An Upgrade is Usually Worse, At First

If you are upgrading or changing your service in ways that affect your customers, send them advance warning and acknowledge openly what everyone already knows: things go wrong, upgrades take time, it takes effort to locate and iron out the wrinkles.

Tweak Your Customer or Tweak Your System?

The purpose of your staff and system is to serve your customers better. When customers make requests outside normal procedures, your job is to tweak the system, not the customer.

The Positive Power of Competition

Vigorous competition may be the best thing that ever happened to customer service. It wakes people up and makes them serve you better.

What does a Thank You Cost? What is it Worth?

Two simple words: Thank You can make your day and someone else's day much brighter - but they can also be good business builders.

IT Consulting Services - Offer What Your Prospects Need

IT consulting services come in all shapes and sizes. Offer IT consulting services that cover both the basic fixes and the long term solutions, and make yourself an invaluable asset to the businesses for which you provide IT consulting services.

Customer Satisfaction is a Rearview Mirror

What is the difference between customer satisfaction and customer loyalty? One package delivery company uses a regular survey to measure customer satisfaction...

Why Quality Assurance is Not Enough

How can a company produce zero-defect products, boast dramatic cycle-time reductions, be certified for consistent, reliable performance...and still lose valuable customers?

Is Your Survey Worth My Time?

A manufacturer complains that his customers rarely return the satisfaction surveys he sends out. A leading resort gets back just 30% of the comment cards left for guests inside their fancy rooms. One government agency had a response rate of only 6% when they sent out an 11-page survey. What’s going on here? Why is the...

I Want to Speak to a Supervisor, Part 2

Empowerment is intelligent fuel for creating self-motivated staff who will love the customers, love their jobs – and love working with you!

Should You Crack the Tough Nuts?

I’ve learned something over the years: Some people do not want to be won over – and that’s OK. Now I focus on the ...

Keep Your Suppliers Eager With a 70/30 Split

To keep your suppliers on their toes, try this smart tip I learned from the Group Purchasing Manager of Asia Pacific Breweries. Whenever he contracts to purchase items from more than one supplier, he gives one vendor 70% of the total purchase, while a second vendor gets 30%. And he tells them both...

Cross-Town Collaboration

Old boundaries can become open borders for creative cooperation. If working together produces more convenience or value for the customer, then pursue the new partnership with vigor...

1,500 Puzzle Pieces... Minus One!

When things go wrong, your best recovery effort is required. But don't just provide the missing piece (that's the recovery), also provide unique personal assistance (that is the memorable effort).