Voltaire, the 18th-century French philosopher, said, “The best is the enemy of the good.” I love this quote because, to me, it highlights the distinction between extraordinary and ordinary, excellence and mediocrity, and exceptional and average customer service. Earlier this year, I attended a conference at the InterContinental Hotel in
Do you work hard? When questioned publicly, an overwhelming majority of us will respond that, yes, we work hard. I’m not sure what the percentage is, but I bet it’s close to the percentage of us who, in the presence of others, would claim to be excellent drivers who observe
I know a successful Denver web designer whose mantra is: “Keep working for the referral.” In other words, even after he gets the business, he continues to work hard to deliver a breathtaking design to his clients in order to delight them – and inspire their referrals. But what impresses
Once, while I was sharing a retail example of exceptional customer service during a seminar in New York City, a participant interrupted to say, “But what if you don’t want the cashier to act all phony—like she’s your best friend? What if you just want to make your purchase and
In 168 BC the Greek ruler Antiochus led an attack on Egypt. Before reaching Alexandria, his path was blocked by a Roman envoy who delivered a message from the Roman Senate directing Antiochus to withdraw his armies from Egypt and Cyprus or consider themselves in a state of war with
Marketers have increasingly been using acquired intelligence about their customers to tailor pitches to match customers’ unique buying patterns and preferences and to attract their future spending. And while marketers hope for consumers to respond favorably to their tactics, that’s not always the case. My local supermarket asks for my
Earlier this month, I read a Wall Street Journal article titled The Art of the Airline Apology. The article features a 2009 study by researchers at the University of Nottingham’s School of Economics in the United Kingdom that found apologies can be more valued by customers than compensation. In the
Martin Luther King, Jr., said, “Everyone has the power for greatness, not for fame, but greatness, because greatness is determined by service.” To deliver service heroics is to go the extra mile, to go above and beyond what a customer might expect given the employee’s job role. In short, it’s
My wife and I recently hosted friends who were in town from Sonoma County in California’s wine country. One evening, the four of us dined at a trendy, upscale restaurant in Denver’s LoHi district. Being that our friends work in the wine industry and have uniquely informed opinions about pairing
The Revelation Conversation is Here!
