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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

When They Want the Supervisor - 1/27/26


Maybe you did your best with the customer, or maybe the customer didn’t even give you a chance.  They want to talk to your supervisor.  They see you, notice your title does not have “supervisor” or “manager” or “director” or “President and CEO” in it, so they want to Read more

Identify Your Point of Empathy - 1/20/26


I was watching a webinar recently on empathy.  The speaker mentioned that empathy - to a large extent - is something that you are born with.  It’s something that’s very difficult to learn.  And while I agree that some people are predisposed to being empathetic and understanding of others Read more

Pressure is a Privilege, but... - 1/13/26


When athletes are asked about the pressure of a playoff match or a late-game situation, many times they will say that “pressure is a privilege.”  In other words, usually pressure exists because you’re in a match that matters most.  It exists because you are a player put in a Read more

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Transferring to a Competitor Can Mean Success

Posted on September 25, 2013 in Business Advice, Education Please leave a comment

There are not many industries where transferring a customer to a competitor is considered the right thing to do. There are even fewer where encouraging a customer to go to a competitor is common. And even less frequent than both of those occurrences is where one organization plans for a customer to leave them after a couple years to go to a competitor.

Now we’re not talking about a typical competitive relationship in this case; here, we’re talking about community colleges and 4-year universities. Where community colleges and universities often do compete for students, more and more universities are suggesting to some students to consider the community college route and transfer to a university after two years.

But the situation we’re describing in this post is where the community college – from Day 1 – should begin helping students to think longer-term – Where are you going after the second year here? What can we do in 2-3 years at our community college to get you positioned for an effective transfer to a 4-year university?

In the article MCCC Boasts High Student Transfer Rate, Monroe County Community College was recognized by CNNMoney for its high student transfer rate. That’s right…community colleges are considered successful if they transfer a high rate of students to a four-year institution. This Student Success-related metric is becoming more discussed and more used in determining future funding of community colleges. It’s because the educational system as a whole is being encouraged to better utilize community colleges as a lower cost way of getting (or at least) beginning a process toward a degree.

Beginning with the end in mind is not just good Covey phrasing. If community colleges want to be successful, they have to proactively work with students to create a plan to achieve that higher ed vision. They have to help individual students to understand what needs to be done in year one at the community college to graduate from the University in year four or five.

It’s not simply about getting the student admitted, getting them registered, or getting them into a program (and those processes aren’t often “simple” anyway). It’s about viewing each student as an individual, understanding their vision (or helping them create one), and – even when that vision goes beyond the college to the university – getting them on track to succeed.

Know if the Vision is the Transfer.

Learn about our CSS Education services at: http://cssamerica.com/cssed.htm

Interested in improving your educational organization’s customer satisfaction? See our other blog posts at: http://serviceadvice.cssamerica.com/category/education/