Chip R. Bell's Blog, page 5

National Customer Service Week Friday

Today is Friday, October 5th.  National Customer Service Week has been going all week and we have been celebrating great customer service heroes.  Our CS hero for Friday serves as the concierge and host extraordinaire for the Park Hyatt in Manhattan—Michael Sinatra.

 

It was an hour before the start of Broadway shows and the concierge desk was glutted with guests seeking help with dinner reservations, directions, shopping recommendations, and last-minute show tickets.  And, it was the week be...

National Customer Service Week Hero for Thursday

How would you feel if the grand opening of your new upscale steakhouse restaurant was in the fall of 2008?  As your doors were opening, the Dow was falling 3600 points.  Discretionary income was suddenly zero.  And, your patronage was only 10% of what normal time would have produced.  That was the situation faced by Mark and Terri Stark, owners of Stark Steakhouse in Santa Rosa, CA.  This is their story!

 

“We were having to throw out pricey food since the shelf life of a fresh quality steak...

National Customer Service Wednesday Hero

I walked into the restaurant at the Park Inn west of Harrisburg, PA.  From the back of the restaurant I heard, “Good morning, how would you like your coffee?”  When I said black, the voice warmly responded, “Take any table you like and I’ll have your coffee there before you can sit down!”

 

My day was off like a colorful merry-go-round!

 

“I’m Sandy.  Do I get the pleasure of serving you today?” she asked as she served my coffee and handed me the menu.  The breakfast was perfect and served qu...

National Customer Service Week—Tuesday’s Hero

Here we are at Tuesday of Customer Service Week, 2018 and I want to celebrate my travel agent.  Georganne Mires at Colwick Travel in Dallas has been my travel agent for over twenty-five years.  When my friends chide me about why I don’t save tons of money by booking my flights and hotels on Tripadvisor, Orbitz or Expedia, I just tell them a Georganne story.

 

“Assume you landed late at midnight in Columbus and your flight connection to Chicago has long gone.  All the following morning flights...

National Customer Service Week—Monday Hero

Today is Monday, October 1st. National Customer Service Week will be this week–October 1-5. Over the next five days, we will celebrate heroes who deliver over-the-top innovative service.  And, I start with a master shoe repair person—David Cooper!

 

I took my beloved Lucchese boots to McMillan’s shoe repair store for new soles and heels.  Leaving them in the hands of a stranger was no doubt like leaving your hand built, perfectly restored sports car with a new mechanic.  When I returned a few...

Keeping Customer Experiences New and Shiny

I bought a new pontoon boat two weeks ago! Actually, I traded in my old pontoon boat for it. It’s not really brand new since it is a used boat with low hours (that’s boat talk for low mileage!). But, it is still new to me. And, I have driven it every day I have been home since I took delivery. That’s more than I drove my last boat in any six months period. I wonder if it felt neglected.

 

Now for the true confession part. The new boat is the same brand, same size, and same color as my last bo...

Are You Your Customer’s Tickler System?

My passport expired. It expired four days before I was to fly to Toronto for a keynote.

 

But, that’s not the bad news. The “omagod” side is I did not discover my oversight until the day before my flight.

 

The good news is I was able to contact a pricey “get your passport renewed in two hours” facility in Atlanta.

 

So, the hiccup had a happy ending. But, it made me wonder why my travel agent did not catch the impending expiration in plenty of time for me to renew. I am sure there must be a...

Give Your Customers Daily Affirmations

“You is kind, you is smart, you is important.”

These were arguably the most powerful words spoken in the hit movie and best-selling book, The Help. The words were spoken every day by nanny Aibileen Clark (played by Viola Davis) to the little girl she lovingly watched over. And, each time she spoke these words, the little girl (played by Mae Mobley) repeated them. It was self-esteem building at its finest. And, given the little girl’s neglectful, self-centered mother, the child would likely ne...

Don’t Make Customers Lie On their Backs

I recently had eye surgery that required me sleeping on my back for two weeks following the operation. I always sleep on my side…ever since I was a kid. My back-sleeping attempts are so challenging I am never able to nap on those U.S. to Europe flights. I usually end up burning a gazillion frequent flyer points to get a pricey seat that reclines to a flatbed…so I can turn on my side!

 

It made me think about the many times we make customers break their routines-of-comfort in order to be serve...

Be a John McCain Warrior of Service

“I’m a soldier of service,” he said proudly when I thanked him for help in locating an item in the Home Depot near my home. I smiled and asked him what that meant. “It means I am here in service of my customers,” he replied. “My job is to quickly get them whatever they need.” I thanked him and walked to the cash register recalling my soldiering days.

 

Like McCain I was not a soldier; I was a warrior. I served in combat as the commander of an Army reconnaissance ranger unit. Think of Army Ran...