Customer Service Tip of the Week | Customer Service Solutions, Inc. - Page 50

Home  /  Lift It Up – 9/12/23  /  Customer Service Tip of the Week

See the Customer’s Journey from Their Perspective- 7/7/26


That customer is face-to-face with you right now, and you are fielding their questions or delivering your service to them.  And oftentimes and understandably, we are so immersed in the moment that we don’t think about what came before or think enough about what comes next. But in the life Read more

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

•••••

Lift It Up – 9/12/23

Posted on September 12, 2023 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

I worked with a great client for several years who was in a leadership role in the education industry, and she was the executive champion for a culture-strengthening initiative.  We were the outside firm helping to develop the overall strategy and facilitate the teams addressing the various aspects of the culture.

She often used the phrase Lift It Up.  If there was an important topic, concern, or goal that needed to be known more broadly throughout the organization or brought to the attention of leadership, she would say that we needed to Lift It Up.  If there was a best practice being utilized in one school which could benefit many other schools, she’d say that we needed to Lift It Up.

What it Means to Lift It Up

When you’re making the effort to lift something up, you’re making something a priority.  You’re making an issue or a concern or goal or an opportunity known.  Lifting something up is a positive thing; it’s like you’re recognizing the thing or the people that made that thing work, or that needs to work better.

How to Lift

So, let’s address this from a customer service perspective in a very tangible way, particularly lifting up positives.

Who can you lift up?  You can lift up the co-worker who does something above and beyond.  You can lift up your boss when they’re exhibiting the behaviors of exceptional leadership.  Lift up your customer for bringing something to your attention, doing their part in the process, or being kind and respectful, despite the circumstances.

What can you lift up?  You can lift up best practices of the facility or on a website.  You can note some change that made life easier on staff or on those that you serve.  You lift up examples of documents or posters that remind people of the organizational values or customer service standards.  You can lift up that information received from customers, sharing how that’s helpful.

To whom can you lift it up?  Lift it up to leaders so that they’re aware of excellence on the part of your co-workers or best practices that could be used in other areas of the organization.  Lift it up to your co-workers so that they feel appreciated.  And lift it up to customers for the same reason.

To infuse positivity and best practices in your organization, Lift It Up.

Signup for FREE Tips!    Contact Us    More Resources for You    Visit Our Home Page


Addressing the Horror Story that Wasn’t – 9/5/23

Posted on September 5, 2023 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

You may have seen the commercials for one of those garden hoses that fits in your pocket.  When you put it on the valve outside your home and turn on the water, it expands to 50 feet.  When you’re done and turn off the water, it contracts and fits right back in your pocket.

Jamie had only been at his new job for 2 weeks at the hardware store, and he witnessed just how important some of these expandable/retractable hoses are to the homeowners.  A frantic homeowner came in – somebody who had bought one of these hoses from one of Jamie’s co-workers a week ago, and the customer was upset.  She had been so excited about the new hose, but when she turned on the water, it did not expand fully; when she turned off the water, it didn’t contract.

It was a garden hose emergency!  Oh, the horror!

Now, for 99% of us, a garden hose that doesn’t fully expand or contract is not the end of the world.  And maybe to this customer, it was not the end of the world either; however, she was initially so excited about a product that was, now, not performing as designed.

Jamie’s first thought was: This customer is WAY overreacting.  But his second thought was: I better not convey that I think she’s overreacting.

Luckily, Jamie had some training on Key Principles of Situational Service.  So, he provided some Empathy, explaining his understanding of what went wrong to the customer, what she expected to happen versus how the hose actually performed.  He was Patient with her, listening and not rushing her along.  He tried to be Helpful, facilitating a resolution, whether it was initially with the use of the hose and then finally finding an alternative.  He Explained the product exchange process and Why the process was needed, and he did everything with Respect and Courtesy.

Sometimes the issues you are presented with seem like they should be no big deal, but for whatever reason, they are a big deal to the customer.

Apply Jamie’s Key Principles of Situational Service to make sure all of these situations turn out well from the customer’s perspective.

Signup for FREE Tips!    Contact Us    More Resources for You    Visit Our Home Page


Be There ALWAYS for the Customer – 8/29/23

Posted on August 29, 2023 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

In healthcare, the patient experience mantras often include the phrase Always, such as: We have an always culture.  This gets at frequency of action.  Instead of service excellence being a most-of-the-time occurrence, some-of-the-time occurrence, an occasional or rare occurrence, the idea in an Always Culture is that the organization is highly consistent in its attitudes, behaviors, and actions toward and for the customer.

Therefore, this focus on Always is essentially a focus on consistency.  Organizations that talk about Always are typically addressing specific behaviors or actions that are documented, expected, trained, and rewarded.

As an example from one of our clients, they try to always be Caring.  This means they always treat others with dignity; they are always courteous; they are always trying to be helpful.

They’re always Committed to the organization, viewing their facility and their work as something to take pride in, something to care for so that the professional image is exhibited in their locations and in all they do.

They try to always convey Teamwork, where they respect and appreciate the contributions of co-workers.  And they understand their co-workers to be the organization’s greatest asset.

Finally, they always strive to operate with Integrity – this means maintaining confidentiality. They’re always honest, they strive to be ethical in their decision-making. They are accountable for their actions and their inactions.

So, what is something that you should work on, and by “work on” we mean: What is one important aspect of customer service where you could be more consistent?  With what aspects of your attitudes and actions can you get to Always?

See where your customer service lacks consistency, and strive for Always.

Signup for FREE Tips!    Contact Us    More Resources for You    Visit Our Home Page


« Previous   1 2 ... 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 ... 224 225   Next »