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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

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

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Knowledge-based Renewals

Posted on January 25, 2010 in Business Advice, Sports Please leave a comment

We are a data-driven society, aren’t we? Well, successful managers would like to lead us to believe that they operate based on data, but many managers operate based on gut feel and instincts.

Regardless of which way your management leans – decide by the data or decide by the gut – if you’re in a situation where you’re trying to renew an account or retain client business, and there are many clients to retain, then data has to come into play.

In professional sports, the issue of too many season ticket holders for the number of sales and service representatives is an ongoing concern. Here are some of the concepts that we suggest to pro sports teams but which could apply to virtually any business that has recurring customers. Consider these data-focused initiatives:

· Conduct Exit Interviews with former season-ticket holders to determine why they left so you can create profiles of those lost customers and apply those findings to your current season ticket holder (STH) base. This helps you to more clearly identify current season ticket holders who are at-risk of non-renewal. You may also be able to generate a good number of sales leads!

· Make In-Person Touches with 80%+ of First Year STHs. You use these conversations to not only develop rapport but also to gather intelligence on their expectations and satisfaction.

· Conduct an At-Risk Profiling Assessment of former season ticket holders to determine why they’ve left so that you can apply the criteria to your current season ticket holders.

· Conduct Season Ticket Holder Surveys asking about and gauging likelihood of renewals in the near future. This again helps you to target renewal efforts to those most likely to cancel.

These four important data gathering and analysis methods can help you get the renewal efforts to where they’re needed most because they allow you to target, target, target.

Learn from our approach to supporting our professional sports clients. Use data-driven concepts so your renewal and retention efforts won’t seem so daunting.

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


Capitol Customer Service

Posted on January 19, 2010 in Business Advice, Government Please leave a comment

The White House held a forum with dozens of CEOs last week, and the topic moved to customer service. The government was trying to learn how to be more customer-friendly, and they were particularly interested in what Southwest Airlines CEO, Gary Kelly, had to say.

Now I know many of you are thinking such things as “it’s about time!” or “isn’t that an oxymoron – government customer service?” But one particular reaction might be “why would a government agency turn to an airline for advice?”

The answer is the same reason why an airline would turn to NASCAR – the stock car racing league – for advice.

You may have heard the story of the airline that was trying to improve the speed and efficiency with which it “turned” planes at the gate. So where did they go to determine how to improve? They went and met with NASCAR pit crews to observe, talk, and learn about how they could do so much so fast so effectively in a 5, 10, or 15 second pit stop.

Kelly suggested at the forum that to satisfy customers, “It’s more important for us to be on time and have great employees…than offer frills.”

In other words, do what you do with great efficiency and great attitudes, and that’s more important in engendering customer loyalty than offering a perk or two.

The next time you’re trying to get better, to learn, to grow, don’t just look at yourselves or at an organization just like you.

Benchmark with the best, regardless of industry.

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


Learn from the Operating Room

Posted on January 13, 2010 in Business Advice, Healthcare Please leave a comment

Andrea Hernandez at ledger-enquirer.com documented the steps taken by Susan Garrett, a Georgia Hospital Heroes Award winner who helped to improve patient satisfaction at her hospital. Ms. Garrett focused on four areas to improve patient satisfaction:

1. Communication with the families

2. Pre-operative education

3. Improving patient IV starts

4. Communication regarding unexpected delays.

Those four areas can be generalized to any business. If you want to improve customer satisfaction, improve customer communications. Be open, responsive, proactive with customers, addressing their questions, quickly handling issues, and anticipating needs.

Second, pre-operative education can be generalized to any business. Think of it as making your customers educated on what’s going to happen – what they need to do or what you’ll be doing. You’re setting expectations. Anything that can set expectations can improve satisfaction and reduce complaints.

Third, improving IV starts – now how do you generalize that? Think of that in terms of doing things right the first time with the customer. Make it as painless an experience as possible to do business with you.

Finally, communicate about unexpected delays. Don’t wait for the customer to complain. If you anticipate delays, address them proactively and restate a more realistic expectation.

Learn ways to improve your customer satisfaction by applying these hospital tips.

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


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