Shep Hyken's Blog, page 238

Guest Blog: The Four Things to Stop Doing to Make the Customer Experience Better

This week on our Friends on Friday guest blog post my friend and colleague Lisa Ford shares some great advice.  Instead of teaching us what we should start doing to create a better customer experience, she teaches us what to stop doing.   

The customer experience is all about doing things that will be memorable and of value to the customer. Start with the basics and fundamentals. Once you’ve gotten them right, you will have earned the customer’s trust and repeat business. To keep them loyal, break out and be different. There are plenty of companies offering what you offer, so be decidedly different. With that being said, there are things you must STOP doing if you want to stand out.

Stop asking the customer to repeat information they’ve told you already. This includes asking them to repeat identifying information already keyed in while listening to prompts. Make certain transfers are smooth and seamless by sharing key information with the next team member. Repetition only increases the frustration factor.


Stop having all employees greet the customer when entering a bricks and mortar store. Let one do it and then stop. It is amazing how employees are being asked to look up from a current customer conversation or transaction to yell across the floor to the just arrived customer. It is rude to the current customer and feels odd to the one crossing the threshold.


Stop being oblivious and unaware. Get your team to recognize and learn current customers. Encourage them to check the database and acknowledge the customer specifically. If your team serves customers in person, show you know them. Learn names and make connections.


Stop being scripted. Customers want a real person delivering sincere service. Allow your team to build a relationship and use judgment. If you have hired and trained well, then trust them to deliver memorable experiences.

There are plenty of things all organizations need to start doing but get started by stopping certain irritating behaviors. It just gives the customer a chance to think about taking their business to the competition.

What would like for companies to stop doing?

Lisa Ford is known for her work on customer issues. Her ideas help companies create customer-focused cultures and keeping customers loyal. She is a speaker and author with over 20 years of experience presenting to businesses, associations and government. Lisa is the author of the videotape series How to Give Exceptional Customer Service, the #1 selling DVD series in the U.S. for over 3 years.

The post Guest Blog: The Four Things to Stop Doing to Make the Customer Experience Better appeared first on Shep Hyken.

Customer Service – Start with the End in Mind

Become Customer Focused

I recently posted one of my articles in a great online publication, Customer Think, one of the top repositories for customer service articles on the Net.  Bob Thompson, the editor in chief at Customer Think, and Michael Lowenstein, a fellow author, and I embarked in some interesting dialogue around the article, which was about being employee-focused before you are customer-focused.

If you have been following my articles and social media posts, you know that I believe that before you can become customer-focused, you must be employee-focused.  Customer service starts with employees of an organization.  And, that means all employees.  From leadership to the most recently hired to the entry level positions.  To become customer-focused you must practice internally what you want the customer to experience externally.  All employees must treat each other, the way the customer should be treated.  That is where it starts.

Well, Bob Thompson seemed to disagree.  He believes you become customer-focused first.  He had some very valid comments, and I think the concept is up for interpretation.  Yes, there are companies that have both great customer service and also an incredible employee experience that have failed.  The reason is that it also takes a great product, which is a very customer-focused concept.  After all, without a product that customers are willing to buy, you won’t have a business regardless of how good the customer service is.  Bob referenced the dot.com era where employees were in the most incredible, almost lavish, work environments, but in the end some of the companies still failed.  In most cases it wasn’t because of the lack of customer or employee focus.  It was because the product didn’t make enough money for the company.

Here is the bottom line.  There is proof that top customer service companies are also employee focused.  Look at the surveys that indicate the best companies to work for and you’ll find many of those companies on the lists that provide the best customer service.  Yet, Bob Thompson’s point is valid and here’s my spin on it:

Yes, you must first decide to be customer-focused.  The decision becomes your goal.  The decision does not guarantee your outcome.  And to achieve this outcome, you must create a process, which is put into place by the leadership of the organization.  And while part of the process is about having the right systems and procedures in place, you still need people to act upon it.  The right people must be hired, trained and empowered to support the vision of what the customer experience should be.  And this vision, or outcome, will never happen unless the employees support it.

