Customer Service Tip of the Week

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Why “No” is So Important - 9/15/26


The employee told the caller: “I don’t think that is possible.” The customer eventually hung up, and redialed to ask a different employee the same question. The employee responded to the customer: “That’s probably not the best way to do it.”  Then, the customer kept asking question after question, arguing Read more

It’s Not “You,” It’s “I” - 9/8/26


During a business writing course that I took years ago, the instructor had us write an e-mail.  I can’t recall if it was written to a co-worker or customer, but after writing this e-mail, she had us count every “I” and “You.”  We talked about how we need to Read more

It Shouldn’t Make a Difference, But… - 9/1/26


We have this conversation with lots of our sports clients, but the principles apply across all different industries.  Too many service representatives view a conversation with a customer as a transaction.  Just get him off the phone as quickly as possible.  The customer is Joe Public, not Joseph Pendergrass.  Read more

Use What the Customer Gives You - 8/25/26


Scenario #1: The customer sent an e-mail to the general inbox at the company.  The message noted that the customer needed to get a family member added to their account, but they couldn’t tell from the website how to do so. The next morning an employee opened up the e-mail, Read more

How Better Customer Service is Better for You - 8/18/26


Oftentimes, we have employees in training or workshops who really want to understand what’s in it for them to deliver better customer service.  How does the employee benefit from a better customer experience? Noted below are 5 different aspects of a great experience desired by the customer.  What if... The customer Read more

Manage New Customer Expectations - 8/11/26


The fan had never been to a motorsports event before, but they had been to concerts.  They had been to big conferences.  At those other events, they could park right next to the venue, many of the activities were indoors, and weather was a non-issue.  So, they were not Read more

Complement Empathy with Action - 8/4/26


A man falls into a hole, and he can’t get out.  He starts yelling for help, and a doctor walks by and looks down the hole.  The man in the hole yells to the doctor “Please help me.  I’ve fallen into this hole!”  And the doctor takes out a Read more

My 8-Minute Visit at the DMV- 7/28/26


I needed to get a Real ID, which in North Carolina facilitates airline travel and other identity verifications.  My wife suggested I go to one particular DMV that was a LONG way away from home, but where she had experienced great customer service.  I was lucky to find an Read more

When They Might Walk Out the Door…Permanently- 7/21/26


Have you ever had one of those conversations with the customer where they literally tell you they’re about to stop doing business with your company?  This is it.  They may bring up a competitor or found another way to get their need met, or they are just leaving. When we Read more

Transparency in Customer Service- 7/14/26


We’ve worked with a lot of clients in the local government sector, and many of these clients have Customer Service Standards and/or corporate values that include Transparency. Think about an old-fashioned transparency sheet, that malleable see-through page you put on an overhead projector.  You can see everything on one side Read more

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Don’t Mistake Kindness – 9/3/19

Posted on September 3, 2019 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

I have a friend who does a lot of things for a lot of other people. He sometimes has a hard time saying “no,” and he really works hard to try to be kind to others. But occasionally some of those for whom he does good works will ask him to do things that they can do themselves. Sometimes they will ask him to do some work at their house in the late afternoon or evening for a couple hours after he’s already worked a full day at his own job.

At times like this, he occasionally vents to me, and the phrase he uses is “Don’t mistake my kindness for weakness.” His point is that – just because I’m good to you and kind and courteous, doesn’t mean I’m a weak person.

I agree with that statement wholeheartedly! For those of us in customer service, we try to be kind to others. We try to be helpful to others. We are in the business of serving others, so we want to do what will help the customer or the co-worker. That being kind and considerate and courteous has nothing to do with weakness. Being selfless or caring or compassionate should not suggest to people that they can take advantage or walk over us.

It’s a personal and professional strength to be empathetic enough to understand others. It is a strength to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous complaints and unrealistic expectations and irrational actions of others, and to be able to handle it in a professional way that moves that conversation along, gets to a resolution, and creates some closure.

It takes a strong person to succeed in service.

So, don’t view your positive and selfless and kind qualities as a weakness, because if you view it as a weakness, you know that the other person will view it as a weakness. Realize that it’s your strength, and it’s not an excuse to allow others to take advantage of your good nature or your good deeds.

Don’t allow others to mistake your kindness for weakness. Believe in the strength that you have to be good and do good for others.

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Do Anything, but Not Everything – 8/27/19

Posted on August 27, 2019 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

We work with a lot of educational organizations, but this Tip of the Week applies to virtually any kind of business that has repeat customers. To deliver great service, be willing to go above and beyond, do virtually anything for the customer. But in the world of colleges and universities, most of those organizations of higher education also have the mindset that they have to help their students grow, mature, develop over their time in school. It’s important to put the responsibility and the resulting accountability on the student so that they take ownership over the action, and they can do it on their own in the future. By helping them to develop some independence, in the long run it is actually saving time for the university personnel as well.

Think about using this approach with your customers, particularly if you deal with repeat customers. These might be land designers who have to submit multiple plans to a local government to develop some property. These might be season ticket holders for a professional sports organization who need to learn how to manage their tickets on their own. This could be patients in a hospital who need to be able to understand their discharge instructions and provide good self-care after they’ve left the facility.

So there is a line of demarcation. You want to have the attitude and the willingness to do ANYTHING for the customer, but it’s rarely the best long-term approach to do EVERYTHING for the customer.

Think about those things that they are well-equipped to do or that they’re going to need to do multiple times in the future. Think about how independent they want to be or need to be. Think about their desire to easily do something and to have the comfort and confidence to be able to take that action.

When you’re considering your approach to customer service, do anything, but not everything.

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Be Generous to a Fault – 8/20/19

Posted on August 20, 2019 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

People who think they’re generous to a fault usually think that’s their only fault – American Journalist Sydney Harris.

This quote reminds me of someone who views themselves as a giver – someone who is so humble that he likes to humbly tell everyone of the gifts he’s given, good deeds he’s done, and, of course, his humility.

I give, give, give, never take – Radio personalities John Boy and Billy being facetious.

It’s a great thing to SINCERELY give to others, especially in the world of customer service, but it’s also good to be a giver with co-workers. It’s not only about your team winning, but it’s about your being a winning member of a team.

Generosity gives assistance rather than advice – French writer Vauvenargues.

Now we get to the meat of what giving and generosity mean, particularly in the workplace. If you want to be a great team member, be a giver. Be generous. But to do so, there are 2 key things to understand.

First, what are your gifts and resources – that which you have to give? Think about your experiences, who you know, what you know, your skills, your personal qualities, that inventory of abilities that are above the average. What is your level of compassion and caring, your energy and passion, your will to do a great job or to help others? Before you can give a gift, lose the humility for a few minutes, and write down the answers to these questions. Create a personal inventory of your own gifts.

Second, understand that generosity is more than advice – it’s assistance. There’s a difference between telling someone what they should do (or – worse yet – should have done) and actually assisting the other person. What experience or resource can you pull from to help them help themselves? What clear direction can you point them in for them to take? What way of communicating can you use to impart your true desire to help them? How can you go beyond “should-ing” on people or simply stating a fact (“That won’t work”) to being helpful…to assisting?

Be a member of a winning team by being a winning member of your team – be generous.

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