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Sep29
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  I can just imagine all the fun that people are having up there. Live music and dancing in the streets does bring out the good in just about everyone. I just wonder why we can't bring some of the fun and energy into the work that we do! Check out some of the live streaming videos from Lovefest... |
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Sep29
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As I gave myself a pedicure the other day I thought about the days I would come home from work with aching feet from standing up and running around all day helping customers. Thankfully those callouses and corns are long...
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Fortune just released a ranking of the top 10 companies for leaders where General Electric sits at the top. Susan Peters, G.E.'s head of executive development, tells Fortune, ""It doesn't matter where you are, you will get access to the...
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I just started reading a new book titled, How You Leave Them Feeling: Your Ultimate Key to Personal & Professional Success by Jesse Ferrell. In the book Ferrell offers some great affirmations to reflect on... I always listen intently to...
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When I attended the ACCE earlier this month, I met the Senior Director, Product Marketing of Enkata Technologies. We were actually in the downtown Puma store paying for purchases and got to talking about the convention. I liked the groovy...
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Sep27
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Any type of stress that we face during the workday has an affect on how we deal with customers. I've come up with this guide to help you deal with that stress so it doesn't get in the way of...
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Just came across a great post over at The Consumerist titled 5 Confessions of a Comcast Customer Rep. I'm not subscribed to any of Comcast's services, but I can certainly empathize with those of you that do. Remember last year...
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What I love about YouTube so much is that ordinary citizens can create their own movies and within hours have it broad casted to thousands, if not millions, of people all over the world. Someone who has always wanted to...
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Sep26
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We've all had our share of bad days at work...and when something bad happens right at the start of the day it can have a snow-ball effect on the rest of the day, right? Next thing you know you're losing...
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Are you obsessed with the Google page rank of your blog or website? Darren Rowse of Problogger addresses this issue in a post, Forget About Page Rank and Build a Better Blog. I must admit that I was one who...
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Here are some interesting things I read around the blogosphere today... A frusterated USPS worker: "We are not a hand holding service or even a true customer service department. We will document your service complaint, we will tell you...
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Remember the other week when I was talking about how companies needed to provide customer service in different languages? Well, Halleluhia! AT&T (T) has just announced that the company is offering customer service in over 160 languages! Here's a snippet...
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Is you customer service consistent? This is the question of the day over at Glenn Ross's blog, Customer Service Experience. Glenn gives us eight questions to help instill the value of customer service consistency within an organization. When you work in...
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Sep25
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Tonight I watched the hit show, Dancing With the Stars, where Mark Cuban gave a very exciting performance... I've mentioned before that Cuban is one businessman who understands the value of taking care of his customers, the ticket holders. I'm...
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The other night I settled in to watch The Queen. I was comfy in my pajamas and ready to just relax after a long day of writing... Just when the movie had reached a turning point - the Queen was...
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As a person who focuses more on the human aspect of customer service, it's taken awhile for me to comprehend all the work that goes into keeping track of customer information and the channels that a business may use to...
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The Selling Sherpa blog tells a story of a coffee shop that has a "Customer of the Month". Seth Godin thinks it's a great idea. What about you? Do you have a similar program? Do you think it's a...
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A recent study was conducted by Talisma, a leading Customer Interaction Management (CIM) software solution provider. In a survey of America's 100 top online retailers, this is what they discovered: 1. One-third of email queries were ignored - Email is...
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Sep24
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The Idea Dude offers 3 Best Ways to Ensure Business Success. It's a great reminder to us that people (a.k.a. your customers) are the driving force behind a company. I just wish there was a way for big corporations to...
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As if many of us didn't have enough reasons to dislike Walmart (WMT), here they go and ruffle our feathers even more. I just received word that Walmart.com is hanging up their phone. (Ok, breathe in....breathe out...) Any resourceful customer...
