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The Power of Teaching While Helping - 4/7/26


If you’re trying to develop a relationship with the customer rather than just simply handling their transaction and moving on, you are taking a long-term view.  You realize that that individual is someone you want to keep with your business for months or years to come, so it’s a Read more

Bear with Me - 3/31/26


As a customer, you’ve probably called a company and heard the phrase “bear with me.”  At that point, you know there’s going to be some sort of delay.  The CSR is giving you a heads up that there’s going to be additional wait time.  Essentially, they are trying to Read more

Slowing Down the Fast Talker - 3/24/26


Jeffrey had always been told by his manager to figure out the issue quickly and wrap up the conversation as fast as possible.  So, Jeffrey was hyper-focused at finding that one key word that could identify the issue and help him to transition quickly to what might be some possible Read more

Don’t Bury the Lede - 3/17/26


Mary was working at the office, and she received an e-mail alert from the water company.  There was a water outage in her neighborhood.  It looked like it was going to be a couple hours to fix the issue. Sure enough, a few hours later around mid-afternoon, Mary received another Read more

Confirm the Real Issue Before You Start Solving - 3/10/26


Have you ever gone “down the rabbit hole?”  It involves going deep into some topic, some discussion – with analysis that creates complexity as much as it resolves it.  And that dive into the rabbit hole often starts with a simple question. Going down that rabbit hole takes time and Read more

One Question to Prevent a Follow-up Call - 3/3/26


The way some performance metrics work, you would think companies would prefer for their staff to talk to the same customer 4 times on the same topic for 8 minutes each rather than talking to them once for 10 minutes.  Many management metrics are too focused on average length Read more

Stay Calm When the Customer Isn’t - 2/24/26


There are all sorts of others’ emotions that you have to deal with as a customer service professional.  The other person could be anxious or upset, they could be angry or agitated.  It can run the gamut of emotions, but for you to deal with them in the best Read more

Don’t Begin with the Dead End in Mind - 2/17/26


Habit #2 of Stephen Covey’s “Seven Habits of Highly Successful People” is “Begin with the End in Mind.”  It speaks to the need to have a clear vision or goal for what you’re trying to ultimately achieve, so you understand the purpose of what you’re doing.  It helps you Read more

Explain without Over Explaining - 2/10/26


The customer has a question, and we have an answer.  They need to learn something, and we’re in the position to be the educator.  There’s a process they have to go through, and we need them to understand. We know so much, and we could impart so much, but sometimes Read more

Look for a Stop Sign - 2/3/26


As a customer service professional, what you say matters.  The information you’re providing is useful.  The direction you’re giving the other person is helpful.  But... As you’re speaking, you also need to be reading.  Reading the other person.  Watching the customer, determining whether and how they’re receiving what you’re sharing.  Read more

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The Power of Teaching While Helping – 4/7/26

Posted on April 7, 2026 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

If you’re trying to develop a relationship with the customer rather than just simply handling their transaction and moving on, you are taking a long-term view.  You realize that that individual is someone you want to keep with your business for months or years to come, so it’s a great opportunity to invest in them.

In thinking about the future with this customer, you want to do the core things we typically think of such as convey appreciation to them and understand their retention drivers, but you also want to educate them.  Educating your customer is one of the key roles of a customer service professional in the relationship development process.

Educating in the Moment

Obviously, there are formal customer onboarding strategies and webinars and how-to videos that companies produce to educate the customer.  But in this case, I’m talking about those opportunities for you to educate the customer in the moment, when you’re helping them with one thing, and you see an opportunity to become the educator about something related…

They’re talking to you about a payment, so as you explore the situation, you take the opportunity to let them know about automated bill payment or the payment portal.

They’re asking how your tax appraisal office calculated the value of their home, and after explaining the methodology, you let them know that there is a comparison feature on the website they can use, as well.

They called to submit a complaint, and after helping them, you let them know that – if there are future issues – they can also share any issues or feedback through the website.

They’re asking you how much longer it will be for their project to be completed, and after giving them an updated estimate, you let them know about the mobile app that updates immediately when the project status changes in your system.

Helping Them Select Their Preferred Process

You’re educating them about how to do business with your company in ways that might be more efficient for them, more user-friendly, more in-depth or timely.  You’re happy to help them in the future in the manner that you helped them today, but by being the educator, you’re letting them know that they have a broader array of options that might meet their needs better in the future.

Serve in the moment.  Teach for the future.

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