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From Conversation to Connection: Defining Customer Engagement - 1/7/25


Maggie was sitting in the Service Excellence Training class, and the instructor kept talking about staying engaged with the customer.  Proactively engaging the customer.  Being fully engaged in the conversation. After hearing this same phrase (“engage”) used in various ways, Maggie raised her hand and asked a question probably several Read more

Self-empower for the New Year - 12/31/24


Jeff joined the company, in part, because he loved their approach to culture.  Leadership tried to create an empowerment culture.  They tried to develop an environment where, within certain parameters, individual team members could make a decision and feel confident that they would be supported by leadership. The reality was Read more

2024 Holiday Poem - 12/24/24


I sometimes hear it said That things have never been like this before. That challenges are unique, That stresses seem like more.   I sometimes hear it said That we're asked to do much more with less. That workloads are increasing, And we're resource-constrained at best.   And others often say That things are really very good. That they enjoy those Read more

Is Their Poor Planning Your Emergency? - 12/17/24


Have you ever heard the saying:  Your poor planning is not my emergency. I’ve heard it said often – not necessarily directly from one person to another.  More typical is that I hear it from the person having to drop everything and do something immediately because someone else didn’t think Read more

Empathy Examples for Everyday Situations - 12/10/24


I’ve often said that empathy is the single most important characteristic of people who are great at customer service.  If empathy is essentially “to understand the other person,” it helps so much to have that ability in order to specifically help someone.  To talk to what’s unique about them.  Read more

Tell Them Why You’re Giving Thanks - 12/3/24


Thank you! Merci! Danke! Doumo! Gracias! It seems like every language has a translation of Thank You.  Even though I only fluently speak English and speak Spanish, un poco, I – and probably most of you – have heard some or all of the translations of "Thank You” noted above.  Read more

Refine Your Decision-making Process - 11/26/24


Every day, you make decisions of what to do and what not to do.  And in the world of customer service, often the affected parties are our customers, our co-workers, and our company.  Here are a few quotes to consider when you’re thinking about evaluating and refining your decision-making Read more

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

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What’s Most Important: Culture v. Customer Service…the Zappos Debate

Posted on September 29, 2011 in Business Advice Please leave a comment

At this week’s BoxWorks 2011 conference, Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh stated that if an organization gets its culture right, that everything else – including great customer service will follow. Unfortunately, the conclusion that some in the media world have made is that culture is more important than customer service.

That conclusion is faulty, not because it’s untrue but because it’s comparing apples and oranges. Culture drives business performance. It drives the level of customer service, the quality of the product. It’s not more important than customer service or product quality; it’s a driver of them.

To the customer, product quality and customer service are more important than corporate culture. They couldn’t care less about the culture; they care about how they’re treated and the pricing and quality of the product. Now if the culture drives the product and customer service performance, that’s fine. But the customer couldn’t care less if it does. They’re concerned with what they receive, not what the company did to provide that product in a customer-friendly manner.

Think of this from the flip side. If your company is late in delivering a product, the customer cares that it was late to get to them. They don’t much care what happened internally in your organization to cause it to be late. The customer cares about the outcome.

So let’s avoid the debate of culture v. customer service. That’s irrelevant.

Now if you want to debate what’s most important to the customer – customer service v. product quality – now that’s pretty interesting. If you want to talk about what businesses truly prioritize customer service v. quality v. operational excellence (i.e., Wal-Mart), and then truly create a culture to become GREAT at their priority, then that’s a fun discussion as well.

But don’t argue about culture v. customer service. Argue for the need for both to be great.

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/


The Hidden Netflix Customer Service Gaffe

Posted on September 23, 2011 in Business Advice Please leave a comment

By now, you’ve probably heard how Netflix has lost 1 million subscribers (about 4%) of their customer base due to 100% of their own decision-making. They decided to split their DVD rental service from their video streaming service. This increased the fee for having both services by about 60%.

They thought they’d lose subscribership, and they lost more than they thought. But this was part of a long-term strategy, one that they’re sticking to for the time being.

If you ignore the obvious customer anger at the price increase and the risk of this strategy (which will probably be an M.B.A. case study in a couple years), there’s a seemingly minor issue that’s created a lot of unexpected backlash.

Customers who keep both services will now receive 2 bills which they have to pay separately.

Yes, Netflix now has created more work for its customers. This is the opposite of great customer service.

We often talk about reducing the “hassle factor” for your customers, the need to make it easy for customers to do business with you. Netflix has taken a strategic change in their business model and made it more of a hassle for customers to do business with them.

Start thinking about your company through the eyes of your customer. In what ways is it a hassle for your customers to access information from your company, to get answers to their questions, to get through to a representative, to purchase a new service, to request a refund, or to pay a bill?

Make sure your great strategies don’t create great barriers to your customer’s satisfaction.

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


Your Name Matters in Customer Loyalty

Posted on September 14, 2011 in Business Advice Please leave a comment

Results of a recent Zogby463 poll of bank customers showed that “69 percent of respondents said that their customer loyalty is positively affected by tellers recognizing them by name when they walked into a bank.” The poll appears to have been commissioned by a video intelligence company that is trying to sell their technology to help staff identify customers’ names.

While I won’t talk about the technology itself, let’s talk about the finding itself. Over 2/3rd of customers say that their relationship with a bank is positively impacted by their merely being recognized and called by name. WOW! That’s a huge percentage for such a small and easy aspect of the customer experience.

Remember the television show Cheers? The theme song said “You want to go where everyone knows…your name.”

There’s a great truth in that, and that truth has a financial impact.

Many employees are taught to say “Yes, Sir” or “Thank You, Ma’am.” Staff are taught to introduce themselves by providing their name. But how many staff are taught to ask the customer’s name and to use the customer’s name? How many work to remember the customer’s name on their next visit to the store?

Your name matters. By asking your name, using your name, and remembering your name, the employee is conveying that YOU MATTER.

Make sure your company and staff are intentional about learning, using, and remembering your customer’s name. Don’t just assume it’s happening.

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


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