Customer Service Tip of the Week | Customer Service Solutions, Inc. - Page 75

Patience is… - 3/4/25


Patience is a…pain in the neck.  Why is it so hard to be patient?  Those of us who work in customer service know that we constantly have to show patience with our customers.  We’re ready to move to the next step or the solution because we’ve heard this issue Read more

Everybody Doesn’t - 2/25/25


Joey received the compliment, but he was confused.  Paula, his boss, and Joey had their monthly one-on-one meeting, and Paula noted that, although he was new, Joey was already doing a great job!  While there were learning curves on some of the organizational policies and the technology that he Read more

A Simple Phrase to Transform Your Customer Feedback Approach - 2/18/25


I went to a restaurant called Big Ed’s (no relation) in Raleigh, NC recently.  It’s basically country cooking with fantastic breakfast options!  On the menu there was a quote that said: If you enjoyed your meal, tell a friend.  If not, please tell us. That was an excellent statement that embodies Read more

What Phones and Football Have in Common - 2/11/25


Congratulations!  You made it through weeks/months of hype for football’s Super Bowl!  You made it through hundreds of pregame shows and podcasts, endless debates on things endlessly inconsequential, 10 hours of pre-game shows on Sunday, what seems like 100 commercials designed specifically for the “Big Game,” and the longest Read more

Create Awareness of Alternatives - 2/4/25


Sandy was hungry, and she was on the move.  Driving between meetings, she saw the restaurant sign and pulled in.  The fast-food restaurant had two drive-thru lanes.  One was for any customer who wanted to place an order on the spot. The other was for mobile orders only.  The Read more

Listen with Your Eyes - 1/28/25


Out of the corner of his eye, Patrick saw the customer enter the lobby.  The customer was carrying a large shoulder bag with several papers in her hand.  The customer was shuffling the papers and looking down; then she stopped, looked up, and saw the staff navigator sitting at Read more

When You’re the Educator, What Should You Teach? - 1/21/25


The best customer service professionals are also excellent educators.  Not only within the organization, but I’m talking specifically about the role they play as educator with their customers.  With all the self-service options that technology provides, customers often have the opportunity to do things on their own, to investigate Read more

Wrap It Up Right: Why Follow-Up Communications WOW Customers - 1/14/25


Dena had some questions about her water bill, so she looked for answers on the utility’s website.  She didn’t find specific answers, and she really didn’t want to get on the phone with somebody at the time and risk staying on hold.  She had lots going on, but she Read more

From Conversation to Connection: Defining Customer Engagement - 1/7/25


Maggie was sitting in the Service Excellence Training class, and the instructor kept talking about staying engaged with the customer.  Proactively engaging the customer.  Being fully engaged in the conversation. After hearing this same phrase (“engage”) used in various ways, Maggie raised her hand and asked a question probably several Read more

Self-empower for the New Year - 12/31/24


Jeff joined the company, in part, because he loved their approach to culture.  Leadership tried to create an empowerment culture.  They tried to develop an environment where, within certain parameters, individual team members could make a decision and feel confident that they would be supported by leadership. The reality was Read more

Grind it out Today for a Better Tomorrow – 8/11/20

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It’s been said that You Learn Perseverance by Persevering.  You are becoming mentally tougher right now.  The pain and the difficulties and the change today are making you stronger for dealing with the uncertainties of tomorrow.

We’re all having to be more flexible.  We are all facing less consistency, less predictability.  Work processes are different.  Customers are different.  Expectations of us are different.  Communications with teammates are different.  And for many, our personal lives and those of our loved ones are very different.

In the future, when we look back on today, we may remember all the difficulties.  We might not remember all the positives, but we will be stronger in the future.  We will be better equipped to deal with the difficulties that come next.  And though work…and life will be difficult again, we will be more prepared – mentally, physically, spiritually – to get through those tomorrows because we got through these todays.

You are building wisdom, strengthening your character, and having experiences that will guide your future decision-making and your direction.  Maybe there are a lot of small defeats today, and maybe some big defeats today, but they can be stepping stones to big joys and victories tomorrow.

So, grind it out today, this hour, this minute.  Persevering through today’s challenges is a victory in itself.  Tomorrow will be there tomorrow; no use worrying about it today.

Persevere through this day.

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Never Before… – 8/4/20

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The importance of customer service is at the forefront again in our economy.  We noticed this clearly in the early 2000s when the country’s economy struggled, and we noticed it again during the Great Recession several years later.  Today, with yet another set of unexpected and extreme economic challenges, companies are fighting to keep customers.  They’re coming up with creative ways to change the customer experience.  They are trying to identify unique opportunities to provide customer service in a way that works best for the customer.

We’re seeing enhanced delivery of services and packages.  We’re seeing the offer from businesses to take products out to customers while they are in the car.  We see employees wearing masks and facilities being sanitized like never before.  We’re seeing acceleration of technology options for customers to browse and to buy and get their questions answered.

But the products themselves remain relatively the same. The services themselves remain relatively the same.  The programs themselves remain relatively the same.

So, what is different?

We’ve always defined customer service as the Attitude (and skills, knowledge) conveyed by employees and the Processes within which the customer experiences the service and the product.  These are the areas where companies are making significant change.  They are improving customer service by improving Attitudes and Processes.

Companies are realizing the importance of retention and the value of the customer more and more, and they are finding different ways to deliver the same product.  They’re more overtly appreciative of the customers they have and those that are taking the steps to stay with the businesses.

There are many lessons learned here, but the one key takeaway is that customer service matters.  Customer service adds value.  Customer service leads to higher retention and sales.  And customer service is about serving the customers in a manner that would work best for the customer.

The keep a customer, find out how to best serve the customer.

Serve like never before.

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Effectively Teach the Customer – 7/28/20

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The 1985 Harris and Rosenthal research project conveyed what really improves student learning based on the interaction with the teacher.  The top two factors that teachers used to increase learning were (1) The duration of the interaction with the student and (2) The encouragement of the student.  In 3rd and 4th place were gestures and smiles, and since we talk a lot about body language, will defer those for now.

So, let’s talk about the top two and how they relate to customer service.  Oftentimes, you are in the role of being a teacher to the customer – particularly in this COVID-19 world where we’re having to do things differently, where customers are having to do things differently, or customers are often having to do things for themselves.  If we want them to retain what we teach, we need to shift some of the past paradigms in the customer service world.

Longer Conversations – First, a short customer conversation may be good for a call center’s handle times, but it’s bad for a customer’s learning.  Increasing our patience, planning for more time with customer encounters, and ensuring customer understanding of processes, activities, and expectations – these actions have the greatest effect on how well the customer learns what we’re teaching them.

Encouragement – Second, it’s not just a matter of conveying the right information and allocating the time to it.  It’s also a matter of encouraging the customer. I know we don’t often think of ourselves as the coach to the player as employees to the customer, but when we are helping them to help themselves and expecting them to do things differently, we need to encourage them just like coaches encourage players.  We need to give them positive feedback just like teachers should with students or – for that matter – we should with each other.

When you find yourself in the role of educating others, allow for longer interactions with customers, and ensure the content is complemented by your encouragement of the customer.

Be a great teacher to your customers.

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