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Look for a Stop Sign - 2/3/26


As a customer service professional, what you say matters.  The information you’re providing is useful.  The direction you’re giving the other person is helpful.  But... As you’re speaking, you also need to be reading.  Reading the other person.  Watching the customer, determining whether and how they’re receiving what you’re sharing.  Read more

When They Want the Supervisor - 1/27/26


Maybe you did your best with the customer, or maybe the customer didn’t even give you a chance.  They want to talk to your supervisor.  They see you, notice your title does not have “supervisor” or “manager” or “director” or “President and CEO” in it, so they want to Read more

Identify Your Point of Empathy - 1/20/26


I was watching a webinar recently on empathy.  The speaker mentioned that empathy - to a large extent - is something that you are born with.  It’s something that’s very difficult to learn.  And while I agree that some people are predisposed to being empathetic and understanding of others Read more

Pressure is a Privilege, but... - 1/13/26


When athletes are asked about the pressure of a playoff match or a late-game situation, many times they will say that “pressure is a privilege.”  In other words, usually pressure exists because you’re in a match that matters most.  It exists because you are a player put in a Read more

While I’ve Got You on the Phone… - 1/6/26


I’m a big planner.  Whether it’s strategic planning or planning out the year or planning my week first thing on a Monday morning, I like to plan.  I do this because it gets all of my action items documented and ensures that I have some understanding of what I Read more

Pass the Quick Impression Test - 12/30/25


Some studies have shown that people create an impression of you in less than a second when they first meet you face-to-face.  Other studies have shown that that initial impression can take up to 7 seconds.  Regardless, first impressions are quick.  First impressions are not always the lasting impression, Read more

2025 Holiday Poem - 12/23/25


We hear the word change And that change can be good, But we like things to stay same, And sometimes they should.   The weather can be wet And then dry as a bone. We know things will change, Even if all left alone.   Our customers change. Our co-workers do, too. It seems like our resources Are often too few.   The technology Read more

Make the Long Wait Feel Shorter - 12/16/25


When Greg entered the Tax Office, he was thinking only about two things: (1) How he was going to get the tax value on his home reduced, and (2) Whether the wait would be 1 hour or 2.  He checked in with the navigator who asked a few questions, Read more

When Kindness Means More in Customer Service - 12/9/25


Since a large part of the work we do at CSS includes customer research, we have seen tens of thousands of comments over the years about staff, and it is great to hear the positives that customers, fans, and account holders say about our clients’ team members. One word that Read more

Don’t Create the Second Complaint - 12/2/25


Maria was upset.  Rightfully so.  The product delivery was delayed, she couldn’t get anybody on the phone, and nobody would reply to her e-mails.  So, she went down to the store, and she found a customer service representative. After the initial greeting, the employee listened to Maria’s complaint.  While Maria Read more

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I Know It When I See It – 7/28/15 TOW

Posted on July 28, 2015 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

“I know it when I see it.”

In 1964, a United States Supreme Court justice used these words to determine whether a movie was an “obscenity” or not. He couldn’t define an obscenity with words, but he concluded that this particularly movie couldn’t be accurately described using that word (or other words the plaintiffs were using…).

It’s 51 years later, and for some reason that quote applies to a lot in life. Some things are hard to define, but you know it when you see it. Believe it or not, mediocre customer service is one of those things. I’m not talking terrible customer service – that’s typically easier to note than great customer service, but I’m talking about the little things that differentiate the below average from the above average, that differentiate the predictably poor from the predictably good, that differentiate those that don’t care from those that do care.

There is no perfection in life. There is no perfection in serving customers, either. It is as much an art as a skill or an attitude. It’s not pure science, but there are examples of that better interaction that show you that the person or the company got it right in customer service:

  • When the employee greets you they either stand or remain seated.
  • They either smile or they frown.
  • Either their eyes are engaged with you or distracted.
  • Either they face you or they don’t.
  • They either say “I’d be happy to help” or “no problem.”
  • When you turn in information, they either respond “that’s perfect,” or they don’t respond at all.
  • They either say “I’ll call you back,” or they say “you call me back.”
  • They either apologize for the company’s error, or they avoid the apology.
  • They either thank you for your time and question, or they end the call in silence.
  • Either they ask you questions, or they wait for you to ask them questions.
  • They either go to you, or they wait for you to go to them.
  • They either confirm what you need, or they assume it.
  • They either confirm you got the need met, or they move on to something else.

