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When You’re the Educator, What Should You Teach? - 1/21/25


The best customer service professionals are also excellent educators.  Not only within the organization, but I’m talking specifically about the role they play as educator with their customers.  With all the self-service options that technology provides, customers often have the opportunity to do things on their own, to investigate Read more

Wrap It Up Right: Why Follow-Up Communications WOW Customers - 1/14/25


Dena had some questions about her water bill, so she looked for answers on the utility’s website.  She didn’t find specific answers, and she really didn’t want to get on the phone with somebody at the time and risk staying on hold.  She had lots going on, but she Read more

From Conversation to Connection: Defining Customer Engagement - 1/7/25


Maggie was sitting in the Service Excellence Training class, and the instructor kept talking about staying engaged with the customer.  Proactively engaging the customer.  Being fully engaged in the conversation. After hearing this same phrase (“engage”) used in various ways, Maggie raised her hand and asked a question probably several Read more

Self-empower for the New Year - 12/31/24


Jeff joined the company, in part, because he loved their approach to culture.  Leadership tried to create an empowerment culture.  They tried to develop an environment where, within certain parameters, individual team members could make a decision and feel confident that they would be supported by leadership. The reality was Read more

2024 Holiday Poem - 12/24/24


I sometimes hear it said That things have never been like this before. That challenges are unique, That stresses seem like more.   I sometimes hear it said That we're asked to do much more with less. That workloads are increasing, And we're resource-constrained at best.   And others often say That things are really very good. That they enjoy those Read more

Is Their Poor Planning Your Emergency? - 12/17/24


Have you ever heard the saying:  Your poor planning is not my emergency. I’ve heard it said often – not necessarily directly from one person to another.  More typical is that I hear it from the person having to drop everything and do something immediately because someone else didn’t think Read more

Empathy Examples for Everyday Situations - 12/10/24


I’ve often said that empathy is the single most important characteristic of people who are great at customer service.  If empathy is essentially “to understand the other person,” it helps so much to have that ability in order to specifically help someone.  To talk to what’s unique about them.  Read more

Tell Them Why You’re Giving Thanks - 12/3/24


Thank you! Merci! Danke! Doumo! Gracias! It seems like every language has a translation of Thank You.  Even though I only fluently speak English and speak Spanish, un poco, I – and probably most of you – have heard some or all of the translations of "Thank You” noted above.  Read more

Refine Your Decision-making Process - 11/26/24


Every day, you make decisions of what to do and what not to do.  And in the world of customer service, often the affected parties are our customers, our co-workers, and our company.  Here are a few quotes to consider when you’re thinking about evaluating and refining your decision-making Read more

Acting on the Guiding Principles for Great Customer Service - 11/19/24


In last week’s tip, we shared 5 Guiding Principles for Great Customer Service.  This week, let’s address what “taking action” looks like on those key principles.  If last week was about what to do and WHY, this week is about the HOW. Engage with Interest: To engage with interest, proactively Read more

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Before Getting into Social Media Customer Service, Do This

Posted on November 1, 2011 in Business Advice, World of Customer Service Please leave a comment

Why Social Media Customer Service? Because if you’re not in it, you’ll be left behind…no, that’s not credible. Because everybody wants their customer service through Twitter or Facebook…uh…no they don’t. Because in this day and age, all your customers are constantly in Social Media…well, not really.

In your personal life, I sure hope you don’t do things for the sake of doing them. You don’t quit your job to create a startup just because all your buddies are doing so. You don’t drop out of college because Gates and Jobs did so. You don’t skydive without a parachute because someone told you what “an awesome rush” it is.

When you do something significant in life or in business, do it with a purpose.

Getting into Social Media Customer Service is no different. Companies who are investing in consulting, resources, and technology to get into Social Media Customer Service typically do it for several reasons including (1) To protect their brand, (2) To reduce cost/unit of providing customer service, (3) To be more responsive, (4) To meet their Social Media-savvy customers where they’re located and/or where they’ve purchased, (5) To improve retention and sales.

You have to have a reason to enter Social Media Customer Service, because the people, process, technology, and cultural costs will be expended upfront before the benefits are realized down the road.

One aspect of Social Media Customer Service that everyone should agree on is this – get your current customer service processes, policy, and training in place and effective before you migrate them to Social Media. If your back office support functions are slow and of poor quality, Social Media will just speed up how quickly the customer realizes those shortcomings. If your people are poorly trained, Social Media creates more real-time interactions where that training is less masked by slower Q&A processes. If your policies are unclear, Social Media will facilitate the spread of misinformation more quickly.

Before diving into Social Media Customer Service, get your current customer service house in order.

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

Listen to our latest podcast episode of “Stepping Up Service” on The MESH Network at http://themesh.tv/stepping-up-service/

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


Common Issues Among “10 Most Hated Companies…”

Posted on July 13, 2011 in Business Advice, World of Customer Service Please leave a comment

While the American Customer Satisfaction Index may not use the word “hated,” the author of the Examiner article did. Essentially, the 10 companies noted are the lowest rated by the ACSI. They include PEPCO, Delta, Time Warner Cable, Comcast, Charter, US Airways, United Airlines, American Airlines, MY SPACE, and Facebook. So it’s Airlines, Telecomm/Utilities, and Social Networking…oh my!

With these 3 industry types, there should be some common issues, and there are several. Some of the most prevalent points are poor customer service, not even doing the bare minimum a customer would expect like keeping systems functioning, billing or fee-based issues, and excessive waits.

So the lessons are clear:

· Set expectations with customers, and meet at least the most basic level of these expectations.

· Charge what you said you’d charge, don’t raise rates without a good reason, and convey the good reason if it exists.

· Have processes that work – don’t bill incorrectly, don’t make the customer wait excessively – particularly if they’re waiting to address a problem you caused.

· Deliver customer service that conveys you care about the customer, their time, and their need or issue.

Being the bottom rated in customer satisfaction is an honor no business wants. To receive more positive recognition, these companies need to learn these key lessons.

Which of these lessons can you apply to your business…or yourself?

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/


India Wants Immediacy in Customer Service

Posted on June 1, 2011 in Business Advice Please leave a comment

Immediacy. That’s what it’s about. Immediacy.

In the just published Customer service goes social in India article, a survey showed that consumers in India are using Social Media to complain directly to companies (not just about, but to companies). Their rate of interaction (44%) directly with companies is much higher than in the UK and US.

Why? Immediacy. The long wait times to get a company representative on the phone is so aggravating that consumers prefer to go to Social Media. The ease with which complaints can be voiced via Facebook and Twitter, the speed of sending the message (literally and figuratively), and the speed of expected response are much faster via Social Media.

So customers want speed. They want to be able to vent. They want to be able to interact with a business, a person. They want resolution…fast.

With customer expectations changing, speeding up, what are you doing to speed up your organization’s response rate? Do you measure speed of answer (not just on the phone) via your website, via e-mail, via Social Media, in your storefront?

You should. Your customers have an internal clock, and it’s always ticking.

Understand customer expectations. Measure performance. Improve…continuously. Do it with…immediacy.

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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