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Acting on the Guiding Principles for Great Customer Service - 11/19/24


In last week’s tip, we shared 5 Guiding Principles for Great Customer Service.  This week, let’s address what “taking action” looks like on those key principles.  If last week was about what to do and WHY, this week is about the HOW. Engage with Interest: To engage with interest, proactively Read more

Guiding Principles for Great Customer Service - 11/12/24


It’s hard to know every procedure, every policy, every technique possible to handle every situation correctly.  After all, maybe our procedures are standard, but our customers are not.  Maybe our policies stay pretty consistent, but our customers’ needs and issues, their attitudes and actions can change from customer to Read more

From a Simple Question to an Exceptional Experience - 11/5/24


Phyllis loves her job.  It’s not just because she loves being a customer service representative, not just because she really likes her co-workers, and not just because she enjoys her company.  It’s because she really appreciates her customers, as well. A customer had ordered a register book off the company Read more

Fix One Problem without Creating Another - 10/29/24


If you’ve ever had an issue with your dishwasher, this will sound familiar.  I’ve dealt with so many dishwashers over the years, and they always seem to have some kind of an issue.  Maybe it’s because of the mix of water and technology, but for whatever reason, these never Read more

Delight Your Customers - 10/22/24


Buddy the Bug Man was different.  His company was new, and the only reason why Janet tried him out was that the service she had used for years just wasn’t working.  Whether it was mosquitoes in the yard, ants in the kitchen, or cockroaches flying through on their way Read more

A More Complete Definition of Responsiveness - 10/15/24


I was purchasing something recently that was being custom-developed.  At one point, the company’s employee and I had a good 20 e-mails going back and forth - 10 from each of us.  Unfortunately, I broke my own rule, and I did not pick up the phone after 2 or Read more

Have a Game Plan to Address Their Anxiety - 10/8/24


It seems like we all get deliveries - whether it is UPS, USPS, FedEx, Amazon, the local courier, or all the above.  We order.  They deliver.  Or do they? It’s times like these, when we’re expecting that package, that item that we’re looking forward to or need urgently or are Read more

How Persistence Saved the Day - 10/1/24


Sherrie saw the customer walk into her store holding his cell phone, and Sherrie immediately knew that was William.  She had spoken to William on the phone about an hour ago, he said he would be at Sherrie’s cell phone store in less than an hour, and there he Read more

Notice the Little Changes - 9/24/24


“My, how times have changed.” Yes, times have changed.  As a matter of fact, one of the biggest reasons why an organization’s customer service deteriorates is that times have changed…customers have changed…and the company has not… If we think about customer service delivery today v. decades ago, changes in technology alone Read more

Don’t Hurry…Be Quick - 9/17/24


No, this is not a take off on the Bobby McFerrin song:  Don’t Worry Be Happy. It’s actually a take off on the John Wooden quote:  Be quick, but don’t hurry. When I read Wooden’s book with this title, I liked the concept, and not just because John Wooden was a Read more

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Contractors Determine Your Reputation?

Posted on December 9, 2010 in Business Advice, Education, Sports Please leave a comment

Columbus City Schools are coming under scrutiny recently because of their bus system. Do buses sometimes pickup/drop-off late? Yes, but no K-12 system is perfect.

What has made them come under scrutiny is that the school system apparently doesn’t know how often buses are on time. Why? According to an article on dispatch.com, it’s because the service is outsourced, and the vendor doesn’t supply that information.

While the school tracks complaints (what we call “external” metrics of performance, since the data is collected from an external source – the parent), there are few internal operational metrics (like departure, arrival, on-time performance) reported within the school system.

This is a microcosm of what organizations need to be wary of when they privatize, outsource, or contract out services. Having an outside organization provide a function does not allow a business to abdicate responsibility for the quality, timeliness, or service-level of that function. To the customer, that contractor IS your business.

We’ve worked with many sports organizations, and a common issue for them is the staff who provide security or take tickets or man the concession stations or serve as ushers are rarely employees of the teams, but they often have a huge impact on the customer’s experience.

When you contract out to others, make sure you have metrics in place to measure their performance. Make sure you have processes in place to ensure their quality. Make sure you train them on your customer service standards and philosophies. Make sure you – whenever possible – have service-level agreements which require them to perform to a certain level to get full compensation.

Make sure if the contractor’s performance can determine your reputation, that you’ve done everything possible to ensure that performance is great.

