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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...

A Service Comparison

Customers patronize many different companies, some small, some large.  But customers do not differentiate between them when comparing their experiences as customers: every company is measured against the performance of all the rest.  This means it is especially important for us to not only compete against our marketplace competitors, because every industry is our competitor Keep Reading...

When Working For a Company Means Working For the Customer

There are very few positions in business that are as counter intuitively aligned as customer service.  We may be employed by the company, but our primary focus must be on taking care of the customer.  We are akin to serving as ombudsmen and our duty is to protect the interests of our customers so that Keep Reading...

Scripted Service Can Backfire

[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"] Photo credit: Say_No_To_Turtles "It's a great day at Wendy's Widgets!  How may we serve you?"  If this is what you first hear upon calling a customer service department, you're likely Keep Reading...

How to Surprise Your Customers

[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"] Photo by Daderot Where do you expect to find great customer service?  A high end hotel?  Definitely.  A fancy restaurant?  Of course.  A big department store?  Absolutely.  What about the Keep Reading...

If the Customer is Always Right, Do This

The age old adage of "the customer is always right" is thrown around a lot in conversations about how to provide great service, but what does it mean in reality?  What are concrete ways to show a customer that she's always right? Tiffany recently switched telecommunications providers.  She made the move from a big, national Keep Reading...

How to Fix a Customer Mistake

There are certainly a good number of cases that come through customer service because customers' errors have created problems for them or another company has dropped the ball, leaving them in a bind. They then reach out to us, hoping that something can be done in order to fix the situation. While not every case Keep Reading...

How Agile is Your Business?

"Our business in life is not to get ahead of others, but to get ahead of ourselves, to break our own records, to outstrip our yesterday by our today." --Stewart B Johnson In life, some organizations are like battleships: they make turns gradually over time.  Others are more like motorcycles, easily zipping left or right Keep Reading...

Are You Maximizing the Holiday Season?

The beginning of the holiday season is upon us! In addition to endless opportunities to buy both[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"] Photo courtesy of Teo Halloween candy AND a giant, inflatable snowman in the same Keep Reading...

Can Bad Service Spell Disaster?

[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"] Photo courtesy of Stu Pendousmat Is customer service THAT important? Could poor customer service bring down a well-known brand that had worked so hard to establish itself? Could one customer-service snafu Keep Reading...