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Make the Long Wait Feel Shorter - 12/16/25


When Greg entered the Tax Office, he was thinking only about two things: (1) How he was going to get the tax value on his home reduced, and (2) Whether the wait would be 1 hour or 2.  He checked in with the navigator who asked a few questions, Read more

When Kindness Means More in Customer Service - 12/9/25


Since a large part of the work we do at CSS includes customer research, we have seen tens of thousands of comments over the years about staff, and it is great to hear the positives that customers, fans, and account holders say about our clients’ team members. One word that Read more

Don’t Create the Second Complaint - 12/2/25


Maria was upset.  Rightfully so.  The product delivery was delayed, she couldn’t get anybody on the phone, and nobody would reply to her e-mails.  So, she went down to the store, and she found a customer service representative. After the initial greeting, the employee listened to Maria’s complaint.  While Maria Read more

Refresh on the Reasons to Appreciate the Customer - 11/25/25


This is a great time of year to give thanks, not just because it’s Thanksgiving week in the United States, but also because – with 2025 coming to a close - it gives us the opportunity to do some reflecting on the recent past. The idea of reflecting on reasons Read more

Confirm the Customer is Cleared for Takeoff - 11/18/25


An airplane pilot is told when they’re “cleared for takeoff” before they begin to accelerate down the runway.  The air traffic controller (ATC) has looked at everything in front of the pilot, on the runway and in the air space, and checked to ensure the pilot is good to Read more

Build Relationships with First-timers - 11/11/25


We’ve worked with one of our sports clients for over 10 years, and although the main focus of our work is research with their fan base, we also provide informal consulting advice and guidance whenever possible.  One approach we’ve talked about on and off for years is the need Read more

Last Impression Faux Pas - 11/4/25


Rightfully so, many customer service experts harp on the importance of the first impression.  It happens quickly, and it can impact the individual’s perception of you and the organization.  We even wrote a Tip of the Week on this years ago called First Impression Faux Pas. What many people tend Read more

Familying with Customers - 10/28/25


In our transactional society, it’s hard to think about customers in the long-term.  But if we want to be as successful as we can as an individual or as a business, we need to view customers through a relationship lens. What do we need to know about them to Read more

Avoid These Techniques - 10/21/25


We had a Customer Service Tip of the Week recently that addressed gaining control of the conversation.  One of the key points was that the focus should be on gaining control of conversations in various circumstances, but trying to avoid making it your goal to gain control of the Read more

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

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A Tale of Two Letters

Posted on August 31, 2010 in Business Advice Please leave a comment

I received 2 letters in the mail. Letter #1 had been run off of an old black and white copier onto low grade copy paper. Letter #2 had been printed onto color letterhead, bright white paper.

Letter #1 is two pages. Letter #2 is one page.

Letter #1 had an offer for a free thermostat with a new system; the free offer was buried on the last sentence of page two. Letter #2 had a separate insert exclusively dealing with a dollar discount on the next service.

Which company is winning so far?

The top of Letter #1 read, “how you can save $989 with the purchase of a new advanced, energy saving air conditioning system while reducing your electric bills. Plus, I’ll show you how to add a furnace and save an additional $534. Dear Friend, Your old air conditioning system is wasting your money every single month.”

The top of Letter #2 read, “June 8, Ed Gagnon, Address, Dear Friend, Thank you for choosing [Company Name] for your air conditioning and heating needs. I appreciate your recent business and I personally want to welcome you as our newest customer.”

Yes, you’re right. Letter #1 is a generic marketing letter poorly done. Letter #2 is a follow-up letter to business already received by the company to a new customer. It’s well-done.

Both letters arrived on the same day. Both were from the same company.

This is an example of how one company can get it so right and so wrong at the same time. Letter #1 is generic, does not grab your attention, is not personalized, does not focus you on a message, and was received with no follow-up. Letter #2 is personalized, professional, personally signed by the owner, concise, and a good relationship-builder. Not only are the two letters contrasts in effectiveness, but at least one is a waste!

With Letter #2, there is no need for Letter #1. But this is the proverbial “left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing.” Marketing and customer service did not communicate, and marketing wastes its money, the customer’s time, and some credibility with the customer by sending its mailing to an existing customer.

Surely this company’s marketing department could learn from its customer service area how to market more personally. And surely both areas could communicate better.

Don’t waste your money, your customer’s time, and your credibility due to poor internal communication.

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/


Time to Go Back to School

Posted on August 26, 2010 in Business Advice, Education Please leave a comment

For most of the United States, this is a time when students are going back to school. But when we refer to students, whether they be college kids or the elementary school age children, we need to keep in mind that the students are not going back to the same grade. Last year’s 3rd graders are now 4th graders. Last year’s college freshmen are this year’s sophomores. The students are moving on and moving up.

So when kids go back to school, they’re going back to learn more advanced information.

In our business world, we also need to constantly go back to school. But it’s not to get refreshed on what we already know or retrained on information where we’ve already been trained. It’s to learn advanced techniques, tips, skills, philosophies, and business practices.

In customer service, there are so many different techniques which you can learn and apply daily. But for those who need more advanced training if they have become near-experts on the basics of customer service, one area to focus on is reading the personality of your customer. Since many of our conversations with customers are quite short, and since we’re conveying so much information or responding to the request or complaint while engaged with a customer, to be able to – at the same time – tailor how you interact with the customer to their unique personality type is a feat where only the best at customer service consistently excel.

One way to build up this aptitude is to start categorizing the personality types of the customers you encounter most frequently. Identify the 2-3 most encountered personality types, determine how to identify these types of individuals during conversations, and determine a few behaviors or phrases that you can utilize when interacting with these particular personality types. Getting to know the types of customers you interact with and the keys to interacting with them are great steps to take if you want to be even better at customer service.

Go back to school.

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/


New Season, New Season Ticket Holders

Posted on August 25, 2010 in Business Advice, Sports Please leave a comment

Many of our clients have the greatest chance of LOSING customers if they are new customers. That’s especially true with our sports clients.

When a new season ticket holder (STH) arrives, they are excited, have expectations, have written the big check for the first time, and want a great experience.

With all of their expectations, all that emotion, and all those expenditures comes all that risk.

Part of how you keep these new clients is obviously to meet and exceed the expectations, provide more value than the expense, and feed that emotion positively.

But realistically, the other part of keeping those clients is to educate them on expectations you CAN meet, about their role in having a great experience, and about all you do that they don’t yet realize is available.

With new clients, be their educator.

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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