QUI QUOTE: Instead of giving incentives to your customers who fill out your surveys, offer rewards and recognition to your people who deliver service so GREAT customers rave about them on your surveys and social media.
Customers pay for their experience, not your product or service. And it’s THEIR experience, not yours. Customers seek the best emotional value in their experience. And their best emotional value is in your people’s personalized interactions, not your “cash or credit” business transactions. So, when customers rave about your people, then you should do the same. When you recognize and reward your people, they will feel respected, appreciated, and valued. When you create a GREAT experience for your people, they will do the same for your customers, and everyone’s lives will be enriched, financially and emotionally. Soon, you will earn the loyalty of both. A win-win-win situation: Your customers, your people, and you.
I am honored to be nominated for the 2024 Industry Champion Awards from ContactCenterWorld.com – the Global Association for Contact Center & Customer Engagement Best Practices. This prestigious award is presented to industry professionals based on feedback from their connections who vote.
Therefore, please support me by voting for me at this link https://www.contactcenterworld.com/icv.aspx?nm=12576612… as soon as possible. Whether you do or not, as my friend and colleague reading my blog posts, I very much appreciate you.
QUI QUOTE: Keep saying, “That’s not my job,” and soon, you’ll wish it was because you won’t have one.
Be the customer. When you hear “That’s not my job,” you’d retort, “Well, it looks like you work here. Why isn’t it your job and why don’t you find the right person?”
Be your employer. When you hear, “That’s not my job,” several times from the same person to another customer, you’d think, “We should replace that someone who feels it’s not their job with someone who feels it is.
Be you. To the customer, you’re not a representative of the company. You are the company. So own it. Be the CEO of the moment. Take it professionally. Take it personally. Take it responsibly. Just don’t take it at home.
The customer is not always right. But the customer is always YOUR customer. So do whatever it takes to make the customer FEEL right.
You’ve heard of The Golden Rule: Treat people as you want to be treated.
Dr. Tony Alessandra has shared with everyone about The Platinum Rule: Treat people as they want to be treated.
Today I offer The QUI Rule also known as the GREAT Rule: Treat customers a little better than they want to be treated.
You are happy because customers leave satisfied with your product or service. But that’s not good enough. Satisfied customers feel that their experience is good, not better, just average. Nobody raves about average. And satisfied customers will not return when they find something better or less expensive.
So don’t serve to satisfy customers. Don’t treat customers as you expect to be treated. And don’t treat them as they want to be treated. Instead, treat them a little better than they want to be treated. Serve to WOW them. Serve to CARE.
COMMUNICATE with every customer with a smile, eye contact, and polite interaction. Inform each customer transparently and interactively of the product’s or service’s function, liabilities, and advantages to them.
ACKNOWLEDGE each customer’s presence and value to you and your business.
RESPOND promptly and empathetically to each customer’s questions, concerns, and complaints.
ENRICH the experiences and, ultimately, the lives of every customer.
And Be Magnificently Boring to CARE! Consistently CARE for your customers so repetitively that you feel it is boring, but to every customer, at that moment, you are Magnificent! Customers have an emotional connection with you. The more emotional the connections, the more memorable the experiences, and the more loyal the customers are. Loyal customers will return repeatedly, spend more money, and rave about you to others on social media. Consistency builds trust. Trust builds relationships. Relationships build loyalty. Loyalty builds your business. CARE Magnificently!
The QUI RULE also known as The GREAT Rule: Treat customers a little better than they want to be treated. Serve to WOW them. Serve to CARE.
Don’t satisfy your customers and be just good. CARE for your customers and be GREAT out there!
What do you think? Whether you agree or agree to disagree, discuss or not, I’m sure that we can interact with each other without being disagreeable. So, I invite you to share your questions and comments.
A veteran of over 40 years in hospitality leadership, I was, until several years ago, a customer service/customer experience speaker. Unfortunately, I suffered a stroke in April 2021. So, I have slightly slurred speech and a dead right side. Since my stroke, I’ve gone from Mr. “Let’s be GREAT out there!” as GM/Managing Director to Mr. Invisible, sequestered alone with my wife in my San Diego apartment. Today, I want to tell you my real-life customer experience story.
On Friday, I was at the downtown CVS Pharmacy sitting in my wheelchair, waiting for my prescription. Meanwhile, a young lady looked at me and motioned if she could go ahead. When I answered yes, she asked the pharmacy clerk for her prescription. When asked by the clerk for her name and age, the young lady responded with her name and birthdate ending in 08. Since I could not easily calculate her age (because of my memory lapses due to my stroke or early onset dementia), I asked her how old she was. She quizzically looked at me, did not respond but looked at the pharmacy clerk. The clerk said that I was asking several people about their age (I did). The young lady didn’t say anything to her nor did she say anything or smile to me. She simply walked away with her prescription. With that, the pharmacy clerk looked at me and shrugged.
