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May31
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This week at Know More Media authors get to be "King For a Week" - in recognition of Larry King, the "King" of interviews. I had the honor of interviewing Tom Vander Well, a speaker on the topic of customer service as well as a partner and Vice-President of C Wenger Group, a consulting firm in Des Moines, Iowa. His clients include big name companies like Principal Financial Group, John Deere Credit, Target, ShopNBC, and Cabela's.
What I enjoy about Tom's blog, QAQNA, is that he provides valuable  content, great customer service tips, and introduces me to other great bloggers through his "Coffee Time Links".
This is the first in a two-part interview....So, without further ado...
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May30
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Tell me a compelling story - then I'll give you a call...
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Here's a little news blurb that I got from M & C Tech: WASHINGTON, DC, United States (UPI) -- Though it`s long been thought that customer service by means of online text chat is too expensive and inefficient to deploy,...
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The artist side of me went to the Fabric Store to find some felt to use for my greeting cards. I stepped into the store and inhaled all those fabulous colors and textures. I stood in the front of the...
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You can hide behind the mask of a smile when you're in front of the customer, but on the phone most customers can instantly detect how you're feeling from the moment you say that first word.
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So, my friends and I went to visit Raul again over at Hometown Buffet. Actually, I had no idea he was going to be working on a busy Memorial Day night, but I was pleasantly greeted by him and was...
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May29
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Today was Memorial Day and to most of us in the U.S., it's another day off from work. People are out at the beaches and having barbeques...For me, it was a day spent thinking about all those men and women...
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The rainmakers are the ones who are making the money for the company - they deserve to be paid what they're worth - in fact, they should probably be paid more than the CEO's!
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I have a friend who works at home and takes care of her four boys(!). I don't know how she does it, but I have much respect for her and all the mom's who can juggle all of that and...
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May28
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Since many of our universities haven't started offering "Customer Service" classes - yet - I highly recommend that students, especially students who work in customer service as a part-time gig, take a psychology class. Yes, take a psychology class. If...
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What would you do if someone calls you wanting to return a product but has absolutely no proof that they had purchased the item from you? This is the dilemma that The Customer Service Fanatic faced. The customer is screaming...
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"It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his job depends on not understanding it."- Upton Sinclair I read the above quote and I'm trying to understand what it means...Any thoughts? Well, it brings to mind something...
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As a work-at-home blogger and entrepreneur, work can sometimes become overwhelming. There's articles to write, magazines to read, online marketing to take care of, etc. etc. I sit here at my computer and I start to get that feeling again....that...
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I frequent my local Barnes and Noble about two-three times a week to write and browse the latest news in business, fashion, and get some dose of other human energy. In all the times I've been there, I've only been...
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May27
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The other day while I was at the bookstore, I browsed through The Power of Focus by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, and Les Hewitt. My instinct told me to pick it up and the book opened up to this...
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Mike Sansone of Converstations has a very compelling post that made me reflect on the power that technology has in helping us stay connected to our customer. Go ahead, read his post... Imagine just how one simple little act made...
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I write this headline and I have to laugh a little...because isn't that an oxymoron? No offense to individuals who work for government :) I just came across this article that states that government agencies are making moves to improve...
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My local Jamba Juice has a "Customer of the Week" board that posts pictures of their favorite or frequent customers. I asked the cashier how someone gets to become "Customer of the Week" and the reply was: "You have to...
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I know that many of you have heard of or read The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey. If you have, this will be a review of Habit 4: Think Win/Win. In my real estate training,...
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May26
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Excuse me if I become a little cynical with this post... I'm a little irked after reading Boyd's post regarding his trip with Air Canada. You see, Boyd has a medical condition which requires him to eat certain types of...
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I came across this article that asks: "How comfortable are you with giving your personal details to call centre staff in foreign countries?" Simon Moores, the writer of the article, answers with "I have little enough confidence in our own...
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I guess not all businesses in small towns give great service. After reading Tom Vander Well's post about getting great service in a small town, I am forced to retract my previous post and statement: "There's definitely a big difference...
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Before I buy a product online, I always look to see if the company offers some type of money-back guarantee. A service guarantee tells me that the company is willing to stand behind its product and can be trustworthy (for...
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In the magazine, Business 2.0, G. Pascal Zachary interviews Dick Kovacevick, the CEO of Wells Fargo Bank. According to Dick, there is no such thing as an unprofitable customer - just one you haven't figure out how to make money...
