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Oct31
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In honor of spooky Halloween that we're celebrating here in the U.S. today, I decided to continue the theme of "Toilet Terror" that Linda Tischler started over at the Fast Company blog.  There's one place in San Diego that has the most disgusting bathroom: The San Diego Sports Arena (enter scary music). On the weekends I sometimes go to the flea market which takes place in the sports arena parking lot. If you have to use the restroom, well, you either have to use the porta-potties outside or the sports arena restroom. Since I have a slight phobia of small, enclosed places, I don't have much of a choice.
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Oct31
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I think it's time for an upgrade from Web 2.0 to Web 3.0. We are entering new territory in which customers now have the upper hand in determining what they want. There's no more guessing or attempting to predict what...
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Oct30
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Imagine using the restroom in a diner and reaching for the toilet paper, but there isn't any there! What do you do?Phew! There's someone in the next stall. You'll just ask her for some toilet paper..."Excuse me, can you...
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"The day I'm laid out dead with an apple in my mouth is the day we'll pay commissions. If you pay commissions, you imply that the small customer isn't worth anything." --Bernard Marcus, co-founder of The Home Depot Do you...
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Oct29
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October is National Kitchen and Bath month and those of you long-time readers may remember how some of us customer service bloggers celebrated - yes, the Bathroom Blogfest! This week is the second annual Bathroom Blogfest and there's a great...
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Looks like Northwest Airlines is beginning to realize the key to staying in business. This article says that NWA is refocusing on developing a better customer service program. Next month 14,000 Northwest employees will attend a seminar where they...
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Oct28
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The other day I received my Cincom newsletter in which an article by Jimmy Ray Purser, Network Solutions Expert of Cisco was published. Jimmy is a customer service network designer who has helped many businesses solve technology problems. In the...
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Oct26
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Stepping into the Bellagio I was greeted by the usual scene in Las Vegas: a smoky casino room. I had walked into one of the side entrances on my way to eat at one of the buffets which I was...
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Oct25
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I once attended a focus group where we talked about the menu display of a major company that sells fruit smoothies. There were about ten of us in this focus group each with different opinions about how a menu should look.
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Well, apparently, the company hasn't done very much for some customers. Last year I wrote a little post about a woman who had sued United Parcel Service, a.k.a. "UPS" and to this day there are still comments pouring in. Most...
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Corporate Research International, a mystery shopping/market research firm, released the results of a customer service survey yesterday. According to this survey, Olive Garden was rated top among full-service restaurants. Other companies who received the highest customer service rating in their...
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Oct24
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I must pass on something profound that Bill Gammell of the ÜberEye Marketing Blog said in a post titled "Humanness": The more personal and human interactions that customers have with your company, the more forgiveness they are willing to show,...
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When it comes to managing relationships with your customers, it's important to have the right CRM software in place - a system that is user-friendly and will save you a great deal of time. The easier it is to manage...
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Oct23
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Thanks to all of you who have emailed me to see if I was affected by the Southern California fires. Thanks for the Love! Fortunately, the area where my friends and I live have not been touched. I stay in...
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When I worked at Wet Seal I often complained that I never had the time to do "managerial work" - i.e. sit down and work on scheduling, budgets, and sales planning. Most of the time I was doing everything that...
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Oct22
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Does a company benefit more by saving 20 seconds on a call, or by winning a customer for life by taking extra time to create a satisfying experience? That's one of the questions asked in this article about improving and...
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The other day my boyfriend and I went to Carl's Jr. to have lunch. We were deep in conversation when we walked into the joint, so I was oblivious to the two monster kiosks that stood in front of what...
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Walking into any Home Depot store and the energy that greets you can sometimes feel overwhelming. On the hunt for the items you need, you walk up and down dusty aisles and if you're lucky enough, you'll find what you...
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Happy Monday, Everybody! Welcome to the Gumbo Edition of the Customer Service Carnivale! The reason I'm calling this the Gumbo Edition is because gumbo is a mix of all types of ingredients and when it's served up - wow, does...
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Oct21
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Awhile back Dan Schawbel wrote a guest post here at Customers Are Always and I was so impressed and inspired by what he is doing that I wanted to interview him for my Online Business Resources blog. It's rare to...
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Service Untitled passes on a great Nordstrom experience that Don DiJulius had. When I worked in the kids shoe department at Nordstrom we had few people come in to have a shoe repaired, but when they did, we would just...
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Oct19
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Do you believe in not tipping the pizza delivery guy? Well, Detroit Lions receiver, Roy Williams, used to. I don't know why he didn't feel the need to tip, but Pizza Hut decided to give him a challenge: Deliver pizza...
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It's Friday and all I wanted to do today was report something fun and interesting. However, this Comcast story by Jeff Garfield who says that "Comcast Must Die" caught my eye. Although I'd love to analyze this (ok, maybe not),...
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Oct18
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Well, it's official...I will be attending BlogWorld Expo in Las Vegas on November 8 and 9! After finding out that Know More Media will have a booth at the expo, I figured it would be a great opportunity to finally...
