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Seamlessness - Why the Customer Thanked You - 6/23/26


This doesn’t happen enough nowadays, but the employee received a long thank you e-mail from the customer.  A financial services account manager had taken care of the client during a period of time that was stressful for the customer. Life was unexpectedly changing quickly, and personal emotions, additional financial responsibilities, Read more

When to Avoid the Escalation - 6/16/26


The customer calls with a complaint, and the easy thing to do is to escalate it to your supervisor. That may also be the right thing to do, but how do you know when to avoid the escalation? Why You Would Escalate The first thing to consider is why you would Read more

Let’s be Clear on Clarity - 6/9/26


When trying to manage expectations, it’s vital to be clear with the customer.  But what specifically does it mean to be “clear?” Clarity is in the eyes and ears of the beholder, so what may be clear to one customer may be unclear to another.  However, there are some basic Read more

Allow Yourself to Solve a Couple Puzzles Every Day - 6/2/26


Frank had never been a dog owner before, and when he first got Bosco at the shelter, Frank didn't really know what he was doing.  He would try to be a good parent - feed the dog, play with it, take it on walks - but he was doing Read more

Improve with a Purpose - 5/26/26


If you’re reading these customer service tips, you likely want to get better.  You want an idea, a technique, a reinforcement, or a question that helps you improve. But why improve? At some point you may waver on the commitment to improve, because it can take effort, introspection, time, and change.  Read more

Reciprocate the Thanks - 5/19/26


Jasmine had a great experience with the company, and the company sent her a link to provide an online evaluation following the visit.  So, she clicked the link, gave a rating, and made a comment about her experience. The company monitored their online reviews, saw the positive response, and replied Read more

Don’t Skip the Recap - 5/12/26


The playoff hockey game goes on for almost 3 hours.  There’s non-stop action, with plenty of penalties and takeaways and hits against the boards…and a few goals, as well. You didn’t get to watch the whole game because you had other plans, but you wanted to know what happened.  So, Read more

Finalize the Solution with the 6 Step Checklist - 5/5/26


In last week’s Tip, we showed why and how to Use the 6 Step Checklist before Resolving the Issue.  We noted the importance of taking 15 seconds to mentally walk through the Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How to feel confident that you know what’s needed to fix Read more

Use the 6 Step Checklist before Resolving the Issue - 4/28/26


We talk about trying to resolve the issue right the first time, sharing the technique on how to manage the conversation to get clarity on the real issue, need, or goal, and confirming your understanding before moving forward. But what are you trying to clarify?  What are you trying to Read more

Use the Customer’s Words - 4/21/26


The customer is describing a problem on what they call their “computer.” They mentioned that the “screen” doesn’t “move from one page to the other.” They say that the “website’s name is typed at the top,” and it says sample.com with a “line, and then it says ‘home’ after Read more

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311, Customer Service, and Facebook…Oh My!

Posted on March 1, 2011 in Business Advice Please leave a comment

If you are trying to figure out a Social Media Customer Service strategy, find some others already underway, and learn from what they do right (and wrong).

In the article “Mayor Lee Announces First of its Kind Facebook Application for City Services,” the City and County of San Francisco touts its new Facebook application that allows residents to submit requests through its site. Go to http://www.facebook.com/SF and click the SF311 Service Requests icon.

The organization is trying to accomplish 3 things: 1) Go to where the customers are located. 2) Learn more about the residents. 3) Save money.

Sure there are other goals, but this is what San Francisco’s government entities are trying to do – move you away from their 311 call center, engage more residents, and get information on you through your Facebook account.

Those are goals any business should have. Whether you are a pro sports team, a local municipality, an economic development agency, a college or university, or a bank, you need to be where your customers are, you need to engage them, and you need to bolster the intelligence you have on them. The strategy is all about relationship-development, retention, and financial improvement.

Learn a little strategy from this Facebook approach.

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/


Order a Pizza…Save a Life…

Posted on February 24, 2011 in Business Advice Please leave a comment

Talk about knowing and caring about your customer! This story about how a Domino’s Pizza delivery person may have saved a life was an amazing read and video. Check out the story, and think about how this could happen in your company…

An 82 year-old woman orders a pizza every day for 3 years. When one of her frequent delivery drivers learns that the customer hasn’t ordered in 3 days, the driver goes to the woman’s house and helps to find out that the woman had been on the floor of her home for 3 days and hadn’t been able to call for help. The woman will be fine, and this delivery driver may have saved her life. There are MANY lessons we can take away from this story.

First, be proactive with customers. Don’t allow their perception of you to be based purely on when they initiate the transaction or the conversation.

Second, monitor the activity of your customers. If something changes, that could be a symptom of a problem (or an opportunity for growth!). Act on those changes in behavior.

Third, care about your customer, and make sure they know you care by reaching out to them in ways that don’t always have a sales pitch attached.

Enjoy pizza, enjoy your customers, and enjoy life!

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/


Calling All Customers – Scream About Service!

Posted on February 17, 2011 in World of Customer Service Please leave a comment

When people find out that I’m a customer service speaker, researcher, and consultant, they immediately think that they have license to vent and complain to me…and I love every minute of it!

If people didn’t complain when something goes wrong, it would mean one thing – they’re apathetic. And nothing is worse than apathy. Care about SOMETHING!

The reason I love the daily/hourly challenge of helping organizations improve customer service is because – at its core – customer service is about caring for people. There’s an inherent greater good in what you do in business if what you do helps to improve how other people are treated.

So bad customer service should not be ignored. From the customer’s perspective, companies should be put on notice that “you better change or I’ll leave.” From the company’s perspective, bad customer service should be addressed and improved by management and staff.

Now when you receive poor customer service, don’t be apathetic – take action. There are many places to complain on the web, but better yet – complain to the company first, give them a chance to save you, and then leave if they don’t. Communicate your irritation and anger.

Studies have shown that only 1 in 26 of us will bring a concern directly to a company when we feel there’s an issue, so imagine how much more seriously that businesses would take us if they heard about all 26 issues! For some companies, it would be an avalanche of complaints and concerns.

On the flip side, if someone does something well, compliment them. Tell them that you – as a customer – care about customer service, and you thought that they did a GREAT job.

Make your voices heard loud – don’t be apathetic. Don’t always wait for someone to ask you for your opinion. Give it to them; be respectful, but give it to them.

You’ll be surprised how good you feel and how much your opinion is appreciated. And if your opinion isn’t appreciated, have the guts to say “good bye.”

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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