Customer Service Tip of the Week | Customer Service Solutions, Inc. - Page 42

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View Quality through the Customer’s Eyes - 10/14/25


Geri had been dealing with backups in the downstairs plumbing system of her house on and off for the past year.  The most recent company that she called in to unclog the pipes stated that they could send a camera down the pipes and tell her exactly where the Read more

Be Supportive, Not Defensive - 10/7/25


[An employee on the phone with a customer…] Who told you that you didn’t have to submit that form? … Bob?  Oh brother!  You see Bob is our “special” co-worker.  He seems to always tell customers the wrong thing to do, and we’re having to clean up after him.  Read more

Some Customers LOVE Predictability - 9/30/25


I was facilitating focus groups of businesses that utilize local government services.  The phrase that popped up multiple times was “Time Is Money!”  What these municipal customers were conveying was that their time was valuable, and delays were wasting their time.  But the conversations were not just about how Read more

Find Your Special Sauce - 9/23/25


When I watch a football game and I see a great quarterback (somebody who may be considered a “Star”), he might be an excellent runner, have a big arm, be able to diagnose the defense and get his team into the right play.  But he’s likely not great at Read more

Gain Control of the Conversation - 9/16/25


The customer’s angry or upset or they have a complaint.  They’re very chatty or very wordy or they just want to talk to somebody.  You’re on a time crunch, and the customer obviously is not. There are times when you need to gain control of the conversation.  It’s important for Read more

Complement with a Compliment - 9/9/25


We perform many tasks for our customers every day, and when we’re done with a step in the process, oftentimes we will tell the customer what’s been done.  But if we want to create more of a WOW experience, if we want to make the customer feel a little Read more

When Patience Begets Patience - 9/2/25


Jennifer, the server, walked toward the couple in the restaurant.  The customers had been seated for a minute or two, and they noticed the server was walking briskly toward their table.  Jennifer recognized the couple she was about to serve, because they had been in the previous week. Since the Read more

Address the Expectations that Were Set - 8/26/25


Before the caller ever got to Marco – the customer service representative, the customer had been working with the company for months.  They had read the marketing brochures, had a conversation with a sales rep, reviewed the new customer information on the website, and read all the information e-mailed Read more

When Technology Fails the Customer - 8/19/25


Technology is a wonderful thing…until it isn’t.  The website is down, the mobile app won’t work, the system keeps kicking them out of their account, or they received a spoofing phone call supposedly from your department. If you’ve ever been manning the phones or managing the department inbox, you know Read more

The Misunderstood Physician - 8/12/25


I was speaking with one of my personal physicians years ago, and when we were talking about my work – particularly customer satisfaction research - he started talking about online physician ratings.  He lamented that a few low ratings were dinging his overall score.  Then he shared that the Read more

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WOW with Welcoming – 6/6/23

Posted on June 6, 2023 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

Individuals, organizations, and even communities today seem to be more overtly focused on being welcoming to others.  In customer service, being welcoming is a key to a great first impression.  But what does it mean to be welcoming?

We defined Welcoming in one of our February Tips as:  Proactively engaging others in a natural, enthusiastic, and attentive manner.  Convey the energy, active nature, and positivity that we hope to see from our customers.

There’s so much in here that is not in the typical encounter with businesses today.  And since we call “WOW Moments” Unexpected Positive Events, then being an individual who is welcoming can lead to a lot of WOWs!

If you proactively engage others upon their entry, you’ll be doing something that most businesses do not.  You notice people and reach out to them first, taking the monkey off their back by your being the one to initiate the conversation.  If you’re enthusiastic and attentive, you’re going to exceed the experiences that customers have in other organizations, which too often seem ambivalent and distracted.

If you have energy and movement, that sense of action and engagement will often be transferred to the customer.  If you are positive, then your nature will be far different, far more enjoyable than most of what people experience in much of social media, if not life, in general.  And oftentimes, customers will reflect your energy and positivity with their own upbeat reactions.

Create Unexpected Positive Events in how you start your encounter with the customer.

WOW with Welcoming.

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Change on the Fly – 5/30/23

Posted on May 30, 2023 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

Situational service requires some advanced engagement skills.  It involves seeing each situation independent of any others, reading the moment, and changing on the fly to create the best possible customer experience and outcomes.  So, what are some keys to situational service?  Keep these guiding principles in mind:

Start Open-minded: When the customer engages you, avoid assumptions about them and their situation.  Don’t let the first impression cloud what might be the deeper issue or need, the background of the situation, the person themselves.  It’s more effective to start by being open, and then narrow the focus after gathering information; it’s less effective to start with a preconceived notion, and then have to later backtrack or restart the conversation.

Gauge the Emotion: While we focus on words, since that conveys much of the specifics of a situation, the emotions can convey how they feel about the issue or need.  Note in their tone and body language, specifically, how they feel so that you can use that information to determine how to handle the situation.

Uncover the Urgency: Determine whether time is a concern, whether that’s in-the-moment or for the final resolution.  That time consideration will help you to understand their feelings better, but it will also help you to understand whether to respond by reiterating timing and next steps, or to focus more on their feelings and solution options.

Adjust to the Situation: The first 3 guiding principles ensure you get the information you need (the facts, their emotions, and time considerations) to handle the situation most effectively.  Now, adjust.  Settle them down first, addressing any anxiety, anger, confusion, or upset with the right technique for the emotion, or move directly to the issue and solutions if the negative emotions aren’t present.  Be patient if they care more about the conversation and the process, or quickly get to the point if there’s urgency involved.

When you’re engaged with the customer, get the facts, gauge the emotions, and clarify times.  Then focus on providing the best service for the situation.

To excel in service, develop your ability to change on the fly.

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Try an Empathy Exercise – 5/23/23

Posted on May 23, 2023 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

We often note that empathy is the most important quality to have in order to be great at customer service.  Empathy enables you to view people uniquely.  It helps the customer not to feel like just a number.  And the more we can view people as individuals, the better chance we have of addressing their specific issue, need, or goal.

But what does it mean to view people uniquely?

To address this question, with one education industry client, we created the following exercise.   Without going into too much detail in terms of how we conducted the activity, let’s just say that, as a group, workshop participants filled in these blanks to paint profiles of different students at the college.

I am a _________________ student at this community college.

I have been at this college for _______________ (time).

I’m going to college in order to _________________________.

I enjoy the ______________________ aspect of attending this college.

Outside of classwork, the most frustrating part of being a student is __________________.

I also get confused by processes like ________________ and terms like __________________.

Form the Story

Once the blanks were filled in, stories started to be told.  For example, one student story formed:  I’m a veteran.  I have been at the community college for 6 months, and I’m going to college to start a different career.  I enjoy having affordable education near my home.  However, I am frustrated by miscommunications and difficulties with the advising process.  I got confused about refund policies when I needed to drop a course, and terms like SOP don’t make any sense to me.

Respond based on their Uniqueness

To build your own capacity for empathy, or to illustrate empathy to others, create your own Empathy Exercise.   Come up with similar statements for you and your co-workers to complete.  Fill in each blank, and then discuss the individual.  What makes them unique?  How should we address them, respond to them differently based on who they are, what they enjoy, or what is frustrating or confusing?

The conversations you have in addressing these two questions are some of the most important discussions you can have when trying to build a better understanding of and appreciation for your customers.

To build your ability to view people uniquely, try an Empathy Exercise.

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