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Don’t Hurry…Be Quick - 9/17/24


No, this is not a take off on the Bobby McFerrin song:  Don’t Worry Be Happy. It’s actually a take off on the John Wooden quote:  Be quick, but don’t hurry. When I read Wooden’s book with this title, I liked the concept, and not just because John Wooden was a Read more

4 Actions for the Customer - 9/10/24


One way to look at the difference between proactive and reactive is that proactive is something that’s often done before it absolutely has to be done.  Maybe it’s something done that really doesn’t have to occur, but your professionalism takes over, and some action or communication that you know Read more

Don’t Kick the Problem Down the Road - 9/3/24


The error was obvious.  Shania is a clerk at a local government office, and she could tell that something was wrong with the permit request.  She was about to reject the request because the address was invalid. If this would have been handled like the normal process, Shania would have Read more

Reflect the Best of Your Customers - 8/27/24


When Alice walks into a business, whether it’s a restaurant or government building, whether it’s a Goodwill or a grocery store, she has a certain way about her.  She’s the customer, and it’s not unusual to hear her say to the employee:  Thanks for being here today! It’s not unusual Read more

Create Your Personal Motto - 8/20/24


Take a look at these mottos: It’s the real thing. Just Do It. Have it your way. Betcha can’t eat just one. Breakfast of champions. Do you know the companies?  The answers are at the bottom of this tip. So why am I asking you about mottos?  And why do almost all of them make me Read more

Create MAGIC with Your Customers - 8/13/24


Years ago, we worked with the Orlando Magic in the NBA, and they needed more consistency in their customer service – they needed a standard of engagement with the fans and their account holders.  They were trying to identify the “Orlando Magic Way” – their desired customer experience with Read more

Build Strong Customer Connections - 8/6/24


We’ve worked in health care, education, local government, finance, pro sports, and many other industries.  And while our clients’ customers are often different, their specific scenarios for engaging those customers are different, and policies and procedures are different - there’s one thing that is pretty similar.  And that is Read more

Running Late in the Rainstorm - 7/30/24


The mom was a little panicked.  She had just left work and had run into an unexpected popup rainstorm, and traffic had come to a halt.  She was on her way to pick up her 4-year old at childcare.  The facility had a policy of charging a fee for Read more

Use AI to Improve Your Performance - 7/23/24


Many companies are integrating Artificial Intelligence (AI) into some aspect of their business.  This could greatly change how they operate, how they communicate with customers. This AI wave reminds me of a story from 20+ years ago when a stock brokerage firm launched a new website that greatly enhanced the Read more

The New Burger Experience - 7/16/24


Floyd loves a good hamburger. Any chance he gets to try a new spin on an old standby, he takes it. Recently, a burger joint opened near his house, and Floyd was very excited! It was owned by and named for a world-renowned chef, so it had to be Read more

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Don’t Hurry…Be Quick – 9/17/24

Posted on September 17, 2024 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

No, this is not a take off on the Bobby McFerrin song:  Don’t Worry Be Happy.

It’s actually a take off on the John Wooden quote:  Be quick, but don’t hurry.

When I read Wooden’s book with this title, I liked the concept, and not just because John Wooden was a great basketball coach and – apparently – a great person. With his UCLA Bruins college basketball teams, he had success that has never been rivaled – having won 10 NCAA tournament championships.  And that is not a typo – 10!

Wooden said that if you’re in a hurry, you make mistakes.  He doesn’t want mistakes.  He wants achievement.

In order to be quick, it helps tremendously to know what to do.  You can achieve more if you’re quick, efficient, with little wasted motion or effort.

I guess that a less creative way to say “Be quick, but don’t hurry” is to say: You can achieve more the more you know, and the fewer mistakes you make.

Never lose sight of the fact that hurrying through things can hurt the quality of your customer service.  Rushing conversations, speeding through forms and documents without reviewing, avoiding a QA check because “I’ve done this 1000 times,” or skipping a few process steps – these all can result in mistakes, in issues, in rework, in complaints.

And never forget that the more you invest in your knowledge of people, processes, systems, policies, and places, the better equipped you are to handle things right the first time, and usually with less help.

Look at your job through the eyes of a master teacher – Be quick, but don’t hurry.

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4 Actions for the Customer – 9/10/24

Posted on September 10, 2024 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

One way to look at the difference between proactive and reactive is that proactive is something that’s often done before it absolutely has to be done.  Maybe it’s something done that really doesn’t have to occur, but your professionalism takes over, and some action or communication that you know in your gut should be performed is performed.  Reactive is an after-the-fact action.  You’re in that tennis match, and somebody just hit a volley over the net, so now the ball’s in your court.

In customer service, oftentimes we have advanced knowledge of what could happen, or we know before the customer what did happen.  And the difference between proactive and reactive in this case is that we are initiating contact with the customer or on behalf of the customer when we’re being proactive.  When being reactive, we rarely act on that advanced knowledge, and therefore find ourselves reacting when the customer learns of the issue in some other way than hearing it from us.

With proactive communications, we’re more in control because we’re initiating the engagement.  With reactive communications, we’re often dealing with the emotions of somebody else and are unprepared emotionally or informationally.

Let’s assume that it’s usually better to be proactive than reactive; so, here are 4 actions to consider if you want to be more proactive:

Give the Update: Let the customer know if there’s going to be a delay, if things are on track, what next steps they need to consider.  Keep them in the loop without them having to ask for an update.

Follow-Up: After a purchase or a request is filled or an issue is resolved, touch base with the customer to ensure they got the need met and they’re satisfied with the result.

Suggest Something Beneficial: If you know the customer and their needs well, recommend a product or service that might be helpful to them.  Selling is not a bad word in customer service if what you’re suggesting benefits the customer.

Remind about Maintenance: If they need to update their account information, download a mobile app, do routine maintenance on a car, or fill out some paperwork, give them a friendly reminder so that they’re not in a situation where they miss a deadline or are dealing with something out-of-date.

To do something with tangible benefits for the customer, take these four actions.

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Don’t Kick the Problem Down the Road – 9/3/24

Posted on September 3, 2024 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

The error was obvious.  Shania is a clerk at a local government office, and she could tell that something was wrong with the permit request.  She was about to reject the request because the address was invalid.

If this would have been handled like the normal process, Shania would have marked the request as rejected, and the resident would receive an e-mail within the next week that was automatically generated from the system.

The message would simply say that the request had been rejected and for the resident to contact the local permitting office.

Pause to Find the Cause

But instead of doing what’s normally done, Shania made a little extra effort.  She decided to do a little investigation.  She found out that the resident had submitted the request by filling out a form, and that one of Shania’s co-workers entered the information into the permit request system.  What the resident wrote down and what was keyed into the system were different.  The co-worker had made a keying error.

Shania updated the information in the system, so the permit was officially completed correctly and was allowed to continue through the review process.

Consider the Impact Beyond the Moment

Shania’s simple act of patience, this simple investigation, this simple questioning why somebody would have put in an invalid address – these actions avoided a lot of issues.  The resident didn’t have to wait a week for a rejection notice that they would have to follow-up on and address.  A co-worker wouldn’t have been brought under scrutiny by an angry customer for the error.  The delay in the permit process for the customer would not happen. Additional work for the team to reprocess the request would not have to happen.

By being patient, asking herself a couple key questions based on her experience, and discerning what would be the best approach overall rather than what would be most expedient in the moment – these actions resulted in a better customer experience and time saved for her team.

Pause to find the cause, instead of simply kicking the problem down the road.

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