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Aug31
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Yesterday I was in Starbucks and overheard one of the employees say, “I always have fun at work. You have to love your work.” Then today I overhear a man next to me asking his business partner, “I love this job! Are we having fun yet? I’m having fun!”
As I sit her typing away I’m ecstatic and full of energy. Can you feel the energy coming out of the computer screen? Can you?
We live in a world where everyone and everything has energy. When you have positive energy, your customers can feel that energy and they become excited and energized. Need some positive energy in your life right now? Take a break and read one of my favorite blogs, Think Positive! Blog
So for today I want you to pass on the positive energy to your customers!
Enthusiasm in our daily work lightens effort and turns even labor into pleasant tasks.
--Stanley Baldwin
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Aug31
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It’s a great day for customer service in Maria’s world! Instead of going with the finance company that gave me the go-around, at the suggestion of a friend I applied for an auto loan with a local bank, Mission Federal...
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When I was a real estate agent, my fellow agents were big on giving their clients gift baskets as a housewarming gift. These baskets were custom made filled with all kinds of goodies that their clients loved. It was a...
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Dave Lorenzo has a good post titled “Career Options Bound” and the reason why I touch on this subject is because lately I’ve been hearing people complain about their customer service jobs. Even though I’ve talked about this here before...
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Folks, we may have one solution to cure our customer service woes. Richard H. Levey of Directmag.com suggests that perhaps we should have a "National Switch Day”: Here's how a national Switch Day would work: Consumers would list all their...
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Aug30
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If you don’t pay a company for a service, are you just a “user” or are you indeed a “customer”? This is the question that comes to mind when I read this little rant about MySpace’s customer service. One person...
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I received a call today from a friend who sounded exasperated and burnt out.... “This business can be a little nerve-wracking!” she exclaimed. She’s talking about the mental health care field - a field that I actually went to school...
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In retrospect, I look at that time in my life and know now that it was basically free business training. In fact, they paid me to learn from them.
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Aug29
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“Customer service nowadays is out of control. Something needs to be done.” These are the words from my boyfriend who has been experiencing as of late quite a bit of the woes in customer service. Did he forget who he...
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I just came across this article about the fast-food restaurant, Chick-fil-A. We have a few here in San Diego, but I’ve never been into one. From what I read, looks like this company knows how to run a business. The...
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The Church of the Customer Blog points out this picture taken by Matt Certo of blog.web solvers. See - this is why you don’t want to piss off a customer. Personally, I’ve had no experience with T-Mobile, but I have...
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I took some time out today to sit down and read some of the latest issue of Fast Company Magazine where their “Customers First” Awards have been handed out to those companies with the best customer service. Here are some noteworthy quotes...
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According to CRMToday, a recent survey by eService provider, Transversal, discovered that online customer service for banks in Britain has reached an all time low. Here is what they found: Average number of questions answered online: 2.5 out of 10...
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Aug28
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Mike Sigers of Simplenomics has a great post on the 8 Simple Rules For Repeat Sales. I’ve said before how sales and customer service go hand in hand - it’s a fact of life. You can’t have a sale without...
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I’ve been having these off-the-wall customer service experiences that can’t go by without mention here. First it was the man talking to his muffin. And now it’s a story about the call-transfer merry-go-round, or rather, the customer-frustrated-go-round... So, I’m in...
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I’m sure many of you know about the GetHuman campaign that was launched to help people bypass the automated customer service messages when calling a company’s 800 number. I’ve blogged about the company before here and here. Well, I just...
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Well, it’s Monday, dear readers, and you know what that means! Time for fun! Time for Carnivale of Customer Service where you can meet new people and get different ideas about customer service... So, sit back, take a break and...
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Aug27
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I would say that a good percentage of the households in America have cable, phone service, and internet service. Some may have the three services with one company and others have separate companies handling each service. I think it’s pretty...
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Every customer has different expectations. There are certain ways that we do business that doesn’t please everybody and I understand this. The reason I bring this up is because my friend who sells Avon received a call this past weekend...
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Aug25
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It’s been a few weeks since I’ve come across a story to add to the “Good Customer Service Story” category. However, the dry spell is over as I came across a post at Applied Abstractions. This story has to deal with...
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In a recent issue of Business Week, the “Competition Issue”, they found that the #1 quality that people think will most likely help one win in the business world is Self-Confidence. 66% of men and 72% of women believe that a...
