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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

Affirming the Customer with Empathy - 4/14/26


We’ve spoken and written about empathy for the 20+ years of these customer service tips, noting empathy as the most important quality any individual can have if they want to be great at customer service.  We’ve shared that - in order to serve our customers most effectively – it’s Read more

The Power of Teaching While Helping - 4/7/26


If you’re trying to develop a relationship with the customer rather than just simply handling their transaction and moving on, you are taking a long-term view.  You realize that that individual is someone you want to keep with your business for months or years to come, so it’s a Read more

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Slowing Down the Fast Talker – 3/24/26

Posted on March 24, 2026 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

Jeffrey had always been told by his manager to figure out the issue quickly and wrap up the conversation as fast as possible. 

So, Jeffrey was hyper-focused at finding that one key word that could identify the issue and help him to transition quickly to what might be some possible solutions.

He was especially happy to engage a fast-talking customer, because he could identify that one key word more quickly.

The Issue with his Approach to Problem-Solving

In theory, a fast-talking customer may be conducive to accessing a lot of information and wrapping up the conversation quickly, but it might NOT be conducive to wrapping up the issue correctly.

Jeffrey found that finding that one word led to assumptions about other key poinsts, and he would go down the wrong path only to have to do some rework or engage the customer multiple times to rectify what was truly the problem.

So, he devised his own methodology.  He took this non-stop or fast talker, and he came up with a way to slow down the customer.  Jeffrey realized that – to fully help the other person – he needed to understand the situation and its uniqueness.  And having a customer that was pinballing all over the place when describing what was going on wasn’t helping either of them to get to the right answer.

The Solutions He Developed

Jeffrey learned to interrupt politely and professionally: “I’m sorry to interrupt.  I just want to make sure I’m understanding exactly what you’re saying.  Is it OK if I ask you a couple quick questions?”

Jeffrey learned to clarify key points: “Just so I’m clear, did you say that that transaction happened in person or on the website?  Was that two weeks ago or last week?”

Jeffrey learned to summarize key points: “My understanding of what you just said is that the return was made last Tuesday, you were supposed to get a notification and never did, and you haven’t received the refund on your account at this point.  Did I understand those points correctly?”

In dealing with the fast talker, use these techniques when you need to slow them down.

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Don’t Bury the Lede – 3/17/26

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

Mary was working at the office, and she received an e-mail alert from the water company.  There was a water outage in her neighborhood.  It looked like it was going to be a couple hours to fix the issue.

Sure enough, a few hours later around mid-afternoon, Mary received another e-mail with the Subject “Water outage is fixed.” It was a long e-mail, but the Subject seemed to say it all, so she went back to her work.  When Mary got home and got a snack, she brought a glass to the kitchen faucet to get a drink of water.  Out of that faucet came some of the most disgusting looking and smelling brown water you’ve ever unexpectedly seen sputtering out of a faucet.  Nasty!

After the initial shock, it clicked with her that this was probably because of the water outage and whatever work they were doing to fix the pipes. So, she let the water run in the sink for about 5 minutes, but it still wasn’t clear and still smelled pretty bad.  She called the utility’s information center, but they were closed for the day.

Frustrated, she got something else to drink, made a quick dinner, and watched TV.  After dinner, she went back to the e-mail to see if there was some other way she could get in touch with somebody to let them know about the water quality issue.

Going Back to the Notification

She started reading the e-mail, going through paragraph after paragraph, and all of a sudden she read that the water could be brown after a repair such as this, and she needed to use a high-volume outlet – like either run the garden hose or run water in the bathtub – to get a lot of water cleared out of the pipes quickly so that water quality could get back to normal.

The information she needed was in the e-mail, but it was buried late in the message.  It wasn’t highlighted; there was no bolded header.

Highlighting the Points Most Important to the Customer

What could the utility have done better in this situation?  It could have realized that what was most important to the customer was having water quality and knowing her part to get clean water again.  The organization could have highlighted those points up front instead of expecting the customer to read through several paragraphs to see if there was anything important they needed to know or do.

When something is important to convey, don’t assume the customer’s going to read every detail.  Put the pertinent information up front.

Don’t bury the Lede.

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Is the Customer Issue an Organizational Issue? – 1/17/23

Posted on January 17, 2023 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

Customer retention is vital.  Most of next year’s customers are going to be those who are this year’s customers. So, the more you lose today, the fewer you will have tomorrow.  Organizations conduct research, data mine, or bring in consultants to help identify those customers who may be most at-risk of being lost.

But every individual in an organization can help identify at-risk customers.  Let’s ask some questions: When is a complaint a sign of risk?  When is an issue a sign of risk?  When is a lack of activity a sign of risk?

Defining Risk

By Risk we mean…Risk of losing a customer.  Risk of having many customers having the same complaint or issue that your customer is experiencing.  Risk of customers not using your services, not engaging with your business, finding other ways to get their needs met.

As with most aspects of customer service and retention, frontline staff are often best-positioned to help the organization as a whole.

Finding Organizational Issues

If the complaint is about a highly-used process or some aspect of the product or service, that could be a bigger risk for the whole organization if other customers are using that same process, product, or service.  However, when a complaint is about an individual employee, that actually may not be a sign of risk for the whole company.  Maybe it’s a localized situation.

When the issue being discussed is about organizational communications or tools such as website functionality or inconsistency in information flow or content, that could be a risk to the whole organization.  However, if the issue is some characteristic of a transaction that’s unique to that person, that may have less likelihood to be a risk to the organization.

When the lack of activity is because the organization has not been reaching out to the customer, has not kept their relationship fresh, then that could be a risk to the whole organization.  However, when the lack of activity is due to some change in circumstances in the individual’s life, it may not be a sign of risk for the whole company.

Issues that you see one-on-one with your customer may or may not be symptoms of bigger issues for the whole organization, but it’s helpful to the company for you to occasionally take a step back and consider whether a concern for one customer could also impact the many.

Determine if the customer’s issue is an organizational issue.

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