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Be Amazing - 4/23/24


Watching Michael Jordan steal a pass and then dunk a basketball is amazing.  Taking a rocket to the moon is amazing.  The taste of my mom’s homemade beef soup is amazing. We all have our personal examples of what is amazing.  Usually, it’s something that we cannot comprehend, that we Read more

Talk About Yourself to Build Customer Confidence - 4/16/24


When you’re dealing with somebody who is anxious or nervous about a situation, a customer who feels like they don’t have much control, an individual who is unsure and uncertain, it’s important to put the customer at ease.  It’s important to build their comfort level.  It’s important to help Read more

The Proven Value in What You Do - 4/9/24


Forbes wrote an article last year based on a compilation of the results of research on customer service and the customer experience; it was titled:  100 Customer Experience Stats For 2023. In reading the article, you’ll note that many of these key research findings are about you – the value Read more

A Tale of Two Texts - 4/2/24


Having to get allergy shots once a week is never fun, and for Janet, it became an even bigger frustration. She had the shots typically scheduled on Tuesday around 10:30 in the morning, figuring she would avoid the morning rush as well as the lunch rush by going mid-morning.  However, Read more

The Secret Sauce for Great Customer Service - 3/26/24


I was working with the League Office for a major American sport several years back, and one of the executives asked me to describe our Secret Sauce that helped our clients improve the fan experience and customer retention.  I gave him a sense of what makes us unique and Read more

The Miracle of an Apology - 3/19/24


Unfortunate but true story… The manager basically lost his mind.  He terminated his employee on the spot.  She had told the customer that there was going to be a delay in the shipment.  The employee called up the customer ahead of time to let the customer know what was about Read more

It’s Not About the 5-Minute Wait - 3/12/24


Robert went into his supervisor’s office to update her on a situation at the payment desk.  Robert said that a customer was about fourth or fifth in line, waiting to be served, and the customer was complaining loudly about the wait.  He was there to make a property tax Read more

Lessons from the Greats - 3/5/24


I was recently facilitating a workshop on the customer experience, and I made the point that it’s usually beneficial to look at your personal life for great experiences; identify what really resonates with you in a positive way in order to uncover ideas to improve your own customer service. So, Read more

The Empathy Roadmap - 2/27/24


For some people, empathy comes naturally.  There’s an innate desire to learn about the other person and to sincerely convey that sense of interest and caring.  But for many of us, sometimes it helps to have a communication plan.  It helps to know what to do in order to Read more

“You’re the Boss” - 2/20/24


Terrence is excellent at what he does.  From a technical standpoint, he knows how to keep the facility clean.  He’s the lead custodian, and he knows that keeping things straight does not necessarily mean keeping things sanitary.  He knows what chemicals to use and not to use, how to Read more

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The Quest is Not the Thing

Posted on January 31, 2011 in Business Advice, World of Customer Service Please leave a comment

The quest for the next customer is exciting, arduous, challenging, and – when you win – rewarding. Every quest begins with a first contact. You work hard to learn about this customer’s needs, wants, and priorities. You strive to learn their goals, their price parameters, and their personal profile. Where did they go to school? Do they have children? Who’s their favorite football team? Where did they grow up?

You learn the facts. You create the plan. You execute the plan. You make the sale, and you ring the bell in celebration! Then you move on to the next potential new customer, the next quest.

Is there something wrong with this picture?

You’ve just worked hard to earn that new customer. Yet, your focus now is on the NEXT new opportunity. What’s most important is the CURRENT new opportunity. So many people in business are in such hot pursuit of the next new opportunity that they are blinded to the current new opportunity.

What would rather achieve: 50 one-time sales or 50 sales from one customer? I hope you all responded "the latter." Think of each new customer as the beginning of a new relationship – your current new opportunity. Your primary focus after completing that transaction with the customer should be developing the relationship and initiating an ongoing system of communicating with them.

Selling to people you don’t know and don’t have a relationship with is hard. Create a legion of customers with whom you can relate, communicate, and – hopefully – enjoy working.

Create this legion by developing relationships with the one-time customers and making them your source for long-term business success.

