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Talk Up Your Teammate - 12/5/23


It happens all the time in business. The salesperson transitions the new customer to their service representative.  The nurse tells the patient about the doctor about to come into the room.  The gatekeeper tells the customer about the supervisor they’re about to transfer the customer to, in order to Read more

Use Silence Wisely - 11/28/23


Silence is golden...until it isn’t. Silence is an excellent tool to use when talking to the customer.  Silence can convey that you’re listening, that you are patient, that you are being kind and are deferring to the other person.  Being silent can convey that you’re intentional about what you say, Read more

Be Grateful for the Good - 11/21/23


There are several different ways you could define gratitude, but I like the simple definition:  Being grateful for the good.  There’s a lot to be upset about, a lot to be frustrated with, there’s a lot to lament about in our customer service roles.  But even in these challenges, Read more

Sport Some Customer Perks - 11/14/23


Of all the industries we work with, the one that talks most about providing perks and benefits to its customers is pro sports.  We’ve worked with NASCAR, MLS, the NBA, and a little bit with the NFL and the NHL. And most of the teams or organizations will provide their Read more

Customer Service Lessons from the E.R. - 11/7/23


Every industry is interesting in its own way, and healthcare is definitely no exception.  We’ve done many different types of studies and projects in the emergency rooms at hospitals, and it’s interesting to look back at some of the results of focus groups we conducted with the E.R. patients. We Read more

I Did This…For You - 10/31/23


Michelle needed to run by the grocery store during her lunch break, and because it’s October in the USA, that means it’s Halloween month!  Fittingly, the grocery store had every shape and size of a pumpkin you can imagine; there was even this small basket of mini pumpkins. They were Read more

Make Deposits with Your Customer - 10/24/23


Carrie has a 50+ hour a week job, and - financially - she does better than many.  She’s in the media, but she doesn’t like everything to be public.  Carrie’s a real person with real issues and real needs and real gifts, as well. One day, her best friend, the Read more

Find Their Future Motivators - 10/17/23


We’ve provided fan experience and customer retention consulting in professional sports for a couple decades now.  One of our professional basketball clients was the Miami Heat.  We were working with them just a year or so after they had acquired superstar Shaquille O’Neal.  When they signed him, ticket sales Read more

How to Exceed the Promise - 10/10/23


It’s the never-ending battle between marketing and customer service.  Marketing makes promises, and customer service has to deal with upset customers when the company doesn’t deliver.  To ensure we deliver on promises, let’s assess promises by looking at some famous quotes over time… Promises may get Friends, but ‘tis Performances Read more

What “One in a Million” Means - 10/3/23


You are One in a Million! That can mean a lot of different things to a lot of different people.  Depending on the tone in which it’s said, the phrase can be a compliment or a criticism.  If there are 8 billion people in the world, that means there might Read more

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Seek to Understand

Posted on June 9, 2009 in Business Advice Please leave a comment

One of the best tips I can give anyone new to the world of customer service is to “seek to understand.” When you think of the phrase “seek to understand,” you realize that it focuses on one person trying to understand something else or trying to learn about someone else.

When you think about poor customer service, you think about somebody taking a complaint personally. If you take the complaint personally, you’re more focused on how this impacts you rather than seeking to understand how it impacts the other person. When you think of poor customer service, you think of an employee getting into an argument with a customer when it should be easy to avoid the argument. But it is difficult to get into an argument with another person if you are truly seeking to understand. Because seeking to understand focuses on learning from the other and rarely involves the negative emotions of anger or hostility. 

When you think about poor customer service, you think about an employee who is impatient or seems rushed. But people who seek to understand are patient, they try to learn about the other person and their situation. When you think about poor customer service, you think about the employee talking on their cell phone or who is ignoring the customer because of some personal conversation with a co-worker. But employees who seek to understand welcome opportunities to help customers with needs or issues, and they seek to understand what the specifics of those issues and needs are and how to address them.

When you think about poor customer service, you think about employees who do not understand their processes and who don’t understand their products. Employees who seek to understand try to learn what the processes are like so they can work with the customers in the processes. They try to learn what their products are all about so that they can effectively convey that information to the customers.

If you want one great overriding thought to help guide you through your day in serving your customers, Seek to Understand.

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


Don’t Lie to Me

Posted on June 5, 2009 in Business Advice Please leave a comment

There’s a new television show that you may have seen called “Lie to Me”. The premise of the show is that there are police investigators who are trying to determine what happened in different cases based on how suspects and witnesses react in certain situations in responding to different questions. The investigators look closely at facial expressions, eye movement, body language, and other non-verbal factors to really determine what the individual is saying beyond what their words convey.

Occasionally after a customer service training session where we describe body language, expressions, and tone of voice, a participant will come up to me and say that this stuff seems just like that TV show “Lie to Me”. They find it very interesting what we’re conveying because they have seen this show.

Now what the investigators are doing in the television show is something that we should be doing on an ongoing basis in our business and personal lives.

They are not focusing purely on what the other person is saying, but they are also focusing on how they are saying it. They are looking at the eyes, the arm and hand movement, the facial expressions, body posture and positioning, and the directional positioning of the body during the discussion.  We need to be looking at these factors when we converse with others. Because others are conversing with us in many ways beyond the words they are conveying, and if we truly want to understand others, then we truly need to look at all different manners in which they are communicating with this.

So the next time you’re communicating with somebody face-to-face, watch their eyes closely, look at their body positioning and movement, notice their facial expressions, view when they look down or to the side or up, notice the hand movements, and begin to try to understand what they are conveying with those signals.  You’ll find yourself being a more keen observer of the other, and you’ll also find yourself becoming much more adept at handling the conversation in an effective manner.

Don’t let them lie to you.  Make sure you know what they are really saying beyond their words.


A Key Question

Posted on June 4, 2009 in Business Advice Please leave a comment

Phil had worked in human resources for years, and the company decided that it wanted to hire employees who were more customer service-oriented regardless of the position. So in making that decision, they added some creative questions into the interview process. One of the most interesting questions that Phil had to ask prospective employees was “Are you selfless?”  The answers that he got from applicants often made him either laugh or cry. One response was “Why do ask that? What have you heard about me?”  Another response was “Yes I can be selfless.  What’s in it for me?”

 It’s a tough question to answer if you are not a naturally selfless person. But many people who excel in customer service excel because they are selfless.  They are very good at empathizing with others’ situations. They are exceptionally good at trying to do what’s best for the customer or best for the company without adding in the third option of “what is best for me.”

People who are selfless try to do things based on others’ needs and issues and goals. And they make decisions based on what’s best for the person they are trying to serve.

 Are you selfless?

If we want to take it up a notch in our customer service mindset and orientation, we need to focus less on ourselves in conversations, and focus more on others.

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


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