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Seamlessness - Why the Customer Thanked You - 6/23/26


This doesn’t happen enough nowadays, but the employee received a long thank you e-mail from the customer.  A financial services account manager had taken care of the client during a period of time that was stressful for the customer. Life was unexpectedly changing quickly, and personal emotions, additional financial responsibilities, Read more

When to Avoid the Escalation - 6/16/26


The customer calls with a complaint, and the easy thing to do is to escalate it to your supervisor. That may also be the right thing to do, but how do you know when to avoid the escalation? Why You Would Escalate The first thing to consider is why you would Read more

Let’s be Clear on Clarity - 6/9/26


When trying to manage expectations, it’s vital to be clear with the customer.  But what specifically does it mean to be “clear?” Clarity is in the eyes and ears of the beholder, so what may be clear to one customer may be unclear to another.  However, there are some basic Read more

Allow Yourself to Solve a Couple Puzzles Every Day - 6/2/26


Frank had never been a dog owner before, and when he first got Bosco at the shelter, Frank didn't really know what he was doing.  He would try to be a good parent - feed the dog, play with it, take it on walks - but he was doing Read more

Improve with a Purpose - 5/26/26


If you’re reading these customer service tips, you likely want to get better.  You want an idea, a technique, a reinforcement, or a question that helps you improve. But why improve? At some point you may waver on the commitment to improve, because it can take effort, introspection, time, and change.  Read more

Reciprocate the Thanks - 5/19/26


Jasmine had a great experience with the company, and the company sent her a link to provide an online evaluation following the visit.  So, she clicked the link, gave a rating, and made a comment about her experience. The company monitored their online reviews, saw the positive response, and replied Read more

Don’t Skip the Recap - 5/12/26


The playoff hockey game goes on for almost 3 hours.  There’s non-stop action, with plenty of penalties and takeaways and hits against the boards…and a few goals, as well. You didn’t get to watch the whole game because you had other plans, but you wanted to know what happened.  So, Read more

Finalize the Solution with the 6 Step Checklist - 5/5/26


In last week’s Tip, we showed why and how to Use the 6 Step Checklist before Resolving the Issue.  We noted the importance of taking 15 seconds to mentally walk through the Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How to feel confident that you know what’s needed to fix Read more

Use the 6 Step Checklist before Resolving the Issue - 4/28/26


We talk about trying to resolve the issue right the first time, sharing the technique on how to manage the conversation to get clarity on the real issue, need, or goal, and confirming your understanding before moving forward. But what are you trying to clarify?  What are you trying to Read more

Use the Customer’s Words - 4/21/26


The customer is describing a problem on what they call their “computer.” They mentioned that the “screen” doesn’t “move from one page to the other.” They say that the “website’s name is typed at the top,” and it says sample.com with a “line, and then it says ‘home’ after Read more

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

Posted on February 17, 2026 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

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 to identify a plan today to get to tomorrow’s end goal.

Having an understanding of that end goal helps you design a pathway that can move you toward that goal.  It helps us to create a litmus test for decisions such as: Will this task or time spent on this activity help me to achieve my goal?  If not, then how can I avoid doing that task or minimize time and resources spent on activities that will not ultimately help me achieve my goal?

But even if you don’t believe in goal setting or you’re not a big planner, you can still succeed with the right attitude and the right outlook.

So, let’s talk about those who don’t have the best outlook, who don’t paint that positive picture of the vision.  What about those folks who begin with the dead end in mind?

Don’t Focus on the Dead Ends

I’m talking about those who – from the start – think about the dead ends.  These are people who react to an idea with why it can’t happen.  These are the ones who react to the plan by identifying why it won’t work.  These are the ones who have the best intentions, but they’re just so jaded by what they’ve personally experienced or seen others experience that the response is based on what if it doesn’t work out?

It’s always beneficial to have people with alternative perspectives or those who can play the devil’s advocate.  That type of feedback is helpful in refining a goal or tweaking a plan.  So, it’s OK for that to be an add on, an additional set of questions or information.  But it’s not OK if that is the starting point.

