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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

It Helps to Downshift - 3/11/25


One of the first tips I heard when I was learning how to drive related to what to do when the brakes fail - downshift.  Shifting into a lower gear can slow down a moving vehicle.  I would explain this in technical terms to you, but considering I’m not Read more

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

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5 Steps to Valuing Another’s Time – 5/5/20

Posted on May 5, 2020 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

Is your time valuable?  Is the customer’s time valuable?  I would think we would answer “yes” to both questions, but what does that really mean?  It’s important, and it’s finite.

Time is precious because it doesn’t come in unlimited quantities.  We can’t go to Amazon and buy more time.  It’s important because it’s where we do our work, our play, our fun, our learning, our rest.  In customer service, if we want the customer to feel valued, we need to convey that we value their time.  But how?  Try these 5 Steps:

  • Be Prepared. Have enough organization so that you can promptly greet someone, you can find information quickly, you instantly know to which co-worker or division to refer the customer.
  • Be Efficient. Be pleasant, but limit pleasantries.  Don’t go off on tangents unrelated to the customer or their need for the sake of rapport.  Building rapport is based on a focus on the customer.
  • Be Great at Q&A. Often time is wasted because we don’t fully understand the situation or the customer.  Asking questions to expand your understanding is not a waste of time.  Jumping to a solution before you really know the issue – now that’s a waste of time.
  • Know Your Stuff. It’s hard to have an efficient conversation if we don’t know what to ask, we don’t know what resource addresses what need, what person is responsible for what procedure.
  • Tell Them. Thank them for their time.  Tell them that you want to be respectful of their time.  Sometimes the best way for a customer to feel like you value them is to tell them so.

If you want to value the customer’s time, know that time is important and it’s finite.  Build your approach around understanding what’s important to the customer and how to respond quickly, correctly the first time.

Value the customer’s time.

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Put Yourself at the Controls of Change – 4/28/20

Posted on April 28, 2020 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

You have probably heard about manufacturing plants and restaurants who are pivoting during these challenging times and starting to make hand sanitizers, masks, and gowns.  They are being forced to change, and they’re trying to find the opportunities among the obstacles that surround them.

Sometimes we, too, as individuals in our work life are being forced to change – as many of us are today.  But there is some change that we can control.

What do you want to change?  What do you need to change?

Maybe some of it is attitudinal.  For those of us who are lucky to have a boss that’s encouraging and motivating, maybe not having that boss around requires us to be more self-motivated. Set your own daily goals.  Pat yourself on the back when you reach those goals.  Be the great encourager…to yourself.

Maybe the improvement needed is more of a technical nature.  We should want to improve our computer skills since we’ll be using those so much more.  Can we become expert at using the video conferencing systems and tools?  Can we become more proficient at toggling between different functions on our computer for information, since we’re relying less and less on paper?

The improvement area could be communication skills, particularly if having that face-to-face interaction and all the body language and expressions are so much less available for emphasizing our points.  You may want to improve your business writing skills – since you’re communicating more often via messaging to others.  Maybe you need to improve your concentration skills since it’s easier to get distracted when you’re in a video conference with 10 people than if you’re in a face-to-face meeting in the same conference room.

Finally, we can look for improvement areas in how we do our work.  Improving might mean that we’re more organized in our work since we can’t simply walk to the person in the next cubicle to talk about a project or chit chat with our office colleague about something.  Those random or nearby encounters are less likely, so we have to be a bit more intentional about planning when to contact others.

Change is difficult – particularly when it’s thrust upon you.  But if you can identify your own change – your own improvement path – you can give yourself some control.

Create the change that will help you improve.

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From Team-up to Partner – 4/21/20

Posted on April 21, 2020 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

The phrase used to be “Team-up.”  Company A and Company B are going to Team-up to address this big consumer need.

Now the term is “Partner.”  Organization A and Organization B are going to partner together to seek a resolution to this community issue.

Both of these phrases essentially deal with different organizations working together with a common goal.  But even within the same organization, the ultimate organizational success usually requires people from different areas or with different functions to “Team-up.”

So, what do you do when you’re asked to Team-up with someone else at your own company?

To Team-up effectively, here are 3 quick suggestions:

  • Help Others – When you see a co-worker with a need (figuring out some video conferencing app, understanding how to interpret a policy, or dealing with a difficult customer situation), stop what you’re doing and offer to help. Don’t simply bypass someone in need.
  • Know Your Role – Understand how your job, your skills and expertise, and your experience fit in the greater organization. Know how your actions and decisions affect others; often, what you say or the work you produce (your “Output”) is the Input for a co-worker.
  • Collaborate with Others – Be willing to meet with and work together in formulating plans, dealing with issues, and delivering services. Support what’s best for the whole group, even if it may not be your first choice.  Encourage your co-workers and give them positive reinforcement.

Before you Team-up with others, take a moment to truly understand what is expected of you. Seek opportunities to help, understand how you affect others, and work with others as a good teammate toward a collective goal.

Team-up.

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