Shep Hyken's Blog, page 235

Guest Blog: Simple gestures can make a customer go “wow”

This week on our Friends on Friday guest blog post, my friend and colleague Rebecca Morgan shares a story about her travels.  I love this story and believe it demonstrates how kindness and generosity can be key to the customer experience.            

In Cape Town, the Stonehurst Guest House provides simple, clean lodging in a lovely Victorian home with a central courtyard. The owner, Jan, is a kind artist who has run the inn for 30 years. Dan, the manager, and Maureen, the housekeeper, are friendly and accommodating. I chatted with each during my 3-day stay and found them friendly and helpful.

But it was something Jan did that made me go “Wow!”

On the second day, I was standing in the front hallway waiting for a local friend to pick me up and take me to his home for dinner. Jan saw me and came to chat while I waited. I told him of my dinner date and he asked if I had anything to take my friends, like a bottle of wine. I said I hadn’t had time to walk to the market to fetch one, and he said, “Wait right here and I’ll give you a bottle for them.”

Wow. He barely knew me and he was giving up one of his good bottles to these strangers. I was blown away, as were my friends when they saw the special variety.

In my travels domestically and abroad, I’m often bowled over by strangers’ kindness and generosity. It makes me want to pass it forward whenever I can. So when my Turkish friend Tamer asked today if his best friend’s teenaged daughter could come stay with me for a few weeks this summer, I immediately said yes. Tamer has been very generous with me, and I have received so much kindness from others when I’ve traveled, it was the only possible response. I will try to be as thoughtful as Jan, Tamer and so many others have been to me.

Rebecca L. Morgan, CSP, CMC, specializes in creating innovative solutions for customer service challenges. She’s appeared on 60 Minutes, Oprah, the Wall Street Journal, National Public Radio and USA Today. Rebecca is the bestselling author of 25 books, including “Calming Upset Customers” and “Professional Selling.” She is an exemplary resource who partners with you to accomplish high ROI on your key-talent development projects. For information on her services, books, and resources, or for permission to repost or reprint this article, contact her at 408/998-7977, Rebecca@RebeccaMorgan.com

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Simple gestures can make a customer go “wow”

This week on our Friends on Friday guest blog post, my friend and colleague Rebecca Morgan shares a story about her travels.  I love this story and believe it demonstrates how kindness and generosity can be key to the customer experience.            

In Cape Town, the Stonehurst Guest House provides simple, clean lodging in a lovely Victorian home with a central courtyard. The owner, Jan, is a kind artist who has run the inn for 30 years. Dan, the manager, and Maureen, the housekeeper, are friendly and accommodating. I chatted with each during my 3-day stay and found them friendly and helpful.

But it was something Jan did that made me go “Wow!”

On the second day, I was standing in the front hallway waiting for a local friend to pick me up and take me to his home for dinner. Jan saw me and came to chat while I waited. I told him of my dinner date and he asked if I had anything to take my friends, like a bottle of wine. I said I hadn’t had time to walk to the market to fetch one, and he said, “Wait right here and I’ll give you a bottle for them.”

Wow. He barely knew me and he was giving up one of his good bottles to these strangers. I was blown away, as were my friends when they saw the special variety.

In my travels domestically and abroad, I’m often bowled over by strangers’ kindness and generosity. It makes me want to pass it forward whenever I can. So when my Turkish friend Tamer asked today if his best friend’s teenaged daughter could come stay with me for a few weeks this summer, I immediately said yes. Tamer has been very generous with me, and I have received so much kindness from others when I’ve traveled, it was the only possible response. I will try to be as thoughtful as Jan, Tamer and so many others have been to me.

Rebecca L. Morgan, CSP, CMC, specializes in creating innovative solutions for customer service challenges. She’s appeared on 60 Minutes, Oprah, the Wall Street Journal, National Public Radio and USA Today. Rebecca is the bestselling author of 25 books, including “Calming Upset Customers” and “Professional Selling.” She is an exemplary resource who partners with you to accomplish high ROI on your key-talent development projects. For information on her services, books, and resources, or for permission to repost or reprint this article, contact her at 408/998-7977, Rebecca@RebeccaMorgan.com

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Customer Service from the C-Suite to the Mail Room

Define the Culture

Recently I was interviewed about why leadership in the “C-Suite” should focus on customer service. The questions I was asked seemed very appropriate, as I hope the answers were. Then as I saw the questions and answers written out, I realized that if the questions were changed to include, not just the leadership of an organization, but virtually everyone in the organization, the answers would almost be identical. Leadership has a lot to do with creating the customer service vision, but everyone must own the responsibility.

