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When They Might Walk Out the Door…Permanently- 7/21/26


Have you ever had one of those conversations with the customer where they literally tell you they’re about to stop doing business with your company?  This is it.  They may bring up a competitor or found another way to get their need met, or they are just leaving. When we Read more

Transparency in Customer Service- 7/14/26


We’ve worked with a lot of clients in the local government sector, and many of these clients have Customer Service Standards and/or corporate values that include Transparency. Think about an old-fashioned transparency sheet, that malleable see-through page you put on an overhead projector.  You can see everything on one side Read more

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

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Make Deposits with Your Customer – 10/24/23

Posted on October 24, 2023 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

Carrie has a 50+ hour a week job, and – financially – she does better than many.  She’s in the media, but she doesn’t like everything to be public.  Carrie’s a real person with real issues and real needs and real gifts, as well.

One day, her best friend, the person that knows her best as well, asked Carrie a simple question: Why do you give so much to other people?

You see, Carrie has paid people’s rent when they were in a tough position.  She has paid others’ medical expenses and taken care of other life necessities.  And typically the only person that knew what she did was the person she was helping.  Sometimes she helped others anonymously, so even that person did not know.

Her best friend knew of Carrie’s giving because she pieced it all together, story by story, understanding how all the people helped somehow had some deep or tangential relationship to Carrie.  So, the friend asked Carrie the question, and Carrie gave the answer.

Carrie said: I always like to put in deposits because it’s the right thing to do, and I’m able to do it.  But also, I know, someday I’m going to have to make some withdrawals, and it’s probably going to be easier to make some withdrawals if I’ve built up a bank account of goodwill.

That’s a long story to make a short point about customer service.

When we do the bare minimum for the customer, we are providing a product or service. We are giving them the commodity they’re purchasing.  But when we do a little bit more – when we give them a little bit more time, when we show them a little bit more patience, when we reach out to them just to check in even when it’s not really necessary – We are making deposits.

And every business at some point in time is going to mess up, where our action or inaction will be a withdrawal from the account we have with that customer.  So, let’s give a little extra at every opportunity, and maybe when we make a mistake, the customer will be fine with us making that withdrawal.

Keep making deposits with your customer.

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Find Their Future Motivators – 10/17/23

Posted on October 17, 2023 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

We’ve provided fan experience and customer retention consulting in professional sports for a couple decades now.  One of our professional basketball clients was the Miami Heat.  We were working with them just a year or so after they had acquired superstar Shaquille O’Neal.  When they signed him, ticket sales went through the roof. That often happens in pro sports – where the superstar will immediately drive higher revenue and attendance.

One of the recommendations we made to the team was to make sure they were honing in on those people who bought season tickets right after O’Neal was signed, developing relationships with them, and trying to uncover what else would motivate them to stay.  The main point I was making was that O’Neal was not going to be on the team forever, and you don’t want what motivated the season ticket holders to buy tickets (his presence on the team) to be the only reason that they stay as season ticket holders.

You don’t want them to leave immediately after he leaves.

That’s the case with many of our customers.  What motivated them to initially engage our business may not be what motivates them to stay, and oftentimes it shouldn’t be what motivates them to stay.  If a discount or a 1-time feature or benefit is the initial hook, that motivation is fleeting, and we don’t want the customer to flee when that motivation is gone.

One of the key drivers of retention is obviously what brought the customer to your business, but uncover other reasons for them being there.  Ensure that you find out what’s most important to the customer about their engagement with your business, because those reasons, as well, are retention drivers.

Even beyond the reason you acquire their business, make sure you uncover the other reasons why customers stay with you.

Find Their Future Motivators.

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How to Exceed the Promise – 10/10/23

Posted on October 10, 2023 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

It’s the never-ending battle between marketing and customer service.  Marketing makes promises, and customer service has to deal with upset customers when the company doesn’t deliver.  To ensure we deliver on promises, let’s assess promises by looking at some famous quotes over time…

Promises may get Friends, but ‘tis Performances that keep them. Thomas Fuller

Why you gained a customer is not necessarily why you will keep that customer. Typically, that carrot that leads the customer to your organization is not based on their personal experiences with your business. But their personal experiences are what determine whether they come back or not. 

Don’t ever promise more than you can deliver, but always deliver more than you promise.  Lou Holtz

Promises in business create expectations, so it’s better to under promise and over deliver. Remember, the difference between an expectation and reality is a problem when the expectation is greater than the reality.  Make the reality a little greater than the promise.

Let your yes be yes and your no be no.  James

Just like you need to be clear with the customer about what you can do, be clear with them about what you cannot Don’t give the customer the impression that you can hit a deadline when you probably cannot, that you can process a full refund when you probably cannot, that you can fix a problem exactly how they’ve defined the solution when you know you cannot.  Don’t create your own issues.

An ounce of performance is worth pounds of promises.  Mae West

The ultimate judgment of an organization is their performance. The lasting impression of an organization is much more likely to be based on the last impression or experience rather than the initial promise.

Deliver on promises by under promising at the start.  By looking for ways to deliver a little bit more.  By being clear when you cannot do something.  By understanding that performance is what makes the lasting impression.

Exceed the Promise.

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