In 1997 I heard Dr. Chip Bell speak on the topic of customer service. My most vivid memory from his talk was a question he posed to 70 members of our management team: “How many of you,” he asked, “have worked here for 90 days or more?” Surveying the room
Years ago, while attending a 7 Habits of Highly Effective People seminar in New York City, I listened as our facilitator, Dr. Larry Kokkelenberg, stated that the word “no” is not a negative word. The word “no,” he explained, is actually a positive word. It’s an empowering word—a liberating word.
Have you ever heard someone in a committed relationship say that he or she no longer loves the other person? When questioned, he might say, “I’ve tried. Really I have. But the love just isn’t there.” It’s no wonder the love isn’t there—because love (the noun) is a result of
The week before Christmas, I brought my car in for maintenance. The dealership offers both a waiting area as well as a shuttle service to take you to local destinations while your vehicle is being serviced. While leaving my keys with the service department, I inquired about the shuttle driver
Have you ever wondered what the difference is between an exceptional customer service provider, like Nordstrom, and a typical service provider, like Toys”R”Us? First, consider what the two have in common: Both are retailers with physical stores as well as a web-based store Both distribute merchandise catalogs to a mailing
In 2007, I read the outstanding book by Chip and Dan Heath titled, Made to Stick. In the book, the authors identified a number of principles that contribute to a message or experience being memorable. One of those principles was unexpectedness. In other words, if a message or experience is
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
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