As I type this, my Goldendoodle, Nugget, is recovering from shoulder surgery at a nearby animal hospital. His procedure was complex and required him to be left at the clinic all day. While Nugget was in surgery, I went to my local Chuck & Don’s Pet Food store to pick
As a paying customer, how do you feel when details are overlooked or ignored? I once ordered a milkshake for my young son that was delivered to our table without a straw. After placing the milkshake (in a Styrofoam container with a lid) on the table in front of my
This morning, my 9-year-old daughter asked me for a word that rhymes with “all.” She was writing a Mother’s Day poem and grappling with a verse to follow “Your love blooms for all.” The accompanying picture she had drawn contained a row of tall, colorful flowers, so I suggested, “Like
Last week, I was asked to weigh in on a conversation debating the value of organizations investing in omnichannel, a seamless approach to the consumer experience through all available shopping channels (e.g., mobile devices, computers, physical stores, etc.). It’s difficult to imagine a scenario whereby omnichannel is optional for those
This evening I received the following question on LinkedIn and thought I’d address it here as well: Question: Given that experts say employees should smile, treat customers politely, and show enthusiasm, how do you suggest dealing with employees who are affected by personal problems at work? This is an important
I’ve been a Tom Peters fan since being introduced to his teachings in my first management role at Marriott International more than 20 years ago. Frequently contrarian and counter-intuitive, Peters often says: “Soft is hard and hard is soft.” This applies to “soft skills” such as listening or customer service
Earlier this year, I read the book The Effortless Experience by M. Dixon, N. Toman and R. DeLisi. The authors compiled some terrific research – really enlightening stuff – but in their zeal to write a provocative book that challenges conventional thinking, they’ve lumped every conceivable customer service action into
During a recent interview, I received this question: How do you handle customers who, once they’ve been “delighted,” now expect that level of service and even feel entitled to it? To me, the best illustration of this dynamic is frequent flyers. When airline customers first join a frequent flyer program,
During a recent interview, I was asked, “How long does the effect of ‘delight’ (on a customer) last?” The value of exploring a question like this is that it forces us to examine those variables that contribute to creating lasting positive impressions for our customers. If this knowledge can be
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