Customer Service Tip of the Week | Customer Service Solutions, Inc. - Page 71

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Tell Customers What’s Next - 5/20/25


In most businesses that have been around for a while, how a process was originally designed is not how it currently operates.  Sometimes this change is referred to as “practical drift,” where the actual process moves further and further away from the documented steps over time.  Maybe the changes Read more

Questions to Guide You to Empathy - 5/13/25


“If I was him, I would do ABC…” If you’ve ever heard somebody say this - whether it’s a friend or acquaintance, whether it’s some TV reporter or podcaster - you may get as frustrated or as annoyed as I do. I get annoyed because we are not that other person. Read more

Negate the Nervousness - 5/6/25


The customer needed a loan, so he walked into the bank, but he was a little nervous.  He knew that launching his business would be easier if he had some working capital, but that’s about all he knew.  He was anxious because he didn’t know what to expect in Read more

Don’t Rush to Resolve Quickly - 4/29/25


The customer is angry, so you use the CSS LEAD technique as designed.  You, listen, empathize, accept responsibility, and deliver on a remedy.  But it doesn’t work.  The customer is still upset, and maybe even a little more frustrated than when you started…why?! If the use of this technique fails, Read more

Energy v. Apathy - 4/22/25


I asked a couple friends who are much more scientifically-oriented the question: What is energy?  I didn’t mean E=MC2.  I meant physiologically, what is energy? They described a lot of things that sounded really good, yet far too advanced for my non-medical mind. Part of the reason why energy is of Read more

Prep Enough to Personalize - 4/15/25


Everybody loves Howie.  He is an account rep for the local air conditioning and heating company.  When I say Everybody loves Howie, I’m definitely talking about the customers.  His co-workers love him too, but customers are especially fond of him.  They seem to really enjoy their conversations with him, Read more

Get Your Customers to Brag, Not Bolt - 4/8/25


Here are two customer retention concepts that we discuss with some sports clients: BIRG and CORF.  BIRG is Basking In Reflected Glory.  CORF is Cutting Off Reflected Failure. You want BIRG.  You want the customers feeling so good about your organization that they want to be a part of your Read more

Narrow Your Focus to Seek Excellence - 4/1/25


You’ve probably heard companies use phrases such as: “We want to go from being good to great.”  Maybe they’ve said: “We strive for perfection, and although we’ll never reach perfection, maybe we can achieve excellence along the way.” These organizations find some kind of a catch phrase or slogan, but Read more

Avoid the Unfriendly Ghost - 3/25/25


Last week we talked about the qualities of “PERKI Customer Service,” essentially what attitudes and actions are characteristics of those who provide great customer service.  This week, let’s take the opposite approach.  What are some of the mistakes that people make?  Maybe these are mistakes of omission or commission; Read more

PERKI Customer Service - 3/18/25


After having worked on hundreds of projects over the years with thousands of thousands of individuals, some things become pretty clear. There are certain traits held by people who are great in customer service.  Look at this list, and do a self-assessment.  Which apply to you? Positive and Patient Do you Read more

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Customers Want Easy, but Easy is Difficult – 1/12/21

Posted on January 12, 2021 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

New employees go through days of training to learn products and services.  They have formal workshops to learn how to use their office applications, web functions, and whatever programs are specific to their department.  They test new technology, and they get quizzed on knowledge of policies.  This is hours or days or sometimes weeks of training so that the employees can do their work consistently and effectively.

Customers of our companies typically go through no training.  There are no half-day workshops to learn how to lodge a complaint or request a refund or ask a clarifying question or check on a status.

Customers are not and should not be expected to be experts in our business.  Customers want EASY – Easy to find, easy to access, easy to understand, easy to use.

But Easy is difficult.

I once worked for an administrator in a hospital, and I noted how in certain aspects of operations, we needed to simplify some processes – make it easier on employees to deliver consistently high-quality service.  The administrator responded that his peers don’t think Easy is challenging. I replied:

Making something easy is actually one of the most difficult things you can do in business.

It’s not difficult to have a new procedure or policy, a new function or feature, and just add it on top of what currently exists.  It’s not difficult to just add 5 pages at the back of the standard operations manual.  It’s not difficult to just let incremental complexity grow on a day-by-day and year-by-year basis.

What is difficult is taking a step back, seeing everything through the lens of a customer or an employee, and trying to make it as easy as possible for the employee to deliver great service, or as easy as possible for the customer to have a great experience.

If your organization wants a challenge that will benefit your customer, take on the challenge of Easy.  Find ways to make it easier on the customer to find you or your service offerings.  Make it easier for them to access the information and the solutions they need.  Make the information as easy to understand as possible.  And once they are accessing that product or service, make it as easy as possible to use.

If you need a challenge for the new year, try to make it Easy on the customer.

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Make 2021 the Year of Building Relationships – 1/5/21

Posted on January 5, 2021 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

I’ve been very fortunate over this company’s 20+ years in business to have great and long-lasting relationships with many clients, colleagues, business partners, and co-workers.  It’s a gift to be able to call on these individuals for advice or referrals or to be a sounding board.  And it’s just as big a gift when they reach out to me for those same purposes.

There is no recipe for how to maintain business relationships over long periods of time.  If there was one, I’m sure Google or Microsoft would have branded it by now and made their bajillion’s.  There’s no recipe because every individual is different, every organization is different, every dynamic between two people is a little bit different.  And although there is no one recipe, there are a few guiding principles that I go by that I thought I’d share with you as you continue to maintain and develop your own relationships in the working world:

  • Think and act in a long-term manner. A relationship is a long-term thing.  It’s not a transaction.  Knowing that forces me to think and interact in a way that conveys I have the other person’s long-term best interest at heart.  That might mean giving them advice and guidance that results in CSS not getting a contract in the near-term, and that is absolutely fine.  It’s about what’s best for them long-term, not what’s best for CSS.
  • Be appreciative of others. Other people make decisions all the time about whether or not to work with us or whether or not to respond to my messages.  I appreciate the consideration and the responses.  The proverbial attitude of gratitude is a real thing; appreciate others because they are unique and special.
  • Treat EVERYBODY with respect. That means everybody I engage with or run into – I just try to make respect an all-the-time kind of thing.  I really work hard to treat others with undivided attention, like they are the most important person in the world to me.  And usually, in that moment, they are the most important person in the world to me.
  • Build Trust. I conducted a team-building workshop for an Executive Team, and I had them write 3 things that others do that helps them to trust the other person, and write 3 things that others do that makes the individual not trust others.  The variation in responses was amazing.  “Build Trust” may be the hardest principle of all because trust-building/breaking can be defined differently by different people.  To build trust, If somebody tells me something in confidence, I keep it to myself.  If I say I’m going to do something by a certain time, I do it.  If I can’t do it or not within the timeline, I let them know.

 

Now, as a disclaimer, I’m not perfect at these guiding principles.  I mess up, but I’ve found that if I’ve worked to establish a relationship, the other person will give me some grace.

Keep in mind that I’m not naturally the most extroverted or gregarious person in the world.  I’m not a relationship savant.  So, I have to work at relationships.  I have to think about it.  I have to have principles and apply them over and over again.

Use these principles and those that align to your values to make 2021 the year of building relationships.

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