December 2008

Jitterbug Focuses on Customer Experience

December 29, 2008

An article in the Business Mirror today talks about the growing backlash toward outsourced customer service. It discusses Dell’s new service that provides North American based customer service, for an extra fee. Dell finally gets the message that their customer want support staff who can actually help them, rather than read from a script, and [...]

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The Secret of Barack Obama’s Success

December 29, 2008

By now we all know President-elect Barack Obama has stormed the American political scene like a hurricane, a tornado, a typhoon and a tsunami all rolled into one. In a few short years, he has gone from “Obama who?” to the President-elect of the USA and a hugely popular man both in the US and [...]

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This Company Cares About Their Customers

December 23, 2008

Yesterday a massive fire engulfed a large apartment complex in my city. While fire fighters from 6 communities fought the blaze, residents shivered in sub-zero temperatures. It was three days before Christmas and everything they owned was going up in smoke. It was a miracle nobody was injured. But the tragedy is still monumental for [...]

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Remember Your Customer’s Name

December 22, 2008

Kevin Stirtz’s Amazing Service Rule #25 Remember your customer’s name. Years ago I heard a quote that goes something like: “Nothing is sweeter than the sound of a person’s own name.” I don’t know who first said this but I agree with them. When we hear someone say our name, it brings us closer to [...]

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Black Jack Pizza Should Win a Customer Service Award

December 20, 2008

On a recent YouTube jaunt, I found this “customer service” video. It’s funny because of the setup. The “caller” is Jack Nicholson, or rather select audio clips of big Jack from his movies. The clips are inserted into the phone call skillfully enough that two employees at this pizza place believed it was a real [...]

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Credit Card Customers Finally Get Heard

December 19, 2008

From Freep.com comes this bit of news: “Credit card crackdown hits in 2010″ but the subtitle tells the real story: “Federal regulators approve new rules to help consumers”. From the article: “The new rules come after years and years of complaints from angry consumers who had been dinged and zinged by higher rates, late fees and [...]

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These Servers Only Want Generous Customers

December 17, 2008

Yesterday while listening to NPR I heard a discussion about tipping trends for service people. A part of the discussion focused on tipping in restaurants and how many people tip less during a recession and some (a precious few) actually tip more. As a part of the program they had listeners call in to share [...]

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A lesson on changing your organization

December 16, 2008

In my work, I spend a fair amount of time helping people bring change to their companies. That’s what improving customer service is all about. The companies that make a substantial and permanent improvement in how they serve their customers have discovered how to change their organizations. Seth Godin has some useful things to say [...]

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Why Slogans are Worthless (and What You Should Use Instead)

December 15, 2008

Slogans are worthless as a marketing tool. It’s not their fault. It’s because we’re asking them to do something they’re not built to do. It’s like trying to win the Daytona 500 with a Yugo. The poor thing just doesn’t have the horsepower (or any other capabilities) to do the job. The same is true [...]

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Lowes Knows Customer Service

December 14, 2008

While surfing YouTube, I found this video about customer service at Lowes. It shows how Lowes sees customer service” as an asset and a high priority. In this video, a Lowes customer tells how their new refrigerator (bought from and installed by Lowes) leaked all over their kitchen floor, ruining it. Rather than argue with [...]

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Communications Companies Failing at Communicating with Customers

December 11, 2008

Here’s an interesting note from MarketWatch. They report that almost two-thirds of telcommunications companies in North America fail to respond to customer requests within 24 hours.  In a recent survey released by eGain Communications Corp., they found that 20% of communications companies (cable, telcos, satellite TV/radio and mobile phone) failed to offer any response to [...]

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5 New Year’s Resolutions for Amazing Customer Service

December 11, 2008

New years are wonderful because they give us the ability to improve, to learn from our experience and then start over and do better. It’s like shaking the Etch A Sketch and being rewarded with a blank canvas to create another work of art. But in this case, the work of art is our business. [...]

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2008 Customer Service Survey: Tell us what you think

December 9, 2008

We’re getting close to the end of 2008. And what a memorable year it has been. Of the many things I’ll remember about 2008, one thing that stands out is how customer service has changed. But, what I think is not nearly as important as what YOU think. Now is your opportunity to be heard. [...]

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How to reduce customer complaints

December 8, 2008

Here’s a creative way to keep customers from complaining. As you watch this video you’ll probably say to yourself, of course an employee wouldn’t do anything like that. After all, it’s a ‘candid camera’ type video. But, you’d be surprised. Just last week I had a customer service experience not too different from this. It’s [...]

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Quote of the day: 12-4-08

December 7, 2008

“When you eat fruit think of the person who planted the tree.” -Vietnamese Saying

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Quote of the day: 12-7-08

December 7, 2008

“Successful people are always looking for opportunities to help others. Unsuccessful people are always asking, ‘What’s in it for me?’” -Brian Tracy Author of:  Reinvention: How to Make the Rest of Your Life the Best of Your Life

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Don’t Let Invisible Customers Ruin Your Business

December 5, 2008

  A few weeks ago I was at Perkins, attempting to pay for my meal. Employees scurried back and forth with not even a curious glance in my direction. Finally, the manager said something which compelled another employee to issue an order. And, like magic, a smiling young lady appeared and graciously took my money. [...]

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