The Holidays Are Here

I use a credit card for many business purchases. Since I travel a lot, this means quite a bit of money is charged throughout the year. Therefore, I was pleased when my bank had a local hotel deliver a 'basket of goodies' to our home during the holidays. The card attached thanked us for our support, and looked forward to another year of providing beneficial service.

Whine, Moan & Complain - Then Contribute!

Every month I receive messages from students and readers that begin, 'I got such terrible service from...' and often close, '...and I'll never go back there again!' I find these stories upsetting, occasionally entertaining, but rarely are they motivating or instructive. Here's why:

But Everybody Knows About it

Over time, many facts do change including phone numbers, features, stocking codes, availability, prices, procedures, packages, prerequisites and more. If you don't keep them up to date, your customers will find the errors, and feel the pain.

A Well-Informed Customer is a

Customer participation is a key to achieving high levels of loyalty and satisfaction. Earn this participation by giving your customers the information, education and motivation they need. Do it at the right time, in the right amount, at the right place and in the most engagingly effective manner. (Hint to pharmacists and doctors: a little sticker on the bottle isn’t it.)

Positive, Proactive Communication

Whether you are in education, marketing, retail, logistics, government service, entertainment or insurance, communicating positively and proactively with your clients makes sense.

Don’t Let Your Systems Drive Your Customers Crazy!

Customers are often frustrated by standardized and inflexible policies. This may cause your customers to fume in frustration, but the rest of your staff and system may quietly conspire to silence the voice of complaining customers. You have to make an effort to really listen.

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.

In the Spirit of Service

To offer the spirit of service, look beyond your customer's request to identify their true concerns. What you can offer may be different, and more effective, than what they have requested. Listen for unspoken needs, not just spoken words.

Give a Gift That Gives Again

Giving a 'free gift' to your existing customers may be appreciated, but may also become expected. Giving them a free gift to share with someone else can be a unique surprise for both.

Service Begins in Sales, New Sales Begin in Service

For more sales, better service, happier customers and employees, get Sales and Service working hand in hand. Customers experience both sides – each should support the other.

Top Customer Service Speaker Says: You Revoke Customer Entitlements at Your Peril

If a customer is used to VIP treatment, receiving a perk, year after year, such as attending a nice event, it becomes part of his routine, like a family outing, and it’s something he counts on. In this article, Dr. Gary S. Goodman, President of Customersatisfaction.com, best-selling author, top speaker and consultant writes from personal experience to show just how damaging and costly it is to delete customer entitlements.

Service Encounters of the Third Kind

What makes a company successful over the long, long term? What characterizes the service relationship between companies and customers who do business together for decades, even generations? How can your company stay close to your ...

How Hot is Our Service?

Excellent service quality training is important, and sometimes a classroom is the best place to provide it. But training should be always supported by a work environment that generates...