Customer Service Tip of the Week | Customer Service Solutions, Inc. - Page 10

Narrow Your Focus to Seek Excellence - 4/1/25


You’ve probably heard companies use phrases such as: “We want to go from being good to great.”  Maybe they’ve said: “We strive for perfection, and although we’ll never reach perfection, maybe we can achieve excellence along the way.” These organizations find some kind of a catch phrase or slogan, but Read more

Avoid the Unfriendly Ghost - 3/25/25


Last week we talked about the qualities of “PERKI Customer Service,” essentially what attitudes and actions are characteristics of those who provide great customer service.  This week, let’s take the opposite approach.  What are some of the mistakes that people make?  Maybe these are mistakes of omission or commission; Read more

PERKI Customer Service - 3/18/25


After having worked on hundreds of projects over the years with thousands of thousands of individuals, some things become pretty clear. There are certain traits held by people who are great in customer service.  Look at this list, and do a self-assessment.  Which apply to you? Positive and Patient Do you Read more

It Helps to Downshift - 3/11/25


One of the first tips I heard when I was learning how to drive related to what to do when the brakes fail - downshift.  Shifting into a lower gear can slow down a moving vehicle.  I would explain this in technical terms to you, but considering I’m not Read more

Patience is… - 3/4/25


Patience is a…pain in the neck.  Why is it so hard to be patient?  Those of us who work in customer service know that we constantly have to show patience with our customers.  We’re ready to move to the next step or the solution because we’ve heard this issue Read more

Everybody Doesn’t - 2/25/25


Joey received the compliment, but he was confused.  Paula, his boss, and Joey had their monthly one-on-one meeting, and Paula noted that, although he was new, Joey was already doing a great job!  While there were learning curves on some of the organizational policies and the technology that he Read more

A Simple Phrase to Transform Your Customer Feedback Approach - 2/18/25


I went to a restaurant called Big Ed’s (no relation) in Raleigh, NC recently.  It’s basically country cooking with fantastic breakfast options!  On the menu there was a quote that said: If you enjoyed your meal, tell a friend.  If not, please tell us. That was an excellent statement that embodies Read more

What Phones and Football Have in Common - 2/11/25


Congratulations!  You made it through weeks/months of hype for football’s Super Bowl!  You made it through hundreds of pregame shows and podcasts, endless debates on things endlessly inconsequential, 10 hours of pre-game shows on Sunday, what seems like 100 commercials designed specifically for the “Big Game,” and the longest Read more

Create Awareness of Alternatives - 2/4/25


Sandy was hungry, and she was on the move.  Driving between meetings, she saw the restaurant sign and pulled in.  The fast-food restaurant had two drive-thru lanes.  One was for any customer who wanted to place an order on the spot. The other was for mobile orders only.  The Read more

Listen with Your Eyes - 1/28/25


Out of the corner of his eye, Patrick saw the customer enter the lobby.  The customer was carrying a large shoulder bag with several papers in her hand.  The customer was shuffling the papers and looking down; then she stopped, looked up, and saw the staff navigator sitting at Read more

Notice the Little Changes – 9/24/24

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“My, how times have changed.”

Yes, times have changed.  As a matter of fact, one of the biggest reasons why an organization’s customer service deteriorates is that times have changed…customers have changed…and the company has not…

If we think about customer service delivery today v. decades ago, changes in technology alone have affected consumer expectations, methods of communications, level of engagement or interest, and the effort customers have to put in to gather information.

What’s Changed in the Past Year?

But let’s look in a shorter window than “decades.”  Let’s think about the last 12 months.  If part of delivering great customer service is to continuously try to improve, here’s a quick question to ask yourself to identify improvement opportunities: What about your customers has changed in the last 12 months?

Really dive into this question.  Has your mix of customers changed, by age, by some other demographic, by preferred communication method, by first-time customers v. long-term customers, by the attributes they expect to get out of the actual product or service you’re providing?

Has their satisfaction level with your organization gone up or down in the last 12 months?  Have competitors become stronger or weaker in your customer’s eyes in the last 12 months?  Are customers more likely to seek an answer via AI before giving you a call?

Improve Based on Changes You’ve Identified

Based on your answers to these questions, see what unique opportunities you can uncover…

If your customer base becomes older – with a higher percentage aged 60+ – have you adjusted your approach to callers or walk-ins?

If your customers are more focused on the experience they receive, not just the product or service itself, have you modified how you greet them on the phone or in-person, how quickly you respond to them, how intuitive your mobile app is, how self-evident it is to navigate your facility, and how you gauge your own performance?

If your customers are using AI before they contact you, how proficient are you with AI?  If they are getting their basic questions answered before calling using AI, have you prepared to deal with more educated customers, more complex questions and scenarios than you were a year ago?

Sit back for a few minutes, and think about what is different from a year ago, particularly with your customers. Use this information to improve.

My, how times have changed.

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Don’t Hurry…Be Quick – 9/17/24

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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

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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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