So, you start with the end in mind.  And, begin with first focusing on your employees.

ALMOST HERE!  Less than two weeks.  Amaze Every Customer Every Time: 52 Tools to Create the Most Amazing Customer Service on the Planet will be released on September 3.  But you don’t have to wait!  There is still time to pre-order the book and get an immediate download of the book and a number of other bonuses.  You can start to deliver amazing service today!  Go to www.AmazeEveryCustomer.com.

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 to http://www.thecustomerfocus.com. Follow on Twitter: @Hyken

(Copyright ©MMXIII, Shep Hyken)

The post Customer Service – Start with the End in Mind appeared first on Shep Hyken.

5 Top Customer Service Articles For the Week of August 19, 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.

Achieving the Highest Level of Great Customer Service by Kattia Bolanos

(Win the Customer!) It’s not enough to just have the best talent, great customer service requires creating the right environment for talent to flourish. If you have room for improvement, here are five ways to get your organization working to deliver great customer service.

My Comment: As I read this list of five ways to deliver high levels of service, I can’t help but notice that there is an internal focus.  If you don’t hire right, train, empower, etc. (all internal), you shouldn’t expect high levels of customer service.  The best companies start working on internal customers, because that is the best way to impact the outside customers.

10 Smart Customer Service Tips from Small Businesses by Jason Boies   

(Salesforce) Here are 10 takeaways from these small business success stories for delivering a world class customer experience.

My Comment: Great “Top Ten” list of customer service tips.  Even though the title says these are for small business, I can see most, if not all, working for virtually any type of business.

A slice of absolute customer service perfection by Michael Hess

(CBS MoneyWatch) If I gave out a “Customer Service Moment of the Year” award, I’d have my 2013 winner already, and of all places, it’s an airport fast food joint.

My Comment: Great example of amazing customer service.  This is the type of story that should be circulated through the entire chain of Wolfgang Puck restaurants.  The employee demonstrates a great attitude, initiative and caring.  There are opportunities like happening all of the time.  We just have to be on the lookout for them – and then do something with them when they present themselves.

Have You Thanked Your Customers Today? by Annette Franz

(CX Journey) Do you thank your customers for their business? In a meaningful way? At every interaction?

My Comment: It is so important that we say “Thank you” to our customers!  They want and expect to be appreciated for the business they give us.  This is a nice reminder of how powerful a “thank you” can be.

7 Reasons the Customer Is Often Wrong by Geoffrey James

(Inc) One of the great maxims of selling is “The Customer is Always Right.” However, like many sales maxims, that statement is misleading. In fact, customers are frequently wrong and you’ll need to react appropriately when they are.

My Comment: I don’t know if the customer is “often” wrong, but I do know they aren’t always right.  These seven reasons about why a customer might be wrong are on target.  So, what do you do when a customer acts like this?  There are some good answers in the article, but one overarching theme should be considered: Let them be wrong with dignity.  No matter how wrong they are, don’t burn a bridge.

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)

The post 5 Top Customer Service Articles For the Week of August 19, 2013 appeared first on Shep Hyken.

Guest Post: The Most Expensive Chairs in a Restaurant ? Empty Ones.

This week’s Friends on Friday guest blog post features Susan Solovic. She tells an entertaining story with a point.  An employee was following the policy, but her lack of common sense caused a loss in business.  As you read Susan’s short story, think about the rules and policies that are created and how they impact the customer.  There is a time and a place to follow them, and a time to use common sense.  By the way, that’s why I like the word guidelines.

Empty chairs are never good for a restaurant.  You don’t make money unless people are sitting in them ordering food and drinks and enjoying themselves.  But imagine if you had empty seats because you allowed customers to walk-out the door without being seated.

Let me explain.  My husband and went to a small neighborhood Mexican restaurant.  I’d been fighting a cold so I wanted to make sure we didn’t sit at a table near the door because it was bitterly cold.

