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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

View Quality through the Customer’s Eyes - 10/14/25


Geri had been dealing with backups in the downstairs plumbing system of her house on and off for the past year.  The most recent company that she called in to unclog the pipes stated that they could send a camera down the pipes and tell her exactly where the Read more

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

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What it Means to Respect Someone’s Time – 10/22/19

Posted on October 22, 2019 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

Whether it is with a client when I realize that the meeting might go long, or possibly it’s in a workshop where I’m trying to end one conversation so we can move on to the next topic, there is a phrase I’ve used many times, and I mean it sincerely: I want to be respectful of your time.

Time is a valuable commodity. In this world that we live in, people are often so busy, they feel like they don’t have time, and maybe they truly don’t in that moment. One thing is for sure, whether people truly have time or not, they don’t want to feel like their time is being wasted. So, as someone who works in customer service, how do you respect someone’s time?

Look at it through the lens of the acronym BDA. BDA stands for Before, During, and After.

When you first engage a customer, thank them for the time they spent Before they got to you. Particularly if this is a follow-up question or request of theirs, or if they drove to your location, say Thanks for coming in! Show appreciation for what they went through prior to coming to you. Oftentimes you’re having a 2-minute conversation face-to-face with somebody who’s already accessed your website, called your co-worker, driven through rain and snow and gloom of night, and waited in line just to see you.

During refers to the conversation itself. Try to be as efficient as possible in meeting that customer’s needs; early on confirm how much time the customer has so that you know if they have 2 minutes or 20 minutes to sit with you. By understanding what’s going on in their mind from a time perspective – by knowing whether they are rushed or relaxed – you can best value their time in that interaction.

After refers to thinking about what’s going to happen next. If they have a next step that they need to take, or if there’s going to be some delay in your follow-up because of some internal process or communication or decision that needs to be made, let them know that you appreciate the forms they will be filling out. Let them know you appreciate their patience as they wait for an answer or resolution to their question.

To show that you value someone’s time, to be respectful of someone’s time, engage the customer with your understanding of what time they put into this interaction Before, During, and After.

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Be the Director of First Impressions – 10/15/19

Posted on October 15, 2019 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

Whether it’s in a hotel or in a coffee shop or a bank branch, first impressions mean a lot. First impressions mean “this is who we are” and “this is what you should expect.” First impressions mean “this is our definition of excellence” and “this is how much we care about you.”

An office leasing firm had a receptionist in the lobby whose title was “Director of First Impressions.” This was the company’s way of saying to the customer “this is what you should expect,” but it was also the organization’s way of setting an expectation of the receptionist of what should be her behaviors. It was a way of saying “YOU are the first impression that customers have of our company.”

Wow! Talk about a big responsibility! That employee wasn’t directing others to make a first impression. She WAS the first impression. And the first impression was of someone who greeted you immediately, who smiled, who quickly addressed your need, who adeptly managed callers, walk-ins, and customers alike. She kept communication going with people who waited, and she kept the flow of people and work going.

Therefore, the people who interacted with her had an impression about the company that it was focused on the customer, engaged, cared about meeting the customer’s need, generally happy, responsive, and organized.

So where do your customers get their first impressions?

Are you making positive impressions in the minds of customers? Are you setting high expectations of employees?

Create your customers’ expectations and set your expectations of employees by defining what a fantastic first impression looks like.

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People will Pay for Customer Service – 10/8/19

Posted on October 8, 2019 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

Sometimes all you need to read is the first paragraph in an article. Here’s the title from Business Insider: Amazon charges sellers as much as $5,000 a month for customer service if they want a guarantee that they’ll be able to talk to a real person.

The first paragraph reads:

Amazon charges third parties who sell goods through its online marketplace as much as $5,000 per month to access its optional management-growth service, Jay Greene at The Washington Post reported on Tuesday. The service guarantees quick help from a real person, according to The Post, and deciding not to pay can have devastating effects on sellers’ businesses, especially in instances where quick customer support is required.

In this world of AI and technology, of smart phone customer service, and the world according to Google, people are willing to pay $5,000 per month to…talk to a real person!

Why? Because these dedicated representatives can “solve problems before they blow up.” Because true, personalized, useful service is compared to an experience where it’s “almost impossible to get support help from the mostly automated Amazon systems.” Because people provide value. Because having a dialogue and quick resolution with someone empathetic, smart, caring, and knowledgeable has value.

In other words, you have value – literally – to your customers. You may be in a role where you serve others, but your customer allows you to do so because they know your worth.

Studies decades ago used to quote that customers would spend 10% more for the same product with better service. Today, that metric is put on steroids in this $5,000/month dedicated customer service representative story.

But both metrics suggest the same thing – you, your team, and what you do have value. You have worth.

Know your own worth to the customer.

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