Want to Improve Service? Improve Phone Manners

Even as more and more service issues get routed through digital channels, interaction with customers over the phone is still at the very heart of customer service.  A lot of providing that service relies on the extensive training representatives get on both the company and its products and the adoption of the corporate culture.  However, Keep Reading...

Can You Answer My Question?

Have you ever browsed a catalog or a website and had a basic, maybe frivolous question about an item?  Did you call customer service for assistance or did you try to come up with the answer on your own?  Chances are, you did the latter, and your customers may be as well.  But being a Keep Reading...

What Does Dependable Service Look Like?

When cases come across our desks, they are not always issues that can be neatly wrapped up in one contact.  But with repeatedly delaying resolution for these cases, how do we stay squarely in the positive view of our customers?  It is quite simple: by being reliable.  But what does dependability look like when we Keep Reading...

Noticing What They Need

"It's the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen."  --John Wooden How often do we get sidetracked by the big things in customer service that we forget to pay attention to the little things?  It is certainly important to hear and respond to what our customers contact us for assistance with, Keep Reading...

Becoming the Standard: L.L.Bean

Just over 100 years ago, Leon Leonwood Bean began what we today know as L.L.Bean, a company with one of the most well-respected reputations for outstanding customer service.  But how does a company exist for over 100 years and maintain this stellar reputation, especially when it began with an utter failure of its first product?  Keep Reading...

Through the Eyes of Our Customers: Mapping Customer Experiences

If our goal is to provide our customers with an excellent experience from the moment they come into contact with our company until the time they complete their transaction, we have to invest time and energy into seeing things from our customers' perspectives. Have you ever visited a new town and looked for a destination Keep Reading...

The Public Clock is Ticking!

There's an important shift happening in the word of customer service.  Have you heard about it? [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent="yes" overflow="visible"][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type="1_1" background_position="left top" background_color="" border_size="" border_color="" border_style="solid" spacing="yes" background_image="" background_repeat="no-repeat" padding="" margin_top="0px" margin_bottom="0px" class="" id="" animation_type="" animation_speed="0.3" animation_direction="left" hide_on_mobile="no" center_content="no" min_height="none"] Image by Julian Lim Gone are the days when a company could quietly track Keep Reading...

The Hidden Beauty of a Complaint

“Failure is only the opportunity to begin again, only this time more wisely.” - Henry Ford In our world of customer service, we are understandably focused on keeping our customers happy. We work tirelessly to create good policies, hire and train good employees, and treat our customers well. It's easy to perceive complaints from loyal Keep Reading...

I Stepped into Customer Service and Here’s What Happened

As our businesses grow, our attention gets pulled to new areas. Company growth, product offerings, partnerships, behind the scenes housekeeping... it all eats into the time we originally spent on the front lines, interacting with our customers, solving their problems, and answering their questions. I recently realized how very long it had been since I Keep Reading...

Moving in the Right Direction

[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent="yes" overflow="visible"][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type="1_1" background_position="left top" background_color="" border_size="" border_color="" border_style="solid" spacing="yes" background_image="" background_repeat="no-repeat" padding="" margin_top="0px" margin_bottom="0px" class="" id="" animation_type="" animation_speed="0.3" animation_direction="left" hide_on_mobile="no" center_content="no" min_height="none"] Image credit: RM Media Ltd. A seamless customer service experience is not simply born overnight. It is something that is continually worked on, forever moving us closer to excellence. We Keep Reading...