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View Quality through the Customer’s Eyes - 10/14/25


Geri had been dealing with backups in the downstairs plumbing system of her house on and off for the past year.  The most recent company that she called in to unclog the pipes stated that they could send a camera down the pipes and tell her exactly where the Read more

Be Supportive, Not Defensive - 10/7/25


[An employee on the phone with a customer…] Who told you that you didn’t have to submit that form? … Bob?  Oh brother!  You see Bob is our “special” co-worker.  He seems to always tell customers the wrong thing to do, and we’re having to clean up after him.  Read more

Some Customers LOVE Predictability - 9/30/25


I was facilitating focus groups of businesses that utilize local government services.  The phrase that popped up multiple times was “Time Is Money!”  What these municipal customers were conveying was that their time was valuable, and delays were wasting their time.  But the conversations were not just about how Read more

Find Your Special Sauce - 9/23/25


When I watch a football game and I see a great quarterback (somebody who may be considered a “Star”), he might be an excellent runner, have a big arm, be able to diagnose the defense and get his team into the right play.  But he’s likely not great at Read more

Gain Control of the Conversation - 9/16/25


The customer’s angry or upset or they have a complaint.  They’re very chatty or very wordy or they just want to talk to somebody.  You’re on a time crunch, and the customer obviously is not. There are times when you need to gain control of the conversation.  It’s important for Read more

Complement with a Compliment - 9/9/25


We perform many tasks for our customers every day, and when we’re done with a step in the process, oftentimes we will tell the customer what’s been done.  But if we want to create more of a WOW experience, if we want to make the customer feel a little Read more

When Patience Begets Patience - 9/2/25


Jennifer, the server, walked toward the couple in the restaurant.  The customers had been seated for a minute or two, and they noticed the server was walking briskly toward their table.  Jennifer recognized the couple she was about to serve, because they had been in the previous week. Since the Read more

Address the Expectations that Were Set - 8/26/25


Before the caller ever got to Marco – the customer service representative, the customer had been working with the company for months.  They had read the marketing brochures, had a conversation with a sales rep, reviewed the new customer information on the website, and read all the information e-mailed Read more

When Technology Fails the Customer - 8/19/25


Technology is a wonderful thing…until it isn’t.  The website is down, the mobile app won’t work, the system keeps kicking them out of their account, or they received a spoofing phone call supposedly from your department. If you’ve ever been manning the phones or managing the department inbox, you know Read more

The Misunderstood Physician - 8/12/25


I was speaking with one of my personal physicians years ago, and when we were talking about my work – particularly customer satisfaction research - he started talking about online physician ratings.  He lamented that a few low ratings were dinging his overall score.  Then he shared that the Read more

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Some Customers LOVE Predictability – 9/30/25

Posted on September 30, 2025 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

I was facilitating focus groups of businesses that utilize local government services.  The phrase that popped up multiple times was “Time Is Money!”  What these municipal customers were conveying was that their time was valuable, and delays were wasting their time.  But the conversations were not just about how long some process would take.  These were builders and developers, these were representatives of organizations that were performing renovations and repairs.

While the total process time was one part of the timeliness equation, one of my learnings from these focus groups was that the other part of the timeliness equation was predictability.

These focus group participants evaluated the customer experience by having an understanding of what that experience was going to be, the milestone dates or timelines associated, and those expectations being met.

The Customer’s Need for Predictability

The customers needed predictability because it enabled them to plan their next steps and timeframes.  It enabled them to understand how the tasks they’re working on fit into the bigger picture schedules.  It helped them to communicate with their stakeholders about timelines and responsibilities.

This also applies to healthcare.  If somebody is having an outpatient procedure, knowing the length of the procedure, how long they’ll be held after the procedure, how much notification lead-time they’ll get before they get discharged – that knowledge helps the patient to understand when to make that call for transportation to take them home.

