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Bear with Me - 3/31/26


As a customer, you’ve probably called a company and heard the phrase “bear with me.”  At that point, you know there’s going to be some sort of delay.  The CSR is giving you a heads up that there’s going to be additional wait time.  Essentially, they are trying to Read more

Slowing Down the Fast Talker - 3/24/26


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 Read more

Don’t Bury the Lede - 3/17/26


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 Read more

Confirm the Real Issue Before You Start Solving - 3/10/26


Have you ever gone “down the rabbit hole?”  It involves going deep into some topic, some discussion – with analysis that creates complexity as much as it resolves it.  And that dive into the rabbit hole often starts with a simple question. Going down that rabbit hole takes time and Read more

One Question to Prevent a Follow-up Call - 3/3/26


The way some performance metrics work, you would think companies would prefer for their staff to talk to the same customer 4 times on the same topic for 8 minutes each rather than talking to them once for 10 minutes.  Many management metrics are too focused on average length Read more

Stay Calm When the Customer Isn’t - 2/24/26


There are all sorts of others’ emotions that you have to deal with as a customer service professional.  The other person could be anxious or upset, they could be angry or agitated.  It can run the gamut of emotions, but for you to deal with them in the best Read more

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


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 Read more

Explain without Over Explaining - 2/10/26


The customer has a question, and we have an answer.  They need to learn something, and we’re in the position to be the educator.  There’s a process they have to go through, and we need them to understand. We know so much, and we could impart so much, but sometimes Read more

Look for a Stop Sign - 2/3/26


As a customer service professional, what you say matters.  The information you’re providing is useful.  The direction you’re giving the other person is helpful.  But... As you’re speaking, you also need to be reading.  Reading the other person.  Watching the customer, determining whether and how they’re receiving what you’re sharing.  Read more

When They Want the Supervisor - 1/27/26


Maybe you did your best with the customer, or maybe the customer didn’t even give you a chance.  They want to talk to your supervisor.  They see you, notice your title does not have “supervisor” or “manager” or “director” or “President and CEO” in it, so they want to Read more

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Be Vigilant in Tough Times

Posted on February 23, 2010 in Business Advice, Government Please leave a comment

When the economy is bad, and people are hurting, the stories that seem to bubble to the surface in the news are often those that focus on government. When somebody’s mad, the one large entity that people direct that wrath toward is often the government. We might define government as a local municipality, state government, or the federal government. But in any case, problems that are minor which may have been overlooked in the past are now front page news.

There are some obvious reasons for this. When the economy is bad, people’s purse-strings are tightened, and their scrutiny of every individual dollar is heightened. Oftentimes the dollars that are not in one’s control or which seem to rise during bad economic times are those dollars spent on government services – real estate taxes, utilities, sales taxes, personal income taxes, etc.

So during these times, governments have to be hypersensitive to the feelings of their customers – the residents and businesses. They need to make sure that when issues arise they jump out in front with proactive communication plans that not only target the media but which also target individual customers one-on-one. Since the media is more than happy to jump on a negative story and milk it for all it’s worth during times like these, government entities have to determine ways to influence the perceptions of the public in a more one-on-one manner, more directly. They cannot rely on reactive responses to the media; they need to have proactive communications and plans targeting their customers directly.

There is a need to be vigilant during the tough times in getting your message out, because if government organizations – or any organizations for that matter – are in reactive mode when issues arise, loss of control of the message can be a loss of the positive image of the brand that the organization has worked so long to nurture and develop.

Focus on the one-on-one, and be vigilant in your proactive communications during the tough times.

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


You’re Once, Twice, Three Times a Customer

Posted on January 28, 2010 in Business Advice Please leave a comment

With all due respect to the Commodores’ great song (“You’re Once, Twice, Three Times a Lady”), this blog post focuses on gaining repeat business. Many companies work so hard on making the initial sale and celebrating the transaction. But what if we looked at each sale or at each “moment of truth” with the customer not as a single event? What if we saw it as a link to the next sale? The idea is to string together 1, 2, and 3 sales to the same customer. This is creating a customer from a transaction. Several things would be different:

  • You would be more concerned with whether the customer was satisfied with the shopping experience.
  • You’d be more likely to ask for improvement suggestions.
  • You’d be more likely to follow-up after the sale.
  • You’d be more likely to set-up periodic customer “touch points” to make sure you’re top-of-mind the next time a buying decision is made.
  • You’d be more likely to get contact information on the customer and to use it.
  • You’d be more likely to inquire about other customer needs/wants.
  • You’d be more concerned with getting to know the customer personally.
  • You’d spend more time talking with co-workers about strategies to keep that customer and bring them back.

Think about the customer by thinking about how to get to the next encounter. Turn your transactions into Once, Twice, Three Times a Customer.

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


Learn from the Operating Room

Posted on January 13, 2010 in Business Advice, Healthcare Please leave a comment

Andrea Hernandez at ledger-enquirer.com documented the steps taken by Susan Garrett, a Georgia Hospital Heroes Award winner who helped to improve patient satisfaction at her hospital. Ms. Garrett focused on four areas to improve patient satisfaction:

1. Communication with the families

2. Pre-operative education

3. Improving patient IV starts

4. Communication regarding unexpected delays.

Those four areas can be generalized to any business. If you want to improve customer satisfaction, improve customer communications. Be open, responsive, proactive with customers, addressing their questions, quickly handling issues, and anticipating needs.

Second, pre-operative education can be generalized to any business. Think of it as making your customers educated on what’s going to happen – what they need to do or what you’ll be doing. You’re setting expectations. Anything that can set expectations can improve satisfaction and reduce complaints.

Third, improving IV starts – now how do you generalize that? Think of that in terms of doing things right the first time with the customer. Make it as painless an experience as possible to do business with you.

Finally, communicate about unexpected delays. Don’t wait for the customer to complain. If you anticipate delays, address them proactively and restate a more realistic expectation.

Learn ways to improve your customer satisfaction by applying these hospital tips.

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


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