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Acting on the Guiding Principles for Great Customer Service - 11/19/24


In last week’s tip, we shared 5 Guiding Principles for Great Customer Service.  This week, let’s address what “taking action” looks like on those key principles.  If last week was about what to do and WHY, this week is about the HOW. Engage with Interest: To engage with interest, proactively Read more

Guiding Principles for Great Customer Service - 11/12/24


It’s hard to know every procedure, every policy, every technique possible to handle every situation correctly.  After all, maybe our procedures are standard, but our customers are not.  Maybe our policies stay pretty consistent, but our customers’ needs and issues, their attitudes and actions can change from customer to Read more

From a Simple Question to an Exceptional Experience - 11/5/24


Phyllis loves her job.  It’s not just because she loves being a customer service representative, not just because she really likes her co-workers, and not just because she enjoys her company.  It’s because she really appreciates her customers, as well. A customer had ordered a register book off the company Read more

Fix One Problem without Creating Another - 10/29/24


If you’ve ever had an issue with your dishwasher, this will sound familiar.  I’ve dealt with so many dishwashers over the years, and they always seem to have some kind of an issue.  Maybe it’s because of the mix of water and technology, but for whatever reason, these never Read more

Delight Your Customers - 10/22/24


Buddy the Bug Man was different.  His company was new, and the only reason why Janet tried him out was that the service she had used for years just wasn’t working.  Whether it was mosquitoes in the yard, ants in the kitchen, or cockroaches flying through on their way Read more

A More Complete Definition of Responsiveness - 10/15/24


I was purchasing something recently that was being custom-developed.  At one point, the company’s employee and I had a good 20 e-mails going back and forth - 10 from each of us.  Unfortunately, I broke my own rule, and I did not pick up the phone after 2 or Read more

Have a Game Plan to Address Their Anxiety - 10/8/24


It seems like we all get deliveries - whether it is UPS, USPS, FedEx, Amazon, the local courier, or all the above.  We order.  They deliver.  Or do they? It’s times like these, when we’re expecting that package, that item that we’re looking forward to or need urgently or are Read more

How Persistence Saved the Day - 10/1/24


Sherrie saw the customer walk into her store holding his cell phone, and Sherrie immediately knew that was William.  She had spoken to William on the phone about an hour ago, he said he would be at Sherrie’s cell phone store in less than an hour, and there he Read more

Notice the Little Changes - 9/24/24


“My, how times have changed.” Yes, times have changed.  As a matter of fact, one of the biggest reasons why an organization’s customer service deteriorates is that times have changed…customers have changed…and the company has not… If we think about customer service delivery today v. decades ago, changes in technology alone Read more

Don’t Hurry…Be Quick - 9/17/24


No, this is not a take off on the Bobby McFerrin song:  Don’t Worry Be Happy. It’s actually a take off on the John Wooden quote:  Be quick, but don’t hurry. When I read Wooden’s book with this title, I liked the concept, and not just because John Wooden was a Read more

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Be Slowest, and Be the Best – Chick-fil-A – 10/13/20

Posted on October 13, 2020 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

About one week ago, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution had an article that analyzed the results of a SeeLevel HX research engagement on the customer experience at fast food restaurants.  The results were seemingly contradictory.  The fast food chain with by far the overall best drive-thru experience was Chick-fil-A, and yet Chick-fil-A was by far the slowest drive-thru.  While the average drive-thru takes 5 minutes 57 seconds according to the study (from line entry to receipt of food), Chick-fil-A averaged 8 minutes and 9 seconds during the research.

So how can you be so slow and yet be considered the best?  Well for Chick-fil-A, one thing to keep in mind is that, on average, they had three times the number of customers in line as the other restaurants.  At the other restaurants, you’re behind 2-4 other cars when you arrive, and about every 1-2 minutes you move, but otherwise you’re sitting.  Also, when you pull in you’re usually near the ordering microphone, and you can see where people are receiving their food just ahead of you. It’s so close, yet it’s so far!!