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May24
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I called a company today to take care of some business - only to be taken through a long list of menu options. I was listening for an option that fit my need, but after option number five, the A.D.D....
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I can't remember what website I was on the other day, but there was a message that caught my attention: "Due to the overwhelming amount of inquiries, we are unable to respond to all emails" That was it. My question...
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I had a very pleasant dinner at Hometown Buffet tonight. Yes, Hometown Buffet! In all the years I've eaten at that restaurant I've never experienced such great service. First, for those of you who are not familiar with the Hometown...
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I recently discovered Dave Lorenzo's Career Intensity Blog and I highly recommend it to those of you working in the customer service field. Dave's book and blog is devoted to anybody in business, but I think it would be especially...
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I was in Target yesterday and as the cashier was ringing me up, I asked him how his day was going. "Oh, it's a pretty slow day today," he answered. "Is that a good thing or bad thing?" I asked. ...
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May23
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Many customer service reps are not paid what their worth. So, how do you compensate them for their time if you can't afford to pay them a higher wage? You offer them words of encouragement and praise. People thrive off...
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Every action that you and your employees take should be done with the customer at the forefront of their minds. It should be automatic. These actions directly or indirectly affect customer satisfaction.
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Last night I had dinner at a little Italian restaurant up the street from where I live. The food is absolutely yummy. It was a slow Monday night with only a couple tables occupied. The sun was setting, the candles...
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To me, making eye contact is a sign of strength in a person. I can tell when a person isn't genuine about the service they provide. I just look into their eyes... (Ha! No, this is not going to turn...
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"There is no substitute for excellent customer service." This is what I read today from Jay Conners of Mortgage Sales and Marketing blog. It's a very compelling sentence and something we should keep in mind when we think about trying...
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May22
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Yes, we've all had our share of customers from hell. There was a time when I thought I had an invisible sign on my head that said "Abuse Me" because it seemed that every customer I helped felt the need...
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Hat tip to the guys at the Discount Tire Store who gave the author of Genuine Blog "Service With a Smile": "To the guys at Discount Tire Store, I will definitely return to your store and make all of my...
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The Brand Builder Blog has a great post called "Customer Love: 10 Steps to building a kickass Customer Service Department". A highly recommended read... Here's a condensed version of the ten steps: Step 1: Make the decision to make Customer...
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I believe in karma and follow that famous mantra "What goes around, comes around". This just doesn't apply to individual people - this applies to companies as well. When I think of companies that are going through "troubles", for example,...
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It was a very eventful weekend for me, thus the lack of posts! It was a weekend full of being of service to others, which is my bread and butter :) It began with the meticulous, stressful, but a very...
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May19
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This past week I broke down and started watching TV again. I had stopped watching because I wanted to focus more on my writing and was simply sick of all the stupid - for lack of a better word -...
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Do you have any programs put in place to gather feedback from you customers? If you don't, how do you know how your company is doing in terms of satisfying your customers? Or do you not even care about having...
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May17
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Every company that does business online should provide a customer guarantee. Here's a company that gets it right: "REWCI.COM CUSTOMER SATISFACTION GUARANTEE"When you purchase your panasonic fan from REWCI.COMWe guarantee it to be free from defectsFor 3 years from the...
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Matt Krantz of USAToday gets this question: Should you avoid buying a stock if you get terrible customer service while buying their products as a consumer? Matt advises that you shouldn't necessarily write off a company and not invest in...
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Customer service is the most important aspect of any business. I'll say that again... Customer service is THE MOST IMPORTANT aspect of any business. Did you hear me? You can have the fanciest CRM and spend billions of dollars on...
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I read the news headlines and the big topic today is a study by the University of Michigan that says that customer service for the airline industry is at a five-year low. After reading a couple articles, like this one...
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So, yesterday I started listing the characteristics of "The New Salesperson". Today I will continue that list... Keeps track of a customer's desired results and challenges - a good salesperson knows what the customer expects from the company, notates what...
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May16
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Jim Berkowitz of CRM Mastery E-Journal shares with us his definition of CRM: "CRM is an ongoing process of managing customer relationships using a synergistic blend of people (their behavior), business processes and technology that, if well managed, will allow...
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If only more companies paid attention to what bloggers had to say about them... This thought comes after reading an article by Shel Holtz titled "Customer Service On Edge" where he tells us how he posted a complaint about a...
