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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

Allow Yourself to Solve a Couple Puzzles Every Day - 6/2/26


Frank had never been a dog owner before, and when he first got Bosco at the shelter, Frank didn't really know what he was doing.  He would try to be a good parent - feed the dog, play with it, take it on walks - but he was doing Read more

Improve with a Purpose - 5/26/26


If you’re reading these customer service tips, you likely want to get better.  You want an idea, a technique, a reinforcement, or a question that helps you improve. But why improve? At some point you may waver on the commitment to improve, because it can take effort, introspection, time, and change.  Read more

Reciprocate the Thanks - 5/19/26


Jasmine had a great experience with the company, and the company sent her a link to provide an online evaluation following the visit.  So, she clicked the link, gave a rating, and made a comment about her experience. The company monitored their online reviews, saw the positive response, and replied Read more

Don’t Skip the Recap - 5/12/26


The playoff hockey game goes on for almost 3 hours.  There’s non-stop action, with plenty of penalties and takeaways and hits against the boards…and a few goals, as well. You didn’t get to watch the whole game because you had other plans, but you wanted to know what happened.  So, Read more

Finalize the Solution with the 6 Step Checklist - 5/5/26


In last week’s Tip, we showed why and how to Use the 6 Step Checklist before Resolving the Issue.  We noted the importance of taking 15 seconds to mentally walk through the Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How to feel confident that you know what’s needed to fix Read more

Use the 6 Step Checklist before Resolving the Issue - 4/28/26


We talk about trying to resolve the issue right the first time, sharing the technique on how to manage the conversation to get clarity on the real issue, need, or goal, and confirming your understanding before moving forward. But what are you trying to clarify?  What are you trying to Read more

Use the Customer’s Words - 4/21/26


The customer is describing a problem on what they call their “computer.” They mentioned that the “screen” doesn’t “move from one page to the other.” They say that the “website’s name is typed at the top,” and it says sample.com with a “line, and then it says ‘home’ after Read more

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Great Service Still Exists

Posted on October 19, 2011 in Business Advice, Carolinas, World of Customer Service 2 Comments

When the customer visited the Oreck store on Hanes Mall Blvd. in Winston-Salem, NC, earlier this month, she needed service on a vacuum. It wasn’t an Oreck. It wasn’t purchased at the store. It was only one month old.

The customer brought it to Oreck because the manufacturer said not to ship it back to them for repair – instead the customer should bring it to a local repair center. The customer had driven past the Oreck store before and was familiar with the quality of the brand, so that was the first place that came to mind.

The cord wouldn’t unwind fully, so a vacuum that should be able to clean several rooms without plugging and unplugging could barely do one room. It was a vacuum that would run, but it was a hassle to use.

The Oreck store asked if they could hold the vacuum and work on it later, and the customer said that was fine. Later, an employee from Oreck called the customer and said the cord issue was resolved. He had worked on the cord, getting it untangled and testing it about 10 times to confirm it worked well.

“How much do I owe you?” the customer asked.

“Not a thing,” the employee replied.

The customer had an issue; the company provided a resolution, and it didn’t cost a dime.

Sometimes great customer service isn’t about what happens during the sale or even what happens after the customer leaves your store. Sometimes truly great customer service is about your taking the effort just to do something for someone else. It’s about caring more about meeting the need of a customer than making a nickel off a transaction. It’s about taking a situation that presents itself – like a customer you’ve never met who needs help – and doing what’s right for the customer.

Take a lesson from this Winston-Salem Oreck store. Focus on what’s in it for the customer first, and worry about what’s in it for you second.

And who knows, you might get some positive word-of-mouth out of the experience.

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/

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


7 Tips to Help You Retain More Customers and More $$

Posted on October 12, 2011 in Business Advice Please leave a comment

Since the road to financial prosperity for any business is paved with your customer’s dollars, the question is how do you gain more dollars?

The best way to have those prosperity-paving dollars tomorrow is to retain today’s customers. So here are 7 quick tips to retain and grow your business with existing customers:

1) When you make the sale, ask the customer why they bought from you. This allows them to tell you why they’re a customer, and probably why they’d buy again.

2) At least annually, ask the customer why they would continue to buy from you, or ask why they’d leave. This will tell you their retention drivers.

3) Act on the answers to the first two questions.

4) State to your customers what they can expect in terms of their experience with you. Clearly say “you’ll get this…in this timeframe…in this way…from these people…at this level of quality, etc.” Stating expectations for the customer ensures you have a better chance of meeting those expectations.

5) Become great at delivering a reality (with your people, processes, and services) that meet or exceed those expectations.

6) Thank the customer…repeatedly. When they enter your store, when they complete the purchase, and in follow-up communications after the sale. Customers want to feel appreciated.

7) Have specific methods of dealing with customer issues when they arise, and train staff on how to handle the irate customer and apply those methods when a customer is upset. As we’ve said before, when there’s a complaint, speed of resolution is a top priority.

Want to retain more customers and their money? Become great in these 7 facets of customer service.

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/

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


Groupon Now Rewarding to Retain

Posted on October 5, 2011 in Business Advice, World of Customer Service 1 Comment

If you’ve used Groupon as a consumer, you understand that you get deep discounts (50%+) from local businesses. If you’re a business, you realize that that can drive lots of consumers to your business, but you’re only probably getting half of what the consumer pays Groupon; so you may only be receiving 25% of your normal payment.

So the only way that Groupon really works for a business is for that company to receive repeat business (at a higher per purchase level). So for Groupon to succeed, it’s all about their business clients retaining and growing business with those Groupon customers.

The theory for the business is they take a short-term loss on a consumer purchase to establish and grow a relationship with that consumer. The reality is often different, however. The business could be cannibalizing their own business by selling at discounted rates to existing customers. They could be involved with Groupon only to attract customers who buy purely on price (and a deeply discounted price at that!). So if the discount goes away, so will that customer.

To help its clients with retention, Groupon has created Groupon Rewards. They promote a “Hassle-Free Setup” followed by “Automatic Rewards” followed by “Customer Analytics.”

No, Groupon does not say that it is cutting its fees. It’s apparently proposing to manage a loyalty program for your business, where consumers get discounts once they’ve spent a certain amount. Not exactly leading edge stuff, but it does promote consumers buying before they get the discount.

So let’s focus on the broader lesson here. If you want to grow your business in a smart way, getting customers in your door (such as what Groupon has historically done) is only the start; long-term success is driven by retention and growth.

Interested in improving your company’s customer retention? Check out our Fast-Track Retention & Growth Assessment: http://www.cssamerica.com/cssfastrga.htm

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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