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Don’t Turn the Customer into the QA Department - 6/10/25


Roberta received a form with information filled in by the company after her conversation with the account rep.  Roberta just needed to review the information, fill in some of the blanks, sign it, and resend it in order to set up a new account. She noticed that the effective date Read more

Imitate to Improve - 6/3/25


Oscar Wilde said that “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.”  Now this doesn’t mean that plagiarism is the sincerest form of flattery.  Nor does it mean that great impersonators such as Rich Little, Dana Carvey, or Frank Caliendo are always offering flattering portrayals of those that they imitate. Wilde’s Read more

How the Customer Perceives a Truth as a Lie - 5/27/25


You’re the customer, you’re asking about an unused item that you’re returning, and you hear the employee say: “The refund process takes 7-10 days.”  You’re thinking: “Great!  I can get the refund check as early as a week from today!”  The reality is that the company means that they’ll Read more

Tell Customers What’s Next - 5/20/25


In most businesses that have been around for a while, how a process was originally designed is not how it currently operates.  Sometimes this change is referred to as “practical drift,” where the actual process moves further and further away from the documented steps over time.  Maybe the changes Read more

Questions to Guide You to Empathy - 5/13/25


“If I was him, I would do ABC…” If you’ve ever heard somebody say this - whether it’s a friend or acquaintance, whether it’s some TV reporter or podcaster - you may get as frustrated or as annoyed as I do. I get annoyed because we are not that other person. Read more

Negate the Nervousness - 5/6/25


The customer needed a loan, so he walked into the bank, but he was a little nervous.  He knew that launching his business would be easier if he had some working capital, but that’s about all he knew.  He was anxious because he didn’t know what to expect in Read more

Don’t Rush to Resolve Quickly - 4/29/25


The customer is angry, so you use the CSS LEAD technique as designed.  You, listen, empathize, accept responsibility, and deliver on a remedy.  But it doesn’t work.  The customer is still upset, and maybe even a little more frustrated than when you started…why?! If the use of this technique fails, Read more

Energy v. Apathy - 4/22/25


I asked a couple friends who are much more scientifically-oriented the question: What is energy?  I didn’t mean E=MC2.  I meant physiologically, what is energy? They described a lot of things that sounded really good, yet far too advanced for my non-medical mind. Part of the reason why energy is of Read more

Prep Enough to Personalize - 4/15/25


Everybody loves Howie.  He is an account rep for the local air conditioning and heating company.  When I say Everybody loves Howie, I’m definitely talking about the customers.  His co-workers love him too, but customers are especially fond of him.  They seem to really enjoy their conversations with him, Read more

Get Your Customers to Brag, Not Bolt - 4/8/25


Here are two customer retention concepts that we discuss with some sports clients: BIRG and CORF.  BIRG is Basking In Reflected Glory.  CORF is Cutting Off Reflected Failure. You want BIRG.  You want the customers feeling so good about your organization that they want to be a part of your Read more

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Narrow Your Focus to Seek Excellence – 4/1/25

Posted on April 1, 2025 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

You’ve probably heard companies use phrases such as: “We want to go from being good to great.”  Maybe they’ve said: “We strive for perfection, and although we’ll never reach perfection, maybe we can achieve excellence along the way.”

These organizations find some kind of a catch phrase or slogan, but the crux of what they’re trying to do is to get better.  They’re trying to improve.

When we used to conduct assessments for companies 15-20 years ago, we would identify a laundry list of things they needed to improve.  We’d note the 60, 80, 100 different recommendations.  Some were very tactical in nature, while some needed to be addressed over a period of several months or a year.  Others were very strategic in nature.

What we found was that the more we categorized, organized, and consolidated those recommendations, the less daunting the list appeared to the client, the more manageable the list was to address.

Now, the maximum number of top priority recommendations we typically provide is 20, and more likely we’ll have 5-10 key focus areas.  So, if you want to get better, if you want to become great, if you want to achieve excellence – particularly as an individual – identify some broad but important areas of focus.  Here are 3 quick examples:

Could You Communicate Better?  This could involve improving your communication skills, your business writing effectiveness, being more intentional about the words you use or more cognizant of your body language and tone of voice.

Could You Become a Better Planner?  You could identify what needs to be done by when, what your priorities may be.  Then, lay out your work over a period of days or weeks or – for big projects – over months in order to ensure you’re not having to scramble at the end of a project to meet the deadline.

Could You Better Prepare Your Customers?  Do you send information to the customer expecting an immediate review or quick turnaround?  Instead, lay out what the process is going to look like for the customer, what you expect of them, what they can expect of you, when those activities will happen.  Lay it out so the customer’s not put in a position of having to be ultra responsive to you without any forewarning.

Identify a few broad but important areas where you can be better.  Then use them as an ongoing focal point to continuously improve, to seek excellence.

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Avoid the Unfriendly Ghost – 3/25/25

Posted on March 25, 2025 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

Last week we talked about the qualities of “PERKI Customer Service,” essentially what attitudes and actions are characteristics of those who provide great customer service.  This week, let’s take the opposite approach.  What are some of the mistakes that people make?  Maybe these are mistakes of omission or commission; either way, here are some examples of action or inaction to avoid:

  1. Excluding Etiquette
  • Not stating your name or department when answering the phone.
  • Putting someone on hold without asking permission or stating how long it will be.
  • Not showing appreciation or not saying “thank you” at the end of a transaction.

 

  1. Ghosting the Customer
  • Not responding to e-mails or voicemails within 24 hours or less.
  • Not following through on next steps promised during a conversation.

 

  1. Blaming Others
  • Responding to a complaint without apologizing for the company’s mistake.
  • Blaming a co-worker or the customer for an issue.

 

  1. Focusing on the Phone
  • Making better eye contact with your device than with your customer.
  • Viewing e-mails as texts (instead of as a professional business correspondence); sending messages without using their name or yours.

 
To satisfy the customers, avoid the dissatisfiers.

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PERKI Customer Service – 3/18/25

Posted on March 18, 2025 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

After having worked on hundreds of projects over the years with thousands of thousands of individuals, some things become pretty clear. There are certain traits held by people who are great in customer service.  Look at this list, and do a self-assessment.  Which apply to you?

Positive and Patient

Do you convey positive messages to co-workers and customers, trying to focus on what you/they CAN DO rather than what can’t be done?  Do you try to avoid interrupting others, try not to make them feel rushed?

Empathetic and Efficient

Do you convey an understanding of the other person and their situation, so they feel you care?  Are you organized and proficient enough to be productive and responsive?

Relationships and Responsibility

Do you know how to get to know people, build trust, determine their likes/dislikes, and address their uniqueness?  Are you reliable, dependable, and accountable for your duties and actions?

Knowledgeable and Kaizen-oriented

Do you know your processes, policies, products, and people?  Do you try to improve yourself, your organization, your quality, your service experience?

Interested and Intentional

Do you focus on the other person, conveying your interest with your words, your expressions, your body language and tone of voice?  Do you think about the purpose of what you say and how you say it – before you speak – considering why you’re asking the question or making the statement, considering the effect on the other person?

In considering these questions, how did you do?  If you excel at any of these, pat yourself on the back!  And if any of these “PERKI” attributes are not strengths or are areas that could be improved, make a game plan for your own professional development.

Chart a course for providing better customer service.

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