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We read and hear all these stories about companies that are going through cutbacks - Ford, Sun MicroSystems, and newspapers to name just a few. It can take its toll on employees morale as they wonder what’s going to happen...
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Ok, dear readers, I finally got to check out the latest Fast Company issue which features yours truly as one of the “Best Blogs” when it comes to customer service. {Big Smile} For those of you who are here after...
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Aug23
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Wow, the week goes by quick - especially when you’re having fun! Well, pretty soon it will be Monday again and that means Carnivale of Customer Service... I just wanted to remind you again if you’re a regular reader here....
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A superintendent in Providence, Rhode Island is on a mission to have a school system that will take a customer service approach to public education. "The schools will reflect a positive ethos," Supt. Donnie Evans told The Providence Journal. "If...
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I was checking out one of my fellow Know More Media writer’s blog, Its Bad Business. Jocelyn blogged about a website design company named justtwogirls, who, according to Jocelyn “sends psychotic sounding e-mails”. Psychotic is definitely the appropriate word! Read...
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Fedex Corporation (FDX) is introducing a new store format that is focused on customer service and convenience. The new stores will average about 1,800 square feet versus the current average of 6,000 square feet. They will feature more office products, new...
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I just read Craig Harrison’s article about focusing on internal customer service. What is internal customer service? It’s the service that you offer your fellow coworker. Do you treat your employees like you do your external customers? Is there good...
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Aug22
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Tom Vander Well had a post that spurred some thought from both me and Ellen in regards to the “robots” that work in customer service nowadays. You know those people - the ones who memorize their scripts and will say...
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I really don’t have anything against “young” people. Heck, I’m pretty young myself. [Sidebar: In my family we like to transpose numbers around so I consider myself 23] However, I had to wonder if we’re teaching our youngsters nowadays about...
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Aug21
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It’s the second week of Carnivale of Customer Service! For those of you who are new readers to this blog and would like more information about what the Carnivale is all about, please visit this previous post. Also, you can...
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I was sitting in the coffee shop last night and there was a family sitting there with their realtor. The realtor was going over some paperwork with the husband and wife who were the buyers. (Yes, I was eavesdropping!) Now...
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Back in my retail years, one of the common questions I would get asked by a prospective employer is: “What did you like about your previous position?” Well, being that I worked in customer service in all my previous positions,...
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“Fact is, it's getting better. Much better. Downright good even.” This is what Robert Cribb of the Toronto Star says in an article about customer service in the computer industry. He cites the recent report from the American Customer Satisfaction...
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Tom Vander Well of QAQnA dropped by this morning and left a comment in which he referenced a line from the Bible. There are many variations of it, but it goes something like “The greatest among ye shall be the...
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Aug20
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Yes, I do have to say that I’m “Nuts About Southwest” and fly them about 98% of the time. I don’t get around to visiting their blog, but when I do, I can expect to be entertained!
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I came across Proven Incomes via Liz Strauss’s blog today...Ah - because income is something we all want one must go check it out, I said to myself (and not to the muffin). And of course I had to learn...
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“Excuse me, sir, are you talking to me? Who are you talking to?” the Starbucks employee asked a customer. “I’m talking to my muffin,” the man said. “Ok, well that’s ok to talk to your muffin, but don’t be too...
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The holiday season was crazy-hectic-wild at the Nordstrom store I worked at. To put it in perspective, some of the salesgirls in the handbag department where I worked for a season would sometimes have $10,000+ days. So, as a shopper,...
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Aug18
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Once again I’m hosting the Carnivale of Customer Service for this next week! If you would like to host a Carnivale, please let me know ;) Why would you want to host a Carnivale, you ask? Here are the benefits:...
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For many businesses there’s that neverending struggle to balance service quality, revenue generation, and cost efficiency. How do you do it? What do you focus on first? For many businesses it’s revenue generation first, cost efficiency second, and service quality...
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Aug17
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I’ve known about Joe Vitale for quite some time now, but I’m just now wandering over to his blog after watching The Secret. Recently Joe bought a guitar from a website but began to feel a twinge of buyer’s remorse...
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I visited Eric Mills of You Don’t Know Your Customers and found his post about the Mazda people really interesting. Why would you go out and get customer feedback, but then throw out the “bad” responses only to make your...
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I was in the bookstore tonight browsing through books and my eyes rested upon Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich. I’ve never paid no mind to this book for whatever reason, but tonight it was calling me to pick it...