A waitress approached us with menus, asked us how many were in our party, then offered to seat us at one of two empty tables for two – one next to the door and the other by the kitchen area.  We asked if we could sit in one of the open booths instead.  The waitress said, “We keep those open for parties of four, but you can have either one of the two-tops I pointed out.”

My husband and I just stood there looking at each other.  Baffled he said, “Well, I guess we’ll go somewhere else then.”

The waitress replied, “Okay.”  Then she turned and walked away, and so did we.  We took our business right across the street.

I couldn’t believe it.  Restaurants are boarding up all across the country, and here we were in this establishment, ready to spend money, and they wouldn’t allow us to sit where we wanted to sit.  I could understand a little better if the restaurant was extremely busy and the table we selected was the only four-top open, but that wasn’t the case.

To survive and thrive in today’s difficult economy, we need to do everything we can to accommodate our customers.  Letting customers walk out the door is just plain stupid.

What do you think?  Should I give the restaurant another try?  How about going back and speaking to the owner?  Right now, I’m thinking there are plenty of other good Mexican restaurants so why waste the time and effort.

Susan Solovic, THE Small Business Expert, New York Times Bestselling author, media personality and keynote speaker.  An award-winning entrepreneur, Solovic is an Internet pioneer founding one of the first video news websites and building it to a multi-million enterprise.

 

The post Guest Post: The Most Expensive Chairs in a Restaurant ? Empty Ones. appeared first on Shep Hyken.

Customer Service Might Not Be Perfect, but It Can Be Excellent

Amazing Service

Perfect customer service is a goal.  It’s not reality.  It may be attainable sometimes, but there will always, at some point, be a mistake, a problem or a complaint from the customer.  This is why perfect is not ever going to happen every time.

However, excellent customer service is reality.  It’s what happens during the pursuit of perfection.  If the goal is perfection, then along the way, excellence will take place.

You might consider this to be a little customer service motivation.  I started thinking about this idea when I heard my friend and colleague, Art Holst, speak at an event last week.  Art is a former NFL referee and talked about his friend, NFL star quarterback Bart Starr, who is known for the following quote:

“I don’t think it makes sense to strive for perfection. Perfection is not attainable. I believe totally in striving for excellence, and I think there is a great deal of difference between the two. Although we strive for excellence, we set sensible goals because one of the most frustrating things in the world is to set our goals so high that we have no chance of reaching them.”

In doing a little research about Bart Starr’s quote, I came across another one by Edwin Bliss, who is the author of “Getting Things Done.”  He said:

The pursuit of excellence is gratifying and healthy. The pursuit of perfection is frustrating, neurotic, and a terrible waste of time.

I get it.  Perfection is not reality, but the goal of perfection is.  If you consistently put forth your best effort, positively and quickly react to anything that might go wrong, you are on the path to excellence.

Sometimes the customer service you deliver seems perfect.  And, it may very well be… that time.  But, there is always a chance something can go wrong, and that is where excellence comes into play.  Even when there is a problem, a complaint or mistake, it is the effort to turn that negative into a positive that creates an excellent customer experience.  And an excellent recovery may even create a higher level of customer confidence than if the problem had never happened.

Thinking back, I’ve heard people say that a company has great customer service – even amazing service.  But, I’m not sure I’ve ever heard someone say, “They have perfect customer service.”

Perfect customer service is a goal.  However, excellence is reality, and is always worth pursuing.

ALMOST HERE!  Less than three weeks!  Amaze Every Customer Every Time: 52 Tools to Create the Most Amazing Customer Service on the Planet will be released on September 3.  But you don’t have to wait!  There is still time to pre-order the book and get an immediate download of the book and a number of other bonuses.  You can start to deliver amazing service today!  Go to www.AmazeEveryCustomer.com.

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 to http://www.thecustomerfocus.com. Follow on Twitter: @Hyken

(Copyright ©MMXIII, Shep Hyken)

The post Customer Service Might Not Be Perfect, but It Can Be Excellent appeared first on Shep Hyken.

