ProTips
2/22/12
What should I say when the customer calls and he's mad as hell? The customer is looking for two things. They want to know that you care about them personally, and they want to know what you are going to do about it now... Read More →
Categories: ProTips Customer Service
2/15/12
The Web used to be isolated and anonymous. Now it is social and personalized. Facebook and other social networking sites seem to have figured out the Holy Grail every business has been seeking to replicate online with their customers - trust and engagement... Read More →
2/8/12
What is the difference between a stall and an objection?... Read More →
2/1/12
When you look for the positive qualities of your challenging customer, you increase your ability to connect with that customer and enjoy your time together... Read More →
Categories: ProTips Customer Service
1/25/12
Take off your customer service provider hat for a moment and put on your customer hat. Think about your own interactions as a customer... Read More →
Categories: ProTips Customer Service Sales
1/18/12
Customer expectations of service organizations are loud and clear: look good, be responsive, be reassuring through courtesy and competence, be empathetic, but, most of all, be reliable. Do what you said you would do. Keep the service promise... Read More →
Categories: ProTips Customer Service
1/11/12
"Use 'I' instead of 'they' or 'we.' To a customer, the company begins and ends with you..." Read More →
Categories: ProTips Customer Service
1/04/12
Believe in yourself. When you stop your negative self-talk, you will start to believe in yourself... Read More →
Categories: ProTips Customer Service
12/28/11
I always give 110% to my job. 40% on Monday, 30% on Tuesday, 20% on Wednesday, 15% on Thursday, and 5% on Friday. - Randy Glasbergen Read More →
Categories: ProTips
12/21/11
Good service pleases both the giver and the recipient by the beauty of the performance, thereby enhancing life and adding value to an event that would otherwise be only a transaction... Read More →
Categories: ProTips Customer Service
12/14/11
Our customer support is so responsive that…Oops, there's a call, gotta go! - Advertisement for an Internet Service Provider Read More →
Categories: ProTips Customer Service Sales
12/07/11
Are your customer service associates properly trained in how to handle a customer complaint or an irate person?... Read More →
Categories: ProTips Management Customer Service
11/30/11
What do I say to my customer when my competition lies about me, my product, or my company?... Read More →
Categories: ProTips Marketing Sales
11/23/11
The essence of good customer service is forming a relationship with customers – a relationship that that individual customer feels that he would like to pursue... Read More →
Categories: ProTips Customer Service
11/16/11
Add welcome words to your vocabulary. When you use words that sound positive and confident, you will project a positive and confident attitude... Read More →
Categories: ProTips Customer Service Sales
11/09/11
Teaming up for innovation is a lot like an athletic event, and many of the same principles apply... Read More →
Categories: ProTips Management
11/02/11
Training can launch an ongoing strategy. It can teach people service behaviors, empower them, reward their involvement, and initiate ongoing processes for building customer loyalty. But company efforts must have legs... Read More →
Categories: ProTips Management
10/26/11
At the service encounter level, hospitality service providers are anticipating effectively when they provide service before the guest asks for it. This requires not only knowing what the guest will need but also when... Read More →
Categories: ProTips Customer Service Sales
10/19/11
Differentiate yourself from your competition in ways other than price. There are seven key elements in value-differentiation. Price is not one of them... Read More →
Categories: ProTips Marketing Sales
10/12/11
What's the relationship between success and crucial conversations?... Read More →
Categories: ProTips Management Customer Service
10/05/11
You can't promise your customers sunny weather, but you can promise to hold an umbrella over them when it rains... Read More →
Categories: ProTips Customer Service Sales
9/28/11
What is the best way to control a phone conversation? Two words: ask questions. The person who asks the questions has the control... Read More →
Categories: ProTips Customer Service Sales
9/21/11
Promptness is always related to quickness. Timeliness is not. That is, what may be considered timely is relative to the situation and to customers' expectations... Read More →
Categories: ProTips Customer Service Sales
9/14/11