The first question was this: From the C-Suite, why is customer service important?

What if we simply changed it to: Why is customer service important? Shouldn’t everyone know the answer? My response to the original question was: When we have competition that sells our customers competing products and services, why should they do business with us? What differentiates us? It’s not just the product. It’s the way we deliver the product. And, more than the front line, it takes the entire company, especially leadership, to create the ultimate customer experience.

The second question: So where do we begin to become a customer focused organization?

Again, shouldn’t everyone know this answer? It starts with the people on the inside – employees. And that means all employees. Recognize that customer service is not a department; it’s a philosophy to be embraced by everyone. Before you can become customer focused, you must become employee focused. Practice internal customer service. The “Employee Golden Rule” I’ve been preaching for years is to treat your fellow employees like you want the customer treated, maybe even better. What’s happening on the inside of the organization is being felt on the outside by the customer.

And the third question was: What can the leaders do to impact customer service?

The original answer had to do with leadership defining the culture and creating a brand promise that focused on customer service. But, here is where I take the position that when it comes to customer service, everyone is a leader. Outside of the decision to create a customer service culture, which comes from the top, everyone can impact the company’s customer service culture. Just as the C-Suite should model good customer service behavior, so should everyone. When people look at you, regardless of you being the CEO or the most recently hired for an entry-level position, would they want to emulate your actions? This is your opportunity to be a leader, someone that everyone respects and admires.

Leadership in the C-Suite will define the culture. They must set the course, prove it is important and model the behavior. Set the tone from the C-Suite. Participate in the same training that the rest of the employees do – and be visible about it. Model the behavior. All eyes are on leadership to set an example. This brings me to the idea that anyone can step up as a leader when it comes to customer service. Just as the C-Suite should model good customer service behavior, so should everyone. When people look at you, be so good that they would want to emulate your behavior.

Shep Hyken is a customer service expert, professional speaker and New York Times  bestselling business author. For information contact (314)692-2200 or www.hyken.com. For information on The  Customer  Focus™ customer service training programs go tohttp://www.thecustomerfocus.com. Follow on Twitter: @Hyken

(Copyright ©MMXIII, Shep Hyken)

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5 Top Customer Service Articles For the Week of October 21, 2013

TOP CUSTOMER SERVICE AND BUSINESS ARTICLES

Each week I read a number of customer service articles from various online resources. Here are my top five picks from last week. I have added my comment about each article and would like to hear what you think too.

5 Takeaways from ‘The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon’ by StellaService

(Happy Customer) We found many good takeaways for businesses looking to learn from the customer-obsessed culture at Amazon.com — one that’s led the company to pulling in $75 billion in revenues this year. Here are the top five.

My Comment: Great commentary on an excerpt from the new book about Bezos and Amazon.com.  Really love the fifth point about frugality, which states that Amazon.com tries not to spend money on things that don’t matter to the customer.  Great article and looking forward to reading the new book: The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon – and I bet you can buy it on Amazon.com!

How to Lead Your Way to Customer Loyalty by Susan Baroncini-Moe

(thoughtLeaders) There’s no disputing that retaining customers is far more cost-effective to a business than recruiting new ones. But it’s getting harder and harder to develop customer loyalty. On the flip side, some companies seem to be able to get it right from the start. What does it take to create loyalty so strong that your customers keep coming back for more?

My Comment: If you want your customers to come back again and again, look at the inside of your organization first. This article points out three important strategies/tactics to get customers to come back. Isn’t it interesting that the first two are about employees and leadership. If you want to deliver a customer experience that creates loyalty, start on the inside of the company.

Why customer loyalty is declining and what companies can do about it by Steven Van Belleghem

(Conversation Management) Research shows that consumers are prepared to commit to up to five brands as long as they provide a clear added value. Consumers have an emotional attachment to these brands. As a result, loyalty to these brands is almost self-evident. In other words, there exists a certain brand paradox in the world today. People like specific brands while putting less trust in brands in general.

