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Imitate to Improve - 6/3/25


Oscar Wilde said that “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.”  Now this doesn’t mean that plagiarism is the sincerest form of flattery.  Nor does it mean that great impersonators such as Rich Little, Dana Carvey, or Frank Caliendo are always offering flattering portrayals of those that they imitate. Wilde’s Read more

How the Customer Perceives a Truth as a Lie - 5/27/25


You’re the customer, you’re asking about an unused item that you’re returning, and you hear the employee say: “The refund process takes 7-10 days.”  You’re thinking: “Great!  I can get the refund check as early as a week from today!”  The reality is that the company means that they’ll Read more

Tell Customers What’s Next - 5/20/25


In most businesses that have been around for a while, how a process was originally designed is not how it currently operates.  Sometimes this change is referred to as “practical drift,” where the actual process moves further and further away from the documented steps over time.  Maybe the changes Read more

Questions to Guide You to Empathy - 5/13/25


“If I was him, I would do ABC…” If you’ve ever heard somebody say this - whether it’s a friend or acquaintance, whether it’s some TV reporter or podcaster - you may get as frustrated or as annoyed as I do. I get annoyed because we are not that other person. Read more

Negate the Nervousness - 5/6/25


The customer needed a loan, so he walked into the bank, but he was a little nervous.  He knew that launching his business would be easier if he had some working capital, but that’s about all he knew.  He was anxious because he didn’t know what to expect in Read more

Don’t Rush to Resolve Quickly - 4/29/25


The customer is angry, so you use the CSS LEAD technique as designed.  You, listen, empathize, accept responsibility, and deliver on a remedy.  But it doesn’t work.  The customer is still upset, and maybe even a little more frustrated than when you started…why?! If the use of this technique fails, Read more

Energy v. Apathy - 4/22/25


I asked a couple friends who are much more scientifically-oriented the question: What is energy?  I didn’t mean E=MC2.  I meant physiologically, what is energy? They described a lot of things that sounded really good, yet far too advanced for my non-medical mind. Part of the reason why energy is of Read more

Prep Enough to Personalize - 4/15/25


Everybody loves Howie.  He is an account rep for the local air conditioning and heating company.  When I say Everybody loves Howie, I’m definitely talking about the customers.  His co-workers love him too, but customers are especially fond of him.  They seem to really enjoy their conversations with him, Read more

Get Your Customers to Brag, Not Bolt - 4/8/25


Here are two customer retention concepts that we discuss with some sports clients: BIRG and CORF.  BIRG is Basking In Reflected Glory.  CORF is Cutting Off Reflected Failure. You want BIRG.  You want the customers feeling so good about your organization that they want to be a part of your Read more

Narrow Your Focus to Seek Excellence - 4/1/25


You’ve probably heard companies use phrases such as: “We want to go from being good to great.”  Maybe they’ve said: “We strive for perfection, and although we’ll never reach perfection, maybe we can achieve excellence along the way.” These organizations find some kind of a catch phrase or slogan, but Read more

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Tell Them the MOST Important Point – 8/16/16

Posted on August 16, 2016 in Customer Service Tip of the Week 1 Comment


I’m wordy. Brevity isn’t my gift. In high school, some of my sports teammates called me The Rambling Man.

I was once in a meeting at a hospital with a COO who asked my opinion on an important decision they were to make. I waxed eloquently about the pros and cons of each option, offering very sound, salient points. After a couple minutes of my wisdom, the COO responded “Therefore?”

“Oh!” I replied. “We should go with Option A.”

What the COO really wanted was my “Therefore,” but I was more focused on all the rationale that led up to my recommendation.

When you’re dealing with a customer, sometimes it’s easy to fall into the trap of providing so much background or detail in a situation that we forget to emphasize (or even say) WHY all that information is important and what specifically should be done.

Here’s another example: When we conduct mystery shopping engagements for clients, sometimes the shop consultants will ask the employee a question about a need or issue, and the employee rambles through 37 potential services without ever recommending something specific based on the specific customer’s need.

All these points (am I rambling again?) come down to the main point. Before you respond to the customer, ask yourself “What is the most important thing I could tell them?” or “What do THEY care about most?” or “What do I suggest happen in this situation?”

Ask yourself the key question to ensure you give them clearly, specifically, and succinctly what they need.

Remove the Rambling. Tell them the MOST Important Point.

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