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Acting on the Guiding Principles for Great Customer Service - 11/19/24


In last week’s tip, we shared 5 Guiding Principles for Great Customer Service.  This week, let’s address what “taking action” looks like on those key principles.  If last week was about what to do and WHY, this week is about the HOW. Engage with Interest: To engage with interest, proactively Read more

Guiding Principles for Great Customer Service - 11/12/24


It’s hard to know every procedure, every policy, every technique possible to handle every situation correctly.  After all, maybe our procedures are standard, but our customers are not.  Maybe our policies stay pretty consistent, but our customers’ needs and issues, their attitudes and actions can change from customer to Read more

From a Simple Question to an Exceptional Experience - 11/5/24


Phyllis loves her job.  It’s not just because she loves being a customer service representative, not just because she really likes her co-workers, and not just because she enjoys her company.  It’s because she really appreciates her customers, as well. A customer had ordered a register book off the company Read more

Fix One Problem without Creating Another - 10/29/24


If you’ve ever had an issue with your dishwasher, this will sound familiar.  I’ve dealt with so many dishwashers over the years, and they always seem to have some kind of an issue.  Maybe it’s because of the mix of water and technology, but for whatever reason, these never Read more

Delight Your Customers - 10/22/24


Buddy the Bug Man was different.  His company was new, and the only reason why Janet tried him out was that the service she had used for years just wasn’t working.  Whether it was mosquitoes in the yard, ants in the kitchen, or cockroaches flying through on their way Read more

A More Complete Definition of Responsiveness - 10/15/24


I was purchasing something recently that was being custom-developed.  At one point, the company’s employee and I had a good 20 e-mails going back and forth - 10 from each of us.  Unfortunately, I broke my own rule, and I did not pick up the phone after 2 or Read more

Have a Game Plan to Address Their Anxiety - 10/8/24


It seems like we all get deliveries - whether it is UPS, USPS, FedEx, Amazon, the local courier, or all the above.  We order.  They deliver.  Or do they? It’s times like these, when we’re expecting that package, that item that we’re looking forward to or need urgently or are Read more

How Persistence Saved the Day - 10/1/24


Sherrie saw the customer walk into her store holding his cell phone, and Sherrie immediately knew that was William.  She had spoken to William on the phone about an hour ago, he said he would be at Sherrie’s cell phone store in less than an hour, and there he Read more

Notice the Little Changes - 9/24/24


“My, how times have changed.” Yes, times have changed.  As a matter of fact, one of the biggest reasons why an organization’s customer service deteriorates is that times have changed…customers have changed…and the company has not… If we think about customer service delivery today v. decades ago, changes in technology alone Read more

Don’t Hurry…Be Quick - 9/17/24


No, this is not a take off on the Bobby McFerrin song:  Don’t Worry Be Happy. It’s actually a take off on the John Wooden quote:  Be quick, but don’t hurry. When I read Wooden’s book with this title, I liked the concept, and not just because John Wooden was a Read more

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Define Your Personal Service Standards – 3/31/15 TOW

Posted on March 31, 2015 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment


Many clients are interested in our helping them develop Customer Service Standards and instilling them in their staff. Customer Service Standards are essentially documented expectations of how employees at all levels should treat both internal and external customers. The Standards note desired behaviors and attitudes of staff, and they align to the organization’s Mission, Vision, and Core Values.

But instead of waiting for your company to tell you what they expect, let’s take a step and define our own Personal Service Standards.

Essentially what I want you to ask yourself are 3 key questions:

  • What should my attitude be like, regardless of who I’m interacting with at the time?
  • What should be characteristics of my behaviors when interacting with others?
  • What should be the qualities of how I do my job and serve others, even when nobody’s looking?

To what standard do you hold yourself? What high level of attitude and actions should be just part of who you are, how you do business, and how you serve others?

Maybe the words that pop to mind are “proactive, courteous, engaged, and creative.” Maybe you’re “thoughtful, other-focused, respectful, and patient.” You could be the person who’s “organized, efficient, responsive, and solution-oriented.”

Think about what you expect of yourself. Then live to those expectations. Make the expectations you have of yourself drive you toward great experiences for those you serve.

Define Your Personal Service Standards.

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Get Engaged – 12/30/14 TOW

Posted on December 30, 2014 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment


Don’t worry; there will be no pre-wedding discussions here.

When we talk about Engagement in the customer service world, we’re either talking about Employee Engagement or Customer Engagement. And since “Engagement” is a buzzword nowadays, we need to have an understanding of what it really means.

Engagement in business essentially means the level of commitment that an employee or customer has with a business – it often has an emotional component or a tendency toward positive action/participation on the part of the engaged individual.

It goes beyond caring, but it’s based in caring. To take action, to have positive emotion, to be involved and attentive, the starting point is caring about that with which you’re engaged.

But it’s more than caring. One easy way to picture an Engaged community of customers or of employees is to picture the opposite – apathy. If you had apathetic customers, you’d have to bombard them with communications, marketing, offers, and enticements to patronize your business because otherwise they just wouldn’t care.

If you have apathetic employees, when they show for work, the quality and timeliness of what they do, and the attitude they convey to others would essentially be irrelevant to them. It would be all about them, and nothing about the organization.

Organizations should want engaged customers – those customers who are inwardly compelled to be a part of the company. Organizations need engaged employees – those proactively offering ideas and making decisions in the best interest of the company and customer alike.

For Employees
As an employee of an organization, you should want to be engaged. You should want to care enough to initiate positive change, to take ownership over customer needs, to make your organization look good, and to come up with the next great idea.

Ensure your values are in sync with those of your company. Make sure your company’s vision is worth achieving. Look at your customers and co-workers, and decide whether these are individuals you want to help. Get engaged with your company, or look for an opportunity where you can get more fully engaged.

For Businesses
Create values and a vision worthy of engagement. Then, look to hire and promote those individuals who can personally align with the organization’s purpose, how it operates, and where it wants to go.

Be a part of an Engaged Community.

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Be Clear on What You Value – 11/11/14 TOW

Posted on November 11, 2014 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment


Today is Veteran’s Day in the United States of America. Many veterans, those currently serving in the military, and those who have friends/relatives who have served seem to have a strong attachment to their particular branch of the service. The values espoused by the branches often relate to courage, honor, loyalty, respect, and integrity. Those associated with the military latch onto those words and try to embody them in all they do.

To a business, those words are akin to the Core Values of an organization. They represent what the organization wants its culture, its people, its image to be about; Core Values are the desired characteristics of the employee and the company. Those qualities – when defined – help in so many ways.

Unfortunately, we have some clients that have not yet created Core Values. They have an organizational Mission – so they know what they’re there to do. They often have a Vision – so they know the long-term direction they want to go. But they haven’t defined the fabric of the people they desire to live that Mission daily and move toward that Vision. They can’t look for specific personal qualities of a prospective new hire because those qualities haven’t been defined. They have difficulty rewarding specific attitudes and actions, because the attitudes and actions aren’t fully determined.

Now you may say that – if the company has a Mission and a Vision – they can reward behaviors that align to those; they can hire people to do the job needed to live the Mission.

True, but we’re talking something deeper than a job description. Surely you’ve experienced two people with similar job experience but could tell one would be a better fit organizationally than the other. I’m certain you’ve seen employees with technical skills but without the attitudes or actions that are a symbol of what your company truly values.

On this Veteran’s Day, it’s important to appreciate those that give us the freedoms we have and often take for granted. Let’s learn a lesson from them at the same time. Take time to identify what the organization truly values in its people. Then seek, hire, reward, and retain those that are an example of what makes your company great.

Be Clear on What You Value.

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