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Acting on the Guiding Principles for Great Customer Service - 11/19/24


In last week’s tip, we shared 5 Guiding Principles for Great Customer Service.  This week, let’s address what “taking action” looks like on those key principles.  If last week was about what to do and WHY, this week is about the HOW. Engage with Interest: To engage with interest, proactively Read more

Guiding Principles for Great Customer Service - 11/12/24


It’s hard to know every procedure, every policy, every technique possible to handle every situation correctly.  After all, maybe our procedures are standard, but our customers are not.  Maybe our policies stay pretty consistent, but our customers’ needs and issues, their attitudes and actions can change from customer to Read more

From a Simple Question to an Exceptional Experience - 11/5/24


Phyllis loves her job.  It’s not just because she loves being a customer service representative, not just because she really likes her co-workers, and not just because she enjoys her company.  It’s because she really appreciates her customers, as well. A customer had ordered a register book off the company Read more

Fix One Problem without Creating Another - 10/29/24


If you’ve ever had an issue with your dishwasher, this will sound familiar.  I’ve dealt with so many dishwashers over the years, and they always seem to have some kind of an issue.  Maybe it’s because of the mix of water and technology, but for whatever reason, these never Read more

Delight Your Customers - 10/22/24


Buddy the Bug Man was different.  His company was new, and the only reason why Janet tried him out was that the service she had used for years just wasn’t working.  Whether it was mosquitoes in the yard, ants in the kitchen, or cockroaches flying through on their way Read more

A More Complete Definition of Responsiveness - 10/15/24


I was purchasing something recently that was being custom-developed.  At one point, the company’s employee and I had a good 20 e-mails going back and forth - 10 from each of us.  Unfortunately, I broke my own rule, and I did not pick up the phone after 2 or Read more

Have a Game Plan to Address Their Anxiety - 10/8/24


It seems like we all get deliveries - whether it is UPS, USPS, FedEx, Amazon, the local courier, or all the above.  We order.  They deliver.  Or do they? It’s times like these, when we’re expecting that package, that item that we’re looking forward to or need urgently or are Read more

How Persistence Saved the Day - 10/1/24


Sherrie saw the customer walk into her store holding his cell phone, and Sherrie immediately knew that was William.  She had spoken to William on the phone about an hour ago, he said he would be at Sherrie’s cell phone store in less than an hour, and there he Read more

Notice the Little Changes - 9/24/24


“My, how times have changed.” Yes, times have changed.  As a matter of fact, one of the biggest reasons why an organization’s customer service deteriorates is that times have changed…customers have changed…and the company has not… If we think about customer service delivery today v. decades ago, changes in technology alone Read more

Don’t Hurry…Be Quick - 9/17/24


No, this is not a take off on the Bobby McFerrin song:  Don’t Worry Be Happy. It’s actually a take off on the John Wooden quote:  Be quick, but don’t hurry. When I read Wooden’s book with this title, I liked the concept, and not just because John Wooden was a Read more

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7 Tips to Help You Retain More Customers and More $$

Posted on October 12, 2011 in Business Advice Please leave a comment

Since the road to financial prosperity for any business is paved with your customer’s dollars, the question is how do you gain more dollars?

The best way to have those prosperity-paving dollars tomorrow is to retain today’s customers. So here are 7 quick tips to retain and grow your business with existing customers:

1) When you make the sale, ask the customer why they bought from you. This allows them to tell you why they’re a customer, and probably why they’d buy again.

2) At least annually, ask the customer why they would continue to buy from you, or ask why they’d leave. This will tell you their retention drivers.

3) Act on the answers to the first two questions.

4) State to your customers what they can expect in terms of their experience with you. Clearly say “you’ll get this…in this timeframe…in this way…from these people…at this level of quality, etc.” Stating expectations for the customer ensures you have a better chance of meeting those expectations.

5) Become great at delivering a reality (with your people, processes, and services) that meet or exceed those expectations.

6) Thank the customer…repeatedly. When they enter your store, when they complete the purchase, and in follow-up communications after the sale. Customers want to feel appreciated.

7) Have specific methods of dealing with customer issues when they arise, and train staff on how to handle the irate customer and apply those methods when a customer is upset. As we’ve said before, when there’s a complaint, speed of resolution is a top priority.

Want to retain more customers and their money? Become great in these 7 facets of 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/

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


Your Name Matters in Customer Loyalty

Posted on September 14, 2011 in Business Advice Please leave a comment

Results of a recent Zogby463 poll of bank customers showed that “69 percent of respondents said that their customer loyalty is positively affected by tellers recognizing them by name when they walked into a bank.” The poll appears to have been commissioned by a video intelligence company that is trying to sell their technology to help staff identify customers’ names.

While I won’t talk about the technology itself, let’s talk about the finding itself. Over 2/3rd of customers say that their relationship with a bank is positively impacted by their merely being recognized and called by name. WOW! That’s a huge percentage for such a small and easy aspect of the customer experience.

Remember the television show Cheers? The theme song said “You want to go where everyone knows…your name.”

There’s a great truth in that, and that truth has a financial impact.

Many employees are taught to say “Yes, Sir” or “Thank You, Ma’am.” Staff are taught to introduce themselves by providing their name. But how many staff are taught to ask the customer’s name and to use the customer’s name? How many work to remember the customer’s name on their next visit to the store?

Your name matters. By asking your name, using your name, and remembering your name, the employee is conveying that YOU MATTER.

Make sure your company and staff are intentional about learning, using, and remembering your customer’s name. Don’t just assume it’s happening.

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


Construct Great Customer Service

Posted on August 24, 2011 in Business Advice, World of Customer Service Please leave a comment

You wouldn’t normally look for customer service articles in a construction magazine, but that’s exactly what we found in ConstructionWeekOnline.com. The article talks about two companies which are revamping their customer service training – for technical staff. This is training targeting engineers, automotive/trucking fleet service technicians, and other staff working on automobiles.

The companies realize that technical training on a trade only addresses part of the employee’s job. If the employee has to interact with customers, they need to have training on how to effectively communicate and serve as well.

This training is done for two reasons according to execs – raise standards and improve customer retention.

So this is an automotive/trucking company investing in training for engineers and mechanics to improve communications, satisfaction, performance, and customer retention. So it’s being done for the dollars, which is absolutely fine.

Training on customer service techniques should not be done out of some feeling of altruism. It should be done because it impacts the customer’s opinions, buying patterns, and referral patterns. In other words, it impacts a company’s bottom line.

The next time you think about how to improve the bottom line, ask yourself “How can I make ALL my staff more effective in front of the customer?”

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/


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