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Build Relationships with First-timers - 11/11/25


We’ve worked with one of our sports clients for over 10 years, and although the main focus of our work is research with their fan base, we also provide informal consulting advice and guidance whenever possible.  One approach we’ve talked about on and off for years is the need Read more

Last Impression Faux Pas - 11/4/25


Rightfully so, many customer service experts harp on the importance of the first impression.  It happens quickly, and it can impact the individual’s perception of you and the organization.  We even wrote a Tip of the Week on this years ago called First Impression Faux Pas. What many people tend Read more

Familying with Customers - 10/28/25


In our transactional society, it’s hard to think about customers in the long-term.  But if we want to be as successful as we can as an individual or as a business, we need to view customers through a relationship lens. What do we need to know about them to Read more

Avoid These Techniques - 10/21/25


We had a Customer Service Tip of the Week recently that addressed gaining control of the conversation.  One of the key points was that the focus should be on gaining control of conversations in various circumstances, but trying to avoid making it your goal to gain control of the Read more

View Quality through the Customer’s Eyes - 10/14/25


Geri had been dealing with backups in the downstairs plumbing system of her house on and off for the past year.  The most recent company that she called in to unclog the pipes stated that they could send a camera down the pipes and tell her exactly where the Read more

Be Supportive, Not Defensive - 10/7/25


[An employee on the phone with a customer…] Who told you that you didn’t have to submit that form? … Bob?  Oh brother!  You see Bob is our “special” co-worker.  He seems to always tell customers the wrong thing to do, and we’re having to clean up after him.  Read more

Some Customers LOVE Predictability - 9/30/25


I was facilitating focus groups of businesses that utilize local government services.  The phrase that popped up multiple times was “Time Is Money!”  What these municipal customers were conveying was that their time was valuable, and delays were wasting their time.  But the conversations were not just about how Read more

Find Your Special Sauce - 9/23/25


When I watch a football game and I see a great quarterback (somebody who may be considered a “Star”), he might be an excellent runner, have a big arm, be able to diagnose the defense and get his team into the right play.  But he’s likely not great at Read more

Gain Control of the Conversation - 9/16/25


The customer’s angry or upset or they have a complaint.  They’re very chatty or very wordy or they just want to talk to somebody.  You’re on a time crunch, and the customer obviously is not. There are times when you need to gain control of the conversation.  It’s important for Read more

Complement with a Compliment - 9/9/25


We perform many tasks for our customers every day, and when we’re done with a step in the process, oftentimes we will tell the customer what’s been done.  But if we want to create more of a WOW experience, if we want to make the customer feel a little Read more

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A Complaint is a Gift – 5/7/24

Posted on May 7, 2024 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

A complaint is a gift.  Okay, so the complainer is not always a “gift.”  The customer’s delivery of the complaint is sometimes more like a stocking filled with coal than a vase filled with roses.  But this is why we need to be able to differentiate the complaint from the complainer for a moment.

A complaint is feedback; it’s an opportunity to improve.  It’s often an example of something 5 or 50 other customers have experienced, but they did not voice to you.  Companies send out surveys, and many customers don’t respond.  Some customers proactively provide real-time feedback; others will only share when asked, if even then. 

It’s hard to learn from a lack of information.

So, a complaint is a gift because it provides information.  It tells you what the customer experienced, perceived.  It conveys who was involved, what happened or didn’t happen, what experiences didn’t meet expectations, what was too early or too late, what attitudes came across poorly, what products didn’t work, what policies were frustrating, and what processes were clunky or not self-evident.

In the moment, we need to deal with the complaint and the customer.  But to make a complaint a gift, we need to revisit the complaint after the fact and identify what information was gained, what lesson was learned, and how we can apply those learnings moving forward.

Give yourself time to get over any negative emotions from the dust-up with the customer, and then glean what you can from what happened and the customer’s perspective on the experience.  Use the complaint for continuous improvement.

Unpack the complaint to make it a gift.

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Mastering Confidence in Customer Service – 4/30/24

Posted on April 30, 2024 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

It’s not what you said…it’s how you said it.

If you’ve ever had someone say this to you, raise your hand.  (I just raised my hand)

Usually this is being said when someone is upset with you, but regardless of the reason, that phrase illustrates that HOW we say something often impacts the other person as much or more as WHAT words are used.

So, let’s use this truth to our advantage.  Confidence in customer service is an important discussion because we’re trying to instill confidence in the other person about what’s being shared.  The more they are confident in what we share, the more they’ll take our guidance, the more comfortable they will feel.  And the more confident they are in what we share, the less likely they’ll ask more questions, the less likely they’ll “answer shop.”

Here are some tips to instill confidence beyond the words you use:

  • Convey Calmness – Unless you’re going the enthusiasm route, exude a certain confidence by conveying calmness in your hand movements and their position when talking.
  • Use Brevity – Don’t drone on when a simple “Yes” is the real answer.
  • Add Some Inflection – Have variability in your tone when you want to ensure that your statement comes across like it’s from the heart, not from a script.
  • Avoid the Long Pauses – The “umms” and “uhhs” convey indecision and lack of certainty. If you are unsure of an answer momentarily, restate the question back to them to buy yourself some time, then directly move to the answer.
  • Complement Your Words with Your Body Language – Nod when saying something affirmative. Offer eye contact to show your intent on your answer and your customer.  Maintain good posture to show you’re assured of yourself and your statements.

 
To deliver great customer service, you not only need to have the right knowledge of your customer, policies, procedures, and products, but you need to confidently convey that information.

Master Confidence in Customer Service.

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Be Amazing – 4/23/24

Posted on April 23, 2024 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

Watching Michael Jordan steal a pass and then dunk a basketball is amazing.  Taking a rocket to the moon is amazing.  The taste of my mom’s homemade beef soup is amazing.

We all have our personal examples of what is amazing.  Usually, it’s something that we cannot comprehend, that we cannot do, or we just truly appreciate.  Unfortunately for me, I’m not amazing enough to steal and dunk a basketball in the NBA Finals, or to be an astronaut, or to be somebody who can replicate my mom’s cooking.

But fortunately, none of those skills or attributes are required for being great at customer service.  We can still amaze others in customer service.

To amaze is to do beyond what others expect or typically experience.  It’s to be different…in a good way.

So how can you be amazing in customer service?  Find your something better or your something different…in a good way, compared to others in customer service.  Find that thing you do or that way you do something that is beyond what others expect or experience.

When the customer walks up, most employees remain seated.  Stand up when the customer arrives.  Most employees will hop into their script when they get the phone call.  Instead, make your first couple questions about them as a person rather than about their account number.

Most employees never share their name in a conversation.  Start the conversation by introducing yourself.  Most employees try to figure out where the customer needs to be transferred or where they need to go next.  Instead, you could take them to the next stop, or you could help them navigate to the next step in the process.

Consider what most employees don’t do, what they are in a rush to do. Consider what information they leave out, what activity they try to avoid.  Then – to be amazing – do what other employees don’t do, what they don’t have the patience to do, sharing what information they leave out, doing the things that others try to avoid.

Be amazing by being helpful, patient, informative, and supportive.

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