March 14, 2022 · 12:02 pm

Service with a smile. Theirs.

Good customer service means you answered all your customers’ questions. It means you resolved your service problems. Good customer service means you efficiently processed your customers’ waiting lines. It’s all about you. 

Great customer service means that one of your customers felt you had all his questions answered. It means that a customer felt you had all his problems resolved. Great customer service means your customer felt they did not have to go through a long waiting line. It means that each customer was happy that you cared about their situation and did just a bit more than they expected. It’s all about them.

Great customer service is never about what you think you did. It’s about your customers feeling happy because of what you did. It’s never about you. It’s always about them.

QUI QUOTE: Good customer service means putting a smile on your face. Great customer service is about putting a smile on your customers’ faces.

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February 22, 2022 · 12:00 pm

This is our time for a Customer CARE revolution!

For many years, there has been a stranglehold of the “Profits over People” mentality for business leaders. These “Profits over People” traditionalists care about revenue dollars, market share, the stock price, bottom-line profits, even their competitors, more than their people. Listening to the sweet cha-ching sound of profits, these traditionalists do not hear their grumbling employees and complaining customers many hierarchical rungs below. Even if the traditionalists could hear, they would wear noise-canceling headphones, oblivious to the employees’ concerns and customer complaints. These traditionalists cared more about profits and didn’t care much about employees or customers. 

To paraphrase John DiJulius’ battle cry, it’s time for a Customer CARE Revolution! Let’s be revolutionary to improve the customer experience. This revolution “is a radical overthrow of conventional business mentality, designed to transform what customers and employees experience. This shift produces a culture that permeates into people’s personal lives, at home, and in the community, which provides the business with higher sales, morale, and brand loyalty, thus making price irrelevant.” John DiJulius.

 We will CARE for each customer.

  • COMMUNICATE with every customer with a smile, eye contact, and polite interaction. We 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 us.
  • RESPOND promptly and empathetically to each customer’s questions, concerns, and complaints.
  • ENRICH the experiences and, ultimately, the lives of every customer.

And when we CARE, each customer is wowed and happy, intent on returning again and again, raving to others along the way.

So let’s be revolutionary to improve the customer experience and CARE. When our people are energized and engaged to enthuse our customers, everyone’s lives will be enriched.

This is our time. Let’s be loud and proud. Let’s be revolutionary! And let’s Be GREAT out there!

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February 15, 2022 · 12:00 pm

Don’t offer customer service training. Develop your people with customer CARE education.

Don’t offer customer service training. Training is finite, usually only one to several days. Training is top-down, one-way “I know everything, you know nothing” instruction. Training is the how and what of service. Training is to develop THE BUSINESS. In the end, training is for a job. And the job of employees is to serve to satisfy the customer. The mission is to TAKE CARE of the customer.

Instead, have customer CARE education. Don’t have trainers or instructors. Have mentors and coaches. Your education is interactive and frequent. Your education is the how, what, and, why of service excellence. As mentors, educate your students with role-playing customer CARE (Communicate, Acknowledge, Respond, Enrich) actions to practice their soft skills. Your students will learn and appreciate the value of appearance standards, telephone etiquette, service recovery, and customer care. After “graduation”, as coaches, remind the people interactively, frequently, and continuously of your customer CARE excellence strategies. With suggestions, recommendations, and encouragement, empower your people to develop THEMSELVES. Your people will be enthused and energized to engage customers. They will create an emotional connection with your customers. The more emotional the connection, the more memorable the experience, the more loyal the customer. And everyone’s lives will be enriched. Your passion is to CARE for everyone, your people and customers alike.

And, yes, educate everyone. If you’re not caring for the customer, you darn well better be caring for the person who is.

When you create a great experience for people as much as you do for customers, you will earn the loyalty of both. And soon, without your focus on profits, profits will grow.

#customerservice #customerservicetraining #training #custserv

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February 7, 2022 · 12:00 pm

Don’t serve to satisfy customers. Serve to WOW them.

Don’t serve to satisfy customers. Serve to WOW them.

We don’t have a “Peak-End Rule”. Customers don’t “journey” sequentially over time, from start to finish. They journey emotionally with “ow” and “WOW moments”. The more ow or WOW, the more emotional the moment, the more memorable the experience. The more ow, the more disgustingly memorable the experience, the more disloyal the customer. The more WOW, the more delightfully memorable the experience, the more loyal the customer.

