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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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Mastering Confidence in Customer Service – 4/30/24

Posted on April 30, 2024 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

It’s not what you said…it’s how you said it.

If you’ve ever had someone say this to you, raise your hand.  (I just raised my hand)

Usually this is being said when someone is upset with you, but regardless of the reason, that phrase illustrates that HOW we say something often impacts the other person as much or more as WHAT words are used.

So, let’s use this truth to our advantage.  Confidence in customer service is an important discussion because we’re trying to instill confidence in the other person about what’s being shared.  The more they are confident in what we share, the more they’ll take our guidance, the more comfortable they will feel.  And the more confident they are in what we share, the less likely they’ll ask more questions, the less likely they’ll “answer shop.”

Here are some tips to instill confidence beyond the words you use:

  • Convey Calmness – Unless you’re going the enthusiasm route, exude a certain confidence by conveying calmness in your hand movements and their position when talking.
  • Use Brevity – Don’t drone on when a simple “Yes” is the real answer.
  • Add Some Inflection – Have variability in your tone when you want to ensure that your statement comes across like it’s from the heart, not from a script.
  • Avoid the Long Pauses – The “umms” and “uhhs” convey indecision and lack of certainty. If you are unsure of an answer momentarily, restate the question back to them to buy yourself some time, then directly move to the answer.
  • Complement Your Words with Your Body Language – Nod when saying something affirmative. Offer eye contact to show your intent on your answer and your customer.  Maintain good posture to show you’re assured of yourself and your statements.

 
To deliver great customer service, you not only need to have the right knowledge of your customer, policies, procedures, and products, but you need to confidently convey that information.

Master Confidence in Customer Service.

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Be Amazing – 4/23/24

Posted on April 23, 2024 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

Watching Michael Jordan steal a pass and then dunk a basketball is amazing.  Taking a rocket to the moon is amazing.  The taste of my mom’s homemade beef soup is amazing.

We all have our personal examples of what is amazing.  Usually, it’s something that we cannot comprehend, that we cannot do, or we just truly appreciate.  Unfortunately for me, I’m not amazing enough to steal and dunk a basketball in the NBA Finals, or to be an astronaut, or to be somebody who can replicate my mom’s cooking.

But fortunately, none of those skills or attributes are required for being great at customer service.  We can still amaze others in customer service.

To amaze is to do beyond what others expect or typically experience.  It’s to be different…in a good way.

So how can you be amazing in customer service?  Find your something better or your something different…in a good way, compared to others in customer service.  Find that thing you do or that way you do something that is beyond what others expect or experience.

When the customer walks up, most employees remain seated.  Stand up when the customer arrives.  Most employees will hop into their script when they get the phone call.  Instead, make your first couple questions about them as a person rather than about their account number.

Most employees never share their name in a conversation.  Start the conversation by introducing yourself.  Most employees try to figure out where the customer needs to be transferred or where they need to go next.  Instead, you could take them to the next stop, or you could help them navigate to the next step in the process.

Consider what most employees don’t do, what they are in a rush to do. Consider what information they leave out, what activity they try to avoid.  Then – to be amazing – do what other employees don’t do, what they don’t have the patience to do, sharing what information they leave out, doing the things that others try to avoid.

Be amazing by being helpful, patient, informative, and supportive.

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Talk About Yourself to Build Customer Confidence – 4/16/24

Posted on April 16, 2024 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

When you’re dealing with somebody who is anxious or nervous about a situation, a customer who feels like they don’t have much control, an individual who is unsure and uncertain, it’s important to put the customer at ease.  It’s important to build their comfort level.  It’s important to help them to become more confident by taking away the fear of the unknown.

One step in the technique that we use to train our clients for these situations involves employees talking about themselves.  If you’re the person they’re interacting with to help them with their concern, it helps their confidence that things will get resolved if they become confident in you.  So, after listening to them and asking them questions about their situation, convey your understanding of their situation back to them so that they feel like you are understanding what they need.

Then…talk about yourself:

  • I’ve been working here for 10 years now, and I’m very familiar with the different types of solutions that will help you in this situation.
  • I’ve worked with several other clients over the last 12 months who had similar needs, so I’m confident we’ll be able to help you.
  • We’ve helped other customers with similar circumstances, so we definitely have some options for you to consider.
  • When I heard your story, it immediately reminded me of some other customers that we’ve helped through this process.
  • I can definitely help you with that. I’ve got a lot of experience in this particular area, so let’s talk about what we can do for you.

 
Customer service is all about serving others, conveying our understanding of others, showing some empathy.  But sometimes the best way to serve others – when they are anxious or nervous about something – is to find ways for them to feel more comfortable, become more confident.

Talk About Yourself to Build Customer Confidence.

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