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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

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


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 Read more

Avoid the Unfriendly Ghost - 3/25/25


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; Read more

PERKI Customer Service - 3/18/25


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 Read more

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

Posted on January 14, 2025 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

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 noticed the opportunity to use the chat function.  So, she clicked in.

When the chat conversation was done, Dena signed off.  Immediately afterward, she received an e-mail.  It was a transcript of the chat.  She had never used the chat before, and she was surprised to receive the e-mail.  But once she reviewed it, she loved it!!

Whether you – as a customer service representative – just completed a chat with a customer, ended a phone conversation, or wrapped up a face-to-face conversation, these follow-up communications are often exceptionally helpful to the customer.  There are several ways that your customers benefit from chat transcripts or other documented follow-ups to your conversations:

  • Documentation: The customer has a record of the conversation, the issues, potential solutions, and the actions to take.
  • Trust-building: The customer sees that the company also has documentation, and they are willing to stand by what was communicated during the encounter.
  • Quick Access: The customer can easily find a record of the prior communication.
  • Accountability and Follow-Up: It offers a checklist of what the customer or the company are expected to do next.
  • Time-saving: Customers are less likely to have to repeat their story during the next encounter, since they can just reference the transcript.
  • A Sense of Feeling Valued: Customers feel like they’ve been heard, and the conversation was important enough to the company to document.

 
When you complete that encounter with the customer, if you want to build their trust, make their life a little bit more simple, build in some accountability on next steps, save them some time, and help them to feel valued, provide an immediate follow-up communication.

Wrap it up right.  Use follow-up communications to WOW customers.

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

Posted on January 7, 2025 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

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 people in the class also had:  What does it mean to engage the customer?

The instructor said: That’s a great question!  Let’s think about engagement from two perspectives…

First, it’s the mindset and the attitude you take into these conversations.  If you are being engaged, you have a desire to help the other person.  You find a way to care for them in their situation.  You’re constantly trying to think of how to help them, how to understand them better.  Your attitude is that that other individual is the most important person in the world to you at that moment.

That’s an engaged attitude.  You are focused, concerned, and have the appropriate level of energy and enthusiasm FOR the other person.

The second perspective is about your action.  Literally, how do you engage the other person?   You take that desire to understand them, and you apply it by tapping into your own curiosity, by asking questions.

You apply that information they provided by using their name, restating their situation, their goals, their perceptions and preferences.

You act engaged by starting the conversation with them.  You take engagement seriously by seeking solutions, often on the spot.  By offering tips.  By sharing your knowledge with the purpose of not only helping to address their need but by also helping them to become more knowledgeable.  And you convey that you stay engaged by initiating follow-up, and by following through on what you promised.

View the other person as important, as interesting.  Then be proactive, personalize, tap into your own curiosity, and take action to engage the customer.

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

Posted on December 31, 2024 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

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 like the portrait they had portrayed for him when he was interviewing.  He really liked his job, liked the leadership, and enjoyed working at the company.  He felt like a part of a culture that aligned to his values.

As time went on over his first two years, the culture was still good, but the organizational performance started to drop.  Sales began to decline as operating expenses increased.  Profit was pinched.  And all of a sudden, leadership started to turn over.

Who knew how long Jeff would stay at the job?  It was obvious that the culture was changing with or without him.

But Jeff loved being empowered.  So eventually he asked himself the question: How can I empower myself?

He did the following for himself:

Set Goals: He identified what he wanted to achieve, what performance levels he wanted to reach, and he identified actions needed to get from here to there.

Learned New Skills: He taught himself some new skills, learning some of the technology better, becoming proficient at the use of AI and PowerBI, becoming the resident expert in the customer information system.

Understood His Strengths and Weaknesses: He reflected on what he did well and what aptitudes or characteristics of attitudes were somewhat lacking. He asked others to give him a quick 50/50 evaluation: Where do I excel, and where don’t I?  He used this understanding to figure out how to get better.

Found His Work Joy: He identified what he liked most, still, about the company.  He loved going to the common area to socialize briefly with others.  There were certain staff whom he enjoyed chatting with about fishing and football.  He enjoyed leading project teams, and he sought out opportunities to do so.

The culture was changing, and not for the better.  But that didn’t mean that he needed to change not for the better.  He could stay stagnant, or he could grow.  Jeff decided to self-empower.

Map out your own plan to Self-empower for the New Year.

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