My cool OtterBox case for my iPhone 4s Last week I contacted OtterBox for a problem with my fantastic Defender iPhone 4s Case. I was so Wowed by the Otter (customer service representative) I spoke […]
Customized Engaging Online Customer Service Training
Tag: Customer Service
How to Get Buy-in and Create Ownership
When I was overseeing consumer affairs for an international car rental company, I struggled with getting my team to deliver the level of customer service our customers expected and deserved. One day I sat down […]
You Get What You Celebrate (Customer Service Tip)
One of my clients asked me to deliver a keynote to kick off their Customer Service Week celebration. Right before I took the stage, the company played audio testimonials from a few very happy and […]
How a Complaint and a $14 Earpiece Improved My Customer Experience
My business was founded to help companies completely restore customer confidence and regain goodwill after service failures occur. I tell my clients all the time that a complaint is a gift. A complaint is a […]
Webinars are an Affordable Option for Working with Me
I help companies deliver a great Customer Experience. I help them do that through my consulting and professional speaking. I travel throughout North America to speak at conferences and conventions, like the Contact Center Association, […]
Be Your Own Customer for a Day
Years ago, when I worked in Consumer Affairs I found myself on the phone with a very disgruntled customer who experienced a problem with our company’s product. On top of that, he had great difficulty […]
Diagnose a Customer’s Problem BEFORE You Prescribe a Solution
It’s frustrating when companies don’t listen Today I took one of my laptops into a computer repair shop for troubleshooting and repair. I explained to the Front Desk representative that my laptop would not save […]
If you’re not into customers, why are you even working here?
I just wrapped up a meeting with a brilliant CEO. I’m on retainer to manage the client experience at his company and today we were reviewing gaps in service. My client is big on “feeling.” […]
How to Handle Difficult Customers – 4 Tips Featuring Steve Martin
I got a belly-laugh watching this video! Steve Martin, in “Planes, Trains and Automobiles” is the perfect difficult customer in this example. Laugh as you learn 4 practical tips for dealing with difficult customers. […]
Your Employees Are Going to Have to Get Better at Asking Customers Questions
Questions are a double-edged sword for customer service professionals. We have to ask questions to get to the root of the problem, completely log issues, and in general, to serve customers.
But often a series of questions can sound like an interview. If we’re not careful, a series of questions can come across as an interrogation.
Years ago, when I managed a small contact center, I realized that my team had to ask our customers 7 questions to completely log issues in our system. Seven questions is a lot.
Through call monitoring, I discovered that our customers were annoyed with our questioning. And it honestly sounded to me like we were interrogating our customers with our line of questioning!
So I began instructing my team to bridge to questioning and not just jump into our litany of questions. Here’s what I taught them.