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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

Everybody Doesn’t - 2/25/25


Joey received the compliment, but he was confused.  Paula, his boss, and Joey had their monthly one-on-one meeting, and Paula noted that, although he was new, Joey was already doing a great job!  While there were learning curves on some of the organizational policies and the technology that he Read more

A Simple Phrase to Transform Your Customer Feedback Approach - 2/18/25


I went to a restaurant called Big Ed’s (no relation) in Raleigh, NC recently.  It’s basically country cooking with fantastic breakfast options!  On the menu there was a quote that said: If you enjoyed your meal, tell a friend.  If not, please tell us. That was an excellent statement that embodies Read more

What Phones and Football Have in Common - 2/11/25


Congratulations!  You made it through weeks/months of hype for football’s Super Bowl!  You made it through hundreds of pregame shows and podcasts, endless debates on things endlessly inconsequential, 10 hours of pre-game shows on Sunday, what seems like 100 commercials designed specifically for the “Big Game,” and the longest Read more

Create Awareness of Alternatives - 2/4/25


Sandy was hungry, and she was on the move.  Driving between meetings, she saw the restaurant sign and pulled in.  The fast-food restaurant had two drive-thru lanes.  One was for any customer who wanted to place an order on the spot. The other was for mobile orders only.  The Read more

Listen with Your Eyes - 1/28/25


Out of the corner of his eye, Patrick saw the customer enter the lobby.  The customer was carrying a large shoulder bag with several papers in her hand.  The customer was shuffling the papers and looking down; then she stopped, looked up, and saw the staff navigator sitting at Read more

When You’re the Educator, What Should You Teach? - 1/21/25


The best customer service professionals are also excellent educators.  Not only within the organization, but I’m talking specifically about the role they play as educator with their customers.  With all the self-service options that technology provides, customers often have the opportunity to do things on their own, to investigate Read more

Wrap It Up Right: Why Follow-Up Communications WOW Customers - 1/14/25


Dena had some questions about her water bill, so she looked for answers on the utility’s website.  She didn’t find specific answers, and she really didn’t want to get on the phone with somebody at the time and risk staying on hold.  She had lots going on, but she Read more

From Conversation to Connection: Defining Customer Engagement - 1/7/25


Maggie was sitting in the Service Excellence Training class, and the instructor kept talking about staying engaged with the customer.  Proactively engaging the customer.  Being fully engaged in the conversation. After hearing this same phrase (“engage”) used in various ways, Maggie raised her hand and asked a question probably several Read more

Self-empower for the New Year - 12/31/24


Jeff joined the company, in part, because he loved their approach to culture.  Leadership tried to create an empowerment culture.  They tried to develop an environment where, within certain parameters, individual team members could make a decision and feel confident that they would be supported by leadership. The reality was Read more

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Translate Customer Service into Business Success

Posted on November 9, 2010 in Business Advice, Government, World of Customer Service Please leave a comment

As one state’s economic engine shifts into new industries and out of the growth industries of the past, relocation incentives are – as usual – a big point of discussion. How much should this state spend in incentives to get out-of-state businesses to build plants, move jobs, and relocate headquarters to this state?

While such incentives are common practice nationwide, some members of governmental think tanks believe that such incentives are overweighted toward new corporate recruitment. As Mr. Robert Atkinson, former Executive Director for the Progressive Policy Institute in Washington stated, “the [faster growing cities] don’t recruit companies. They grow them.”

How does this point relate to your business? Ask yourself, how do you retain your current customers? And more pointedly, how do you GROW your existing customer base? For local municipalities, it means investing in existing businesses so that it’s more cost-effective for companies to remain in their current locations than to relocate.

Translation for your business: Make your company of such value to the customer, that there is no significant financial reason to choose a competitor.

Also, smart municipalities work to strip away regulations and procedures that are burdensome to businesses while still maintaining a solid quality of life for individuals.

Translation for your business: Make it easy for the customer to do business with you. Strip away those policies and process steps that make it inconvenient to purchase your products and services. Make it easy for them to know how else to utilize your products and services. Then make it easy for them to purchase your products and services.

Finally, these municipalities try to get the businesses to become part of the fabric of their communities, strengthening the personal ties with the companies’ employees.

