Customer Service Tips Blog

Common questions people ask me are usually the 5 W's and H of providing exceptional customer service (who, what, where, when, why, and how). My last blog was on what is exceptional customer service? The next several blogs will cover each topic in detail.

Where should exceptional customer service be provided? That seems like an odd question at first. But, it really isn’t. Customers need to receive exceptional customer service everywhere along the customer transaction cycle or throughout the entire customer experience. Read More...

Common questions people ask me are usually the 5 W's and H of providing exceptional customer service (who, what, where, when, why, and how). My last blog was on who should provide exceptional customer service and to whom? The next several blogs will cover each topic in detail.

What is exceptional customer service? Someone said to me once, “I provide a product and not a service so does customer service apply to my business?”  Absolutely – it doesn’t matter if you provide a product or service, for a business to be successful and grow market share, you must provide exceptional customer service. Read More...

Common questions people ask me are usually the 5 W's and H of providing exceptional customer service (who, what, where, when, why, and how). My next several blogs will cover each topic in detail.

Who should provide exceptional customer service and to whom? "Oh, that's the customer service department." is what I hear, but it is not the customer service department. It is Read More...

Unfortunately, most companies seeking customer service training are not the companies who really need it. They are the ones who already know the importance of maintaining and improving their excellent customer service. The people with the, “Ehhh, it’s not that important” attitude are the companies I have people tell me, “Oh, you know XYZ Company could really use your training.” Sometimes the companies who need it don’t know they need it. Read more...

I’ve stayed quiet many years about some of the horrible work situations I have had to endure in toxic company cultures. It's something you think you are not supposed to talk about. It is definitely taboo to talk about on a job interview. But, what are the consequences of poor internal customer service and toxic workplace environments? To understand, let me share some of those stories with you. Read more...

Three weeks ago, I was at a networking event. I met some great business people and I looked forward to making some connections with some of them.

Yesterday, one of those individuals emailed me to set up a more in-depth, one-on-one meeting...kind of a get to know each other, learn more about each other's business type of meeting. I love to network almost to a fault. I love it so much, I'd rather do that than be in the office working. She emailed me to find out when we could get together. I took an honest look at my calendar, took into consideration the Labor Day weekend holiday in which I have a friend coming into town. I took a look at all my client deadlines, workload, and existing commitments. Then, I responded that the soonest I could meet would be the week of 9/11. Here is the reply she sent back to me: Read More.

You might answer the person who answers the phone, or the person who greets the customer when they come into your business. Well, it is not. It is marketing! Yes, the person or department responsible for marketing is the first line of contact responsible for providing exceptional customer service to your external customers.

"I just told you what I am looking for - why are you telling me things I don't care about?"

This customer pet peeve happens often.The fastest way to lose a prospective customer is to not listen. The best sales people are great listeners, not great talkers. Read More.

"What, am I invisible? I have been standing here for 5 minutes. Do you think you have a better chance at making a sale to a co-worker."

A friend of mine went into a store with her husband to buy a washer and dryer set. It was an urgent need as their washer had just broke. They walked into the store and no one greeted them. All the salespeople were congregating around the counter talking to each other without acknowledging the customer. Read More.

"No, I'm not a crazy lady. I'm just upset that no one called me back with an answer, like I was promised."

Broken promises in regards to follow up and follow through can cost your organization business. Many times, when the customer who was promised some sort of action as follow up to a problem doesn't get it, they take their business elsewhere. Read More.