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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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How to Increase Customer Loyalty Without Becoming Disney or Zappos

Posted on December 14, 2011 in Business Advice, World of Customer Service 1 Comment

A recent study highlighted in the Sacramento Bee (Good Customer Service is Key to Capturing Holiday Shoppers) addressed the impact of customer service on customer loyalty (or disloyalty). Results included:

· 29% stopped shopping at retail stores because of a bad shopping experience

· 71% avoid certain brick-and-mortar retail stores due to unhelpful/unfriendly employees

· 41% stop patronizing a business because of long lines or long wait time.

So it’s about the experience, the people, the processes.

But what’s even more interesting about the results is this conclusion – to improve retention, simply address the reasons why people leave.

While many organizations focus on creating the “WOW” experience or transforming your employees into Disney “Cast Members” or creating a Zappos culture, what is more tangible and provides more bang for the buck is finding out why customers leave.

So research. Interview former customers, or ask current ones why they’d leave. Know why they’d go, eliminate those loss reasons, and watch sales grow.

To become great at customer loyalty, increase your knowledge of why they’d leave…and act on it.

Read our New Book – “Ask Yourself…Am I GREAT at Customer Service?” http://www.amigreatat.com/

Listen to our latest podcast episode of “Stepping Up Service” on The MESH Network at http://themesh.tv/stepping-up-service/

Interested in improving your company’s customer service? See more at our new website! http://www.cssamerica.com/


Your Name Matters in Customer Loyalty

Posted on September 14, 2011 in Business Advice Please leave a comment

Results of a recent Zogby463 poll of bank customers showed that “69 percent of respondents said that their customer loyalty is positively affected by tellers recognizing them by name when they walked into a bank.” The poll appears to have been commissioned by a video intelligence company that is trying to sell their technology to help staff identify customers’ names.

While I won’t talk about the technology itself, let’s talk about the finding itself. Over 2/3rd of customers say that their relationship with a bank is positively impacted by their merely being recognized and called by name. WOW! That’s a huge percentage for such a small and easy aspect of the customer experience.

Remember the television show Cheers? The theme song said “You want to go where everyone knows…your name.”

There’s a great truth in that, and that truth has a financial impact.

Many employees are taught to say “Yes, Sir” or “Thank You, Ma’am.” Staff are taught to introduce themselves by providing their name. But how many staff are taught to ask the customer’s name and to use the customer’s name? How many work to remember the customer’s name on their next visit to the store?

Your name matters. By asking your name, using your name, and remembering your name, the employee is conveying that YOU MATTER.

Make sure your company and staff are intentional about learning, using, and remembering your customer’s name. Don’t just assume it’s happening.

Listen to our latest episode of “Stepping Up Service” on The MESH Network at http://themesh.tv/stepping-up-service/

Read our New Book – “Ask Yourself…Am I GREAT at Customer Service?” http://www.amigreatat.com/

Interested in improving your company’s customer service? See more at our new website! http://www.cssamerica.com/