customer experience | Customer Service Solutions, Inc. - Page 7

Home  /  Be Supportive, Not Defensive – 10/7/25  /  customer experience

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

One Question to Prevent a Follow-up Call - 3/3/26


The way some performance metrics work, you would think companies would prefer for their staff to talk to the same customer 4 times on the same topic for 8 minutes each rather than talking to them once for 10 minutes.  Many management metrics are too focused on average length Read more

Stay Calm When the Customer Isn’t - 2/24/26


There are all sorts of others’ emotions that you have to deal with as a customer service professional.  The other person could be anxious or upset, they could be angry or agitated.  It can run the gamut of emotions, but for you to deal with them in the best Read more

Don’t Begin with the Dead End in Mind - 2/17/26


Habit #2 of Stephen Covey’s “Seven Habits of Highly Successful People” is “Begin with the End in Mind.”  It speaks to the need to have a clear vision or goal for what you’re trying to ultimately achieve, so you understand the purpose of what you’re doing.  It helps you Read more

Explain without Over Explaining - 2/10/26


The customer has a question, and we have an answer.  They need to learn something, and we’re in the position to be the educator.  There’s a process they have to go through, and we need them to understand. We know so much, and we could impart so much, but sometimes Read more

Look for a Stop Sign - 2/3/26


As a customer service professional, what you say matters.  The information you’re providing is useful.  The direction you’re giving the other person is helpful.  But... As you’re speaking, you also need to be reading.  Reading the other person.  Watching the customer, determining whether and how they’re receiving what you’re sharing.  Read more

When They Want the Supervisor - 1/27/26


Maybe you did your best with the customer, or maybe the customer didn’t even give you a chance.  They want to talk to your supervisor.  They see you, notice your title does not have “supervisor” or “manager” or “director” or “President and CEO” in it, so they want to Read more

•••••

Be Supportive, Not Defensive – 10/7/25

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

[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.  We wouldn’t have half the problems that we do if it wasn’t for Bob.

We have probably all worked with a Bob.  He’s that co-worker who causes of fires that we find ourselves fighting.  Maybe he’s the salesperson that made expectations that operations or customer service know cannot be delivered.  Maybe he’s somebody with the best intentions but communicates them in a way that creates issues for others.  But we don’t want to throw Bob under the proverbial bus.

On the other hand, Bob may be an outstanding employee!  Maybe the customer is totally in the wrong, so it’s understandable that we could be defensive because Bob is unjustly being chastised by the customer in their conversation with you.

Whether the customer complaint is justified or not, that co-worker is as much a part of the organization as you are, so how can we be supportive without being defensive?

Avoiding Defensiveness

One way to address this is to keep in mind that defensiveness is often exhibited through our emotions.  To avoid being defensive, keep the emotions down, keep the tone a little more calm and steady, be intentional about your body language, trying not to raise the temperature with the customer.

Being Supportive

Don’t feel like you have to argue on your co-worker’s behalf in order to be supportive.  Sometimes the best thing to do is to convey what you know and don’t know, note your experience or lack thereof in the situation or with your co-worker, and transition the conversation away from your co-worker and back toward the issue and possible resolution.  Talking to the customer:

I wasn’t in that conversation, so I can’t speak specifically to what Bob said, but I’m sorry you had to deal with it, and I want to help you find a resolution.

I’ve known Bob for years, and I’ll definitely talk with him since that’s not the experiences his customers typically have, and I’m very sorry about what happened in your case.  Let’s discuss how we can resolve this for you.

That’s not how we typically do things around here, so I’m very sorry about the situation.  I’ll definitely share your concerns internally after our call, and right now I want to make sure we can get this situation addressed immediately.

Don’t agree with the customer that Bob was at fault; stay composed; let them know if the situation isn’t typical, and move toward a resolution.

Be Supportive, Not Defensive.

Signup for FREE Tips!    Contact Us    More Resources for You    Visit Our Home Page


Some Customers LOVE Predictability – 9/30/25

Posted on September 30, 2025 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

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 long some process would take.  These were builders and developers, these were representatives of organizations that were performing renovations and repairs.

While the total process time was one part of the timeliness equation, one of my learnings from these focus groups was that the other part of the timeliness equation was predictability.

These focus group participants evaluated the customer experience by having an understanding of what that experience was going to be, the milestone dates or timelines associated, and those expectations being met.

The Customer’s Need for Predictability

The customers needed predictability because it enabled them to plan their next steps and timeframes.  It enabled them to understand how the tasks they’re working on fit into the bigger picture schedules.  It helped them to communicate with their stakeholders about timelines and responsibilities.

This also applies to healthcare.  If somebody is having an outpatient procedure, knowing the length of the procedure, how long they’ll be held after the procedure, how much notification lead-time they’ll get before they get discharged – that knowledge helps the patient to understand when to make that call for transportation to take them home.

This applies to pro sports.  We do TONS of surveys for pro sporting events, and sometimes fans reach out to us directly – not about the survey but asking when they’re going to get their tickets for the next event.  They were not told what to expect or didn’t remember, and now they’re antsy because the expectations aren’t known, because the predictability isn’t there.

What this Means for You

When considering how to improve your customer experience, focus on how to improve the predictability of what you do.  Oftentimes there is a predictable nature to what the process steps might be, who’s going to follow-up with the customer, and when it’s going to occur.  But unless that is communicated to the customer, and unless that is delivered as designed, the customer won’t know what to expect.  The lack of predictability can create additional touch points for you and additional anxiety for the customer.

Create more predictability for a better customer experience.

Signup for FREE Tips!    Contact Us    More Resources for You    Visit Our Home Page


Gain Control of the Conversation – 9/16/25

Posted on September 16, 2025 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

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 you to do so.  But it’s equally important to understand the difference between controlling the conversation and controlling the customer.

Don’t make it your goal to control the customer.  You have enough to worry about with reading your own emotions and controlling your own reactions and being deliberate in what you say and how to say it.

It’s tough enough to weave in all your knowledge and all the different options and alternatives and all of your experience in order to help the customer without having to figure out how to control the customer.

The Goals

Gaining control of the conversation is something you do to bring the emotional level down, to focus the conversation, to shorten the time you’re engaged with the customer.

With those goals in mind, let’s describe the difference between controlling the conversation and controlling the customer.

How to Gain Control

Controlling the conversation results from asking questions, particularly more closed-ended questions – the yes or no variety, the fact or figure variety.  Controlling occurs when you can intentionally and concisely make a point.  When you can segue from something they say to the decision you need to make.  It’s when you can take their broad ramblings, and get them to focus on a specific piece of information on a worksheet or on your computer.  It’s when you get to the point where you can make the next steps clear and confirm their understanding and agreement.

The next time you’re dealing with that customer who’s upset, or they lack focus, or they want to talk for a long time when you’re more time-constrained, don’t try to control the customer.  Focus on guiding the discussion to an end point.

Gain Control of the Conversation.

Signup for FREE Tips!    Contact Us    More Resources for You    Visit Our Home Page


« Previous   1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 ... 74 75   Next »