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When You’re the Educator, What Should You Teach? - 1/21/25


The best customer service professionals are also excellent educators.  Not only within the organization, but I’m talking specifically about the role they play as educator with their customers.  With all the self-service options that technology provides, customers often have the opportunity to do things on their own, to investigate Read more

Wrap It Up Right: Why Follow-Up Communications WOW Customers - 1/14/25


Dena had some questions about her water bill, so she looked for answers on the utility’s website.  She didn’t find specific answers, and she really didn’t want to get on the phone with somebody at the time and risk staying on hold.  She had lots going on, but she Read more

From Conversation to Connection: Defining Customer Engagement - 1/7/25


Maggie was sitting in the Service Excellence Training class, and the instructor kept talking about staying engaged with the customer.  Proactively engaging the customer.  Being fully engaged in the conversation. After hearing this same phrase (“engage”) used in various ways, Maggie raised her hand and asked a question probably several Read more

Self-empower for the New Year - 12/31/24


Jeff joined the company, in part, because he loved their approach to culture.  Leadership tried to create an empowerment culture.  They tried to develop an environment where, within certain parameters, individual team members could make a decision and feel confident that they would be supported by leadership. The reality was Read more

2024 Holiday Poem - 12/24/24


I sometimes hear it said That things have never been like this before. That challenges are unique, That stresses seem like more.   I sometimes hear it said That we're asked to do much more with less. That workloads are increasing, And we're resource-constrained at best.   And others often say That things are really very good. That they enjoy those Read more

Is Their Poor Planning Your Emergency? - 12/17/24


Have you ever heard the saying:  Your poor planning is not my emergency. I’ve heard it said often – not necessarily directly from one person to another.  More typical is that I hear it from the person having to drop everything and do something immediately because someone else didn’t think Read more

Empathy Examples for Everyday Situations - 12/10/24


I’ve often said that empathy is the single most important characteristic of people who are great at customer service.  If empathy is essentially “to understand the other person,” it helps so much to have that ability in order to specifically help someone.  To talk to what’s unique about them.  Read more

Tell Them Why You’re Giving Thanks - 12/3/24


Thank you! Merci! Danke! Doumo! Gracias! It seems like every language has a translation of Thank You.  Even though I only fluently speak English and speak Spanish, un poco, I – and probably most of you – have heard some or all of the translations of "Thank You” noted above.  Read more

Refine Your Decision-making Process - 11/26/24


Every day, you make decisions of what to do and what not to do.  And in the world of customer service, often the affected parties are our customers, our co-workers, and our company.  Here are a few quotes to consider when you’re thinking about evaluating and refining your decision-making Read more

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

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When You’re the Educator, What Should You Teach? – 1/21/25

Posted on January 21, 2025 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

The best customer service professionals are also excellent educators.  Not only within the organization, but I’m talking specifically about the role they play as educator with their customers.  With all the self-service options that technology provides, customers often have the opportunity to do things on their own, to investigate on their own, to address issues on their own.

Unfortunately, technology is not always self-evident.  It doesn’t always think like customers think.  It doesn’t often convey what the customer needs to know when they need to know it in a way that the customer can absorb, understand, and use moving forward.

So, if we want to be the best of customer service professionals, we need to be excellent educators.

Let’s say we have a customer named Christopher.  About what do we need to build Christopher’s awareness?  What does Christopher need to know to get things done?  What knowledge does Christopher need to build in order to have the best experience possible with our organization?

Ask yourself (or your customers) these types of questions, because these questions build your understanding of what content is required in your educational endeavors with customers.

Does Christopher need to be more aware of technology options such as mobile apps, self-service website functions, chat functions, automated phone options?  And does he need to know how to navigate those mechanisms?  Does he need to know how to place in order, how to check status, how to follow-up directly with the right person, how to see if a service is completed or a delivery has been made?  Does Christopher need to know the services available, the features available, the different ways to experience your product or your service, your event or your facility?

To strengthen your role as an educator of customers, first identify what the key content is where they need to be more knowledgeable or better trained.

Identify what THEY need to know in order to have the best experience possible.

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Wrap It Up Right: Why Follow-Up Communications WOW Customers – 1/14/25

Posted on January 14, 2025 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

Dena had some questions about her water bill, so she looked for answers on the utility’s website.  She didn’t find specific answers, and she really didn’t want to get on the phone with somebody at the time and risk staying on hold.  She had lots going on, but she noticed the opportunity to use the chat function.  So, she clicked in.

When the chat conversation was done, Dena signed off.  Immediately afterward, she received an e-mail.  It was a transcript of the chat.  She had never used the chat before, and she was surprised to receive the e-mail.  But once she reviewed it, she loved it!!

Whether you – as a customer service representative – just completed a chat with a customer, ended a phone conversation, or wrapped up a face-to-face conversation, these follow-up communications are often exceptionally helpful to the customer.  There are several ways that your customers benefit from chat transcripts or other documented follow-ups to your conversations:

  • Documentation: The customer has a record of the conversation, the issues, potential solutions, and the actions to take.
  • Trust-building: The customer sees that the company also has documentation, and they are willing to stand by what was communicated during the encounter.
  • Quick Access: The customer can easily find a record of the prior communication.
  • Accountability and Follow-Up: It offers a checklist of what the customer or the company are expected to do next.
  • Time-saving: Customers are less likely to have to repeat their story during the next encounter, since they can just reference the transcript.
  • A Sense of Feeling Valued: Customers feel like they’ve been heard, and the conversation was important enough to the company to document.

 
When you complete that encounter with the customer, if you want to build their trust, make their life a little bit more simple, build in some accountability on next steps, save them some time, and help them to feel valued, provide an immediate follow-up communication.

Wrap it up right.  Use follow-up communications to WOW customers.

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From Conversation to Connection: Defining Customer Engagement – 1/7/25

Posted on January 7, 2025 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

Maggie was sitting in the Service Excellence Training class, and the instructor kept talking about staying engaged with the customer.  Proactively engaging the customer.  Being fully engaged in the conversation.

After hearing this same phrase (“engage”) used in various ways, Maggie raised her hand and asked a question probably several people in the class also had:  What does it mean to engage the customer?

The instructor said: That’s a great question!  Let’s think about engagement from two perspectives…

First, it’s the mindset and the attitude you take into these conversations.  If you are being engaged, you have a desire to help the other person.  You find a way to care for them in their situation.  You’re constantly trying to think of how to help them, how to understand them better.  Your attitude is that that other individual is the most important person in the world to you at that moment.

That’s an engaged attitude.  You are focused, concerned, and have the appropriate level of energy and enthusiasm FOR the other person.

The second perspective is about your action.  Literally, how do you engage the other person?   You take that desire to understand them, and you apply it by tapping into your own curiosity, by asking questions.

You apply that information they provided by using their name, restating their situation, their goals, their perceptions and preferences.

You act engaged by starting the conversation with them.  You take engagement seriously by seeking solutions, often on the spot.  By offering tips.  By sharing your knowledge with the purpose of not only helping to address their need but by also helping them to become more knowledgeable.  And you convey that you stay engaged by initiating follow-up, and by following through on what you promised.

View the other person as important, as interesting.  Then be proactive, personalize, tap into your own curiosity, and take action to engage the customer.

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