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Look for a Stop Sign - 2/3/26


As a customer service professional, what you say matters.  The information you’re providing is useful.  The direction you’re giving the other person is helpful.  But... As you’re speaking, you also need to be reading.  Reading the other person.  Watching the customer, determining whether and how they’re receiving what you’re sharing.  Read more

When They Want the Supervisor - 1/27/26


Maybe you did your best with the customer, or maybe the customer didn’t even give you a chance.  They want to talk to your supervisor.  They see you, notice your title does not have “supervisor” or “manager” or “director” or “President and CEO” in it, so they want to Read more

Identify Your Point of Empathy - 1/20/26


I was watching a webinar recently on empathy.  The speaker mentioned that empathy - to a large extent - is something that you are born with.  It’s something that’s very difficult to learn.  And while I agree that some people are predisposed to being empathetic and understanding of others Read more

Pressure is a Privilege, but... - 1/13/26


When athletes are asked about the pressure of a playoff match or a late-game situation, many times they will say that “pressure is a privilege.”  In other words, usually pressure exists because you’re in a match that matters most.  It exists because you are a player put in a Read more

While I’ve Got You on the Phone… - 1/6/26


I’m a big planner.  Whether it’s strategic planning or planning out the year or planning my week first thing on a Monday morning, I like to plan.  I do this because it gets all of my action items documented and ensures that I have some understanding of what I Read more

Pass the Quick Impression Test - 12/30/25


Some studies have shown that people create an impression of you in less than a second when they first meet you face-to-face.  Other studies have shown that that initial impression can take up to 7 seconds.  Regardless, first impressions are quick.  First impressions are not always the lasting impression, Read more

2025 Holiday Poem - 12/23/25


We hear the word change And that change can be good, But we like things to stay same, And sometimes they should.   The weather can be wet And then dry as a bone. We know things will change, Even if all left alone.   Our customers change. Our co-workers do, too. It seems like our resources Are often too few.   The technology Read more

Make the Long Wait Feel Shorter - 12/16/25


When Greg entered the Tax Office, he was thinking only about two things: (1) How he was going to get the tax value on his home reduced, and (2) Whether the wait would be 1 hour or 2.  He checked in with the navigator who asked a few questions, Read more

When Kindness Means More in Customer Service - 12/9/25


Since a large part of the work we do at CSS includes customer research, we have seen tens of thousands of comments over the years about staff, and it is great to hear the positives that customers, fans, and account holders say about our clients’ team members. One word that Read more

Don’t Create the Second Complaint - 12/2/25


Maria was upset.  Rightfully so.  The product delivery was delayed, she couldn’t get anybody on the phone, and nobody would reply to her e-mails.  So, she went down to the store, and she found a customer service representative. After the initial greeting, the employee listened to Maria’s complaint.  While Maria Read more

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Create B-U-Y I-N with Staff

Posted on March 10, 2011 in Business Advice, Healthcare Please leave a comment

When we provide customer service training for hospitals, we often suggest techniques to use in difficult situations with patients and family members, physicians and co-workers. Sometimes, we suggest certain phrases to use which tend to work well, but some of the training attendees don’t feel comfortable at first with the wording because it feels scripted.

So we work during the session so they’ll feel like it’s not a script; we work to get buy-in. When attempting to get buy-in from front-line staff on any initiative, use this acronym that we coined:

· B – Believe. You have to get them to believe the concept will work.

· U – Understand. People trust and are more accepting of change when they can understand how it works.

· Y – Yes! You have to get them to commit to it – “ask for the business” from your staff.

· I – Invest. If they participate in the development of a plan, investing their time, they’re more likely to buy-in to the result.

· N – Needs. People must understand the need or goal or issues it will address.

Create “B-U-Y I-N” for your customer service principles, programs, and changes.

Read our New Book – “Ask Yourself…Am I GREAT at Customer Service?” http://www.amigreatat.com/

Interested in improving your company’s customer service? See more at our new website! http://www.cssamerica.com/


Is Patient Satisfaction More Important Than Clinical Care?

Posted on January 18, 2011 in Business Advice, Healthcare Please leave a comment

In the Healthcare Leaders Media article titled “Editor’s Note: Patient Satisfaction on the Rise,” a New England Journal of Medicine article is referenced since it noted that patients feel that the non-clinical experience is “twice as important as the hospital’s clinical reputation.” In other words, patients feel that the level of clinical care is less important than the other aspects of the experience such as customer service, communications, timeliness, processes, etc.

While I wasn’t surprised at the findings (we’ve discussed it on this blog previously), what is surprising is that the author seemed to say that this fact is actually a concern. He stated that healthcare organizations need to essentially educate the patients on healthcare quality so that they understand the greater importance of and distinctions of quality clinical care in comparison to the non-clinical experience.

Let’s look at this a different way. Let’s say that customers prefer Google over your search engine because it’s faster and easier than yours. But you feel that your search engine has prettier colors on the home page. So your approach is to educate Google customers that they need to view the colors on the home page as more important than the speed or ease of use of a search engine.

Huh?

Companies that want to retain customers will be metaphorically banging their heads against the walls if they strive to change what the customer feels is most important. The customer decides what they care about, what they feel is most important.

It’s then up to you and me to be as great as possible at delivering what the customer feels is important.

So is patient satisfaction more important than clinical care? The answer: Whatever the customer feels is most important is most important.

Don’t tell the customer what they care about isn’t that important. That’s an EASY way to lose a customer.

Read our New Book – “Ask Yourself…Am I GREAT at Customer Service?” http://www.amigreatat.com/

Interested in improving your company’s customer service? See more at our new website! http://www.cssamerica.com/


Pay for Patient Satisfaction?

Posted on November 19, 2010 in Business Advice, Healthcare Please leave a comment

According to the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the Federal Government proposes to make bonus payments in 2011 to Medicare Advantage plans which achieve high patient satisfaction scores.

CMS Administrator Dr. Donald Berwick states that “The 5-star rating system helps people with Medicare make meaningful distinctions between high-performing and low-performing health plans. They also allow plan sponsors to see how they compare to other plans and encourage them to improve care and customer service, so their plans are more attractive to Medicare beneficiaries. The demonstration rewards high performers more than low performers, creating an incentive for all performers to improve.”

Essentially, funding will be based in part on patient satisfaction related to quality of care and customer service.

Can you imagine customers paying you varying amounts based on how well they feel they were cared for and how good the customer service is that you deliver?

Would that change behaviors of staff? Would leaders invest more in training, research, technology, and other improvements that enhance the customer’s experience and the employee’s ability to be GREAT at customer service? I would hope the answers to both questions would be “Yes!”

The reality is that customers are already behaving in this way. Studies have shown that customers will spend – on average – 10% more for the same product with better customer service. Studies have shown that sales can increase if the customer is engaged in a positive and productive way by employees. Studies have shown that the biggest determinant of whether or not a customer is kept is whether they feel like the company and its employees care for them.

Don’t wait for the government to pay you more for higher customer satisfaction. Your customers are already doing that themselves.

Read our New Book – “Ask Yourself…Am I GREAT at Customer Service?” http://www.amigreatat.com/

Interested in improving your company’s customer service? See more at our new website! http://www.cssamerica.com/


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