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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

A More Complete Definition of Responsiveness - 10/15/24


I was purchasing something recently that was being custom-developed.  At one point, the company’s employee and I had a good 20 e-mails going back and forth - 10 from each of us.  Unfortunately, I broke my own rule, and I did not pick up the phone after 2 or Read more

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

Posted on October 29, 2024 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

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 seem to be perfect devices that are perfectly installed.

There are issues with the dishwasher not draining.  Certain settings aren’t working.  The water is not heating.  Installation was done incorrectly, leaving holes in the wall behind the dishwasher that are big enough for little varmints to squeeze through.  There are dishes that come out and are not clean, utensils with food still on them…ick!

When Monique had one of these issues, the repair tech was able to come out the same day.  Unfortunately, there was no part available.  But the repair tech was able to place the part order while at Monique’s house.  There was going to be a 4 day wait, but every day the tech would send a quick text or e-mail to Monique, either describing an update on the timing of the part delivery, discussing the repair process and timing, or confirming Monique’s availability for the tech to come back and fix the dishwasher.

Monique had no control over the tech, and the tech had no control over the speed of getting the part delivered.  But there was consistent communication, consistent updates, consistent description of next steps.

When the part arrived, the tech was able to get to Monique’s house quickly because he knew of her availability and she was awaiting the scheduling text.  He was able to fix it quickly, in part because she knew how she needed to clear space in the kitchen for him.  And it was done correctly, because he had brushed up on the most expeditious and quality way to install that part.

Even when you don’t have the perfect part or the perfect timing, there are opportunities to still provide near perfect customer service.

Fix the problem without creating another one.

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Delight Your Customers – 10/22/24

Posted on October 22, 2024 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

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 to summer vacation, it seemed like bugs were everywhere.

When Janet first met Buddy, he had come to the house to provide a free assessment.  He wasn’t offering discounts to get new customers, but he was offering a free review of needs.  Buddy spent 45 minutes walking in and around the house, hunching down in the crawl space, and looking up at the trees.

Identifying the Need

At the end of the review, he sat down with Janet, and he gave his assessment of her issues and needs.  They discussed her goals, and then he emailed her a document the next day.  The visit and the follow-up document were personalized.  The document included a summary assessment of her home, not just a quote with a 1-liner describing the treatment and the cost.  It explained to her – often in her words – what were the biggest issues, needs, and goals for her home.  Buddy offered a couple different pricing options and a recommended cadence of inspections and treatment.

Getting Rid of the Bugs

When the treatment began, most things seemed to get better immediately, but they weren’t perfect.  Buddy reached out to Janet to get her input on how things were going, and she noted the mosquito problem was just about as bad as ever.  The next day, Buddy sent one of his men to the house to augment the treatment they had already done.  The mosquito situation got better within 48 hours.

Penning a Thank You Note

Six months into the service program, Janet opened her mailbox, and there was a small gift from Buddy.  It was simply a nice pen.  No logo on it.  Instead, there was just a handwritten note from Buddy thanking Janet for her business and hoping she enjoyed the pen.

Buddy was new to the bug business, but apparently he wasn’t new to understanding people.  He wasn’t new to understanding how to build a relationship.  He did 3 things exceptionally well to delight his customers: The Personalized Experience, the Exceptional and Responsive Support, and the Unexpected Positive Surprise.

To delight your customers, learn a little from Buddy the Bug Man.

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The Problem with “No Problem” – 5/18/21

Posted on May 18, 2021 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

The man asked for his girlfriend’s hand in marriage, and she said: That’s not a problem!

The customer walks into the bike shop wearing a cast and notes that the new bike he just bought had brakes that failed and that need to get fixed. The employee responds:  No problem.

The employee picks up the phone, and the customer says:  Thank goodness I finally got a live voice! I’ve been on hold for 15 minutes!  The employee responds:  No problem.

These are just crazy examples…or are they?

I wish we could strike “no problem” from the list of acceptable phrases in the world of customer service.  The problem with “no problem” is that it is literally saying that the customer is not a problem for the employee.

In the example above, the girlfriend’s sentiment is to shout Yes, but she says “no problem.”  Oftentimes customers do their part in a process or are doing something nice for the employee, and instead of employees being appreciative, they say “no problem.”  Where is the positivity and appreciation?

With the customer in the bike shop, there was an issue that was caused by the company, and instead of the employee being empathetic/understanding and accepting responsibility, he basically ignores all that and instead states “no problem.”  Why would you just tell somebody who you’ve created a problem for that helping them is no problem?

Just because the customer who’s been on hold 15 minutes says “thank goodness,” that doesn’t mean that the employee should respond “no problem.”  A 15-minute wait actually IS a problem.

In customer service, we talk about body language and tone of voice a lot, but the words matter, too.  Appreciation for customers matters.  Accepting responsibility for problems a company causes matters.  Conveying some empathy for the difficulty customers had to go through to get to us matters.  And all those things that matter don’t come across in the phrase “no problem.”

Realize the problem with no problem.  Make sure the words we use convey the right message to our customers.

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