These examples don’t necessarily illustrate the “WOW!” moment, but they illustrate the little things that create consistent excellence.

When it comes to the consistently positive customer service experience, the customer knows it when they see it.

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Orillia’s Orientation Toward Customer Service

Posted on July 3, 2015 in Business Advice, Government Please leave a comment

Blog 7-3-15 - 3rd postI know, I know – Government customer service is an oxymoron – I’ve heard the joke often, but I’ve worked with too many local government organizations to believe it’s true. The reasons it’s difficult to deliver great customer service typically fall into 3 buckets:

  • The easiest way to change a culture is to change the people, and it’s often very difficult to change staff in local government
  • A key to creating a particular desired culture is to have rewards and recognition (i.e., incentives) for staff who exhibit the needed behaviors and attitudes; many governments have policies and budgets that greatly limit such rewards
  • Many local government agencies are enforcing code, ordinances, laws, and regulations. It’s hard for the customer to feel great in situations when you’re telling them “no.”

I’m sharing these obstacles to great local government customer service because they’re a reality…but they’re also an excuse.

The Orillia City Government has been working on its continuous improvement strategy, focusing largely on customer service. According to the article City expanding customer-service focus, the City approved a customer service strategy in May that included the following components:

  • Continuous monitoring of customer satisfaction and feedback;
  • Exploring ways to expand access to services online;
  • Exploring opportunities to offer expanded payment options;
  • Establishing a dedicated customer-service team, comprised of staff from each city department, to monitor and receive feedback on the city’s customer-service practices;
  • Reviewing options to provide general reception on the first floor of the Orillia City Centre;
  • The implementation of corporate-wide customer-service standards to ensure consistent levels of service in all departments and locations;
  • Expansion of the city’s website to offer more information regarding the appropriate staff contact for all areas of the corporation; and
  • Regular customer-service training for staff.

Review your organization’s customer service strategy. Does it include research, broader service delivery vehicles, dedicated customer service resources, facility navigation, standards development, and training?

Review your strategy if you want to move it forward in a more comprehensive way. Learn from Orillia’s strategic orientation toward customer service.

Did you like this post? Here are other Government-related posts:


Unblurring the Lines – 6/16/15 TOW

Posted on June 16, 2015 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment


Forty percent of customer dissatisfaction is due to a customer’s expectations not being met. Maybe the company overpromised, or it didn’t even do the bare minimum of what the customer should expect (source: TARP).

But that statistic begs the question: What SHOULD the customer expect?

In today’s world of self-service (from websites to checking out at the grocery story to printing your own boarding pass for your flight), the lines of customer service are being blurred. With customers responsible for more of their service in some of these self-service vehicles, the lines of responsibility between company and customer are not as clear as in years past.

We’re working with a client now that’s running into this predicament. Many complaints are from customers who don’t realize how processes work and what’s their responsibility in service delivery v. that of the business. It’s a government organization where customers schedule appointments or submit plans or request services, and there’s not an obvious distinction between who does what.

The way we’re addressing this is by having customers and employees meet and basically define roles and responsibilities in key services/processes that make up the vast majority of projects. Which responsibilities are those of the customer, which are responsibilities of the organization, and which are mutual responsibilities?

They’re being defined first – clearly stated and documented. Then there will be ongoing educational and communication plans implemented within the government entity and with the customers to clearly articulate who does what.

There will still be the complaints in the future, but they should be far less because customers and employees came together to intentional define and document roles and responsibilities.

Don’t let your customers complain and employees get frustrated due to incorrect expectations that result from a lack of clearly defining roles and responsibilities.

“Unblur” the lines.

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