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Nickel and diming kills the goose

Remember the Aesop’s Fable, The Goose with the Golden Eggs? A man and his wife had the good fortune to own a goose that laid a golden egg every day. Lucky though they were, they soon began to think they were not getting rich fast enough. Imagining the goose must

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Be compelling

Yesterday, at my son’s football camp, I noticed that whenever he went out for a pass during scrimmage, he’d stop, wave his arms wildly, and call out to the quarterback, “I’m open! I’m open!” The quarterback would glance in Cooper’s direction and see what the rest of us saw—the defender

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What’s your priority?

Do you pay attention to the greetings and farewells you receive as a customer? I do. Here are a few that I’ve received lately: Last weekend, as I pulled up to the Krispy Kreme drive-thru window, this was my greeting: “$16.65” That was it. I was greeted with the total

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Volunteers Needed

I recently came across a list of attributes possessed by volunteers—whether candy stripers at a local hospital, political activists along the campaign trail or parents donating their time at their children’s elementary school. The list included: Passion: Authentic energy and enthusiasm in support of a cause Commitment: The act of

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Social customer service’s rightful place

In the 1990s, I worked for a hands-on general manager named Mark Conklin who frequently attended morning pre-shift meetings throughout the hotel. At one such meeting in the housekeeping department, I was invited to deliver a short presentation on delighters—those “little extras” that would pleasantly surprise or even “Wow!” hotel

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That little extra…

In today’s economy, consumers increasingly scrutinize the “value for price paid” of a product or service. While extraordinary customer service adds value, many service organizations miss opportunities to provide the “little extras” that create value in the minds of their customers. Companies that recognize the value of offering “little extras,”

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Ozymandias in the boardroom

As I read the June 6, 2011 BNET post, I couldn’t help but reflect on a poem that I read in college 25 years ago titled, Ozymandias. The poem by Percy Bysshe Shelley features the decaying remnants of a statue erected to the renowned and mighty King Ozymandias, bearing the

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Make Your Service a “Big Boy” Event

The following is a guest post by Chip Bell. Chip’s latest book (with John R. Patterson) is Wired and Dangerous: How Your Customers Have Changed and What to Do About It. Two things I remember about my very first suit.  It was a powder blue suit–perfect for Easter Sunday church

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Your opinion matters

Is it me or do you find that merchants are constantly asking you to “take five minutes” and “tell us how we’re doing” by responding to a customer satisfaction survey? Sometimes these surveys appear in your email box following a purchase. Other times, hard copy surveys arrive in your mailbox

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