3-6-12 - Surprise Them With 5 Statements
A surprise is when you expect "A" and get "B". Many customers don't like surprises (most want their reality to meet their expectation). However, sometimes their expectations are so low, that a surprise question or statement is a really good surprise. Try these 5 simple surprise statements with customers... See the Full Tip

2-28-12 - Look Outside Yourself to Learn
We wrote the Ritz-Carlton. We shopped at Nordstrom. We sent a book to the Chick-fil-A founder. Why? To learn. CSS is a... See the Full Tip

2-21-12 - Going from Good-to-Great
We have a hospital client that is just flat out good at customer service and patient care. In most areas, they are consistently high in comparative rankings for patient satisfaction, and they're very diligent in working with us on an ongoing basis to identify Quarterly Action Plans to continually improve. But after a couple years... See the Full Tip

2-14-12 - You'll Have to Come Back
When Angie went to Frank's Copy/Ship Store, this was her first experience in years at Frank's - and she was dreading it. Angie needed some binding done quickly, she needed the item shipped, and she needed to avoid the hassle she had experienced repeatedly in the past at Frank's that led her to find alternative sources of binding and shipping. But she had no alternatives... See the Full Tip

2-7-12 - Prepare Yourself to Help
We've noted before how the employees who perform best in mystery shops are typically those staff who are inquisitive. They ask enough questions to know what the customer is requesting as specifically as possible to address that request right the first time. But to be inquisitive, it helps to... See the Full Tip

1-31-12 - Don't Start from Scratch
Even though we work with many customer service-minded organizations, we also work with many organizations that are much more sales/marketing-focused. When we work with customer service-minded clients, we sometimes learn... See the Full Tip

1-24-12 - Know When and How to Back Out
Their face is red, and you can feel your temperature rising. Their voice is loud, and you can hear yours changing. Their arms are flailing, and you can feel yours tense up. They're the complaining customer, and you're the employee. As crazy as some customers get, you have to decide whether they're bad enough for you to back out of the conversation... See the Full Tip

1-17-12 - 9 Key Words in Customer Service
In a pre-training survey conducted with a client, one of the biggest areas where staff scored themselves lowest was thinking about the words they choose. In other words, it wasn't that the point they make to customers and co-workers is wrong or negative, but the words they choose do not convey the right message or tone. Frequently use these 9 Key Words... See the Full Tip

1-10-12 - Brand It!
Last week, I met with an executive about customer service issues at his business. After discussing his concerns, he then described the experience that he would like every customer to receive. He talked about how to greet, listen, the smile, the attentiveness, the sense of urgency in helping, and the questions to guide the discussion. He mentioned several different characteristics of customer engagement, and he painted a positive picture of building rapport and relationships with each encounter. He then asked me how to get every employee to start serving the customer in the same consistent manner... See the Full Tip

1-3-12 - Refrain from Blame
One of the biggest mistakes I see people make when dealing with a complaint or an irate/upset customer is to get off-topic. What I mean is that - in these situations - there are mainly two topics that count - the issue and the solution. I'm not saying that emotions aren't important... See the Full Tip

12-27-11 - Treat Them All Like a VIP
Sarah, an account representative with the pro basketball team, was called by her boss (Frank) and told that a VIP was attending the night's game. Sarah was told that this "Very Important Person" would have access to Suite 312, and she should just make sure he had a good time. It would be real obvious which one was the VIP. But before Sarah could get more details... See the Full Tip

12-20-11 - 2011 Holiday Poem
As you run into the store Or your click on the retail site, As you whisper to a co-worker "Where are you going shopping tonight?" As you ready for travel out of town Know your rush is one that can calm down. Move away from the rush that we are in Using the patience that we were given.... See the Full Tip

12-13-11 - Customer v. Co-worker – You Make the Call
So Maria went into the retail store to pick up some items that were being altered. Three employees were there socializing as Maria walked up, and one of them smiled at Maria and asked "Can I help you?" Maria said that she was there to pick up some items, and handed a tag to the employee. All the while... See the Full Tip

12-6-11 - Don’t Get Married to Your Register
Standing in an airport at 6:50 a.m. is not the most exciting proposition. There I was - eyes glazed over from a lack of sleep, back hurting from having crammed everything possible into one carryon suitcase, and head out of sorts about having to basically undress to go through the security scanner and then redress - making sure I didn't forget anything... See the Full Tip

11-29-11 - How to be Proactive
We constantly talk to clients about the need to be proactive with customers. Don't just be reactive, waiting for the customer to ask questions or to complain. Instead, go to the customer, anticipate their needs, suggest something to them.But many of us, frankly, don't know how to be proactive... See the Full Tip

