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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

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

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Find Your Special Sauce – 9/23/25

Posted on September 23, 2025 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

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 everything.  Mistakes occur, interceptions are thrown, there are times when he passes and should have run…and vice versa.

I am wowed by musicians – people who can make incredible music on a guitar.  People who can play 10 different songs on a piano at the drop of a hat during a church hymn sing.  Great drummers who can somehow wield two sticks on drums and symbols while also using their feet to bang the bass drum.  But unless you’re a 1-man band (or Prince!), you’re probably not great at all those instruments.  While you may be great at playing instruments, you may not be the best singer or lyricist.

My point is that stars are stars for what they do, but that doesn’t mean that they are great at everything.

Defining Stardom

I’m sure if you’re reading this tip and you’re in a customer service role, you’re either a customer service star already or you have the capacity to become a star.  Now whether you’re that star athlete or that star musician or that star customer service professional, find your special sauce – those 1 or 2 things where you’re already greater or have the capacity to be greater, and continually strengthen it.

Define YOUR Stardom

Become a star because you know how to calm those irate customers.  Become a star because you have an incredible depth of knowledge about your organization’s products, policies, processes, and people.  Hone your skills as a star in how you engage people with your body language and your tone and how you can read others and – on the fly – adjust your communication approach to meet what will work best with them.

In this day and age, it is way too UNcommon for people to be stars in business writing, to be able to craft communication pieces and e-mails that convey the specific information, make the other person feel heard, and create clarity in a concise manner on what the next steps are, when they’ll happen, and who’s responsible.

Hone your star skills for teamwork.  Not only supporting your teammates but understanding your specific role on the team and learning how to strengthen the traits that make you such an important member of your group.

Be a customer service star by understanding what is unique about you and what you bring to the organization, to the team, to the customer.  Then make a conscious effort to build your star talents, attitudes, and attributes.

Become a Customer Service Star.

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Don’t Harp on the Customer’s Mistake – 6/24/25

Posted on June 24, 2025 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

Seth’s daughter, Sarah, had missed some swim classes, and Seth remembered that the aquatics center had several make-up classes available late in the summer.  So Seth pulled up the class schedule on his phone, found one that worked on his and Sarah’s schedules, and planned to attend a session the upcoming Friday.

When the make-up day arrived, Seth and Sarah entered the aquatics center, walked up to the receptionist, and asked if Sarah could use one of her make-up classes that day.  The receptionist, Roberta, asked if they had called or e-mailed in advance to confirm Sarah could drop-in for a class, and Seth responded “No.  Was I supposed to?”

While Seth had remembered the fact that make-up classes were offered, he didn’t remember (and didn’t check) the policy that stated parents had to contact the aquatics center first to reserve a spot.  Seth messed up; he was wrong.

Now, many employees may roll their eyes, say something under their breath, or simply say that they couldn’t help because Seth didn’t follow the policy.

Instead, Roberta reaffirmed the policy, said that “unfortunately I can’t guarantee we have an opening today,” but shared “I hope there is space available.  Let me check.”  Roberta smiled, was hopeful, but didn’t make any promises.  She didn’t criticize the customer.  She just educated the customer, empathized, and excused herself to go check with the instructor about availability.

Seth turned to Sarah, smiled and said “let’s cross our fingers!”

A couple minutes later, Roberta returned and was excited to tell Seth and Sarah “Yes!  We have a spot for you today!”

Sometimes the customer is wrong.  But that doesn’t mean our attitude needs to go negative.  Sometimes we can correct the customer, and do it so professionally that the customer is understanding and hopeful, not frustrated and angry.

Don’t let a customer error create your own customer service error.

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Energy v. Apathy – 4/22/25

Posted on April 22, 2025 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

I asked a couple friends who are much more scientifically-oriented the question: What is energy?  I didn’t mean E=MC2.  I meant physiologically, what is energy?

They described a lot of things that sounded really good, yet far too advanced for my non-medical mind.

Part of the reason why energy is of interest is…well…I always wish I had a little bit more.  But as it relates to customer service, energy is of interest to discuss because it’s generally a good thing.  Especially as an employee interacting with a customer, energy can convey interest.  Energy can convey action.  Energy can convey the willingness to do what is needed.

Apathy is the last thing you want to present to a customer.  It conveys that you don’t care, you’re focused on something else, that they don’t really matter.

So how do you convey more energy than apathy?

People who convey energy typically are doing some customer engagement with their eyes, with their body language.  There is a focus on the other person; you’re looking at the information they’re handing to you; you’re only briefly looking at the computer to access something for the customer before shifting your focus back to the customer.  Energy is having inflection in the voice instead of the verbal flat line.  It is nodding and giving the thumbs up v. being motionless, and having a blank stare.

When you’re in front of the customer, think about conveying a little bit of energy, a little bit of positivity. Because lack of that physical engagement – lack of movement – often suggests a lack of caring.  It suggests apathy.

Show the customer that you are engaged and that you care.  Convey energy over apathy.

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