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View Quality through the Customer’s Eyes - 10/14/25


Geri had been dealing with backups in the downstairs plumbing system of her house on and off for the past year.  The most recent company that she called in to unclog the pipes stated that they could send a camera down the pipes and tell her exactly where the Read more

Be Supportive, Not Defensive - 10/7/25


[An employee on the phone with a customer…] Who told you that you didn’t have to submit that form? … Bob?  Oh brother!  You see Bob is our “special” co-worker.  He seems to always tell customers the wrong thing to do, and we’re having to clean up after him.  Read more

Some Customers LOVE Predictability - 9/30/25


I was facilitating focus groups of businesses that utilize local government services.  The phrase that popped up multiple times was “Time Is Money!”  What these municipal customers were conveying was that their time was valuable, and delays were wasting their time.  But the conversations were not just about how Read more

Find Your Special Sauce - 9/23/25


When I watch a football game and I see a great quarterback (somebody who may be considered a “Star”), he might be an excellent runner, have a big arm, be able to diagnose the defense and get his team into the right play.  But he’s likely not great at Read more

Gain Control of the Conversation - 9/16/25


The customer’s angry or upset or they have a complaint.  They’re very chatty or very wordy or they just want to talk to somebody.  You’re on a time crunch, and the customer obviously is not. There are times when you need to gain control of the conversation.  It’s important for Read more

Complement with a Compliment - 9/9/25


We perform many tasks for our customers every day, and when we’re done with a step in the process, oftentimes we will tell the customer what’s been done.  But if we want to create more of a WOW experience, if we want to make the customer feel a little Read more

When Patience Begets Patience - 9/2/25


Jennifer, the server, walked toward the couple in the restaurant.  The customers had been seated for a minute or two, and they noticed the server was walking briskly toward their table.  Jennifer recognized the couple she was about to serve, because they had been in the previous week. Since the Read more

Address the Expectations that Were Set - 8/26/25


Before the caller ever got to Marco – the customer service representative, the customer had been working with the company for months.  They had read the marketing brochures, had a conversation with a sales rep, reviewed the new customer information on the website, and read all the information e-mailed Read more

When Technology Fails the Customer - 8/19/25


Technology is a wonderful thing…until it isn’t.  The website is down, the mobile app won’t work, the system keeps kicking them out of their account, or they received a spoofing phone call supposedly from your department. If you’ve ever been manning the phones or managing the department inbox, you know Read more

The Misunderstood Physician - 8/12/25


I was speaking with one of my personal physicians years ago, and when we were talking about my work – particularly customer satisfaction research - he started talking about online physician ratings.  He lamented that a few low ratings were dinging his overall score.  Then he shared that the Read more

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Social Media and Customer Service – Are you integrating?

Posted on May 26, 2011 in Business Advice, World of Customer Service Please leave a comment

It’s a big buzz in the customer service world and in the business world in general. It’s all about social media – Twitter, Facebook, whatever your preferred flavor may be.

In the article Carriers using social media to measure & improve customer service, an IBM exec notes during a forum in Dublin, Ireland that a recent study indicates 33% of consumers overall look for product information via social media while 50% of 18-25 years olds search the social platforms.

Panelists on the topic agreed that “Effective social campaigns to measure and improve customer experience require individualized attention and an increased response speed.”

Let’s stop. Forget about the fact that we’re talking about social media; I’ll even take that word out of the statement. Think about your store. Your online business. Your hospital. Your bank. Your sports team or club.

Now read this statement again: “Effective campaigns to measure and improve customer experience require individualized attention and an increased response speed.”

This fact is NOTHING NEW!

It applies to your storefront, your web, your phone response systems, and – yes – social media. Social media may set an expectation for more immediacy since people using that vehicle are part of a demographic typically looking for quick information and response. Also, from the company’s perspective, since social media can “go viral” to many hundreds or thousands of people quickly, there is a need to address issues fast to maintain the brand and minimize customer churn.

But the core point applies throughout any business; it goes beyond social media. If you want to measure and improve your customer’s experience, get to know your customer as an individual. Communicate with them as an individual. Respond to them quickly…as an individual.

Integrate Social Media and Customer Service in your business, but when you do it, keep in mind that you’re not using Social Media just to promote and sell to existing clients.

You’re doing it to serve your customer as an individual.

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/


“A Man is Known by the Company He Organizes” – Ambrose Bierce

Posted on May 25, 2011 in Business Advice, Carolinas, World of Customer Service Please leave a comment

Here’s a customer service horror story from many years ago. It’s worth recalling for you…

I went to get the newspaper on a Sunday morning and noticed water flowing from the garage. Yikes! The water heater was leaking, so I called a plumber. After one ring, the company answered and promised a prompt response from a serviceman, and the response came 30 minutes later. I explained that our water heater also heats the house, and after a very cold Saturday night, my wife and child needed a warm house as soon as possible. "Someone will call you back at 8:00 a.m. Monday to schedule a diagnostic check and probably order a replacement," he said. Another cold night ahead…

Nobody called Monday morning, so I had to call them twice. The first time because they didn’t call as promised at 8:00 a.m., and the second time because they hadn’t called back after the first call. The customer service rep couldn’t find a record of my Sunday conversation, so again they logged my information. We scheduled a diagnostic check for that day between 1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. At 10:50 a.m., I finally received a call regarding my Sunday conversation, but they couldn’t find a record of the appointment I had set up only one hour earlier.

At 11:05 a.m., I was told that my address was entered incorrectly, and my appointment would have to be rescheduled. What?! For the first time in my life, I asked to talk with the Service Manager. He listened to my situation and sense of urgency, and he called a plumber from another company to come out and install a new water heater. Let’s tally the score:

· 6 people from the first company spoke with me.

· 3 times they logged or updated my personal information.

· 2 times they scheduled me.

· 1 time they got the address wrong.

· 1 time they lost my appointment.

· 2 times they said they’d call back and did not.

For all the nice people, the one ring pickup on Sunday, and all the best intentions, this company was so disorganized that they lost my business to another company.

If you’re going to be judged based on your customer service, you’re going to be judged based on your organization.

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/


Customers Pay You for Performance

Posted on May 19, 2011 in Business Advice, Healthcare Please leave a comment

I will pay you for better customer service, a better experience, higher satisfaction.

No, this isn’t me talking to you; this is the Federal Government talking to hospitals. In a Healthcare Leaders Media article, the author states that “Higher Medicare reimbursements will require higher patient satisfaction scores, which will require higher employee engagement, which will require strong HR initiatives.”

Think about your hospital…or clinic…or bank…or team…or college…or business. What if higher satisfaction of your customers increased your revenue? What if decreasing customer satisfaction lowered revenue?

Well…it already does!

In the article noted above, the Government is going to adjust reimbursement based on patient satisfaction scores – so that’s an obvious cause-and-effect relationship. But your business also has that same cause-and-effect relationship. If your customers are more satisfied with the experience, the relationship, the processes, people, and products, they will be more likely to return. They will be more likely to purchase more per visit. They’ll be more likely to refer you to friends. In short, the more satisfied they are, the more revenue you’ll receive.

So the question to you just like to the hospitals noted in the article is “How do you increase customer satisfaction?” The answer varies for every organization, but it generally comes down to this. Focus on your People – how can you improve their skills, knowledge, and attitudes? Focus on your Processes – how can you make them more simple, self-evident, efficient, and quality-based? Focus on your Products – how can you improve the quality and effectiveness in addressing the customer’s need?

To drive up customer satisfaction, drive up the performance of your People, Processes, and Products.

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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