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Seamlessness - Why the Customer Thanked You - 6/23/26


This doesn’t happen enough nowadays, but the employee received a long thank you e-mail from the customer.  A financial services account manager had taken care of the client during a period of time that was stressful for the customer. Life was unexpectedly changing quickly, and personal emotions, additional financial responsibilities, Read more

When to Avoid the Escalation - 6/16/26


The customer calls with a complaint, and the easy thing to do is to escalate it to your supervisor. That may also be the right thing to do, but how do you know when to avoid the escalation? Why You Would Escalate The first thing to consider is why you would Read more

Let’s be Clear on Clarity - 6/9/26


When trying to manage expectations, it’s vital to be clear with the customer.  But what specifically does it mean to be “clear?” Clarity is in the eyes and ears of the beholder, so what may be clear to one customer may be unclear to another.  However, there are some basic Read more

Allow Yourself to Solve a Couple Puzzles Every Day - 6/2/26


Frank had never been a dog owner before, and when he first got Bosco at the shelter, Frank didn't really know what he was doing.  He would try to be a good parent - feed the dog, play with it, take it on walks - but he was doing Read more

Improve with a Purpose - 5/26/26


If you’re reading these customer service tips, you likely want to get better.  You want an idea, a technique, a reinforcement, or a question that helps you improve. But why improve? At some point you may waver on the commitment to improve, because it can take effort, introspection, time, and change.  Read more

Reciprocate the Thanks - 5/19/26


Jasmine had a great experience with the company, and the company sent her a link to provide an online evaluation following the visit.  So, she clicked the link, gave a rating, and made a comment about her experience. The company monitored their online reviews, saw the positive response, and replied Read more

Don’t Skip the Recap - 5/12/26


The playoff hockey game goes on for almost 3 hours.  There’s non-stop action, with plenty of penalties and takeaways and hits against the boards…and a few goals, as well. You didn’t get to watch the whole game because you had other plans, but you wanted to know what happened.  So, Read more

Finalize the Solution with the 6 Step Checklist - 5/5/26


In last week’s Tip, we showed why and how to Use the 6 Step Checklist before Resolving the Issue.  We noted the importance of taking 15 seconds to mentally walk through the Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How to feel confident that you know what’s needed to fix Read more

Use the 6 Step Checklist before Resolving the Issue - 4/28/26


We talk about trying to resolve the issue right the first time, sharing the technique on how to manage the conversation to get clarity on the real issue, need, or goal, and confirming your understanding before moving forward. But what are you trying to clarify?  What are you trying to Read more

Use the Customer’s Words - 4/21/26


The customer is describing a problem on what they call their “computer.” They mentioned that the “screen” doesn’t “move from one page to the other.” They say that the “website’s name is typed at the top,” and it says sample.com with a “line, and then it says ‘home’ after Read more

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To Banter or Not to Banter – 5/12/15 TOW

Posted on May 12, 2015 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment


I love some good banter or chit-chat – it’s great for informal conversations with friends, family and co-workers. But when is it great for customer conversations?

First, let me define “Banter” in a customer context. Think of it as conversation about a topic that most likely has little to do with the customer’s need, issue, or question. You’re initiating a discussion about nothing pertinent to the conversation (e.g., Where are you calling from? Where did you get that beautiful bracelet? The weather has been crazy this year here, hasn’t it?).

So why would you ever have some light-hearted banter with the customer? There are many times:

  • When there’s downtime during the call – You want to keep the conversation going.
  • When the customer is NOT irate or angry – It’s too risky when they have that negative emotion to go off-topic – that may upset them unless you’re REALLY talented at defusing those emotions.
  • When you’re trying to learn more about them – You’re trying to show interest in them as an individual customer.
  • When it’s the beginning of the relationship – You want to know them better to serve them better.
  • When they clearly have time – Banter is more readily accepted by those more likely to be patient (not in a rush).
  • When they have NOT been waiting long – It takes time to banter – see their situation before bringing up other topics.
  • When you’re doing a task (on the computer, etc.) where they are waiting for your process to end – They won’t feel it’s a waste of time if they can tell that you’re still being productive.
  • When you’re trying to reduce the perception of wait time (such as a long stay in a waiting room) – It shows that you noticed them and are aware of them despite the fact that no service is being performed at that moment.

 
Banter? Chit-chat? Sure. Just be smart about when you do it.

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Dealing with the First-time Fan – 5/5/15 TOW

Posted on May 5, 2015 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment


Customer service people, those in relationship management, those in call centers, those called service reps – they all at some point or another have to deal with the new customer. In sports, we call them the “First-time Fans.” These are the customers with the highest rate of turnover, and are therefore a huge priority for retention for organizations.

Instead of addressing the retention of the new customer from a strategic perspective, let’s look at it from the perspective of a representative. The customer is Jay. What is Jay like?

If you had to generalize Jay, he’s an unknown. You know less about Jay than any other customer in your business. He bought your service – but why? Was it a low cost offer (like a ticket discount), a service he never needed before (like outpatient surgery), or simply his moving near your business that drove him to your company?

He could be friendly, he could be open, he could be a techie, or maybe he’s a family man. He could make over $100,000 per year, he could anger easily, he could love your team, he could be impatient, or he could be very analytical.

He could be all of those things – or none.

Jay is the great unknown. He’s also beginning what could be a long journey with your organization. All customers are special, but view Jay as special in a slightly different way.

View him as a fountain of information. Someone so unknown, that that makes him intriguing. Jay is really James Bond; he’s 007; he’s someone new and exciting.

When you see Jay or the new patient, or the new customer, or the First-time Fan – get intrigued. Get inquisitive. Convey excitement about his newness.

Realize that to best meet his needs today and to keep him for the long-term, you have to get to know him. Ask questions; note the answers. Learn more and more so you can keep him longer and longer.

Let the intrigue of the new customer lead you on a quest to get to know them.

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Don’t Let it Stick – 4/28/15 TOW

Posted on April 28, 2015 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment


Many American college football teams have the tradition of putting special stickers on their helmets. The stickers are an award for a great play. A player at Ohio State may have 20 Buckeye stickers noting all the great plays they made, while a Florida State player may have lots of tomahawks on their helmet. The more stickers you have, then the more great plays you must have made – and everybody can see that you must be a fantastic player!

Imagine you wore a helmet at work, and you get a Star on your helmet every time that customer compliments you, that patient says you did something great, or that account thanks you for going above and beyond for them. However, every time your boss berates you, every time that customer complains to you, and every time that account holder sends you a nasty e-mail, you get a big red “X.”

As you walk around the office you see others’ helmets, and they see yours. You get a perception of who is great and who is awful by the Stars and the X’s you see, and others also get a perception of you.

By wearing these helmets, the opinions and comments of others dictate how you’re perceived, but you can never let the opinions and comments of others dictate how you perceive yourself.

If we let those words and emotions of others “stick” to us, then we’re letting others determine our worth and our self-image.

Instead, we need to find ways to let the only stickers that matter to be those that we give to ourselves. At the workplace, we need to find ways to congratulate ourselves for small successes, to give ourselves Stars for being responsive, to add a sticker for focusing on that customer or co-worker like they are the most important person in the world.

I’m not saying we should build our own ego, but I am saying that we need to feel good about what we do for others, and if we rely on others to identify our value, most of us will be selling ourselves short.

Don’t let the opinions and comments of others “stick” too long.

Fill up your own helmet.

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