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Complement Empathy with Action - 8/4/26


A man falls into a hole, and he can’t get out.  He starts yelling for help, and a doctor walks by and looks down the hole.  The man in the hole yells to the doctor “Please help me.  I’ve fallen into this hole!”  And the doctor takes out a Read more

My 8-Minute Visit at the DMV- 7/28/26


I needed to get a Real ID, which in North Carolina facilitates airline travel and other identity verifications.  My wife suggested I go to one particular DMV that was a LONG way away from home, but where she had experienced great customer service.  I was lucky to find an Read more

When They Might Walk Out the Door…Permanently- 7/21/26


Have you ever had one of those conversations with the customer where they literally tell you they’re about to stop doing business with your company?  This is it.  They may bring up a competitor or found another way to get their need met, or they are just leaving. When we Read more

Transparency in Customer Service- 7/14/26


We’ve worked with a lot of clients in the local government sector, and many of these clients have Customer Service Standards and/or corporate values that include Transparency. Think about an old-fashioned transparency sheet, that malleable see-through page you put on an overhead projector.  You can see everything on one side Read more

See the Customer’s Journey from Their Perspective- 7/7/26


That customer is face-to-face with you right now, and you are fielding their questions or delivering your service to them.  And oftentimes and understandably, we are so immersed in the moment that we don’t think about what came before or think enough about what comes next. But in the life Read more

Gaining the Benefits of the Greeter- 6/30/26


Most likely, we’ve all entered some establishment – a retail store, restaurant, or service center - when there is a greeter at the door.  The most famous greeter position is probably the Walmart greeter.  I often thought that my father-in-law would have been a fantastic Walmart greeter, because he Read more

Seamlessness - Why the Customer Thanked You - 6/23/26


This doesn’t happen enough nowadays, but the employee received a long thank you e-mail from the customer.  A financial services account manager had taken care of the client during a period of time that was stressful for the customer. Life was unexpectedly changing quickly, and personal emotions, additional financial responsibilities, Read more

When to Avoid the Escalation - 6/16/26


The customer calls with a complaint, and the easy thing to do is to escalate it to your supervisor. That may also be the right thing to do, but how do you know when to avoid the escalation? Why You Would Escalate The first thing to consider is why you would Read more

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

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Link and the $5 Mistake – 5/27/14 TOW

Posted on May 27, 2014 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment


It was Link’s first job – working in the retail shop – and he enjoyed it immensely. He was learning how a business runs, the importance of the customer to a company’s success, and his role in creating that success. He had these big picture lessons he was learning, even though his pay was minimum wage, and he basically did grunt work and occasionally ran the register.

He was one of those people in a small role, but you could see big things ahead for him.

One day, he was given the responsibility for closing the store and closing out the register. This was many years ago, so there was no credit card machine, and no computer system – it was all manual.

And as Link started shutting things down, he did a quick reconciliation between the cash in the drawer and the register tape. It was off by $5. And then it hit him; he had calculated the change wrong on the last customer of the day, and he gave Ms. Isaacs $5 change when it should have been $10. She was buying some supplies for an out of town trip, so Link knew she’d be gone for a while.

With no car to drive and no phone to call from (this is not that recent a story), he started walking. Block after block, mile after mile toward her house. When he arrived, he apologized to Ms. Isaacs, gave her the additional change, turned, and began the long walk home.

In case it’s not obvious, this is a slight twist on the Abe Lincoln story. But it goes to show that he wasn’t just a great President; he was also great at customer service. He enjoyed the job, looked at it as a learning experience, performed well regardless of the role, and enjoyed engaging his customers. He wasn’t perfect, but he resolved issues quickly, he didn’t make excuses, and he – literally – went the extra mile for his customers.

Abe wasn’t just “Honest.” He was also a really good customer service rep.


Steve Wynn and Caring About the Customer – 5/20/14 TOW

Posted on May 20, 2014 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment


Steve Wynn, the Las Vegas casino mogul, was talking to his staff about the keys to transforming his culture. No, he wasn’t discussing gambling, upcoming ventures, or new revenue ideas.

He talked about getting every employee to feel good about the good they do for customers.

“If you make someone feel good about themselves, they will love you for it,” Wynn said. “Forget the crystal chandeliers, the hand woven carpet, and the marble. It means nothing. All of a sudden you’re engaged with someone who cares about you.”

He uses the example of a couple who had left their medicine (including diabetes meds) at their home five hours away, and Wynn notes the bellman who drove to the couple’s home to pick up the medicine from their housekeeper. He mentions the card dealer going on break who noticed two customers looking confused. The dealer engaged the customers, asked if they needed help, and then walked them to the conference room they were looking for which was located about five minutes away.

But then Wynn talked about how the organization uses existing shift change meetings that happen all throughout his hotels – in housekeeping, the kitchen, the front desk, and the casinos – as a place where supervisors ask for these success stories and use the stories to immediately recognize staff via their intranet and break room postings.

Wynn focused on transforming the organization by going to the heart of the organization – its customers and employees. He prioritized making customers feel special, and then making those employees feel special for what they did to serve customers.

Whether your organization has the glitz of a casino or not, ensure that every customer walks away knowing that you care about them. Encourage employees to make customers feel appreciated, and then appreciate your staff for doing it.

“If you make someone feel good about themselves (customer or employee), they will love you for it.”


An Interesting Tip about Amazing Service – 5/13/14 TOW

Posted on May 13, 2014 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment


I listen to a sports talk show periodically, and the host has an interesting habit. He is always making statements such as “It’s really interesting that…” or “What’s amazing is that…” He will then follow-up that statement with an observation or conclusion that he wants you to find interesting, too – so you’ll keep listening.

Sometimes the conclusions aren’t the most interesting such as ‘What’s really amazing is that. . .when I watch the paint dry. . .it actually. . .dries!” Wow?

But there are three extremely useful tips that we can learn from this radio personality. First, the words you use matter – often tremendously. Our goal in customer service includes imparting a feeling to the customer or co-worker that we care for them, that they are valued, and that they are important. And our words impact their perception of whether we care.

Think about a situation where you’re a banker listening to a customer describe their need: “I am looking for a way to open my own jewelry making business using repurposed items like old necklaces, broken bracelets, etc. But I need some capital to acquire tools and develop a website.”

You could respond “We offer loans,” or you could respond “Wow! That’s a really interesting concept; what a great idea to use old jewelry to make attractive, new items to sell! And we definitely have funded many creative companies like yours.”

In both cases you might provide the loan, but which response will more quickly establish a rapport and increase the likelihood of the customer wanting to go with your bank?

What about the patient in the physician’s practice that notices a spill that nobody cleaned up? You could respond “We’ll take care of that,” or you could respond “Thanks so much for bringing that to my attention. That helps a lot – we don’t want anyone stepping in it or slipping. I REALLY appreciate it.”

Which response better conveys how much you value them and what they’ve done?

Second, avoid a tone that wreaks of sarcasm or indifference – offer a sense of sincerity with your tone. And third, avoid the hyperbolic statement such as: “Thank goodness you told me about the spill! Someone could have died! You just saved a life!”

Remember that the sincere interjection of some key words (interesting, amazing, appreciate, thank, sharing, etc.) helps the other person to feel valued, important, and appreciated.

Convey interest with a few amazing words.


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