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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

When to Avoid the Escalation - 6/16/26


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 Read more

Let’s be Clear on Clarity - 6/9/26


When trying to manage expectations, it’s vital to be clear with the customer.  But what specifically does it mean to be “clear?” Clarity is in the eyes and ears of the beholder, so what may be clear to one customer may be unclear to another.  However, there are some basic 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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Allow Yourself to Solve a Couple Puzzles Every Day – 6/2/26

Posted on June 2, 2026 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

Frank had never been a dog owner before, and when he first got Bosco at the shelter, Frank didn’t really know what he was doing.  He would try to be a good parent – feed the dog, play with it, take it on walks – but he was doing this without any experience or any puppy parent education.

When Frank would walk Bosco, the pup would stop frequently to sniff, and it was slowing down the walk, so Frank tried to keep the dog moving along so they could get in a good, brisk walk.

One day Frank was talking to a friend who had had dogs for many years, and Frank was asking for her advice on how to keep Bosco walking instead of slowing down and sniffing so much.  Instead of giving an answer to the question, the friend educated Frank on the situation.  When the dog is sniffing, it’s like it’s solving a puzzle.  The dog is investigating and evaluating and using its senses to understand things better.

When they sniff (or solve the puzzle), they are getting acclimated to their environment, they are slowing down, they are lowering their heart rate, and becoming less stressed.

Lessons for Customer Service

So, what does this have to do with customer service?  I often find myself trying to get everything done.  Plowing through the work, just grinding through it.  It’s reviewing e-mails, responding to client inquiries, dealing with complaints on behalf of my clients, or working on projects.

And some days you might find yourself running through your tasks just like I do.

But just like Frank’s pup, if I take time occasionally during the day to slow down, investigate a key situation with a customer or a client, dive in a little bit deeper, then I will typically find myself thinking a little bit more.  Understanding the issue a little bit better.  Coming to a solution that’s going to be more well-thought out, more clear in my communications, and which will require less rework.

If I allow myself to slow down a couple times during the day, I focus more clearly, my solutions are better, the heart rate slows down, and stress is lessened.

Allow yourself to solve a couple puzzles every day.

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