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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

4 Actions for the Customer - 9/10/24


One way to look at the difference between proactive and reactive is that proactive is something that’s often done before it absolutely has to be done.  Maybe it’s something done that really doesn’t have to occur, but your professionalism takes over, and some action or communication that you know Read more

Don’t Kick the Problem Down the Road - 9/3/24


The error was obvious.  Shania is a clerk at a local government office, and she could tell that something was wrong with the permit request.  She was about to reject the request because the address was invalid. If this would have been handled like the normal process, Shania would have Read more

Reflect the Best of Your Customers - 8/27/24


When Alice walks into a business, whether it’s a restaurant or government building, whether it’s a Goodwill or a grocery store, she has a certain way about her.  She’s the customer, and it’s not unusual to hear her say to the employee:  Thanks for being here today! It’s not unusual Read more

Create Your Personal Motto - 8/20/24


Take a look at these mottos: It’s the real thing. Just Do It. Have it your way. Betcha can’t eat just one. Breakfast of champions. Do you know the companies?  The answers are at the bottom of this tip. So why am I asking you about mottos?  And why do almost all of them make me Read more

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Use AI to Improve Your Performance – 7/23/24

Posted on July 23, 2024 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

Many companies are integrating Artificial Intelligence (AI) into some aspect of their business.  This could greatly change how they operate, how they communicate with customers.

This AI wave reminds me of a story from 20+ years ago when a stock brokerage firm launched a new website that greatly enhanced the information available to its clients.  The company thought they would need fewer call center staff, but what they realized was the additional information it provided clients created more in-depth and challenging questions from customers.  It turned out that the company needed roughly the same number of staff, but the staff had to be more knowledgeable.  What was expected of them was higher-level.  The basic questions were handled by customers on their own, so now they had deeper, more complex questions to be answered.

That story addressed the company view and how – in the end – the website impacted what was expected of employees, how their expertise had to improve.  The same thing will occur with AI.  Companies will use AI to do the basic things, the more monotonous things, the more time-consuming, lower-level activities.  Our tasks will require more expertise, more knowledge.

Free Up Your Time, Expand Your Knowledge

So, let’s be proactive, and let’s see how we individuals can use AI to actually free up some time for us to focus on the higher level, the more complex, and position us more as consultants with our clients.  Here are three ways each of us can tap into AI to better ourselves.

Create Your Own FAQ Responses

Identify 5-10 core questions that you’re asked, and use AI to give you a draft set of responses for those types of questions with the specific types of customers who pose them.  Then you can tweak the draft AI responses to meet your needs.  Save yourself time by creating your own FAQs.

Develop Draft Messages/Documents

If you have typical e-mails or documents that you send to clients – whether it’s a meeting follow-up, a request for information, or details you’re providing them about a process, use AI to start the template.  Emphasize to AI that you want it to be professional and courteous, succinct and clear.  Use AI to be more consistent in typical communications.

Train Yourself

Identify some aspects of your job where you are not yet proficient or you’re not at the expert level.  Use AI to identify a list of resources or a set of information you can review to enhance your skill set.  It might be about a particular situation, type of customer, type of technology.  Let AI get you started on personalizing a professional development plan so you can more quickly learn and excel.

Use AI to save yourself time and help you speed up your own performance improvement.

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Be Better than AI Customer Service – 1/23/24

Posted on January 23, 2024 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

There was a recent CBS Sunday Morning Show story called: How artificial intelligence is revamping customer call centers.

The journalist described how artificial intelligence is being used in customer service, and he noted the millions of pieces of information that can be processed in a matter of seconds.

There are clear productivity and potential cost benefits to organizations of having a given encounter managed by computer rather than a person.

But there is an inherent set of problems that come along with AI, especially from the customer’s perspective.

What AI Customer Service Did Poorly

A relative was having cable issues recently, and trying to get customer service via the company app. Troubleshooting didn’t work; chatbot could not specifically answer the question.  The system kept moving to broad categories because it didn’t understand the specifics of the situation.  My relative’s issue didn’t fit into a box, so the technology didn’t know how to handle it.  The customer got frustrated and ended up having to call.

In the CBS story, customer service representatives noted that many customers are upset and just want to vent – that was the best way for the customer to settle down.  Unfortunately, virtual assistants and chatbots have a hard time giving empathy because, after all, they’re computers. They don’t have feelings and cannot truly sympathize with the customer.  Customers want sincere empathy, and they understand they’re not getting it when they’re talking to a computer.

What You Do Better than the Virtual Assistant

I’m not sharing this to suggest that the chatbots and the virtual assistants are going away.  They can provide value, and not just to the company, but also to the customer.  And some customers prefer to use this process for customer service.

This Tip is being shared so that those who serve customers can understand what differentiates us from those virtual service offerings.

We differentiate ourselves from virtual customer service with our interest and willingness to find out the specific details of the customer situation.  It is our willingness to find out about potential alternatives, and converse with the customer about the pros and the cons, what would work best for them.  It is the ability and desire to be empathetic and understanding, to truly convey how much we value the customer.  We differentiate ourselves from those chatbots by the ability to more often deliver first contact resolution, to avoid the multiple handoffs.

We don’t need to fear these alternative technologies.  We need to understand what we provide beyond what they provide.  We need to utilize them as tools, as useful inputs for what we offer to our customers.

Understand what you can and do provide beyond these technology supports, and make sure you’re engaging with customers to highlight your proactive nature, your inquisitiveness about the specifics of the situation, your empathy, and your ability to truly help the customer the first time.

Be Better than AI Customer Service.

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