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A Simple Phrase to Transform Your Customer Feedback Approach - 2/18/25


I went to a restaurant called Big Ed’s (no relation) in Raleigh, NC recently.  It’s basically country cooking with fantastic breakfast options!  On the menu there was a quote that said: If you enjoyed your meal, tell a friend.  If not, please tell us. That was an excellent statement that embodies Read more

What Phones and Football Have in Common - 2/11/25


Congratulations!  You made it through weeks/months of hype for football’s Super Bowl!  You made it through hundreds of pregame shows and podcasts, endless debates on things endlessly inconsequential, 10 hours of pre-game shows on Sunday, what seems like 100 commercials designed specifically for the “Big Game,” and the longest Read more

Create Awareness of Alternatives - 2/4/25


Sandy was hungry, and she was on the move.  Driving between meetings, she saw the restaurant sign and pulled in.  The fast-food restaurant had two drive-thru lanes.  One was for any customer who wanted to place an order on the spot. The other was for mobile orders only.  The Read more

Listen with Your Eyes - 1/28/25


Out of the corner of his eye, Patrick saw the customer enter the lobby.  The customer was carrying a large shoulder bag with several papers in her hand.  The customer was shuffling the papers and looking down; then she stopped, looked up, and saw the staff navigator sitting at Read more

When You’re the Educator, What Should You Teach? - 1/21/25


The best customer service professionals are also excellent educators.  Not only within the organization, but I’m talking specifically about the role they play as educator with their customers.  With all the self-service options that technology provides, customers often have the opportunity to do things on their own, to investigate Read more

Wrap It Up Right: Why Follow-Up Communications WOW Customers - 1/14/25


Dena had some questions about her water bill, so she looked for answers on the utility’s website.  She didn’t find specific answers, and she really didn’t want to get on the phone with somebody at the time and risk staying on hold.  She had lots going on, but she Read more

From Conversation to Connection: Defining Customer Engagement - 1/7/25


Maggie was sitting in the Service Excellence Training class, and the instructor kept talking about staying engaged with the customer.  Proactively engaging the customer.  Being fully engaged in the conversation. After hearing this same phrase (“engage”) used in various ways, Maggie raised her hand and asked a question probably several Read more

Self-empower for the New Year - 12/31/24


Jeff joined the company, in part, because he loved their approach to culture.  Leadership tried to create an empowerment culture.  They tried to develop an environment where, within certain parameters, individual team members could make a decision and feel confident that they would be supported by leadership. The reality was Read more

2024 Holiday Poem - 12/24/24


I sometimes hear it said That things have never been like this before. That challenges are unique, That stresses seem like more.   I sometimes hear it said That we're asked to do much more with less. That workloads are increasing, And we're resource-constrained at best.   And others often say That things are really very good. That they enjoy those Read more

Is Their Poor Planning Your Emergency? - 12/17/24


Have you ever heard the saying:  Your poor planning is not my emergency. I’ve heard it said often – not necessarily directly from one person to another.  More typical is that I hear it from the person having to drop everything and do something immediately because someone else didn’t think Read more

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Build Your Shield – 3/21/23

Posted on March 21, 2023 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

When the customer complains or the boss gets upset, when the negativity gets too personal or you get that unprofessional e-mail from the angry client – those are the times when we can feel hurt.  Those are the times when we in customer service roles can feel that physical or emotional or spiritual gut punch.

But there are ways we can build an inner strength to deal with some of this outer negativity.  There are ways we can build our own capabilities to deal with criticism.

Be Self-motivated. Don’t rely on others to motivate you or affect your self-perception.  The more you get your motivation and drive from the inside, the less the feelings and perceptions of others will affect you.

Accept Responsibility for Your Actions. If you accept responsibility for the issues you caused, you can more readily understand the other person’s point of view in those situations.  And when somebody comes after you with accusations that are not your doing, it helps you more objectively receive those comments, knowing they’re not really speaking the truth about you.

Be Proud of What You’ve Accomplished. Know the good that you have done, and keep that good top-of-mind even if a bad tone is coming your way.

Be Tolerant and Respectful of Others. You don’t have to love the other person, you don’t have to agree with their position.  But if your concern is conveying respect and being tolerant of the other individual, it helps you to focus more on treating them as a human (imperfect like we all are) rather than getting immersed in their negativity.