I envision that young lady, who I now recognize is only 16 years old, is now a part of the Gen N generation. You may think Gen N is the Now Generation who wants an experience that is quick, easy, and NOW. But, I perceive Gen N as Generation Nobody. Anyone older than Gen N is a Nobody to them. Listening with their earplugs and watching on their cellphones with their friends or young social media influencers, Gen N is oblivious to any older generation around them. In this case, I really did feel that I was a nobody to the young lady.
Now that I am older and wiser, especially given this incident, I advocate this:
QUI QUOTE: Whatever your title or position, be a servant leader who will CARE for people first.
COMMUNICATE with each person with a smile, eye contact, and polite interaction. Inform each person transparently and interactively.,
ACKNOWLEDGE each person’s presence and value to you as a human being with emotions and feelings.
RESPOND promptly and empathetically to each person’s statements, questions, concerns, and complaints.
ENRICH the experiences and, ultimately, the lives of every person.
Instead of asking your people, “What can you do for me and my business?”, through your words and actions, ask them two questions:
“How are you feeling?”
“How can I help?”
When you ask, listen intently, respond empathetically, and act promptly to take appropriate corrective action, your people will feel respected, appreciated, and valued. You will inspire and empower them to develop themselves and engage others. Soon, everyone’s experiences and, ultimately, their lives, will be enriched.
What do you think? Whether you agree or disagree, discuss or not, I’m sure that we, yes, you and me, can interact with each other without being disagreeable. And for that, I very much appreciate you. I look forward to seeing who you consider is a GREAT servant leader.
Welcome to CX 102 or Advanced CX. This course is a prerequisite for business professionals in the B2C or hospitality industry. It’s an elective for the B2B or the online/digital industry.
English writer Samuel Johnson said, “People need to be reminded more often than they need to be instructed.” With that in mind, today’s lesson will be a future reminder for you. So let’s get started.
Customer loyalty is not one BIG WOW to a customer. It’s one little wow delivered consistently to every customer. And when you consistently deliver a little wow, you transform an average, satisfactory customer experience into a positively WOW Experience.
So, be Magnificently Boring! Consistently deliver a low-cost, no-cost “a little better than the average experience that customers expect” product or customer service so repetitively that you feel it is boring, but to the customer, at that moment, you are Magnificent! Your customers will return repeatedly, spend more money, and rave about you to others on social media. Consistency builds trust. Trust builds loyalty. Loyalty builds your business. Deliver consistency Magnificently!
Second, but as importantly, be Magnificently Boring to CARE for your customers. Remember this sentence from our first class:
Customers seek the best emotional value in their entire experience.
Now you know why customers don’t seek B2B or B2C businesses. They engage in businesses that are H2H. Human to Human. One to One. Heart to Heart. The value to your customers is in their personalized interactions, not your “cash or credit” business transactions. So, to earn customer loyalty, don’t get inside their heads. Get inside their hearts. Create an emotional connection. Be Magnificently Boring to CARE!
COMMUNICATE with every customer with a smile, eye contact, and polite interaction. Inform each customer transparently and interactively of the product’s or service’s function, liabilities, and advantages to them.
ACKNOWLEDGE each customer’s presence and value to you and your business.
RESPOND promptly and empathetically to each customer’s questions, concerns, and complaints.
ENRICH the experiences and, ultimately, the lives of every customer.
Consistently CARE for your customers so repetitively that you feel it is boring, but to every customer, at that moment, you are Magnificent! Your customers will feel respected, appreciated, and valued. They have an emotional connection with you. The more emotional the connections, the more memorable the experiences, and the more loyal the customers are. When it comes to customers and customer service, don’t just serve to satisfy your customers. Serve to WOW them. Serve to be Magnificently Boring to CARE for them. Don’t just be good. Be GREAT out there!
Does anyone have any questions? Whether you agree or agree to disagree, discuss or not, I’m sure that we can interact with each other without being disagreeable. So, I invite you to share your questions and comments.
From me to you, from one customer service advocate to another, Happy Valentine’s Day. For having read my blog, I very much appreciate you. On this special day, I wish each of you the very best, but I already know you’re one of the very best. So, I wish you GREAT happiness, kindness, enthusiasm, and success.
Today, let’s appreciate each other and show our love for all business professionals. When we express our appreciation to each other and our fellow business professionals and customers, let’s not be just good. Let’s be GREAT out there!