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As I was cleaning my bathroom yesterday, I noticed a little soldier ant scurrying across the floor. I call these ants that venture off by themselves the "soldier ant". Well, I decided to leave the ant alone because I...
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Employees are just as important as your customers. After all, some of these employees are your best customers. So, what happens when you don't take care of your employees? If you don't care of employees, how can you expect them...
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Welcome to the September 24, 2007 edition of the Customer Service Carnivale! It's a long one, so sit back, grab a cup of coffee or whatever your favorite drink is, and relax! Without further ado... We all know how...
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Sep22
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Kristin Edelhauser of the Entrepreneur Business Blog reports that more companies are asking for help from the Disney Institute. If you've ever had the "Disney Experience", you know that there are alot of things that many corporations can learn from Disney...
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Sep21
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Here are a few quotes I collected this week. Just some things to think about over the weekend..."There are glimpses of heaven to us in every act, or thought, or word, that raises us above ourselves." ~ Arthur P. Stanley"I...
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Just a reminder that the Customer Service Carnivale is this coming Monday, September 24! You can submit your blog posts/articles up until Sunday at midnight. Remember, you don't have to have a blog to be a part of the festivities! ...
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It's Friday...so, it's time for a Friday Funny :) This week's video is a spoof of customer service outsourcing to India. Hopefully this won't offend anybody from India, but I had to share... Just so you know - India is...
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Reading this post by Jeanne Leblanc, Poor Customer Service = Profit? spurred some thought about the difference between flying coach class and first class. I'm reminded of the time I flew First Class on United Airlines on a trip to...
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Forbes just released their list of the 400 richest Americans - a list I pay close attention to. I've always been very fascinated with these people and the things that they do to reach this status. In my studies of...
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Sep20
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The Budget Fashionista posts the Top Online Retail Sites of which VictoriaSecret.com came in as #2. I can't say much for the online shopping experience with Victoria's Secret, but I do know that every time I walk into one of...
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Floyd Landis must give up his Tour de France title because of his use of synthetic testosterone. Haven't sports players learned yet? There are so many examples of players who have been caught using enhancement drugs, but yet many of...
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The bright yellow-orange sun was setting on the Pacific Ocean's waters...I was enjoying a nice, peaceful train ride when a conversation behind me made my ears perk up. The conversation went something like this: "She's such a great worker. She's...
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If you've ever had to design a trade show booth, you know that it's all about creating a display that attracts potential customers. During my ACCE visit, I noticed a few standouts in the crowd of about 50 or so...
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Sep19
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Jim Collins, author of Built to Last, wrote the Foreword to the book The Spirit to Serve Marriott's Way. He talks about the characteristics of enduring great companies and one of those characteristics is: "Timeless core values and enduring purpose". Collins...
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For many years I wondered what the big attraction to Apple was. I used an Apple during college and back then an Apple computer was "just a computer". I have to give credit to Steve Jobs and his team for...
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October is going to be a busy month for customer service events! From October 1-5, 2007 you can celebrate Customer Service Week. Logon to CSWeek.com to get free resources such as email bulletins full of ideas for making the...
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"Setting an example is not the main means of influencing another, it is the only means." --Albert Einstein Albert Einstein was truly a genius. He knew exactly what to say and in this quote I felt very inspired. I'm reminded...
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Sep18
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If you need an easy, convenient, and cost-effective way to train your employees about customer service, you may want to check out these upcoming web seminars offered by ICMI (International Customer Management Institute): "I love My Job": How to Encourage...
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While I was in Bank of America the other day, I browsed through the company's publication, Business 24/7. There's an interesting article in the latest issue entitled "The Beauty of Branding" by Reed Richardson. Here's what Richardson says: "...branding comes...
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You may/may not have heard about Andrew Meyer, the student at the University of Florida who was tasered and handcuffed by police. Here's a link to an eyewitness account of the event. There's no doubt that Andrew is a very...