At Chick-fil-A when you pull in, you’re often at the end of a “horseshoe” line on one side of the restaurant, and the customers receiving their food are on the other side.  There could be 10-15 or more cars ahead of you.  So even though you’re waiting 8 minutes, about every 30 to 45 seconds you’re moving forward – you feel like you’re making progress.  And when you can finally see the front of the line, you’re almost there!  All the while that you’re in line, you are being engaged by employees out in the parking lot who are taking your order, taking your payment, walking with you, and making sure that even the wait is a positive experience.

Even though you’re in line 2-2.5 minutes longer at Chick-fil-A, you’re moving more.  You’re engaged more.  And you’re having a better overall experience.

Yes, Chick-fil-A is considered the best for a lot of reasons from a customer service perspective, but one of the reasons is that even the waiting experience itself is actually far better than competitors.

Learn a little lesson from Chick-fil-A.  Find ways to be the best, even if you’re not the fastest.

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Connect During Customer Service Week – 10/6/20

Posted on October 6, 2020 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

It’s Customer Service Week…woohoo!  This week should be all about the customers we serve and the staff who serve them.  This should be about conveying we value other people, and – hopefully – having other people convey that they value us.  It’s a week about people – about us.

This should be a week about creating, rekindling, and continuing to connect with others.

So, how do you connect with someone – particularly with an individual you’ve never met before today?  Here are some quick tips:

Create Comfort.  The more comfortable someone is with you, the more willing they are to be open with you, and the more willing they will be to listen to you.  Create comfort with your voice, your patience, and the general environment that surrounds your conversation.

Ask Another.  The more inquisitive you are about the other person – understanding them and their unique situation – the more likely they are to engage with you.  Asking questions gives them an opportunity to share, and it gives you an opportunity to listen.  People connect more with those who they feel listened to them.

Name Names.  Share your name right off the bat, and use their name frequently during the conversation.  Names personalize.  Names create rapport.  Names help to connect.

Uncover Commonalities.  The more the other person can relate to you or feel like you’re relating to them, the more comfortable they would be, and the deeper connection that will be created.  So, empathize with their situation, even if you haven’t experienced the exact same thing.  Highlight some aspect of them, their background, their situation that has some commonality to you, your background, or your typical days.

To connect during Customer Service Week, create comfort, ask another question or two, name names, and uncover commonalities.

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Temper the Tone of THE VOICE – 9/29/20

Posted on September 29, 2020 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

The television show The Voice is a singing competition.  The opening episodes of every season begin with individuals singing while judges have their backs to the singer.  The judges can’t see the singer, so they are evaluating the performer purely based on their voice.

Oftentimes, when the judge turns around, he or she is SHOCKED at the look of the performer.  Maybe the judge figured the singer would be a bigger person because they have a deep voice, or the judge assumed there would be an older person singing because of the control that they had in their voice.

The judges’ perceptions of the individual are often wrong, but those are based on the voice that they hear.

Our customers are very similar.  Until they really get to know us, they often judge our personalities or what they think of us, and that judgment is largely based on our voice.  If it’s a telephone call, it’s almost exclusively based on our voice.

But how many of us really think about our voice when we’re talking with someone?

Well, we should think about it, regardless of whether we’re talking to a family member we’ve known for 30 years or a customer we’ve spoken with for 30 seconds.

The tone conveys a message:  Are you bored or engaged?  Are you happy or upset?  Are you distracted or focused?  Do you care or not?

And often the positive attributes of voice involve characteristics such as having some fluctuation.  The positive attributes involve having a little pace without talking too fast, talking just quick enough to show some energy and enunciate enough to be understood.  They involve emphasizing the most important words, and the attributes involve a little bit of tempo instead of a staccato – an almost excessive emphasis on each syllable.

When you want to come across in a positive way to the customer, view them as a judge on The Voice.

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