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I called my phone company to pay my phone bill over the phone... After the customer service rep processed my transaction, I found an opportunity to ask her about her job. "Can I ask you a couple questions?" I asked....
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As a salesperson you may not think that suggestive selling is part of customer service, but it is. As a manager one of my challenges was coaching my associates to suggestive sell items to increase their sales. Who doesn't want...
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Customers are more sophisticated nowadays. At the touch of a button they can shop and compare prices on any given item available on the internet. From there they can decide if they want to buy it online or go to...
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May15
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If you're like me, you probably receive dozens of newsletters and emails a day from businesses. At one time I had over 500 emails in my inbox, which was pretty overwhelming! Some of these businesses that I had signed up...
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What they found doesn't seem to surprise me. Nothing surprises me anymore when it comes to how companies treat their customers who seek information online!
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I once went to Carl's Jr. to get a milkshake, but instead of just a plain ole' milkshake, I had a craving for a chocolate and vanilla mix. I asked the person who took my order if they could make...
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Once or twice a week I go to the Barnes and Noble down the street to write and check out customer service books to review. Today I came across this book called Hug Your Customers : The Proven Way to Personalize...
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May14
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Kathy Sierra of Creating Passionate Users shares with us some of the pitfalls of listening to all your users (customers) and how to go about filtering the negative feedback. I would think that it would be good to listen to...
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I'm sure there are many managers or business owners out there that are wondering how they can instill passion into the employees that work for them. How do you get people to fall in love with their job and exude...
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In business today you have the fast-talking business owners and salespeople who can't think further than tomorrow and what sales need to be made today. They're ready to make the "quick buck" and end up leaving the customers in their...
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For the first time ever I checked the CustomersAreAlways page rankings on Sitemeter to see what the top five pages of this blog are and what topics are the most popular… Which Came First, The Customer or The Service? ...
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“People don’t remember exactly what you did, or what you said… but they will always remember how you made them feel.” –Author Unknown I found the above quote via the Career Intensity blog where Dave Lorenzo offers his advice on developing people...
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May13
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I read an interesting post over at the Aldo Coffee blog via Converstations. It’s amazing the things you learn as a blogger….Today I learned all about cannolis and what to do if one of your customers wants to return one...
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I came across this article by Bea Fields via Wedding Planning where she outlines for us the Top Ten Strategies for Delivering 5-Star Customer Service. They are: 1. Treat your customers like royalty. 2. Provide valet parking. 3. Make a...
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I just read Dan Tudor's post about a phone call he made to a Las Vegas hotel...Here's a blurb: "You have a really unique last name, is it Hawaiian?" I asked. "Yes", she replied in a very tired and put-out...
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This is the question posed in an article in Business Week. With all these new companies popping up, the energy seems to be high in Silicon Valley again. Heck, the energy is high all over the world. There are literally...
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"Ask not what your teammates can do for you. Ask what you can do for your teammates." --Earvin "Magic" Johnson, basketball legend NBA basketball playoffs are in full swing and this is generally when you get to see the...
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May12
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If there’s one type of customer I could have, I would want the customer who blogs. It didn’t really hit me until today the power that a blogger has within the context of the business world. Yes, I’ve written about...
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Hiring exceptional people is the first step to providing phenomenal customer service. It’s a challenging task trying to find the right fit for your company, but there are many people out there who can help you. For example… Robert...
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In one of Donald Trump’s books he advises us to keep a dossier on people. I agree that it’s important to become personal with your customers and get to know them in such a way that enhances the business relationship. ...
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I recently signed up for Time Warner Cable and Internet services and found out that I could pay my bill online. Now, as many times as I’ve done payment transactions online, you would think that paying this bill wouldn’t be...
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Many of us go into business for ourselves to have that freedom from the 9 to 5 grind, but I hope that we also go into business because we’ve found an opportunity to help people that aren’t currently being served...
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May10
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Most successful business people started off as humble people with a dream and a $100 in their pocket....and if you are where I was back in the day, you may have started with negative $30K to your name! But I...
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Everywhere you click there are ads flashing at you, ads popping up like jack-in-the-box's on crack, and ads that sneak down the computer screen.
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McDonald's is making plans to renovate their restaurants which may cause a huff for franchisees because they may be required to pay the 300-400K cost to do the makeover. McDonald's is McDonald's. I understand the need for change and to modernize...
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