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Use What the Customer Gives You - 8/25/26


Scenario #1: The customer sent an e-mail to the general inbox at the company.  The message noted that the customer needed to get a family member added to their account, but they couldn’t tell from the website how to do so. The next morning an employee opened up the e-mail, Read more

How Better Customer Service is Better for You - 8/18/26


Oftentimes, we have employees in training or workshops who really want to understand what’s in it for them to deliver better customer service.  How does the employee benefit from a better customer experience? Noted below are 5 different aspects of a great experience desired by the customer.  What if... The customer Read more

Manage New Customer Expectations - 8/11/26


The fan had never been to a motorsports event before, but they had been to concerts.  They had been to big conferences.  At those other events, they could park right next to the venue, many of the activities were indoors, and weather was a non-issue.  So, they were not Read more

Complement Empathy with Action - 8/4/26


A man falls into a hole, and he can’t get out.  He starts yelling for help, and a doctor walks by and looks down the hole.  The man in the hole yells to the doctor “Please help me.  I’ve fallen into this hole!”  And the doctor takes out a Read more

My 8-Minute Visit at the DMV- 7/28/26


I needed to get a Real ID, which in North Carolina facilitates airline travel and other identity verifications.  My wife suggested I go to one particular DMV that was a LONG way away from home, but where she had experienced great customer service.  I was lucky to find an Read more

When They Might Walk Out the Door…Permanently- 7/21/26


Have you ever had one of those conversations with the customer where they literally tell you they’re about to stop doing business with your company?  This is it.  They may bring up a competitor or found another way to get their need met, or they are just leaving. When we Read more

Transparency in Customer Service- 7/14/26


We’ve worked with a lot of clients in the local government sector, and many of these clients have Customer Service Standards and/or corporate values that include Transparency. Think about an old-fashioned transparency sheet, that malleable see-through page you put on an overhead projector.  You can see everything on one side Read more

See the Customer’s Journey from Their Perspective- 7/7/26


That customer is face-to-face with you right now, and you are fielding their questions or delivering your service to them.  And oftentimes and understandably, we are so immersed in the moment that we don’t think about what came before or think enough about what comes next. But in the life Read more

Gaining the Benefits of the Greeter- 6/30/26


Most likely, we’ve all entered some establishment – a retail store, restaurant, or service center - when there is a greeter at the door.  The most famous greeter position is probably the Walmart greeter.  I often thought that my father-in-law would have been a fantastic Walmart greeter, because he Read more

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

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The Deeper Reason to Transform the Customer Experience – 6/2/20

Posted on June 2, 2020 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

Why are government offices putting up plexiglass between their staff and their customers?  Why is restaurant takeout being done in such a way that is contactless and yet still fosters engagement between the employee and customer?  Why have so many traditionally onsite businesses converted to delivery businesses?

The answer is obvious.  But I want to look at a different answer that is a little bit deeper.  Particularly as we are transitioning back into reopening many of our businesses, a lot of these changes are not changes in the product or service itself.  They are changes in how the product is delivered.  They are changes in the experience the customer has with the organization.  They are changes in how that experience looks and feels when the customer comes to our facilities and locations.

And we are making these changes not just to adhere to governmental regulations and not just to address new organizational policies.

We are making these changes so that our customers are comfortable and confident.  We want our customers, after experiencing this new way of doing business with us, to have confidence enough in our ability to deliver that product or service that they are willing to come back.

In other words, we’re doing this to create the comfort and confidence that leads to repeat business.

So, even though we are changing our operations to adhere to regulations and policies, start transitioning to a slightly higher-level set of questions.  When you are thinking of how to transform your customer experience, ask:  How can you make an experience that will create more comfort for the customer?  How can you create communications around the experience that make the customer more confident?

As you begin to make these changes, focus on the comfort and confidence that your customer will walk away with, and you will – in the end – focus on the things that are going to drive repeat business.

Design for customer comfort and confidence.

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Reduce Their Anxiety Leading Up to Their Return

Posted on May 19, 2020 in Business Advice Please leave a comment

Building customer comfort and confidence in going to your facilities is a process which has a lot of similarities to the technique we train clients on to reduce customer anxiety.  From a tactical perspective, when you’re interacting with somebody who is anxious or nervous, you want to get them more comfortable and less worried about their situation or what’s going to happen.

Convey your understanding of their situation, so they realize they’re not a number – instead, they feel you view them as an important individual.  Tell them a little bit about yourself and the experience that you’ve had in dealing with similar situations – you’re building their confidence in you.  Next, explain a process or what an experience is going to be like.  Oftentimes anxiety or worry are about fear of the unknown.  By explaining the next steps and the timeframes, your role v. theirs, the unknown becomes known.

“To create customer comfort, make the unknown known

 

Finally, end with appreciation and positivity.  This whole 1-on-1 interaction technique applies to your broader strategy of building customer comfort and confidence.

Here’s the Strategic View:  Communicate with them over time to maintain the relationship leading up to their return visit.  Provide some empathy of their situation, and detail what you and your organization are already doing to ensure that your employees and – most importantly – the customers themselves are safe and healthy.  Explain all the steps that you’re going to take next to prepare to provide a great (and safe) experience.  And thank them in advance for their return and their trust in you.

Build comfort and confidence from your customers by leaning on our successful technique for reducing customer anxiety and worry.


When Jack Gave Arnie a Tip – 1/21/20

Posted on January 21, 2020 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

Jack Nicklaus may have been the greatest golfer ever.  Many think that Arnold Palmer was the most important golfer of the 20th century.  These two greats were contemporaries, so they became competitors and friends all at once.  And when somebody who is one of the greatest of all time gives you advice, you should take it, right?

Since these players spoke thousands of times over the years on the golf course, advice was often shared.  One day, Jack walked over to Arnie on the practice range, and since Jack was one of the greatest high ball hitters in history, he offered Arnold, a low ball hitter, a little bit of advice on how to get the ball up in the air when needed. Arnold thanked Jack, and he tried the advice, but the tip didn’t work.  

It was advice from one of the greatest ever, but it just didn’t work.  It doesn’t mean that the advice wasn’t good; it means that particular advice did not work for that particular person to address a particular need.

Luckily for Arnie, he realized that just because the source of the advice was great, that didn’t mean that the advice would work for him.  He understood it wouldn’t work because he understood himself.  He understood what his strengths were and how he went about doing his job.  He understood his skill set, what he was capable of, and what he was not capable of or not comfortable doing.

It’s the same for us.  None of us are perfect.  None of us are at the peak of all of our skills or abilities in the working world, so we need to be open to suggestions.  We need to be open to guidance and direction.

However, before we take on any advice and try to utilize it exactly how it’s given, make sure we start with an understanding of ourselves.  We need to ensure that what has worked for someone will truly work for us, because we are different people with different skills and abilities and perspectives.  We need to consider the advice and guidance, but make sure we do it with an understanding of who we are.  

When someone gives you a tip, consider it, but consider it through a lens of self-awareness.

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