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Better Customer Service through Better Teamwork - 7/8/25


We spend so much time talking about what great customer service looks like in those 1-on-1 Moments of Truth, that we often neglect to discuss what goes on inside the company that leads to those great moments.  We’ve talked about customer handoffs within an organization, but what does a Read more

Highlight the Hidden Value - 7/1/25


Marketing campaigns often highlight a particular product and ALL the features and extras that the customer will receive… “For 3 low, low payments of only $39.99, you not only get these world-renowned chef knives, but you can also get this free laser-etched spatula!  AND THAT’S NOT ALL!  We will also Read more

Don’t Harp on the Customer’s Mistake - 6/24/25


Seth’s daughter, Sarah, had missed some swim classes, and Seth remembered that the aquatics center had several make-up classes available late in the summer.  So Seth pulled up the class schedule on his phone, found one that worked on his and Sarah’s schedules, and planned to attend a session Read more

Create Customers for Life - 6/17/25


Veronica has gone to the same automotive service shop for at least 20 years.  She bought a new car about a year ago, and this is the third car she’s brought to the shop instead of taking her car to the dealer where she bought it.  She’s had three Read more

Don’t Turn the Customer into the QA Department - 6/10/25


Roberta received a form with information filled in by the company after her conversation with the account rep.  Roberta just needed to review the information, fill in some of the blanks, sign it, and resend it in order to set up a new account. She noticed that the effective date Read more

Imitate to Improve - 6/3/25


Oscar Wilde said that “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.”  Now this doesn’t mean that plagiarism is the sincerest form of flattery.  Nor does it mean that great impersonators such as Rich Little, Dana Carvey, or Frank Caliendo are always offering flattering portrayals of those that they imitate. Wilde’s Read more

How the Customer Perceives a Truth as a Lie - 5/27/25


You’re the customer, you’re asking about an unused item that you’re returning, and you hear the employee say: “The refund process takes 7-10 days.”  You’re thinking: “Great!  I can get the refund check as early as a week from today!”  The reality is that the company means that they’ll Read more

Tell Customers What’s Next - 5/20/25


In most businesses that have been around for a while, how a process was originally designed is not how it currently operates.  Sometimes this change is referred to as “practical drift,” where the actual process moves further and further away from the documented steps over time.  Maybe the changes Read more

Questions to Guide You to Empathy - 5/13/25


“If I was him, I would do ABC…” If you’ve ever heard somebody say this - whether it’s a friend or acquaintance, whether it’s some TV reporter or podcaster - you may get as frustrated or as annoyed as I do. I get annoyed because we are not that other person. Read more

Negate the Nervousness - 5/6/25


The customer needed a loan, so he walked into the bank, but he was a little nervous.  He knew that launching his business would be easier if he had some working capital, but that’s about all he knew.  He was anxious because he didn’t know what to expect in Read more

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Fearing the Feds…in Customer Service

Posted on March 30, 2011 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/


I’ll Drink to Great Customer Service!

Posted on February 16, 2011 in Business Advice Please leave a comment

In England, Simon Longbottom, managing director at Greene King Pub Partners, has embarked on a series of customer service initiatives for his pubs. The article (in Eat Out Magazine) notes how Pub Partners’ licensees will get customer service training to make consistent and improve customer service at the affiliated pubs.

The program was spurred on by recent secret shopper reports which have garnered national attention in UK retail circles. Keep in mind that Mr. Longbottom is doing this purely for business reasons. He states that “Research has shown that a high level of customer satisfaction has a direct correlation with customer spend.” He’s doing this for the money – customer service is just good business.

There are 8 key areas of focus for the training: Customer service and the profit chain, Service Excellence, Retail Service Excellence, Driving Up Performance, Service and Standards, Customer Feedback, Engaging People, and Action.

Great customer service works in banks, it works in pro sports, it works in government, education, healthcare, and even…in pubs.

Raise your glass for great 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/


Do You Have Harley Loyalty?

Posted on April 8, 2010 in Business Advice, World of Customer Service Please leave a comment

Your customers are loyal. They wouldn’t consider going to another business for their products and services because your integrity, quality, customer service, and price are too good. They are loyal to a fault. Or are you loyal to a faulty belief grounded in hope or assumptions rather than fact and proof?

What outward signs do you have of your customers’ loyalty? Well Harley-Davidson, America’s most well-known motorcycle manufacturer believes it has proof that few can touch. The company believes the "definition of customer loyalty is when your customers will tattoo the name of your company on their arm."

How many people have "IBM" or "Microsoft" or "McDonald’s" tattooed on their arms? Less than 10…less than 5? That’s not to say that McDonald’s customers aren’t loyal, but how does the company know who’s loyal and who isn’t?

Long-term success is more easily achieved if your existing customer base is loyal. They will fight for your company, drive by competitors to get to your store, pay a higher price than alternatives to your service, and recommend you to their closest friends.

But unless you have all your customers walking around with your company logo tattooed on their arms, you need to generate objective measures of loyalty. Try these methods of gaining solid loyalty data:

· Survey customers and have them estimate the total amount of annual purchases of your types of products and services, regardless of whom they buy from. Calculate their purchases from you as a percentage of the total.

· Distribute loyalty cards. Track either their frequency of use or how often you’ve given discounts/rewards when customers hit a targeted number of uses.

· During purchase transactions from new customers, ask how they’ve heard about your company. Track referral rates to gauge the prevalence of effective recommendations made from your existing customers to others.

In lieu of tattoos, get solid data to confirm your customer loyalty.

Interested in improving your company’s customer service? See more information at: http://www.cssamerica.com/


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