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Let’s be Clear on Clarity - 6/9/26


When trying to manage expectations, it’s vital to be clear with the customer.  But what specifically does it mean to be “clear?” Clarity is in the eyes and ears of the beholder, so what may be clear to one customer may be unclear to another.  However, there are some basic Read more

Allow Yourself to Solve a Couple Puzzles Every Day - 6/2/26


Frank had never been a dog owner before, and when he first got Bosco at the shelter, Frank didn't really know what he was doing.  He would try to be a good parent - feed the dog, play with it, take it on walks - but he was doing Read more

Improve with a Purpose - 5/26/26


If you’re reading these customer service tips, you likely want to get better.  You want an idea, a technique, a reinforcement, or a question that helps you improve. But why improve? At some point you may waver on the commitment to improve, because it can take effort, introspection, time, and change.  Read more

Reciprocate the Thanks - 5/19/26


Jasmine had a great experience with the company, and the company sent her a link to provide an online evaluation following the visit.  So, she clicked the link, gave a rating, and made a comment about her experience. The company monitored their online reviews, saw the positive response, and replied Read more

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

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Lessons from the Greats – 3/5/24

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

I was recently facilitating a workshop on the customer experience, and I made the point that it’s usually beneficial to look at your personal life for great experiences; identify what really resonates with you in a positive way in order to uncover ideas to improve your own customer service.

So, I asked the participants:  What companies are great at customer service? What organizations deliver an excellent customer experience?

There were a lot of the usual companies named such as Chick-fil-A, Disney, Trader Joe’s, and some local grocery store chains, as well.

Then the key question was asked:  What makes them great?

Answers dealt with making a great first impression – with the greeting or the welcome.  There were comments about the short wait times or at least the perception of short waits.  They talked about how consistently high quality the service was, the people were, the experience was for the average customer.  And they talked about predictability.

Predictability is not something often talked about during discussions of great customer service.  There’s so much discussion in the customer service world about delighting customers, the Wow Experience (that surprisingly wonderful and unexpected experience), that we forget that most customers want some predictability.

They want to know that they’re going to be treated with respect.  They want the process to be quick, simple, self-evident.  And they want an experience that is consistent with examples of great service they’ve had in the past.

Predictability isn’t boring.  However, it is difficult.  That means that regardless of what employee or what process, your company has its own way of addressing the customer need, finding a solution, and having the most positive engagement possible.

The next time you’re looking for ways to improve, look at organizations that you consider to be great at customer service.  Identify those actions they do consistently well, those things that are predictable.  Then, find ways to make your engagement as consistent and positive as possible.

Engage like the titans of customer service – be predictably great!

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“You’re the Boss” – 2/20/24

Posted on February 20, 2024 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

Terrence is excellent at what he does.  From a technical standpoint, he knows how to keep the facility clean.  He’s the lead custodian, and he knows that keeping things straight does not necessarily mean keeping things sanitary.  He knows what chemicals to use and not to use, how to make sure the floors get cleaned and waxed properly.  He knows when to hit the bathrooms, when to address the office spaces.

Although Terrence works in an office setting, the way his company is structured, he actually reports to managers in the corporate housekeeping department in a different location.

He was meeting with his facility office manager one day, and she was making a special request.  He responded:  Sure thing!  You’re the boss.

When it comes to Terrence’s specific job, she is not the boss.  He directly reports to the person with the hiring/firing authority – the person in the corporate office.  Terrence knows this, but in his mind, he treats the office manager like she’s the boss, too.

She is the ultimate customer.  She is the one that is trying to manage this facility, create the kind of culture she’s searching for with the staff.  She’s the one that’s trying to help the business become even higher performing.

And Terrence understands that his job is to increase his customer’s likelihood of success.

To Terrence, it’s a mindset and an understanding that the customer, in the end, is the true boss.

Reflect on the mindset that you bring into conversations with the customers.  The customers are the ones that you are ultimately doing your work for, the ones that you are trying to help succeed, the ones to whom you’re trying to provide a great customer experience.

Foster a mindset that’s a motivator to deliver a great experience to the ultimate customer.

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Customer Understanding Leads to Relationship Growth – 2/13/24

Posted on February 13, 2024 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

We’ve worked with educational organizations at all grade levels over the years.  One special and unique characteristic about the staff who work in these organizations is that there’s a clear intent to know about the students as individuals, to focus on them rather than purely focusing on what’s delivered to them.

It’s a good lesson for any business, any industry.  Whether you work in sports, local government, healthcare – if you’re going to have more than a 1-time transactional engagement with the customer, here are some lessons to learn from the education industry.

Our elementary and middle school clients make special efforts to get to know the students and their family situations.  What is happening to those students personally helps to understand how to deal with those students and their challenges, and identify what kind of a support system they need.

Our high school clients strive to uncover what students are trying to accomplish, and what that next step involves.  The high schools are trying to help the students grow while also preparing them for whatever that next place is in life.

Our Higher Ed clients engage the students to continue that development but also to help them plan for the future.  Not just that immediate next step, but getting them prepared to be productive members of society, and to set that long-term career track on the right path.

These educational clients understand the need to get to know their customers – their students – more individually. That requires of some that they really understand their personal situations, because that can inform how to engage them.  It also involves trying to understand the near-term goals, to see how to help them get to that very next step.  In other cases, it’s a matter of understanding their long-term goals or desires, so they can work on a plan to get from today to a future tomorrow.

When you’re thinking about relationship development with your clients, try to remember what impacted you in elementary school or middle school, your priorities and decisions to be made in high school, your goals and long-term vision in college or some other type of advanced training. Then, consider these lessons learned from the education industry.

Grow relationships by understanding your clients more personally, uncovering what they need, and helping to map out a plan for what they want for the future.

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