Customer service

A Wasted Opportunity

I was seated next to a new executive in the parent company of an organization where I was a decades-long customer. We introduced ourselves at this network function, and I shared how wonderful the receptionist is at one of their locations. In fact, it’s the only location I chose to frequent because this frontline professional 

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Why I’m More Hopeful

Throughout my career there were times I felt like a tiny voice in the management void. As an early advocate of internal marketing – a strategic blend of Marketing and Human Resources that focused on taking care of employees to take care of customers – I found companies bought into the concept but not its 

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“We want your business, not your bad mood”

Facts of life for business: 1: No business has an unlimited supply of employees and customers. 2: Recruitment and retention of both employees and customers are necessary for business survival. 3: Cultivating good employees is as important as cultivating good customers. However, when good employees are subject to rude and demanding customers, it’s time to 

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Attention, please

Pandemic-induced stress and other reasons have led to decreasing workforce numbers and increasing pressure on remaining employees. Demanding, rude, and uncivil behaviors by some customers – and employers – only exacerbate the situation. Please be patient, understanding, and considerate. Thank you. [Image credits: “Dude breathe” photo by Kyndall Ramirez on Unsplash.jpg. Sign posted in office 

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Customer Service Behind the Mask: We Need More Like Laura

With the exception of surgical doctors and nurses who are used to communicating while wearing masks, many of us are challenged to communicate effectively when half of our faces are covered. Until the pandemic, I took for granted how much our facial expressions greatly enhance verbal communications and personal interactions. Yet skilled service providers can 

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New Books for Holiday Gift-Giving This Year

“A book is a gift you can open again and again.” Garrison Keillor I’m a fan of giving books as gifts especially when paired with soothing tea, specialty coffee, indulgent chocolate or other sweet treat. Such gifts feed the senses as well as the mind. So I’m happy to recommend five new nonfiction books that 

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Important Reminder for All Employers

It’s been several months since COVID-19 disrupted and changed the workplace. Regardless of where your employees now work – whether from home, at your place of business, on the road, or some hybrid approach – the following still applies. “The way your employees feel is the way your customers will feel. And if your employees 

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How to Better Engage Your Customers and Their Ideas

In the quest for product/service innovation, it’s easy to overlook an obvious source: your own customers. How to effectively involve and engage them – and make them feel valued in the process – can be found in Chip Bell‘s just-released book, Inside Your Customer’s Imagination: 5 Secrets for Creating Breakthrough Products, Services, and Solutions. Renowned 

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Beware of “Askholes” & Others Who Won’t Listen

Understandably, people who ask for advice may not always follow it. But how they listen and respond makes a difference in the outcome and its impact on others. This includes frustrating encounters with “askholes” — people who constantly ask for your advice, yet ALWAYS do the complete opposite of what you told them to do” 

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