Read our New Book – “Ask Yourself…Am I GREAT at Customer Service?” http://www.amigreatat.com/

Interested in improving your company’s customer service? See more at our new website! http://www.cssamerica.com/


An Ice Cream Cone and a Princess – Lessons from Disney

Posted on January 20, 2011 in Business Advice Please leave a comment

The little girl was with her family at Disney World for the first time. She had just sat down to have her ice cream cone, and was wearing a princess outfit which was bought just for this special trip.

As she started to eat, the ice cream fell off the top of her cone onto her dress, and then onto the floor. As the tears started to well-up, the mother took her daughter to the restroom to get cleaned up.

When they went back to their table, they noticed two “cast members” standing at the table, and the other family members were there as well. The ice cream had already been cleaned up by the employees, and they asked if she was the girl whose ice cream had fallen. When she replied “yes,” one of the employees said “please come with me,” and the employee took the little girl’s hand, walked with the mother and child to the counter, and greeted the employee making the cone saying “This princess had an ice cream cone, and it fell. Can you please give her whatever she’d like?”

“I would be happy to,” replied the other employee, and the girl was thrilled to get a new cone.

There are LOTS of lessons to be learned here. First, the employees spotted the issue because they were looking for opportunities to engage and help customers. They proactively addressed the other family members. They immediately cleaned up the mess without having to be asked. They were patient in waiting for the child to return. They clarified what had happened. They used respectful phrases in addressing the customer. They quickly provided an alternative product, communicating well with co-workers.

I know…it was just an ice cream cone.

But think about your company. Where are there issues, whether caused by your organization or the customer themselves? How do you deal with these issues?

Are you looking to help customers? Are you proactive in engaging customers? Do you address issues without having to be asked by the customer? Are you patient with them? Do you clarify the issue instead of making assumptions? Are you respectful in how you address customers, particularly in these situations? Do you quickly remedy issues, working as a team for the customer?

Ask yourself these questions, and then learn a little lesson from a Disney Princess.

Read our New Book – “Ask Yourself…Am I GREAT at Customer Service?” http://www.amigreatat.com/

Interested in improving your company’s customer service? See more at our new website! http://www.cssamerica.com/


“I Don’t Have Customers”

Posted on January 14, 2011 in World of Customer Service Please leave a comment

The meeting was going well, with a great deal of interaction between the 150+ people in attendance. Everyone was engaged and interested in learning and improving. The focus of the presentation was the results of a recent Mystery Shopping project that assessed various aspects of the organization’s performance from the customer’s perspective. The evaluation provided insight into the company’s web design, its financial processes, its sales and service functions, and its telephone systems among many other aspects of performance.

When the floor was opened to questions, one of the attendees said the following: “Listen. I make products. Why are we talking about this? I don’t have any customers.”

A loud gasp rippled through the audience. An argument ensued over whether that attendee had customers, who paid for the products, and how important service really is to this company. That conversation was a wake-up call to the organization.

We shouldn’t take for granted that everyone understands customer service is important. Based on this story, are we really sure that everyone believes that they even have customers?! When we’re trying to promote customer service within our organization, or get additional funding to retain more customers, or request resources to be more responsive in our service delivery, we’re often met with the answer “No.” We make assumptions as to why we hear “No,” and our assumptions often suggest that “we’re not getting our respect” or others “are pets of the executives.”

But in reality, we need to take on the responsibility to truly find out WHY in order to figure out HOW to overcome these obstacles. Start with the basics – who do the executives consider to be their customers? Is it important to the decision-makers to keep customers? What do the decision-makers consider to be the reasons why customers leave? Do those executives feel that people stay with a business for the same reason they start with a business?

That last question alone is a major red flag to any organization. It implies that advertising and marketing brought this customer in, so advertising and marketing are what will keep this customer as well.

Before you wonder why service isn’t “King” at your organization, start with the basics.

Ask those in-charge “Who’s Your Customer?”

Read our New Book – “Ask Yourself…Am I GREAT at Customer Service?” http://www.amigreatat.com/

Interested in improving your company’s customer service? See more at our new website! http://www.cssamerica.com/


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