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Energy v. Apathy - 4/22/25


I asked a couple friends who are much more scientifically-oriented the question: What is energy?  I didn’t mean E=MC2.  I meant physiologically, what is energy? They described a lot of things that sounded really good, yet far too advanced for my non-medical mind. Part of the reason why energy is of Read more

Prep Enough to Personalize - 4/15/25


Everybody loves Howie.  He is an account rep for the local air conditioning and heating company.  When I say Everybody loves Howie, I’m definitely talking about the customers.  His co-workers love him too, but customers are especially fond of him.  They seem to really enjoy their conversations with him, Read more

Get Your Customers to Brag, Not Bolt - 4/8/25


Here are two customer retention concepts that we discuss with some sports clients: BIRG and CORF.  BIRG is Basking In Reflected Glory.  CORF is Cutting Off Reflected Failure. You want BIRG.  You want the customers feeling so good about your organization that they want to be a part of your Read more

Narrow Your Focus to Seek Excellence - 4/1/25


You’ve probably heard companies use phrases such as: “We want to go from being good to great.”  Maybe they’ve said: “We strive for perfection, and although we’ll never reach perfection, maybe we can achieve excellence along the way.” These organizations find some kind of a catch phrase or slogan, but Read more

Avoid the Unfriendly Ghost - 3/25/25


Last week we talked about the qualities of “PERKI Customer Service,” essentially what attitudes and actions are characteristics of those who provide great customer service.  This week, let’s take the opposite approach.  What are some of the mistakes that people make?  Maybe these are mistakes of omission or commission; Read more

PERKI Customer Service - 3/18/25


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 Read more

It Helps to Downshift - 3/11/25


One of the first tips I heard when I was learning how to drive related to what to do when the brakes fail - downshift.  Shifting into a lower gear can slow down a moving vehicle.  I would explain this in technical terms to you, but considering I’m not Read more

Patience is… - 3/4/25


Patience is a…pain in the neck.  Why is it so hard to be patient?  Those of us who work in customer service know that we constantly have to show patience with our customers.  We’re ready to move to the next step or the solution because we’ve heard this issue Read more

Everybody Doesn’t - 2/25/25


Joey received the compliment, but he was confused.  Paula, his boss, and Joey had their monthly one-on-one meeting, and Paula noted that, although he was new, Joey was already doing a great job!  While there were learning curves on some of the organizational policies and the technology that he Read more

A Simple Phrase to Transform Your Customer Feedback Approach - 2/18/25


I went to a restaurant called Big Ed’s (no relation) in Raleigh, NC recently.  It’s basically country cooking with fantastic breakfast options!  On the menu there was a quote that said: If you enjoyed your meal, tell a friend.  If not, please tell us. That was an excellent statement that embodies Read more

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Build a Retention Program

Posted on February 2, 2011 in Business Advice, World of Customer Service Please leave a comment

You have a marketing plan, a social media presence, and sales program. But do you have the same structures in place for retention?

In a recent Body Shop Biz article, the Toronto Area Dealer Association’s “Renewit program” is noted because it focuses on how the association is helping members to increase customer retention, sales, and profits. Among other features, the program directs the customer’s vehicle back to the dealership after a breakdown or wreck.

Now whether the program turns out to be as great as advertised is not yet known, but there is much to be learned from the program.

First, you have to have solid data on the customer and the product/service they purchased in order to communicate most effectively with them – make sure these details are acquired during the sale and effectively flow to your customer service systems.

Second, make it easy for the customer to contact you back if they have an issue. You’d rather resolve the issue and keep the relationship than have them go elsewhere today for support, since that might make them go elsewhere tomorrow for a product.

Third and more broadly, view your customer service functions as revenue-building entities that should have the goals, technology, people, and processes that focus on staying in touch with clients, meeting after-the-sale needs, and deepening relationships.

Build your own great customer service body shop.

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

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


Is Patient Satisfaction More Important Than Clinical Care?

Posted on January 18, 2011 in Business Advice, Healthcare Please leave a comment

In the Healthcare Leaders Media article titled “Editor’s Note: Patient Satisfaction on the Rise,” a New England Journal of Medicine article is referenced since it noted that patients feel that the non-clinical experience is “twice as important as the hospital’s clinical reputation.” In other words, patients feel that the level of clinical care is less important than the other aspects of the experience such as customer service, communications, timeliness, processes, etc.

While I wasn’t surprised at the findings (we’ve discussed it on this blog previously), what is surprising is that the author seemed to say that this fact is actually a concern. He stated that healthcare organizations need to essentially educate the patients on healthcare quality so that they understand the greater importance of and distinctions of quality clinical care in comparison to the non-clinical experience.

Let’s look at this a different way. Let’s say that customers prefer Google over your search engine because it’s faster and easier than yours. But you feel that your search engine has prettier colors on the home page. So your approach is to educate Google customers that they need to view the colors on the home page as more important than the speed or ease of use of a search engine.

Huh?

Companies that want to retain customers will be metaphorically banging their heads against the walls if they strive to change what the customer feels is most important. The customer decides what they care about, what they feel is most important.

It’s then up to you and me to be as great as possible at delivering what the customer feels is important.

So is patient satisfaction more important than clinical care? The answer: Whatever the customer feels is most important is most important.

Don’t tell the customer what they care about isn’t that important. That’s an EASY way to lose a customer.

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

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


3 Key Predictions for 2011 in Customer Service

Posted on December 10, 2010 in World of Customer Service 1 Comment

Understanding current trends in customer service as well as in the economy as a whole has led Customer Service Solutions, Inc. to identify three predictions of what we foresee happening in the world of customer service in 2011:

· The term “Social Media Customer Service” will become more consistently defined, and that definition will involve a focus on more clearly articulating how Social Media customers differ from those who look elsewhere to interact with businesses. But with each new entrant into the Social Media space, companies will struggle with how to address additional customer service touch points consistently and efficiently.

· As the economy continues its struggle to gain footing, companies will become more strategic and targeted on which customers they want to keep and how to reduce the cost of serving low profit customers. Arguments will rage over whether to and how to “fire customers.”

· Fearing employees are at a breaking point with being asked to continue to do more work while still retaining customers, businesses will invest more heavily in morale-building culture initiatives and process redesign and reengineering activities.

In other words, 2011 will be about enabling employees to be successful with limited resources, being more targeted in when/where/how to serve customers, and learning how to engage the social media world with customer service that is consistent and efficient across the enterprise.

What do you think about these predictions? What do you think will happen?

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/


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