I mentioned authors Janelle Barlow and Claus Moller in a post a few weeks back entitled The Nicest Customer Service Complaint of All. Barlow and Moller are the authors of the popular customer service book called A Complaint Is A Gift. In some ways, the title says it all. A Complaint Is a Gift flips […]

…I have failed. Not every customer lost is a failure. People move out of the market, people lose the ability to pay, and people’s needs change. Yet, if I look at my lost customers, the great majority represent a failure on some level.

The Ritz-Carlton’s customer service is legendary, but how do they achieve it? One way is by empowering and training their employees to solve customer issues in real time. It is a customer service model that few hotels follow. However, if you’re one of their customers, it’s good news, because the Ritz-Carlton will spend $2,000 to […]

As of April 2015, this eBook has been retired. You now receive 3 FREE sample chapters from Be You Customer’s Hero when you join The Customer Conversation. It’s done!  …  Mission accomplished!  …  C’est fini! I am extremely excited to announce that our new eBook 7 Secret Customer Service Techniques Every Expert Knows is being […]

If a smile widens on a phone call, and no one is there to see it, does it make a sound? As it turns out, it does. Smiles over the phone might be unseen, but they are most definitely heard. The Power of Smiling on the Phone It is standard advice in sales and customer […]

Many of us were struck earlier this month by the brash comments of Ryanair CEO, Michael O’Leary, regarding his customers and the extra fees his airline charges for certain behaviors. If you are not familiar with the story, an English family of five was charged 300 Euro (about $380) for failing to print their boarding […]

Customer service writers talk a lot about “firing” customers. The discussion is an important one, as most people have a difficult time severing ties with problem customers. However, what is more difficult and rarely discussed is letting go of a good customer because you cannot meet their needs. In these cases, the customer is not […]

Once in awhile a customer service issue from my retail business will get elevated to my desk, and the customer involved will be a fellow business owner. Often these business owners will let me know early in the conversation that they too own a business. And while every person who mentions this does so for […]

My wife and I were at a local mall this past Sunday and stopped in a Johnny Rockets restaurant for lunch. If you are not familiar with Johnny Rockets, it’s a Fifties diner themed restaurant (my description, not the company’s), with a burger, fries and milkshake menu that completes the throwback ambience. The waitstaff is […]