Customer Retention

Customer Service Training Manual & Guide for Workshops

Customer Service Manual & Guide for Training Workshops

by Kevin Stirtz on November 26, 2011

This complete customer service raining guide saves you time and money while helping your organization improve customer service faster Do you want to improve customer service in your organization? This complete customer service training manual and course will help you attract and keep more customers by helping you raise the quality and consistency of customer service across your team. It’s full of  tools, tips and tactics your team can use to deliver Amazing Customer Service to every customer every time. It was created to offer an affordable and convenient way for teams like yours to benefit from customer service improvement [...]

Customer service can beat low price

by Kevin Stirtz on September 22, 2011 · 2 comments

Many competitive industries rely on low prices and heavy discounting to attract and keep customers. But this strategy is not the only one that can help you increase customer loyalty. Even in a highly price competitive business, customer service can beat low prices. This article shares a perfect example of how one dry cleaner lost a customer by giving them a horrible experience. It also shows how another dry cleaner in the same market stands out by adding a personal touch to the customer service they offer. When Customer Experience Trumps Low Prices

President Obama offers useful customer service lesson

President Obama offers lessons on leadership and service

by Kevin Stirtz on January 8, 2010

When discussing a recent national security issue, President Obama offered a useful lesson for anyone who works with customers. He focused his efforts on finding solutions rather than blame. And he took responsibility for moving toward a solution. Although the mistakes that happened were not his direct fault, he made it clear, national security was his responsibility. We should all remember this when we work with customers who have a complaint or a problem. Even though you didn’t cause the problem that led to the situation, if the customer has come to you, it’s now your responsibility. Make sure your [...]

Don’t let your customer repeat themselves

by Kevin Stirtz on October 22, 2009

Here is your Daily Dose of Amazing Service: Never let your customer repeat themselves. And here are some additional thoughts on this topic… Customers understand that often you have to hand them over to other people to help them get what they want. That’s okay, But, as you do this, don’t let the customer repeat themselves.

Do you know companies like this?

by Kevin Stirtz on October 8, 2009

Logically we know when customers complain, they’re giving us useful information. But emotionally we don’t like to hear it. Especially since some customers tend to be a little rough about how they deliver their feedback. And employees get tired of being beat up by customers, all the while knowing nothing will be done to prevent future

Better customer service means respecting their opinion

by Kevin Stirtz on October 1, 2009

Here is your Daily Dose of Amazing Service: Respect your customer’s opinion And here are some additional thoughts on this topic… Our customers come to us for our knowledge. They want our help in accomplishing something. But some employees take this to mean the customer’s opinion does not matter. They go directly into “arrogant expert mode” and act like the customer has no useful information to contribute.

Yesterday I emailed the company that makes the thermostat used in our house. It’ s big company, a major player in this business.  Still I did not expect a fast response. I guess I never do (unless the company I’m emailing is called Zappos). I was surprised to get a reply email from the company in less than 24 hours. (Consumer appliance manufacturers are not known for being exceptionally speedy with their email customer service.) So I was pleased. But my good feeling only lasted several seconds because the email they sent me said this:

Customer Retention Tip: Let your employees be real

by Kevin Stirtz on September 30, 2009 · 2 comments

Too many managers think they can plan and script and train employees how to handle every customer situation. It’s even worse with offshore call centers. As a customer you can tell when these people are forced to use scripts. It can be a painful process to participate in.  And it’s a massively ineffective way to give customers the experience they want. It does not work. What if you met a new friend and everything they said was

Customer loyalty requires honesty from the start

by Kevin Stirtz on September 1, 2009

Many companies are focused on their customers. They LOVE their customers. Just ask them. They’ll tell you how wonderfully customer centric they are.  But there’s a problem. As they tell people how much they love their customers, they also spend a lot of money lying to them. Jim Logan writes an article at B2BRainmaker.com that illustrates this well. In it he talks about offer’s he’s gotten from various companies and how they sound or look good on the surface. But closer inspection shows they are misleading at best and outright lies at worst. A well-known example Jim cites is

Is there such a thing as too much customer service?

by Kevin Stirtz on August 17, 2009

In my world customer service is a high priority. It’s easy to argue that it’s never been more important. Especially in this difficult economy, more and more businesses are finding if they improve customer service they can increase customer retention. But it’s possible to go too far. A recent article at ManagementToday.com points to a study done that suggests too much customer service can hurt profits. And I agree. Too much of anything can be a bad thing and that includes customer service. That’s why we want to remember the cardinal rule of Amazing Service: