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The Misunderstood Physician - 8/12/25


I was speaking with one of my personal physicians years ago, and when we were talking about my work – particularly customer satisfaction research - he started talking about online physician ratings.  He lamented that a few low ratings were dinging his overall score.  Then he shared that the Read more

Uncover Silent Concerns - 8/5/25


One of the customer service statistics we have quoted many times over the years is:  For every complaint you do hear, there could be 26 other customer issues that you don’t hear. And when we bring up that statistic, we bring it up because we want to make sure companies Read more

Talk Yourself Up to Take Down Their Anxiety - 7/29/25


I believe that most customer service people are pretty humble, so I’m not asking you to lose your humility.  But I do have one ask of you… When that customer is anxious or nervous, when they fear the future because the future is unknown or it could be laced with Read more

Use Little Acts to Make a Big Impact - 7/22/25


A WOW Experience is not always one instance, one act that blows away the customer.  It’s not always an over-the-top-the-employee-saved-the-day act of brilliance.  Sometimes a WOW is the sum total of a series of little things that others don’t do – those actions that differentiate you from others.  The Read more

Avoid Some Stress by Addressing Issues Quickly - 7/15/25


It’s good customer service to resolve issues quickly.  The customer sees the light at the end of the tunnel.  They more quickly bring their anxiety and stress, their negative emotions down.  And they more quickly get to a solution. But this tip is not about them.  This tip is about Read more

Better Customer Service through Better Teamwork - 7/8/25


We spend so much time talking about what great customer service looks like in those 1-on-1 Moments of Truth, that we often neglect to discuss what goes on inside the company that leads to those great moments.  We’ve talked about customer handoffs within an organization, but what does a Read more

Highlight the Hidden Value - 7/1/25


Marketing campaigns often highlight a particular product and ALL the features and extras that the customer will receive… “For 3 low, low payments of only $39.99, you not only get these world-renowned chef knives, but you can also get this free laser-etched spatula!  AND THAT’S NOT ALL!  We will also Read more

Don’t Harp on the Customer’s Mistake - 6/24/25


Seth’s daughter, Sarah, had missed some swim classes, and Seth remembered that the aquatics center had several make-up classes available late in the summer.  So Seth pulled up the class schedule on his phone, found one that worked on his and Sarah’s schedules, and planned to attend a session Read more

Create Customers for Life - 6/17/25


Veronica has gone to the same automotive service shop for at least 20 years.  She bought a new car about a year ago, and this is the third car she’s brought to the shop instead of taking her car to the dealer where she bought it.  She’s had three Read more

Don’t Turn the Customer into the QA Department - 6/10/25


Roberta received a form with information filled in by the company after her conversation with the account rep.  Roberta just needed to review the information, fill in some of the blanks, sign it, and resend it in order to set up a new account. She noticed that the effective date Read more

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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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Keep On Going – 9/22/20

Posted on September 22, 2020 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

Thomas Edison once said “Many of life’s failures are experiences by people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”

You are close to success – Keep On Going.

Winston Churchill once said “If you’re going through hell, keep going.”  This quote has been taken to another level in a recent country song by Rodney Atkins:  If you’re going through Hell, keep on going; don’t slow down.  If you’re scared, don’t show it.  You might get out before the devil even knows you’re there.

When you’re going through the toughest of times – Keep On Going.

Ed Gagnon once said “Today is harder to get through if we forget that we got through yesterday.”

Even if you can’t envision how this day could possibly end well – Keep On Going.

Too often we’re stumped by that failure, and the frustration causes us to stop.  But there’s a lot to be said for viewing our mistakes or failures simply as stepping stones to what will eventually be success.

Too often we’re dealing with rough times, and doing nothing seems like the only thing to do.  But there’s a lot to be said for making a decision and moving on – continuing to move towards some ultimate goal.  That long-term view can often pull you out of the mire of these short-term concerns.

Too often we’re so immersed in today’s challenges that we can’t see the promise of tomorrow.  But there’s a lot to be said for realizing that this too shall pass, because rough days in the past have ended, too.

The tip for today is Don’t let things stop you.  Don’t let that angry customer or that broken technology or that frustrating colleague or that restrictive policy or the difficulties of that new world that we’re living in cause you to stop.

Continuous improvement requires movement and progress. Getting better requires we Keep On Going.

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