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Narrow Your Focus to Seek Excellence - 4/1/25


You’ve probably heard companies use phrases such as: “We want to go from being good to great.”  Maybe they’ve said: “We strive for perfection, and although we’ll never reach perfection, maybe we can achieve excellence along the way.” These organizations find some kind of a catch phrase or slogan, but Read more

Avoid the Unfriendly Ghost - 3/25/25


Last week we talked about the qualities of “PERKI Customer Service,” essentially what attitudes and actions are characteristics of those who provide great customer service.  This week, let’s take the opposite approach.  What are some of the mistakes that people make?  Maybe these are mistakes of omission or commission; Read more

PERKI Customer Service - 3/18/25


After having worked on hundreds of projects over the years with thousands of thousands of individuals, some things become pretty clear. There are certain traits held by people who are great in customer service.  Look at this list, and do a self-assessment.  Which apply to you? Positive and Patient Do you Read more

It Helps to Downshift - 3/11/25


One of the first tips I heard when I was learning how to drive related to what to do when the brakes fail - downshift.  Shifting into a lower gear can slow down a moving vehicle.  I would explain this in technical terms to you, but considering I’m not Read more

Patience is… - 3/4/25


Patience is a…pain in the neck.  Why is it so hard to be patient?  Those of us who work in customer service know that we constantly have to show patience with our customers.  We’re ready to move to the next step or the solution because we’ve heard this issue Read more

Everybody Doesn’t - 2/25/25


Joey received the compliment, but he was confused.  Paula, his boss, and Joey had their monthly one-on-one meeting, and Paula noted that, although he was new, Joey was already doing a great job!  While there were learning curves on some of the organizational policies and the technology that he Read more

A Simple Phrase to Transform Your Customer Feedback Approach - 2/18/25


I went to a restaurant called Big Ed’s (no relation) in Raleigh, NC recently.  It’s basically country cooking with fantastic breakfast options!  On the menu there was a quote that said: If you enjoyed your meal, tell a friend.  If not, please tell us. That was an excellent statement that embodies Read more

What Phones and Football Have in Common - 2/11/25


Congratulations!  You made it through weeks/months of hype for football’s Super Bowl!  You made it through hundreds of pregame shows and podcasts, endless debates on things endlessly inconsequential, 10 hours of pre-game shows on Sunday, what seems like 100 commercials designed specifically for the “Big Game,” and the longest Read more

Create Awareness of Alternatives - 2/4/25


Sandy was hungry, and she was on the move.  Driving between meetings, she saw the restaurant sign and pulled in.  The fast-food restaurant had two drive-thru lanes.  One was for any customer who wanted to place an order on the spot. The other was for mobile orders only.  The Read more

Listen with Your Eyes - 1/28/25


Out of the corner of his eye, Patrick saw the customer enter the lobby.  The customer was carrying a large shoulder bag with several papers in her hand.  The customer was shuffling the papers and looking down; then she stopped, looked up, and saw the staff navigator sitting at Read more

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Make it Abundantly Clear – 1/14/20

Posted on January 14, 2020 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

Becky was laying in her hospital bed and staring at the whiteboard on the wall.  It had a room number, the room’s phone number, and the date.  It had the pictures of the pain scale, with happy-to-sad faces and ratings from 0-10.  It noted when the last meds were administered and when the next meds were scheduled.  It talked about goals for the day and key next steps.  And it mentioned what diet she was on and what activities and precautions applied to her.  

Maybe even more importantly, it listed her Care Team. There was Dr. Smith.  There was her nurse, Victoria.  There was her CNA, Rodica, her therapist, Sharon, and others as well.  Next to each one of the caregiver names was a personal phone number.

Just by looking at the whiteboard, whether Becky was by herself or with family members, she knew what was going on.  She knew what the next step would be for her care.  She knew what she could and could not do.  And she knew who to contact and how to contact them directly for whatever needs she had.

Even more so, any individual that walked in the room – whether family, friend, or caregiver – had all the exact same information right at eye level.

This was a simple communication tool.  In the 21st century, a whiteboard doesn’t seem so valuable, but it was INCREDIBLY valuable to Becky!

So much of anxiety and fear relates to the unknown.  So much of confusion or concern or potential conflict comes from being in the dark.

To build your customer’s confidence and their comfort level with your organization, find ways to make it abundantly clear exactly who to contact and for what in your organization.  Find ways to make it abundantly clear what the customer has the capabilities to do on their own.  Find ways to make it abundantly clear what the next steps will be and when they will happen.

To create a confident customer, make it abundantly clear.

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Get Back in the Good Graces – 12/12/17

Posted on December 12, 2017 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment


What is “Service Recovery?” I was asked this in a meeting recently when I was describing the approach to take with certain clients. I know it’s a term used a lot but not defined a lot, so let’s define it.

I prefer the literal interpretation – you are recovering from an issue. The way you’re recovering is through customer service. The issue may be a bad experience at your sports event. It may be a rude inspector by your government agency. Maybe it was an excessive wait by the healthcare provider.

Regardless of the issue, the point is that you’re currently “behind the 8-ball” in the eyes of your customer, and you need to recover. You need to get back up, get back in the good graces of the guest who’s upset.

You can avoid the recovery, but you risk still being a scourge in the eyes of the customer. You can recover WITHOUT customer service. That means fixing a product or replacing a part – without a process or personality surrounding that replacement that even remotely conveys “I care” and “I apologize.”

But this is the 21st century. People expect the personalization with the product replacement. They expect the smooth process with the replacement part.

Especially in a service industry, how do you fix a bad experience? How do you fix the interaction with the rude inspector? How do you fix a wait at the hospital?

In short, you can’t. You can’t go back and change what they felt or experienced. You can only move forward and hope they give you a chance in a future encounter. So, you have to create an opportunity for a future encounter with something that smooths over the experience of the past.

That “something” is customer service. Your attitude. Your empathy. Your sincerity. Your response. Your speed. Your action – they all deal with the person wronged in a way that’s right.

When you’re speaking of “Service Recovery,” remember that you’re speaking of what needs to be done to get that upset customer open to becoming a returning customer. And it’s not just about your replacement product. It’s about how you repair the image that person has of your organization.

Deal with the person wronged in a way that’s right.

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Improve the Health of Your Client Interaction – 6/27/17

Posted on June 27, 2017 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment


According to a recent article on patient satisfaction and high quality customer service in healthcare settings, there are three consistent keys to a great patient experience – particularly in outpatient surgery facilities. These core takeaways apply to virtually any business.

First – “Make a connection: Smile and introduce yourself to patients and family members.” This gets at the need for a great first impression, initiating communications with customers, and personalizing the interaction.

Second – “Set the expectation of service: Share with the patient what will happen, when it will happen and about how long it will take.” We often note that typically 40% of customer dissatisfaction occurs because the customer expected one thing, and the company delivered another. Take ownership over setting realistic expectations of what will happen and when it will happen.

Third – “Say thank you: Within days of providing care, send the patient a thank you note with handwritten messages from staff members.” It’s tough to overstate the importance of conveying appreciation to the customer. The other part of appreciation noted in this third best practice is to not just do it on the spot, but also share appreciation after the encounter. Typically, those post-encounter messages of thanks are a surprise – and carry extra weight in the customer’s evaluation of their last impression of you and your organization.

It’s about being pleasant, proactive, and personalizing. It’s about setting and managing customer expectations of tasks and timing. And it’s about appreciating the other – at the end of the encounter as well as in that unexpected follow-up.

Improve the health of your client interaction with these healthcare best practices.

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