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Don’t Harp on the Customer’s Mistake - 6/24/25


Seth’s daughter, Sarah, had missed some swim classes, and Seth remembered that the aquatics center had several make-up classes available late in the summer.  So Seth pulled up the class schedule on his phone, found one that worked on his and Sarah’s schedules, and planned to attend a session Read more

Create Customers for Life - 6/17/25


Veronica has gone to the same automotive service shop for at least 20 years.  She bought a new car about a year ago, and this is the third car she’s brought to the shop instead of taking her car to the dealer where she bought it.  She’s had three Read more

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

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Quick Customer Service Technique Tips

Posted on March 21, 2011 in Business Advice Please leave a comment

Here are some quick hits for anyone in customer service…

  • To be great a customer service, you have to WANT to be great at customer service. Few people in history have been great without trying, practicing, improving, without WANTING to be great.
  • Did Michael Jordan just want to shoot hoops, or did he want to be great?
  • Did Dale Earnhardt just want to drive, or did he want to win races?
  • Did Abe Lincoln just want to manage, or did he want to lead this country to be better than it was?
  • Did Walt Disney just want to draw, or did he want to entertain in bigger, better, more personalized ways?

So to be great at customer service, make sure you’ve at least mastered these basics as a starting point:

  • Always answer the phone stating your department/organization, your name, and asking a question to start the conversation. A professional greeting should take less than 2 seconds.
  • When a customer is complaining, let them vent, empathize, and apologize or at least say “I’m sorry that happened to you…”
  • When closing a typical conversation, thank them for their business, their question, their inquiry, sharing their concern. Be memorable – in a positive way.
  • Be aware of your tone of voice on the phone – 86% of people judge you on the phone by your voice, not what you say.
  • Be aware of your body language and gestures when you’re face-to-face – 55% of people judge your body language, not your tone or what you say when you’re face-to-face.
  • Read the other person; are they anxious, angry, impatient, happy, upset? Tailor your interaction to address their emotion.
  • View your co-workers as customers. Even if you don’t interact with the consumer, the information or service you provide to your co-worker, the timeliness and attitude with which you provide the information or service – they impact your co-worker’s ability to serve that consumer.

These are a few quick tips to start your week.

Have a great one!

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/