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Bear with Me - 3/31/26


As a customer, you’ve probably called a company and heard the phrase “bear with me.”  At that point, you know there’s going to be some sort of delay.  The CSR is giving you a heads up that there’s going to be additional wait time.  Essentially, they are trying to Read more

Slowing Down the Fast Talker - 3/24/26


Jeffrey had always been told by his manager to figure out the issue quickly and wrap up the conversation as fast as possible.  So, Jeffrey was hyper-focused at finding that one key word that could identify the issue and help him to transition quickly to what might be some possible Read more

Don’t Bury the Lede - 3/17/26


Mary was working at the office, and she received an e-mail alert from the water company.  There was a water outage in her neighborhood.  It looked like it was going to be a couple hours to fix the issue. Sure enough, a few hours later around mid-afternoon, Mary received another Read more

Confirm the Real Issue Before You Start Solving - 3/10/26


Have you ever gone “down the rabbit hole?”  It involves going deep into some topic, some discussion – with analysis that creates complexity as much as it resolves it.  And that dive into the rabbit hole often starts with a simple question. Going down that rabbit hole takes time and Read more

One Question to Prevent a Follow-up Call - 3/3/26


The way some performance metrics work, you would think companies would prefer for their staff to talk to the same customer 4 times on the same topic for 8 minutes each rather than talking to them once for 10 minutes.  Many management metrics are too focused on average length Read more

Stay Calm When the Customer Isn’t - 2/24/26


There are all sorts of others’ emotions that you have to deal with as a customer service professional.  The other person could be anxious or upset, they could be angry or agitated.  It can run the gamut of emotions, but for you to deal with them in the best Read more

Don’t Begin with the Dead End in Mind - 2/17/26


Habit #2 of Stephen Covey’s “Seven Habits of Highly Successful People” is “Begin with the End in Mind.”  It speaks to the need to have a clear vision or goal for what you’re trying to ultimately achieve, so you understand the purpose of what you’re doing.  It helps you Read more

Explain without Over Explaining - 2/10/26


The customer has a question, and we have an answer.  They need to learn something, and we’re in the position to be the educator.  There’s a process they have to go through, and we need them to understand. We know so much, and we could impart so much, but sometimes Read more

Look for a Stop Sign - 2/3/26


As a customer service professional, what you say matters.  The information you’re providing is useful.  The direction you’re giving the other person is helpful.  But... As you’re speaking, you also need to be reading.  Reading the other person.  Watching the customer, determining whether and how they’re receiving what you’re sharing.  Read more

When They Want the Supervisor - 1/27/26


Maybe you did your best with the customer, or maybe the customer didn’t even give you a chance.  They want to talk to your supervisor.  They see you, notice your title does not have “supervisor” or “manager” or “director” or “President and CEO” in it, so they want to Read more

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Highlight the Hidden Value – 7/1/25

Posted on July 1, 2025 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

Marketing campaigns often highlight a particular product and ALL the features and extras that the customer will receive…

“For 3 low, low payments of only $39.99, you not only get these world-renowned chef knives, but you can also get this free laser-etched spatula!  AND THAT’S NOT ALL!  We will also provide free shipping!  AND THAT’S NOT ALL!  You also get this 21st century space age colander.  That’s right!  AND THAT’S NOT ALL!  If you call in the next 90 minutes, we’ll send you a 3-in-1 corkscrew – that also serves as a laser pointer and a flip chart marker!”

That type of marketing works in some cases.  It provides an in-your-face series of incremental reasons to make a purchase.

But what about those behind-the-scenes series of incremental reasons for the customer to keep their business with your company?

Janine had a new HVAC tech come out to her home to do the quarterly maintenance, and she was impressed with how much time he spent working on the equipment.  She had no idea what he was doing, since he was in the crawl space or working at the outdoor unit all the time, but she was really pleased with the time he took!

Kareem was calling about a charge on his credit card statement that didn’t look familiar.  Not only was the price a number that didn’t ring a bell, but the merchant name didn’t seem like a company he had heard of either.  The customer service representative looked on her system, apparently investigated a lot of details about the transaction, and came back to Kareem with a description of the type of purchase, another name for the merchant business, and a course of action for Kareem to take.  Kareem had no idea how the CSR came up with all this information, but he was very pleased!

These are just two real-life examples of how the customer had a great experience.  They had no idea specifically what the employee was doing on their behalf, but the time investment from the employee and the outcome of the work performed made a huge impact on the customer.  Their impression was that they got great customer service.

It wasn’t in your face marketing that made them so pleased, engendered trust, and built loyalty.  It was the effort on behalf of the customer, the time spent, and the clear next step.

Sometimes the actions the customer never sees are the ones that build value the most.

Understand your hidden value and how much repeat customers appreciate it.

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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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Create Customers for Life – 6/17/25

Posted on June 17, 2025 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

Veronica has gone to the same automotive service shop for at least 20 years.  She bought a new car about a year ago, and this is the third car she’s brought to the shop instead of taking her car to the dealer where she bought it.  She’s had three different makes of car, yet she brings them all to the same service shop.  Veronica gets her routine service there, and if the car needs a repair, the employees explain what they’re going to do and why, and they give her options.  The repairs always seem to do the job.  She trusts the team.

Whenever Veronica takes her pets to the vet, the pets get treated like royalty!  The staff seem sincerely excited to see Clarabelle, the cat, and Floyd, her puppy.  Veronica has been going to the same vet for as long as she can remember, and she feels like the doctors and the team treat Veronica’s pets as their own.

Whereas many people go to the standard fast-food chains for lunch, Veronica goes to the local establishment – Doug’s Dogs and Delectables.  You can get hot dogs, hamburgers, crinkle fries, and even the occasional pulled pork seasonal special.  Doug’s has a drive-thru, and this is not what you would call high-end cuisine, but she can always get through the drive-thru in less than 5 minutes, the food is always hot and tastes good, and they never mess up the order.  It’s a predictable and positive experience.

Technically you cannot “Create” a customer for life, but you can do things that engender trust, convey you care, and offer positive predictability.

While different customers have different motivators, keep in mind that it’s hard to retain customers for the long term if they can’t trust the company.  It’s difficult to have a customer feel loyal to you if they don’t feel like you care about them as an individual.  And it’s tough to ensure they’ll want to come back again, if they have no idea whether you’re going to meet their expectations.

Find ways to create customers for life by building trust, conveying you care, and providing a more predictable and positive experience.

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