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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

Affirming the Customer with Empathy - 4/14/26


We’ve spoken and written about empathy for the 20+ years of these customer service tips, noting empathy as the most important quality any individual can have if they want to be great at customer service.  We’ve shared that - in order to serve our customers most effectively – it’s Read more

The Power of Teaching While Helping - 4/7/26


If you’re trying to develop a relationship with the customer rather than just simply handling their transaction and moving on, you are taking a long-term view.  You realize that that individual is someone you want to keep with your business for months or years to come, so it’s a Read more

Bear with Me - 3/31/26


As a customer, you’ve probably called a company and heard the phrase “bear with me.”  At that point, you know there’s going to be some sort of delay.  The CSR is giving you a heads up that there’s going to be additional wait time.  Essentially, they are trying to Read more

Slowing Down the Fast Talker - 3/24/26


Jeffrey had always been told by his manager to figure out the issue quickly and wrap up the conversation as fast as possible.  So, Jeffrey was hyper-focused at finding that one key word that could identify the issue and help him to transition quickly to what might be some possible Read more

Don’t Bury the Lede - 3/17/26


Mary was working at the office, and she received an e-mail alert from the water company.  There was a water outage in her neighborhood.  It looked like it was going to be a couple hours to fix the issue. Sure enough, a few hours later around mid-afternoon, Mary received another Read more

Confirm the Real Issue Before You Start Solving - 3/10/26


Have you ever gone “down the rabbit hole?”  It involves going deep into some topic, some discussion – with analysis that creates complexity as much as it resolves it.  And that dive into the rabbit hole often starts with a simple question. Going down that rabbit hole takes time and Read more

One Question to Prevent a Follow-up Call - 3/3/26


The way some performance metrics work, you would think companies would prefer for their staff to talk to the same customer 4 times on the same topic for 8 minutes each rather than talking to them once for 10 minutes.  Many management metrics are too focused on average length Read more

Stay Calm When the Customer Isn’t - 2/24/26


There are all sorts of others’ emotions that you have to deal with as a customer service professional.  The other person could be anxious or upset, they could be angry or agitated.  It can run the gamut of emotions, but for you to deal with them in the best Read more

Don’t Begin with the Dead End in Mind - 2/17/26


Habit #2 of Stephen Covey’s “Seven Habits of Highly Successful People” is “Begin with the End in Mind.”  It speaks to the need to have a clear vision or goal for what you’re trying to ultimately achieve, so you understand the purpose of what you’re doing.  It helps you Read more

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It’s Not About the 5-Minute Wait – 3/12/24

Posted on March 12, 2024 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

Robert went into his supervisor’s office to update her on a situation at the payment desk.  Robert said that a customer was about fourth or fifth in line, waiting to be served, and the customer was complaining loudly about the wait.  He was there to make a property tax payment, had been standing there for 5 minutes, and the line had not hardly moved.

The supervisor, Janice, came out of her office, saw the customer, and listened to him from a distance for about 10 seconds. Janice turned to Robert and said:  It’s not about the 5-minute wait.

Robert and Janice walked up to the customer to speak with him, and they took the customer to the side, away from the rest of the group. They chatted with him about his situation, and Janice was right.

The customer had to be at work in 15 minutes, and he was a 15-minute drive from his job. He was going to be late.

His mapping app on his phone had directed him to the right building, but the parking spaces were full. So, he had to find another parking area – which was a block away.  That took five more minutes of driving and a 6-7 minute walk to get to the building.

The man lived 20 minutes from this building, so, he had left his home a long time ago to get to this location on time, to make his payment on time, and to get to his job on time.

He actually had to make the payment in person, because the County’s web payment portal was down, and the payment was due today.

Robert just assumed it was an impatient customer raising a ruckus.  Janice didn’t make any assumptions, and – after witnessing the customer from afar for a few seconds – she was pretty sure something else was going on.

When a customer is making a big deal about something that doesn’t seem so big, consider that maybe it’s not about the 5-minute wait.  Show a willingness to ask, listen, and learn.

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Lessons from the Greats – 3/5/24

Posted on March 5, 2024 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

I was recently facilitating a workshop on the customer experience, and I made the point that it’s usually beneficial to look at your personal life for great experiences; identify what really resonates with you in a positive way in order to uncover ideas to improve your own customer service.

So, I asked the participants:  What companies are great at customer service? What organizations deliver an excellent customer experience?

There were a lot of the usual companies named such as Chick-fil-A, Disney, Trader Joe’s, and some local grocery store chains, as well.

Then the key question was asked:  What makes them great?

Answers dealt with making a great first impression – with the greeting or the welcome.  There were comments about the short wait times or at least the perception of short waits.  They talked about how consistently high quality the service was, the people were, the experience was for the average customer.  And they talked about predictability.

Predictability is not something often talked about during discussions of great customer service.  There’s so much discussion in the customer service world about delighting customers, the Wow Experience (that surprisingly wonderful and unexpected experience), that we forget that most customers want some predictability.

They want to know that they’re going to be treated with respect.  They want the process to be quick, simple, self-evident.  And they want an experience that is consistent with examples of great service they’ve had in the past.

Predictability isn’t boring.  However, it is difficult.  That means that regardless of what employee or what process, your company has its own way of addressing the customer need, finding a solution, and having the most positive engagement possible.

The next time you’re looking for ways to improve, look at organizations that you consider to be great at customer service.  Identify those actions they do consistently well, those things that are predictable.  Then, find ways to make your engagement as consistent and positive as possible.

Engage like the titans of customer service – be predictably great!

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Change on the Fly – 5/30/23

Posted on May 30, 2023 in Customer Service Tip of the Week Please leave a comment

Situational service requires some advanced engagement skills.  It involves seeing each situation independent of any others, reading the moment, and changing on the fly to create the best possible customer experience and outcomes.  So, what are some keys to situational service?  Keep these guiding principles in mind:

Start Open-minded: When the customer engages you, avoid assumptions about them and their situation.  Don’t let the first impression cloud what might be the deeper issue or need, the background of the situation, the person themselves.  It’s more effective to start by being open, and then narrow the focus after gathering information; it’s less effective to start with a preconceived notion, and then have to later backtrack or restart the conversation.

Gauge the Emotion: While we focus on words, since that conveys much of the specifics of a situation, the emotions can convey how they feel about the issue or need.  Note in their tone and body language, specifically, how they feel so that you can use that information to determine how to handle the situation.

Uncover the Urgency: Determine whether time is a concern, whether that’s in-the-moment or for the final resolution.  That time consideration will help you to understand their feelings better, but it will also help you to understand whether to respond by reiterating timing and next steps, or to focus more on their feelings and solution options.

Adjust to the Situation: The first 3 guiding principles ensure you get the information you need (the facts, their emotions, and time considerations) to handle the situation most effectively.  Now, adjust.  Settle them down first, addressing any anxiety, anger, confusion, or upset with the right technique for the emotion, or move directly to the issue and solutions if the negative emotions aren’t present.  Be patient if they care more about the conversation and the process, or quickly get to the point if there’s urgency involved.

When you’re engaged with the customer, get the facts, gauge the emotions, and clarify times.  Then focus on providing the best service for the situation.

To excel in service, develop your ability to change on the fly.

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