Have Integrity. Do the right thing, even when it’s not the easy thing.  Take solace in knowing that what you’re doing is fair, honest, and true, and you’ll never regret how you addressed the situation.

We can prepare for the difficult moments by building our own shield day-after-day.  This is not a shield to separate us from the complaints or the complainers.  It is something that we can nurture inside of us to strengthen our ability to handle criticism in the moment.

To Build Your Shield, self-motivate, accept responsibility, take pride in your accomplishments, be respectful, and have integrity.

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Avoid the Aggravation; Confirm the Key Point – 3/14/23

Posted on March 14, 2023 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

In this age of instant information and auto-completion of texts or e-mails, we are quick to get one thing done and move on to the next thing.  Technology often helps us to complete our work more quickly.  Yes, there’s even AI technology that’s starting to wreak havoc on the internet because it does work for people.

But with speed and automation come basic risks.  The risks I’m referring to are those in-the-moment risks when you’re engaged with the customer – the risk that we’re going so quickly that we don’t get the right information. Therefore, we take a wrong step.  Therefore, there’s unnecessary work done.  Therefore, there are delays or rework or frustration.

It helps to confirm key points to avoid unnecessary aggravation.  Check out these 3 true scenarios:

Scenario #1 – The Wrong Number: During a call, the customer gave a phone number for the employee to contact.  The employee thanked the customer but did not confirm they heard the phone number correctly.  The employee called the line and didn’t get a hold of anyone.  It turns out that the employee wrote down the wrong number.  They didn’t call the customer back; they just assumed nobody was available at the number given.  There was a delay and frustration, all because the employee didn’t confirm what she heard.

Scenario #2 – The Self-imposed Deadline: The employee was very conscientious.  He wanted to get things done as quickly as possible.  He got the request from the customer and thought he could get it done by the next day.  So, he put other things on hold and rushed to make this customer request a priority.  Little did the employee know that the customer didn’t need the request addressed for a week.  The employee self-imposed a deadline because he didn’t ask the customer.  The employee put other projects on hold and worked late unnecessarily.

Scenario #3 – Paying for What?: The employee asked the customer for a payment in advance of recurring monthly services.  The customer wrote the check, and one month later the customer received an invoice for service provided.  The customer wondered why they were being billed if they paid up front.  After calling the business, the employee noted that the upfront payment was a security deposit, and the customer would be billed for the services received immediately thereafter.  The customer was not happy that they thought they were paying for services in advance, but instead they were just giving a deposit that they might not get back for months or years.

Sometimes the employee and the customer can avoid the aggravation if the employee is patient enough to confirm their understanding or to confirm that the customer understands.  Information given is sometimes assumed to be received correctly.  But that’s an assumption that can cause downstream issues.

Avoid the aggravation. Confirm the key point.

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Being the Emphatic Employee – 9/6/22

Posted on September 6, 2022 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

Empathy is the key quality of somebody who’s great at customer service.  We talk about it often – what it is, how to convey it, what it looks like, and how it makes the customer feel.

But along with knowing how to be empathetic, we also need to know how to be emphatic.  There are many times when the customer lacks confidence or clarity, they are uncertain or anxious.  And it is part of our role to build that confidence, convey more clarity, and offer certainty to help overcome the anxiety.

To fulfill that role in our conversation with our customers, we can be emphatic with our words.  For example, it’s more emphatic to say “I will do ABC…” than to say “I think we can do ABC…”   It’s better to say “This will definitely help” than to say “This should help.”

It’s better to give a shorter answer than a longer answer.  It’s better to say “Yes,” then go into the description.  That immediately answers the question, emphatically.  That’s preferable to saying “There are a lot of different factors that come into play and for this particular situation…”  Again, we’re trying to create certainty and clarity.  It’s easier to be clear in a 3-word answer than in a 33-word response where the answer is somewhat hidden in the statement.

To be emphatic, think about more eye contact, more nods.  You’re reaffirming what you’re saying while you’re saying it.  Have body language that is complementary.  Use good posture, have more concise arm and hand movements just like your wording is more concise.

You can be positive while being emphatic to build confidence, convey clarity, and offer certainty to overcome anxiety.

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