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Be Supportive, Not Defensive - 10/7/25


[An employee on the phone with a customer…] Who told you that you didn’t have to submit that form? … Bob?  Oh brother!  You see Bob is our “special” co-worker.  He seems to always tell customers the wrong thing to do, and we’re having to clean up after him.  Read more

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Find Your Special Sauce - 9/23/25


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Gain Control of the Conversation - 9/16/25


The customer’s angry or upset or they have a complaint.  They’re very chatty or very wordy or they just want to talk to somebody.  You’re on a time crunch, and the customer obviously is not. There are times when you need to gain control of the conversation.  It’s important for Read more

Complement with a Compliment - 9/9/25


We perform many tasks for our customers every day, and when we’re done with a step in the process, oftentimes we will tell the customer what’s been done.  But if we want to create more of a WOW experience, if we want to make the customer feel a little Read more

When Patience Begets Patience - 9/2/25


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Address the Expectations that Were Set - 8/26/25


Before the caller ever got to Marco – the customer service representative, the customer had been working with the company for months.  They had read the marketing brochures, had a conversation with a sales rep, reviewed the new customer information on the website, and read all the information e-mailed Read more

When Technology Fails the Customer - 8/19/25


Technology is a wonderful thing…until it isn’t.  The website is down, the mobile app won’t work, the system keeps kicking them out of their account, or they received a spoofing phone call supposedly from your department. If you’ve ever been manning the phones or managing the department inbox, you know Read more

The Misunderstood Physician - 8/12/25


I was speaking with one of my personal physicians years ago, and when we were talking about my work – particularly customer satisfaction research - he started talking about online physician ratings.  He lamented that a few low ratings were dinging his overall score.  Then he shared that the Read more

Uncover Silent Concerns - 8/5/25


One of the customer service statistics we have quoted many times over the years is:  For every complaint you do hear, there could be 26 other customer issues that you don’t hear. And when we bring up that statistic, we bring it up because we want to make sure companies Read more

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Responsiveness: Define it and Do it – 8/1/17

Posted on August 1, 2017 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment


One of the characteristics of customer service where I “hang my hat” is Responsiveness. It’s an aspect of customer communications that conveys you care, that the other person is important to you, and that their need or issue warrants your quick attention.

But what is “Responsiveness?” It may mean different things to different people. And to illustrate that point, noted below are some definitions and examples of Responsiveness that were shared by employees at 3 recent client workshops:

  • Follow-up quickly, Keep them in the loop, Tell them “I’m going to help you”, Give timeframes (set expectations), Provide them with what they need, Communication – be consistent.
  • Set expectations for the customer, Set up timeframes, Set expectations for next steps, Keep the customer informed, Be prompt.
  • Tell what you’re going to do and do it, Respond timely, Keep the customer informed – especially if there’s an issue – even if it’s not resolved, Follow-up.

 
Note that in many of these definitions and examples there’s an aspect of speed. There’s a focus on having ongoing communications with customers (even if it’s just for status updates). There’s a focus on helping the other person – and telling them that you want to help them. And there’s a component where you’re setting/managing expectations for responsiveness.

If you, your organization, or your customers put a premium on responsiveness, ensure that you have a clear picture of what that means and how it looks in your interactions with others. Make sure you have the needed speed, frequency of customer communications, clarity on your desire to help them, and expectation management.

Then your customers may just define Responsiveness…as YOU!

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