11-22-11 - Give Thanks
The prolific writer was winding down his career, and his health was starting to fail. He had almost completed his last book titled "What People Want in Life," so he took a break to just sit in his office and look through some letters that he had received from some of his most loyal readers. One letter had a particularly positive impact on him... See the Full Tip

11-15-11 - Preparing Yourself for Change
With this economy, with the focus you and I have on customer service and retention, with all the external challenges impacting organizations and the internal cultural stresses they create, to use a cliché - the one constant is change. When you are going through change, it's beneficial for you to ... See the Full Tip

11-8-11 - The Technical Road to Empathy
When we've spoken about empathy in customer service previously, we defined empathy as being understanding of the other person and conveying that understanding. Customers want to feel important, and your ability to convey that they are important is based on your ability to communicate well through your body language and tone of voice. But - to get real specific (almost technical)... See the Full Tip

11-1-11 - They Didn’t Ask Us
We've heard many complaints over the years from employees about systems that they use where there's double-data entry because the applications "don't talk." We've heard staff complain about processes that were supposed to make their lives easier but just caused more work. We've heard stories about getting late notice on policy changes or about new programs which didn't address the root cause of morale problems. Oftentimes, we'll ask the employees... See the Full Tip

10-25-11 - The Single Greatest Customer Service Skill
I have worked with many individuals who have great attitudes; they're friendly, pleasant, and they truly care about their customers and what they need. Likewise, I've worked with individuals who are exceptionally knowledgeable about their service, how to resolve problems, about the details unique to each client. In short, I've had the pleasure to work with... See the Full Tip

10-18-11 - Pro Sports and Beyond...Knowledge-based Renewals
CSS has done a tremendous amount of work over the years with professional sports organizations, helping them to improve retention and growth of existing fans and season ticket holders. But the principles and strategies we've designed for them can apply to virtually any organization. Here are just some of the key actions we suggest to maximize year-to-year retention and growth with existing clients... See the Full Tip

10-11-11 - How to Identify Customer Expectations
One customer service statistic we often recite is that 40% of customer dissatisfaction was because the company didn't meet the customer's expectations. Maybe the company overpromised and under delivered, or the company may just not have done the bare minimum of what the customer expected. Therefore, to avoid dissatisfying your customer, meet or exceed their expectation. Simple, right?... See the Full Tip

10-4-11 - Sales and Service - An Ugly Example
So they wanted to sell me something. Or at least that's what I thought. The vendor sent me an e-mail and followed-up with a voice mail on the same topic. It was something we may need, so I responded to the voice mail and requested more information. Then the following happened... See the Full Tip

9-27-11 - Do the Right Thing
This tip has nothing to do with movie producer Spike Lee. Although it would be interesting to hear his take on this topic and to see what kind of movie he might make. Jimmy is a sales and service rep. He wears two hats - one trying to bring the business in, and the other trying to manage the accounts he brings in to retain them over time... See the Full Tip

9-20-11 - Have an Employee Focus Group of 1
This has been the year of focus groups for CSS. It seems like more this year than in the last several years past, we've been asked to conduct employee level focus groups for clients. We've been in front of front-line staff in many industries from healthcare to government to education, and when we're asking for positives and negatives, many of the communications focus on their managers and supervisors. And while these employee focus groups are great for gathering information on the organization, it's also a good time for employees to focus on themselves... See the Full Tip

9-13-11 - Can I Pay You to Quit Your Job?
Zappos. This online retailer offers employees money to leave the company - to quit their job... See the Full Tip

9-6-11 - Don't Let Bad Weeds Ruin the Customer Landscape
It was that time of year when you aerate your yard, and I had bought some grass seed to use in the process. A couple neighbors and I were going to rent an aerator and do the job ourselves on an upcoming Saturday. However, I received a call on my cell phone from the company that comes out and spreads chemicals on the lawn four or five times a year, and they were offering to aerate and seed my lawn. I had never spoken to this particular employee before, but I was happy to talk with him since I had a good relationship with this service. We'll call the employee Josh. This is how the conversation went... See the Full Tip

8-30-11 - Use BPM for Great Customer Service
A business acronym that is becoming more of a buzzword lately is BPM. BPM stands for business process management. This is a management approach where best practice methods of engaging the customer, processing information, communicating and delivering services internally are identified. Then those best practices are turned into standard operating procedures for the organization. We often say that customer service stems from two things, in particular... See the Full Tip

8-23-11 - Technically Correct, but a Poor Experience
The family had just been seated by the hostess at the restaurant, and they began to look over their menus. As they were chatting, someone said "What would you like to drink?" A server had walked up, and those were the first words out of his mouth. It wasn't the most upbeat voice, but it was a question he needed to ask. He could have greeted the family, apologized for interrupting, stated his name, smiled, and spoken with an upbeat voice. What he did was technically correct (he asked the question he was supposed to ask), but it was a poor experience... See the Full Tip

