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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

Guiding Principles for Great Customer Service - 11/12/24


It’s hard to know every procedure, every policy, every technique possible to handle every situation correctly.  After all, maybe our procedures are standard, but our customers are not.  Maybe our policies stay pretty consistent, but our customers’ needs and issues, their attitudes and actions can change from customer to Read more

From a Simple Question to an Exceptional Experience - 11/5/24


Phyllis loves her job.  It’s not just because she loves being a customer service representative, not just because she really likes her co-workers, and not just because she enjoys her company.  It’s because she really appreciates her customers, as well. A customer had ordered a register book off the company Read more

Fix One Problem without Creating Another - 10/29/24


If you’ve ever had an issue with your dishwasher, this will sound familiar.  I’ve dealt with so many dishwashers over the years, and they always seem to have some kind of an issue.  Maybe it’s because of the mix of water and technology, but for whatever reason, these never Read more

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

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Acting on the Guiding Principles for Great Customer Service – 11/19/24

Posted on November 19, 2024 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

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 start the conversation.  Take that monkey off the customer’s back to initiate the engagement.  Immediately be self-aware of your body language, like you’re looking in a mirror, and you’re checking yourself if you’re putting off any negative vibes.  Think about your tone of voice, ensuring that it has a bit of energy, has a positive flow.

Seek to Understand their Uniqueness: Be inquisitive, ask questions, understand them and their situation more specifically.  Clarify your understanding of anything that’s unclear, and make a confirming statement back to ensure you are stating your understanding of what they’ve just shared.

Figure Out How to Help: Identify solutions, identify alternatives when what they suggest just cannot happen, for whatever reason.  The more uniquely you understand their situation, the more you can put yourself in the position of being the solution provider.  Figure out how to help.

Take Action: Do what was promised, or if your co-worker needed to take the next step, make sure they did as was asked in a timely manner.

Convey that You Followed Through: Tell the customer what you did, or share what action was taken by your co-worker on behalf of the customer.  If appropriate and available, let the customer know the outcome.  If you’re making all these efforts to support the customer, ensure that they know that you followed through.

Turn Guiding Principles into a Great Experience.  Put principles into action.

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From a Simple Question to an Exceptional Experience – 11/5/24

Posted on November 5, 2024 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

Phyllis loves her job.  It’s not just because she loves being a customer service representative, not just because she really likes her co-workers, and not just because she enjoys her company.  It’s because she really appreciates her customers, as well.

A customer had ordered a register book off the company website.  A register book is essentially a small but classy hardcover notebook with blank lines.  When some people rent their homes for short visits, they might have visitors leave a little note about their experiences in a register book.

But this particular customer ordered the register as a sign-in book for a relative’s funeral service.  The customer ordered the book, and the tracking details for the shipment were provided the next day.  The customer noticed that the book would be delivered to his home next week – the day before the service – and the service was going to be at a church out of town.

He Found a Backup

The customer didn’t want to risk not having the register, so he went to a local store and found one that could be a backup.  It turns out the family liked the backup better, and they went with that one instead of the one that was delivered from Phyllis’ company.

After the service, the customer e-mailed Phyllis’ company, and she was the one checking the inbox.  Phyllis read the customer’s request for a description of the return process, so she replied back with an e-mail about the process, and Phyllis professionally asked why the book was being returned.

WOW!

When the customer noted it was going to be used for a funeral, Phyllis replied back and told the customer that she had fully refunded the item.  She said that the customer could keep it for any future need or for a donation to a local charity.  The customer was floored – very grateful for and touched by Phyllis’ actions.

Phyllis was empowered to do what was right for the customer, even if that meant giving an unsolicited refund due to special circumstances.  She showed heart, the customer showed appreciation, and that positive story will be told over and over and over again.

When a customer has an issue or a return or a concern, ask enough questions to understand the story, and there are times that what you learn can lead to a great customer experience.

Your willingness to ask a simple question can enable you to provide exceptional service.

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Fix One Problem without Creating Another – 10/29/24

Posted on October 29, 2024 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

If you’ve ever had an issue with your dishwasher, this will sound familiar.  I’ve dealt with so many dishwashers over the years, and they always seem to have some kind of an issue.  Maybe it’s because of the mix of water and technology, but for whatever reason, these never seem to be perfect devices that are perfectly installed.

There are issues with the dishwasher not draining.  Certain settings aren’t working.  The water is not heating.  Installation was done incorrectly, leaving holes in the wall behind the dishwasher that are big enough for little varmints to squeeze through.  There are dishes that come out and are not clean, utensils with food still on them…ick!

When Monique had one of these issues, the repair tech was able to come out the same day.  Unfortunately, there was no part available.  But the repair tech was able to place the part order while at Monique’s house.  There was going to be a 4 day wait, but every day the tech would send a quick text or e-mail to Monique, either describing an update on the timing of the part delivery, discussing the repair process and timing, or confirming Monique’s availability for the tech to come back and fix the dishwasher.

Monique had no control over the tech, and the tech had no control over the speed of getting the part delivered.  But there was consistent communication, consistent updates, consistent description of next steps.

When the part arrived, the tech was able to get to Monique’s house quickly because he knew of her availability and she was awaiting the scheduling text.  He was able to fix it quickly, in part because she knew how she needed to clear space in the kitchen for him.  And it was done correctly, because he had brushed up on the most expeditious and quality way to install that part.

Even when you don’t have the perfect part or the perfect timing, there are opportunities to still provide near perfect customer service.

Fix the problem without creating another one.

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