Tagged News
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'How was everything?' - Not a great customer service question!
March 4, 2013 6:57 AM
'How was everything?' Have you been asked this question by a hotel front desk clerk, a server at a restaurant, or a car salesman after a demo ride? How likely is it that your response is either true or complete? The simple fact is that the EASY answer... more » -
NO, I'm NOT Happy to HOLD!
February 9, 2013 4:32 PM
My daughter moved into a new apartment recently and ordered AT&T internet service. They sent out a modem and it would not connect, so they sent her another one. It still would not connect so she set up a service call. They gave her a tracking number for this service... more » -
13 Steps to Better Customer Service in 2013
January 3, 2013 10:03 PM
We all resolve to do better in a New Year, but how many of us really make a plan? What if you had a concrete plan for customer service improvement for each month of the year? Since that makes 12, throw in a bonus 13th to make 2013 a... more » -
Customer Sent Extra iPads - Best Buy Says Keep 'Em
December 10, 2012 5:13 PM
There is alot of buzz this week about Best Buy and its not about what they sold, it's about what they gave away. Evidently a customer was sent four EXTRA Ipads in a shipment. The customer was honest enough to let Best Buy know and they said in so many... more » -
Avoiding a Costa Concordia Styled Service Recovery
January 24, 2012 2:50 PM
Costa Concordia has supposedly offered passengers a 30% discount on future cruises. Now I don't know about you, but had I been a passenger on the ill-fated cruise this would make me wonder how much Costa and Carnival are worth so I could sue them for EVERY penny of it.... more » -
Why NOT Do What the Customer Asks
January 13, 2012 3:56 PM
The customer is not always right and you should NOT always do what they ask. Hopefully you know your products and services better than your customers. For this reason, you must remain the expert when it comes to recommending how and when these products and services should be used.... more » -
Are You Giving Customer Service Tricks or Treats?
October 25, 2011 9:08 AM
With a birthday the week of Halloween, you can believe that I have lots of memories of Tricks and Treats over the years… (we won't mention how many years... that would be too SCARY!!) So what are YOU giving customers these days? Tricks or Treats?!? What in the world... more » -
The 3 Time Zones of Customer Service Training
September 21, 2011 9:33 AM
When training staff on customer service improvements, we often only talk about what is done during the sale in front of the customer. It can be useful to separate tasks and objectives into three time zones: BEFORE the transaction or service starts, DURING the purchase or service, AFTER the sale... more » -
What is Your Wait Tolerance?
September 8, 2011 11:38 PM
Yesterday I sought to clog my arteries by getting a 'FAST FOOD' lunch from a Burger King drive-thru. It was anything but fast. The total process took 19 minutes. Not about 15 minutes... NINETEEN minutes. Yes, I am an A-Type personality and that is why I know it was nineteen... more » -
How NOT to handle a Customer Complaint
August 18, 2011 4:59 PM
I had a customer service encounter today that had so many lessons I hardly know where to begin. Since the service provider ultimately 'made it right', I won't embarrass the company by mentioning their name but will tell you that they deliver something to my house every month. My... more » -
New Report Says Stop Trying to Delight Customers ?!
August 11, 2011 12:17 PM
A report from the Customer Contact Council appeared in the July edition of the Harvard Business Review. A study of 75,000 customers came to the following three conclusions: 1. Exceeding customer service expectations during service interactions has negligible impact on customer loyalty. 2. Service organizations create loyal customers... more » -
What ISN'T Said Can Cause Customer Service Failure
July 6, 2011 10:56 AM
Last week I upgraded from an iPhone 3GS to an iPhone 4. Another family member had dropped and broken their iPhone that was not eligible for an upgrade. Thus I was able to cash in on my upgrade and give them my old phone. This necessitated transferring pictures and calendar... more » -
Consumer Reports Releases America's Top Gripes
June 14, 2011 12:10 PM
Consumer Reports just released the Top 10 gripes of Americans having customer service issues and complaints. They surveyed almost 1,000 consumers nationwide to find the customer-service problems that infuriate people most. Respondents rated 12 practices on a scale of 0 (not annoying at all) to 10 (tremendously annoying). Differences... more » -
Asking for Additional Business at the RIGHT time?
June 5, 2011 11:48 PM
This week I am helping my daughter move. After three days of bending over packing boxes and cleaning shelves, my body is in revolt. So... I had a brilliant idea for the two of us. Let's go get a massage. In Los Angeles there is a spa chain called Burke... more » -
Does Your Customer Service have Vision?
May 25, 2011 10:17 AM
Living in a market with virtually no direct flights to anywhere, Shreveport, Louisiana residents like myself were excited to learn that discount Vision Airlines is now serving our market with direct flights to my personal favorite vacation spot, Destin, Florida. In a new market promotion, we were able to buy... more » -
Customers Will Tell 2X Number of People if Upset
May 19, 2011 11:59 AM
The Multiplier Effect Consumers will tell others about their customer service experiences, both good and bad, with the bad news reaching more ears. Americans say they tell an average of nine people about good experiences, and nearly twice as many (16 people) about poor ones -- making every individual service... more » -
Customer Service Can Make or Break Brands
May 19, 2011 11:56 AM
Americans vote with their wallets when they encounter subpar service; 78% of consumers have bailed on a transaction or not made an intended purchase because of a poor service experience. On the other hand, the promise of better customer service is a draw for shoppers: three in five Americans (59%)... more » -
How to Handle Institutional Complaints
April 27, 2011 12:51 PM
As a customer, have you ever been frustrated by the way a company does business? Case in point would be the times you are standing in line behind 10 other customers at Walmart! As you wait not so patiently, you notice that only 5 of their 20 registers are... more » -
Are Your Customer Service Benchmarks Outside the Box?
April 19, 2011 11:04 PM
An article in Healthcare Finance News suggests that Healthcare firms need to start benchmarking their healthcare customer service against firms outside their industry primarily because the level of healthcare customer service is so dismally low overall. The article notes that patients do not stop being a customer when they... more »