Start with a Positive Outcome and a Plan

When there’s a new idea on how to deal with certain customer issues, how to grow the season ticket holder base, or how to implement some new customer experience, we have to paint a positive picture as a starting point.  We have to create a plan that – if executed effectively – will stay focused on the end goal and efficiently get us from Point A to Point B.

We have to design with optimism from the start.  And THEN, weave in those questions and concerns to make sure our plan is as strong as it can possibly be, anticipating the roadblocks so we can create a plan that is flexible but yet still ultimately gets us to where we want to be down the road.

If you or a co-worker you thought of as you read this Tip are people who begin with the dead end in mind, initially pause your thoughts.  Pause verbalizing all the questions and concerns.  Allow the vision and the plan to develop.  Then, bring up the questions and potential concerns that are going to make the final plan better.

Don’t Begin with the Dead End in Mind.

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Pressure is a Privilege, but… – 1/13/26

Posted on January 13, 2026 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

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 situation within a given game where how you perform can determine the outcome.

So, yes, in ways, pressure is a privilege, but…pressure is still pressure.

In the world of customer service, you – as a customer service professional – are under pressure a lot.  And oftentimes, you’re under pressure because of nothing that you did.  It was because of some product flaw that took place in a manufacturing plant six months ago.  It’s because of a bad experience that an attendee to an event had with one of your co-workers.  It’s about some misinformation that went out via e-mail or on the website, and now people are upset.  It’s a complaint about the facility that you didn’t build, with a policy that you did not enact, with a process that you did not design, or the price that you did not quote.

Why You’re in a High-Pressure Situation

You’re in this situation where pressure’s involved, but as I said earlier, it’s a privilege to be there.  It’s a privilege because you find yourself in this position for a reason…

Somebody thought you had potential, so they entrusted you with your responsibilities.  Somebody thought this was an opportunity for you to grow, and they wanted to offer you the chance to improve.  You exhibited empathy and understanding, and someone believed your qualities enable you to deal with challenges.

You’re experienced, and you know how to handle difficult situations.  You excel at communicating or at defusing negative emotions.  You make the company look good by how you care for their clients.

You find yourself in pressure situations for a reason.  Somebody thought you have potential, or you have great qualities, or you’re highly skilled…or all of the above.

View pressure as a privilege.

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Be Supportive, Not Defensive – 10/7/25

Posted on October 7, 2025 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

[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.  We wouldn’t have half the problems that we do if it wasn’t for Bob.

We have probably all worked with a Bob.  He’s that co-worker who causes of fires that we find ourselves fighting.  Maybe he’s the salesperson that made expectations that operations or customer service know cannot be delivered.  Maybe he’s somebody with the best intentions but communicates them in a way that creates issues for others.  But we don’t want to throw Bob under the proverbial bus.

On the other hand, Bob may be an outstanding employee!  Maybe the customer is totally in the wrong, so it’s understandable that we could be defensive because Bob is unjustly being chastised by the customer in their conversation with you.

Whether the customer complaint is justified or not, that co-worker is as much a part of the organization as you are, so how can we be supportive without being defensive?

Avoiding Defensiveness

One way to address this is to keep in mind that defensiveness is often exhibited through our emotions.  To avoid being defensive, keep the emotions down, keep the tone a little more calm and steady, be intentional about your body language, trying not to raise the temperature with the customer.

Being Supportive

Don’t feel like you have to argue on your co-worker’s behalf in order to be supportive.  Sometimes the best thing to do is to convey what you know and don’t know, note your experience or lack thereof in the situation or with your co-worker, and transition the conversation away from your co-worker and back toward the issue and possible resolution.  Talking to the customer:

I wasn’t in that conversation, so I can’t speak specifically to what Bob said, but I’m sorry you had to deal with it, and I want to help you find a resolution.

I’ve known Bob for years, and I’ll definitely talk with him since that’s not the experiences his customers typically have, and I’m very sorry about what happened in your case.  Let’s discuss how we can resolve this for you.

That’s not how we typically do things around here, so I’m very sorry about the situation.  I’ll definitely share your concerns internally after our call, and right now I want to make sure we can get this situation addressed immediately.

Don’t agree with the customer that Bob was at fault; stay composed; let them know if the situation isn’t typical, and move toward a resolution.

Be Supportive, Not Defensive.

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