I recall a story about Bill Marriott, Chairman and CEO of Marriott International, that illustrates the importance of timing. Every summer, there is a professional golf tournament in the Washington, D.C. area that draws spectators from miles around. Qualifying rounds for the tournament are held on the two consecutive weekends
I recall a statistic: 68 percent of customers quit doing business with a company or entity because of perceived indifference toward them as customers. When I share this statistic with groups, most participants are shocked: “How is it that so many people claim to be treated indifferently? That’s appalling!” And
I recently received a jury summons in the mail and my first reaction was, “Really? I am way too busy to deal with this now.” Then, in a moment of sobriety, I recognized that the protection of our rights and liberties as Americans is preserved by the American system of
With Halloween approaching, lately I’ve been thinking about ghouls, goblins, and things that go bump in the night. While carving a pumpkin over the weekend, my mind wandered to a memorable ghost story and the elements that made it special. As I recalled these ingredients, it occurred to me that
Last week I spent some time on the phone with Alyson from Assistly, Inc. During our call, she provided me with some background information about the company, its purpose, its clientele (which includes Twitter), and what’s coming next… Here’s a quick summary: Assistly is a hosted customer support platform for
Borrowing inspiration from Stephen Colbert, I’ve titled this post to point out the insufficiency of conclusions that have been drawn by me and others as they pertain to the art and science of customer service. Customers are moving targets in terms of needs and preferences and their sophistication increases exponentially
I know I’ve done it. I acknowledge the importance of flossing and commit to my dentist that I’ll floss twice daily over the next six months between cleanings. Then, as my appointment nears, I’ll realize how inconsistent I’ve been and make a special effort to floss in the days preceding
Over the years, I’ve had conversations with hundreds of frontline employees in the service industry. All of these employees were passionate about something but, more often than not, their passion had little to do with their job roles. Many described their jobs as boring, routine, and monotonous. These conversations have
The other day I took a cab from McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas to my hotel on The Strip. About 10 minutes into the drive, I struck up a conversation with the cab driver about the purpose of my trip—to speak to an insurance group about customer service. He
The Revelation Conversation is Here!