5 Top Customer Service Articles For the Week of August 12, 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.

25 Employee Engagement Tips to Improve Your Workplace by Debbie Laskey

(Debbie Laskey’s Blog)  I asked 25 of my favorite leadership and employee engagement experts to answer the question, “What one tip would you give to employers to promote employee engagement?” Here are their insightful tips.

My Comment: Debbie Laskey has done it again. A great article that compiles ideas from 25 experts on the topic of employee engagement. There are so many benefits to an engaged workforce. What’s happening on the inside of an organization is being felt on the outside!

10 customer experience soundbites from Jeff Bezos by Chris Lake

(Econsultancy) I find it totally striking that Bezos was so customer-focused, back in the day. It’s easy to think that the phrase ‘customer experience’ is relatively new. It’s not.

My Comment: Jeff Bezos is definitely one of the rock stars when it comes to customer service.  I love this compilation of Bezos quotes.  They make great conversation starters for a team meeting.  If nothing else, they give insight into just how customer-focused Jeff Bezos really is.

Crazy Makers, Trust Busters And How Customers Get Even by Christine Crandell

(Forbes) While understanding the specific actions and motivations of buyers is important to delivering a valued lifetime customer experience, it is not everything.

My Comment: Trust is such a big part of the customer experience, and ultimately a big driver of loyalty. While the customer focuses primarily on B2B, I believe much of this crosses over to B2C. Here is a list of some of the reasons a customer trusts a business and some of the mistakes businesses make to lose a customer’s trust.

4 Ways to Own Your Customer Relationships by Mark

(Contactzilla) Use these four business management tips to ensure you own the customer relationship.

My Comment: If you want to own your customer relationships, you should take a good look at these four ideas, which fall into four very important areas: culture, customer experience, systems and communication.

Lawmakers push Obama administration on customer service by Donovan Slack

(htrnews.com) According to the most recent American Customer Satisfaction Index, the federal government scored a meager 68, four points lower than the worst private industry, the information sector.

My Comment: If the government really wants to get customer service right they should pay attention to a very important concept: consistency.  You can’t let agencies make up their own standards.  Everyone and every agency needs realistic and consistent benchmarks.  And, it would help to pay attention to what countries like Singapore are doing.  I agree with the comment from Wisconsin Republican Ron Johnson who is quoted as saying, “By embedding the concept of customer service into government operations, agencies will ultimately become more efficient and effective.”

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)

The post 5 Top Customer Service Articles For the Week of August 12, 2013 appeared first on Shep Hyken.

Guest Blog Post: 3 Morale-Killing Mistakes Managers Make & What To Do Instead by Marilyn Suttle

I am excited to start my “Friends on Friday” guest blog post. This article by Marilyn Suttle focuses on employees and internal customers, which is one of my favorite topics. Thank you Marilyn for your contribution.

No one wakes up in the morning thinking, “I wonder how I can suck the life out of my staff today?” Yet, common mistakes managers make can have drastic effects on morale and ultimately the customer experience. What happens on the inside of a company eventually shows up on the outside. If you’re making the following mistakes, challenge yourself to test out the alternatives listed below and notice what happens. 

Mistake 1: Do not involve your staff when hiring their coworkers.

Hiring is tricky business. Even when you think you’ve found the right person, only time will tell if they’ll excel on the job. One of the biggest mistakes managers make is to hire too quickly. They don’t take the time to have the employees who will work closely with the new hire participate in the interviews. Much like the “new kid in school,” your new hire can find herself under scrutiny from coworkers who feel they had no choice with whom they have to work with every day.

Instead, bypass this problem by slowing down the hiring process.  Add additional interviews that include employees who would work most closely with the potential new hire. When coworkers get to be part of the selection process, they naturally take ownership for helping those people acclimate and become successful on the job.

Mistake 2: Be silent when things are running smoothly.

