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2025 Holiday Poem - 12/23/25


We hear the word change And that change can be good, But we like things to stay same, And sometimes they should.   The weather can be wet And then dry as a bone. We know things will change, Even if all left alone.   Our customers change. Our co-workers do, too. It seems like our resources Are often too few.   The technology Read more

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

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From Employees to Teammates: The Shift – 6/11/24

Posted on June 11, 2024 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

Be a great teammate. Be a good team player. We’re all part of the team. We’re no longer employees, we’re team members!

The phrase “Team” is used in describing co-workers so much more than it was used years ago.  Then, we would be talking about employees, talking about staff, talking about divisions or departments or agencies.

But today, we’re all asked to be part of a team.  But what does that really mean, particularly in customer service?

Attitude and Empathy:  Much of what goes into being a good teammate relates to the attitude that you bring. You’re part of a group dynamic with the others on your team.  Try to convey an attitude of positivity rather than negativity or apathy.  Talk about what you get to do as opposed to what you have to do.  Consider the impact of your role or responsibilities on teammates by understanding their roles and responsibilities, their priorities.  Bring empathy to your team.

Communication and Collaboration:  Convey what you know, not hiding information to garner power.  Work with others, not purely working in silos.  Most issues in work – and to some extent in life – boil down to communication.  And it’s easier to work toward a common goal if you communicate well and collaborate.

Actions and Accountability:  With 11 players on a football field, a pro football coach often talks about how his players need to “do their 1/11th.”  He means two things by this; first, don’t expect others to do your work for you.  Make sure you’re pulling your weight.  Second, try to get your job done before you wade too much into the waters of others’ responsibilities.  If we try to do others’ jobs without trusting them to do theirs, there’s always a chance we don’t do ours well, and we could also alienate those teammates.  Accountability?  When you mess up, acknowledge, apologize, learn from it, and move on.  We’re better teammates if we complement our responsibilities with our accountability.

Intentionally shift from employee to teammate.

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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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