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Manage New Customer Expectations - 8/11/26


The fan had never been to a motorsports event before, but they had been to concerts.  They had been to big conferences.  At those other events, they could park right next to the venue, many of the activities were indoors, and weather was a non-issue.  So, they were not Read more

Complement Empathy with Action - 8/4/26


A man falls into a hole, and he can’t get out.  He starts yelling for help, and a doctor walks by and looks down the hole.  The man in the hole yells to the doctor “Please help me.  I’ve fallen into this hole!”  And the doctor takes out a Read more

My 8-Minute Visit at the DMV- 7/28/26


I needed to get a Real ID, which in North Carolina facilitates airline travel and other identity verifications.  My wife suggested I go to one particular DMV that was a LONG way away from home, but where she had experienced great customer service.  I was lucky to find an Read more

When They Might Walk Out the Door…Permanently- 7/21/26


Have you ever had one of those conversations with the customer where they literally tell you they’re about to stop doing business with your company?  This is it.  They may bring up a competitor or found another way to get their need met, or they are just leaving. When we Read more

Transparency in Customer Service- 7/14/26


We’ve worked with a lot of clients in the local government sector, and many of these clients have Customer Service Standards and/or corporate values that include Transparency. Think about an old-fashioned transparency sheet, that malleable see-through page you put on an overhead projector.  You can see everything on one side Read more

See the Customer’s Journey from Their Perspective- 7/7/26


That customer is face-to-face with you right now, and you are fielding their questions or delivering your service to them.  And oftentimes and understandably, we are so immersed in the moment that we don’t think about what came before or think enough about what comes next. But in the life Read more

Gaining the Benefits of the Greeter- 6/30/26


Most likely, we’ve all entered some establishment – a retail store, restaurant, or service center - when there is a greeter at the door.  The most famous greeter position is probably the Walmart greeter.  I often thought that my father-in-law would have been a fantastic Walmart greeter, because he Read more

Seamlessness - Why the Customer Thanked You - 6/23/26


This doesn’t happen enough nowadays, but the employee received a long thank you e-mail from the customer.  A financial services account manager had taken care of the client during a period of time that was stressful for the customer. Life was unexpectedly changing quickly, and personal emotions, additional financial responsibilities, Read more

When to Avoid the Escalation - 6/16/26


The customer calls with a complaint, and the easy thing to do is to escalate it to your supervisor. That may also be the right thing to do, but how do you know when to avoid the escalation? Why You Would Escalate The first thing to consider is why you would Read more

Let’s be Clear on Clarity - 6/9/26


When trying to manage expectations, it’s vital to be clear with the customer.  But what specifically does it mean to be “clear?” Clarity is in the eyes and ears of the beholder, so what may be clear to one customer may be unclear to another.  However, there are some basic Read more

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2014 Customer Service Crystal Ball – Part 1 of Trends

Posted on February 26, 2014 in Business Advice, World of Customer Service Please leave a comment

Blog 2-25-14What Customer Service Trends do we predict for 2014? Well here are the first 3 of 7 key trends we see:

We’ll Learn to Rekindle the Fire in 2014

What does that mean? No I’m not talking romance in the world of customer service, although there could be an uncomfortable emotional engagement in this particular trend…What I’m speaking of is face-to-face customer service via the web. If you haven’t seen the new Kindle Fire commercials, they involve someone holding a Kindle tablet, clicking a button to contact customer service, and having a pretty customer service representative appear for a video chat.

The attraction of the video chat is that people prefer a two-way conversation, particularly when dealing with an issue, and it’s easier to understand someone and communicate with them if you can see them. Plus, with the Fire technology, they can see your tablet and highlight information for you.

This trend toward video customer service will move forward slowly though. Beyond the obvious tech issues involved in any widespread rollout, there’s also the creepiness factor of people talking face-to-face without any idea of what they might do in this personal yet physically detached conversation. Another point to consider is where are you going to find people pleasant to talk to, to look at, with good body language regardless of the situation, and who are knowledgeable/smart enough to serve this CSR role? It won’t be easy, and they will be WELL paid.

We Will Realize that We are All the Same

A Healthcare client of ours has an issue with their security staff in the Emergency Department. The head of security believes the sole role of his staff is security, busting the bad guys, keeping the peace, etc. And while that’s the main role, these staff are stationed at the entrance of the Emergency Department, and they are the first person that walk-in patients encounter. So they need to have some communication skills, some knowledge of protocol and procedure, some customer service-orientation.