It isn’t always easy to manage a service staff, especially when times are tough.  It makes sense to speak up when problems arise to ensure things get back on track. But what do you say when your staff is working hard and things are coasting along as planned? Many managers consider that “business as usual” and make the mistake of saying nothing.

I observed a competent manager hired into a crazy-busy position filled with barely manageable client expectations. She was under the gun from day one.  During her first few months, her staff began feeling more stressed than usual and less engaged.  It wasn’t that she was overly tough or abrasive. The problem was she only had something to say when problems, oversights, or mistakes came to her attention. Employees are internal customers. When they don’t feel appreciated, it has a negative impact on the work they produce. Lack of appreciation is a major reason that key talent lose enthusiasm and leave.

Instead of silence, take time regularly to notice and acknowledge what’s going right. When you see it, say it, “I appreciate you for staying late to complete the order. It made a great impression on our new client.” When a staff member comes up with a creative suggestion that solves a client issue, don’t say, “Okay, go ahead and do that,” without including, “Great solution!” or “That’s the kind of creative thinking that makes our clients want to do business with us.”

You might be thinking, “Yeah, but Marilyn, my staff is SUPPOSED to do the right things. That’s what they’re hired to do. Why should I have to point out the expected?” The bottom line? Those who feel their work is appreciated are more engaged. It doesn’t cost anything and it creates a “you belong here” feeling that inspires even greater quality work and resourcefulness.

Mistake 3: Blame your staff for letting customer service standards slip

Your company spends time and money to develop customer service policies and everyone is trained.  You confirm with each staff member that they understand the new expectations, and offer to answer any questions. Shortly after, they stop following through. All that training evaporates and you’re back where you started. Do you get frustrated with your staff? Do you throw your hands up and complain? Over time, even the best of your people can start slipping back into old habits. It’s aggravating! And it’s not their fault.

Instead of blaming and resenting your staff, do what it takes to make service standards stick. Reinforce your standards regularly. Every business has an internal culture of “the way things are done.” When you try to change things, there will be a certain amount of resistance, a clinging to the old ways. Reinforcement doesn’t have to be hard, though it has to be consistent. The moment you stop reinforcing your standards is the moment things start slipping back.

After I am brought in to train for a business, I recommend a series of reinforcement calls. These calls are weekly and quick. If your staff knows that in a week’s time they will have an opportunity to share a success, they prepare. It stays “top of mind.” I suggest spending the first five minutes going over one particular point made in the training, then the call is turned over to the manager who gives each employee a couple minutes to share an example of how they each recently applied that service excellence practice. Each employee gets time to shine. Each employee gets to see how peers are using the skills. The manager gets to acknowledge the good work they’re doing. This is just one of many reinforcement techniques. What you focus on grows, and turns into “the way things are done.”

What about you? 

What do you do to keep your internal customers morale high?

Results coach Marilyn Suttle is an international conference speaker and co-author of the bestselling book, “Who’s Your Gladys? How to Turn Even the Most Difficult Customer into Your Biggest Fan.” She works with companies who want to create and maintain cultures of customer service excellence. For more information on Marilyn’s presentations, online training, and books, contact (248) 348-1023 or Marilyn@MarilynSuttle.com or visit www.WhosYourGladys.com

The post Guest Blog Post: 3 Morale-Killing Mistakes Managers Make & What To Do Instead by Marilyn Suttle appeared first on Shep Hyken.

Customer Service Is Simple, But It Is Not Always Easy

Create a great service experience

Sometimes the difference between a good company and a great company is the smallest amount of extra effort they, which means their employees, do for the customer.

When you walk into a store, the employee standing behind the cash register looks at you and gives you a little nod, as if to say, “Hello.” How hard would it be for that employee to come out from behind the counter, greet you and ask, “What can I help you find today?”

