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Don’t Begin with the Dead End in Mind - 2/17/26


Habit #2 of Stephen Covey’s “Seven Habits of Highly Successful People” is “Begin with the End in Mind.”  It speaks to the need to have a clear vision or goal for what you’re trying to ultimately achieve, so you understand the purpose of what you’re doing.  It helps you Read more

Explain without Over Explaining - 2/10/26


The customer has a question, and we have an answer.  They need to learn something, and we’re in the position to be the educator.  There’s a process they have to go through, and we need them to understand. We know so much, and we could impart so much, but sometimes Read more

Look for a Stop Sign - 2/3/26


As a customer service professional, what you say matters.  The information you’re providing is useful.  The direction you’re giving the other person is helpful.  But... As you’re speaking, you also need to be reading.  Reading the other person.  Watching the customer, determining whether and how they’re receiving what you’re sharing.  Read more

When They Want the Supervisor - 1/27/26


Maybe you did your best with the customer, or maybe the customer didn’t even give you a chance.  They want to talk to your supervisor.  They see you, notice your title does not have “supervisor” or “manager” or “director” or “President and CEO” in it, so they want to Read more

Identify Your Point of Empathy - 1/20/26


I was watching a webinar recently on empathy.  The speaker mentioned that empathy - to a large extent - is something that you are born with.  It’s something that’s very difficult to learn.  And while I agree that some people are predisposed to being empathetic and understanding of others Read more

Pressure is a Privilege, but... - 1/13/26


When athletes are asked about the pressure of a playoff match or a late-game situation, many times they will say that “pressure is a privilege.”  In other words, usually pressure exists because you’re in a match that matters most.  It exists because you are a player put in a Read more

While I’ve Got You on the Phone… - 1/6/26


I’m a big planner.  Whether it’s strategic planning or planning out the year or planning my week first thing on a Monday morning, I like to plan.  I do this because it gets all of my action items documented and ensures that I have some understanding of what I Read more

Pass the Quick Impression Test - 12/30/25


Some studies have shown that people create an impression of you in less than a second when they first meet you face-to-face.  Other studies have shown that that initial impression can take up to 7 seconds.  Regardless, first impressions are quick.  First impressions are not always the lasting impression, Read more

2025 Holiday Poem - 12/23/25


We hear the word change And that change can be good, But we like things to stay same, And sometimes they should.   The weather can be wet And then dry as a bone. We know things will change, Even if all left alone.   Our customers change. Our co-workers do, too. It seems like our resources Are often too few.   The technology Read more

Make the Long Wait Feel Shorter - 12/16/25


When Greg entered the Tax Office, he was thinking only about two things: (1) How he was going to get the tax value on his home reduced, and (2) Whether the wait would be 1 hour or 2.  He checked in with the navigator who asked a few questions, Read more

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Look for a Stop Sign – 2/3/26

Posted on February 3, 2026 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

As a customer service professional, what you say matters.  The information you’re providing is useful.  The direction you’re giving the other person is helpful.  But…

As you’re speaking, you also need to be reading.  Reading the other person.  Watching the customer, determining whether and how they’re receiving what you’re sharing.  And sometimes if you’re really watching the customer – their behaviors, their expressions – you can read their signs, and sometimes the signs say STOP.  They say PAUSE.  They say LET THEM TALK.

When you’re sharing something with the customer or you’re talking to them, and they are flipping through their paperwork or scrolling the phone for some information, they’re not paying attention.  That’s a Stop Sign.

When they look at the clock or their watch, or their eye contact strays elsewhere, that’s a Stop Sign.

When you can tell they’re trying to talk or convey some information or physically moving in such a way that they’re about to burst unless they get their turn to speak, that’s a Stop Sign.

When the brow gets furrowed, like they’ve just been asked to lay out a blueprint for World Peace or provide the algorithm that Google uses to prioritize web searches, they may be unclear or confused.  That’s a Stop Sign.

At this point, it’s not about what we’re saying, it’s about how we’re listening to their body language.  It’s how we’re focused on how they’re receiving or not receiving our message, how they’re paying or not paying attention.