My Comment: This is an another excellent article on how to create customer loyalty.  The five reasons listed for declining customer loyalty are spot on.  Most businesses are caught in a commodity trap.  They look the same as their competitor.  Giving something away for free won’t work long term if the customer experience is missing.  This article makes the case that customer loyalty is not all about marketing.  Customer loyalty is creating an experience that makes the customer want to come back.

Loyalty Programs Don’t Drive Loyalty; Customer Experience Does by David Jacques

(Customer Input) Forrester published “The State of Loyalty Programs 2013”. I thought the new findings would provide a good occasion to share an updated comparison between loyalty programs and customer experience as drivers of customer loyalty.

My Comment: Some companies confuse a loyalty program with a marketing program. Giving someone a free sandwich after ten visits doesn’t make a customer loyal. (NOTE: The sandwich is just a metaphor for any perk a company gives away in exchange for frequent visits or use.) Give the customer an excellent experience every time and you won’t need to give away the free sandwich. Loyalty is an emotion that ties the company to the customer, and that comes from the way the customer is treated.

5 Rules For Being an Unforgettable Gift Giver by Tom Searcy

(Inc) The right gift can open doors and be the catalyst for great business relationships. Sales guru Tom Searcy spoke with a corporate-gifting expert to get his tips on giving unforgettable gifts.

My Comment: When it comes to the customer experience, showing gratitude and appreciation is so important. It can be a simple verbal thank you, an email, a phone call or thank you note. And, in some special cases, a special thank you gift as mentioned in this article. If you are going to thank someone in a big way, then read this article for the insights on how to make the most impact.

Professional speaker and New York Times bestselling business author. For information contact (314) 692-2200 or www.hyken.com. For information on The Customer Focus™ customer service training programs go to http://www.thecustomerfocus.com. Follow on Twitter: @Hyken

(Copyright ©MMXIII, Shep Hyken)

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Guest Blog: EVERYTHING is our problem

This week on our Friends on Friday guest blog post, my friend and colleague John DiJulius shares a topic with which I strongly agree. He provides excellent examples of how organizations must take care of every aspect of the customer experience.

Write it down. “EVERYTHING is our problem.”  Say it out loud. When businesses take the “it’s not our fault approach” there is only one solution: threaten and punish the customer, which means you won the argument but lost the customer. The first company I started, John Robert’s Spa, demonstrates the perfect example. Guests would sometimes leave their valuables (jewelry or cell phone) in the pockets of the robes. This meant the guests’ possessions could get washed and/or lost when we did our laundry.  It’s not the spa’s fault that the guests leave their stuff in the robe pockets.

The first remedy was to leave a sign inside the lockers and changing room stating, “We are not responsible for any valuables left behind.”  A huge negative cue, it is basically threatening and punishing customers. So we changed that to “Please remember to check your robe and locker for all your valuables.”  Better, but it didn’t eliminate the problem. Now what? Can we train our Spa Attendants to check every robe, every time before washing? Only in a perfect world.  So we found a supplier who provides pocket-less robes.  Problem solved.

One of the hospitals I consult with has always had an issue with patients being late for their appointments.  Big problem! More than half their patients were late.  It wasn’t a result of patients not respecting the hospital’s time, or poor planning.  It was because the hospital is so large (literally stretches for several blocks). Once patients found the correct building and parking garage, then the real challenge began — walking and finding the office in a maze of buildings and hallways.

Solution #1 (Threaten & Punish) -The hospital could warn the patients that they will forfeit their appointment if they are late but still be charged for the visit. Obviously this is not exactly the approach a business wants to take with its customers.

Solution #2 (Allow for this in hospital’s scheduling) –Allow for more time with each patient to build in for the fact that they will be late. This results in fewer appointments and patients seen per day. Not good financially for the hospital, and not good for the patients who need to get in quickly.

Everything is our Responsibility –Realizing how critical this is to running a successful business, the hospital finally did two things.

1) Staffed more recognizable volunteers all over the hospital to help direct patients to their destination, and 2) borrowing from Disney, they created a GPS APP for smart phones that directs patient to the proper place on their property (i.e. Building P, office 515).

After an exhilarating day at Disney, your family is leaving Magic Kingdom Park. It is 8:30 pm and you are in the parking lot. All of you are exhausted and impatient to get back to your room to shower and hit the sack. You look at your spouse and ask, “Where did we park?” She looks at you and says, “You’re kidding-right?” Neither of you remembers where you parked. So how hard can it be to find your car? Like 20,000 other people, you came here in a rented white minivan. There are miles and miles of white minivans in the parking lot. Your only option appears to be to wait until the park closes at 11 pm and see what white minivans are left.

