at-risk | Customer Service Solutions, Inc.

Build Relationships with First-timers - 11/11/25


We’ve worked with one of our sports clients for over 10 years, and although the main focus of our work is research with their fan base, we also provide informal consulting advice and guidance whenever possible.  One approach we’ve talked about on and off for years is the need Read more

Last Impression Faux Pas - 11/4/25


Rightfully so, many customer service experts harp on the importance of the first impression.  It happens quickly, and it can impact the individual’s perception of you and the organization.  We even wrote a Tip of the Week on this years ago called First Impression Faux Pas. What many people tend Read more

Familying with Customers - 10/28/25


In our transactional society, it’s hard to think about customers in the long-term.  But if we want to be as successful as we can as an individual or as a business, we need to view customers through a relationship lens. What do we need to know about them to Read more

Avoid These Techniques - 10/21/25


We had a Customer Service Tip of the Week recently that addressed gaining control of the conversation.  One of the key points was that the focus should be on gaining control of conversations in various circumstances, but trying to avoid making it your goal to gain control of the Read more

View Quality through the Customer’s Eyes - 10/14/25


Geri had been dealing with backups in the downstairs plumbing system of her house on and off for the past year.  The most recent company that she called in to unclog the pipes stated that they could send a camera down the pipes and tell her exactly where the Read more

Be Supportive, Not Defensive - 10/7/25


[An employee on the phone with a customer…] Who told you that you didn’t have to submit that form? … Bob?  Oh brother!  You see Bob is our “special” co-worker.  He seems to always tell customers the wrong thing to do, and we’re having to clean up after him.  Read more

Some Customers LOVE Predictability - 9/30/25


I was facilitating focus groups of businesses that utilize local government services.  The phrase that popped up multiple times was “Time Is Money!”  What these municipal customers were conveying was that their time was valuable, and delays were wasting their time.  But the conversations were not just about how Read more

Find Your Special Sauce - 9/23/25


When I watch a football game and I see a great quarterback (somebody who may be considered a “Star”), he might be an excellent runner, have a big arm, be able to diagnose the defense and get his team into the right play.  But he’s likely not great at Read more

Gain Control of the Conversation - 9/16/25


The customer’s angry or upset or they have a complaint.  They’re very chatty or very wordy or they just want to talk to somebody.  You’re on a time crunch, and the customer obviously is not. There are times when you need to gain control of the conversation.  It’s important for Read more

Complement with a Compliment - 9/9/25


We perform many tasks for our customers every day, and when we’re done with a step in the process, oftentimes we will tell the customer what’s been done.  But if we want to create more of a WOW experience, if we want to make the customer feel a little Read more

It’s Customer Service Week…Do You Know Where Your Customers Are?

Posted on in Business Advice, World of Customer Service Please leave a comment

You may remember the television commercial that said “It’s 10 o’clock. Do you know where your children are?”

The idea was that there are certain times of the day when you should be acutely aware of what your children are up to and where they are located.

Well this is Customer Service Week, and this is one of those times when you should be acutely aware of where your customers are, what they’re thinking, how at-risk they are of leaving, and who else is trying to make them their customer by stealing them from you. This is also one of those times we need to be aware of where your employees are such as…What is their morale? What are they thinking about the company and the direction it’s going?

This is the perfect time to assemble all of your employees and managers, and have everyone make a personal call or visit or write a card to 3 to 5 customers to convey your company’s appreciation for their business and to ask where are the customers in terms of their perception of your business.

This is also a perfect time for management to model the behaviors they expect of employees by having management show appreciation for staff, having management to recognize those who are “other-focused,” to find ways to motivate the staff, and determine where their employees are in terms of their morale.

It’s Customer Service Week. Do you know where your customers are? Do you know where your employees’ heads are at?

Special note to the grammar police (I apologize for all the sentences ending with prepositions or otherwise incorrectly…we will return to appropriate grammar with the next posting).

🙂

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/