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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

Guiding Principles for Great Customer Service - 11/12/24


It’s hard to know every procedure, every policy, every technique possible to handle every situation correctly.  After all, maybe our procedures are standard, but our customers are not.  Maybe our policies stay pretty consistent, but our customers’ needs and issues, their attitudes and actions can change from customer to Read more

From a Simple Question to an Exceptional Experience - 11/5/24


Phyllis loves her job.  It’s not just because she loves being a customer service representative, not just because she really likes her co-workers, and not just because she enjoys her company.  It’s because she really appreciates her customers, as well. A customer had ordered a register book off the company Read more

Fix One Problem without Creating Another - 10/29/24


If you’ve ever had an issue with your dishwasher, this will sound familiar.  I’ve dealt with so many dishwashers over the years, and they always seem to have some kind of an issue.  Maybe it’s because of the mix of water and technology, but for whatever reason, these never Read more

Delight Your Customers - 10/22/24


Buddy the Bug Man was different.  His company was new, and the only reason why Janet tried him out was that the service she had used for years just wasn’t working.  Whether it was mosquitoes in the yard, ants in the kitchen, or cockroaches flying through on their way Read more

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Where Scripting Does (and Doesn’t) Work to Improve Survey Scores

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

I don’t promote scripting, because too many companies take it literally in that they force their employees – without the least bit of sincerity – to make the same statements over and over and over again to the customer.

“Did I deliver great service today?"

“I hope I provided excellent customer service.”

Customers can sense sincerity and insincerity, communications they trust and mistrust.

So when we hear that some companies have their customer service reps and other staff use those statements because “Great” and “Excellent” are ratings on the surveys, I cringe.

Don’t rig the surveys just to have them say what you want them to say in terms of “Excellent” or “Great.” Customers can usually smell that a mile away, and just as importantly, you may not be getting a true indication of your customer’s satisfaction.

Now when it IS beneficial to have a little bit of scripting and training and education with staff that relates to surveys is when the terminology you use to describe the attribute they’re evaluating is not obvious. Maybe you ask on the surveys about “discharge instructions,” but when you talk to the patient in the hospital, you never referenced the phrase “discharge instructions.” In these cases, either refer to “discharge instructions” using that term when they’re in the hospital so the patient knows what you’re talking about on the survey, or use a more simple term or phrase on the survey like “Did they explain how to care for yourself when you go home?”.

When you’re conducting a survey and you’re asking the season ticket holder for the pro sports team to evaluate their account representative, make sure they know about whom you’re talking. Have the representatives refer to themselves as “your account representative” or “your personal representative with the team” when talking to the season ticket holder.

Make sure that the terms you use on surveys are terms customers are familiar with from having dealt with your organization. If you want great performance, you have to make it clear with your employees what great performance looks like, and to evaluate that performance, use terms on the surveys that you commonly use with your customers.

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/


Customers Pay You for Performance

Posted on May 19, 2011 in Business Advice, Healthcare Please leave a comment

I will pay you for better customer service, a better experience, higher satisfaction.

No, this isn’t me talking to you; this is the Federal Government talking to hospitals. In a Healthcare Leaders Media article, the author states that “Higher Medicare reimbursements will require higher patient satisfaction scores, which will require higher employee engagement, which will require strong HR initiatives.”

Think about your hospital…or clinic…or bank…or team…or college…or business. What if higher satisfaction of your customers increased your revenue? What if decreasing customer satisfaction lowered revenue?

Well…it already does!

In the article noted above, the Government is going to adjust reimbursement based on patient satisfaction scores – so that’s an obvious cause-and-effect relationship. But your business also has that same cause-and-effect relationship. If your customers are more satisfied with the experience, the relationship, the processes, people, and products, they will be more likely to return. They will be more likely to purchase more per visit. They’ll be more likely to refer you to friends. In short, the more satisfied they are, the more revenue you’ll receive.

So the question to you just like to the hospitals noted in the article is “How do you increase customer satisfaction?” The answer varies for every organization, but it generally comes down to this. Focus on your People – how can you improve their skills, knowledge, and attitudes? Focus on your Processes – how can you make them more simple, self-evident, efficient, and quality-based? Focus on your Products – how can you improve the quality and effectiveness in addressing the customer’s need?

To drive up customer satisfaction, drive up the performance of your People, Processes, and Products.

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/


Fearing the Feds…in Customer Service

Posted on March 30, 2011 in Business Advice, World of Customer Service Please leave a comment

Let’s keep the government off our backs! That’s the upshot of the article in CIO.com that addressed the mantra of Australian private sector industries struggling to deliver good customer service.

One of the telecommunications executives has heard rumblings from government leaders which suggest that the government is considering mandating that telecoms and ISPs start delivering a certain level or type of customer service. His solution is to get the private sector companies to work together toward improving customer service and reducing complaints – before the government forces them to do so.

Think about your business – imagine if your bank, your hospital, your shop, your university were to get federally mandated guidelines that addressed how or at what level you must deliver customer service.

A nightmare?

Yes, but it’s already happening. Hospitals, for example, will begin to have reimbursement from the Federal Government adjusted based on patient satisfaction scores in the U.S. including the patient’s assessment of their customer service.

The problem with a government mandate is that the business loses control over priorities or actions; the business gains an administrative burden; the business now has an 800-pound gorilla helping to manage it – the Federal Government.

Companies wouldn’t have to worry so much about government intervention if they took the time to measure the link between customer satisfaction, loyalty, word-of-mouth, repeat business, etc. and organizational profits. They wouldn’t be concerned with governmental edicts if they knew what percentage of this year’s revenue came from last year’s customers. They wouldn’t fear the repercussions of the government if they put a dollar value on the cost of the repercussions of their own upset or angry customers.

Put a dollar figure on the value of your customer. Let that number – not the government – be your incentive to improve customer service.

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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