Whose fault is this: Disney’s, yours, or your spouse’s? Should Disney be responsible for reminding you where you parked? Disney, however, is aware that the average family visiting today traveled four hours, they arrived in a white minivan, and before the driver put the car in park, the kids opened the door and were running for the entrance. The parents are too concerned about catching up with their kids to stop and think about where they parked. Disney already knows that tonight a number of families will return exhausted to the parking lot, not remember where they parked, and just want to get back to the hotel.

What does Disney do? They anticipate a major service defect. And they solve it, even though it isn’t their fault. They have people drive around the parking lots in golf carts in search of families that look lost.

A Disney Cast Member pulls up to your family and says,

  “ Did you forget where you parked?”

You nod and say,

“We’re driving a white minivan. Does that help?”

“Do you remember when you arrived? A ballpark time will do.”

“About 11:15 to 11:30 am.”

The Disney Cast Member checks his clipboard and says,

  “Between 11 am and noon we were parking in the Goofy section. Jump in! I will                 take you to that section, and we can find your car with your remote key.”

And it’s done. Was it Disney’s fault that you lost your car? Absolutely not. Is it their problem? Absolutely, yes, because Disney knows that every day several people will lose their cars and potentially be stranded for hours, a situation that could totally ruin the memory of their Disney experience.  This is a great example of what being zero risk is all about. Being zero risk applies regardless of whether your company is at fault. World-class service companies create protocols to proactively handle their most common service defects, and they train their employees how to extinguish small flames long before they turn into a raging fire. Even if a defect is not your fault, your customer will associate the issue with doing business with you. This is a critical issue for all businesses, at all levels, because when these situations arise, in the vast majority of instances, the employee immediately and instinctively becomes defensive and responds, “It’s not our fault.” Managers and front-line employees alike are shocked that the customer expects the company to be responsible and make it right.

The best way I have found to truly embrace the EVERYTHING is our problem mindset it to do the “Pay what you think is fair” exercise. When you think about how your customers can “short-pay” you for any reason, you will not believe how creative and solution-orientated you become with everything.

Find your pocket-less robes. If you really train everyone in your company to have the mindset that EVERYTHING is your problem and responsibility, and you remove the victim mentality of “it is our customer’s fault,” your company’s customer experience will elevate to new heights. You’ll find solutions that eliminate the problems and make your company more efficient, and your customers happier.

John R. DiJulius III best-selling author, consultant, and keynote speaker, is the President of The DiJulius Group, the leading Customer experience consulting firm in the nation. He blogs on Customer experience trends and best practices. Learn more about The DiJulius Group or The Secret Service Summit, America’s #1 Customer Service Conference.

 

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Solving Customer Problems, Even When They Aren’t Our Fault

Excellent Customer Service

I was in Las Vegas, on the sixth day of a nine day, multi-city run of speaking engagements and meetings.  That evening was a black-tie event.  Rather than take my tuxedo to several cities, un-packing and re-packing the tux, I had it shipped to the hotel.  According to our information, the tux should have been at the hotel.  But, it wasn’t.  Apparently, it was accidently left on the truck.

It was 4:00 on Sunday afternoon, and I Googled to find the nearest tuxedo store, which happened to be Tuxedo Junction, located about six miles away from my hotel.  A very nice salesperson answered the phone.  Her name was Mikka Moon.  I say she was nice, but that is probably an understatement.  More than nice, she was helpful.

She explained that their store closed in an hour and they were jammed because of homecoming season.  She asked where I was staying and said that if I knew my clothing measurements, she could have a tux delivered to me by 5:30.  My dinner started at 6:00.  I said, “Let’s go!”

I gave her the measurements and my credit card.  It was now 4:05.  Just 35 minutes later Julio showed up at the hotel.  I met him at the bell stand and thanked him profusely.

What happened was a perfect example of excellent customer service.  Actually, it was more of an over-the-top WOW example of customer service.  Mikka had a chance to be a hero and she came through.

Let’s walk through this.

The customer (that’s me) had a problem.


