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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

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

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Don’t Skip the Recap – 5/12/26

Posted on May 12, 2026 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

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, you pull up a summary online and scan through the article.  In a minute, you’ve gotten a good feel for the ebbs and flows of the game, you know who won, and you know when the next game is going to be held and where it will be televised.

In the world of customer service, the recap helps here, too.  We might have a customer conversation that lasts 2 minutes or 25.  I had an online chat recently that lasted an hour.  It was as painful as it was long.

And none of us can be expected to remember every detail of every conversation, nor does that serve a great purpose.  But in the world of customer service, if we’re going to spend this much time with the customer, if we’re going to hear all the questions and concerns, if we’re going to do all the investigation, if we’re going to map out what happened and why, what needs to go next and when, then it helps to close with a recap.

What are those 2-3 key takeaways?  What are the key next steps?  What’s the timeline that both you and the customer need to be aware of and committed to?

As a customer service professional, our interpretation of everything that happened during that conversation might differ from the customer’s interpretation.  Are we clear on the customer’s details?  Are they clear on our answers to their questions?

We don’t want a difference of interpretation, misunderstood points, unanswered questions to result in a difference of understanding about what’s going to happen next and when it’s going to happen.

Take time at the end of the conversation and confirm the key points, particularly those that are upcoming.

Don’t skip the recap.

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