Promptness is particularly important at the first step of the service encounter - the point of initial greeting. No customers enjoy standing and waiting at the greeting area of any establishment without their presence at least being acknowledged... Read More →
Categories: ProTips Customer Service
9/07/11
Respond to your customer's opening statement with an assurance that you can help. Say something like, "Absolutely. I can help you with that." Even if you are going to refer the customer to another department or employee, you can give an assurance... Read More →
Categories: ProTips Customer Service
8/31/11
Faulty assumption #1 – The customer is always right. Using such polar thinking – right versus wrong – precludes getting at the real issue of how we can build mutually useful relationships… Read More →
Categories: ProTips Customer Service
8/24/11
Because of the need to serve internal as well as external customers, customer service must be everybody's job within a hospitality organization... Read More →
Categories: ProTips Management Customer Service
8/17/11
Too many companies use one-shot training. They hire a flashy speaker to get employees jazzed up about customer service. They hold rallies or give great locker-room speeches and hope for the best. Without follow-up, things quickly get back to normal. Read More →
Categories: ProTips Management
8/10/11
Validate customers' decisions. Even if you do not agree with customers' choices, always validate their decisions. If the vacuum salesperson was not able to make the sale, he could validate the customer's decision by saying... Read More →
Categories: ProTips Customer Service Sales
8/03/11
Dr. Albert Mehrabian of the University of California at Los Angeles once wrote an article entitled, “Communication Effectiveness.” In it, he said that communication effectiveness is: Read More →
Categories: ProTips Marketing Customer Service Sales
07/27/11
The classic 3.5 reasons people (you included) don't achieve their goals are... Read More →
Categories: ProTips Marketing Customer Service Sales
07/20/11
If your best solution is not suitable for the customer, try to find something that will work. If you are at a loss to know how to resolve a problem, ask the customer what she would do to solve the problem if this were her business... Read More →
Categories: ProTips Customer Service
7/13/11
A rose on time is far more valuable than a $1,000 gift that's too late. - Jim Rohn Read More →
Categories: ProTips Customer Service
7/7/11
Most salespeople think that unless they are calling a customer to sell something that it's a wasted call. Nothing could be further from the truth. Read More →
6/30/11
People are not your most important asset, the right people are. -Jim Collins, From Good to Great
Categories: ProTips Management
6/23/11
Service that fully satisfies is done with no expectation of return, and is freely chosen. - Peter Block, Stewardship
Categories: ProTips Customer Service
6/16/11
Respond to E-customers quickly. You build credibility as a company by being responsive to all your customers... Read More →
Categories: ProTips Customer Service
6/09/11
Realize that your people will treat your customer the way they are treated. Employees take their cue from management... Read More →
Categories: ProTips Customer Service
6/02/11
Follow the customer, if they change...we change. -Sir Terry Leahy, former CEO, Tesco
Categories: ProTips
05/25/11
The purpose of business is to create and keep a customer. -Peter F. Drucker
Categories: ProTips
5/18/11
When you stop talking, you've lost your customer. -Estée Lauder
Categories: ProTips
5/12/11
An empowered organization is one in which individuals have the knowledge, skill, desire, and opportunity to personally succeed in a way that leads to collective organizational success. -Stephen Covey
Categories: ProTips
5/05/11
It's typical for service people to ask "How may I help you?" To their credit, they may ask that so often that it loses much of its intended meaning... Read More →
Categories: ProTips Customer Service
4/28/11
Think about the businesses you recently walked into that made you feel uncomfortable. What did the employees do that made you feel uncomfortable? What aspects of the appearance of the business made you feel uncomfortable? -Renee Evenson
Categories: ProTips Customer Service
4/21/11
The great leaders are like the best conductors - they reach beyond the notes to reach the magic in the players. -Blaine Lee
Categories: ProTips
4/14/11
Men are rich only as they give. He who gives great service gets great rewards. -Elbert Hubbard
Categories: ProTips Customer Service
4/07/11
Are your customers greeted when they walk in the door or at least within 30-40 seconds upon entering? Is it possible they could come in, look around, and go out without ever having their presence acknowledged?... Read More →