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One of the companies I interviewed during the call center exhibition last week was Pipkins. Pipkins specializes in workforce management and has worked with companies in all types of industries ranging from retail, hospitality, and publishing - just to name...
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A few weeks ago I mentioned that Macy's was coming out with a new "star-studded" ad campaign. It features many well-known names like Donald Trump, Martha Stewart, Russell Simmons, Usher, and Jessica Simpson - just to name a few. I...
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Sep16
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I've established here time and time again how important the front-line people (a.k.a. customer service reps or salespeople) are to your organization or business. There's no doubt that these are the people that can either make or break your business. ...
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Weekends are a time for fun here at CustomersAreAlways, so I went on a hunt for some funny customer service videos to share. This one I found is a Snickers commercial which is also a great example of what happens...
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Need an answer about a product or service? Get Satisfaction! Thanks to fellow customer service blog, Service Untitled, I found out about a new website where people can post questions and have them answered by a community. In a nutshell,...
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Sep12
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Guest post by Dan Schawbel, owner of the Personal Branding Blog and publisher of the Personal Branding Magazine Due to the rise of Personal Branding, service organizations need to revitalize their customer service and sales department. Customer service has a strong...
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Sep11
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Apple has lost their customers' trust and trust is so important in the relationship. So, when Apple comes out with a new "must-have" device, do you think customers are going to be running to the front of the line to get the next best thing? I don't think so.
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Sep10
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The Annual Call Center Exhibition (ACCE) started today at the San Diego Convention Center, so if you are attending the event, I'd love to meet you! [email: maria at customersarealways dot com] The conference expands from Sep 10-13 while the...
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Good Monday and thanks for joining us here at the Customer Service Carnivale! This edition covers a wide variety of topics - a couple of which you may not think are related to customer service - but once you get...
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Sep 7
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Has there ever been a time when you asked a customer service rep a question and he/she gives you some off-the-wall answer? I experienced this the other day when I emailed a company and the person who answered my email...
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Eric Fraterman, a customer service consultant based in Toronto, Ontario, says something that I've always believed: Good Customer Service Requires Inspired Employees. We could break this down even further and say that "inspired employees" should actually be "inspired management". It...
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I just realized late last night that I had not updated the Blog Carnival submission page for the Customer Service Carnivale! So this post is just to let you know that you can now submit your articles for this Monday's...
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As fashion editors at New York Fashion Week critique the runway shows going on in Bryant Park, Southwest Airlines has started their own band of fashion police on the airline runway... Ah, Southwest Airlines has caused quite a ruckus. Well,...
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Sep 5
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Yesterday I watched a rerun of the Oprah Show where the topic was "Giving" and how each and every one of us has the power to make a difference in the world. Whenever I watch Oprah I always think about...
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Ryan Block of Engadget was live and on the scene during the Apple (AAPL) announcement today. I'm sure all of you Apple iPod and iPhone fans were on the edge of your seat eagerly anticipating what the next generation of...
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Sep 4
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Saturday afternoon I spent the day watching a TV special on Princess Diana. I never really paid much attention to the Princess, other than noticing the glamorous way she dressed or some of the work she did to help the...
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Dale Wolf of The Perfect Customer Experience said something profound that I'd like to share: "From my perspective, the word "customers" means "current and prospective customers" -- treat them all the same. Learn what they need, work to help them...
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Sep 3
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When we think of service, we usually think about those companies and individuals who sell products and services. We often don't think about those who serve for the greater good of all - which, in essence, is the "bigger picture"...
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"Rule No. 1: Use your own good judgment in all situations. There will be no additional rules." --Bruce, Jim and John Nordstrom, co-presidents of Nordstrom department store, in the employee handbookWhen you go back to work tomorrow and face the...
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Today is a special day in the U.S....Labor Day! The name of this day is actually opposite of what people do, however. We in fact do not "labor" - at least most of us don't. We spend the day out...
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