isp | 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

Fearing the Feds…in Customer Service

Posted on 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/