Categories: ProTips Customer Service
3/31/11
Remember to ask if there is anything else that you can do for your customer. Taking the time to ask the question often results in increased business and a more committed customer. -Adrian Miller
Categories: ProTips Customer Service
3/24/11
Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success. -Henry Ford
Categories: ProTips
3/17/11
Consumers are statistics. Customers are people. -Stanley Marcus
Categories: ProTips Customer Service
3/10/11
The customer experience is the next competitive battleground. -Jerry Gregoire, CIO, Dell
Categories: ProTips Customer Service
3/3/11
Well done is better than well said. -Benjamin Franklin
Categories: ProTips Customer Service
2/23/11
Think about your best customers. How did they get that way? Don't you have great relationships with them? If you're friends with your best customers, it will (often) eliminate the need for price checking, price negotiating, and delivery time demands. You can even occasionally screw up and... Read More →
Categories: ProTips Customer Service
2/16/11
Wearing the same shirts doesn’t make a team. -Buchholz and Roth, Creating the High Performance Team
Categories: ProTips
2/9/11
Consider the following when dealing with a customer who frustrates you: "Emotions don't settle upon you like a fog. They are not foisted upon you by others. No matter how comfortable it might make you feel saying it - others don't make you mad. You make you mad. You and only you create your... Read More →
Categories: ProTips Customer Service
2/2/11
The truth is that most people just see their jobs as functions they do. They don't see the reason why they do them. When people can look past their jobs and see that their purpose is either to satisfy customers or to support those who directly touch customers, a transformation occurs. They... Read More →
Categories: ProTips Customer Service
1/26/11
When you are speaking with a customer of a different culture who does not understand what you are saying, speak in the same tone and voice level, but choose different words to convey your message. Repeating the same words over and over will most likely frustrate your customer - and you... Read More →
Categories: ProTips Customer Service
1/19/11
Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young. -Henry Ford
Categories: ProTips Customer Service
1/12/11
One of the more subtle techniques to use is to, whenever giving directions to a customer, use an open hand gesture. If you point with an index finger or thumb as we do in our every day lives it can come off as rude at times and we want to avoid appearing rude at all times. Open hands are inviting... Read More →
Categories: ProTips Customer Service
1/5/11
Be careful when asking a "why" question. For example, "Why do you want to do that?" may put your customer on the defensive. She might reply, "It's none of your business." Smiling and using a reflective or helpful tone indicates you are asking out of interest to learn more about your customer's... Read More →
Categories: ProTips Customer Service
12/22/10
We shall serve for the joy of serving, prosperity shall flow to us and through us in unending streams of plenty. -Charles Fillmore
Categories: ProTips Customer Service
12/15/10
Treat employees well. Employees are your internal customers and need a regular dose of appreciation. Thank them and find ways to let them know how important they are. Treat your employees with respect and chances are they will have a higher regard for customers. Appreciation stems from the top... Read More →
Categories: ProTips Customer Service
12/8/10
Attitude is everything. Good or bad. Whether yours is good or bad, your attitude is what people are going to remember about you. When you interact with customers, you may not get a second chance. Even if you are not a naturally positive person you can learn to have a more positive attitude... Read More →
Categories: ProTips Customer Service
12/1/10
Go the extra step by following up on your solution [to a customer's complaint]. Re-contact the customer to make certain that everything has been handled in a satisfactory manner, and they are pleased with the outcome. -Adrian Miller
Categories: ProTips Customer Service
11/24/10
Too often when I hear a "thanks for doing business with us," it sounds phony, forced, or robotic. People often say it out of habit but they put no feeling or authenticity into it. So, when you thank your customers, be real about it. Make it genuine. Thank them in multiple ways, not just once... Read More →
Categories: ProTips Customer Service
11/17/10
