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Use the Customer’s Words - 4/21/26


The customer is describing a problem on what they call their “computer.” They mentioned that the “screen” doesn’t “move from one page to the other.” They say that the “website’s name is typed at the top,” and it says sample.com with a “line, and then it says ‘home’ after Read more

Affirming the Customer with Empathy - 4/14/26


We’ve spoken and written about empathy for the 20+ years of these customer service tips, noting empathy as the most important quality any individual can have if they want to be great at customer service.  We’ve shared that - in order to serve our customers most effectively – it’s Read more

The Power of Teaching While Helping - 4/7/26


If you’re trying to develop a relationship with the customer rather than just simply handling their transaction and moving on, you are taking a long-term view.  You realize that that individual is someone you want to keep with your business for months or years to come, so it’s a Read more

Bear with Me - 3/31/26


As a customer, you’ve probably called a company and heard the phrase “bear with me.”  At that point, you know there’s going to be some sort of delay.  The CSR is giving you a heads up that there’s going to be additional wait time.  Essentially, they are trying to Read more

Slowing Down the Fast Talker - 3/24/26


Jeffrey had always been told by his manager to figure out the issue quickly and wrap up the conversation as fast as possible.  So, Jeffrey was hyper-focused at finding that one key word that could identify the issue and help him to transition quickly to what might be some possible Read more

Don’t Bury the Lede - 3/17/26


Mary was working at the office, and she received an e-mail alert from the water company.  There was a water outage in her neighborhood.  It looked like it was going to be a couple hours to fix the issue. Sure enough, a few hours later around mid-afternoon, Mary received another Read more

Confirm the Real Issue Before You Start Solving - 3/10/26


Have you ever gone “down the rabbit hole?”  It involves going deep into some topic, some discussion – with analysis that creates complexity as much as it resolves it.  And that dive into the rabbit hole often starts with a simple question. Going down that rabbit hole takes time and Read more

One Question to Prevent a Follow-up Call - 3/3/26


The way some performance metrics work, you would think companies would prefer for their staff to talk to the same customer 4 times on the same topic for 8 minutes each rather than talking to them once for 10 minutes.  Many management metrics are too focused on average length Read more

Stay Calm When the Customer Isn’t - 2/24/26


There are all sorts of others’ emotions that you have to deal with as a customer service professional.  The other person could be anxious or upset, they could be angry or agitated.  It can run the gamut of emotions, but for you to deal with them in the best Read more

Don’t Begin with the Dead End in Mind - 2/17/26


Habit #2 of Stephen Covey’s “Seven Habits of Highly Successful People” is “Begin with the End in Mind.”  It speaks to the need to have a clear vision or goal for what you’re trying to ultimately achieve, so you understand the purpose of what you’re doing.  It helps you Read more

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The Power of Teaching While Helping – 4/7/26

Posted on April 7, 2026 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

If you’re trying to develop a relationship with the customer rather than just simply handling their transaction and moving on, you are taking a long-term view.  You realize that that individual is someone you want to keep with your business for months or years to come, so it’s a great opportunity to invest in them.

In thinking about the future with this customer, you want to do the core things we typically think of such as convey appreciation to them and understand their retention drivers, but you also want to educate them.  Educating your customer is one of the key roles of a customer service professional in the relationship development process.

Educating in the Moment

Obviously, there are formal customer onboarding strategies and webinars and how-to videos that companies produce to educate the customer.  But in this case, I’m talking about those opportunities for you to educate the customer in the moment, when you’re helping them with one thing, and you see an opportunity to become the educator about something related…

They’re talking to you about a payment, so as you explore the situation, you take the opportunity to let them know about automated bill payment or the payment portal.

They’re asking how your tax appraisal office calculated the value of their home, and after explaining the methodology, you let them know that there is a comparison feature on the website they can use, as well.

They called to submit a complaint, and after helping them, you let them know that – if there are future issues – they can also share any issues or feedback through the website.

They’re asking you how much longer it will be for their project to be completed, and after giving them an updated estimate, you let them know about the mobile app that updates immediately when the project status changes in your system.

Helping Them Select Their Preferred Process

You’re educating them about how to do business with your company in ways that might be more efficient for them, more user-friendly, more in-depth or timely.  You’re happy to help them in the future in the manner that you helped them today, but by being the educator, you’re letting them know that they have a broader array of options that might meet their needs better in the future.

Serve in the moment.  Teach for the future.

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Look for a Stop Sign – 2/3/26

Posted on February 3, 2026 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

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.  And sometimes if you’re really watching the customer – their behaviors, their expressions – you can read their signs, and sometimes the signs say STOP.  They say PAUSE.  They say LET THEM TALK.

When you’re sharing something with the customer or you’re talking to them, and they are flipping through their paperwork or scrolling the phone for some information, they’re not paying attention.  That’s a Stop Sign.

When they look at the clock or their watch, or their eye contact strays elsewhere, that’s a Stop Sign.

When you can tell they’re trying to talk or convey some information or physically moving in such a way that they’re about to burst unless they get their turn to speak, that’s a Stop Sign.

When the brow gets furrowed, like they’ve just been asked to lay out a blueprint for World Peace or provide the algorithm that Google uses to prioritize web searches, they may be unclear or confused.  That’s a Stop Sign.

At this point, it’s not about what we’re saying, it’s about how we’re listening to their body language.  It’s how we’re focused on how they’re receiving or not receiving our message, how they’re paying or not paying attention.

Sometimes the best thing to do in a conversation with a customer is to know when to stop speaking and ask them about their thoughts, or ask if they have something to share, or ask if anything is unclear.

 Look for a Stop Sign.

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Identify Your Point of Empathy – 1/20/26

Posted on January 20, 2026 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

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 (having that innate level of concern for others’ situations and their feelings), I have also witnessed people who became more empathetic over time.  They learned what it means.  They learned the importance of it.  They intentionally strived to build their habits and skill sets to be more empathetic.

Some of us find it difficult to be empathetic because we – understandably – feel like we don’t know exactly what that other person is going through; we’ve never truly been in their shoes.  But to be empathetic, you don’t have to have had the same life experiences of the other; with empathy, we’re simply trying to create a cognitive understanding, and utilize that knowledge to serve the other person better, to treat them better.

Creating Empathy for a Situation You’ve Not Experienced

For example, the customer may be upset that they received an unexpected fee on their bank statement, and they’re complaining to you.  Maybe you’ve never gotten an unexpected bank fee, but you’ve been charged more than you expected for the hamburger or the clothing or the service on your car.

Your season ticket holder may be upset because the seats that they’ve been in for years are moving next season due to some reorganization of the grandstands.  You’ve never had this exact situation happen to you, but your monthly 8:00 a.m. physical therapy appointment was just moved to an afternoon slot because your therapist is going part-time, and her hours are changing.

The local home builder walks into your offices because she’s upset that her plans didn’t pass, and that’s going to add at least 2-4 weeks to her project.  You’ve never been in that exact situation, but you applied to take night classes, and the application wasn’t approved due to some missing paperwork, so it’s going to take longer than expected to begin.

If you’re not the most empathetic person in the world, that’s OK.  Many of us were not born with that natural inclination.  But we can learn to empathize, and it doesn’t require that we’ve actually been in the exact situation that our customers are experiencing today.

Find Something Similar, Not Something Exactly the Same

Ask some questions to truly understand their situation, think of something similar you’ve been involved with, and use that understanding to build up your own empathy for what they’re going through.  You don’t have to tell them your similar story, but use that story to at least create some internal empathy for the other person.

Identify Your Point of Empathy.

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