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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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Listening to the Employee’s Voice – 1/27/15 TOW

Posted on January 27, 2015 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment


The “Voice of the Customer” is an often-heard phrase. We have a sports research program called the “Voice of the Fan.” These are ways of describing that organizations either need to simply listen to their customers, or they need to have a 12-month strategy for tapping into customer feedback and input to continuously improve.

But what about the employee? Do they have a voice, and what is the voice saying? Most companies realize that asking the customer is the best way of obtaining the “Voice of the Customer.” But few realize that asking employees is the second best way of learning the “Voice of the Customer.”

Employees – particularly those on the front line, are the ones engaged with the customers many times daily. Employees hear the complaints, the confusion, and the questions. Employees hear what make customers say “thanks” and what makes customers frustrated. Ask your employees about your customers – it’s the best customer research money you’ll NEVER spend!

Don’t stop there. Apply your “Voice of the Customer” strategy and principles into creating a Service Culture. Your organization hires employees, but does it ask them why they chose your organization and what expectations they have about the employee experience? Your company “onboards” employees, but does it have 1 week, 1 month, and 90 day check-ins with new hires to gauge whether those expectations are being met and how they’re feeling about their job and your organization?

Think about your employee vets. Are the longer-term staff asked about processes and policies that are barriers to the great customer experience? Are veteran employees asked about the current climate, training needs, or potential system changes (BEFORE they’re implemented)? Is there documented information on how proud they are to work for the organization and how engaged they are in the company’s mission and vision?

We love conducting customer research for our clients, but in your effort to provide a great experience for your external customers, don’t forget your internal customers.

Listen to the Voice of the Employee.

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For Some, It’s All About This – 1/20/15 TOW

Posted on January 20, 2015 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment


We often say that companies need to make it “Easy” on the customer to do business. It needs to be easy to schedule a doctor’s appointment. It needs to be easy to renew season tickets. It’s got to be easy to reserve a park shelter. We’ve got to make it easy for parents to register their children for school.

By let’s look at “Easy” as it relates to logistics. We did a brief research study for a grocery chain many years ago, and we asked where customers shopped and why. The #1 reason why people shopped at a particular grocery store was its proximity to their home. It was all about…convenience.

You have to make it convenient for the customer to get to your products/services, your policies/procedures, your processes, and people.

How close – literally – are you to your customers? Can those customers who prefer or need the face-to-face get to you quickly?

How about those that prefer the phone? Can they call one basic number as the window to access all your services, all the answers to their questions? How accessible is the number to the average first-time customer?

Think about those loving the web and smart phones for communication – is contact with your organization available at a click or a voice command? Is your business (again) literally at their fingertips?

Before working to make your organization incredibly easy to deal with once the customer gets to you, first make yourself convenient to them.

For Some, it’s All About Convenience.

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Do More Than What You Say You’ll Do – 1/13/15 TOW

Posted on January 13, 2015 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment


During a meeting with a client who was trying to work through a culture change, the question was raised about how they could change a culture of broken trust.

WOW! That’s a very direct and not quickly answered question. Many of the answers fall at the feet of organizational leaders – they’re the ones most responsible for creating an environment of trust. But let’s look at the question from a different perspective – the perspective of an individual team.

Many people believe that – to build trust – you must do what you say you’ll do. That way, the client, the co-worker, the peer – they all believe in your actions and begin to trust you.

But there’s a different type of trust, one that’s about more than the task. It’s your being able to trust others enough to open up to them, to share your thoughts, your concerns, your ideas, your critiques, and your feelings. This kind of trust requires you to be willing to communicate what you’re thinking and feeling.

This trust is not as easy as “doing what you’ll say you’ll do.” This is about your being trusting enough in how others will respond, how they’ll respect you and what you share. This is about your willingness to open yourself up for the good of the team.

When trust on a team is lost, yes, team members need to rebuild it by saying they’ll do something, and then doing it. But if your team has deep trust issues due to new members, past conflicts, or some other reason – there need to be intentional efforts on the part of the individuals to share what they think and feel, to start the process of being open and trusting others. Being willing to open up is the first step in engendering trust from others.

Can you take the first step on your team? Tell them “I’m going to share something that I’m uncomfortable sharing, and I’m trusting you will listen and be respectful of me in the process.” Then offer your idea, your concern, your critique, your feeling, or your thought.

Start the process of building back team trust.

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