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Aug30
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I think we're a society that focuses way too much on "the numbers". It's all about being "first", how much money you make, how many cars you drive...and in business it's all about the highest sales, increasing profits by double digits, and budgets. As Tom Vander Well illustrates, in the call center it's about Talk Time, Average Call Time, Average Handle Time, Abandon Rate, Average Hold Time.
It's nerve wracking when there's pressure to meet a certain time quota. I know, I've been there, done that. In fact, I'll admit that I have hung up on a person or two just to improve my call time. That was a long, long time ago!
The standards need to change or else customer service will just remain the same... If you liked this post, you may like: Every Call Is Valuable or Quality vs Quantity
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Aug30
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There's been buzz about this recent Wall Street Journal article about a United Airlines captain named Denny Flanagan. Call me a sappy, corny, and sensitive girl, but I don't care - tears welled up in my eyes when I read...
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Now, here's a first for me... University System of Georgia (USG) Chancellor Erroll B. Davis Jr. has started a customer service initiative. The project is called "Customer Focus" and was started last year. This is what Davis says about the...
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Have you ever thought that you could turn a customer into a business partner? I'm not talking about paying them to bring them business, but offering them phenomenal service in exchange for word of mouth marketing...and working together with them...
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In a time of mass consumerism, we've become this throw-away society. If something breaks, well, we'll just throw it away and buy something new. We certainly don't expect a retailer to exchange or give us credit for something - especially...
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Aug29
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In response to its growing customer base, Bord Gáis, an energy supplier in Europe, recently made its customer service phone line available in Polish, Russian, and Mandarin Chinese - something that no other company in Europe has done. This...
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Like millions of people across the world, I'm a huge Oprah fan. The other day I watched a rerun with Colin Cowie as her guest. Colin Cowie is famous for his extraordinary weddings and talent for entertaining. Attention to details...
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Today I decided to eat out for lunch...and had this craving for a Big Mac (please spare me the lecture!). So McDonald's it was. I couldn't help but notice this statement on the bag: "There's only 100 percent pure beef...
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The women out there reading this can probably relate to this statement: The perfect jeans are hard to find. Sometimes they fit you perfectly on the waist but then are too long or you get the right length, but you...
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Sprint recently received a great deal of attention for firing some of their customers and some of us got a little riled up about it. How could Sprint do that? Many thought that it was absolutely wrong and I shared...
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Aug28
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If you've been reading this blog for some time, you know that I like to look at customer service at a deeper level. Like, for instance, I came across this BusinessWeek article about Gabriela Hernandez, the founder of Bésame Cosmetics,...
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Many retailers think that after you've rung up the customer, that's it. Time to move onto the next customer and make the most from that sale. However, that first sale is just the beginning of a relationship and what you...
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What do you call the people you serve? Customers or consumers? Is there a difference? I did a search to see what other people were saying... Susan Abbott of Customer Experience Crossroads says: "When I first started in the marketing...
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Have we indeed turned into a world of "customer no service"? Watch this video I found at the iHateBadService.ca blog where people share their insights on the topic of customer service. iHateBadService.ca is a place where you can air your...
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I always used to think it was some kind of conspiracy amongst the shoppers...Hey, let's all go to the cashier at the same time and make her crazy! Yeah, let's do that!
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Aug27
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If the saw wasn't working, couldn't one of the workers at Home Depot - of all places - simply go to the aisle that stocks saws and get a new one? Things that make you go Hmmmm...
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I don't think a month goes by that a story about Dell (DELL) doesn't pop up on my radar. Today's news comes from Sound Money Tips and the topic is about order delays for a new laptop, the Dell XPS...
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Nowadays we live in an electronic-driven world. Most of us have a cell phone, business people have laptops, and just about every household owns at least one TV. Many entrepreneurs are capitalizing on the growing demand for electronics, but just...
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The White House is the perfect example of what can happen when internal customers, or employees, are in a constant state of conflict.
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It's that time of the week, folks...The Customer Service Carnivale is here and as always, we have some good reads to keep you busy throughout the day! So without further ado... Charles H. Green presents Does Your Customer Trust...
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Aug24
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The other night I received Jack Humphrey's newsletter filled with some powerful advice for those of you who have an online business or are internet marketers. For those of you who don't know, Jack Humphrey is the author of the...
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Borders is boasting 20 million loyalty cardholders, but I wonder just how many of the customers are actually loyal? I've been a part of Borders card loyalty program for a little over a year now, but I will be honest...
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How do you feel about Macy's spending $100 million on an advertising campaign? The company is enlisting a myriad of celebrities for this new campaign in order to establish "brand recognition". I don't know about you, but I'm a little...
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Aug23
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As more retailers start to take their business online, they're going to have to find a way to integrate the technology we have nowadays into the company's business model. This may mean adding extra support with experienced people who...
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Aug22
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Do you calculate the Lifetime Value of your customers? I admit that I don't. I would much rather value each and every customer from the very beginning - that way they have no excuse than to spend more money with...
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That's probably what some of you guys will think after watching this old Southwest Airlines commercial... I don't quite remember those days as I was a young gal in the 70's. Do you remember when flight attendants dressed up like...
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Did Netflix (NFLX) finally figure out that customer service will be the determining factor in their success over Blockbuster? According to this New York Times article - apparently they have figured it out. The company has opted to set up...
