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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

Uncover Silent Concerns - 8/5/25


One of the customer service statistics we have quoted many times over the years is:  For every complaint you do hear, there could be 26 other customer issues that you don’t hear. And when we bring up that statistic, we bring it up because we want to make sure companies Read more

Talk Yourself Up to Take Down Their Anxiety - 7/29/25


I believe that most customer service people are pretty humble, so I’m not asking you to lose your humility.  But I do have one ask of you… When that customer is anxious or nervous, when they fear the future because the future is unknown or it could be laced with Read more

Use Little Acts to Make a Big Impact - 7/22/25


A WOW Experience is not always one instance, one act that blows away the customer.  It’s not always an over-the-top-the-employee-saved-the-day act of brilliance.  Sometimes a WOW is the sum total of a series of little things that others don’t do – those actions that differentiate you from others.  The Read more

Avoid Some Stress by Addressing Issues Quickly - 7/15/25


It’s good customer service to resolve issues quickly.  The customer sees the light at the end of the tunnel.  They more quickly bring their anxiety and stress, their negative emotions down.  And they more quickly get to a solution. But this tip is not about them.  This tip is about Read more

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Sample “Direction of the Team” Letter

Posted on August 23, 2012 in Business Advice, Sports Please leave a comment

There are many reasons why fans stay and why they go – it’s not just about wins or the high profile player. It’s not just about the weather or the visiting team. For many fans, whether they remain fans or whether season ticket holders renew is based on the Direction of the Team. Particularly when there’s a change in ownership, worsening performance on the field or in the arena, or some significant change in personnel, many fans want to see some reason for hope. They want to know the Direction of the Team.

Last week, Houston Astros General Manager – Jeff Luhnow – wrote this “Direction of the Team” letter to season ticket holders (STHs). Check it out…

In short, he’s empathetic about the poor season, talks about lofty future goals, and tries to connect those dots with personnel moves being made. But one interesting thing he addresses is corporate culture. Although a large part of the reason for the letter is to convey hope and retain the STHs, one of the main ways to get the Direction he wants for the organization is to get everyone to experience winning, experience success. Even if this culture-building activity is starting in the minor leagues, Luhnow realizes that a change in mindset is required to truly change performance, and he realizes that changing a culture is a longer-term process.

So what’s the Direction of Your Team, or Your Business, or Your Organization? Clearly articulate it. Identify your “today,” and identify the desired tomorrow.

Define those activities that connect the dots between today and tomorrow, and make sure you intentionally change the culture at the same time.

Interested in improving your organization’s performance? Check out our Sports Industry Services! http://cssamerica.com/csssport.htm


Determine Who is Retainable

Posted on August 8, 2012 in Business Advice, Government, Sports Please leave a comment

I was reading this article on How to Project Customer Retention for a Subscription Business, and it reminded me of a project we worked on about 10-12 years ago for a local Chamber of Commerce.

Essentially, the Chamber was disappointed in their retention rate, and they wanted to improve it, and they had very aggressive goals. So aggressive were the goals that we started questioning whether the goals were based in reality or whether they were the proverbial BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal) that some executive pulled from thin air. The goal was a BHAG, and once that was determined, we proceeded to get the client focused on what percentage of members are truly retainable.

We’ve used this same approach in helping pro sports teams target a renewal rate, and we created a Retainable Rating system for helping Economic Development organizations prioritize their Touch Point Plans through their Business Retention & Expansion programs. In other words, understanding what percentage of customers/members/businesses are NOT retainable as well as who is more retainable than others helps in prioritization of retention efforts. It helps in work allocation. It helps in goal-setting.

There are 3 core ways to determine retainability (which are best used in conjunction with each other):

– Conduct research with existing customers/members/businesses and ask retention-focused questions.

– Review history in your own databases, comparing characteristics of past customers/members/businesses lost v. those retained and applying that data to existing clients.

– Talk to the employees and account representatives who best know those customers/members/businesses.

Add some realism to your retention goals. Add some prioritization and focus to your strategies. Add some reasonableness to what you expect of staff in managing relationships and retaining business.

Determine who is retainable.

Interested in improving your company’s customer service? See more at: http://www.cssamerica.com/


Put Your Fans’ Names on Your Uniform

Posted on June 21, 2012 in Business Advice, Sports Please leave a comment

You may have heard of “Harley Loyalty,” where some customers are such fervent fans of Harley-Davidson motorcycles that they’ll have the Harley-Davidson logo tattooed somewhere on their body.

Well one Italian soccer team is turning the tables. According to an article in Metro.co.uk, “Fans of Italian club Parma have been recognised in a unique way by their club, after it was announced the name of every season ticket holder will be sewn into their new shirt.”

That’s right. Imagine that happening in sports in the US. If you’re a season ticket holder of the LA Kings hockey team, your name would have been on their jersey during the Stanley Cup run. Maybe you’re a season ticket holder of the Miami Heat; your name would be on LeBron James’ jersey. How about Eli Manning of the New York Giants dropping back to pass in the Super Bowl with your name on his jersey – wow!

Sometimes it’s not about how to make your fans more loyal, but it’s about how to show loyalty to your fans. And sometimes it doesn’t take a ton of money to do so. Try not to focus on perks and benefits all the time; focus on methods of recognizing the fans.

We recently co-hosted a Twitter Chat about fan relations/loyalty (see our #fanexperience innovation center for details), and few of the ideas shared cost a lot of money. That’s because the ideas were based on relationships, access, and recognition.

Get creative. Find ways to put your season ticket holder’s name on your uniform.

Listen to our latest podcast episode on “Delivering the WOW Experience!”

See more sports-related blog postings at: http://serviceadvice.wordpress.com/category/sports/


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