8-16-11 - Nothing for Free. . .Really?
My family got a new dog - a Labrador Retriever mix. Let me start this tip by acknowledging that I know NOTHING about dogs. We have cats, a recently acquired gerbil, some fish with very short lives. But no dogs. Enter the trainer. See the Full Tip

8-9-11 - New Age Strategic Planning
When organizations talk about Strategic Planning, they usually talk about some kind of a long-range plan that will be implemented over 3 to 5 years. While it's important to know where you're going long-term and have plans to accomplish that, it's equally important to make sure that you create an organization that is focused on continuous improvement. Try to create an organization that is focused on accepting, wanting, and planning for change. Think about 90-day plans... See the Full Tip

8-2-11 - The Bar is Not That High
We completed a mystery shopping engagement for one of our clients, and the results were generally very positive. The staff responded to 100% of the e-mails that we sent to them. They responded in one business day to almost 90% of the e-mails. They answered the shopper's question every single time... See the Full Tip

7-26-11 - A Note, a Call, and a Few Simple Words
One of our clients is a hospital in North Carolina. After we started working with them, addressing different aspects of Service Excellence and ensuring customer satisfaction during the stay, the hospital came up with an idea. We cannot take credit for this; it's just a great idea that they implemented. At the end of a hospital stay for an inpatient, the nursing staff will write a short Thank You note and provide it to the patient and their family members. It's a personal Thank You to the customer for allowing that nurse and those staff to trust them with the patient's care... See the Full Tip

7-19-11 - Don’t Just Hear…Listen
While many people think that hearing and listening are essentially the same thing, there are actually distinct differences between the two. It's important to go beyond hearing what somebody says if you want to truly convey that you care about what they're saying. You hear a noise. You hear a ding. You hear a shout. You hear the laugh. But when you're listening, you're not only hearing the noise, but you are also understanding the customer and conveying that understanding. See the Full Tip

7-12-11 - Why Retention is a Year-Round Effort
We work with many different professional sports organizations, and when we are helping them to develop and implement renewal strategies, one of the most important points we convey is that renewing a season-ticket holder is a year-round activity. Most organizations view renewal of contracts or agreements as something that's done at a point in time. It's when the lease is up. It's when the contract expires. It's when that new season is getting ready to unfold... See the Full Tip

7-5-11 - Freedom to Deliver Great Customer Service
In this July 4 week in the United States, we often are reflecting on the freedoms that we have and are appreciative of how they allow us to live the kind of life that we think is important and valuable. In the world of customer service, we have many freedoms even though we are sometimes feeling constrained by the policies or by the scripts or by the priorities set for us by others... See the Full Tip

6-28-11 - Don't be a Brick Wall
When a customer has a need or - in particular, an issue - you shouldn't just read their body language and listen to their tone of voice. You need to realize that they are also reading you. They are looking for how you're responding to them even beyond the words that you use... See the Full Tip

6-21-11 - Is That Correct?
One way that you can save time when interacting with a customer is to make sure that you address their need or request correctly the first time. If you did not get all the information up front or you made an assumption, or you got some of the facts wrong, you can spend a lot of time backtracking and having to go in a different direction to find an answer, to give a resolution, to address a need or an issue... See the Full Tip

6-14-11 - Think Like a First-time Customer
When the patient walked into the clinic, their anxiety was immediately reduced. There were warm colors and comfortable chairs, the staff had smiles, and the fish tank promoted a sense of calm. When the sports fan walked into the arena with ticket in hand... See the Full Tip

6-7-11 - Why People Love Disney Customer Service
When we ask for examples of companies that have great customer service, one of the names that comes up most frequently is Disney. But why does Disney come to mind? That's the question we always ask next... See the Full Tip

5-31-11 - Customer Service in the Future and in the Present
Oftentimes there are people who become famous for predicting the future. That can be everyone from Nostradamus to some healthcare futurist predicting what's going to happen 20 years from now with our hospitals or healthcare systems. Maybe it's some technology guru who can project out five years about what the World is going to be like from a technology standpoint... See the Full Tip

5-24-11 - Little Sam, the Empathy Man
Based on a true story. . . An elementary school child, Sam, had a friend in school whose grandmother had just passed away. The boy's friend, Audrey, was back in school after being out for several days. Audrey entered the classroom, and she went through the normal routine... See the Full Tip

5-17-11 - Don’t Ignore the Customer’s “Off-Season”
A pro sports league calls the off-season the time from the end of one season until the beginning of another. This is a time for owners, players, and coaches to rest, rethink the past season, take a vacation, and occasionally get into labor disputes about how to split up billions of dollars. . .but I digress... See the Full Tip