So when we analyze the journey, we first ask, “What are the customers’ expectations? Then we 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 that their experience is good, not better, just average. Nobody raves about average. And satisfied customers will leave when they find something better or less expensive.

So don’t serve to satisfy customers. Don’t treat customers as they would have expected. 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.

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 a neutral customer experience into a positive one. 

So Be Magnificently Boring! Consistently deliver a low-cost, no-cost “a little better than the average experience that customers expect” product or service so tediously repetitive that you feel it is boring, but to the customer, at that moment, you are Magnificent! For retailers, start opening 10 minutes earlier and closing 10 minutes later. For hotels, offer bottled water at arrival or departure. For auto service repair businesses, wash the car before returning the vehicle. For fine dining restaurants, personalize the menu with the customers’ names. Customers have an emotional connection with you. The more emotional the connection, the more memorable the experience, the more loyal the customer. And loyal customers will return again and again, raving about you to others along the way. Consistency builds trust. Trust builds loyalty. Loyalty builds your business. Deliver consistency Magnificently!

#customerservice #customerexperience #customerloyalty #custserv #custexp #cx

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January 10, 2022 · 12:00 pm

When It All Comes Down to Business, It’s “People First”

For many years, there has been a stranglehold of the “Profits over People” mentality in business. Senior executives care about top-line revenue, product and labor costs, market share, the stock price, bottom-line profits, and even their competitors, more than their people. Listening to the sweet cha-ching sound of profits, these bad bosses do not hear their grumbling employees and complaining customers many hierarchical rungs below. Even if bosses could hear, they would wear noise-canceling headphones, oblivious to the employees’ concerns and customer complaints. And “Profits over People” bad bosses would demand “My way or the highway” to the employees. Bad bosses didn’t care much about employees and employees could care less about their bosses or customers. 

Today, instead of focusing on “Profits over People”, envision “People First” as the solid foundation for everlasting business success. One caveat is “Employees First”. Managers will always see people as “employees”. Despite preaching “Employees First”, senior leaders would always have the rank and file employees “first”, on the bottom of the ladder, well below the leaders.

Recognizing “People First”, leaders will CARE for their people.

  • COMMUNICATE openly, transparently, interactively, and frequently any information that their people need and want to know. Listen empathetically to the people’s suggestions, concerns, and complaints. Express compassion with their recommendations and encouragement.
  • APPRECIATE the important roles, responsibilities, and efforts of their people.
  • RECOGNIZE, honor, and offer accolades for individual and team achievements, accomplishments, and acts of service to colleagues or customers.
  • EMPOWER people to make the right decisions for themselves, their colleagues, customers, and their business.

Whether it’s the turmoil of the pandemic, Skimpflation, or The Great Resignation, businesses will invigorate the New Normal with the “People First” culture. No longer are people taking second or third seats to customers or profits.

This cultural transformation of “People First” and the leadership commitment to CARE will enthuse and energize people to be engaged with their colleagues, customers, and the business.

When we create a great experience for people as much as we do for customers, we will earn the loyalty of both. And soon, without our focus on profits, profits will follow. And everyone, our people and our customers, will be enriched, literally and figuratively.

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January 3, 2022 · 12:00 pm

It’s time for a Customer Service Culture Transformation to Customer CARE

Is customer service the frontline? Really? Are we called to duty on the frontline battling customers? Doctors and nurses don’t serve their ailing patients. They care. So shouldn’t customer service be customer care? Or even better …

We are the Customer CARE team.

We CARE for each member of our team:

  • COMMUNICATE openly, transparently, interactively, and frequently any information that our people need and want to know. Listen empathetically to the people’s suggestions, concerns, and complaints. Express compassion with our recommendations and encouragement.
  • APPRECIATE the important roles, responsibilities, and efforts of our people.
  • RECOGNIZE, honor, and offer accolades for individual and team achievements, accomplishments, and acts of service to colleagues or customers.
  • EMPOWER our people to make the right decisions for themselves, their colleagues, customers, and their business.

We CARE for each customer:

  • 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 us.
  • RESPOND promptly and empathetically to each customer’s questions, concerns, and complaints.
  • ENRICH the experiences and, ultimately, the lives of every customer.

And when we CARE, each customer is wowed and happy, intent on returning again and again, raving to others along the way.