Have you ever asked for something special at a restaurant?  Maybe you have a food allergy.  Maybe you’re trying to eat healthy and would rather have a vegetable instead of a starch.  I remember going into a restaurant and was disappointed to read the large print in the middle of the menu that stated: No substitutions.  The description of the entree that I wanted to order indicated what it came with.  I don’t like green beans, but rather than test the theory of their substitution “rule,” I simply requested that there be no green beans.  The server told me that the chef wouldn’t do that, as that was considered a change or substitution.  I calmly disagreed and stated that I wasn’t asking for a substitution, but just wanted something left off the plate.  The server told me that the chef was very busy in the kitchen and wouldn’t be able to acknowledge the special request.  I acquiesced and just didn’t eat the green beans.  I thought, how hard would it have been for the server to take care of it, even if the chef wouldn’t?  How much “extra effort?”  I don’t think very much.

The point is this.  Sometimes when there is a big problem or complaint, it’s easy to spot and usually obvious that something needs to be done to fix it.  But, the little things can nip away at the customer’s experience.  They may be too small or insignificant to notice by themselves, but collectively they add up to the customer having a negative experience.

And these little things are simple to the customer walking away with a sour taste.

Here’s the lesson: Don’t take the easy way out.  Find ways to say yes instead of no.  Give a little more effort.  Sometimes just a tiny bit more.  Don’t view a special request as a nuisance.  Instead, look at is as an opportunity to show how good you are.  Capitalize on opportunities to create a great service experience for your customer.

I don’t know who said it first, but I heard it from Zig Ziglar.  He used to say, “There’s no traffic jam on the extra mile.”  And, when it comes to customer service, that extra mile, while not always super easy, isn’t always difficult either.  It is sometimes something very small or simple, and most likely, if you have a customer service mindset, is a pleasure to do for your customer.

ANNOUNCMENT:  Just over three weeks and counting down!  Amaze Every Customer Every Time: 52 Tools to Create the Most Amazing Customer Service on the Planet will be released on September 3.  But you don’t have to wait!  Pre-order the book and you can get an immediate download of the book and a number of other bonuses – and you can start to deliver amazing service today!  Go to www.AmazeEveryCustomer.com.

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 to http://www.thecustomerfocus.com. Follow on Twitter: @Hyken

(Copyright ©MMXIII, Shep Hyken)

The post Customer Service Is Simple, But It Is Not Always Easy appeared first on Shep Hyken.

5 Top Customer Service Articles For the Week of August 5, 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.

The employee’s guide to complaining by Catherine Milward-Bridges

(Bizcommunity.com) Employee complaints have a legitimate place in business, with some tempering needed – in some cases more than others. A key role player in the engagement equation, employees need a voice and a platform that are both taken seriously. This voice should be allowed to speak freely but constructively, in the interest of business-building.

Consider these questions to help you think twice before complaining.

My Comment: A truly customer-focused company is also an employee-focused company. Complaints from customers are acknowledged and dealt with, so why shouldn’t employee complaints. However, employee complaints will always be viewed differently. These five questions (and probably others) should always be considered by an employee before he/she complains.

7 Ways Bad Customer Experience Teaches Business Growth by Stefanie Amini

(360 Connext) Here are 7 tips to help you grow from each bad customer experience situation and retain your customers.

My Comment: The old expression is: “Complaints are opportunities to show how good you are.”  Turning a complaint around isn’t that complicated, as this article shows.  And, it is not just about resolving a complaint.  It’s about restoring confidence.  If the complaint is resolved correctly, the customer should have confidence to continue to do business with the company – maybe even more confidence than if the problem had never taken place at all.

Why Improving The Customer Experience Matters: A Love Story by Mike Maddock

(Forbes) Customer experience experts understand that a “love affair” with your consumers is the ultimate brand advantage because in life and business, love conquers all.

My Comment: Great version of the “circle of life” for a customer. Well worth considering as the various stages and touch-points through the customer lifecycle. I also like the concept of the company having a “love affair” with the customer. We want our customers to love us. When they do, they enjoy doing business with us, they give us more business, they spend more money… and everybody is happy!

It’s How They Want to Buy… Not How You Want to Sell by Ernan Roman

(Huffington Post) Companies that focus on what they want to sell — not how customers want to engage — miss the boat on opportunities to drive initial and ongoing sales.