The salesperson was more than friendly and nice.  She was helpful.  She recognized there was a problem, empathized with the customer and then suggested a plan to solve the problem.


Once the plan was accepted, she delivered.  She actually exceeded expectations.

Normally, when the customer has a complaint or a problem that is our fault, we jump to fix it, or at least we should.  What makes this an even better story is that the problem wasn’t the store’s fault, but Mikka saw it as her opportunity to help.  The moral of the story:

The customer’s problem may not be our fault, but it is still our problem to solve.  (Isn’t that what the best companies do?)

Shep Hyken is a customer service expert, professional speaker and New York Times  bestselling business author. For information contact (314)692-2200 or www.hyken.com. For information on The  Customer  Focus™ customer service training programs go tohttp://www.thecustomerfocus.com. Follow on Twitter: @Hyken

(Copyright ©MMXIII, Shep Hyken)

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5 Top Customer Service Articles For the Week of October 14, 2013

TOP CUSTOMER SERVICE AND BUSINESS ARTICLES

Each week I read a number of customer service articles from various online resources. Here are my top five picks from last week. I have added my comment about each article and would like to hear what you think too.

6 Tips for Taking Service Beyond ‘Customer Service Week’ by Mila D’Antonio

(1to1 Media) In an effort to encourage continuous improvement for companies’ service organizations beyond October 11, I’m making the following recommendations.

My Comment: Last week was National Customer Service Week. I believe it shouldn’t be a week, but should be for the entire year, which is why I really like the title of this article: Six Tips for Taking Service Beyond Customer Service Week. The key word is beyond – and the tips are pretty good, too!

A Simple, Science-Backed Way To Solve The Employee-Engagement Problem by Lydia Dishman

(Fast Company) Gamification guru and Bunchball founder Rajat Paharia has a data-backed approach to sparking even the least motivated staffer.

My Comment: I don’t know how many company leaders would enjoy having their business strategies compared to those of Walter White, the science teacher turned drug lord in Breaking Bad, but none the less, this is a very entertaining read.

Three Steps For Transforming Employees Into Brand Ambassadors by William Arruda

(Forbes) The best leaders realize that, despite conventional wisdom, strong brands aren’t built by the marketing department alone; every employee in every department has a role to play.

My Comment: If your own employees won’t evangelize your brand, how can you expect or hope for customers to evangelize your brand. This article on employees becoming brand ambassadors is important to any organization. Employees must be in alignment with the company’s goals, mission, vision and brand promise. In addition, they must be genuinely excited about the company they work for.

10 Things Your Customers Wish You Knew About Them by Help Scout

My Comment: This isn’t an article, but a SlideShare post.  Help Scout gives us some great food for thought on what customers want us to know about them.  And, you should share this with others on your team.

Does service make a difference? by Infinite Training

(Infinite Training) Does the quality of service you receive actually have a direct link to the time, loyalty and ultimately the money you spend with an organisation? Customer Service has always been an area of business that intrigues us, frustrates us and done properly can inspire us, but can it make profits?

My Comment: Does customer service make a difference? I HOPE SO! The comments in this article are proof.

Professional speaker and New York Times bestselling business author. For information contact (314) 692-2200 or www.hyken.com. For information on The Customer Focus™ customer service training programs go to http://www.thecustomerfocus.com. Follow on Twitter: @Hyken

(Copyright ©MMXIII, Shep Hyken)

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Guest Blog: DODOS AND COYOTES: Only the Nimble Survive

This week on our Friends on Friday guest blog post, my friend and colleague Randy Pennington asks us to look at how our service is viewed by the customer, as a dodo bird or as a coyote? He makes a great point that in order to survive we must model our customer service after the coyote.  Also check out his new book: Make Change Work.

Your company’s long-term ability to attract and retain customers will come down to a simple question: When your customers think of your service, are you viewed as a dodo bird or a coyote?

In Defense of the Dodo

The dodo bird has become the iconic symbol for failure to adapt to a changing environment. The term dodo is often identified with a lack of common sense and being perpetually confused.

You could say that the dodo became complacent and comfortable. Dodos, however, were not stupid. They never had a chance. They evolved in an environment with no natural predators and no need to adapt. The dodo was perfectly built to live in a world that never changed. Extinction is the result when you are born without the ability to understand the concepts of danger, urgency, and complacency.

