Customer Service Tip of the Week | Customer Service Solutions, Inc. - Page 49

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Pressure is a Privilege, but... - 1/13/26


When athletes are asked about the pressure of a playoff match or a late-game situation, many times they will say that “pressure is a privilege.”  In other words, usually pressure exists because you’re in a match that matters most.  It exists because you are a player put in a Read more

While I’ve Got You on the Phone… - 1/6/26


I’m a big planner.  Whether it’s strategic planning or planning out the year or planning my week first thing on a Monday morning, I like to plan.  I do this because it gets all of my action items documented and ensures that I have some understanding of what I Read more

Pass the Quick Impression Test - 12/30/25


Some studies have shown that people create an impression of you in less than a second when they first meet you face-to-face.  Other studies have shown that that initial impression can take up to 7 seconds.  Regardless, first impressions are quick.  First impressions are not always the lasting impression, Read more

2025 Holiday Poem - 12/23/25


We hear the word change And that change can be good, But we like things to stay same, And sometimes they should.   The weather can be wet And then dry as a bone. We know things will change, Even if all left alone.   Our customers change. Our co-workers do, too. It seems like our resources Are often too few.   The technology Read more

Make the Long Wait Feel Shorter - 12/16/25


When Greg entered the Tax Office, he was thinking only about two things: (1) How he was going to get the tax value on his home reduced, and (2) Whether the wait would be 1 hour or 2.  He checked in with the navigator who asked a few questions, Read more

When Kindness Means More in Customer Service - 12/9/25


Since a large part of the work we do at CSS includes customer research, we have seen tens of thousands of comments over the years about staff, and it is great to hear the positives that customers, fans, and account holders say about our clients’ team members. One word that Read more

Don’t Create the Second Complaint - 12/2/25


Maria was upset.  Rightfully so.  The product delivery was delayed, she couldn’t get anybody on the phone, and nobody would reply to her e-mails.  So, she went down to the store, and she found a customer service representative. After the initial greeting, the employee listened to Maria’s complaint.  While Maria Read more

Refresh on the Reasons to Appreciate the Customer - 11/25/25


This is a great time of year to give thanks, not just because it’s Thanksgiving week in the United States, but also because – with 2025 coming to a close - it gives us the opportunity to do some reflecting on the recent past. The idea of reflecting on reasons Read more

Confirm the Customer is Cleared for Takeoff - 11/18/25


An airplane pilot is told when they’re “cleared for takeoff” before they begin to accelerate down the runway.  The air traffic controller (ATC) has looked at everything in front of the pilot, on the runway and in the air space, and checked to ensure the pilot is good to Read more

Build Relationships with First-timers - 11/11/25


We’ve worked with one of our sports clients for over 10 years, and although the main focus of our work is research with their fan base, we also provide informal consulting advice and guidance whenever possible.  One approach we’ve talked about on and off for years is the need Read more

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Communicate Crisply – 4/11/23

Posted on April 11, 2023 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

I try to make these tips around 300 words, but oftentimes I’m North of 400.  I work hard to pare down the words because I don’t want one or two core points being lost in a barrage of verbosity.

Phrases like lost in a barrage of verbosity are the things that might come out of my mouth initially.  But I try to avoid these phrases when sending messages because I want to be clear to the person with whom I’m speaking, so that they can more quickly and easily understand.

Part of how you convey respect in customer service is how you communicate with others, and one often overlooked method of communication is writing.  Our e-mails, in particular, could be more clear, more crisp.

When I say crisp, look at your e-mails sent to co-workers and customers.  Can the key information be gleaned in under 60 seconds?

If not, here are a few quick ways to make your writing crisp:

  • Take out the prepositional phrases. Did I really need to write “to the person with whom I’m speaking” above?
  • Eliminate the acronyms that are going to create follow-up communications requesting clarification.
  • Go for the shorter sentences rather than the long.
  • Use those bullet points.
  • Highlight the 1-2 points that you want them to take away from the message.

 
Be clear, but be a bit of a minimalist.

I naturally use a lot of words when I write, so I have to proof and narrow my initial draft.  Maybe it takes me an extra minute, but out of respect for the customer/co-worker, I try to pare it down so they can quickly and clearly understand what to do next or what I’m trying to convey.

In business writing for customer service, communicate crisply.

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Improve Co-worker Rapport to Improve the Customer Experience – 4/4/23

Posted on April 4, 2023 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

The movers were packing up the house.  It was a stressful time for Janine.  She was having to move her aging parents to a new city in a new State to help care for them.  The parents were leaving behind friends and a community where they’d lived for most of their lives.  Janine and her sister were doing all of the planning, working through all the logistics, and spending all the time and the efforts and the lack of sleep to make the move happen.

As she was working with the moving company, packing up the house, it would have been easy for Janine to let the burden of the situation overtake her.  But in the moment, there was something that made the packing and the moving experience more pleasant.

Even when she wasn’t talking to the moving team, she was noticing them.  They were talking with each other.  They used respectful tones.  There was smiling and occasional laughter.  They were productive and moved efficiently, but there was still a professionalism and a politeness with how they interacted with each other.

In short, the employees got along with each other.

For Janine, the overall environment in the home was noticeably more upbeat, more energetic, more positive, and more collaborative.  The atmosphere and the experience were much better because the moving team had a rapport with each other.

For organizations that care about the customer, oftentimes they focus the customer experience on their engagement with that individual.  But when more than one employee is involved in a conference call, at an in-person meeting, some kind of video conference, how the staff engage each other also has an effect on the feel of the experience.

Convey the pleasantness, politeness, productivity, and professionalism with your co-workers that we’re all expected to convey with our customers.

Improve Co-worker Rapport to Improve the Customer Experience.

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G.A.B. – The Survey Guiding Principles – 3/28/23

Posted on March 28, 2023 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

You’re excited!  The company has okayed your conducting a survey, and you immediately think of a half dozen questions you want to ask every customer.  You document your questions, get input from others, and all of a sudden you have a Word document with 36 questions instead of 6.  Now, what do you do?

Some clients engage us before they get into the particulars of the survey instrument.  Other clients come to us after they’ve already created that 36 question survey.  In either case, before you dive into the details of the survey questions, here are 3 Guiding Principles that could govern your decision-making about the overall design of the survey:

Goal-driven – Make sure that the questions are addressing your overall goals for the research.  The goals should drive what information you seek, which should drive the structure of the survey and the wording of the questions – it shouldn’t be the other way around.  Create the survey instrument around your goals, and when you have that draft put together, make sure each question aligns with what you’re trying to accomplish.

Actionable – For each question, give consideration to what would be done with the information.  Could you act upon the results?  What will the metrics potentially tell you? Are you evaluating attributes against each other, against historical data, against national benchmarks?  And how are you going to act differently based on ratings?  For the open-ended questions, are you going to utilize the common themes to improve operations, change strategies, reward and recognize others?  If the question is not actionable, why would you even ask?

Balanced – Ensure that there is a relatively even mix of questions seeking positives as well as questions seeking opportunities for improvement.  This is something that few of our clients consider.  Some clients are primarily looking for constructive feedback – and the tone of the survey can get the customer thinking too negatively and elicit too many negative stories.  Others are looking just for positives to use to market themselves internally or make themselves look good.  Instead, the survey should be balanced.  Research should help you to identify what is not working well while also helping understand where you can strengthen your strengths.

Let the goals of the survey drive the focus of the questions.  Ensure that the questions are structured to be actionable.  Create an overall balance of identifying what could be better as well as knowing what already is providing a great customer experience.

Design your survey to align to the G.A.B. Guiding Principles.

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