DoubleTree (a Hilton brand) uses an innovative and effective mechanism for monitoring and improving its customer service at its properties: the CARE committee. DoubleTree describes the CARE Committee as follows: The CARE Committee – The Heart of Our Hotels. The CARE Culture at DoubleTree by Hilton is a commitment to total service quality that equates …

Who’s On Your CARE Committee? Read More »

We released our first Customers That Stick infographic this past Monday: When Customers Stick — Customer Retention by the Numbers. In the infographic, we included numerous studies that show that increased retention leads to increased profitability. One aspect of this phenomenon that our infographic did not explore, however, was the following: Why does customer retention …

How to Retain Customers: 8 Reasons Retention Is More Profitable Read More »

From small businesses to huge corporations, everyone wants to know the secret to keeping customers. How do we earn repeat business for years and years to come? In the infographic below, we use various customer retention statistics to break down the three most important aspects of customer retention: Understanding customer retention begins with understanding the …

When Customers Stick: Customer Retention by the Numbers (Infographic) Read More »

We are human beings first and customer facing professionals second. We are subject to the same psychological processes on the job as we are off. We carry with us the same baggage and perceptions — and the same conditioned responses. On the job, we generally do a better job of regulating these responses — but …

Pavlov’s Customer Service Reps Read More »

One of the challenges with feedback from individual customers is that it can often be unreliable and can actually understate or overstate your service delivery. We have all seen anecdotal data at work in our lives. Let’s say you are looking for a new clothes dryer, and you decide to ask your neighbor for a …

Anecdotal Customer Feedback and the Problem of Uncle Jimmy Read More »

MIT recently released a new study showing that customers sometimes review products with companies that they’re loyal to even when they have not personally used the product. To quote the article (emphasis mine): “Even a company’s loyal customers are inclined to write negative reviews about its products, regardless of whether the customers actually have purchased …

Customers Lying Online: An Interesting New Study Read More »

Last week, I went to a national “market” restaurant to grab a quick lunch. I do not go to this chain often but have been an infrequent customer since I discovered it back in 1993. So, I have a bit of a long term perspective on its business and its customer service. In the past …

Customer Service Training: Principles Trump Procedures Read More »

Guest Poster: Miguel Perez It is my pleasure to introduce Miguel Perez, (mt) Media Temple Engagement Supervisor. Miguel has spent 15 years in customer service. Since coming to (mt) Media Temple in 2008 he’s done front line support, lead a support team, served as a supervisor and now leads the Media Temple customer engagement effort. …

Customers and Support: A Social Contract Read More »

In a 1969 national address, President Richard Nixon popularized the term the silent majority. While the term was not original to President Nixon, his address cemented the idea that there existed a silent majority whose outlooks differed from the vocal minority opposing the Vietnam War and dominating the news coverage of the day. While the …

Customer Service, Richard Nixon, and the Silent Majority Read More »