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Be Amazing - 4/23/24


Watching Michael Jordan steal a pass and then dunk a basketball is amazing.  Taking a rocket to the moon is amazing.  The taste of my mom’s homemade beef soup is amazing. We all have our personal examples of what is amazing.  Usually, it’s something that we cannot comprehend, that we Read more

Talk About Yourself to Build Customer Confidence - 4/16/24


When you’re dealing with somebody who is anxious or nervous about a situation, a customer who feels like they don’t have much control, an individual who is unsure and uncertain, it’s important to put the customer at ease.  It’s important to build their comfort level.  It’s important to help Read more

The Proven Value in What You Do - 4/9/24


Forbes wrote an article last year based on a compilation of the results of research on customer service and the customer experience; it was titled:  100 Customer Experience Stats For 2023. In reading the article, you’ll note that many of these key research findings are about you – the value Read more

A Tale of Two Texts - 4/2/24


Having to get allergy shots once a week is never fun, and for Janet, it became an even bigger frustration. She had the shots typically scheduled on Tuesday around 10:30 in the morning, figuring she would avoid the morning rush as well as the lunch rush by going mid-morning.  However, Read more

The Secret Sauce for Great Customer Service - 3/26/24


I was working with the League Office for a major American sport several years back, and one of the executives asked me to describe our Secret Sauce that helped our clients improve the fan experience and customer retention.  I gave him a sense of what makes us unique and Read more

The Miracle of an Apology - 3/19/24


Unfortunate but true story… The manager basically lost his mind.  He terminated his employee on the spot.  She had told the customer that there was going to be a delay in the shipment.  The employee called up the customer ahead of time to let the customer know what was about Read more

It’s Not About the 5-Minute Wait - 3/12/24


Robert went into his supervisor’s office to update her on a situation at the payment desk.  Robert said that a customer was about fourth or fifth in line, waiting to be served, and the customer was complaining loudly about the wait.  He was there to make a property tax Read more

Lessons from the Greats - 3/5/24


I was recently facilitating a workshop on the customer experience, and I made the point that it’s usually beneficial to look at your personal life for great experiences; identify what really resonates with you in a positive way in order to uncover ideas to improve your own customer service. So, Read more

The Empathy Roadmap - 2/27/24


For some people, empathy comes naturally.  There’s an innate desire to learn about the other person and to sincerely convey that sense of interest and caring.  But for many of us, sometimes it helps to have a communication plan.  It helps to know what to do in order to Read more

“You’re the Boss” - 2/20/24


Terrence is excellent at what he does.  From a technical standpoint, he knows how to keep the facility clean.  He’s the lead custodian, and he knows that keeping things straight does not necessarily mean keeping things sanitary.  He knows what chemicals to use and not to use, how to Read more

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No Matter How You Say It, Say Thanks! – 11/20/18

Posted on November 20, 2018 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment


Gracias. Grazie. Gratias tibi. Obrigado. Tack. Merci. Danke. Thank You.

No matter how you say it, say it. Say Thank You. You can say Thank You in many different languages (shout out to Google Translate for what’s written above!). You can say it with your eyes, your gestures, your smile, and with a nod of the head.

You can say it in a written note or an email or a text. You can convey it face-to-face or on the phone. You can “like” a social media posting or send a little gift card of appreciation. You can say it in front of a group of co-workers or quietly convey it to the employee in the next cube.

You can do it at the start of the conversation or at the end of the conversation. You can do it each step of the way without having to wait until that process is done.

You can say it in a meeting or in front of someone’s boss.

One-on-one you can use the words thanks, appreciate, and value. In front of others you can use the words credit, acknowledge, recognize, salute, pay tribute, and even hail!

In America, it’s Thanksgiving week. So, let’s use that holiday as a good reason to be especially appreciative of co-workers and customers alike.

No matter how you say it, say it. Say Thanks!

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Why to Become an Empathy Expert – 11/13/18

Posted on November 13, 2018 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment


People who are great at customer service, understand that one of their most important attributes, one that is a must, is the ability to empathize with others. People want to be understood. They want to be heard. And before you can meet their need or address their feelings or resolve their issue, in customer service it’s not enough to understand what that issue involves. Customers also need to FEEL LIKE YOU UNDERSTAND that need, their feelings, and their perspective.

Empathy helps in emotional situations and service recovery situations because if people are upset and you show some understanding, they’ll feel you’re listening.

If they’re complaining and – instead of you arguing – you agree with some of what they say, they realize that they may not be in for a heated discussion. Therefore, the other person’s emotional level should drop because they feel like they’re dealing with an understanding person who’s not going to argue every point. Arguing with the client usually just keeps emotional levels high.

Empathy helps to bring down emotion, which is obviously better for the client. However, it’s also better for you since you can deal more with the issue and solution without as much emotion involved; this also helps to shorten conversations.

If you want to improve your skills and approach to serving others, then work on how you come across to others. Be more conscious of how your words and gestures and tone of voice make the other person feel. Know how your action elicits a certain reaction from them. Make your life and theirs better by better conveying how much you understand and how much you care.

Become an empathy expert.

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Listen Up! – 5/29/18

Posted on May 29, 2018 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment


When I was growing up, I would hear the phrase Listen Up frequently. It was usually being stated by adults who wanted to get the attention of a group of kids. It was usually stated loudly. It usually worked. At least for a minute or 2.

As an adult in the working world, I now find myself in customer service situations or advising clients on how to create a great customer experience. And while the phrase Listen Up has not lost its importance, it means something different today. Today, in business it relates to what employees should do with co-workers and customers. It suggests that in order for us to really solve a problem or address a need or resolve an issue, we have to be experts at listening.

So, what do experts at listening do most effectively?

They watch to observe and interpret the body language as much as they do the words. I was in a meeting recently where we were discussing certain individuals in the organization, and we were trying to uncover how they felt about a situation; it turns out that most of our conclusions were being driven by the body language they conveyed in meetings when the topics were discussed.

Experts at listening are experts at asking questions. They start with open-ended questions to let the other person share their issue, need, goal, their story or perspective. Then the listener drills down to specifics with close-ended questions to refine their understanding of the situation and the impact of potential solutions.

Listening experts let the other person talk. It seems obvious to say, but how can you listen if you’re doing all the talking? People who are great at listening let the other person talk 70-80% of the time – hearing the other’s perspective and guiding the conversation with those questions asked.

Great listeners are great at paraphrasing. They’ve listened so well that they can pause the conversation and – in their own words – explain the situation, the steps, the goals, and the desires conveyed by the other person. They can translate the body language, tone, the words and emotions of another.

Keep in mind that great listeners are often considered to be great conversationalists because the discussion flows, and the other person gets to share, feels comfortable doing so, and is speaking with someone who has an empathetic ear.

The art of listening is key to great conversations and great customer service.

Listen Up!

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