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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

When You’re the Educator, What Should You Teach? - 1/21/25


The best customer service professionals are also excellent educators.  Not only within the organization, but I’m talking specifically about the role they play as educator with their customers.  With all the self-service options that technology provides, customers often have the opportunity to do things on their own, to investigate Read more

Wrap It Up Right: Why Follow-Up Communications WOW Customers - 1/14/25


Dena had some questions about her water bill, so she looked for answers on the utility’s website.  She didn’t find specific answers, and she really didn’t want to get on the phone with somebody at the time and risk staying on hold.  She had lots going on, but she Read more

From Conversation to Connection: Defining Customer Engagement - 1/7/25


Maggie was sitting in the Service Excellence Training class, and the instructor kept talking about staying engaged with the customer.  Proactively engaging the customer.  Being fully engaged in the conversation. After hearing this same phrase (“engage”) used in various ways, Maggie raised her hand and asked a question probably several Read more

Self-empower for the New Year - 12/31/24


Jeff joined the company, in part, because he loved their approach to culture.  Leadership tried to create an empowerment culture.  They tried to develop an environment where, within certain parameters, individual team members could make a decision and feel confident that they would be supported by leadership. The reality was Read more

2024 Holiday Poem - 12/24/24


I sometimes hear it said That things have never been like this before. That challenges are unique, That stresses seem like more.   I sometimes hear it said That we're asked to do much more with less. That workloads are increasing, And we're resource-constrained at best.   And others often say That things are really very good. That they enjoy those Read more

Is Their Poor Planning Your Emergency? - 12/17/24


Have you ever heard the saying:  Your poor planning is not my emergency. I’ve heard it said often – not necessarily directly from one person to another.  More typical is that I hear it from the person having to drop everything and do something immediately because someone else didn’t think Read more

Empathy Examples for Everyday Situations - 12/10/24


I’ve often said that empathy is the single most important characteristic of people who are great at customer service.  If empathy is essentially “to understand the other person,” it helps so much to have that ability in order to specifically help someone.  To talk to what’s unique about them.  Read more

Tell Them Why You’re Giving Thanks - 12/3/24


Thank you! Merci! Danke! Doumo! Gracias! It seems like every language has a translation of Thank You.  Even though I only fluently speak English and speak Spanish, un poco, I – and probably most of you – have heard some or all of the translations of "Thank You” noted above.  Read more

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Find a Fun Benchmarking Organization for Lessons on Service and Retention

Posted on April 11, 2012 in Business Advice, World of Customer Service 1 Comment

Why did Apple benchmark with the Ritz-Carlton? Are computers the same thing as hotels?

Why did Southwest Airlines benchmark with NASCAR pit crews? Are airplanes the same things as cars?

Benchmarking is usually more about how you do something than what you do. In the article How the Ritz-Carlton Inspired the Apple Store, the author notes how Apple Stores went to the Ritz-Carlton to learn lessons on customer service. Similarly, many years ago Southwest Airlines went to work with NASCAR pit crews to learn how to turn planes at the gate more quickly.

Continuous improvement in any organization involves thinking beyond your world, growing your organization’s collective knowledge by learning from others. What’s more, it can be lots of fun learning, particularly from those in other industries.

To most effectively benchmark, think about how you deliver a service, interact with customers, communicate, process, produce. Try not to think of this in industry terms; instead, think of this in functional terms. For example, as a bank, don’t think “What bank does a great job of increasing the number of accounts with current customers?” Think more broadly such as “What organizations are great at retaining and selling more services to existing account holders?” Instead of benchmarking with another bank, they might consider benchmarking with a pro sports team.

Instead of a local municipality asking “What City/County governments do a great job with their website?”, they should ask “What organizations effectively engage their customers online and leverage those sites to drive interest and traffic to their programs and facilities?”

Benchmarking is a fun way to get creative ideas, to continuously learn, grow, and improve.

So what industry (other than yours) is interesting to you? Go and learn from them.

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

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/


I’ll Drink to Great Customer Service!

Posted on February 16, 2011 in Business Advice Please leave a comment

In England, Simon Longbottom, managing director at Greene King Pub Partners, has embarked on a series of customer service initiatives for his pubs. The article (in Eat Out Magazine) notes how Pub Partners’ licensees will get customer service training to make consistent and improve customer service at the affiliated pubs.

The program was spurred on by recent secret shopper reports which have garnered national attention in UK retail circles. Keep in mind that Mr. Longbottom is doing this purely for business reasons. He states that “Research has shown that a high level of customer satisfaction has a direct correlation with customer spend.” He’s doing this for the money – customer service is just good business.

There are 8 key areas of focus for the training: Customer service and the profit chain, Service Excellence, Retail Service Excellence, Driving Up Performance, Service and Standards, Customer Feedback, Engaging People, and Action.

Great customer service works in banks, it works in pro sports, it works in government, education, healthcare, and even…in pubs.

Raise your glass for great customer service!

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

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


Hospitals Must Care About More Than Clinical Outcomes

Posted on October 7, 2010 in Business Advice, Healthcare Please leave a comment

You go to a hospital with a broken bone, and you expect them to heal it. You go to the E.R. with pain, and you expect the pain to be relieved. You get admitted with an infection, and you expect them to provide a cure.

These are all clinical outcomes. They are all the reasons why patients go to hospitals. They are the ultimate product of the hospital.

But they are not all that matter to the customer. In a way, they are the most basic expectation of the patient. Why would a patient go to a hospital with a broken bone, pain, or an infection if they DIDN’T expect to get this issue remedied?

In the article “Quality hospital care doesn’t ensure patient satisfaction” (on www.fierehealthcare.com), the point it made that what drives patient satisfaction often has little to do with the quality of the care itself. Florida ranks 8th nationally in quality of care, but it ranks 49th in patient satisfaction according to the study quoted in the article. "This conclusion underscores the need for hospitals to engage in regular patient satisfaction surveys rather than assume patients are satisfied with their medical care simply because the hospital meets a particular standard of clinical quality," the study’s authors wrote.

Think about your hospital, your organization, your business – even if you don’t work in healthcare. Just because the patient got the medication at your clinic doesn’t mean they’d like to return to your location. Just because the fan liked the team’s performance on the basketball court doesn’t mean they’re a raving fan of your organization. Just because the student liked the course he took doesn’t mean he loves your community college.

Think beyond the product when you’re thinking about how to drive higher levels of customer satisfaction, loyalty, and repeat business. Survey and engage in improvement efforts which address service processes and staff as well.

Go beyond the product.

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/


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