artificial intelligence | Customer Service Solutions, Inc.

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

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

Posted on 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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