issue resolution

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Use What the Customer Gives You - 8/25/26


Scenario #1: The customer sent an e-mail to the general inbox at the company.  The message noted that the customer needed to get a family member added to their account, but they couldn’t tell from the website how to do so. The next morning an employee opened up the e-mail, Read more

How Better Customer Service is Better for You - 8/18/26


Oftentimes, we have employees in training or workshops who really want to understand what’s in it for them to deliver better customer service.  How does the employee benefit from a better customer experience? Noted below are 5 different aspects of a great experience desired by the customer.  What if... The customer Read more

Manage New Customer Expectations - 8/11/26


The fan had never been to a motorsports event before, but they had been to concerts.  They had been to big conferences.  At those other events, they could park right next to the venue, many of the activities were indoors, and weather was a non-issue.  So, they were not Read more

Complement Empathy with Action - 8/4/26


A man falls into a hole, and he can’t get out.  He starts yelling for help, and a doctor walks by and looks down the hole.  The man in the hole yells to the doctor “Please help me.  I’ve fallen into this hole!”  And the doctor takes out a Read more

My 8-Minute Visit at the DMV- 7/28/26


I needed to get a Real ID, which in North Carolina facilitates airline travel and other identity verifications.  My wife suggested I go to one particular DMV that was a LONG way away from home, but where she had experienced great customer service.  I was lucky to find an Read more

When They Might Walk Out the Door…Permanently- 7/21/26


Have you ever had one of those conversations with the customer where they literally tell you they’re about to stop doing business with your company?  This is it.  They may bring up a competitor or found another way to get their need met, or they are just leaving. When we Read more

Transparency in Customer Service- 7/14/26


We’ve worked with a lot of clients in the local government sector, and many of these clients have Customer Service Standards and/or corporate values that include Transparency. Think about an old-fashioned transparency sheet, that malleable see-through page you put on an overhead projector.  You can see everything on one side Read more

See the Customer’s Journey from Their Perspective- 7/7/26


That customer is face-to-face with you right now, and you are fielding their questions or delivering your service to them.  And oftentimes and understandably, we are so immersed in the moment that we don’t think about what came before or think enough about what comes next. But in the life Read more

Gaining the Benefits of the Greeter- 6/30/26


Most likely, we’ve all entered some establishment – a retail store, restaurant, or service center - when there is a greeter at the door.  The most famous greeter position is probably the Walmart greeter.  I often thought that my father-in-law would have been a fantastic Walmart greeter, because he Read more

Seamlessness - Why the Customer Thanked You - 6/23/26


This doesn’t happen enough nowadays, but the employee received a long thank you e-mail from the customer.  A financial services account manager had taken care of the client during a period of time that was stressful for the customer. Life was unexpectedly changing quickly, and personal emotions, additional financial responsibilities, Read more

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Manage New Customer Expectations – 8/11/26

Posted on August 11, 2026 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

The fan had never been to a motorsports event before, but they had been to concerts.  They had been to big conferences.  At those other events, they could park right next to the venue, many of the activities were indoors, and weather was a non-issue.  So, they were not used to having to park far away at the race, not used to delays because of the weather, and not used to dealing with the heat or the elements or whatever Mother Nature would toss out at any point in time.

The local municipality has leadership that focuses on providing cost-effective services.  They want to keep the taxes down.  They want to be efficient.  The community has grown by 50% over the last 15 years, with the vast majority of the residents coming from the Northeast and the West Coast.  Those residents are used to having more municipal services, more frequent trash and recycling pickup, more same day appointments available.  And when they try to get those services done, or done more frequently, or done same day, they’re often irritated by the fact that the municipality does not do what others did elsewhere.

When you’re dealing with new customers, you’re often dealing with people who have expectations, but they’re not necessarily basing those expectations on previous experience with your company.  They’re often basing their experiences on similar but different activities, different services, different locales.

We can’t assume “how we do things around here” is realistic to them because they’ve not been “around here” before.

View every new customer as someone with – likely – different expectations than your repeat customers.  And, as we’ve said many times before, the gap between expectations and reality could be a problem.

Proactively set realistic expectations with new customers.

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Complement Empathy with Action – 8/4/26

Posted on August 4, 2026 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

A man falls into a hole, and he can’t get out.  He starts yelling for help, and a doctor walks by and looks down the hole.  The man in the hole yells to the doctor “Please help me.  I’ve fallen into this hole!”  And the doctor takes out a piece of paper, writes a prescription, throws it in the hole, and walks on.  Words.

A little while later Paul walks by the hole, and the man in the hole yells to Paul “Please help me!  I’m in this hole, and I can’t get out!”  Then Paul jumps in the hole with the man, and the man looks incredulous and says “You dummy!  Why did you jump in the hole?  Now we’re both stuck!”  And Paul says “Because I’ve been down here before…and I know the way out.”

This is not a new story.  It’s just one that I modified a little bit to illustrate a point..

So, here’s the point.  The doctor is a customer service representative (CSR).  And the customer – the man in the hole – has an issue.  The CSR shares a few words and goes on to his next task.

Paul is a different CSR.  And call it empathy or call it sympathy, but Paul goes beyond sharing a few words.  Paul gets in there with the customer, and works side-by-side with the customer to figure out how to get out of the hole…how to fix the issue…how to find a resolution…together.

There are some customers that just want a little guidance when there’s something that needs to be fixed, but there are others who are much more in need of and appreciative of you when you’re willing to work with him or her.  You’re willing to see that they’re stuck, and you’re willing to jump into that hole, give a little bit of empathy, and help them dig themselves out of their predicament.

Find opportunities to work side-by-side with the customer while you’re empathizing with their situation.

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When to Avoid the Escalation – 6/16/26

Posted on June 16, 2026 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

The customer calls with a complaint, and the easy thing to do is to escalate it to your supervisor. That may also be the right thing to do, but how do you know when to avoid the escalation?

Why You Would Escalate

The first thing to consider is why you would escalate.

Is it that you don’t have the authority or responsibility to make the policy or process exception that the customer requests – or that’s needed to address the issue?

On this particular topic, you may not have the experience or skills needed to identify and implement a resolution.  The customer could demand to talk to the supervisor, and their behavior could be teetering on abuse.

Is the situation too important not to escalate?  Maybe it’s that ultimate keep or lose the customer situation, and the risk is too great not to escalate.

Issues with Escalation

Now, if these are some of the top reasons to escalate the customer contact, it also becomes more clear when to avoid it.  Remember that escalations take more of the company’s time because two employees (you and your boss) are now involved.  Since a handoff is taking place, the customer may have to repeat themselves, so that takes more of the customer’s time and can frustrate them even more.  In the end, your supervisor may get frustrated about being brought into communications that they feel you should be able to address without them.

When to Avoid Escalation

If you have the authority and responsibility to address the issue, if you have dealt with a similar situation before or have the resources handy to guide you through the service recovery process, try to address instead of escalate.  If they’re being aggressive, first use your training to defuse the situation, lower the emotional temperature, and gain some control.  If you feel there’s risk of customer loss but you’re not certain, ask clarifying questions to gauge their concern levels instead of assuming this 1-time issue will be a long-term loss.

Then, if you can’t avoid it, bring in the supervisor, equipping them with the information you’ve gathered so they can more quickly help to resolve.

When dealing with the complaining customer, seek to avoid the escalation.

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