English writer Samuel Johnson said, “People need to be reminded more often than they need to be instructed”. So, as you prepare yourself every morning to engage and WOW your colleagues and customers, I encourage you to look in the mirror and remind yourself, “Don’t be just good. Be GREAT out there!
Welcome to CX 101. Today’s course is a prerequisite for business professionals in the B2C or hospitality industry. It’s an elective for the B2B or the online/digital industry.
This is not a customer service training class. Training is finite, usually one to three days. And training is top-down, one-way “I know everything, you know nothing” instruction. Training is to develop THE BUSINESS. Training is for a job. And the job of employees is to serve to satisfy the customer.
Instead, our education classes are interactive. With suggestions, recommendations, and encouragement, we empower you and your colleagues to develop YOURSELVES. Ideally, all of you will be enthused and energized to engage customers, not just to satisfy, but to WOW them.
So let’s get started.
Customer service is what you do for your customers. Customer experience is how your customers feel before, during, and after what you do. Customer experience management is what you do before, during, and after you find out how customers feel about what you did. Customer loyalty is how your customers feel about what you did repeatedly.
Customers pay for their experience, not your product or service. And it’s THEIR experience, not yours. They buy with emotion and justify their decision with reason. Customers seek the best emotional value in their entire experience, not the minutiae of your best price, product, or service, virtual or physical locations, AI, online, chatGPT, or face-to-face customer support, NPS, CSAT or other CX metric, or the many other details of your business experience.
You are happy because your customers are satisfied with their experience. You met their expectations. But that’s not good enough. Satisfied customers feel that their experience is good, not better, just average. Nobody raves about average. And satisfied customers will not return as soon as they find a better experience or a less expensive price. So you have to do more than satisfy your customers. Don’t just serve to sell to customers. And don’t serve to satisfy customers. Serve to WOW them.
Next week’s class is postponed until Valentine’s Day.
So the next class two weeks from now: How to serve to WOW your customers.
Before next week’s class, are there any questions? Whether you agree or agree to disagree, discuss or not, I’m sure that we can interact with each other without being disagreeable. So, I invite you to share your questions and comments.
English writer Samuel Johnson said, “People need to be reminded more often than they need to be instructed.” So as you prepare yourself every morning to engage to WOW your customers, I encourage you to remind yourself when you say, “Don’t be just good. Be GREAT out there!
English writer Samuel Johnson said, “People need to be reminded more often than they need to be instructed”. So I encourage you to remind yourself and your colleagues every day about each one of these reminders I published in 2023:
25 QUI QUOTE Reminders about Customers and Customer Service.
You can either repeat these QUI QUOTES or remind yourself, your customer CARE team, or your leadership colleagues about these QUI QUOTES which are collectively published this month in 2024.
ASSETS
Your most important assets are not your customers and your people. It’s how your customers and your people feel about you and your company.
CEO OF THE MOMENT
To a complaining customer, you are not a representative of the company. You ARE the company. So, own it. Be the CEO of the moment. Take it personally. Take it professionally. Take it responsibly. Just don’t take it at home.
COMMON SENSE
Delivering GREAT customer service is business common sense. Your job is to make it common practice.
COMPLAINT
A customer complaint is a gift. Take the perspective that customers complain because they want to help your business. Otherwise, they would walk away, saying nothing, with no intention of ever returning.
CONDUIT
Your relationship with your customers, not their purchase of your product, is the conduit where true value flows.
CSAT CX METRICS
Your customers don’t care about your NPS, CSAT, or CX metrics. They only care about theirs: One to One. Human to Human. Heart to Heart. The value to your customers is in their personal interactions, not your “cash or credit” business transactions. To earn customer loyalty, don’t get inside their heads. Get inside their hearts. Create an emotional connection. Think RELATIONSHIPS or Go Broke. Literally.
CUSTOMER
A customer is a person. Not a dollar, Not a satisfaction score. Not an online review. Customers are people. CARE BIG for them.
CUSTOMERS BOUGHT
You know you have customer CARE right when your customers don’t tell others what they bought. They tell others who they bought it from.
DISSATISFY ME
No customer, intent on paying, has ever entered your store to loudly proclaim, “Here I am. Dissatisfy me now!”
No employee, intent on working, has ever started their first day by loudly proclaiming, “Here I am. Dissatisfy me now.” If all you do is lead with top-down, one-way, communication, your employees will soon be disillusioned and disengaged, only working because they HAVE TO. But if you have a servant leadership mindset to CARE for your employees, your people will feel respected, appreciated, and valued. They will loyally return, be more productive, and rave to others on social media.
EXPERIENCE TRUMPS
Your customer’s negative experience of your service trumps your advertising every time.