Translation for your business: Create personal relationships with customers that the best marketing collateral and slickest sales pitch cannot overcome.

Translate customer service into business success.

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/


Mediocrity Runs Rampant – How I Made Employees Disappear

Posted on November 5, 2010 in Business Advice, World of Customer Service Please leave a comment

Snap-snap…snap-snap. Think of electrical lines that you’ve heard “snapping.” That was the sound of my computer’s power adapter recently. I looked at the adapter and could see the silver coils unraveling in the cord; then I looked at my computer, and it said it was “hibernating” due to a low battery.

After a few seconds of confusion, I realized that my adapter had died, and my computer was in for an extended nap.

Good on the Phone!

Being Saturday morning, and since I was heading out of town, I didn’t have time to call the manufacturer and have the adapter shipped. So I called a computer “superstore,” and the manager was exceptionally helpful. She had a universal adapter but it didn’t specify that my computer was part of the universe that it would help. So she went on the internet to see if her model would work for my computer. Since she couldn’t find a “yes” or “no” answer, she suggested that I come to the store and she’d do whatever she could to help, even opening up an adapter package and testing it on my computer.

Bad in the Store…

When I entered the store on my way out-of-town, I couldn’t find the section where they keep adapters. So I asked for help and was directed to the right location, but the associate (Marla) didn’t know which – if any – of their adapters would work. So she paged the manager that had helped me on the phone, and Marla went off to another part of the store. Five minutes later, I went in search of the manager and instead found Marla. She took me to the repair center and yelled for someone to help. Joe, the repair technician, came out. Just then, in walked the manager (she had been outside on a break). All three employees huddled around to help. I had brought in my adapter to check versus theirs. The adapters looked alike, but the manager asked if I had my computer and could bring it in to test it. So I said “Sure!”

I’m a Magician – I Made Employees Disappear

I went out to my car and brought in my computer, but all three employees had disappeared. I found Marla again, and she asked if it had worked. I told her that everyone had walked off during the 45 seconds that I was out of the store. Frustrated, Marla said “nobody respects me around here. Joe! He’s back!” And in the repair shop, I heard Joe say “OK.” After a few seconds, Joe slowly began to meander out front. After about a minute of verbal sparring with a co-worker, Joe arrived and opened the adapter case. We plugged it in, booted up my computer, and the computer said that the adapter was not compatible.

“It won’t work,” said Joe. And he turned around and left.

I eventually called the original manufacturer of my computer Sunday and spent 30 minutes on hold only to find out that the parts department didn’t open until Monday. On Monday, I ordered the part, and it arrived at noon Tuesday.

Did you see these universal examples of mediocrity? There is so much they could have done to go from delivering mid-level service to being top-notch.

Identify the differences between good and great, and opt for great.

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/


Who is Your Retention Director?

Posted on November 2, 2010 in Business Advice, Education Please leave a comment

Lamar University was just nominated for an award by the State of Texas. In the article titled “Mentoring program selected as finalist for Texas Higher Education Award” (http://www.lamar.edu/newsevents/news/207_8985.htm), Lamar’s African-American Male Professional Connections Mentoring Program is in the running for the prestigious award.

There are two especially interesting points in the article. First, the person interviewed from Lamar references how the sense of community on-campus (while the individual is a student) helps to lead to long-term involvement of alums post-graduation. So that sense of community is a huge driver of retention.

Second – and equally as compelling – is a point only referenced once in the article but which is key to any successful retention program. The individual from Lamar who was interviewed is the “Interim Associate Provost for Student Retention.” That’s right, his title puts him in charge of retention.

Think about all the initiatives that organizations have underway to improve the customer experience, or to retain students, to renew season ticket holders, or to enhance customer service. The ultimate goal of each is client retention and growth. But who is truly accountable in your organization for client retention and growth? Is it a committee, a team, a group…anybody?

By having someone with the title, an accountability structure is put in place, priorities are set, resources are dedicated, time is allotted. In other words, this University must be serious.

Make sure your organization is serious about retention. Make sure you have a designated team or person who is your Mr. or Ms. Retention.

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

Check out our new customer service book at http://www.amigreatat.com/


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