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2024 Holiday Poem - 12/24/24


I sometimes hear it said That things have never been like this before. That challenges are unique, That stresses seem like more.   I sometimes hear it said That we're asked to do much more with less. That workloads are increasing, And we're resource-constrained at best.   And others often say That things are really very good. That they enjoy those Read more

Is Their Poor Planning Your Emergency? - 12/17/24


Have you ever heard the saying:  Your poor planning is not my emergency. I’ve heard it said often – not necessarily directly from one person to another.  More typical is that I hear it from the person having to drop everything and do something immediately because someone else didn’t think Read more

Empathy Examples for Everyday Situations - 12/10/24


I’ve often said that empathy is the single most important characteristic of people who are great at customer service.  If empathy is essentially “to understand the other person,” it helps so much to have that ability in order to specifically help someone.  To talk to what’s unique about them.  Read more

Tell Them Why You’re Giving Thanks - 12/3/24


Thank you! Merci! Danke! Doumo! Gracias! It seems like every language has a translation of Thank You.  Even though I only fluently speak English and speak Spanish, un poco, I – and probably most of you – have heard some or all of the translations of "Thank You” noted above.  Read more

Refine Your Decision-making Process - 11/26/24


Every day, you make decisions of what to do and what not to do.  And in the world of customer service, often the affected parties are our customers, our co-workers, and our company.  Here are a few quotes to consider when you’re thinking about evaluating and refining your decision-making Read more

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

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Clinton (not that one) Gets Customer Service

Posted on October 11, 2012 in Business Advice, Government Please leave a comment

The City of Clinton, NC had a good idea. Instead of resolving themselves to the fact that they would have to continually deal with 20% of all utility bills being paid late, having to call most of those late payers, having to cut-off service to some, and having to reinstate service to many of those cut-off, somebody took a step back and asked a simple question. What is causing all these late payments? Then they took an interesting first step by deciding to simply ask the customer.

In the article City rolling out revamped water bill, efforts by Shawn Purvis and the City’s Finance Department are noted. But what struck me most about their efforts is that the approach was based on root cause analysis such as ‘Let’s not assume we’ll always have late bills, complaints, and cut-offs at certain levels and that we cannot do anything about it. Instead, let’s try to figure out why all these issues are occurring and put in some permanent fixes.’

So they began asking late-paying customers why they were late; based on those responses, they implemented solutions such as simplifying the utility bill, better educating customers, and noting total bill payment levels if paid on time v. late. In other words, they asked the customer, and they acted on what the customer told them.

CSS has redesigned bills and invoices for clients, too, and it’s to achieve some of these same goals – making it easy for the customer to pay you on time…reducing the numbers of calls and complaints about bills.

This is the beauty of root cause analysis. While it’s not a panacea, it puts the focus on understanding why bad things happen, and – in customer service – one of the best ways to determine the “why” is to simply ask customers and employees.

Learn a (non-political) lesson from Clinton.

Read our New Book – “Ask Yourself…Am I GREAT at Customer Service?” http://www.amigreatat.com/

Listen to our latest podcast episode of “Stepping Up Service” on The MESH Network at http://themesh.tv/stepping-up-service/

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


Physician Clinics, Processes, and Patient Satisfaction…oh my!

Posted on October 4, 2012 in Business Advice, Healthcare Please leave a comment

A recent study noted in American Medical News evaluated multiple aspects of a patient’s experience in a physician’s practice and determined that the three most important aspects of the experience all related to the doctor. The doctor’s knowledge, time spent with the patient, and access to the patient’s medical records were of greatest importance to patients.

However, there are a few points that might not be so obvious. Six of the next seven most important attributes all dealt with process – ease of billing, efficient billing process, time spent in the waiting room, etc. We believe that the 3 drivers of customer satisfaction in any industry are Employee Attitudes/Skills/Knowledge, Service Processes, and the Product/Service itself. So this process impact is not surprising, but it’s important. Key Conclusion: Make it easy and efficient for the customer to do business with you.

But another point in the article is typically as important. Other studies have shown that 40% of customer dissatisfaction is because their expectations weren’t met. This article notes how many patients compare their experience at a clinic to their experience in other industries. So it’s time for physician clinics like most other businesses to look outside themselves to learn. If the Ritz-Carlton makes you feel special, what can a physician clinic learn from them? If a NASCAR pit crew can change four tires and fill a gas tank in 12 seconds, what can a physician clinic learn from them? If Amazon.com can enable a 1-click purchase, what can the clinic learn from them?

It’s not just for healthcare organizations like clinics; this “looking outside yourself” benchmarking approach should be undertaken by local governments, the business operations staff for sports teams, community colleges and other education industry organizations, and retailers alike.

Key Conclusion: Customers come in with expectations about your business based on experiences with other businesses. So look at other businesses to identify improvement opportunities in your own.

Make it easy for the customer to do business with you…and to enjoy the experience, too!

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

Read our New Book – “Ask Yourself…Am I GREAT at Customer Service?” http://www.amigreatat.com/

Listen to our latest podcast episode of “Stepping Up Service” on The MESH Network at http://themesh.tv/stepping-up-service/


New York City: A Digital Toolkit for Customer Service

Posted on August 30, 2012 in Business Advice, Government Please leave a comment

New York City is providing a “Digital Toolkit” to small businesses to help them succeed (and hopefully stay and grow) in NYC. According to Mashable (one of the NYC partner organizations along with Google, Tumblr, and Weebly), the Toolkit “can incorporate technology and social media into their business strategy for marketing, sales and customer service.”

Let’s not start a debate about what Google does or doesn’t know about customer service. Instead, the Toolkit is intended to be “incorporated” into a company’s strategy. That begs several questions such as How do you use technology to communicate with and serve customers? How do you ensure consistency between online and offline customer service vehicles? How do you differentiate between online and offline customers and their needs? Are your online and offline customers often the same people?

But the most important question is What is your customer service strategy?

Too many businesses have marketing plans, sales strategies, and pipeline monitoring systems. But how many have a customer service strategy? How many have plans for retaining and growing with existing clients?

Before you jump into social media customer service or use a toolkit to define your own customer service strategy, create the strategy first.

Strategy first…toolkit second.

Read our New Book – “Ask Yourself…Am I GREAT at Customer Service?” http://www.amigreatat.com/

Listen to our latest podcast episode of “Stepping Up Service” on The MESH Network at http://themesh.tv/stepping-up-service/

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


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