Instill positive feelings. Never make customers feel bad about their decisions. Think how the mother would feel if the salesperson said, "I guess your son will have to deal with the allergens in your house." Rather, he could say, "It's a big decision. I'll be happy to help you if you have any... Read More →
Categories: ProTips Customer Service
11/10/10
For good customer service, go the extra mile. Include a thank-you note in a customer's package; send a birthday card; clip the article when you see their name or photo in print; write a congratulatory note when they get a promotion. There are all sorts of ways for you to keep in touch with your... Read More →
Categories: ProTips Customer Service
11/3/10
If you get everybody in the company involved in customer service, not only are they ‘feeling the customer’ but they’re also getting a feeling for what’s not working. -Penny Handscomb
Categories: ProTips Customer Service
10/27/10
Sustain on-going training and reinforcement. Good customer service skills are not natural for most people. Effective customer service training must be reinforced and taught on a recurring basis. -Gregory P. Smith for About.com
Categories: ProTips Customer Service
10/20/10
Being courteous promotes a positive first impression. Customers appreciate courteous treatment. As young children, we learned basic courtesies: to say please and thank you; to pay attention and not to interrupt when other people speak; to treat others with respect; to play fairly; to say... Read More →
Categories: ProTips Customer Service
10/13/10
The ratio of We’s to I’s is the best indicator of the development of a team. -Lewis B. Ergen
Categories: ProTips
10/6/10
Be helpful - even if there’s no immediate profit in it. The other day I popped into a local watch shop because I had lost the small piece that clips the pieces of my watch band together. When I explained the problem, the proprietor said that he thought he might have one lying around. He... Read More →
Categories: ProTips Customer Service
9/29/10
It's much harder to provide great customer service than I would have ever realized. It's much more art than science...and not just about the facts but about how you are conveying them. -David Yu, Chief Operating Officer, Betfair
Categories: ProTips Customer Service
9/22/10
When a hostile person is being nasty to you, they expect you to fight back, to defend or counterattack. The last thing they expect is for you to agree with something they have said. If you can find something to agree with, the attacker will be caught off guard. Creating agreement makes it... Read More →
Categories: ProTips Customer Service
9/15/10
Always tell your customer what you CAN do for them. Don't begin your conversation by telling them what you CAN'T do. -Adrian Miller
Categories: ProTips Customer Service
9/8/10
If you’re a good salesperson, you can sell anything to anyone once. But it will be your approach to customer service that determines whether or not you’ll ever be able to sell that person anything else. -Susan Ward
Categories: ProTips Customer Service
9/1/10
Gone are the days when the customer overlooked poor service because the price was discounted. Finding ways to exceed the customers' expectations is the key. -Terry Wooten, “Providing Good Customer Service”
Categories: ProTips Customer Service
8/25/10
Do your customers know who you are? If they see you, would they recognize you? Could they call you by name? A visible management is an asset. -Liz Tahir
Categories: ProTips Customer Service
8/18/10
Do you know who your customers are? If a regular customer came in to your facility, would you recognize them? Could you call them by name? All of us like to feel important; calling someone by name is a simple way to do it and lets them know you value them as customers. - Liz Tahir for About.com
Categories: ProTips Customer Service
8/11/10
Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work. -Thomas Edison
Categories: ProTips
8/4/10
Seek customer complaints with enthusiasm. For every complaint you receive from customers, there are at least ten other customers who visited your business who have the same criticism - they just didn't share theirs. A portion of those ten people just took their business to your competitors. Look... Read More →
Categories: ProTips Customer Service
7/28/10
It is amazing what can be accomplished when nobody cares about who gets the credit. -Robert Yates
Categories: ProTips Marketing Customer Service
7/14/10
Give more than expected. Since the future of all companies lies in keeping customers happy, think of ways to elevate yourself above the competition. Consider the following... Read More →
Categories: ProTips Customer Service
7/7/10
