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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

4 Actions for the Customer - 9/10/24


One way to look at the difference between proactive and reactive is that proactive is something that’s often done before it absolutely has to be done.  Maybe it’s something done that really doesn’t have to occur, but your professionalism takes over, and some action or communication that you know Read more

Don’t Kick the Problem Down the Road - 9/3/24


The error was obvious.  Shania is a clerk at a local government office, and she could tell that something was wrong with the permit request.  She was about to reject the request because the address was invalid. If this would have been handled like the normal process, Shania would have Read more

Reflect the Best of Your Customers - 8/27/24


When Alice walks into a business, whether it’s a restaurant or government building, whether it’s a Goodwill or a grocery store, she has a certain way about her.  She’s the customer, and it’s not unusual to hear her say to the employee:  Thanks for being here today! It’s not unusual Read more

Create Your Personal Motto - 8/20/24


Take a look at these mottos: It’s the real thing. Just Do It. Have it your way. Betcha can’t eat just one. Breakfast of champions. Do you know the companies?  The answers are at the bottom of this tip. So why am I asking you about mottos?  And why do almost all of them make me Read more

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With Customer Complaints, Forewarned is Forearmed – 2/16/16 TOW

Posted on February 16, 2016 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment


Sound ominous?

It’s not meant to be ominous as much as this old saying is a cautionary tale to multitudes of people in life, especially those of us in customer service.

This saying implies that if we know something is going to happen, then we should be prepared. So how do we get “Forewarned” about customer complaints?

Think about the early warning signs of a complaint. Is the website down? Are callers holding a long time (or longer than normal) before they get to you? Is your company’s call volume up? Is the facility having issues (too cold, too hot, smells)? Has this customer complained before? If the customer’s in front of you, does their body language or facial expression denote they’re about to detonate?

There are ways to become aware that the conflict is imminent.

But what does it mean to be “prepared?” After all, awareness does not equate to preparedness. How do we get “Forearmed” in our customer service world?

Know the Company – Clearly understand policies and procedures for serving customers, service recovery processes, and authority you have to fix a problem or compensate a customer.

Know the Customer – Access client information on their past purchases, service calls, and complaints. Know what causes the issues, how they reacted, how your company responded, and how issues were best rectified.

Know Yourself – Know the right questions to ask; be aware of what triggers your emotions in these tough situations, and bring in your best attitude of patience, empathy, and responsiveness, as well as your mindset as a solution-provider.

We can’t anticipate every customer complaint, but if we can increase our awareness of the triggers of complaints and improve our preparations for the encounters, we can handle them more effectively and more quickly.

Forewarned is Forearmed.

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Stop the (Negative) Chatter – 1/12/16 TOW

Posted on January 12, 2016 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment


A friend recently shared her negative customer experience with me. While waiting in line at a grocery store, employees complained loudly between the checkout registers about their frustrations with how slow the system was at the time. Not only were they upset with the registers, but they were sharing it with every customer within earshot.

At the same time, ironically enough, her husband was waiting in an interminable line at his physician clinic. The check-in line was moving at snail’s pace, and when he finally made it to the front, he understood the reason for the delay – the new computer system was down, and they were working off manual schedules, documenting all clinical and billing information on hardcopy. Behind the frustrated registration clerk were her co-workers loudly proclaiming their anger with the computer system, the IT people who are charged with keeping the system running, the people who decided to install this system, and any other employee they could think of blaming.

These technology issues were obviously frustrating for the employees, and anyone who’s seen the BSOD (Blue Screen of Death) or just sat while the computer’s hourglass rotates on the screen FOREVER understands the frustration.

But the point here is that the technology experiences were not good for the customer either. Negativity loudly spewed out of the employees in front of the customers, and the whole atmosphere suffered the collateral damage. Instead of the employee issues engendering empathy from customers, the employees complaining made these two customers not want to return.

Here’s a question to consider: What customer wants to spend their money to be in an environment of negativity?

The next time some internal issue happens, try to keep the negative chatter to a minimum when in front of the customer.

Don’t let your frustration be the reason the customer never returns.

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Know the Person’s Story – 6/23/15 TOW

Posted on June 23, 2015 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment


The person standing in front of you – that customer – has an issue. They were overcharged, received a past due penalty because they didn’t get it rectified in time, and want it all corrected with the penalty waived.

You’ve dealt with a similar issue 100 times, so you know the process, but do you know the person?

Let’s see…

Prior to standing in front of you, that customer waited 8 minutes in line. Prior to that, they rode a cramped (and somewhat smelly) elevator to your floor. Before that, they waited 3 minutes for an elevator.

Prior to finding the elevator, they walked/jogged in a driving rain from the back section of the parking lot to the building. Prior to that, they drove past your building because of poor signage and had to go around the block again to get back to the entrance. Before that, they drove 25 minutes to get to your offices.

Three days prior to that, they called your organization’s general number, waited on hold for 3 minutes, and then were told they’d have to come downtown with proof of the overbill to get the issue rectified. Prior to that, they tried to find out how to fix it by going to your website, but they spent more than 15 minutes online, including an attempted live chat, and couldn’t get an answer.

Two days before that, they got in an argument with their spouse who saw the past due notice and saw how much he THOUGHT she paid for the service before realizing it was overcharged.

Two weeks prior to that, the customer left a voice mail for an employee that was never returned. A week prior to that, the customer received the initial invoice.

Let’s revisit where we’re at right now. They’re standing in front of you with an issue you’ve addressed 100 times. The transaction should take 3 minutes.

You now know the full story. What are you going to do differently?

Know the story of the person behind the problem.

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