Customer Service Tip of the Week

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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

When They Might Walk Out the Door…Permanently- 7/21/26


Have you ever had one of those conversations with the customer where they literally tell you they’re about to stop doing business with your company?  This is it.  They may bring up a competitor or found another way to get their need met, or they are just leaving. When we Read more

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Manage New Customer Expectations – 8/11/26

Posted on August 11, 2026 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

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 used to having to park far away at the race, not used to delays because of the weather, and not used to dealing with the heat or the elements or whatever Mother Nature would toss out at any point in time.

The local municipality has leadership that focuses on providing cost-effective services.  They want to keep the taxes down.  They want to be efficient.  The community has grown by 50% over the last 15 years, with the vast majority of the residents coming from the Northeast and the West Coast.  Those residents are used to having more municipal services, more frequent trash and recycling pickup, more same day appointments available.  And when they try to get those services done, or done more frequently, or done same day, they’re often irritated by the fact that the municipality does not do what others did elsewhere.

When you’re dealing with new customers, you’re often dealing with people who have expectations, but they’re not necessarily basing those expectations on previous experience with your company.  They’re often basing their experiences on similar but different activities, different services, different locales.

We can’t assume “how we do things around here” is realistic to them because they’ve not been “around here” before.

View every new customer as someone with – likely – different expectations than your repeat customers.  And, as we’ve said many times before, the gap between expectations and reality could be a problem.

Proactively set realistic expectations with new customers.

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Complement Empathy with Action – 8/4/26

Posted on August 4, 2026 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

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 piece of paper, writes a prescription, throws it in the hole, and walks on.  Words.

A little while later Paul walks by the hole, and the man in the hole yells to Paul “Please help me!  I’m in this hole, and I can’t get out!”  Then Paul jumps in the hole with the man, and the man looks incredulous and says “You dummy!  Why did you jump in the hole?  Now we’re both stuck!”  And Paul says “Because I’ve been down here before…and I know the way out.”

This is not a new story.  It’s just one that I modified a little bit to illustrate a point..

So, here’s the point.  The doctor is a customer service representative (CSR).  And the customer – the man in the hole – has an issue.  The CSR shares a few words and goes on to his next task.

Paul is a different CSR.  And call it empathy or call it sympathy, but Paul goes beyond sharing a few words.  Paul gets in there with the customer, and works side-by-side with the customer to figure out how to get out of the hole…how to fix the issue…how to find a resolution…together.

There are some customers that just want a little guidance when there’s something that needs to be fixed, but there are others who are much more in need of and appreciative of you when you’re willing to work with him or her.  You’re willing to see that they’re stuck, and you’re willing to jump into that hole, give a little bit of empathy, and help them dig themselves out of their predicament.

Find opportunities to work side-by-side with the customer while you’re empathizing with their situation.

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My 8-Minute Visit at the DMV- 7/28/26

Posted on July 28, 2026 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

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 appointment online and decided to go that route instead of showing up and hoping for the best at some other office.

When I pulled into the parking lot, there was only one space available.  When I walked in, I was confused.  The waiting area was nearly full, and immediately to my right there was a police officer who was doing some kind of administrative task with some of the customers.  I waited for a second wondering if he was working with the DMV.  It turns out that he was with the Highway Patrol, a group that shared the space with the DMV, and many (or most) of the people there were waiting to talk with the law enforcement staff.

So, I went around the corner to the other side of the waiting room, and the DMV office was there.  An employee immediately walked by and said “somebody will be with you shortly.”  A few seconds later, a gentleman walked up and asked me for my appointment number or my phone number to confirm the appointment.  Still standing, he tapped a few buttons on his computer screen, printed out a number for me, and told me to wait in one of the seats in the lobby.  He twice said somebody would be calling me “very soon” to one of the numbered windows, and he pointed behind him at the windows.

After sitting for less than 10 seconds, they called my number and asked me to go to Window #5.  The lady confirmed why I was there and asked me for my identification documents.  She told me when and why to sign the keypad multiple times.  She then told me to put my back against the wall and look straight at the camera to have my picture taken for the ID.

She said “look to your left at the screen, and you’ll see the photo.”  And there I was in all of my closed-eyes glory.  She apologized for taking the picture too quickly, and she took it again.  I told her I was going to be going on a trip and asked if she thought I would get the Real ID before then, and she said she hoped so, but – just in case – she instructed me to bring certain documents with me to the airport.

From the moment I walked into the DMV to the moment I pulled out of the parking lot, it was less than 8 minutes.

Negative reputations which many businesses (like the DMV) have are often well-deserved.  But great processes, communications, instructions, attitudes, and systems, can slowly turn the reputation around – at least for certain locations.

If the DMV can deliver a great customer experience, we can all deliver a great customer experience.

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