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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

Don’t Skip the Recap - 5/12/26


The playoff hockey game goes on for almost 3 hours.  There’s non-stop action, with plenty of penalties and takeaways and hits against the boards…and a few goals, as well. You didn’t get to watch the whole game because you had other plans, but you wanted to know what happened.  So, Read more

Finalize the Solution with the 6 Step Checklist - 5/5/26


In last week’s Tip, we showed why and how to Use the 6 Step Checklist before Resolving the Issue.  We noted the importance of taking 15 seconds to mentally walk through the Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How to feel confident that you know what’s needed to fix Read more

Use the 6 Step Checklist before Resolving the Issue - 4/28/26


We talk about trying to resolve the issue right the first time, sharing the technique on how to manage the conversation to get clarity on the real issue, need, or goal, and confirming your understanding before moving forward. But what are you trying to clarify?  What are you trying to Read more

Use the Customer’s Words - 4/21/26


The customer is describing a problem on what they call their “computer.” They mentioned that the “screen” doesn’t “move from one page to the other.” They say that the “website’s name is typed at the top,” and it says sample.com with a “line, and then it says ‘home’ after Read more

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WOW with a UFU – 6/21/16 TOW

Posted on June 21, 2016 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment


The doctor personally called the little girl’s mom two days after the successful procedure, just to check-in on how her daughter was doing.

The server manning the Take Out station at the restaurant knew the customer made it a point to state she wanted a burger cooked medium well (little-to-no red in the middle). She called the customer about 30 minutes after the customer left the restaurant to confirm the burger was cooked appropriately.

The account representative called the season ticket holder during the summer. The fan was getting older and had been struggling with walking and might need knee surgery. The employee wanted to see how the customer was doing.

Not to be confused with UFOs, these are UFUs – Unexpected Follow-ups. They occur after the procedure, after the transaction, after the season. There’s no transaction to make – it was already made. There’s no sale to make – it was already made. There’s no issue to resolve – there’s no problem to address.

The follow-up was unexpected. The follow-up was a WOW!

To WOW your customer, you don’t always have to go “above and beyond” or give them some item of great value.

Instead, show that you value them. Contact them to ask about…them. Convey you care. Share information that they mentioned once to you, but your memory of it makes them remember you for the next thousand days.

Get away from a pure focus on the transactions. Consider the relationships. Consider the long-term. Consider reaching out to one person today that you saw a few yesterdays ago.

Contact them to ask them about…them.

WOW with a UFU.

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Plant the Seed of Customer Service Success – 6/7/16 TOW

Posted on June 7, 2016 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment


After many stories over the years of poor customer service in a big box home improvement store, here’s a positive story – it’s a story about how ideas sometimes are better than answers.

If you’ve ever been a novice gardener (which I am) somehow heading up a community garden (which I am) and seeing plants having their tops eaten off about 3 feet above ground (which is happening), you know the pain I’m feeling. The entire community garden is fenced in, so there’s only one way in – OVER the fence.

Yes, deer are jumping over our 7-foot fence like it was a 6” curb, and they’re having some glorious meals! Since I’m not any kind of expert gardener nor an expert in all things deer, I Googled my heart out only to find some less-than-appealing solutions often having to do with other animals or Irish Spring soap.

The most logical suggestion is to raise the fence.

So I went to a local big box home improvement store and wandered around somewhat aimlessly when – shock of shocks – an employee walked up to me and asked if he could help.

“I’m not even sure what I’m looking for,” I replied, “but here’s my issue.” I explained the issue and told him about my thought of how to raise the 22 posts around the garden by 3 feet using a particular type of tapered metal spike.

If he were to answer my question about whether they had such a spike, the answer would have been “No.”

Instead, he offered multiple ideas, multiple options – all were ways to raise the height with different types of materials, different ways to secure this additional 3-feet of fence to the posts. He didn’t answer a question about the spike – he offered a multitude of sound ideas to address the problem.

This is the 20th century, and many people can get an answer from the internet, so when they go to you for service – to help with a need or issue – they often need something more than an answer. They want creative ideas that lead to options and ultimately – a cost-effective quality solution.

When faced with a customer’s question, assess the question to understand the “why” of it. What they may really be seeking is your idea, your creativity, your solution. These are the times when your “No” won’t help them, but your consultative support will.

Know when a customer wants an idea, not just an answer.

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It’s the Customer…Run!! – 5/17/16 TOW

Posted on May 17, 2016 in Customer Service Tip of the Week 1 Comment


It was a simple question with a simple answer – all part of a simple story.

With a letter to mail, Michael went to the front desk at his office and asked “Has the postman come yet?” Sandy, the receptionist, replied “Yes, you just missed him – I’m sorry.” Michael said “That’s okay, I’ll just go downstairs and put it in the blue mailbox since they pick that up at 3:00 p.m.”

Then Sandy said “No – wait.” She took the letter, smiled, and ran to the elevator; she pressed the button, and the elevator doors immediately opened. She smiled at the postman holding the mail bin, dropped the letter in the bin, and ran back to the reception desk.

Yes, the employee actually ran to help the customer. Simple story, but WOW!

The only problem is that this simple service excellence doesn’t happen every day in today’s business world.

In today’s world, the receptionist lets the customer go mail their own letter downstairs.

In today’s world, the employee might go as far as to tell the customer to run to the elevator and push the button so that he might catch the postman.

In today’s world, the employee doesn’t make the effort – let alone RUN – to try to catch the elevator. In today’s world, the employee doesn’t smile at the postman or run back to her desk.

She ran. She smiled. She took initiative. She ran back.

How many times do we see employees try to avoid us at the big box home improvement store, or if they’re running, they’re running AWAY from us?!

Take the initiative. Take the burden off the customer’s shoulders. Show urgency on the customer’s behalf.

Run – sometimes literally run – for the customer.

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