Setting the Standard

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Common Barriers to Improvement

When a company comes to the realization that it's strayed from its core values or desired customer experience, it often results in a new push for its employees to reconnect with customers and to provide better service.  This sounds simple enough, but why is it so hard for this approach to succeed?  Common missteps in Keep Reading...

3 Happy Customer Themes

In tales of happy customer service experiences, there are common themes.  Let's take a look at a sample of stories shared to Reddit by customers about noteworthy experiences they've had. Michael-Bell shared a story about an experience with tech support.  Rather than proving to be a frustrating, drawn out experience, he was delighted by the Keep Reading...

Who Has Time for That?

Customers don't have time to waste. Efficiency is key. News article after news article talks about the diminished amount of time the average American has these days.  It's a pervasive problem that squeezes every single corner of their lives, so the last thing a customer wants to do is invest time they already don't have Keep Reading...

Loyalty – It’s a Two Way Street

When we're speaking about business, if you ask people to fill in the blank of ______ loyalty, they'll say "Customer Loyalty" nine times out of ten.  But what's even more important is a company's loyalty, as it is a necessity in order to build an organization worthy of its customers' loyalty. A customer will never Keep Reading...

What to do When the Point of Service Fails

Another name for a customer service representative is simply: Fixer.  Our job centers around fixing customer problems.  Sometimes they are problems with the product, or the website, or a return.  But other times, they are problems customers have experienced at the point of sale or service.  It is our duty to handle these situations with Keep Reading...

Why Customers Expect Communication

"I just made a big purchase: a car.  The caveat was that they had to find one with my selected options, so it was a drawn out experience.  And while I was very excited about the final product, the process was really stressful because I never knew what was going on or when things should Keep Reading...

Setting the Standard: A Lowe’s Employee Sits Down

A woman in Wilkesboro, North Carolina is the proud owner of Baxter, a special needs rescue dog.  Baxter requires the assistance of a doggy wheelchair and, when his owner, Amy Jo Martin, decided to upgrade his chair with an anti-tip wheel, she headed to Lowe's for ideas as well as parts. Ms. Martin asked at Keep Reading...

Businesses’ New Battle Ground

As customers' buying behavior rapidly changes, businesses are constantly encountering new competitors.  It used to be that brick and mortar stores predominately competed with other brick and mortar retailers, but online retailers are increasingly competing for customers' attention and dollars (and vice versa) as the lines between the two categories blur.  So what can companies Keep Reading...

How Heidi Does Service

In customer service stories, we often hear about exceptional circumstances that compel a representative to provide service far out of the norm.  But, like we've frequently discussed, quality service has to be consistently pursued day in and day out.  Heidi, who works for the grocer Trader Joe's, shared her approach to ensuring a constant delivery Keep Reading...

Service Stories That Will Make You Smile

A lot of stories about great customer service focus on grand gestures, but it is the sustained, day to day delivery of good deeds that make a company's service reputation excellent.  We asked people this week to share an excellent experience they have had or heard about and these are the simple but lovely responses Keep Reading...