expectations | Customer Service Solutions, Inc.

Home  /  How the Customer Perceives a Truth as a Lie – 5/27/25  /  expectations

Be Supportive, Not Defensive - 10/7/25


[An employee on the phone with a customer…] Who told you that you didn’t have to submit that form? … Bob?  Oh brother!  You see Bob is our “special” co-worker.  He seems to always tell customers the wrong thing to do, and we’re having to clean up after him.  Read more

Some Customers LOVE Predictability - 9/30/25


I was facilitating focus groups of businesses that utilize local government services.  The phrase that popped up multiple times was “Time Is Money!”  What these municipal customers were conveying was that their time was valuable, and delays were wasting their time.  But the conversations were not just about how Read more

Find Your Special Sauce - 9/23/25


When I watch a football game and I see a great quarterback (somebody who may be considered a “Star”), he might be an excellent runner, have a big arm, be able to diagnose the defense and get his team into the right play.  But he’s likely not great at Read more

Gain Control of the Conversation - 9/16/25


The customer’s angry or upset or they have a complaint.  They’re very chatty or very wordy or they just want to talk to somebody.  You’re on a time crunch, and the customer obviously is not. There are times when you need to gain control of the conversation.  It’s important for Read more

Complement with a Compliment - 9/9/25


We perform many tasks for our customers every day, and when we’re done with a step in the process, oftentimes we will tell the customer what’s been done.  But if we want to create more of a WOW experience, if we want to make the customer feel a little Read more

When Patience Begets Patience - 9/2/25


Jennifer, the server, walked toward the couple in the restaurant.  The customers had been seated for a minute or two, and they noticed the server was walking briskly toward their table.  Jennifer recognized the couple she was about to serve, because they had been in the previous week. Since the Read more

Address the Expectations that Were Set - 8/26/25


Before the caller ever got to Marco – the customer service representative, the customer had been working with the company for months.  They had read the marketing brochures, had a conversation with a sales rep, reviewed the new customer information on the website, and read all the information e-mailed Read more

When Technology Fails the Customer - 8/19/25


Technology is a wonderful thing…until it isn’t.  The website is down, the mobile app won’t work, the system keeps kicking them out of their account, or they received a spoofing phone call supposedly from your department. If you’ve ever been manning the phones or managing the department inbox, you know Read more

The Misunderstood Physician - 8/12/25


I was speaking with one of my personal physicians years ago, and when we were talking about my work – particularly customer satisfaction research - he started talking about online physician ratings.  He lamented that a few low ratings were dinging his overall score.  Then he shared that the Read more

Uncover Silent Concerns - 8/5/25


One of the customer service statistics we have quoted many times over the years is:  For every complaint you do hear, there could be 26 other customer issues that you don’t hear. And when we bring up that statistic, we bring it up because we want to make sure companies Read more

•••••

How the Customer Perceives a Truth as a Lie – 5/27/25

Posted on May 27, 2025 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

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 mail the check 7-10 business days after processing it – which takes 48 hours to process.

Therefore, in 2 days, it could be 14 calendar days (10 business days) before they mail it, which could add 3-5 days.  So yes, the refund may arrive 21 days from today, even though you thought it would be 7 days.  What the company said may be truth to them, but what the customer hears makes what was said seem misleading.

You’re the customer, you’re calling about an account issue, and you hear the employee say: “I can help you with that.”  They go through a series of questions, confirm your account, and eventually tell you that they’re going to send the issue to their escalation team.  They’ll e-mail you back in 2-3 days.

When the employee said “I can help you with that,” you thought it meant that they could resolve the issue during the call.  Instead, in 2-3 days, you’ll find out if they can address the issue at all.

There are times when the employee has the best intent, but the words they use or the script they’re provided misleads the customer.  It’s likely not intentional, but it’s also how frustration and mistrust can build.

Look at your scripts and the wording you use, and don’t assume that the customer interprets it the same way that it’s intended.

Don’t let a truth to the company become a lie to the customer.

Signup for FREE Tips!    Contact Us    More Resources for You    Visit Our Home Page


Dear Customer, What do you expect? – 8/31/21

Posted on August 31, 2021 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

Studies show that 40% of customer dissatisfaction was because the company didn’t meet the customer’s expectations.  The company overpromised and under delivered, or the company didn’t even do the bare minimum of what the customer expected.

To avoid dissatisfying your customer, meet or exceed their expectation.  Simple, right?  It only gets simple if first you know the customer’s expectation.  So, when you’re interacting with your customer, here are some good questions to ask to uncover your customer’s expectations about the product or service you’re delivering:

  • For WHO, ask: Will you need guidance in setting this up/getting this to work? Reason to Ask:  If you’re providing a service, you’ll identify what they expect in terms of educational support.  Make sure they know what to do with the product or service you’ll provide.  This question is all about them.
  • For WHEN, ask: By when do you need this service? Reason to Ask:  If you’re shipping a product, you want to know when they need it delivered so you don’t provide it later than needed.  This question is about timing.
  • For WHERE, ask: Where would you like this product delivered (or this service performed)? Reason to Ask:  If they want something delivered, you’ll identify where they’d like it delivered, how they’d like it packaged, etc.  Don’t deliver to the wrong location; don’t package the service/product incorrectly.  This question is about location.
  • For HOW, ask: How do you intend to use this? Reason to Ask:  Make sure you understand how they plan to apply your service/product to their need.  This question is about the product’s use or benefit.

 
These questions address the “Who, When, Where, and How” of “What” service is being delivered.

Identify the expectation; deliver the satisfaction.

Signup for FREE Tips!    Contact Us    More Resources for You    Visit Our Home Page


It Matters How They Heard About You – 8/10/21

Posted on August 10, 2021 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

In the 1,000+ surveys that CSS has conducted over the past 20 years, it’s interesting to read how our clients’ customers heard about them.  This question is typically asked of first-time customers, and it’s especially helpful for those customers because you don’t typically have a lot of information on them, so it’s hard to categorize them, align them with your customer personas, or get a feel for what they expect.

So, it’s great when those first-time customers will answer that question, because how they heard about you matters.  It gives you a strong sense of what they expect.

It tells you what method of communication (website, an advertisement, word-of-mouth, etc.) made an impression in the customer’s mind – a positive enough impression for them to contact your business.

It also helps you to understand what expectation the customer has of the experience they’re about to have with your business.  If it’s a website referral, your site has certain expectations it’s setting about the products you have or what the customer is about to experience.  If it’s a word-of-mouth referral, they have expectations based on a friend who actually experienced your business.  If it’s an ad, it’s an expectation based on the product or event or characteristic that you promoted and what expectation your ad set.

To take this analysis a step further, ask the customer “What about the – ad, friend’s referral, website – brought you in today?”  This will encourage them to tell you more specifically what they expect.  And the more precisely you know the customer’s expectations, the more precisely you can meet and exceed them.

Ask the customer where they heard of your business; ask what brought them to your business.  Then exceed that expectation.

Uncover your first-time customers’ expectations.

Signup for FREE Tips!    Contact Us    More Resources for You    Visit Our Home Page


1 2   Next »