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See the Customer’s Journey from Their Perspective- 7/7/26


That customer is face-to-face with you right now, and you are fielding their questions or delivering your service to them.  And oftentimes and understandably, we are so immersed in the moment that we don’t think about what came before or think enough about what comes next. But in the life Read more

Gaining the Benefits of the Greeter- 6/30/26


Most likely, we’ve all entered some establishment – a retail store, restaurant, or service center - when there is a greeter at the door.  The most famous greeter position is probably the Walmart greeter.  I often thought that my father-in-law would have been a fantastic Walmart greeter, because he Read more

Seamlessness - Why the Customer Thanked You - 6/23/26


This doesn’t happen enough nowadays, but the employee received a long thank you e-mail from the customer.  A financial services account manager had taken care of the client during a period of time that was stressful for the customer. Life was unexpectedly changing quickly, and personal emotions, additional financial responsibilities, Read more

When to Avoid the Escalation - 6/16/26


The customer calls with a complaint, and the easy thing to do is to escalate it to your supervisor. That may also be the right thing to do, but how do you know when to avoid the escalation? Why You Would Escalate The first thing to consider is why you would Read more

Let’s be Clear on Clarity - 6/9/26


When trying to manage expectations, it’s vital to be clear with the customer.  But what specifically does it mean to be “clear?” Clarity is in the eyes and ears of the beholder, so what may be clear to one customer may be unclear to another.  However, there are some basic Read more

Allow Yourself to Solve a Couple Puzzles Every Day - 6/2/26


Frank had never been a dog owner before, and when he first got Bosco at the shelter, Frank didn't really know what he was doing.  He would try to be a good parent - feed the dog, play with it, take it on walks - but he was doing Read more

Improve with a Purpose - 5/26/26


If you’re reading these customer service tips, you likely want to get better.  You want an idea, a technique, a reinforcement, or a question that helps you improve. But why improve? At some point you may waver on the commitment to improve, because it can take effort, introspection, time, and change.  Read more

Reciprocate the Thanks - 5/19/26


Jasmine had a great experience with the company, and the company sent her a link to provide an online evaluation following the visit.  So, she clicked the link, gave a rating, and made a comment about her experience. The company monitored their online reviews, saw the positive response, and replied Read more

Don’t Skip the Recap - 5/12/26


The playoff hockey game goes on for almost 3 hours.  There’s non-stop action, with plenty of penalties and takeaways and hits against the boards…and a few goals, as well. You didn’t get to watch the whole game because you had other plans, but you wanted to know what happened.  So, Read more

Finalize the Solution with the 6 Step Checklist - 5/5/26


In last week’s Tip, we showed why and how to Use the 6 Step Checklist before Resolving the Issue.  We noted the importance of taking 15 seconds to mentally walk through the Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How to feel confident that you know what’s needed to fix Read more

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Allow Yourself to Solve a Couple Puzzles Every Day – 6/2/26

Posted on June 2, 2026 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

Frank had never been a dog owner before, and when he first got Bosco at the shelter, Frank didn’t really know what he was doing.  He would try to be a good parent – feed the dog, play with it, take it on walks – but he was doing this without any experience or any puppy parent education.

When Frank would walk Bosco, the pup would stop frequently to sniff, and it was slowing down the walk, so Frank tried to keep the dog moving along so they could get in a good, brisk walk.

One day Frank was talking to a friend who had had dogs for many years, and Frank was asking for her advice on how to keep Bosco walking instead of slowing down and sniffing so much.  Instead of giving an answer to the question, the friend educated Frank on the situation.  When the dog is sniffing, it’s like it’s solving a puzzle.  The dog is investigating and evaluating and using its senses to understand things better.

When they sniff (or solve the puzzle), they are getting acclimated to their environment, they are slowing down, they are lowering their heart rate, and becoming less stressed.

Lessons for Customer Service

So, what does this have to do with customer service?  I often find myself trying to get everything done.  Plowing through the work, just grinding through it.  It’s reviewing e-mails, responding to client inquiries, dealing with complaints on behalf of my clients, or working on projects.

And some days you might find yourself running through your tasks just like I do.

But just like Frank’s pup, if I take time occasionally during the day to slow down, investigate a key situation with a customer or a client, dive in a little bit deeper, then I will typically find myself thinking a little bit more.  Understanding the issue a little bit better.  Coming to a solution that’s going to be more well-thought out, more clear in my communications, and which will require less rework.

If I allow myself to slow down a couple times during the day, I focus more clearly, my solutions are better, the heart rate slows down, and stress is lessened.

Allow yourself to solve a couple puzzles every day.

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

Posted on March 3, 2026 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

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 of call rather than reducing the number of callbacks or increasing first call resolution.  It’s a transactional mindset from management that can trickle down to a transactional mindset from staff – where representatives become more focused on getting off the phone quickly than trying to avoid the even more inefficient follow-up call.

But we want to be smarter than that.  We want to be willing to extend a call by 1-2 minutes if it means avoiding 1-2 future calls on the same topic.  So, if there’s One Question you could ask to prevent a follow-up call, what would it be?  Well, I’m going to give you several examples of that “One Question” to ask:

  • Did you get your question answered?
  • Is there anything else I can help you with while we’re talking?
  • Did you get your need fully addressed?
  • What else can I do for you today?
  • Is there anything else you want to know about before we wrap up our call?

 
There’s nothing magical about these questions.  They’re all variations of the same theme.  Even though you think you have fully addressed their need, before you wrap up, convey a little patience.  Uncover whether there’s anything else related to your response that would be good to cover while you have them on the phone.

This One Question could avoid them having to figure out who to call when that other need pops in their mind.  It avoids them having to wade through your call queue and wait to get on the phone with one of your co-workers (or YOU!) again.  It could avoid your teammate having to open the call and close the call and ask all the discovery questions in the middle; it would avoid having the customer repeat themselves to refresh your co-worker on prior discussions. This One Question could avoid your co-worker having to read through all the detailed notes on the prior call for them to get up-to-speed.

Convey patience before the close.  Ask one more question to prevent the follow-up call.

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PERKI Customer Service – 3/18/25

Posted on March 18, 2025 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

After having worked on hundreds of projects over the years with thousands of thousands of individuals, some things become pretty clear. There are certain traits held by people who are great in customer service.  Look at this list, and do a self-assessment.  Which apply to you?

Positive and Patient

Do you convey positive messages to co-workers and customers, trying to focus on what you/they CAN DO rather than what can’t be done?  Do you try to avoid interrupting others, try not to make them feel rushed?

Empathetic and Efficient

Do you convey an understanding of the other person and their situation, so they feel you care?  Are you organized and proficient enough to be productive and responsive?

Relationships and Responsibility

Do you know how to get to know people, build trust, determine their likes/dislikes, and address their uniqueness?  Are you reliable, dependable, and accountable for your duties and actions?

Knowledgeable and Kaizen-oriented

Do you know your processes, policies, products, and people?  Do you try to improve yourself, your organization, your quality, your service experience?

Interested and Intentional

Do you focus on the other person, conveying your interest with your words, your expressions, your body language and tone of voice?  Do you think about the purpose of what you say and how you say it – before you speak – considering why you’re asking the question or making the statement, considering the effect on the other person?

In considering these questions, how did you do?  If you excel at any of these, pat yourself on the back!  And if any of these “PERKI” attributes are not strengths or are areas that could be improved, make a game plan for your own professional development.

Chart a course for providing better customer service.

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