Customer service is for a job. If all a person did was for a job, then it would be to satisfy a customer. Satisfied customers feel that customer service is good, but not more than was expected, just average. Nobody raves about average. And satisfied customers may leave when they find something better or less expensive. So don’t have a job that satisfies customers.

Instead, invest in Customer CARE to develop your people to wow your customers. And when your people are energized and engaged to enthuse your customers, everyone’s lives will be enriched.

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December 13, 2021 · 11:00 am

Karen Hertzberg: Improving Customer Retention Through Great Customer Service

Customer loyalty is not by offering discounts, upgrades, or subscriptions to repeat customers. Real customer loyalty is built on service so great that customers return again and again, raving to others along the way. This week guest blogger Karen Hertzberg offers three QUI strategies to improve your service to keep customers coming back. You can read more about Karen at the end of her post.

What’s better than gaining a new customer? Keeping an existing one.

That’s why a high customer retention rate is an important goal for many businesses. Excellent customer service is one of the best ways to achieve this goal.

Customer retention supports long-term growth because it creates a loyal customer base. When these loyal customers are supported through great customer service, then they don’t have a reason to seek out other businesses.

Why Does Customer Service Impact Retention?

The quality of your service or product helps determine your company’s success, but a positive customer experience truly solidifies a strong relationship with your customers.

When a customer encounters great customer service, they trust that your company will treat them right no matter what issue pops up. This, in turn, makes them more likely to stick with your company the next time they need your products or services. You’re a safer bet than another company whose customer service quality is unknown.

Many business owners focus on building their customer base over delivering excellent customer service. But customer service shouldn’t be an afterthought. Your business is going to make mistakes sometimes, and solid customer service is the only way to make sure those mistakes don’t come back to haunt you.

How Do I Know if My Customer Service is Hurting Customer Retention?

Asking customers to complete a survey after a customer service experience will show you where your weaknesses are. Many times, businesses think they’re doing the right thing but they don’t have a solid understanding of what their customers actually want.

Let your customers tell you where your strengths and weaknesses are. For the best results, make your survey quick, easy to understand, and offer a reward, such as a discount on their next purchase, for completing the survey.

What Are Some Customer Service Strategies I Can Implement Today?

Not sure where to start to improve your customer service quality? Try some of these strategies below to guide your business. 

Write a Mission Statement

If you’re ready to rebuild your customer service strategy for the better, start with writing a mission statement. You should always strategize with your long-term goals in mind and a mission statement helps keep you focused.

Set Reasonable Expectations

While it’s tempting to brag about your excellent customer service, it’s far better to pleasantly surprise your customers than to disappoint them. That doesn’t mean you should set low expectations for your customer service. Just be mindful about making claims that your customer service team might not be able to live up to.

Be Honest About Mistakes

Don’t try to cover up any mistakes when you’re dealing with a customer service complaint. If something went wrong, your customer knows it. They won’t appreciate your dishonesty. 

If you acknowledge your mistakes and do something to make it up to your customer (a future discount, refund, etc.), this shows your commitment to improving the customer experience.

I hope these tips help your business prioritize the customer experience to build up your customer retention. If you’re looking for more information about customer retention, the visual below debunks some customer service myths to set you on the right path for long-term growth.

Karen Hertzberg is a writer and digital content marketer from the Seattle metro area. Along with consulting on content strategy, she creates effective how-to and thought leadership content for several B2B and B2C companies. Empathy is her superpower, and she’s obsessed with clear, thoughtful written communication.

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December 6, 2021 · 8:45 am

Wow Your New Employees

It is really disappointing to new employees that the first day of orientation is spent on defining the rules and restrictions, usually required by the legal department, that, if not followed, will result in termination. At the end of the day, someone is asking, “How was your first day at work?” You don’t want their answer to be, “Well, all I learned was what will get me fired.”

While that information is important, consider the overall message you are giving new employees at the end of their first day. Highlight your culture by introducing your core values, describing the empowerment processes that employees can use to exceed customer expectations, and offering specific stories when employees went above and beyond for your customers.