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Aug20
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One of the things they should put at the top of the list of a customer service rep job description is: "Strong attention to details". I was reminded of this when I read Kent Blumberg's post about a recent experience...
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A couple weeks ago I wrote about some ways to boost employee morale. I've received a few comments about that post, but this one comment made today caught my attention. Here is what the commenter said: "Wow, those are the...
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I had a conversation with my boyfriend about electronics and he was telling me that he wanted to buy a particular item from Best Buy. I told him that Best Buy has been receiving quite a bit of bad press...
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I received word this morning that Leona Helmsley, billionaire and owner of the Helmsley Windsor Hotel (among other properties), passed away at the age of 87. Helmsley was infamous for her catty temperament - which I presume, probably caused...
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Aug17
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Greg Howlett of Marketing Pilgrim has an interesting post about SEO and internet retailers. As a person who conducts business online, I think it’s important to have some type of search engine strategy to get to the top of the...
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I don’t know if I agree too much with what Steve Douglas has to say in this video, but at the same time I know that there are people out there that just will never be satisfied. How would...
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Aug16
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I was watching Wayne Dyer on PBS the other night and he talked about how many people in this world are inflexible. How I interpreted what Dr. Dyer said is that some people are very resistant to change - they...
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Valeria Maltoni of Conversation Agent shares her Comcast woes over at the Fast Company Blog - a scene that many of us are pretty familiar with. Being bounced around from department to department, pushy sales people trying to sell you...
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Yesterday I posted a review of Phil Gerbyshak's book, Ten Ways to Make It Great, over at The Good Life. It's a book I highly recommend everyone read - especially those of you who feel like you're still stuck in...
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Aug15
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Business Week reports that many of the popular teenage shopping destinations reported lower than expected sales for the second quarter. My Alma Mater, Wet Seal, Inc. (WTSLA), posted a 7.2% decline. Many of the retailers blamed delayed back-to-school schedule and...
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Many of you have probably heard about Mattel issuing a major recall for toys that contain lead. The first question that comes to mind is: What kind of quality control does Mattel have if any? If anything, this is a...
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In my Psychology classes in college there was always this Nature vs Nurture debate. On one side was the theory that we behave the way we do because of our natural, inherent qualities, but on the other side scientists believe...
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Aug14
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I can tell you that companies stand to lose a lot of money from not doing transfers for customers. The look on a customer’s face when you tell them that you can have an item shipped to the store closest to them - priceless!
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I have to admit that at one point a couple months ago, I felt like it was time for me to move on from Customers Are Always. I’ve been blogging here for about a year and a half and was...
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The Business Opportunities Blog shares some lessons about customer service learnt the hard way - lessons that those of us who work in customer service are all too familiar with - but yet we still refuse to do them. For...
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Aug13
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I remember the days of working in a cubicle. All I did was stare at a makeshift wall all day and take phone calls from customers. Although this may work for call centers - the walls block out the other...
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Last week the Virgin Group led by Richard Branson launched Virgin America which will definitely cause some stir in the airline industry. Because of Virgin’s low-cost flights between Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco, other carriers have been forced...
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When you go to any retail establishment and see a sign that tells you that they are going to open at 5 a.m., you would expect them to open at 5 a.m., right? Well, it didn’t happen at a Starbucks...
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Manage Smarter has an article that lists the 15 Personal Skills You Need on the Job. It’s a pretty good comprehensive list that contains skills I would look for when hiring a customer service rep. Here are the two skills...
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It feels like ages ago since the last carnivale! I don't know if it's this summer heat that seems to make the days go by sloooowwww.... All I know is that I was looking forward to this day because that...
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Aug11
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Recently Staples added a customer review feature to their website where customers can provide feedback about products. Staples is the second big box retailer next to Walmart to enlist customer reviews. The company has enlisted Bazaarvoice as their software solution...
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Aug 7
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I received the Customer Service Group newsletter the other day where Dave Timmons offers five ways to boost employee morale in a call center:* Have each customer service team write its own themesong. Whenever team members have something to celebrate,...
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This past weekend I went shopping at a Ross Store thinking I was really in the mood to dig in and find some bargains. Little did I know that I was actually going into the Amazon jungle... ...
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The Shop.org summit is coming up...have you registered yet? The event will take place at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Nevada this September 17-19. This is a must-attend event for those of you in retail and will put you...
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Aug 6
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I'll start off this fabulous Monday morning by sharing some noteworthy posts that I came across this weekend. So sit back, relax, and enjoy the love... Phil Gerbyshak sent over this link to Derrick Sorles' customer service story about Best...
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Aug 3
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What would they be saying about your business and your customers? Have you taken time out to just stop and reflect on how your customers are perceiving your business? Have you spent any time on the sales floor observing how...
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As all the dust of the iPhone mania starts to settle, a new reality starts to hit home for many people. Yikes, I had to sign up with AT & T just for this iPhone to work! For some people...
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Well, this wasn't very obvious for me, but it makes a whole lot of sense... Why not build a MySpace page for your business and ask your customers to be your "friend"? I've been using a personal MySpace profile for...
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I'd like to revisit this idea that "it's the little things that count". A reminder of this came when I was reading John Richardson's post, Change Your Attitude With One Simple Task. John tells us about the one little task...
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Aug 2
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Would you rather work for someone good who is nice or someone stellar who is not? That's the question that Liz Strauss asks in a post titled Business Rule 16: Nice and Good. I would rather work for someone who...
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