That’s not the case with humans, and yet there are people and organizations of all shapes, sizes, and types that see and deliver customer service through the eyes of the dodo bird.

They see their environment as stable and secure with no need to worry that competitors are stealing their customers by finding ways to deliver amazing service.
They have become complacent and lost their ability to stretch out of their comfort zone to find new ways to delight and amaze their customers.
They have lost or never developed the ability to adapt quickly to changing customer expectations.
They are unaware of how their competitors are changing customer service expectations through innovation and commitment.
They have never committed to continued growth and development and, as a result, they are perfectly structured to provide service in a way that the customer no longer values.

Dodos didn’t know any better. You do, and you can keep your service from being viewed as a dodo with intentional effort.

In Praise of the Coyote

The Road Runner cartoons featured Wile E. Coyote as the bumbling nemesis trying to capture the endlessly out of reach object of its desire.

The truth is far different.

The coyote is an ideal model for flourishing in a world where you must compete to survive because they are:

Adaptable: Coyotes originally inhabited open prairies and deserts in the southwestern part of North America. Today, they are found from Alaska to Central America and flourish in forests, mountains, and urban areas. Unlike most species, coyotes thrive in areas where humans live—often without anyone even knowing that they are there.
Opportunistic problem solvers : Coyotes learned that survival meant doing different things as well as doing things differently. They prefer meat, but they will eat basically anything: mammals, insects, fish, snakes, fruit, food discarded by humans, and plants. Coyotes see an opportunity and act on it.
Aware of their surroundings: Coyotes can detect food and danger up to a mile away. In other words, it is hard to surprise a coyote. They know you are coming before you know that they are around.
Speedy: Coyotes can run at a respectable 40 mph. That is not puma-like speed, but it is fast enough for them to avoid predators and catch their prey.
Territorial when needed: Like their cousins the dog, coyotes mark and defend their territory. What is theirs is theirs, and you will have to fight them to take it.
Secretive when it serves them: Coyotes have developed the ability to hide in plain sight, and they will even walk on their toes to keep their prey from hearing them.
Committed to family: Coyotes strong sense of family increases their opportunities to protect and grow the species. Male coyotes are active participants in caring for newborn pups, which means more of them survive.
Versatile when working to succeed: Coyotes usually work alone or in small packs. But they will work in larger teams when it serves their purpose. Coyotes will even team up with badgers—a natural enemy—to track and kill a common prey. There is no illusion of friendship. The coyotes and badgers enter into this partnership of convenience because it conserves energy and increases their mutual effectiveness.

Today’s amazing service is tomorrow’s basic expectation as your competitors continually adapt. The future belongs to those who approach customer service through the eyes of the coyote. The dodos will become extinct.

Which one are you?

Randy Pennington is author of Make Change Work: Staying Nimble, Relevant, and Engaged in a World of Constant Change (Wiley, 2013) from which this article is adapted. For additional information or to schedule Randy for your organization: contact via telephone at 972.980.9857; e-mail at Mary@penningtongroup.com or on the Internet at www.penningtongroup.com.

©2013 by Pennington Performance Group; Addison, TX. Used with permision. This article may be downloaded for personal and professional development. Copies may be shared within an individual organization. All other uses of this material are strictly prohibited without written permission from the author.

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National Customer Service Week

Celebrate and Embrace Customer Service

National Customer Service Week is the first full week of October.  I always ask, “Why just a week?”  Shouldn’t we deliver and celebrate great customer service all year – year after year!  How about National Customer Service EVERY Week.

Seriously, I recognize that National Customer Service Week was created to take a short time to emphasize customer service.  Companies have pep-rallies and put up signs and posters.  They do a lot.  But what happens the other 51 weeks of the year?  Hopefully more of the same.  Maybe not as a celebration, but as a continued and consistent effort to amaze every customer every time.

This year, in honor of National Customer Service Week, I’ve pulled together twenty quick tips to deliver a better customer experience. Here they are:

Manage first impressions.  They set the tone.
Manage last impressions.  They create “lasting” impressions.
Show up on time.  Being late is a sign of disrespect to the people waiting.
Always do your best.
Smile.  It’s better than a frown or an expression of apathy.
Be accountable.  Don’t blame others and accept responsibility.
If a problem comes your way, you own it, even if it is not your department.
Even if you own the problem, and you do have to pass it on to someone else, circle back with the customer to make sure it has been resolved.
Show up early.
Stay late.
Do more than is expected.
Under promise and over deliver.
Be proactive.
Build rapport.
Aim for perfection, even if it is not a reality.
If there is a problem, respond quickly.
Return calls quickly.
Care! Don’t just act like you care.  Really care!
Be enthusiastic.
Always say, “Thank you.”

