Last month I wrote about an article that suggests social media is driving growth in customer service jobs.  While I haven’t decided if this is true, it does seem the customer service sector is seeing strong growth. Based on data from Indeed.com, there are 29% more customer service jobs available today than one month ago.

Customer Service Jobs Available

March 1, 2010:     572,909
April 1, 2010:        737,286

Increase of 28.7%

Customers have spoken and the New Jersey Turnpike Authority (NJTA) has listened. The NJTA claims to have very few customer complaints, 1 for every 540,000 transactions. But a public din arose recently when several dozen of these complaints were posted on the website of a local news organization.

The outcome is, the NJTA has developed an action plan to improve customer service. Isn’t it wonderful what a little transparency will do for an organization?

This is the March 2010 edition in my series of Top 10 Customer Service lists. Every month I’ll present my top 10 list of resources that can help you improve customer service and increase customer loyalty.

To keep the lists readable I won’t go into a lot of detail on each item. But each resource listed will have a link to more information.

The Chicago Blackhawks are all about customer service. Okay, maybe that’s not entirely true. No doubt they’re more excited about winning hockey games and getting a slot in the NHL playoffs.

But they are on record as saying customer service is important to them. So important, in fact, they have beefed up their efforts to engage their fans.

The NHL website reports (today) that the Chicago Blackhawks franchise has launched:

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!

Today, Erik Qualman, at ClickZ, published his proposed list of social media thought leaders. It lays out his plan to create a crowd-sourced ranking of the most influential people in social media today.

As I scanned the list of 32 contenders many of the names were familiar. Some more familiar than others. I counted at least 8 of them (25% of the list) with whom I’ve had a conversation or two in the past year.

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 something was wrong so she called 911.

The Mayor of San Francisco, Gavin Newsom, was looking for creative ways to provide customer service to his citizens without costing the city a lot of money. In a press conference, that was replayed on Youtube, he announced a new and innovative way for his citizens to communicate with the city’s government agencies through Twitter.

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 telling their customers about it.

They have made five specific promises to their customers in these areas of service:

Okay, perhaps the better question is “Can you afford not to?”

Recently, J.D. Power and Associates reported that exceptional service satisfaction enhances automotive dealer and manufacturer profitability by improving customer retention even as sales decline.

I have one comment on their finding. “Duh!”

OK, seriously, they are absolutely correct. NO business can afford to NOT provide exceptional service 100 % of the time.

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 better performance.

“…research shows it only works in the short term and other things keep employees happy and productive over the long run.”

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.