When I say “we are all the same,” what’s meant is that in 2014 there will be a more holistic approach to customer service – albeit slowly again. This approach includes the act of serving customers being viewed as a mission and taught throughout all levels of an organization rather than the activity of a separate “customer service department.” So watch out if you’re in technology, security, or facilities management – you are customer service, too!

We Will Become Infographics

Have you heard of Infographics? They’re essentially a pictorial representation of something – think Instagram with words and numbers…or a 1-page PowerPoint. It conveys information simply, graphically – hence the name – and it grabs your attention. Generally speaking, as people begin to like to see and absorb information in a certain way (think about surfing the web on a smart phone or sharing pictures on Facebook), that way gets co-opted by “gurus” to apply to their world.

Now imagine a 1-page Infographic for assembling a ceiling fan instead of a 40-page document in small print. Imagine instructions, information, directions, etc. being conveyed in Infographic format instead of a detailed narrative or text-heavy format. I predict we’ll see this trend as well.

What do you think of these first 3 trends? What is your Crystal Ball telling you? Share a comment today!

Check out Part 2 of 2014 Customer Service Trends…

To learn more about how to improve customer service in a changing economy and world, visit our NEW website at http://cssamerica.com/home/


In Sports, Does Loyalty Matter Anymore?

Posted on February 20, 2014 in Business Advice, Sports Please leave a comment

Blog 2-20-14Does loyalty matter anymore?

This isn’t about free agents in basketball or players switching clubs in the MLS. It’s not about Robinson Cano or Wayne Gretzky. It’s about the fan.

Much of the sports world – on the business side – is driven by rabid sales and marketing efforts. It’s the TV ads, the freebies to newcomers, the perks, discounts, packages, and personal attention.

But for the typical sports club – 75%-90%+ of this year’s ticket revenue comes from last year’s season ticket holders. So loyalty has a huge financial impact, but what are teams doing to show appreciation for that long-term support?

In the article Season-ticket holders: Honoring loyalty, the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars tell a story of a 20-year season ticket holder and his commitment to the club, regardless of the performance on the field. According to the article, in this – the 20 year anniversary for the Jaguars – the team is recognizing that loyalty: “Each level of tenure will receive wearable memorabilia indicating length of association. They don’t just want recognition, they want to be able to show it off in the stadium. They want their hat to say, ’Twenty-year season-ticket holder.’ There will be things they can do and show people by what they can wear. Their names will be permanently displayed for people to see.”

We often tell our clients in and out of sports that customer loyalty is the easiest avenue to recurring revenue. Customer loyalty is the easiest path to business growth. But customer loyalty is also the easiest asset to take for granted.

Look at those clients that have been with you over time. Find ways to reward and recognize them. Find ways to nurture the relationship. Find ways to show that their loyalty matters.

Did you like this post? Here are other Sports-related posts:

Learn about our CSS Sports services at: http://cssamerica.com/sports


K-12 Sustainable Excellence? A School District’s Approach

Posted on February 18, 2014 in Business Advice, Education Please leave a comment

Blog 2-18-14In Tennessee, the Maury County Public School System is working toward a status of “Excellence” in the Tennessee Center for Performance Excellence (TCPE). The TCPE is a statewide initiative modeled after the Malcolm Baldrige quality awards. And while Baldrige may be very familiar to manufacturing, healthcare, and other service industries, one can readily wonder why a school system is participating.

When an organization wants to adhere to the Baldrige Award Criteria, it’s important to understand to what they’re committing. For the Education Criteria for Performance Excellence, the primary categories of evaluation are:

When you look objectively at these categories, you soon see that it’s hard to achieve “Excellence” in any industry without being at least “Above Average” in all of them. How easy is it to be an excellent performer without leadership that sets a clear direction and models behaviors to others? It’s tough to achieve Excellence without a definition of it and a Plan to get there. Excellence is often defined by the customer – the individual with the opinion and decision-making power to stay with or leave a business – so how can we be Excellent without an intentional focus on the customer? And how do you know when you’re straying from the path to Excellence or whether it’s a time to reward and recognize unless you Measure performance and continuously improve?

I could go on, but you get the picture. Organizational Excellence in Education, Sports, Healthcare, Government, etc., has several key components. This is particularly true if you want Sustainable Excellence.

To attain high levels of performance and continuously improve, make sure you have the plan, customer-focus, leadership, workforce, and operations that drive measurable results.

Did you like this post? Here are other Education-related posts:

Also, check out our Education site: http://cssamerica.com/education-industry


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