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Everybody Doesn’t - 2/25/25


Joey received the compliment, but he was confused.  Paula, his boss, and Joey had their monthly one-on-one meeting, and Paula noted that, although he was new, Joey was already doing a great job!  While there were learning curves on some of the organizational policies and the technology that he Read more

A Simple Phrase to Transform Your Customer Feedback Approach - 2/18/25


I went to a restaurant called Big Ed’s (no relation) in Raleigh, NC recently.  It’s basically country cooking with fantastic breakfast options!  On the menu there was a quote that said: If you enjoyed your meal, tell a friend.  If not, please tell us. That was an excellent statement that embodies Read more

What Phones and Football Have in Common - 2/11/25


Congratulations!  You made it through weeks/months of hype for football’s Super Bowl!  You made it through hundreds of pregame shows and podcasts, endless debates on things endlessly inconsequential, 10 hours of pre-game shows on Sunday, what seems like 100 commercials designed specifically for the “Big Game,” and the longest Read more

Create Awareness of Alternatives - 2/4/25


Sandy was hungry, and she was on the move.  Driving between meetings, she saw the restaurant sign and pulled in.  The fast-food restaurant had two drive-thru lanes.  One was for any customer who wanted to place an order on the spot. The other was for mobile orders only.  The Read more

Listen with Your Eyes - 1/28/25


Out of the corner of his eye, Patrick saw the customer enter the lobby.  The customer was carrying a large shoulder bag with several papers in her hand.  The customer was shuffling the papers and looking down; then she stopped, looked up, and saw the staff navigator sitting at Read more

When You’re the Educator, What Should You Teach? - 1/21/25


The best customer service professionals are also excellent educators.  Not only within the organization, but I’m talking specifically about the role they play as educator with their customers.  With all the self-service options that technology provides, customers often have the opportunity to do things on their own, to investigate Read more

Wrap It Up Right: Why Follow-Up Communications WOW Customers - 1/14/25


Dena had some questions about her water bill, so she looked for answers on the utility’s website.  She didn’t find specific answers, and she really didn’t want to get on the phone with somebody at the time and risk staying on hold.  She had lots going on, but she Read more

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

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Create Awareness of Alternatives – 2/4/25

Posted on February 4, 2025 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

Sandy was hungry, and she was on the move.  Driving between meetings, she saw the restaurant sign and pulled in.  The fast-food restaurant had two drive-thru lanes.  One was for any customer who wanted to place an order on the spot. The other was for mobile orders only.  The line for people placing the order was so long that it almost stretched to the street; there was no line in the mobile order lane.  Luckily, Sandy had downloaded the mobile app once before, so she pulled it up on her phone, placed the order, and then moved into the mobile app lane.  She had her food in less than two minutes.

The next day, Sandy had to make a deposit into one of her accounts at the bank, and withdraw cash from another account.  She had a habit of going into the branch, but when she walked in, there were 15 customers in line with two tellers waiting on them.  While waiting for a couple minutes, she noticed the drive-thru teller in a separate room in the back.  She noticed that teller was looking at her phone and occasionally peering at her computer screen – she wasn’t busy.  So Sandy left the branch, hopped in her car, and was first in line at the drive-thru.  She was out of there in about 3 minutes.

When Sandy got home, the Wi-Fi wasn’t working.  She used her phone app to access the internet provider’s site and logged into her account; she noted the customer care phone number, so she dialed.  The system said that she was sixth in line, and the estimated hold time was 12 minutes.  She noticed a chat function on the app, so while she remained on hold, she launched a chat.  Sandy got a hold of a representative immediately, they put a ticket in, and within two minutes, they had begun remotely testing her Wi-Fi.  She hung up the call.

These are three organizations that could have had clear stories of poor customer service experiences, but luckily for them (and for Sandy!), there was an alternative option in each case.  Sandy was able to order via the mobile app.  She was able to get into her car and go through the drive-thru teller line.  She was able to initiate a chat even while she was on hold on the phone.

It was a better experience because there was an alternative option, and most of all because she was aware of the alternative.

As you strive to deliver great customer service, know the options available to your customers.  Maybe the line is long, but the line might be shorter if some member of the team informed the customer of the other options.  Maybe the wait seemed excessive, but the wait would be shorter if one of the employees could convey an alternative to the customers that might give them service quicker.

Sometimes the best thing we can do to serve our customers is to build their awareness of other ways they can get their needs met.

Create awareness of alternatives.

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Do You Know if They Know?

Posted on June 8, 2010 in Business Advice, Government Please leave a comment

We’ve designed a great number of surveys for municipalities and their agencies, focusing on customer satisfaction, perception, and awareness. What is so important with these government-based research instruments that is often downplayed or overlooked entirely is the focus on awareness.

Awareness questions typically focus on two areas: (1) Gauging the resident’s awareness of services and programs offered by the municipality and its agencies and (2) Gauging the resident’s awareness of processes – essentially how to do things.

These questions are vital because all the radio public service announcements, flyers, and government TV channels cost money; but the goal is not to implement a strategy to push information to residents. The goal is for the residents to understand, to remember, to be aware. So that awareness has to be measured – municipalities want participation (i.e., people using their parks, getting access to support services, attending events, and utilizing their recreation centers), and they want whatever revenue is associated with that participation.

But in this age of customer service being balanced with customer “self-service,” residents must also be aware of HOW TO do things. What’s the process to apply for Medicaid, to reserve a park shelter, update my business listing online, get a new recycle bin, or report that the neighbor puts oil down the sewer drain? The more educated residents are on how to do things themselves, the more efficient a municipality can be in providing that service since the resident either goes through the process on their own or they contact the right employee to help them the first time.

These principles are universal in business – customer awareness is a huge asset to any business wanting to grow (i.e., increasing awareness of products/services) and any business wanting to improve efficiencies (i.e., increasing awareness of service processes).

When you conduct your customer surveys, make sure you’re researching your customer’s awareness.

Interested in improving your company’s customer service? See more information at: http://www.cssamerica.com/