My Comment: When a company builds a strong relationship with their customer, making a sale is easier.  We want our customers to buy from us, rather than us having to sell them.  If a company has a product or service that works, and their customer relationship skills are strong – and note that the customer service they provide is a very important part of that relationship – then the customer will buy with much less sales effort.

The Chief Executive of Customer Experience Management is You by Laura Bassett

(Business2Community) When organizations first start looking into Customer Experience Management they  soon discover it’s not just a new twist on traditional customer service  delivered by a contact center. It’s a paradigm shift in which the contact center  becomes a key player in a broader strategy.

My Comment: It is very important to remember the internal customer concept, and this article  does a good job of giving us a brief refresher. Everyone has a customer that  they service; internal or external. If you’re not serving the outside customer  directly, you are probably servicing someone who is. You are a supporting cast,  who regardless of job or responsibility, is supposed to do what is necessary to  ensure that the customer is taken care of.

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)

The post 5 Top Customer Service Articles For the Week of August 5, 2013 appeared first on Shep Hyken.

6 Customer Service Amazement Tools

Customer Service Strategies

If you were to survey ten random people about who they thought the best customer service companies are, you would probably hear companies mentioned like Amazon.com, Apple, Zappos.com, Nordstrom, Ritz-Carlton and a number of others.  Well, last year BusinessWeek mentioned many of those same companies, including Ace Hardware. 

Ace Hardware is that local store that has the really helpful employees who can help you with that weekend project, find that obscure part and much more.  They are the small locally owned stores that compete against huge “big-box” stores that are ten times bigger and spend 30 times more on advertising.  They play in a very competitive market and they thrive because of their special brand of customer service.

One very important reminder is that great customer service is table stakes.  It’s the ante.  You have to come to the competitive game of business with a sound customer service strategy, or you might as well just send your customers to the competition.  So, here are some basic strategies and tactics that customer focused companies like Ace Hardware, and other rock stars in the world of customer service, do to provide service that differentiates them from their competitors:

The truly great companies add a signature or brand to their version of customer service.  For example, as mentioned, Ace Hardware focuses on helpful. It is their tag line as well as their brand promise.  They want to be the most helpful hardware stores on the planet.  They really don’t want to be known as the nicest stores.  They want to be known as helpful.  By the way, part of helpful is nice.
Great companies have clarity of their purpose, and they get all of their employees in alignment with this purpose.  Call it a vision, mission, credo, mantra – whatever – the employees must know it, understand it and embrace it.  Ace’s brand promise “the helpful hardware place” and Ritz-Carlton’s credo, which is, “We’re ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen are great examples of short, simple and concise brand statements that promise an amazing customer service experience. Pretty simple and clear.  Every employee gets it.  Every customer gets it.  And when they experience the

Great companies hire the right people.  They hire people that fit the personality, mission and vision of the company.  This is really where the culture starts.  Not just with the employees, but hiring the right employees.
Once the right people are hired, they are trained, not just on the technical skills of the job, but also the softer skills like, and you guessed it, customer service.
The best companies empower their employees to do the job they were hired to do.  They expect the best and help their employees deliver their best.
 The best companies celebrate the success of their people.  They let their trained and empowered employees own their experiences.  The customers shouldn’t be the only ones that get to enjoy the hard work that leads to the success of the company.

ANNOUNCMENT:  One month and counting down!  Amaze Every Customer Every Time: 52 Tools to Create the Most Amazing Customer Service on the Planet will be released on September 3.  But you don’t have to wait!  Pre-order the book and you can get an immediate download of the book and a number of other bonuses – and you can start to deliver amazing service today!  Go to www.AmazeEveryCustomer.com.

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 to http://www.thecustomerfocus.com. Follow on Twitter: @Hyken

(Copyright ©MMXIII, Shep Hyken)

The post 6 Customer Service Amazement Tools appeared first on Shep Hyken.