5-10-11 - What is a Service Excellence Experience?
I asked a customer service training class several questions that all helped to answer the question "What is a Service Excellence experience?" Here's what they said. . . Smile. Greet people when they enter your business... See the Full Tip

5-3-11 - Where Have They Heard of You?
We have conducted hundreds of surveys over the years. So it's interesting to read the comments from respondents for a given client to begin to see common answers, common threads. In one survey, we ask small businesses... See the Full Tip

4-26-11 - Compete With Yourself
This Tip of the Week is all about you. You are in your role in the organization, and your name is Shannon. You have just found out that another employee was downsized in her area of the organization, but she's been a consistently good employee, so they don't want to lose her. Her name is Sharon... See the Full Tip

4-19-11 - Use the Blank Sheet Exercise
CSS works in several industries that are somewhat similar - healthcare, finance, education, government, etc. They are typically mid-to-large sized businesses with many processes to execute and policies to which to adhere. There are MANY customer interactions occurring each day as well - whether those are on the phone, face-to-face, via e-mail, the web, etc. But one of our core industries... See the Full Tip

4-12-11 - The Next Step
When we work with hospitals on helping improve patient satisfaction, we often end up in discussions about processes. Although a hospital is focused on delivering high quality clinical care and having compassionate staff, much of what frustrates family members, creates anxiety in patients, and causes dissatisfaction with the experience is driven by the service processes. Think of this hospital example, and apply it to your business. See the Full Tip

4-5-11 - Have Your Customer Relationships Become Stale Bread?
How does bread get stale? It’s not a trick question. You don’t have to be a biology major. Just think about it – bread becomes stale if nothing is done with it. It just sits. Nobody makes a sandwich with it. Nobody toasts it and adds butter or jelly. Nobody dips it in some nice Italian spaghetti sauce. It just sits. See the Full Tip

3-29-11 - Are You Doing, or Are You Doing Great?
As a consulting firm, we ask lots of questions of clients and make many recommendations. If we ask about whether they do a specific kind of research or training, the client often says “Yes.” And if they are asked about having a client retention strategy, conducting training, embarking on research, using a process improvement methodology, most businesses will say that they “have” or “do” or “use” these things. But the question we’ve asked is really not the best question to ask. See the Full Tip

3-22-11 - Don’t Allow Some Channels to be Scrambled
I am your every customer. I’m checking out your website. I’m calling you on the phone. I’m entering your place of business. I just sent one of your staff an e-mail. What was my experience on your website, on the phone, at your location, with your e-mail responsiveness? See the Full Tip

3-15-11 - Data-Driven Development of Relationships
In the world of customer service, the reason why account representatives exist is to retain and grow the existing client base. They do this by developing and nurturing relationships with those individuals. But the job is not only a matter of being pleasant with and appreciative of the customer. The job is just as much about prioritizing and managing your time. Most account representatives are dealing with a number of accounts (300, 500, 700) that is so large that no individual can know those account holders as well as they’d like. See the Full Tip

3-8-11 - Why Memories are Beautiful Things
When Jamie walked into the gift shop – it was as great an experience as she had hoped. While she had purchased items via the shop’s website for years, Jamie had never stepped foot in the shop. But when a business trip brought her halfway across the country, she took some time out of her day to go to the shop. Jamie was greeted immediately by Claire, the shop owner. Jamie’s first words were “Hi, I’m Jamie Brooks.” And that’s all she had to say. See the Full Tip

3-1-11 - How an Index Card Can Motivate You
In high school, my social studies teacher passed out index cards, and he asked us to put our names at the top of our card. He then gave us instructions that positively impacted me over the next 15-20 years. He asked us to pass our card to everyone in class, and each person in class was to write a few positive words (typically fewer than 5) about the person. See the Full Tip

2-22-11 - Ask 3 Questions
In today’s world, most organizations of any size have to respond to customer comments, questions, and complaints via the phone, the web, e-mail, and face-to-face. Many more now also respond via Facebook, Twitter, and many other methods. So for an organization to truly be great at customer service, their responses must have consistent quality across all these mediums. See the Full Tip

2-15-11 - Tell Them What You’re Doing for Them
How well did they respect your privacy? You were a patient in a hospital, and now you're answering the patient satisfaction survey. How will you answer this?... See the Full Tip

2-8-11 - Assail Assumptions About Training
We just conducted training for a healthcare client, and although we were training nurses and respiratory therapists (i.e., "care" givers), we were teaching them customer service. These are clinical people who apply technical skills, clinical knowledge, hospital policies, and detailed process steps in the work they do.... See the Full Tip

2-1-11 - Secret Shopper TV
Mary Portas is a British retail brand and marketing expert who has seen her career take an interesting turn - she is on a new show titled "Secret Shopper TV." Yes, secret shopping is not just for the business that wants to see what their customers see. It's now also a reality television show - wow!... See the Full Tip

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