Blog

Accept your customers, warts and all

November has been a hard month for me healthwise. Every October, I dutifully schedule a flu shot. Most years, that’s sufficient and I’m generally flu, sore throat, and cold free throughout the winter months. This year, beginning the week of October 20, I developed a chest cold that escalated to

Read More »

Service so subtle

Too often, exceptional customer service is associated with breathless, over-the-top actions by employees that capture headlines such as Ritz-Carlton’s Joshie the Giraffe, Morton’s Steakhouse airport delivery, or Frontier Airlines’ pizza order. While these illustrations are memorable and inspiring (not to mention, a lot of fun for the employees involved), they

Read More »

The best customer service book of all time

In 1989, Stephen R. Covey’s perennial book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People was published. It must have resonated, having sold more than 25 million copies in 40 languages throughout the world. Over the past decade or so, when I’m asked for business book recommendations and suggest this title,

Read More »

Set the tone for exceptional customer service!

For years, researchers have studied disconnects between sender and receiver in electronic communications. It’s challenging to convey emotion and tone, for instance, via email or chat without the benefit of cues such as facial expressions, hand gestures, or vocal tone. One study examined overconfidence over e-mail by comparing the perceived

Read More »

Your dentist knows if you’re flossing

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

Read More »

J.W. Marriott’s approach to serving customers

When asked about his approach to work during an interview, the late J.W. Marriott, Sr. said, “There aren’t these two opposites, work and play, one bad and the other good. It’s having a vision of the way things ought to be, and then making them that way.” Keep in mind

Read More »

You’re not entitled to a gratuity

Earlier this week, Marriott International announced a campaign, called “The Envelope Please” to encourage the tipping of housekeepers. Envelopes will be placed in 160,000 hotel rooms in the U.S. and Canada. The name of the housekeeper who cleans the room will be written on the envelope along with the message:

Read More »

When it comes to social customer service, most companies are hacks

Henry David Thoreau observed: “For every thousand hacking at the leaves of evil, there is one striking at the root.” I thought about how this quote applies to many companies’ social media strategy. These companies are breathlessly “hacking at the leaves” of customer acquisition with their social media strategies rather

Read More »
The Revelation Conversation

The Revelation Conversation is Here!