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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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Don’t Let the Customer’s Bad Attitude Dictate Yours

Posted on September 29, 2010 in Business Advice, World of Customer Service 1 Comment

The customer called the service center, and the telephone answering system picked up.

“Thank you for calling ACME Wireless Systems Inc. If you’re in a really good mood, please press 1. If you’re upset but rational, please press 2. If you’re really irate, please press 3.”

Do you ever get the impression that companies want to deal with happy customers but don’t want to deal with unhappy customers? It’s as if the employees smile if the customer smiles, but if the customer’s unhappy, the employee gets a bad attitude himself.

Let’s look at this from the customer’s perspective. I’m angry, so would I rather talk with somebody who’s angry or somebody who’s in a good mood? I have a better chance of getting my emotional level down if I’m dealing with someone empathetic with my situation, someone on more of an even-keel emotionally, someone who listens and lets me talk about my frustration.

What I don’t like is someone who cuts me off mid-sentence. What I don’t appreciate is someone who doesn’t take responsibility. What drives me crazy is someone who is defensive. What is non-productive is someone who lets their emotions drive their attitude in a service recovery situation like this.

We always say that delivering high-quality customer service can be tough, especially when presented with a complaining customer. But these are the times that separate the best from the rest. These are the situations where employees truly committed to the customer shine, because in the face of a complaint or an irate customer, they still know how to take the customer’s perspective, to try to keep the customer, to try balance the needs and wants of the customer with the needs and wants of the business.

Check your attitude when faced with the complaining customer. Use these situations as times to shine!

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

Check out our new customer service book at http://www.amigreatat.com/


Time to Go Back to School

Posted on August 26, 2010 in Business Advice, Education Please leave a comment

For most of the United States, this is a time when students are going back to school. But when we refer to students, whether they be college kids or the elementary school age children, we need to keep in mind that the students are not going back to the same grade. Last year’s 3rd graders are now 4th graders. Last year’s college freshmen are this year’s sophomores. The students are moving on and moving up.

So when kids go back to school, they’re going back to learn more advanced information.

In our business world, we also need to constantly go back to school. But it’s not to get refreshed on what we already know or retrained on information where we’ve already been trained. It’s to learn advanced techniques, tips, skills, philosophies, and business practices.

In customer service, there are so many different techniques which you can learn and apply daily. But for those who need more advanced training if they have become near-experts on the basics of customer service, one area to focus on is reading the personality of your customer. Since many of our conversations with customers are quite short, and since we’re conveying so much information or responding to the request or complaint while engaged with a customer, to be able to – at the same time – tailor how you interact with the customer to their unique personality type is a feat where only the best at customer service consistently excel.

One way to build up this aptitude is to start categorizing the personality types of the customers you encounter most frequently. Identify the 2-3 most encountered personality types, determine how to identify these types of individuals during conversations, and determine a few behaviors or phrases that you can utilize when interacting with these particular personality types. Getting to know the types of customers you interact with and the keys to interacting with them are great steps to take if you want to be even better at customer service.

Go back to school.

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

Check out our new customer service book at http://www.amigreatat.com/


Be Vigilant in Tough Times

Posted on February 23, 2010 in Business Advice, Government Please leave a comment

When the economy is bad, and people are hurting, the stories that seem to bubble to the surface in the news are often those that focus on government. When somebody’s mad, the one large entity that people direct that wrath toward is often the government. We might define government as a local municipality, state government, or the federal government. But in any case, problems that are minor which may have been overlooked in the past are now front page news.

There are some obvious reasons for this. When the economy is bad, people’s purse-strings are tightened, and their scrutiny of every individual dollar is heightened. Oftentimes the dollars that are not in one’s control or which seem to rise during bad economic times are those dollars spent on government services – real estate taxes, utilities, sales taxes, personal income taxes, etc.

So during these times, governments have to be hypersensitive to the feelings of their customers – the residents and businesses. They need to make sure that when issues arise they jump out in front with proactive communication plans that not only target the media but which also target individual customers one-on-one. Since the media is more than happy to jump on a negative story and milk it for all it’s worth during times like these, government entities have to determine ways to influence the perceptions of the public in a more one-on-one manner, more directly. They cannot rely on reactive responses to the media; they need to have proactive communications and plans targeting their customers directly.

There is a need to be vigilant during the tough times in getting your message out, because if government organizations – or any organizations for that matter – are in reactive mode when issues arise, loss of control of the message can be a loss of the positive image of the brand that the organization has worked so long to nurture and develop.

Focus on the one-on-one, and be vigilant in your proactive communications during the tough times.

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


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