This applies to pro sports.  We do TONS of surveys for pro sporting events, and sometimes fans reach out to us directly – not about the survey but asking when they’re going to get their tickets for the next event.  They were not told what to expect or didn’t remember, and now they’re antsy because the expectations aren’t known, because the predictability isn’t there.

What this Means for You

When considering how to improve your customer experience, focus on how to improve the predictability of what you do.  Oftentimes there is a predictable nature to what the process steps might be, who’s going to follow-up with the customer, and when it’s going to occur.  But unless that is communicated to the customer, and unless that is delivered as designed, the customer won’t know what to expect.  The lack of predictability can create additional touch points for you and additional anxiety for the customer.

Create more predictability for a better customer experience.

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Create Customers for Life – 6/17/25

Posted on June 17, 2025 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

Veronica has gone to the same automotive service shop for at least 20 years.  She bought a new car about a year ago, and this is the third car she’s brought to the shop instead of taking her car to the dealer where she bought it.  She’s had three different makes of car, yet she brings them all to the same service shop.  Veronica gets her routine service there, and if the car needs a repair, the employees explain what they’re going to do and why, and they give her options.  The repairs always seem to do the job.  She trusts the team.

Whenever Veronica takes her pets to the vet, the pets get treated like royalty!  The staff seem sincerely excited to see Clarabelle, the cat, and Floyd, her puppy.  Veronica has been going to the same vet for as long as she can remember, and she feels like the doctors and the team treat Veronica’s pets as their own.

Whereas many people go to the standard fast-food chains for lunch, Veronica goes to the local establishment – Doug’s Dogs and Delectables.  You can get hot dogs, hamburgers, crinkle fries, and even the occasional pulled pork seasonal special.  Doug’s has a drive-thru, and this is not what you would call high-end cuisine, but she can always get through the drive-thru in less than 5 minutes, the food is always hot and tastes good, and they never mess up the order.  It’s a predictable and positive experience.

Technically you cannot “Create” a customer for life, but you can do things that engender trust, convey you care, and offer positive predictability.

While different customers have different motivators, keep in mind that it’s hard to retain customers for the long term if they can’t trust the company.  It’s difficult to have a customer feel loyal to you if they don’t feel like you care about them as an individual.  And it’s tough to ensure they’ll want to come back again, if they have no idea whether you’re going to meet their expectations.

Find ways to create customers for life by building trust, conveying you care, and providing a more predictable and positive experience.

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Predictability Excites these Customers – 3/3/20

Posted on March 3, 2020 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

Sherrie had used that airport one too many times.  Sure it was convenient to her home, only 20 minutes away, but it seemed like every time she scheduled a flight, there was a delay.  And since it was not a “hub” airport, if she had to fly any significant distance, she’d have to make a connection, and then more delays would occur.  Delay after delay, and re-route after re-route.  There was too much uncertainty about her arrival time or her ability to make connections.

The next time she had to fly, Sherrie decided to go to the larger airport that was located over one hour away.  Sure the fare was no better, but she had a direct flight to her destination.  She traveled the extra distance to the larger airport, and she got on her non-stop flight.  It took off late but made up time in the air, and it landed early.  On her return, she was late getting back because of air traffic, but there were no worries about making a connection.  There were no worries about getting re-routed to a different city for the second leg of a trip, since this trip was non-stop.  There was none of that uncertainty.

Some customers aren’t as concerned with product price if they know what’s going to happen.  Some people’s goal is to avoid hassle.  They’re more concerned with process predictability than product price.

People concerned with process predictability, those concerned with avoiding hassles – those are the people that customer service-oriented companies love.  Because those customers put a premium on the aspects of their experience not driven purely by the product.  The service processes, consistency, and quality are differentiating factors.

Identify the types of services you provide that are very process-driven or time intensive.  Identify the customers whose satisfaction and repeat business are driven by these key factors of customer service.

Then help your company become more predictable for your customer.

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