Read our New Book – “Ask Yourself…Am I GREAT at Customer Service?” http://www.amigreatat.com/

Interested in improving your company’s customer service? See more at our new website! http://www.cssamerica.com/


Mediocrity Runs Rampant – How I Made Employees Disappear

Posted on November 5, 2010 in Business Advice, World of Customer Service Please leave a comment

Snap-snap…snap-snap. Think of electrical lines that you’ve heard “snapping.” That was the sound of my computer’s power adapter recently. I looked at the adapter and could see the silver coils unraveling in the cord; then I looked at my computer, and it said it was “hibernating” due to a low battery.

After a few seconds of confusion, I realized that my adapter had died, and my computer was in for an extended nap.

Good on the Phone!

Being Saturday morning, and since I was heading out of town, I didn’t have time to call the manufacturer and have the adapter shipped. So I called a computer “superstore,” and the manager was exceptionally helpful. She had a universal adapter but it didn’t specify that my computer was part of the universe that it would help. So she went on the internet to see if her model would work for my computer. Since she couldn’t find a “yes” or “no” answer, she suggested that I come to the store and she’d do whatever she could to help, even opening up an adapter package and testing it on my computer.

Bad in the Store…

When I entered the store on my way out-of-town, I couldn’t find the section where they keep adapters. So I asked for help and was directed to the right location, but the associate (Marla) didn’t know which – if any – of their adapters would work. So she paged the manager that had helped me on the phone, and Marla went off to another part of the store. Five minutes later, I went in search of the manager and instead found Marla. She took me to the repair center and yelled for someone to help. Joe, the repair technician, came out. Just then, in walked the manager (she had been outside on a break). All three employees huddled around to help. I had brought in my adapter to check versus theirs. The adapters looked alike, but the manager asked if I had my computer and could bring it in to test it. So I said “Sure!”

I’m a Magician – I Made Employees Disappear

I went out to my car and brought in my computer, but all three employees had disappeared. I found Marla again, and she asked if it had worked. I told her that everyone had walked off during the 45 seconds that I was out of the store. Frustrated, Marla said “nobody respects me around here. Joe! He’s back!” And in the repair shop, I heard Joe say “OK.” After a few seconds, Joe slowly began to meander out front. After about a minute of verbal sparring with a co-worker, Joe arrived and opened the adapter case. We plugged it in, booted up my computer, and the computer said that the adapter was not compatible.

“It won’t work,” said Joe. And he turned around and left.

I eventually called the original manufacturer of my computer Sunday and spent 30 minutes on hold only to find out that the parts department didn’t open until Monday. On Monday, I ordered the part, and it arrived at noon Tuesday.

Did you see these universal examples of mediocrity? There is so much they could have done to go from delivering mid-level service to being top-notch.

Identify the differences between good and great, and opt for great.

Read our New Book – “Ask Yourself…Am I GREAT at Customer Service?” http://www.amigreatat.com/

Interested in improving your company’s customer service? See more at our new website! http://www.cssamerica.com/


Don’t Let the Customer’s Bad Attitude Dictate Yours

Posted on September 29, 2010 in Business Advice, World of Customer Service 1 Comment

The customer called the service center, and the telephone answering system picked up.

“Thank you for calling ACME Wireless Systems Inc. If you’re in a really good mood, please press 1. If you’re upset but rational, please press 2. If you’re really irate, please press 3.”

Do you ever get the impression that companies want to deal with happy customers but don’t want to deal with unhappy customers? It’s as if the employees smile if the customer smiles, but if the customer’s unhappy, the employee gets a bad attitude himself.

Let’s look at this from the customer’s perspective. I’m angry, so would I rather talk with somebody who’s angry or somebody who’s in a good mood? I have a better chance of getting my emotional level down if I’m dealing with someone empathetic with my situation, someone on more of an even-keel emotionally, someone who listens and lets me talk about my frustration.

What I don’t like is someone who cuts me off mid-sentence. What I don’t appreciate is someone who doesn’t take responsibility. What drives me crazy is someone who is defensive. What is non-productive is someone who lets their emotions drive their attitude in a service recovery situation like this.

We always say that delivering high-quality customer service can be tough, especially when presented with a complaining customer. But these are the times that separate the best from the rest. These are the situations where employees truly committed to the customer shine, because in the face of a complaint or an irate customer, they still know how to take the customer’s perspective, to try to keep the customer, to try balance the needs and wants of the customer with the needs and wants of the business.

Check your attitude when faced with the complaining customer. Use these situations as times to shine!

Interested in improving your company’s customer service? See more information at: http://www.cssamerica.com/

Check out our new customer service book at http://www.amigreatat.com/


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