call it sympathy, but Paul goes beyond sharing a few words.  Paul gets in there with the customer, and works side-by-side with the customer to figure out how to get out of the hole…how to fix the issue…how to find a resolution…together.

There are some customers that just want a little guidance when there’s something that needs to be fixed, but there are others who are much more in need of and appreciative of you when you’re willing to work with him or her.  You’re willing to see that they’re stuck, and you’re willing to jump into that hole, give a little bit of empathy, and help them dig themselves out of their predicament.

Find opportunities to work side-by-side with the customer while you’re empathizing with their situation.

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

Posted on June 2, 2026 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

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 this without any experience or any puppy parent education.

When Frank would walk Bosco, the pup would stop frequently to sniff, and it was slowing down the walk, so Frank tried to keep the dog moving along so they could get in a good, brisk walk.

One day Frank was talking to a friend who had had dogs for many years, and Frank was asking for her advice on how to keep Bosco walking instead of slowing down and sniffing so much.  Instead of giving an answer to the question, the friend educated Frank on the situation.  When the dog is sniffing, it’s like it’s solving a puzzle.  The dog is investigating and evaluating and using its senses to understand things better.

When they sniff (or solve the puzzle), they are getting acclimated to their environment, they are slowing down, they are lowering their heart rate, and becoming less stressed.

Lessons for Customer Service

So, what does this have to do with customer service?  I often find myself trying to get everything done.  Plowing through the work, just grinding through it.  It’s reviewing e-mails, responding to client inquiries, dealing with complaints on behalf of my clients, or working on projects.

And some days you might find yourself running through your tasks just like I do.

But just like Frank’s pup, if I take time occasionally during the day to slow down, investigate a key situation with a customer or a client, dive in a little bit deeper, then I will typically find myself thinking a little bit more.  Understanding the issue a little bit better.  Coming to a solution that’s going to be more well-thought out, more clear in my communications, and which will require less rework.

If I allow myself to slow down a couple times during the day, I focus more clearly, my solutions are better, the heart rate slows down, and stress is lessened.

Allow yourself to solve a couple puzzles every day.

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Fix One Problem without Creating Another – 10/29/24

Posted on October 29, 2024 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

If you’ve ever had an issue with your dishwasher, this will sound familiar.  I’ve dealt with so many dishwashers over the years, and they always seem to have some kind of an issue.  Maybe it’s because of the mix of water and technology, but for whatever reason, these never seem to be perfect devices that are perfectly installed.

There are issues with the dishwasher not draining.  Certain settings aren’t working.  The water is not heating.  Installation was done incorrectly, leaving holes in the wall behind the dishwasher that are big enough for little varmints to squeeze through.  There are dishes that come out and are not clean, utensils with food still on them…ick!

When Monique had one of these issues, the repair tech was able to come out the same day.  Unfortunately, there was no part available.  But the repair tech was able to place the part order while at Monique’s house.  There was going to be a 4 day wait, but every day the tech would send a quick text or e-mail to Monique, either describing an update on the timing of the part delivery, discussing the repair process and timing, or confirming Monique’s availability for the tech to come back and fix the dishwasher.

Monique had no control over the tech, and the tech had no control over the speed of getting the part delivered.  But there was consistent communication, consistent updates, consistent description of next steps.

When the part arrived, the tech was able to get to Monique’s house quickly because he knew of her availability and she was awaiting the scheduling text.  He was able to fix it quickly, in part because she knew how she needed to clear space in the kitchen for him.  And it was done correctly, because he had brushed up on the most expeditious and quality way to install that part.

Even when you don’t have the perfect part or the perfect timing, there are opportunities to still provide near perfect customer service.

Fix the problem without creating another one.

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