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Acting on the Guiding Principles for Great Customer Service - 11/19/24


In last week’s tip, we shared 5 Guiding Principles for Great Customer Service.  This week, let’s address what “taking action” looks like on those key principles.  If last week was about what to do and WHY, this week is about the HOW. Engage with Interest: To engage with interest, proactively Read more

Guiding Principles for Great Customer Service - 11/12/24


It’s hard to know every procedure, every policy, every technique possible to handle every situation correctly.  After all, maybe our procedures are standard, but our customers are not.  Maybe our policies stay pretty consistent, but our customers’ needs and issues, their attitudes and actions can change from customer to Read more

From a Simple Question to an Exceptional Experience - 11/5/24


Phyllis loves her job.  It’s not just because she loves being a customer service representative, not just because she really likes her co-workers, and not just because she enjoys her company.  It’s because she really appreciates her customers, as well. A customer had ordered a register book off the company Read more

Fix One Problem without Creating Another - 10/29/24


If you’ve ever had an issue with your dishwasher, this will sound familiar.  I’ve dealt with so many dishwashers over the years, and they always seem to have some kind of an issue.  Maybe it’s because of the mix of water and technology, but for whatever reason, these never Read more

Delight Your Customers - 10/22/24


Buddy the Bug Man was different.  His company was new, and the only reason why Janet tried him out was that the service she had used for years just wasn’t working.  Whether it was mosquitoes in the yard, ants in the kitchen, or cockroaches flying through on their way Read more

A More Complete Definition of Responsiveness - 10/15/24


I was purchasing something recently that was being custom-developed.  At one point, the company’s employee and I had a good 20 e-mails going back and forth - 10 from each of us.  Unfortunately, I broke my own rule, and I did not pick up the phone after 2 or Read more

Have a Game Plan to Address Their Anxiety - 10/8/24


It seems like we all get deliveries - whether it is UPS, USPS, FedEx, Amazon, the local courier, or all the above.  We order.  They deliver.  Or do they? It’s times like these, when we’re expecting that package, that item that we’re looking forward to or need urgently or are Read more

How Persistence Saved the Day - 10/1/24


Sherrie saw the customer walk into her store holding his cell phone, and Sherrie immediately knew that was William.  She had spoken to William on the phone about an hour ago, he said he would be at Sherrie’s cell phone store in less than an hour, and there he Read more

Notice the Little Changes - 9/24/24


“My, how times have changed.” Yes, times have changed.  As a matter of fact, one of the biggest reasons why an organization’s customer service deteriorates is that times have changed…customers have changed…and the company has not… If we think about customer service delivery today v. decades ago, changes in technology alone Read more

Don’t Hurry…Be Quick - 9/17/24


No, this is not a take off on the Bobby McFerrin song:  Don’t Worry Be Happy. It’s actually a take off on the John Wooden quote:  Be quick, but don’t hurry. When I read Wooden’s book with this title, I liked the concept, and not just because John Wooden was a Read more

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Bet on Great Customer Service

Posted on April 19, 2012 in Business Advice, World of Customer Service Please leave a comment

A casino’s repeat business is purely dependent on whether the customer feels the exhilaration of the win…right?

Well the recent article Casinos Urged to Invest in Customer Service, Gaming Experience to Meet Multiple Challenges in 2012 says that it’s more than winning that drives loyalty and revenues.

The head of a casino consulting firm notes “Bare-bones state budgets, taxation, new casinos, social media and online gaming – these are all factors that will contribute to a challenging year for casinos.”

Essentially he says that if you’re a business with customers who are having financial struggles (like a sports team trying to keep season ticket holders), have competitors (like a hospital), are impacted by the proliferation of social media and alternative delivery changes for your service (like a college or university – or almost any business for that matter), then you might be having a tough time.

So if his premise applies to the situation of casinos, it probably also applies to the majority of other businesses today.

And what’s the proposed solution? Create a culture of customer service. The article notes that “The first step toward creating that culture is establishing service standards. The next step is training that helps employees meet those standards.”

