Customer Service Tip of the Week

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Is This Good Customer Service? - 9/29/26


A friend of mine reached out to me recently as she waited for the electrical technician to show up at her house to do some minor repairs.  She had never worked with this company before, but they sent a text about the tech who was soon to arrive. The message Read more

Ownership when Fixing Others’ Errors - 9/22/26


We were conducting training with a client recently, and one of the participants, Jackie, is in a role in his organization where he goes out to the customer site to investigate issues, address customer complaints, and fix problems.  While he’s at the site, he often gets an earful from Read more

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

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Why Your Customers Would Leave – 5/30/17

Posted on May 30, 2017 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment


We’ve written several TOWs over the years on Client Relationship Development, Touch Point Planning, and Retention & Growth strategies, and all – in some way, shape, or form – address Retention Drivers. We’ve offered many examples of Retention Drivers for particular industries like Sports, but let’s discuss how you determine the specific Retention Drivers for your business.

Why do customers stay with your company…and why would they leave?

Here are several questions to consider in order to uncover your customers’ unique retention drivers:

  • Why did they buy from your business in the first place, and is that part of the reason why they would buy again?
  • What aspects of their experience in working with your business have a significant impact on their decision to buy again?
  • What is it about the brand or reputation of your company that resonates most with them – and makes them want to be affiliated with you as a customer?
  • How much do they value having strong customer service and account relationships with your organization and your people?
  • How do they define “value,” and how important is value in their decision to return?
  • What is the most important factor in determining their willingness to return, and how do they perceive that your organization performs in that factor versus competitors?

Note that most of these questions focus on what’s MOST IMPORTANT to them and what actually drives decision-making. Keep in mind that many people will say that Price or Convenience or Customer Service or Speed of Delivery is important to them, but what actually causes them to choose Company A v. B?

Also note that these questions force us not to make assumptions. For example, don’t assume that the reason they bought first is why they continue to buy. Don’t assume that how you define your company’s competitive advantage matches how your customer perceives your business v. competitors.

Ask yourselves these questions (better yet, ask your customers), and learn their unique Retention Drivers.

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Self-Scouting – When it’s all about You – 5/23/17

Posted on May 23, 2017 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment


Every professional football team scouts its next opponent. To scout, you look at the other team. What’s their style of play? Who are their stars? What are their tendencies? What are their strengths and weaknesses?

The better the team knows its opponent, the better it can plan to perform its best – trying to mitigate the other’s strengths and capitalizing on its weaknesses.

But these teams also “self-scout.” They analyze their own team as if they were the upcoming opponent. They evaluate themselves just like an opponent would do so. It’s a way for the team to assess and improve itself. Self-scouting is a tool used to continually stay self-aware, fresh, and improvement-oriented.

So if you’d like to be a little more self-aware, fresh, and improvement-oriented, try a little self-scouting.

What is your communication style? Are you energetic or flat? Are you proactive or reactive? Do you ask, or are you passive? Are you overly chatty or concise? Then ask yourself whether any aspect of your style could be improved to have more effective outcomes, more efficient conversations, more relationship-building rapport.

In what ways are you a star? Is it your energy, attention to detail, follow-through, or organizational skills? Does your team-oriented way of supporting others or your natural method of engaging people make you stand out? Answer these questions, and find ways to “Strengthen Your Strength.”

What are your tendencies? Do you talk over the customer or – conversely – let them go on talking forever? Do you think too much about other things (or do other things) when engaged with the customer? Does your patience wane late in the day? Are you too critical of yourself? Of others? Of the customer?

Getting better requires that we understand how we are today – our style, our strengths, our tendencies.

Do a little self-scouting.

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A Dent for Dana – 5/16/17

Posted on May 16, 2017 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment


There was no hot water in the house when Dana got home from work, so she walked downstairs to the basement to find a mini flood. Apparently a neighbor had put so much yard waste into a sewer drain that – after a heavy rain – water got backed up…and flowed right into Dana’s basement – yuck.

More than that, the water rose high enough to burn out the hot water heater – a wet basement and no hot water…joy.

But Dana had a good attitude about it; the water and gas utilities came out quickly to find the cause of the problem and to diagnose the issue with the water heater. In the end, the yard waste was cleared out, the water level went down, and there was no other lasting damage – except for a dead water heater.

Dana contacted two companies, and the winner was selected to install the new water heater. The installers were nice, discussed the process with Dana, and worked independently in the basement as Dana worked upstairs. When they were finished, they left. How did Dana know they left? She saw them driving away.

So she checked the water, and it was starting to warm. Then she went downstairs to look at the beautiful new water heater, and it had a big dent in the bottom. Dana’s heart sunk. “I didn’t pay for a used water heater.” “I hope it’s not damaged inside.” “I hope it’s safe, and the gas lines aren’t compromised.”

Dana frantically began googling and after about 30 minutes realized it was probably just a cosmetic issue, but she was still frustrated, upset, disappointed – you name it. She called the company, and the manager said he’d check with the installers and call Dana back.

When they called back, the manager stated that they dented it during the install, but it was just cosmetic – no internal issues. He offered a discount to Dana on any future service.

While there are a lot of issues with this true customer service story, here’s where I’m focused. This customer had just purchased something new, something to address an issue she didn’t cause with the basement flooding. Yet, through it all she had a good attitude.

Then the employees dented the water heater, didn’t tell the customer, and drove off – leaving Dana having spent hundreds of dollars to alleviate an issue only to have that resolution cause her anxiety, frustration, and upset.

Nobody’s perfect; we all make mistakes; accidents happen (Yes, I’m rolling out every excuse – uh, “explanation”). But that does not mean that accidents are irrelevant.

We need to own up to our mistakes with customers; be willing to apologize – even for the accidents. Initiate the conversation with the customer and be willing to say “I’m sorry,” even before the customer knows there’s an issue.

It’s about being proactive and professional.

Learn from the Dent in Dana’s Water Heater.

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