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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

Uncover Silent Concerns - 8/5/25


One of the customer service statistics we have quoted many times over the years is:  For every complaint you do hear, there could be 26 other customer issues that you don’t hear. And when we bring up that statistic, we bring it up because we want to make sure companies Read more

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Nurture New Relationships – 6/4/24

Posted on June 4, 2024 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

Freddie was a new business owner in town.  He was launching a franchise, had acquired some funding from a local bank, and was in search of staff who cared about customer service.

All the while, he was in the process of renovating a storefront for his business, so he was dealing with the local municipality a lot on plans and inspections.  But to Freddie, the process was shockingly easy.  Well, maybe the process wasn’t easy, but going through the process was easy.

For the most part, submitting plans through the web portal, getting comments on plans and getting inspections scheduled and conducted was typical. Getting results of the inspections and correcting issues – these were all fairly standard processes – sometimes cumbersome, sometimes clunky or not self-evident.

The Secret Weapon

But Freddie had a secret weapon; the municipality in this community had a navigator position.  This was essentially a governmental point person to help business owners and developers work through all the different processes that they had to deal with for remodels, renovations, new development, etc.  No matter what area of the city or county that Freddie was dealing with, the navigator helped him through the process.

The navigator not only met with Freddie upfront when he first submitted his plans, but the navigator conducted what was akin to an onboarding session like you would do for a new employee.  The navigator set up bi-weekly calls with Freddie to ensure he was on track, and would have as-needed communications to help through issues.

See Him as an Individual

The navigator learned about Freddie as well as learning about his project.  The navigator would send Freddie information in advance of when he needed it to help him to prep for the next step and make sure he kept things on time and on budget.

The navigator’s name was Helen.  And while this seemingly fairy tale experience did not end with the main characters getting married, it did end with Helen having started and nurtured a relationship on behalf of the municipality with the new business owner.

Think about the new customers you have and how they and their needs are so different than those of your existing customers.  Intentionally map out a process and approach to help them navigate any pitfalls.  Dedicate resources to onboard these clients, nurture relationships, and grow your business by helping them to grow their success with a great customer experience.

Nurture New Relationships.

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There’s Positivity in Patience – 5/28/24

Posted on May 28, 2024 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

The employee at the financial services firm was working with a new client on a relatively simple loan.  The documentation was about as clear as it could get to the employee, but the customer had lots of questions.  The employee calmly, clearly, and specifically answered each question.  The meeting took a little while longer than normal, but all the paperwork was completed right the first time, and the customer walked away feeling comfortable with what they did and confident in the company.

The nurse dispenses meds to many patients every day, and she always puts the pills in a little cup for the patients to take; but one patient is much more receptive to taking the meds if they’re put in a spoon.  So, the nurse makes sure that, for that one patient, there’s a spoon available.  It takes a few extra seconds to get the spoon, but the patient is less hesitant to take the medication, and the encounter is much more pleasant.

The high school central office staff person is answering call after call. The questions are usually pretty simple, or she quickly identifies where to route the call.  Despite the many calls she gets, with each one, she slowly and pleasantly introduces herself, notes the area she’s located, and makes a warm greeting to the caller.

Each employee is being patient.  Each has a task to do, and they could spend less time doing it in the moment, but the experience would not be as good from the customer’s perspective.  The perception of the employee would not be as positive.  And the total time required to handle those encounters, could easily be longer if the employee was not so patient.

For example, maybe the financial services person would need a second meeting because the customer didn’t feel comfortable with how the Q&A was going.  Maybe the nurse would have a longer and more challenging conversation with the patient, trying to get her to take the meds out of a cup.  Maybe that caller into the central office gets transferred incorrectly, and it wastes a co-worker’s time because the central office staff person was trying to move the call along too quickly.

Rarely does patience hurt the customer experience in the short-term, and it will infrequently take up excessive company resources in the long-term.

Convey a little extra patience to create a little more positivity.

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The Goal – A Great Experience – 5/21/24

Posted on May 21, 2024 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

The following is a narrative of a great experience (people, process, service, facility) at a minor league sporting event – key points that could apply to any business are in bold…

Mark and I pulled into the parking lot, excited about the game.  The Slapshots had been on a roll lately, and this was my first chance to see them play this year.  The line moved smoothly and signs alerted us to the $10 parking charge, so we had the money ready when we reached the parking attendant.  “Good evening, and welcome to the Slapshots!” the man exclaimed as he took the money.  “Please follow the other attendants’ directions to your parking spot, and have a terrific night!”

The ticket window attendant offered a friendly “hello!” and offered to help us locate the best seats.  I asked about the $22 seat locations, and – showing me a color-coded map of the arena – she pointed out the best remaining seats for that price.  She asked if we were familiar with the ice box seating.  We weren’t, so she explained the expanded food and beverage service in those seats.  We agreed to the extra $5 to avoid missing any game action in the search for food. “Great,” she said, as she rang up the sale.  “Enjoy the game, and here’s some information on season ticket packages in case you’re interested.”

We entered the main concourse and immediately spotted the merchandise table and requested a couple team magazines.  “Is this your first Slapshots game?” the booth worker asked.  Since it was Mark’s first game, the employee pointed to the “Hockey 101” fact sheets on the table.  “You might find this useful if you’re new to the sport.  A lot of folks around here are, and they find this useful.” 

Mark followed the signs to our section, and an usher greeted us and showed us to our seats. The menus were on our seats, and we placed our dinner order with the server who appeared almost as soon as we sat down.  “What great seats!” Mark said, as the puck slammed into the window right in front of us!

It was an awesome game, and the food was great, better than expected for minor league hockey. At the second intermission, we walked the concourse to stretch our legs and grab a drink.  The Slapshots had taken the lead by the end of the second period, and the staff we talked with were excited about the game and thanked us for coming.

After an exciting ending to the final period to secure a 5-4 victory for the Slapshots, Mark and I headed to the exits.  “That was a ton of fun!” Mark exclaimed.  “I’m going to stop off at the information desk and find out about their season ticket packages.”

Whether it’s the people, the process, the service, or the facility – learn from these examples to move all aspects of the customer experience from good to great.

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