People who are skilled at dialog do their best to make it safe for everyone to add their meaning to the shared pool - even ideas that at first glance appear controversial, wrong, or at odds with their own beliefs. Now, obviously they don't agree with every idea; they simply do their best to... Read More →
Categories: ProTips Marketing Customer Service
6/30/10
Determine what makes what your offer special. Study the competition. Think about their customer service and the customer service you provide. What can you offer your customers that is “better” than the competition? There are sure to be aspects of your customer Service that you can promote as... Read More →
Categories: ProTips Customer Service
6/24/10
There's just three things I'd ever say: If anything goes bad, I did it. If anything goes semi-good, then we did it. If anything goes real good, then you did it. That's all it takes to get people to win football games for you. -Paul (Bear) Bryant
Categories: ProTips Marketing Customer Service
6/23/10
More business is lost every year through neglect than through any other cause. -Jim Cathart
Categories: ProTips Customer Service
6/16/10
Give customers the benefit of the doubt. Proving to him why he’s wrong and you’re right isn’t worth losing a customer over. You will never win an argument with a customer, and you should never, ever put a customer in that position. - Liz Tahir
Categories: ProTips Customer Service
6/9/10
An acquaintance seated next to R.J. Wrigley on a flight to Chicago asked the multimillionaire why he continued to advertise his chewing gum when it was far and away the most successful product in its field. Wrigley replied, "For the same reason that the pilot keeps this plane's engines... Read More →
Categories: ProTips Marketing Customer Service
6/2/10
Virtually every company will be going out and empowering their workers with a certain set of tools, and the big difference in how much value is received from that will be how much the company steps back and really thinks through their business processes, thinking through how their business can... Read More →
Categories: ProTips Marketing Customer Service
5/26/10
"Let advertisers spend the same amount of money improving their product that they do on advertising and they wouldn't need to advertise it." - Will Rogers. Are you doing all you can to continue to improve your product and your customers' experiences?
Categories: ProTips Customer Service
5/19/10
As Elbert Hubbard said, "An ounce of loyalty is worth a pound of cleverness." Are you rewarding your team members who have demonstrated loyalty to your business? If there is no system in place, reward longevity on your team. If you already have a system, consider ways to recognize your... Read More →
Categories: ProTips
5/12/10
Identify and anticipate needs. Customers don't buy products or services. They buy good feelings and solutions to problems. Most customer needs are emotional rather than logical. The more you know your customers, the better you become at anticipating their needs. Communicate regularly so that... Read More →
Categories: ProTips Customer Service
5/5/10
If a customer makes a request for something special, do everything you can to say yes. The fact that a customer cared enough to ask is all you need to know in trying to accommodate her. It may be an exception from your customer service policy, but (if it isn’t illegal) try to do it. Remember... Read More →
Categories: ProTips Customer Service
4/28/10
Today many American corporations spend a great deal of money and time trying to increase the originality of their employees, hoping thereby to get a competitive edge in the marketplace. But such programs make no difference unless management also learns to recognize the valuable ideas among the... Read More →
Categories: ProTips Customer Service
4/21/10
The man who will use his skill and constructive imagination to see how much he can give for a dollar, instead of how little he can give for a dollar, is bound to succeed. -Henry Ford
Categories: ProTips
4/14/10
Remember there is no way that the quality of customer service can exceed the quality of the people who provide it. Think you can get by paying the lowest wage, giving the fewest of benefits, doing the least training for your employees? It will show.Companies don't help customers... people do... Read More →
Categories: ProTips Customer Service
4/8/10
The key to successful leadership is influence, not authority. - Ken Blanchard
Categories: ProTips
3/31/10
As long as you are going to be thinking anyway, think big. -Donald Trump
Categories: ProTips
3/24/10
Merely satisfying customers will not be enough to earn their loyalty. Instead, they must experience exceptional service worthy of their repeat business and referral. Understand the factors that drive this customer revolution. -Rick Tate
Categories: ProTips Customer Service