Sometimes the best thing to do in a conversation with a customer is to know when to stop speaking and ask them about their thoughts, or ask if they have something to share, or ask if anything is unclear.

 Look for a Stop Sign.

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Identify Your Point of Empathy – 1/20/26

Posted on January 20, 2026 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

I was watching a webinar recently on empathy.  The speaker mentioned that empathy – to a large extent – is something that you are born with.  It’s something that’s very difficult to learn.  And while I agree that some people are predisposed to being empathetic and understanding of others (having that innate level of concern for others’ situations and their feelings), I have also witnessed people who became more empathetic over time.  They learned what it means.  They learned the importance of it.  They intentionally strived to build their habits and skill sets to be more empathetic.

Some of us find it difficult to be empathetic because we – understandably – feel like we don’t know exactly what that other person is going through; we’ve never truly been in their shoes.  But to be empathetic, you don’t have to have had the same life experiences of the other; with empathy, we’re simply trying to create a cognitive understanding, and utilize that knowledge to serve the other person better, to treat them better.

Creating Empathy for a Situation You’ve Not Experienced

For example, the customer may be upset that they received an unexpected fee on their bank statement, and they’re complaining to you.  Maybe you’ve never gotten an unexpected bank fee, but you’ve been charged more than you expected for the hamburger or the clothing or the service on your car.

Your season ticket holder may be upset because the seats that they’ve been in for years are moving next season due to some reorganization of the grandstands.  You’ve never had this exact situation happen to you, but your monthly 8:00 a.m. physical therapy appointment was just moved to an afternoon slot because your therapist is going part-time, and her hours are changing.

The local home builder walks into your offices because she’s upset that her plans didn’t pass, and that’s going to add at least 2-4 weeks to her project.  You’ve never been in that exact situation, but you applied to take night classes, and the application wasn’t approved due to some missing paperwork, so it’s going to take longer than expected to begin.

If you’re not the most empathetic person in the world, that’s OK.  Many of us were not born with that natural inclination.  But we can learn to empathize, and it doesn’t require that we’ve actually been in the exact situation that our customers are experiencing today.

Find Something Similar, Not Something Exactly the Same

Ask some questions to truly understand their situation, think of something similar you’ve been involved with, and use that understanding to build up your own empathy for what they’re going through.  You don’t have to tell them your similar story, but use that story to at least create some internal empathy for the other person.

Identify Your Point of Empathy.

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In Customer Service, Don’t Mess with the King

Posted on July 11, 2012 in Business Advice, World of Customer Service Please leave a comment

Now that title could mean anything. By “King,” do we mean Elvis? How about LeBron James? Er…no.

Do we mean an actual King?! Close…he’s a Sir, not a King.

In the article King calls for bank culture change, Bank of England governor Sir Mervyn King stated that Britain’s banks “need a real change in culture.” He made that statement because of “excessive levels of compensation, shoddy treatment of customers and a deceitful manipulation of one of the most important rates.”

Well, these might be byproducts of the banking culture in Britain, but the question to ask whenever anyone suggests a need for a culture change is “What is the root cause of the problem?” Once you get to the root cause, you can start to determine what aspects of the culture need to be addressed.

Whether it’s a British bank or a City government, whether it’s a community hospital or a small plastics manufacturer, there are several areas to investigate for root causes when wanting to change a culture:

  • What are the organization’s mission/vision/goals? These help to determine the culture.
  • What behaviors does leadership model to staff? This impacts employee behavior.
  • How is the organization structured? This impacts decision-making and workflow.
  • How well do processes align to organizational goals? This creates the reality of whether the company can move toward its goals.
  • What incentives and points of accountability exist? This also drives employee behavior.
  • How (and who) does the organization hire, retain, fire? This creates the human fabric of the culture.
  • How does the company communicate internally and externally? This reinforces (or contradicts and confuses) what the organization is all about.

The next time you have an issue with a company’s culture, run through this checklist to begin identifying the true root causes of the problems.

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