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How would you feel if you walked into a store and the music was blaring, there were neon lights flashing throughout the store, and there were so many distractions that you forget what you came in to buy? This is...
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Aug16
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Dell’s first step in looking good in the eyes of the customer: Recall On Batteries. I saw the news headline while standing in line at the grocery store. Of course, the cynical side of me has to wonder if the...
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I often like to read how other cultures view customer service. Today I happened upon the blog, Days of a Kuwaiti Bank Teller, and being one who was once employed by Wells Fargo, it caught my attention. Just a little...
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Awhile back I mentioned that US Airways (LCC) had been experiencing difficulties since its merger with America West. Now their complaints have spiraled out of control and the company is looking to hire customer service workers to deal with the...
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As I’m browsing through the news headlines looking for good customer service tales, I keep running into stories such as “Companies Receive Poor Grades For Customer Service” , “Poor Customer Service....” , and “Customer Service With a Snarl”. When did...
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Aug15
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I’m going to talk about something a little different today. Instead of giving my usual customer service tips to businesses, I will give tips on how to be a good customer... First I’ll tell you a short story that put...
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My fellow Know More Media writer, Bettye Jamerson of Best Biz Com is on a customer service “kick” today! In a post titled No Customer Relations - Big Mistake! She cannot understand “how organizations big or small have not grasped...
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I was in Starbucks today and one of the employees asked another employee if she had taken her break. She replied, “No! I’m very dedicated to providing legendary customer service!” Although she said it kindof jokingly, it made me think...
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Hooters has the best chicken wings. If you’re ever in a city with a Hooters, I recommend checking it out - provided you don’t find girls in orange short-shorts offensive ;) But what I do like about Hooter’s is that...
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I was reading this article about how our society has become so numb to mediocre customer service. It’s a given. That’s life, live with it. That seems to be the prevailing attitude and it’s a little disheartening. Sometimes I wish...
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Aug14
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I’m thrilled to announce the first edition of the Carnivale of Customer Service! Sit back, relax, and take some notes because each of these bloggers featured for this first edition have much wisdom to share! It is my hope that...
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I often wonder why many companies are slow as molasses to resolve problems or issues... I was reading a magazine, Forbes I think it was, where a woman received a huge bill for a doctor’s visit that she thought was...
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Aug13
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AutoSurvey, a company that provides email and call center survey systems, just launched the latest version of its software which is built on Microsoft.NET technology. The company provides a tool that is supposed to “instantly” capture customer feedback and aid...
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I have never been one to buy into rebates. After sending off for a $1 rebate on a shampoo I bought from a drug store years ago and never receiving my $1 back, I’ve vowed to never fall for these...
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Imagine doing business with an establishment that allows you to physically fight them if they provide poor service...If that was the case Dell’s employees would all have black eyes and broken bones ;) I was thinking of this as I...
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On the “fashionable” side of my life I like to read Fashion Incubator. Kathleen Fansanella is a great blogger with so much inside information to share. Then there’s Zoe Wong, a San Francisco-based fashion designer who contributes to blog sometimes, but...
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Aug12
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Updated Post: 6/22/07 There are many questions and some confusion as to what the Carnivale of Customer Service is and what to do, so I will outline in this post what the guidelines are and how to host The Carnivale...
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It’s the weekend, so for many of us that means relaxation and like we do with our customers, we are nurturing our personal relationships with friends and family. This is also a time to reflect on just how good our...
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Inc.com published an article with some interesting statistics from a recent online poll done by Accenture Ltd. (ACN), a New York-based management consulting firm. From 1,000 respondents this is what they found: 46% of respondents said that poor service turned them...
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If you’ve been hiding out with Osama Bin Laden for the past year or two, you probably haven’t heard of GetHuman which I’ve mentioned here and here before. For more in-depth information about the campaign, visit the GetHuman website. Well,...
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Macy’s department store is starting an all-black dress code on the East Coast in order to make it easier for customers to locate customer service reps. Whether or not this new dress-code will roll out to the West Coast is...
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Aug10
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I made my weekly bookstore visit the other day and was pleasantly surprised to see that they now have a little customer service section where all the books on customer service now have a dedicated shelf. Wouldn’t it be great...
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I consider myself very zen-like and laid-back (although in a previous life I was certainly a Type-A person). Some friends have commented that I’m “too giving” or “too nice” which is something I really can’t help - that’s just the...
