Kevin Stirtz’s Amazing Service Rule# 40:

It’s okay to say no. (But be nice about it and offer an alternative.)

Many of us have been taught to avoid the word “no” when dealing with customers. And it’s a good lesson because there are better ways to tell a customer you’re unable to help them in exactly the way they want. Dropping a big fat “no” on them might not create a positive and memorable experience.

But some people have taken this lesson the wrong way. They assume

Next week I will expand my geographic and cultural horizons – a lot. I will be conducting a 2-day seminar in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia next week. While I’m not thrilled about the 20 hour plane ride it will be exciting to meet people and experience this area.

Here is more information about the seminar. You can join me if you want, for only 4495 RM (that’s Malaysian Ringat).

I had a fun conversation today with Barbara Weltman on her show, “Build Your Business Radio” which airs weekly at: http://wsradio.com.

This first part of the show was about customer loyalty and how businesses can use customer service to increase customer loyalty.

You can listen to the show here.

Enjoy!

This month my latest book, “More Loyal Customers: 21 Real World Lessons to Keep Your Customers Coming Back” is featured as Required Reading on the popular website CRMIndustry.com.

Kevin Stirtz’s Amazing Service Rule# 15:

Don’t interrupt your customer when they’re talking to you.

We all know listening skills are fundamental to working with and getting along with others. They’re so basic it should be a given that we’re all excellent listeners.

But we aren’t, are we?

In fact, most of us are lousy listeners. We focus on

Next week is Customer Service Week in the USA. Since 1992, this week has been a time to honor and celebrate the spirit of customer service in our organizations.

Being a practical sort, I look at something like this and ask myself, how can we get the most from this? What can people do to create some tangible value beyond recognizing the importance of customer service?

So here are 7 things you can do to both honor the spirit of service but also produce something of value for your organization as you celebrate Customer Service Week: