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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

What Phones and Football Have in Common - 2/11/25


Congratulations!  You made it through weeks/months of hype for football’s Super Bowl!  You made it through hundreds of pregame shows and podcasts, endless debates on things endlessly inconsequential, 10 hours of pre-game shows on Sunday, what seems like 100 commercials designed specifically for the “Big Game,” and the longest Read more

Create Awareness of Alternatives - 2/4/25


Sandy was hungry, and she was on the move.  Driving between meetings, she saw the restaurant sign and pulled in.  The fast-food restaurant had two drive-thru lanes.  One was for any customer who wanted to place an order on the spot. The other was for mobile orders only.  The Read more

Listen with Your Eyes - 1/28/25


Out of the corner of his eye, Patrick saw the customer enter the lobby.  The customer was carrying a large shoulder bag with several papers in her hand.  The customer was shuffling the papers and looking down; then she stopped, looked up, and saw the staff navigator sitting at Read more

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Build Strong Customer Connections – 8/6/24

Posted on August 6, 2024 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

We’ve worked in health care, education, local government, finance, pro sports, and many other industries.  And while our clients’ customers are often different, their specific scenarios for engaging those customers are different, and policies and procedures are different – there’s one thing that is pretty similar.  And that is how you build and grow relationships with customers.

The process is not necessarily sequential, but let’s view it through that lens just for simplicity’s sake.  First, the core of relationship development and growth with customers is getting to know them well.  What is unique about them as an individual?  What do they care most about in the customer experience?  What are their engagement or purchase patterns?  To build a relationship, you have to build an inventory of knowledge about the customer.

Next, you’ve got to keep the communications going.  Long periods of lack of engagement, major gaps between conversations or touch points – these are opportunities for the relationships to go stale.  These are opportunities for the customer to find an alternative to your business.  Therefore, intentionally build a cadence of communications with your customers so that the relationship and the engagement stay fresh.

Why did they first start working with you, and why would they leave?  Understand those retention drivers – what matters most to them – and try to address those important matters.  If you’re shooting for loyalty and eventual growth, don’t get lost in the hundreds of data points you have on that individual if there are 1 or 2 or 3 that are going to retain them.

Finally, look for opportunities for growth.  If you’ve done a good job getting to know them, keeping communications fresh, and addressing their retention drivers, then you can feel more confident in trying to grow business, trying to grow that relationship.  Then you can focus on identifying where they have a need or a want that your organization can meet.

Have an intentional process for building relationships with your customers for the long-term.

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The Proven Value in What You Do – 4/9/24

Posted on April 9, 2024 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

Forbes wrote an article last year based on a compilation of the results of research on customer service and the customer experience; it was titled:  100 Customer Experience Stats For 2023.

In reading the article, you’ll note that many of these key research findings are about you – the value you provide to the organization through the customer service and great experience you provide to others.  Here are a few examples:

  • 87% of customers actively avoid buying from brands they don’t trust. You help to build the customer’s trust of your organization.
  • 60% of leaders say customer service improves customer retention. You help to retain customers.
  • 64% of leaders say customer service has a positive impact on their company’s growth. You help your organization grow.
  • 81% of customers say a positive customer service experience increases the chances of them making another purchase. You’re helping to generate repeat business.
  • In 2022, only 3% of U.S. companies were customer-obsessed, a decrease of 7% from 2021. By caring about the customer, you’re helping your organization differentiate itself from others.
  • 39% of consumers have less patience today than they did before the pandemic. You’re dealing with impatient customers so your bosses won’t have to.
  • 86% of consumers say showing empathy is powerful in building a strong relationship with the brand. When you show empathy, you’re helping the company to engender loyalty.

 
There is true value in what you do, not just to the customer, but to your organization, as well.

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Define Customer Service Success Differently – 2/6/24

Posted on February 6, 2024 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

When I’m watching television, listening to the radio, or listening to a podcast, it’s always interesting when the topic moves to the question:  How can you be a success?  The speakers often discuss the process of becoming a success with the assumption that people believe success is defined by fame, fortune, awards, power, position.

I believe success can be defined in a lot of ways having nothing to do with any of those accomplishments.  Sometimes those outcomes shouldn’t be the definitions of success.  So, especially as it relates to customer service, let’s define Success differently.

Noted below are three quotes.  Let’s look at how they apply to our work in trying to become successful in customer service.

Effort measures success better than outcome.

When we’re engaged with the customer or dealing with a difficult situation at the office, we can control ourselves, our response, or approach to the conversation.  We cannot always control the environment; we can rarely control the other people involved.  But the environment and the others involved affect the outcome of the situation.  So, don’t get down on yourself if the outcome wasn’t what you were hoping for or the overall tone of the conversation did not strike the right chord.  Define success as having done your best.

The cost of success is exceeded only by the cost of failure.

There’s rarely a perfect solution to a complex situation.  But in the vast majority of the cases, doing something gives you a better chance of success than doing nothing.  Deciding to respond to the e-mail or the voicemail when you don’t have an answer, instead of not responding at all.  Taking action on behalf of the customer instead of hoping that – by ignoring them – they will go away.  In customer service, the cost of doing nothing is a higher likelihood of failure, of losing the customer, of engendering that negative word-of-mouth, of creating bigger issues for your co-workers down the road.

Don’t be irreplaceable.  If you can’t be replaced, you can’t be promoted.

Too many people feel that knowledge is power.  They believe in hoarding information or their experience or their expertise so that only they can use it.  This is not only a sign of somebody who’s not a team player, but it can actually be a deterrence to career development.  If we don’t share with others and try to build up and support our teammates, why would leadership want to move us up knowing that they would have a void they cannot fill?

Don’t define success purely based on the outcome.  Define customer service success by your efforts, your willingness to take action on behalf of the customer, and your willingness to impart your knowledge and wisdom to others.

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