training | Customer Service Solutions, Inc. - Page 18

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Better Customer Service through Better Teamwork - 7/8/25


We spend so much time talking about what great customer service looks like in those 1-on-1 Moments of Truth, that we often neglect to discuss what goes on inside the company that leads to those great moments.  We’ve talked about customer handoffs within an organization, but what does a Read more

Highlight the Hidden Value - 7/1/25


Marketing campaigns often highlight a particular product and ALL the features and extras that the customer will receive… “For 3 low, low payments of only $39.99, you not only get these world-renowned chef knives, but you can also get this free laser-etched spatula!  AND THAT’S NOT ALL!  We will also Read more

Don’t Harp on the Customer’s Mistake - 6/24/25


Seth’s daughter, Sarah, had missed some swim classes, and Seth remembered that the aquatics center had several make-up classes available late in the summer.  So Seth pulled up the class schedule on his phone, found one that worked on his and Sarah’s schedules, and planned to attend a session Read more

Create Customers for Life - 6/17/25


Veronica has gone to the same automotive service shop for at least 20 years.  She bought a new car about a year ago, and this is the third car she’s brought to the shop instead of taking her car to the dealer where she bought it.  She’s had three Read more

Don’t Turn the Customer into the QA Department - 6/10/25


Roberta received a form with information filled in by the company after her conversation with the account rep.  Roberta just needed to review the information, fill in some of the blanks, sign it, and resend it in order to set up a new account. She noticed that the effective date Read more

Imitate to Improve - 6/3/25


Oscar Wilde said that “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.”  Now this doesn’t mean that plagiarism is the sincerest form of flattery.  Nor does it mean that great impersonators such as Rich Little, Dana Carvey, or Frank Caliendo are always offering flattering portrayals of those that they imitate. Wilde’s Read more

How the Customer Perceives a Truth as a Lie - 5/27/25


You’re the customer, you’re asking about an unused item that you’re returning, and you hear the employee say: “The refund process takes 7-10 days.”  You’re thinking: “Great!  I can get the refund check as early as a week from today!”  The reality is that the company means that they’ll Read more

Tell Customers What’s Next - 5/20/25


In most businesses that have been around for a while, how a process was originally designed is not how it currently operates.  Sometimes this change is referred to as “practical drift,” where the actual process moves further and further away from the documented steps over time.  Maybe the changes Read more

Questions to Guide You to Empathy - 5/13/25


“If I was him, I would do ABC…” If you’ve ever heard somebody say this - whether it’s a friend or acquaintance, whether it’s some TV reporter or podcaster - you may get as frustrated or as annoyed as I do. I get annoyed because we are not that other person. Read more

Negate the Nervousness - 5/6/25


The customer needed a loan, so he walked into the bank, but he was a little nervous.  He knew that launching his business would be easier if he had some working capital, but that’s about all he knew.  He was anxious because he didn’t know what to expect in Read more

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The 3rd Time Better be the Charm

Posted on March 3, 2011 in Business Advice, World of Customer Service Please leave a comment

A friend recently relayed this customer service story to me, and food stories are always a special treat! Enjoy!…or at least, Learn…

Twice this weekend I noticed that servers, in their desire to speed up the delivery process (I can only assume) were actually stepping over my words while I was ordering. I’m not a particularly slow orderer, and I haven’t noticed this much before, but it was odd.

Once was at a local sandwich shop. I was ordering the pick two so you have to pick a sandwich, a side, and a soup. I was giving my choices, but before I even got them out of my mouth, the cashier is prompting me for the next thing that I have to decide. I said “and I’d like…” (getting ready to say “a medium drink”), and she interrupted me in mid-sentence to ask if I wanted a drink. I can almost see this occurring if there was a long line behind me, but there was no one else in line. It probably would have even been okay if she was cheery and bubbly or perhaps apologetic, but this young lady was none of those things – not a smile to be found.

The other experience was at a fast food restaurant the next day. I gave my order for the combo; she says “what?” in a terse voice, so then I began to restate my order, and before I could finish restating it, she interrupted by saying “Drink?” I was in the process of telling her that; oh, and, again, there was nobody behind me in line.

These may be perceived as “little things,” but is interrupting others good customer relations? Is being rude good customer service? Is not listening good for repeat business? Is it a good thing to be so task-oriented that you don’t focus on the person for whom you’re doing the task?

Hopefully the 3rd restaurant encounter for my friend will be better, and based on the tone of the story, it probably will be at a different place.

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/


Do Banks Really Care About You?

Posted on March 2, 2011 in Business Advice Please leave a comment

Does your bank care about you? If so, how do you know? How do they treat you differently/better than they treat prospective customers – those they don’t already have locked in to a few accounts?

Results of a recent Ernst & Young survey in Canada suggest that “although banking confidence varies between nations, the “battle” to win new customers is likely to focus on improving customer service.” One of the key quotes from an E&Y exec is “Thirty-four percent of respondents say they receive occasional or absolutely no personalized attention from their banks, making them easy targets for competitive offers … Banks looking to grow and retain their retail customers will need to make big improvements in these two key areas.”

The conclusion about ‘winning new customers’ would have been better stated to ‘keep current customers.’ If 34% get no personal attention, then banks communicate with you no better than they communicate with “Dear Occupant” or “Dear Small Business Owner.” You are generic to them. So this study is clearly a wake-up call to banks, credit unions, and any other business that wants to retain you as a customer.

They need to communicate with you and treat you as an individual, as a person.

CSS consulted for a credit card company once that would send out literally millions of marketing pieces at a time; that may have been a way to attract new customers, but the decision by a customer to become a new customer of a business is often very different than the decision to stay with a business.

Compare how your company treats “suspects” and “prospects” versus current customers, and make sure that you convey that you care about each current customer as an individual, as a person.

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/


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/


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