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I believe that part of good customer service is to have fun with your customers. Whether it’s providing games on your website or having a customer appreciation day and offering free treats, customers like to interact and simply have fun....
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Ah ha! Enough of the Dell (DELL) bashing already! Here are some good customer service experiences with Dell I came across today: Service Untitled tells us an experience with a Dell customer service rep in India via the online chat...
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I just read this story about a woman who went to JCPenney to exchange some curtains. She paid $15 for the first set of curtains and the new curtains were $15 as well. One would think that it would be...
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Aug 9
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Do you find it annoying when customers call you to complain? Do you try to avoid customers who call you everyday wanting to know if a situation has been resolved? First of all, when a customer calls you with an...
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Awhile back I introduced you to the GetHuman campaign that was started to help people by giving them shortcuts to get a human customer service rep when they call a company’s 800 number. The campaign was started by Paul English...
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It’s back to the Dell’s Direct2Dell blog to see what they’re up to these days. I was enlightened to see that they’ve become very detailed in addressing customer service issues such as shipping delays, call center outsourcing, and their telephone...
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CRM Mastery E-Journal shares with us an article about Why CRM Fails to Deliver. I know that I’ve talked about this before, but I just wanted to offer another reminder - especially for those of you who are here for...
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The founders of Consumer Reports Magazine are branching off into new territory by coming out with a new magazine called Shop Smart that is targeted to women. Realizing that women are actually the members of the household who do the...
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Aug 8
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I love surprises and I especially like it when a business surprises me - whether it be a free gift, an unexpected discount, or simply a Thank You card in the mail. It’s also important to “shake things up” by doing fun and different things. A fish house that I go to sometimes has a jazz night on Fridays where they have a band play on the outside patio.
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Paul Gillin analyzes the concept of corporate blogging and offers his best reason on why companies should blog: “Blogs, discussion boards and other forms of interactive media are the most cost-effective customer feedback mechanism ever invented. You won’t get a...
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I was browsing through Business Week yesterday and read an article about how the Chinese are very vocal when it comes to providing customer feedback. Although they’re not allowed to talk publicly against the government, they’ll let it be known when...
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I often wonder if there is a direct correlation between a company’s stock price and their customer service. A couple weeks ago I read an article in the newspaper that blamed “aggressive price-cutting and a slowing global market” on Dell...
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This past weekend eateries and supermarkets in northern parts of San Diego had to shut down because of a possible contamination in the city's water supply. Many business owners lost thousands of dollars during the shut down and are looking...
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Aug 7
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I stumbled upon the Vox Inc.'s blog tonight... Great content on customer service and it looks like the team members that blog are on the same thought wavelengths as me ;) Anne Mclain has a post titled "Succeed by Transforming,...
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Jim Sullivan has an article at Nation’s Restaurant News (free registration) which shares his thoughts on customer service flaws in the restaurant business: 1. Hosts are distracted when greeting or seating guests. 2. Service is slow when speed is expected....
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The July 2006 issue of Filipinas Magazine has a feature story on the life of call center agents in the Philippines. For many Filipinos, working at a call center has improved the quality of their lives as the pay is...
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Aug 6
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With so much technology out there, there's no excuse not to offer various ways of communication between you and your customer. Now Microsoft (MFST) is taking the "plunge" to help us with the process. Here are the company's new offerings...
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At my office (Starbucks) the other day, a man sat in front of me and sparked up a conversation. It was fine until his questioning became too much... "Do you like rice?" he asks. "Yes, I do. Sometimes I cook..."...
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Mona Ridder of The Cumberland Times-News brings the thought of the day: "If the customer is not happy, the company doesn’t make money and if the company doesn’t make money it can’t pay its investors or employees and then employees...
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"Are you going to close tonight?" I asked Loyd, one of the employees who works at the Starbucks I frequent. "Yes. Are you going to be here til closing tonight?" he asks. "I hope not!" "Well, you being here makes...
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Yesterday at The Runway Scoop I talk about The Gap's decline in sales. Seems that the company needs a minor overhaul to get back into the fashion world. I wondered - could it be the customer service? Well, my last...
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Aug 5
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Yesterday I introduced you to eStara and posted part one of John Federman's article called How to Scare Off Online Prospects...Without Really Trying. Here's part two of the article where John covers ignoring customer feedback, engaging your customers, and recovering...
