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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

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Tell Fans to Sit Down?

Posted on January 3, 2013 in Business Advice, Sports Please leave a comment

Do you want raving fans…or not? Apparently the Sunderland soccer club wants raving fans, if they can rave while sitting down.

In the article Sunderland fans walk out in protest over season ticket holder suspended for standing, a group of fans walked out of the stadium in the first half of a recent match because a season ticket holder was suspended…for standing. There was a sign in the STH’s seat that read “This Season Card has been Suspended due to Persistent Standing.” Stop laughing…this really happened!

While I’ve never been to a European soccer match, I’ve been to enough professional sporting events in the U.S. to know that some people get aggravated when the fans in front of them stand. There’s usually some “nice” banter between the fans, and eventually the fan standing sits, or the sitting fan stands. That’s life; that’s how adults deal with issues; they “banter” and resolve. Now some sports fans aren’t truly “adults” (especially after several rounds of libations), but – again – that’s life.

What Sunderland got wrong is legislating something that’s basic, harmless, and can damper enthusiasm. In other words, their restrictions diminish passion. And if there’s one thing that players want from their home crowd, it’s passion. With the proliferation of “second screen” usage at games, fans are tending to look down at their smart phones more than ever, and it’s hard for a fan to maintain passion with a constant check of his phone. So teams/clubs instituting rules that restrict passion are restricting a big benefit to their club and a big part of the reason that fans go to games – for the live experience.

We have got to keep fans in the stadiums. We’ve got to keep passion in the stadiums. We’ve got to keep eyes focused on the field. We’ve got to encourage passion, energy, and – yes – standing.

So – if you work for a pro sports team/club – have a brainstorming session on how to create passion. Stand up the entire session, and you’ll be surprised at how much energy is in the room and how many ideas you can create.

Interested in improving your team’s customer service? See more at: http://cssamerica.com/csssport.htm


Form Great Customer Service Habits

Posted on January 2, 2013 in Business Advice, World of Customer Service Please leave a comment

Habits are hard to break…and that can be a good thing…if they’re good habits.

Let’s talk about customer service habits.

Stephen Covey wrote a book on the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Dr. Art Markman (as seen recently on Dr. Phil) talks about developing “smart habits” in his new book Smart Thinking. But in the world of customer service, what are great habits? We address the 25 characteristics of people GREAT at customer service in our own book – Am I GREAT at Customer Service?

So let’s take what these three books state to address how to become an habitually great customer service professional:

  • From Covey, begin with the end in mind. Have a vision of individuals and organizations that you’ve patronized that are great at customer service. What makes them great? Is it Chick-fil-A’s consistency, Disney’s attention to detail and the WOW experience, Nordstrom’s personalized service? What about the people, the process, the experience, the facility, the website makes you want to go back? Create that vision before you decide what habits to undertake.
  • In Markman’s book, he talks about the need to identify what habits you want and then filling your life with them, replacing poor habits whenever possible. So what poor customer service habits do you have? Are you disorganized? Do you talk too much and listen too little? Are you impatient? Do you look at the computer too much when engaged with a customer? Find what you do wrong, and replace them with habits that do right by the customer.
  • In our book, we list multiple positive characteristics that you could use to replace those poor habits. For example, organize your e-mails into folders. Get in the habit of asking customers questions upfront when they complain instead of arguing key points. Turn away from your computer when a call comes in or a customer arrives. Proof all e-mails before sending. Smile before you answer the phone. Respond to every voice mail and e-mail within 6 business hours. End all customer conversations by summarizing next steps and timeframes.

Get great at customer service by envisioning what you want to become, identifying your bad habits, and creating good habits to replace them.

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/


Student Success Centers and Foundation-Building

Posted on December 20, 2012 in Business Advice, Education Please leave a comment

In today’s strong focus in community colleges on student retention, completion, and success, there are many initiatives being undertaken to try to help students succeed. Success for community college students is often defined as “getting the certificate.” For example, the students get a degree from a community college or transfer to a 4-year institution where they work toward their degree.

To address Student Success, many community colleges are creating Student Success Centers. Here are three examples:

  • Hillsborough Community College’s Student Success Center (SSC) “houses tutorial services, a radio station and a G.E.D. program for those not yet enrolled in college. It also hosts seminars on subjects such as note taking and navigating college.”
  • Central Piedmont Community College has an SSC that provides “guidance, goal clarification, answers to questions, tutorial assistance, advising and counseling, and access to all enrollment services.”
  • The Florida Keys Community College’s SSC offers developmental math courses, a resource-connections service, tutoring, and academic workshops.

So the commonalities are tutoring, communication, getting developmental courses and skills addressed, ongoing advising, counseling, and navigation of school processes and systems. Essentially, make sure the starting point for Student Success involves foundation-building from 3 perspectives: 1) Core academic knowledge, 2) Direction on how to proceed through their program, and 3) Contacts and communications to address their needs and facilitate their movement through the program.

Look at these three perspectives for addressing new students (or for any business, new customers). How can you – from the start – ensure you begin building their knowledge of what you offer? How can you ensure they can understand how to navigate through the experience? How can you proactively stay in touch with them as they move through their journey and relationship with your organization?

To help your students (or customers) succeed, build that foundation of knowledge, comfort, and communications from the start.

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/


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