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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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When Contracts are Ending, Decisions are Pending

Posted on May 12, 2011 in Business Advice, Government, Sports Please leave a comment

In the recent article Landlords must focus on customer service, landlords in Nottingham, England note how they are focused more and more on customer service. With the down economy, they’ve been forced to shorten the length of leases, which means the customer’s decision to stay or go is made much more quickly and frequently. According to Anna Kirk of King Sturge, “tenants, in the main, hold the balance of power.”

So the customer holds the power. The customer makes the decision. The customer – your revenue stream – has leverage. For a landlord, the tenant’s leverage increases as the length of the lease decreases.

Likewise, for economic development agencies who have a business retention and expansion program, when local businesses’ leases are up, that’s an opportunity for them to move.

Similarly, when a season ticket holder for a sports organization comes to the end of the season, they have to decide whether or not to renew.

The point is that – whether with the landlord, for a local municipality, or for a pro sports team – when contracts are ending, decisions are pending. Revenue streams are not permanent; you have to work to make them continue. You have to work to build relationships and value during the contract term so that you’re not having to sell so hard at the end.

Having a 3-month, 6-month, or 12-month contract with a client should be looked at as a 3-month, 6-month, or 12-month opportunity to build rapport, relationship, trust, and credibility. You should be executing a plan during that timeframe to result in a renewal at the end.

So what’s your plan?

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/


Lessons from the NFL Draft

Posted on April 25, 2011 in Business Advice, Sports Please leave a comment

With the National Football League (NFL) draft coming up this weekend, the teams will select 255 players to possibly join their organizations. In the past, teams used to select the best pure football player available. But that was long ago.

Today, NFL teams go beyond the “best pure football player available” when determining their selection. They look to fill a need. What individual fills in what skill gap? Who may take some time to develop but is a good long-term prospect?

NFL teams also evaluate players’ personalities and backgrounds much more than they once did. Background checks are performed. Psychological evaluations are administered. Interviews are conducted. In the end, the goal is to find somebody who wants to work hard, who wants to get better, who has integrity, and who will be a good teammate to others.

What do you want from your employees? Aren’t many of the qualities the same? If so, are you going through the same rigorous evaluation process as the NFL teams? Consider it. Know that a good employee can make a manager’s job easy, and a poor employee or one with a bad attitude and work ethic can create issues that take your focus off the customer.

Evaluate your hiring processes to ensure the right fit with your team, the right attitude, the right work ethic.

Do whatever it takes to draft the right player.

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/


Create a Custom Retention Toolkit

Posted on April 20, 2011 in Business Advice, Sports Please leave a comment

In the article Marketing starts with customer service, the author promotes the concept of identifying the 20% of your customers that drive the majority of your business. Then market to them and provide them with stellar service. The idea is to have a targeted marketing approach for your top existing customers just as you would to a target demographic (using more typical marketing parlance).

Later in the article, the different marketing strategies are referred to as retention tools…hmmm…interesting.

It’s interesting because many of us think about customer service as responding to requests, as resolving issues, as anticipating customer needs. But from a retention standpoint, what collateral (or to use the author’s term), what tools do employees at your company have available to them to keep and grow business with existing customers?

Remember from our other blog posts that retention is different from marketing in that retention needs to be more personalized – more 1-to-1 based on the customer’s true renewal drivers. But once you know those drivers for your key client types, you may find consistencies such that a high percentage of customers will stick with you for a few key reasons.

In pro sports, the teams often offer many benefits to customers, but we’ve surveyed enough season ticket holders (STHs) to know that those benefits are rarely the reason why the STH renews are not. So don’t come up with a laundry list of benefits; again, be targeted.

If the retention driver is “being in the know” with your company’s latest product offerings or events or initiatives, possibly have an “Insider” newsletter that only the best customers receive before the general public – it could include a personalized letter from the CEO. If the driver is quick turnaround on special orders, ensure you have a fast-track process for urgent orders available to key customers. If the driver is the relationship with the organization’s people, make sure the employees share their names, ask about the customer, give unsolicited tips on the use of the products or meeting other customer needs.

Identify reasons why your key customer types would stay or go, and then create your own retention toolkit.

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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