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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

Empathy Examples for Everyday Situations - 12/10/24


I’ve often said that empathy is the single most important characteristic of people who are great at customer service.  If empathy is essentially “to understand the other person,” it helps so much to have that ability in order to specifically help someone.  To talk to what’s unique about them.  Read more

Tell Them Why You’re Giving Thanks - 12/3/24


Thank you! Merci! Danke! Doumo! Gracias! It seems like every language has a translation of Thank You.  Even though I only fluently speak English and speak Spanish, un poco, I – and probably most of you – have heard some or all of the translations of "Thank You” noted above.  Read more

Refine Your Decision-making Process - 11/26/24


Every day, you make decisions of what to do and what not to do.  And in the world of customer service, often the affected parties are our customers, our co-workers, and our company.  Here are a few quotes to consider when you’re thinking about evaluating and refining your decision-making Read more

Acting on the Guiding Principles for Great Customer Service - 11/19/24


In last week’s tip, we shared 5 Guiding Principles for Great Customer Service.  This week, let’s address what “taking action” looks like on those key principles.  If last week was about what to do and WHY, this week is about the HOW. Engage with Interest: To engage with interest, proactively Read more

Guiding Principles for Great Customer Service - 11/12/24


It’s hard to know every procedure, every policy, every technique possible to handle every situation correctly.  After all, maybe our procedures are standard, but our customers are not.  Maybe our policies stay pretty consistent, but our customers’ needs and issues, their attitudes and actions can change from customer to Read more

From a Simple Question to an Exceptional Experience - 11/5/24


Phyllis loves her job.  It’s not just because she loves being a customer service representative, not just because she really likes her co-workers, and not just because she enjoys her company.  It’s because she really appreciates her customers, as well. A customer had ordered a register book off the company Read more

Fix One Problem without Creating Another - 10/29/24


If you’ve ever had an issue with your dishwasher, this will sound familiar.  I’ve dealt with so many dishwashers over the years, and they always seem to have some kind of an issue.  Maybe it’s because of the mix of water and technology, but for whatever reason, these never Read more

Delight Your Customers - 10/22/24


Buddy the Bug Man was different.  His company was new, and the only reason why Janet tried him out was that the service she had used for years just wasn’t working.  Whether it was mosquitoes in the yard, ants in the kitchen, or cockroaches flying through on their way Read more

A More Complete Definition of Responsiveness - 10/15/24


I was purchasing something recently that was being custom-developed.  At one point, the company’s employee and I had a good 20 e-mails going back and forth - 10 from each of us.  Unfortunately, I broke my own rule, and I did not pick up the phone after 2 or Read more

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The End of the Tunnel – 12/1/20

Posted on December 1, 2020 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

Have you ever heard the expression:  There’s light at the end of the tunnel…

In this COVID-era world, it sure does feel like the tunnel is long, doesn’t it?  It sure feels like this is not a light that we’ll be at in 2 seconds after the train goes another 200 yards.  But the fact of the matter is, when you’re in a tunnel and you see light, no matter how dim the light is, it shows that there is an opening.  It’s irrefutable that the closer you get to the end of the tunnel, the bigger the light appears, and the brighter the light shines.

Same is true for when we’re going through difficult times at work.  Whether we were furloughed, lost clients, lost jobs, gained responsibilities with no additional support, or had to work from home without the best equipment to do so, COVID-19 has created its own tunnels.  But the idea of the light at the end of the tunnel is the concept of hope.  And if we focus each day on our difficulties and challenges, sometimes we can lose sight of that which gives us hope.

I was working with a client recently, and we talked about the importance of having a long-term vision, of having a goal, of having some collective rallying point that we could all move toward together.  That gives us hope.

I was listening to a Ted Talk last week, and the speaker talked about the importance of leaders being servant leaders, and he described servant leadership through a definition of what service to others means.  An interesting point he had was that if we have vision of what tomorrow will look like, it helps us to get through today.  That gives us hope.

So, a suggestion or question or a challenge I have for you as you go through your own personal or professional tunnel is to identify:  What is your goal? What is your vision of a more pleasing or productive or joy-filled tomorrow?

Take time to write it down, because it’s much easier to see the light at the end of the tunnel if we figure out what “light” means to us.

Find your own light at the end of the tunnel.

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A Lesson in Gratitude – 11/24/20

Posted on November 24, 2020 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

Mr. Robinson went to the hardware store with his teenaged son, Steve.  Steve was starting his first woodworking project – building a small coffee table – and needed supplies.  As they walked the aisles, Mr. Robinson and Steve couldn’t find the exact type of wood they wanted, so Mr. Robinson suggested that Steve ask an employee for help.  Steve found an employee walking by, asked for help, and got what he needed.

After the employee walked away, Mr. Robinson told Steve:  You did a good job talking with that gentleman.  Next time, though, thank the employee.

Steve:  Why should I thank the employee for doing his job?

The dad’s temperature started to rise.  It rose because this was his son talking, and why Steve was basically stating a truth, Mr. Robinson felt Steve was missing the bigger picture.

Mr. Robinson:  You thank them because they helped you, because we didn’t waste the next 30 minutes walking up and down every aisle, looking at every bin.  You thank them because – whether they were being paid or not – you show appreciation for others.

This was a teachable moment in the dad’s eyes.  You appreciate others.  Gratitude is not a light switch you just turn on when you’re an employee getting paid to answer a customer’s question, and otherwise turn it off.  Gratitude is an all-the-time thing, whether you’re an employee or a customer.

Mr. Robinson:  People have choices – whether to serve you or not, whether to do it with a good attitude or not, whether to listen to you and ask questions…or not.  You have a choice, too.  And I want you to see the importance of choosing to tell other people thanks.

Let’s make gratitude an all-the-time thing.

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Why Your Job is Important – 11/17/20

Posted on November 17, 2020 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

I was speaking with a client recently, and she was telling me about one of the classes delivered by their professional development team. Her description of the course reminded me of some client workshops we’ve conducted where a part of the outcome is having individual staff develop Personal Mission Statements. These Statements essentially describe the greater good that employees provide through their work – the benefit to customers, community, company, or co-workers.  Beyond all the tasks and responsibilities, this describes that bigger purpose.

The course that my client had taken had a slightly different take on this concept.  Instead of talking about the greater good people do through their job, essentially the course helped employees to answer the question “Why is my job important?”

This is an important question for every employee to answer, and it’s not a question you would answer to be boastful about yourself.  It’s a question to answer so that we truly realize the value that we provide.  Asking a “Why?” question is tough.  It forces you to think about the reasons the role exists, the ultimate benefits, and the responsibilities asked of you.

It’s important because sometimes the tasks can seem mundane and repetitive.  Sometimes our motivational level just isn’t there.  Sometimes we need a refresher on how vital we are to our organizations.

So, ask yourself this question:  Why is my job important? Or maybe you want to rephrase it to say:  Why is it important that I perform this work?  Why is it important that I do a great job?  What would be the ramifications if this work was never done or was done poorly?  What would be the ramifications if I wasn’t the one making sure the needs fulfilled through my job were addressed?

Give yourself a little motivation by understanding how vital you and your responsibilities are, as well.

Uncover and clearly understand why your job is important.

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