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When They Might Walk Out the Door…Permanently- 7/21/26


Have you ever had one of those conversations with the customer where they literally tell you they’re about to stop doing business with your company?  This is it.  They may bring up a competitor or found another way to get their need met, or they are just leaving. When we Read more

Transparency in Customer Service- 7/14/26


We’ve worked with a lot of clients in the local government sector, and many of these clients have Customer Service Standards and/or corporate values that include Transparency. Think about an old-fashioned transparency sheet, that malleable see-through page you put on an overhead projector.  You can see everything on one side Read more

See the Customer’s Journey from Their Perspective- 7/7/26


That customer is face-to-face with you right now, and you are fielding their questions or delivering your service to them.  And oftentimes and understandably, we are so immersed in the moment that we don’t think about what came before or think enough about what comes next. But in the life Read more

Gaining the Benefits of the Greeter- 6/30/26


Most likely, we’ve all entered some establishment – a retail store, restaurant, or service center - when there is a greeter at the door.  The most famous greeter position is probably the Walmart greeter.  I often thought that my father-in-law would have been a fantastic Walmart greeter, because he Read more

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

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Riding the Train to Better Customer Service

Posted on June 13, 2012 in Business Advice, World of Customer Service Please leave a comment

For those of you from “my era,” you may remember the song “Metro” by the rock group Berlin. The singer was on a train from Paris to London, met her boyfriend in a pouring rain, and he was “Swimming through apologies.”

Well the group Berlin must have been ahead of its time, because there is a modern day Metro that apparently got tired of giving apologies, and they decided to do something about it.

In the article Metro To Revamp Customer Service, the author discusses how the Fairfax Metro system is creating a new customer service program. After dealing with numerous complaints, the Metro has created a “Customer Service Action Plan” to improve the customer experience. Let’s quickly review the key plan points:

  • Provide customer service training
  • Put new electronic displays in the train stations
  • Improve their payment card system
  • Upgrade the stations themselves with better lighting and other improvements
  • Address and communicate better about security and youth behavior.

If we take a broad assessment of these key points, they deal with the impact of staff on the experience, process improvement, facility layout/signage, external communications, and safety. From that broad perspective, that’s very good. That deals with people, processes, and products. It deals with communications to the public. So we like the comprehensive nature of what they’re trying to do. So what are they missing?

How will they reinforce the importance of customer service and skills with staff after the training? What will they do to ensure the trains run on time? How can they ensure that processes (other than payment processes) are quick and self-evident?

When you think of revamping your organization’s customer experience, be comprehensive enough to address your people, processes, and products. But don’t just do something that will make an impact today. Incorporate plans to continually communicate and improve the experience in the future.

Ride the train to GREAT customer service!

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

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


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