Customer Service Tip of the Week | Customer Service Solutions, Inc. - Page 19

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Gaining the Benefits of the Greeter- 6/30/26


Most likely, we’ve all entered some establishment – a retail store, restaurant, or service center - when there is a greeter at the door.  The most famous greeter position is probably the Walmart greeter.  I often thought that my father-in-law would have been a fantastic Walmart greeter, because he Read more

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

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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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Don’t Turn the Customer into the QA Department – 6/10/25

Posted on June 10, 2025 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

Roberta received a form with information filled in by the company after her conversation with the account rep.  Roberta just needed to review the information, fill in some of the blanks, sign it, and resend it in order to set up a new account.

She noticed that the effective date was listed on 2 different pages, and the dates were different.  On page 2, it was noted that no deposit was required, but on the page asking for a credit card or bank number, it had a deposit figure listed.  The location to send any correspondence to was listed, but she was aware that the company had moved its offices two weeks ago to a different location.  However, “the straw that broke the camel’s back” was that her name was spelled wrong in the form.

Roberta thought that she still wanted to go with this company, but she lost some confidence.  She began to question whether a company that was this sloppy in signing up a new client would be just as sloppy in other aspects of the experience.

Luckily for Roberta, she caught all the issues before she signed anything.  Unfortunately for Roberta, the company had turned her into their quality assurance department.  They hadn’t taken appropriate efforts to ensure that what she was being provided was complete, accurate, and consistent with what she was told, so now she doesn’t trust the company.

When a company and its employees don’t take the time to thoroughly review information before it’s provided to the customer, when they haven’t thought through the content from the customer’s perspective before sending it, then they are putting the responsibility on the customer to identify issues, to initiate a corrective action process, and to proof updated forms.

Thoroughly review information before sharing it with the customer so that the company doesn’t lose credibility.  Find ways to make your information, your requests, and your advice clear and high quality.

Don’t turn the customer into the QA Department.

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Imitate to Improve – 6/3/25

Posted on June 3, 2025 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

Oscar Wilde said that “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.”  Now this doesn’t mean that plagiarism is the sincerest form of flattery.  Nor does it mean that great impersonators such as Rich Little, Dana Carvey, or Frank Caliendo are always offering flattering portrayals of those that they imitate.

Wilde’s statement essentially means that it’s a form of praise to imitate the actions or words or approach of someone else.

In business, we call that identifying and applying best practices.

For an individual in customer service, we can apply this “imitation approach” to our work, as well.

Do you have a co-worker who handles themselves in a way that you consider exceptional?  Maybe it’s in difficult situations or with difficult people.  Potentially it’s just how they answer the phone or how their attitude maintains positivity or open-mindedness throughout the day.

*** Identify specifically what they do, potentially ask them about their attribute, and try to apply that best practice.

Have you ever been a customer that’s been served by an employee, and you thought: “Now THAT was excellent customer service!”  Or… “that person is really, really good at their job.”  Or… “that individual must love what they do!”

What about that employee made you feel like they were delivering excellent customer service, made you feel like they were good at their job, made you sense that they must love what they do?

*** Again, identify that attribute, and apply it in how you engage and interact with others.

“Flatter” others by imitating their best practices.

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