internal communications | Customer Service Solutions, Inc.

The Secret Sauce for Great Customer Service - 3/26/24


I was working with the League Office for a major American sport several years back, and one of the executives asked me to describe our Secret Sauce that helped our clients improve the fan experience and customer retention.  I gave him a sense of what makes us unique and Read more

The Miracle of an Apology - 3/19/24


Unfortunate but true story… The manager basically lost his mind.  He terminated his employee on the spot.  She had told the customer that there was going to be a delay in the shipment.  The employee called up the customer ahead of time to let the customer know what was about Read more

It’s Not About the 5-Minute Wait - 3/12/24


Robert went into his supervisor’s office to update her on a situation at the payment desk.  Robert said that a customer was about fourth or fifth in line, waiting to be served, and the customer was complaining loudly about the wait.  He was there to make a property tax Read more

Lessons from the Greats - 3/5/24


I was recently facilitating a workshop on the customer experience, and I made the point that it’s usually beneficial to look at your personal life for great experiences; identify what really resonates with you in a positive way in order to uncover ideas to improve your own customer service. So, Read more

The Empathy Roadmap - 2/27/24


For some people, empathy comes naturally.  There’s an innate desire to learn about the other person and to sincerely convey that sense of interest and caring.  But for many of us, sometimes it helps to have a communication plan.  It helps to know what to do in order to Read more

“You’re the Boss” - 2/20/24


Terrence is excellent at what he does.  From a technical standpoint, he knows how to keep the facility clean.  He’s the lead custodian, and he knows that keeping things straight does not necessarily mean keeping things sanitary.  He knows what chemicals to use and not to use, how to Read more

Customer Understanding Leads to Relationship Growth - 2/13/24


We’ve worked with educational organizations at all grade levels over the years.  One special and unique characteristic about the staff who work in these organizations is that there’s a clear intent to know about the students as individuals, to focus on them rather than purely focusing on what’s delivered Read more

Define Customer Service Success Differently - 2/6/24


When I’m watching television, listening to the radio, or listening to a podcast, it’s always interesting when the topic moves to the question:  How can you be a success?  The speakers often discuss the process of becoming a success with the assumption that people believe success is defined by Read more

Care Enough to Give Them a Heads Up - 1/30/24


Nothing bad at all might happen.  Every day in the office could seem like every other day.  Sights and sounds and smells might continue to be the same.  But we have a lot of construction going on around our offices, and the building manager knows the type of work Read more

Be Better than AI Customer Service - 1/23/24


There was a recent CBS Sunday Morning Show story called: How artificial intelligence is revamping customer call centers. The journalist described how artificial intelligence is being used in customer service, and he noted the millions of pieces of information that can be processed in a matter of seconds. There are clear Read more

A Tale of Two Letters

Posted on in Business Advice Please leave a comment

I received 2 letters in the mail. Letter #1 had been run off of an old black and white copier onto low grade copy paper. Letter #2 had been printed onto color letterhead, bright white paper.

Letter #1 is two pages. Letter #2 is one page.

Letter #1 had an offer for a free thermostat with a new system; the free offer was buried on the last sentence of page two. Letter #2 had a separate insert exclusively dealing with a dollar discount on the next service.

Which company is winning so far?

The top of Letter #1 read, “how you can save $989 with the purchase of a new advanced, energy saving air conditioning system while reducing your electric bills. Plus, I’ll show you how to add a furnace and save an additional $534. Dear Friend, Your old air conditioning system is wasting your money every single month.”

The top of Letter #2 read, “June 8, Ed Gagnon, Address, Dear Friend, Thank you for choosing [Company Name] for your air conditioning and heating needs. I appreciate your recent business and I personally want to welcome you as our newest customer.”

Yes, you’re right. Letter #1 is a generic marketing letter poorly done. Letter #2 is a follow-up letter to business already received by the company to a new customer. It’s well-done.

Both letters arrived on the same day. Both were from the same company.

This is an example of how one company can get it so right and so wrong at the same time. Letter #1 is generic, does not grab your attention, is not personalized, does not focus you on a message, and was received with no follow-up. Letter #2 is personalized, professional, personally signed by the owner, concise, and a good relationship-builder. Not only are the two letters contrasts in effectiveness, but at least one is a waste!

With Letter #2, there is no need for Letter #1. But this is the proverbial “left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing.” Marketing and customer service did not communicate, and marketing wastes its money, the customer’s time, and some credibility with the customer by sending its mailing to an existing customer.

Surely this company’s marketing department could learn from its customer service area how to market more personally. And surely both areas could communicate better.

Don’t waste your money, your customer’s time, and your credibility due to poor internal communication.

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

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