Over three decades of working in training and development has taught me, among other things, that many managers are skeptical about the return on investment from most training programs. So-called “soft skills” training on topics like customer service and conflict resolution are likely near the top of that list. Some
Last week I had the privilege of traveling to Philadelphia to visit the newly-opened Comcast Technology Center where I was joined by a cast of customer experience (CX) influencers: Jay Baer, Chip Bell, Jeanne Bliss, Joey Coleman, John Dijulius, Matt Dixon, Moira Dorsey, Shep Hyken, Scott McKain, Adam Toporek, Bill Quiseng, and Jeannie Walters. We were given an exclusive peek behind the
For many years, I’ve gone on record saying that the reason you and I, as customers, consistently receive predictably poor customer service is because exceptional customer service is voluntary; employees don’t have to deliver it, and most don’t. It’s true. While there are things that employees do have to do,
I was recently asked which industry sectors have the most issues with poor customer service and what could be causing this? Telecommunications (telecom, TV, internet), health plans, government offices, airlines, and insurance are the industries that consistently produce the lowest overall customer satisfaction (OSAT) scores. I think it’s misguided to
I was recently asked, “What are your predictions concerning advances in customer service in the near future?” While I’m not a futurist, I will tell you that, as a customer, I’m seeing the proliferation of augmented service. By this, I’m referring to ways that organizations are adding value (for which you may
On occasion, managers ask me how to motivate employees who seem to be disengaged and simply going through the motions at work. The way I approach this is by being intentional about connecting employees’ daily job responsibilities to an enduring organizational purpose. This is not easy. It requires the organization
Earlier today I was the guest on a leadership podcast. Among other topics, we discussed organizational values. Too often the term “values” conjures up images of the corporate orientation video or inspirational break room posters and is otherwise widely ignored in the daily execution of job functions. Today I’d like
Several years ago, I made the following observation. In fact, it prompted me to write the book, Delight Your Customers: While employees consistently execute the mandatory job functions for which they are paid, they inconsistently demonstrate voluntary customer service behaviors for which there is little or no additional cost to their
Back in the Dark Ages of gathering customer feedback, companies distributed hard copy customer satisfaction surveys with prepaid postage to increase response rates and then waited weeks to collect, analyze, and distribute the feedback. And when warranted, it took even longer to follow up with individual survey respondents. Another common
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