first impression

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Beware of Scary Telephone Customer Service - 10/27/26


As we near the Halloween holiday in the United States, it seems appropriate to discuss examples of scary customer service, particularly on the telephone.  Here are a few common issues that frustrate and annoy customers.  These are experiences to avoid delivering, and alternatives to adopt: The customer calls, describes their Read more

The Art of the Successful Script - 10/20/26


You’re the customer.  You go to the store, and they ask if you have a loyalty card.  You call the doctor’s office, and they ask for your birth date.   You walk up to the counter, and they ask if you found everything you were looking for. These are all valid Read more

The Key Building Block for Your Customer Relationship - 10/13/26


An automotive manufacturer gets supplies for their vehicles from all over the world.  They have arrangements, service level agreements, expectations for timing and quality of all the parts.  And when they gather all these supplies, they assemble the cars.  They test the cars.  Then they take pictures of those Read more

Be Flexible to Fill the Gaps - 10/6/26


The non-profit has the expected challenges.  There are only 3 people in the organization, yet, they have the same responsibilities of a larger company.  They have to do finance, sales, marketing; they deliver their services to the community, and they need to keep a pulse on what’s going on Read more

Is This Good Customer Service? - 9/29/26


A friend of mine reached out to me recently as she waited for the electrical technician to show up at her house to do some minor repairs.  She had never worked with this company before, but they sent a text about the tech who was soon to arrive. The message Read more

Ownership when Fixing Others’ Errors - 9/22/26


We were conducting training with a client recently, and one of the participants, Jackie, is in a role in his organization where he goes out to the customer site to investigate issues, address customer complaints, and fix problems.  While he’s at the site, he often gets an earful from Read more

Why “No” is So Important - 9/15/26


The employee told the caller: “I don’t think that is possible.” The customer eventually hung up, and redialed to ask a different employee the same question. The employee responded to the customer: “That’s probably not the best way to do it.”  Then, the customer kept asking question after question, arguing Read more

It’s Not “You,” It’s “I” - 9/8/26


During a business writing course that I took years ago, the instructor had us write an e-mail.  I can’t recall if it was written to a co-worker or customer, but after writing this e-mail, she had us count every “I” and “You.”  We talked about how we need to Read more

It Shouldn’t Make a Difference, But… - 9/1/26


We have this conversation with lots of our sports clients, but the principles apply across all different industries.  Too many service representatives view a conversation with a customer as a transaction.  Just get him off the phone as quickly as possible.  The customer is Joe Public, not Joseph Pendergrass.  Read more

Use What the Customer Gives You - 8/25/26


Scenario #1: The customer sent an e-mail to the general inbox at the company.  The message noted that the customer needed to get a family member added to their account, but they couldn’t tell from the website how to do so. The next morning an employee opened up the e-mail, Read more

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Gaining the Benefits of the Greeter- 6/30/26

Posted on June 30, 2026 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

Most likely, we’ve all entered some establishment – a retail store, restaurant, or service center – when there is a greeter at the door.  The most famous greeter position is probably the Walmart greeter.  I often thought that my father-in-law would have been a fantastic Walmart greeter, because he just loved people, was very cheery, and he was a never-met-a-stranger type of person.

And when we look at the impact of the greeter, there are many layered benefits.  Let’s focus on the key one – the first impression.  The greeter is the tone setter.  They create the environment for the encounter by simply being welcoming up front, initiating the conversation, letting the customer know that they are seen and heard.

There are ancillary benefits, as well, in terms of people getting their questions answered right off the bat.  The customer receives directions so that it saves them some time.  And customers who may have some unsavory reason for entering the building will realize they are not so inconspicuous, and they may change their mind about what they had planned.

But again, the core benefit is that initial warm welcome.

Maybe we’re not as gregarious as most greeters, but we all have the ability to use our words to welcome someone.  We all can initiate a conversation with someone.  We all can look people in the eye and smile so they feel seen and heard.  We all have the knowledge to answer questions and to direct people, or we likely know a co-worker or a resource that can do that when we don’t have the best answer in the moment.

In other words, we can still gain the benefits of the greeter, by just seeking the customer, engaging the customer, and setting a positive tone for the visit.

Create a great first impression by channeling the greeter inside you.

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Pass the Quick Impression Test – 12/30/25

Posted on December 30, 2025 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

Some studies have shown that people create an impression of you in less than a second when they first meet you face-to-face.  Other studies have shown that that initial impression can take up to 7 seconds.  Regardless, first impressions are quick.  First impressions are not always the lasting impression, but they can color the customer’s perception of the employee or the organization that affects their demeanor during the encounter.  First impressions can create an immediate conclusion that, if negative, must now be overcome.

Let’s say you’re the customer.  You pull up to the teller window at the bank with no other customers around.  The two employees in the teller window are talking and laughing with each other and not acknowledging you.

You walk into the home improvement store, and three employees walk by you without making eye contact.  You start to feel they are purposely avoiding you.

You are waiting to check out at the retail store, and the employee is looking at their computer screen while reaching out with their left hand for you to give them the clothes you’re purchasing.  No eye contact, no smile, no words…just an outstretched hand.

The customer can tell a lot about a company very quickly.  And maybe their conclusion is not accurate because they’re basing it on something they experience in less than 7 seconds.  However, that quick impression either gets the encounter started positively, or it can put the employee behind the “8 ball” right off the bat.

Don’t risk allowing a negative immediate impression to become a long-term perception.  Make sure that when customers experience your details and how you engage them, they are drawing positive conclusions about how much you care about them.

Pass the Quick Impression Test.

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Last Impression Faux Pas – 11/4/25

Posted on November 4, 2025 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

Rightfully so, many customer service experts harp on the importance of the first impression.  It happens quickly, and it can impact the individual’s perception of you and the organization.  We even wrote a Tip of the Week on this years ago called First Impression Faux Pas.

What many people tend to forget (or at least not focus on) is the fact that the LAST impression is just as important.  What they think at the end of the conversation has a huge impact on the customer’s impression of you, the organization, and now also the experience.  We see this a lot when we conduct event-related surveys with fans of sporting events.  It could be the greatest event in the world, but if they had a major hassle and confusion and delays exiting the arena or getting home, their overall experience was soured by that last impression.

Since you – as an individual – likely don’t have a tremendous amount of control over the exit traffic after a big event, let’s talk about aspects of the last impression where you may have the ability to make an impact.  Here are some things to AVOID doing when trying to make a great LAST impression:

  • Don’t forget to state their name as you end the conversation.  Make sure they don’t perceive that you view them as just another task, just another number.
  • Don’t focus on your computer or phone at the close with the walk-in customer – don’t make them take a back seat to technology.
  • Don’t forget to confirm satisfaction or that the need was addressed.  Never let the customer leave without your knowing how they felt.
  • Avoid letting your voice appear impatient – by rushing your speech or talking over them, giving the impression you’re just trying to get them off the phone or out the door.  Ensure the customer feels you would do whatever is needed to support them.
  • Don’t forget to smile (even if you’re on the phone).  We should be happy to serve customers, so we need to convey that happiness.
  • Don’t make the customer end the conversation.  Don’t make them thank you first, especially since they made the effort to call or took the time to travel in to see you.

 
To leave them with the best impression possible, avoid the last impression faux pas.

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