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I was visiting the Successful Blog today and discovered that Know More Media is the recipient of one of those fun badges, "Official SOB". No, it's not what you think. For some background on what an SOB is, visit the...
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After reading Service Untitled's latest posts, Musicians & Customer Service and Media Relations & Customer Service, I've come to realize that bottom line, customer service is really all about (well, not all about, but close) simply being nice to people. ...
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We talk about how "Thank You" and "Please" aren't heard very much in interactions nowadays, whether it's the customer service rep saying it to the customer or vice versa. Today as I went through the drive thru of Popeye's Chicken,...
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Sounds like Northwest is making up all kinds of fees nowadays, eh? Trying to get out of bankruptcy? I remember the days when there was no charge to change an airline ticket. However, since 9/11 hit, the travel industry and airport authorities want to create all these additional "fees" and blame it on "the rising price of fuel" or "safety".
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Aug 4
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Update 10/16/07:The news article for this story is now only available at LexisNexis for a $3 subscription Just came across this article about a lady who is attempting to sue UPS's CEO, Mike Eskew, for poor customer service. Apparently UPS...
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I know that many customer service jobs don't pay very well - believe me, I know! So let's say that you've been with a company for quite some time now, you work hard and think that you deserve a raise. ...
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Some of you have emailed me regarding trackback URL's to my posts. Unfortunately trackbacks are not available right now due to a high number of spammers hitting the KMM network. If you have created a link to this blog, please...
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Early last month I briefly talked about "Corporate Responsibility" and how giving back to the community is part of good customer service. It's good to know that NRF president and CEO, Tracy Mullin, feels the same way: "Every now and...
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Yesterday I talked about how you can enhance the online customer service experience by offering instant messaging on your website. Another option you can give customers to contact you on your website is this fairly new "Click to Call", or...
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Aug 3
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I found out via Scobleizer that AOL has plans to lay off 5,000 workers - most likely customer service representatives. "At a company meeting this morning, Jon Miller (AOL's chief executive officer) told AOL's worldwide work force of 19,000 people...
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Just about every company has this "bait and switch" mentality. In this I mean that they reel you in with this tempting offer, flash a big smile, and woo you with flowers
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Today I passed by a US Bank (USB) where their sign reads, "Five Star Service Guaranteed" and I thought it to be a very bold statement. I visited the company's website and found this on the "About U.S. Bancorp" page:...
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For website owners, this is just another way to let your customers know that you're readily available to answer their questions and it makes for a better shopping experience - especially if you can get your answers instantly without having to wait for the website owner to check their email.
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Aug 2
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My boyfriend is an avid note-taker. Whenever he communicates with clients on the phone, I can hear him scribing away on his notepad - no doubt that he's making notes of the client's needs and preferences. When I call the...
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If there's one internet friend who's big on communication, it's Julie Fredrickson of Coutorture. As a member of Coutorture, may I be the first to say how pleased I am with their customer service (although I don't pay a dime to...
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Service Untitled has a great post called "Who else wishes there were no moronic idiots in customer service?". Fortunately I don't come across too many of these people, but when I do, I really try not to let them get...
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Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't it the job of the CEO to be in touch with what the customers are doing on a daily basis? Yes, I know, in reality many CEO's probably don't "have time" for stuff like blogging. Blogging - what?
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Aug 1
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Gosh, it's been awhile since I've handed out an award for a Good Customer Service Story! All is well, though. I came across Starbucker's post, True "Service With a Smile" where he relays a travel experience with a smiley flight...
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I came across the Superintendent Notebook which shows a page from the Cingular handbook titled "LTV/REVENUE RANKING Guidelines" where Cingular tells the rep that each customer is to be treated differently according to their "LTV". Basically, the more money you...
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I've always wanted to be a "food critic", so if you'll allow me to indulge in a dream for a moment, I'd like to do a review of a restaurant here in San Diego: Restaurant: Mr. Wasabi Japanese Cafe and...
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A recent study done by General Electric and a training and development company found 15 customer service competencies that twelve major companies had in common. The companies they looked at were: PPG, MCI, S. C. Johnson Company, 3M Worldwide, General Electric,...
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Wow, is it blogtipping day already? Time flies when you're a blogaholic ;) This month I'd like to do something different. Instead of blogtipping the people who normally write about customer service, I'd like to blogtip three people who cover...
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