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Use AI to Improve Your Performance - 7/23/24


Many companies are integrating Artificial Intelligence (AI) into some aspect of their business.  This could greatly change how they operate, how they communicate with customers. This AI wave reminds me of a story from 20+ years ago when a stock brokerage firm launched a new website that greatly enhanced the Read more

The New Burger Experience - 7/16/24


Floyd loves a good hamburger. Any chance he gets to try a new spin on an old standby, he takes it. Recently, a burger joint opened near his house, and Floyd was very excited! It was owned by and named for a world-renowned chef, so it had to be Read more

Boost Customer Happiness - 7/9/24


There’s a cooking show that a friend of mine watches, and the premise is all about reverse engineering food.  They may take a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup, analyze it, and determine the ingredients just by tasting it.  Then they figure out a recipe.  The cook will try to make Read more

Brainstorm to Better Yourself - 7/2/24


I’ve led enough sessions with clients on continuous improvement topics to have solid experience on how to lead ideation exercises, brainstorming to develop new ideas.  Oftentimes these sessions start with the right question; the first answers may not be the ultimate solution, but they can serve as a jumping Read more

The Power of the Pause - 6/25/24


When I’m facilitating a meeting, and it feels like it’s going off-track or the discussion is going a little longer than it should, I may say something like “let me pause the conversation so that…” or “let’s pause just for a minute and consider…” I don’t like the word STOP. Read more

Handle Interruptions Heroically - 6/18/24


In the middle of a project, Jimbo, the customer service team member, had to stop what he was doing because he received an e-mail from a customer complaining about their experience at a recent event. Later that day, Jimbo was asked by his boss to put everything on hold for Read more

From Employees to Teammates: The Shift - 6/11/24


Be a great teammate. Be a good team player. We’re all part of the team. We’re no longer employees, we’re team members! The phrase “Team” is used in describing co-workers so much more than it was used years ago.  Then, we would be talking about employees, talking about staff, talking Read more

Nurture New Relationships - 6/4/24


Freddie was a new business owner in town.  He was launching a franchise, had acquired some funding from a local bank, and was in search of staff who cared about customer service. All the while, he was in the process of renovating a storefront for his business, so he was Read more

There’s Positivity in Patience - 5/28/24


The employee at the financial services firm was working with a new client on a relatively simple loan.  The documentation was about as clear as it could get to the employee, but the customer had lots of questions.  The employee calmly, clearly, and specifically answered each question.  The meeting Read more

The Goal – A Great Experience - 5/21/24


The following is a narrative of a great experience (people, process, service, facility) at a minor league sporting event – key points that could apply to any business are in bold… Mark and I pulled into the parking lot, excited about the game.  The Slapshots had been on a roll Read more

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I Did This…For You – 10/31/23

Posted on October 31, 2023 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

Michelle needed to run by the grocery store during her lunch break, and because it’s October in the USA, that means it’s Halloween month!  Fittingly, the grocery store had every shape and size of a pumpkin you can imagine; there was even this small basket of mini pumpkins.

They were very cute – with a wide body and a long stem on top.  Michelle immediately thought of a co-worker who was having a bad day; the co-worker’s morning presentation didn’t go well, and he had a lot of work to get cleaned up by day’s end.  Michelle picked up one of the small pumpkins, put it in her shopping basket, and bought it for her co-worker.

When she got back to the office, Michelle walked up to her co-worker’s desk and set the pumpkin down.  Michelle said:  I got this mini pumpkin for you.

Her co-worker looked down at the pumpkin, then up to Michelle, smiled, and said thanks.

Now, I’m sure many of you do things for co-workers and customers every single day.  It’s a task, it’s an action, you’re giving them information or handing over some product.  You’re having a conversation with the other person.

And believe it or not, the simple phrase for you makes a big difference to them:

  • I tracked down a status update for you.
  • I verified that the transaction went through for you.
  • I pulled this quick summary together for you.
  • I’m going to submit this request now for you.
  • I initiated the return for you.
  • I booked the conference room for you.
  • I followed up on that item for you.
  • I got this mini pumpkin for you.

 
With most of us, having somebody do something for us is a wonderful thing, but we might not fully realize or appreciate what they did unless there was some verbal reinforcement of the action.  And when that verbal reinforcement includes for you, it makes us feel special, it makes us feel like we got a little gift.

When you do something for others, weave in the phrase “For You.”

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Share the Why to Value the Customer – 7/25/23

Posted on July 25, 2023 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

We encourage our clients to explain “The Why behind the What” to the customer.  Usually we suggest that staff explain Why so that the customer understands the reason for a change or can buy-in to a particular solution.

However, explaining the Why is also effective when you’re doing some very routine things for the customer.  When you explain Why you’re doing the task, the customer understands the benefit to them.  It makes them feel valued.  It often makes them feel important.

I’ll walk you through this document, so you’re clear on the main takeaways and are comfortable with the next steps.

To keep you informed, I’ll send you an e-mail on Friday with an update.

To protect the carpet and floors in your home, I’ll be wearing covers on my shoes.

I’ll share a copy of the contract using an encrypted document to protect your privacy.

I’m providing you this 1-page map of the event site so you can quickly get to the activities of most interest.

I’ll give you my cell phone number so you can easily get in touch with me if you have any questions or if other needs arise.

If you just take the action noted in the 6 statements above, then:  You share a document, you send them an e-mail, you wear shoe covers, you send the contract, you give them a 1-pager, you give them a phone number.

However, if you explain Why and focus on the benefit to the customer, then: They feel comfortable with next steps, they’re kept informed, their carpet and floors are protected, you’ve protected their privacy, they save time getting to the activities of most interest to them, and they can easily get in touch with you as needs arise.

Even when you’re doing the routine, try to describe it to the customer.  State what you’re doing, but also share Why to help them feel important and valued, to ensure they understand the benefits of what you do for them.

Share the WHY to Value the Customer.

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A Great 2-Minute E-mail – 8/23/22

Posted on August 23, 2022 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

I know.  You probably get e-mails all the time from customers griping about some aspect of your organization or their experience.  You’ve got too much to do and too little time to do it.  I could not begin to tell you how many times I’ve been told by staff and managers in Service Excellence Training that they just have too many emails and voicemails to respond to customers.

That may be the case, and maybe the root cause of all those messages is a bad experience, understaffing, or poor processes and communications.  So, there is a need to get at the root causes to drive down those large numbers of unwanted customer complaints.

But it doesn’t take 30 minutes to send a good e-mail.  It doesn’t even take 10 minutes to craft the perfect response.  In most cases, you can easily create a great e-mail in less than 2 minutes.

The client had been coming to the venue for events for years, and something had changed. Certain gates were closed that had once been open.  Handicap access was different than it had been in the past.  They were a long-time customer, and this change was a frustration.  Here’s the employee’s response:

Hi John,

Thank you for your feedback, and I’m sorry about the difficulties accessing the venue.  I will make note of your concern and see if we can come up with a solution.  

For some background as to why we changed from Gate B to Gate C for the event, our Gate C is closest to the wheelchair ramp.  We wanted to make sure folks have the easiest access to the ramp.  I’m sorry we didn’t communicate about the change well-enough prior to the event.  I’ll follow-up with you prior to the next event with an update.

Thank you again,

Mary

There’s personalization, empathy, apology, commitment to action, explaining why without making excuses, taking ownership, and closing with appreciation and personalization – all in about 100 words…and under 2 minutes.  This is far better than no response, and far better than most e-mails consumers receive these days.

The next time you feel you have too much going on to respond to e-mails, do what’s right and help the customer feel valued.  Try to be great…in under 2 minutes.

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