EXPLANATION EXCUSE
Listen to their complaints with the intent to take action, not to explain. To a customer, when something is wrong, your explanation is an excuse. Customers want action, not excuses.
FINE
When you ask customers “How is everything?” and they respond, “Fine,” just know you “Failed In Nailing Expectations.”
HABIT
If you want your people to make it a habit to deliver outstanding customer CARE, you have to make it a habit to recognize them when they do.
INNOVATION
We need to future-proof the customer experience. We analyze the journey to ask, “What are the potential dissatisfiers and how can we remove them?”, and when we ask and take action, a negative customer experience has turned into a neutral one. But that’s not good enough. Satisfied customers feel their experience is good, not better, just average. Nobody raves about average. And satisfied customers will leave when they find an experience that is better or a less expensive price.
So don’t serve to satisfy customers. Don’t treat customers as they would have expected. Don’t treat them as they want to be treated. And don’t treat them as YOU want to be treated. Instead, treat them a little better than they want to be treated. Serve to WOW them.
Future-proof the customer experience. In addition to asking “What happened?” to your people answering customer complaints, ask them “What if?” Exceeding the expectations of current customer needs and innovating future potential customer wants will maximize the ROI of CX. So, always be asking, “What happened?” and “What if?” Always be innovating. And always be GREAT out there!
KEEP FIND
Work as hard to keep customers as much as you do to find them.
MARKETING
Marketing is not your advertising online to customers. It’s your customers raving to others on social media about your customer CARE. To them, you’re not just good. You are GREAT out there!
METRICS
Your customers don’t care about your NPS, CSAT, or CX metrics. They only care about theirs: One to One. Human to Human. Heart to Heart.
NOBODY
Nobody raves about a company that meets customer expectations.
Nobody raves about average.
OVERPROMISE
Overpromise and underdeliver and you’re sure to lose a customer’s trust. Don’t make it right and you’re sure to lose a customer.
PERCEPTION
Your customer’s perception of your customer service trumps your advertising
PERFECT PRACTICE
The most valuable thing you can make is a mistake. But you CAN learn something by being perfect … for your customers. When it comes to business, the customer’s value in their experience is just “perfect.” Practice does not make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect … for your customers.
PERSPECTIVE
Take the perspective that the customer complains because he wants to help your business. Otherwise, he simply would have left, saying nothing, intent on never coming back.
POLICY
If you’re making frequent policy exceptions, then customer perception does not match company promises. It’s poor policy. Fix it.
PRICE VALUE
When customers complain, they don’t complain about the price. They complain about the value of their experience for the price that you’re asking them to pay. On the flipside, customers will pay for their best experience, no matter the price.
RELATIONSHIP
The value to your customers is in their personal interactions, not your “cash or credit” business transactions.
Your relationship with your customers, not their purchase of your product, is the conduit where true customer experience value flows.
SERVE WOW CARE
Don’t serve to satisfy customers.
Don’t treat customers as they expect to be treated. And don’t treat them as you want to be treated. Instead, treat them a little better than they want to be treated. Serve to WOW them. Serve to CARE.
COMMUNICATE with each customer with a smile, eye contact, and polite interaction. Inform each customer transparently and interactively of the product’s or service’s function, liabilities, and advantages to them.
ACKNOWLEDGE each customer’s presence and value to you and your company.
RESPOND promptly and empathetically to each customer’s questions, concerns, and complaints.
ENRICH the experiences and, ultimately, the lives of every customer.
When you CARE, each customer is WOWED and happy, intent on returning repeatedly, spending more money, and raving to others on social media.
VALUE
As their leader, the value to your people is in their personal interactions with you, not your business transactions with them.
VENT
Listen and allow complaining customers to vent. Angry or frustrated customers generally will not listen or accept your apology until they have an opportunity to voice their frustrations.
WORLD’S BEST
The “World’s Best” customer experience is not as the world sees it. The “World’s Best” Is how one customer FEELS it.
Every morning, when you prepare yourself or your customer CARE people to engage and WOW your customers, I encourage you to remind yourself or your customer CARE people during your daily briefing by reciting one of your favorite QUI QUOTES and, in the end, saying, “Don’t be just good. Be GREAT out there!”
In anticipation of celebrating the holidays with my family and friends, I will not be publishing my posts until after the New Year. So, for now, as you move onward and upward in the New Year, I wish all of you, your family, and your friends GREAT health, happiness, success, and prosperity. May your Holiday Celebration and New Year be GREAT out there!
"People need to be reminded more often than they need to be instructed."
Samuel Johnson
This blog, along with my Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages, offer practical tips, insight and inspiration to serve as reminders on how to improve your personal delivery of customer service.
BILL QUISENG | Deliver the World's Best Customer Experience 