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Here's an excellent article by Bill Lampton who shares with us a better way to talk to unhappy customers. It's been dubbed the "noncommittal agreement". This is a more productive approach in which you listen to the customer's side of...
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Becky Carroll of Customers Rock! has tackled the question of whether we should label people who buy from us "customer" or "client" and she asked us customer service bloggers to share our opinions on this issue. You may recall a...
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Oct17
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A few days ago I watched this B movie called Hollywood Hood. Oh, the acting was pretty terrible, but the movie was so funny! I hadn't laughed so hard in a long time - I mean, I had one of...
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I just came across an interesting article which talks about customer service in Britain along with some noteworthy customer service statistics. One retailer in particular, John Lewis, uses an ABC approach to customer service. A stands for "Acknowledgement" B stands...
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Oct16
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Today is the one day that we recognize our bosses for all the hard work (or not) that they do. But what if the boss is a jerk? I had breakfast with my stepmother and her best friend this morning...
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Oct15
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"Wow! You are the easiest customer I've had all day! I didn't even have to check up on you or anything!" I was in the Macy's shoe department at South Coast Plaza mall and the salesguy was ringing me up...
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Oct11
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I just learned about an interesting website: RottenNeighbor.com. Let's say you're moving into a particular neighborhood and you want to get a feel of the overall vibe of the place. You can type in your zip code at RottenNeighbor and...
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Oct10
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Here's a great customer service story passed on to me from Phil Gerbyshak. I think it exemplifies what outstanding customer service means. Have you ever helped a customer in need? Even if they weren't staying at your hotel or weren't...
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Oct 9
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When companies merge, it can lead to a chaotic work environment. The recent announcement that Miller (OTC: SBMRY) and Coors (NYSE: TAP) will be merging has the media buzzing - but I'm sure there's even more buzz among the employees....
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Oct 8
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How would you rate your company's customer service? I bet you think that your service is above average, huh? What makes you think that? Have you asked your customers to rate your customer service? I've read in a couple places...
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Welcome to the October 8, 2007 edition of the customer service carnivale! This edition is a mish-mash of customer service, personal development, and other business tips. But then again, customer service touches upon many aspects of our lives. Everything...
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Oct 5
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We’re into the last quarter of this year - boy, time flies when you’re having fun! What? You’re not having fun at work? Here’s a past post for you to read: Having Fun = Better Customer Service.Anyways, I think it’s...
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One of my favorite blogs to read about personal development is Edward Mills’ Evolving Times. He has a great post titled How to Be a Positive Force in the Blogosphere and Beyond which has some great advice on how you...
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Oct 4
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This is a sponsored review... I think that most of us can agree that having a website is a must in today’s business world. Most people go to the internet to find information and if your company can be the...
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Are you a Bank of America (Nasdaq: BAC) customer? Perhaps you would be interested in reading this article, A Call to Close 1 Million Bank of America Accounts.Yes, it is disturbing to know that Bank of America fires employees because...
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We have a new blogger here at Know More Media that I'd like to introduce you to... Mark Wade of MerchantVoice joins us with over 25 years of experience in the retail industry. Being that I write a great deal...
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"What's wrong with you? I'm trying to give you the best customer service that I can, but you seem so agitated!" That's what my step-mother said to a customer the other day. Have you ever had that experience? Have you...
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Oct 3
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Just yesterday I was talking about how Verizon wanted to step up their level of customer service...Then today I find out that they've come out with the Voyager cell phone that is supposed to rival the iPhone. The LG Voyager...
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According to this article at CNNMoney.com, companies are beginning to feel the pressure to improve their customer service. I think this is due in part to the growth of the internet and the rate at which information travels. People...
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One of the speakers at the ACCE whose seminar I enjoyed listening to was Steve Coscia of Coscia Communications Inc. I wanted to get his thoughts on what it would take to change customer service in America and this is...
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It's Wednesday and for many of you, that means "Hump Day" - that pesky day in the middle of the week. You're counting down the hours until the weekend! Well, to get you through today with a few giggles, I...
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Oct 2
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In an effort to provide "the most customer-friendly experience" of all the wireless carriers, Verizon is now allowing customers to change their cell phone plan without having to extend their contracts. Under the previous policy, if a customer wanted to...
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When I was in management, one of my biggest pet peeves was to catch salespeople standing behind the counter "chattin' it up". The cash register counter was the equivalent of the water cooler - a place where the girls would...
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Happy National Customer Service Week everyone! How are you celebrating customer service week where you work? It's not too late to join in the celebration. The Customer Service Week website has some tips to help you out. I think the...
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Oct 1
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Here are some customer service related thoughts that I came across in my blog readings today... "We must never underestimate the simple human desire to be treated with respect." -- Denise Griffitts, Internet Mastery This goes back to the...
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For those of you who don't know, I am a big fan of music - any type of music. In fact, I have a blog dedicated to talking about music and the music industry. Well, I just found out that...
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