As a bonus, this list has been put into a SlideShare format that you are welcome to share with colleagues and use in a meeting.  You can access it by clicking here.

Happy National Customer Service Week!

Note: More bonus material can be found on my YouTube Channel.  There you will find daily tips that I’ve put up for this year’s celebration in addition to over 100 other videos that are all about customer service.  Feel free to share them with your colleagues.

Shep Hyken is a customer service expert, professional speaker and New York Times  bestselling business author. For information contact (314)692-2200 or www.hyken.com. For information on The  Customer  Focus™ customer service training programs go tohttp://www.thecustomerfocus.com. Follow on Twitter: @Hyken

(Copyright ©MMXIII, Shep Hyken)

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5 Top Customer Service Articles For the Week of October 7, 2013

TOP CUSTOMER SERVICE AND BUSINESS ARTICLES

Each week I read a number of customer service articles from various online resources. Here are my top five picks from last week. I have added my comment about each article and would like to hear what you think too.

12 Customer Service Quotes to Hang on Your Office Wall by Carla Gates

(Acquisition marketing) But I believe that even inside emerging companies, are ideas and practices about customer service that are just as paradigm-shifting. To that end, I interviewed the leaders at d50 Media, an advertising agency in the Boston area, to find those nuggets of customer service wisdom that are important, actionable, and should be hanging on our office walls.

My Comments: I’m reading these quotes on Monday, October 7, the first day of National Customer Service Week.  These are great to get us inspired to create a better customer service experience, but not just for the week.  How about all of the time!

How to replicate Disney’s first-class customer experience by Gary Edwards

(Retail Customer Experience) By following Disney’s example, paying attention to the many little details that matter, retailers can develop customer experiences that wow consumers and differentiate their brands in an increasingly crowded retail marketplace.

My Comment: I’ve always been a huge fan of Disney. Personally, I’ve visited Disney theme parks over 50 times. Professionally, I’ve taken a number of the business courses Disney offers through Disney Institute and have taken their “back stage” tour five times. I always learn something new. I love this article and the five lessons we can take away from it. Any company can use at least one, if not all of these to implement a first class Disney style experience.

Customer Experience From the C-Suite, With Dan Hesse by Bruce Temkin

(Customer Experience Matters) The webinar with Dan provided a great opportunity to hear Sprint’s inspirational CX story and offered a glimpse into the mind of a CEO who really “gets CX.” Dan’s efforts at Sprint highlight many elements of Temkin Group’s four customer experience core competencies.

My Comment: The interview with Sprint CEO Dan Hesse is exactly what everyone, not just the C-Suite, needs to understand to deliver a great customer experience. The nine “takeaways” from the interview are excellent. My favorite is to “never waste a good crisis.” Take advantage of a customer crisis by turning the situation around to be favorable, and most important, leveraging the crisis internally as a learning opportunity.

Is Your Business Customer Centric? by Debbie Laskey

(Business 2 Community) Is your company customer centric? Does your leadership team know what that means?

My Comment: Even though I love the Nordstrom tire story, I’ve always had an issue with the person who gave the gentleman the refund for the tires. That said, the story created the legend – and the standard – for the level of customer service that Nordstrom would deliver. No doubt we treat some customers better than others based on how much business they give us. Yet, the minimum standard should always be to treat the customer better than average, always making the customer feel valued and appreciated, regardless of how much or little is spent with us.

Product and Price Step Aside, Personalization is King by Anna Papachristos

(1 to 1 media) Retailers can no longer depend on price and product quality to entice customers. Future success depends on retailers’ abilities to enable omnichannel experience.

My Comment: Personalization can give a company an incredible advantage over the competition.  It helps build the relationship – a potentially loyal relationship. Great information and statistics in this article that supports this concept.

Professional speaker and New York Times bestselling business author. For information contact (314) 692-2200 or www.hyken.com. For information on The Customer Focus™ customer service training programs go to http://www.thecustomerfocus.com. Follow on Twitter: @Hyken

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