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Redefine “Access” to Treat Customers Special - 11/29/22


One of our clients puts on major events throughout the country.  When we conduct post-event surveys, many of the attendees rave about the access they had to certain entertainers, locations in the venue, parking lots, or even information.  Others decry the fact that they lacked that access. This does pose Read more

Keep in Mind 3 Key Questions - 11/22/22


Customers want to be heard.  If they have an issue or need or something that requires your support, they want to be understood. When we are trying to find a resolution or fulfill a need, when we’re trying to help a customer achieve their goal, sometimes we can be so Read more

Don’t Let This Shot Affect Your Next Shot - 11/15/22


When I was a teenager, I used to play a lot of golf, and I was pretty good for my age.  I’d have a good attitude and enjoyed the game, but if I hit a bad shot, I’d get upset.  And more often than not, that one bad shot Read more

Value the Customer – Actions to Adopt and Avoid - 11/8/22


When conducting research for a local government CSS client, we interviewed and conducted surveys with many of their customers.  We analyzed the results of the research based on those who had a great experience v. those who did not.  We uncovered that there were distinct differences between customers who Read more

Appreciate to Appreciate - 11/1/22


Why doesn’t Jay, my co-worker, respond to my e-mails or get his task done on time? It’s hard to respect the delay, the incomplete work, the lack of follow through on the part of your co-worker. Why does the customer seem so harried and so frustrated? It’s hard to value the customer Read more

The Customer Can Hear Your Attitude - 10/25/22


Sherry was sitting in the lobby, waiting to be called back for her appointment.  Just off the lobby was an office that Sherry was sitting near.  The person in the office was on a phone call, but Sherry couldn’t see the employee.  She could tell it was a call Read more

How to Handle the Customer’s Error - 10/18/22


Are all of your customers perfect?  Anyone?  Bueller? Of course, customers are not perfect.  Neither are we, but let’s focus this Tip on what they do wrong and what we can do about it in a professional, positive, and productive manner: When the customer isn’t clear, you respond: Is it OK Read more

Critique Yourself before Others Do - 10/11/22


When we’re criticized, we can get defensive, push back, deflect blame to others, and focus more on defending ourselves than really listening to what the other person is saying.  And some of us who get defensive, once we allow our emotions to settle, take time to reflect on what Read more

Find a Connection Point – Part 2: Situational Connection - 10/4/22


Last week we highlighted key topics to consider when you want to find Personal Connection Points with the customer.  Today, we’ll cover some key questions to ask to uncover information about today’s situation that you can use to establish a rapport with the customer.  This is Part 2 - Read more

Find a Connection Point – Part 1: Personal Connection - 9/27/22


Some people are born almost like a master at communication.  They know how to establish rapport with just about anybody, and they do so in a way that seems so natural and so real.  They can form relationships and be laughing with somebody they met two minutes ago like Read more

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Social Customer Service, and Customer Expectations

Posted on January 12, 2012 in Business Advice, World of Customer Service Please leave a comment

In the article 20 minutes is too long for Twitter Customer Service, Michael Pace notes that the “@HyattConcierge Twitter response time goal (service level) is 20 minutes.” He then talks about whether that is the right goal – particularly from the customer’s perspective. Mr. Pace offers several standards based on the type of social media that customers are utilizing – interesting data, so check out the article.

So this begs several questions for your business – whether or not you’re in the Twitter world. What expectations do you have for the timeliness of responsiveness to customers? How do your organization’s expectations match up with the customer’s expectations? How do you find out your customer’s expectations? How do you share your organization’s expectations with your employees? How do you address your processes and systems to help employees meet those expectations? How do you measure expectations vs. reality? Finally, how do you communicate those expectations to customers so their expectations are more realistic?

This is a lot about expectations, but remember that studies have shown that 40% of customer dissatisfaction is because the company didn’t meet customer expectations. Maybe they overpromised, or they just didn’t do the bare minimum of what a customer would expect.

So get with the customer service and marketing leaders at your business, and talk about customer expectations. What is realistic? How do we communicate realism in a positive manner? What needs to be improved? How do we improve? How do we become GREAT?

There’s a lot that businesses try to do every day to improve customer service – but those efforts need to include a clear focus and strategy around setting, meeting, and striving to exceed customer expectations.

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

Listen to our latest podcast episode of “Stepping Up Service” on The MESH Network at http://themesh.tv/stepping-up-service/

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