Customer Service News

News, notes and more about whats happening in the world and how it relates to customer service.

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Cyber Monday Customer Service – Did it meet your expectations?

November 28, 2011

Cyber Monday and  Black Friday. By now we have all heard stories about how crazy these shopping days can get. And this year is no exception. From $199 flat screen 42 inch TVs to pepper-sprayed customers, to employees protesting the early start times, Black Friday and Cyber Monday have become an annual shopping experience unlike [...]

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How was YOUR Black Friday shopping experience?

November 27, 2011

Whew! Black Friday 2011 is now behind us. We can all relax and catch our breaths. And then get on with the rest of our holiday season. Personally, I think the whole idea Black Friday is way over done. But that’s just my personal opinion. What’s important (much more important than my personal opinion) is [...]

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New law will start healthy conversations between restaurants and customers

March 24, 2010

Recently new legislation was passed that requires restaurant companies with 20 or more locations to publish calorie counts of the food they serve. They’re also required to make information on sodium, carbs and fat available at a customer’s request. It’s about time! If you know me, you know I’m no fan of over-regulating our businesses. [...]

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AT&T customer service employee saves customer’s life

March 11, 2010

Here’s a perfect example of why companies should hire smart people who care. Recently an AT&T customer was talking with their customer service service department. He started having symptoms of a heart attack and eventually passed out during the call. Rather than hang up (because the customer became non-responsive) the AT&T employee (Kelly Hart) knew [...]

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Tata Indicom rolls out customer service standards

March 9, 2010

Recently we reported on the president of Brazil’s decree that companies operating in his country will meet certain standards in how they deal with customers. While I’m not a fan of increasing government regulation I like the idea of making customer service standards a big deal. That’s what Tata Indicom has done. Even better, they’re [...]

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Should you pay employees for better customer service?

March 5, 2010

When talking with business owners and managers, the topic of cash incentives arises every now and then.  Some managers feel they’re the best way to get employees to deliver better customer service. Others disagree. But the question remains. A recent article in Entrepreneur.com suggests money is not always the best way to motivate employees to [...]

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Customer service and calorie counts

March 5, 2010

Three Florida legislators have proposed a bill that would require restaurants to list calorie counts on their menus. While I know there are heated arguments on both sides of this issue, I like the idea. One reason I like it is because I’ve recently started counting calories and I am disappointed at being unable to [...]

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Customer service jobs on the rise

March 1, 2010

Signs of economic recovery are all around us. But we still hear employment is weak and lagging.  So, in the midst of mixed messages, what do we believe? I’m no economist so I try to keep things simple. One thing I see is the growth in customer service related jobs seems to be increasing. Our [...]

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Ace Hardware aces out Home Depot in customer service survey

February 23, 2010

Recently, BusinessWeek rolled out their list of top companies ranked by customer service. There were a few yawns and one or two surprises. L.L.Bean, USAA and Apple claimed the podium with 1st, 2nd and 3rd places on the list. L.L.Bean impressed me by improving their score more than 10% over 2009. In what is generally [...]

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Multi-channel customer service study finds big companies failing

February 23, 2010

With the exception of web self-service, all business sectors dropped in multi-channel customer service, according to a new study released by eGain today. But even web self-service didn’t fare too well: “All areas except web self-service declined in performance, with web self-service posting a slight increase for the overall market from 1.7 in 2009 to [...]

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Toyota has a customer service problem

February 1, 2010

A lot of people think Toyota has a quality problem these days. But I would say their biggest problem is a customer service one. Let’s look at the basics. Customer service is all about giving customers the right experience. Do this and they’ll remain loyal. Fail at this and they’ll leave you faster than you [...]

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Minnesota auto dealer makes a bad deal worse

January 21, 2010

When I was a kid, a local car dealer had long-running advertising campaign centered on the tagline: “A better car deal – we wrote the book!” Recently, another Minnesota car dealer made a good start writing a different kind of book. This one might be called: “How to drive customers away by the busload.” This [...]

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Amazing Service News: Radio, interviews, products and more!

October 14, 2009

Here are a few updates on what’s happening at Amazing Service headquarters these days. Kevin Stirtz speaks at Small Business Forum A few weeks ago I was asked to be a part of a small business forum at Minnesota Public Radio in St. Paul. It was sponsored by the UBS Forum as part of MPR’s [...]

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T-Mobile continues to dominate in customer service

September 30, 2009

Hot off the presses today is a brief note from our friends at dslreports.com. They tell us T-Mobile remains the customer service champion of the big wireless carriers.  On the other hand, AT&T didn’t do so well. “Our in-store experience left us with one question out of three unanswered and we were shocked that one [...]

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Abercrombie feels the sting of bad customer service

September 10, 2009

We know good customer service can keep customers coming back. And most of us understand the power bad customer service has to hurt our business. Yet this simple lesson still falls on deaf ears at some large, well- known companies. Take Abercrombie & Fitch for example. A $3.5 billion-dollar retailer known for attitude in their [...]

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More Amazing Service Talk Radio

August 13, 2009

This Saturday I’ll be on the radio again with my favorite hosts Mark Kozlak and Ann Hermes. The show will air on Saturday August 15 from 9:00 to 9:30 am. If you’re in the St. Paul area you can listen on KLBB 1220 AM. Otherwise you can listen live online at their website: KLBBRadio.com. (Click [...]

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Amazing Service Spans the Globe

August 5, 2009

One of the principles of Amazing Customer Service is to talk with your customers. So I do this. Since my customers and readers are all over I often do this via email. I always find this one of the most enjoyable aspect of my work. But as I have connected with more of my readers [...]

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