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Negate the Nervousness - 5/6/25


The customer needed a loan, so he walked into the bank, but he was a little nervous.  He knew that launching his business would be easier if he had some working capital, but that’s about all he knew.  He was anxious because he didn’t know what to expect in Read more

Don’t Rush to Resolve Quickly - 4/29/25


The customer is angry, so you use the CSS LEAD technique as designed.  You, listen, empathize, accept responsibility, and deliver on a remedy.  But it doesn’t work.  The customer is still upset, and maybe even a little more frustrated than when you started…why?! If the use of this technique fails, Read more

Energy v. Apathy - 4/22/25


I asked a couple friends who are much more scientifically-oriented the question: What is energy?  I didn’t mean E=MC2.  I meant physiologically, what is energy? They described a lot of things that sounded really good, yet far too advanced for my non-medical mind. Part of the reason why energy is of Read more

Prep Enough to Personalize - 4/15/25


Everybody loves Howie.  He is an account rep for the local air conditioning and heating company.  When I say Everybody loves Howie, I’m definitely talking about the customers.  His co-workers love him too, but customers are especially fond of him.  They seem to really enjoy their conversations with him, Read more

Get Your Customers to Brag, Not Bolt - 4/8/25


Here are two customer retention concepts that we discuss with some sports clients: BIRG and CORF.  BIRG is Basking In Reflected Glory.  CORF is Cutting Off Reflected Failure. You want BIRG.  You want the customers feeling so good about your organization that they want to be a part of your Read more

Narrow Your Focus to Seek Excellence - 4/1/25


You’ve probably heard companies use phrases such as: “We want to go from being good to great.”  Maybe they’ve said: “We strive for perfection, and although we’ll never reach perfection, maybe we can achieve excellence along the way.” These organizations find some kind of a catch phrase or slogan, but Read more

Avoid the Unfriendly Ghost - 3/25/25


Last week we talked about the qualities of “PERKI Customer Service,” essentially what attitudes and actions are characteristics of those who provide great customer service.  This week, let’s take the opposite approach.  What are some of the mistakes that people make?  Maybe these are mistakes of omission or commission; Read more

PERKI Customer Service - 3/18/25


After having worked on hundreds of projects over the years with thousands of thousands of individuals, some things become pretty clear. There are certain traits held by people who are great in customer service.  Look at this list, and do a self-assessment.  Which apply to you? Positive and Patient Do you Read more

It Helps to Downshift - 3/11/25


One of the first tips I heard when I was learning how to drive related to what to do when the brakes fail - downshift.  Shifting into a lower gear can slow down a moving vehicle.  I would explain this in technical terms to you, but considering I’m not Read more

Patience is… - 3/4/25


Patience is a…pain in the neck.  Why is it so hard to be patient?  Those of us who work in customer service know that we constantly have to show patience with our customers.  We’re ready to move to the next step or the solution because we’ve heard this issue Read more

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You Want to Talk to a Person

Posted on April 28, 2011 in Business Advice, Education 1 Comment

You want to talk to a person. Not get a text; not receive an e-mail; you want to talk to a person – live.

That’s the summary of a recent American Express survey released. In a recent Wall Street Journal article about the survey results, approximately 90% of those who responded wanted to have their inquiries addressed by people on the phone. About 75% would like a face-to-face encounter, and 67% would utilize a website to get their question answered. Approximately 70% of customers are willing to spend more with a business providing good customer service.

So people still want to talk to…well, people. And if that employee is providing good customer service, the majority would be willing to pay more for that higher level of customer service.

What this means strategically for your business is that your decisions about what method of service delivery to use, what method of responding to inquiries to select – those decisions should not be made based on the pure “cost per transaction” question. They should be based on who are your customers, what do they prefer, how much are they willing to spend to have personalized interactions and higher levels of customer service.

Income Statements have a Revenue section along with the Expense section, so when companies make decisions that impact how they interact with customers, they need to think of the revenue impact – not just the cost per unit.

An Education industry client said that university students prefer to receive updates of upcoming events via text, not e-mail. So I’m not suggesting you always go the telephone or face-to-face route. But what I am suggesting is to first do the research to understand what your customers want and for what they’re willing to pay a little extra.

Don’t make assumptions. Ask the customer what they want, determine the FULL impact on your organization of delivering that, and then make the right decision.

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/


Where are all the fans?

Posted on March 8, 2011 in Business Advice, Sports Please leave a comment

There’s a reason why fan retention is so low among many sports teams, and it’s not just bad play on the field or a bad economy.

It’s about a core lack of understanding about what drives fan satisfaction and loyalty. Too many individuals who are charged with keeping up revenues are purely marketing or sales-driven. The key word is “purely.” Executives in these roles don’t often enough have training in client retention, understand a strategic view of retention, or think “long-term” when they map out retention plans.

Maybe it’s because MBA schools rarely teach customer service and customer retention principles. Maybe it’s because serving someone isn’t as sexy as closing a new deal. Maybe it’s because they don’t understand the true financial impact of retention strategies, research, and structures. Maybe it’s all of the above.

But if organizations want to be successful long-term…consistently…they need to understand external retention strategies and the internal structures and culture to drive those strategies.

They need to have dedicated leadership in charge of retention, incented on retention, trained on retention, and motivated by relationship-building and retention.

Rethink retention.

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/


How I Gave Away $5,000 in Free Consulting…and Didn’t Even Know It

Posted on January 19, 2011 in Business Advice, World of Customer Service Please leave a comment

I was giving a speech to the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce last year to small business owners, and a client came to co-present with me. The focus of the talk was Driving Customer Retention and Growth, and I was there to talk strategy, and my client talked about how his organization implemented that strategy – how it worked.

After the meeting, many of those in attendance came up to me for a chat, and it was great hearing their stories and learning about some of the points they particularly liked, but one attendee made an especially big impression. He said to me “I feel like you just gave me $5,000 of free consulting!” He smiled, I smiled, we talked some more, and we both walked away happy.

Should I have been happy? It would have been nice, of course, to have been paid for the guidance provided, but that wasn’t the point. The point was that I wanted to share something of value. If they could take it and run on their own – then great! If they needed more outside support, I was there to help.

So yes, I was and should have been happy.

What’s the point to you?

Building and maintaining client relationships is not all about “What’s in it for me?” as the service provider. It’s about “What’s in it for the customer?” If our constant focus is how we can help our customers to have a great experience or for them to be successful, then what we decide to do changes. We become more concerned with learning about our customers, their needs, goals, and preferences. We become more concerned with their satisfaction. We become more concerned with offering something of value, even if it doesn’t obviously benefit us. We become more concerned with them than we are with ourselves.

And when the customer senses that caring and concern, they are more attracted to us, more loyal to us, and more willing to refer to us. Oh, and yes, I did get business as a result of that speech – from a different attendee.

So there’s a benefit to us by our focusing on them.

Find a way to give for the sake of giving, and you’ll be surprised what you receive back.

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/


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