So why is this suggested? This is where the author falls short…he doesn’t say why you need the culture of customer service, but I’ll fill that part in – it’s because the state of customer service is so poor today, that this is one area where you can differentiate yourself from competitors. It’s one place where Social Media doesn’t have a solid footing. It’s one place where you can build value when customers care more about the dollars they spend and with whom they spend.

Stop. Look at your competitors. Look at your customers. Look at your company.

Create a culture of customer service to build value with the customer and build a wall between your customers and your competitors.

Interested in assessing and improving your company’s customer service? Click here…


Improve Outcomes by Involving the Customer

Posted on April 18, 2012 in Business Advice, Healthcare 1 Comment

Imagine that you’re a hospital patient about to be discharged, and two employees (a nurse and a tech) are standing in front of you but looking at each other (not you). The tech asks the nurse “What should we do in this case?” The nurse responds, “Well much of this is a patient issue; I’d suggest that he do a better job of caring for himself at home, modifying his diet.” The tech responds, “That’s a great point. Patients need to take more ownership over their own health.”

It makes the customer want to yell “HELLO!! I’M RIGHT HERE!!”

Whether it’s a hospital patient or a banking client, a fast-food customer or an event patron, customers want you to talk with them – not about them as if they’re not even there.

So when you do need customers to do something (such as take better care of their health, complete forms, send in some paperwork, get their own condiments, or find their own seat), you want them to do so right the first time. You want your and their outcomes to be positive. And the best way to get the customer to do what they need to do is to involve them in the process. We’re talking buy-in, and buy-in isn’t just for employees; it’s for customers, too.

When decisions need to be made or processes require customer action, include the customer in the discussion – encourage and allow their input.

An article titled Getting results in practice: The importance of patient involvement is written by a nutritionist who advocates getting patient compliance and ownership over their health by building their “knowledge of one’s health and the skills and confidence to self-manage chronic conditions.” She states that “A more balanced power distribution between patient and doctor fosters patient confidence and allows the patient to play a larger role in achieving his or her health outcomes.”

Involve your customer in their process of working with you and in your decisions. It will build their compliance, their participation, and your sales.

Listen to our latest podcast episode of “Stepping Up Service” on The MESH Network at http://themesh.tv/stepping-up-service/

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

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


Find a Fun Benchmarking Organization for Lessons on Service and Retention

Posted on April 11, 2012 in Business Advice, World of Customer Service 1 Comment

Why did Apple benchmark with the Ritz-Carlton? Are computers the same thing as hotels?

Why did Southwest Airlines benchmark with NASCAR pit crews? Are airplanes the same things as cars?

Benchmarking is usually more about how you do something than what you do. In the article How the Ritz-Carlton Inspired the Apple Store, the author notes how Apple Stores went to the Ritz-Carlton to learn lessons on customer service. Similarly, many years ago Southwest Airlines went to work with NASCAR pit crews to learn how to turn planes at the gate more quickly.

Continuous improvement in any organization involves thinking beyond your world, growing your organization’s collective knowledge by learning from others. What’s more, it can be lots of fun learning, particularly from those in other industries.

To most effectively benchmark, think about how you deliver a service, interact with customers, communicate, process, produce. Try not to think of this in industry terms; instead, think of this in functional terms. For example, as a bank, don’t think “What bank does a great job of increasing the number of accounts with current customers?” Think more broadly such as “What organizations are great at retaining and selling more services to existing account holders?” Instead of benchmarking with another bank, they might consider benchmarking with a pro sports team.

Instead of a local municipality asking “What City/County governments do a great job with their website?”, they should ask “What organizations effectively engage their customers online and leverage those sites to drive interest and traffic to their programs and facilities?”

Benchmarking is a fun way to get creative ideas, to continuously learn, grow, and improve.

So what industry (other than yours) is interesting to you? Go and learn from them.

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

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

Listen to our latest podcast episode of “Stepping Up Service” on The MESH Network at http://themesh.tv/stepping-up-service/


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