Don’t bore your employees with rote customer service training. Instead, inspire them with a customer service education. Give your employees customer service tips and the reasons or explanations why it was important for customers. For example, tell your employees to respond with a customer’s “Thank you,“ with ”You’re welcome,“ or “My pleasure”. Then ask them if they know why “No problem” is a bad response. One or several may say that “No problem” means, in short, it’s no problem to them. Agree but say that the customer believes the employee said, at length, “Of the two of us around here, I’m the star of the show. Whatever you ask is not important to me, so it’s no problem.” Then let them know that you want to emphasize customer-centricity – always revolve around the customer. To customers, it’s all about them, not the employees. Then let them know that you want your employees, not to take care of customers, but to care for customers. Then encourage them to come up with ideas for customer care.  

Be sure to prioritize during orientation the customer-centricity culture. Prior to orientation, collect outstanding customer service stories, bind them into a booklet, and give to all new employees.

One day of new hire orientation is never enough. If you want your employees to make it a habit to deliver outstanding service, you have to make it a habit to recognize them when they do. As employees care for their customers, habitually CARE for them: Communicate. Appreciate. Recognize. Empower.

  • Distribute positive customer comments via your company email.
  • Mount posters of customer testimonials.
  • Create a weekly PowerPoint video of customer survey compliments along with the employees’ headshots to be run in the employee cafeteria.
  • Each time an employee is mentioned by a customer, give them a raffle ticket. At the end of the month, hold a raffle of prizes.
  • Write personal thank you notes to employees who deliver outstanding service. Send the notes to their home directly.

When you emphasize during orientation recommendations for exceptional customer service over rules for poor employee behavior, and follow up regularly with recognizing staff, your new employees will be motivated to live up to your business culture.

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November 23, 2021 · 8:07 pm

With my heartfelt gratitude this Thanksgiving

Some of you may know that I suffered a stroke in April. Ever since then, I have been sidelined with extensive recuperation and excruciating rehabilitation. 

In the United States this week we celebrate Thanksgiving. So I want to take this opportunity to express my appreciation and gratitude for many who have wished me well as I recover.

Today I would like to give a very special mention to the following people:

  • Edgar Gum, regional vice president for Marriott Vacations and his team, along with my fellow colleagues in Hawaii at the time, David Wong and Amy Shiroma
  • Gustavo Salazar, Marriott Vacation Club Pulse
  • Femy, Naty, Rebecca, Tammy, Tracy, Haas, Jackie, and Mike of The Henry Dearborn
  • Genovev, Janice, Joyce. Kathy, and Marsha, associates who were in hotels I managed

During my time at the properties, these individuals personified customer care over customer service. They not only served their guests to take care of them, they really cared for each guest and every associate. They cared for anyone who was feeling confused, angry, sad, or alone. They cared for everyone on or off the clock. And, as I recuperated, they expressed their genuine concern and well-wishes more than once.

I also want to thank customer service speakers Steve Curtin, Shep Hyken, and Adam Toporek and leadership speaker Rick Olson who wished me well beyond a simple “Get well soon” card. I very much appreciated their genuine concern and well wishes.

To those who were not aware I had a stroke, thank you very much for sticking with me for months without my blog, Facebook and Instagram posts, LinkedIn articles and posts, and tweets. I certainly have appreciated you following me now after I had a long hiatus of publishing and posting while I recovered.  

Since this is Thanksgiving, let me share with you quotes about Thanksgiving and gratitude that I have found to be more meaningful given my personal hardship and now, a most bountiful response from so many of you:

“Give thanks not just on Thanksgiving Day, but every day of your life. Appreciate and never take for granted all that you have.” Catherine Pulsifer

“The struggle ends when gratitude begins.” Neale Donald Walsh

“We must find the time to stop and thank the people who make a difference in our lives.” John F Kennedy

“No one has ever become poor by giving.”  Anne Frank

“Showing gratitude is one of the simplest yet most powerful things humans can do for each other.” Randy Pausch

“Appreciation is a wonderful thing. It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well.”  Voltaire

“No duty is more urgent than that of returning thanks.” James Allen

“Make it a habit to tell people thank you. To express your appreciation, sincerely and without the expectation of anything in return.”  Ralph Marston

“Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings.” William Arthur Ward

“Appreciation can change a day, even change a life. Your willingness to put it into words is all that is necessary.” Margaret Cousins

“An attitude of gratitude brings great things.” Yogi Bhajan

“Thanksgiving is a joyous invitation to shower the world with love and gratitude.” Amy Leigh McCree

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QUI QUOTE: It’s not the one BIG WOW to one customer that builds loyalty. It’s the one small wow delivered consistently to every customer.

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November 22, 2021 · 12:28 pm