Many years ago while attending a manager training for Pearle Vision our teacher, Dorthea, told a story that has stuck vividly with me ever since. A store manager told of the day when no one would come into her store. Her Pearle Vision location was a free standing store and the employees parked their car in [...]

We learn so much more from our mistakes, don’t we?  I watch my kids, in particular my older son learn everything the hard way. Wouldn’t it be easier to just learn from others and not make the same mistake? Dennis Snow recently wrote a white paper about the 5 Mistakes Companies Make with Customer Service.  In [...]

I was at the monthly Akron Blogger meeting yesterday and as always the conversation expands to more than just blogging. We all shared our thoughts about social media and what we were currently working on to increase our visibility and credibility on the Internet. I view social media as the ultimate customer connnector but others [...]

“Experience is what you get when you didn’t get what you wanted.” That quote comes from Randy Pausch and his book The Last Lecture. I’m behind the rest of the world in reading, what I would classify as one of the most inspiration books I’ve ever read. Randy’s book offers so many wonderful nuggets of [...]

Once again Drew McLellan and Gavin Heaton have corraled a couple hundred writers, marketers, and entrepreneurs and asked them to provide their valuable insights into connecting with the customer through social media.  The book is currently at the publisher and is expected to hit the book stores (print and Kindle/iPad versions) in April!  I’m humbled [...]

While at the NNEP convention I met a guy during happy hour that told me about a 15 year relationship he’s had with the general manager of the Renaissance Hotel in Nashville, TN.  It started with a bad experience and when he called to complain and went up the chain of command he had his [...]

I am always focused on the customer and our relationship with them but the other key component to successfully building a reputationfor putting customers first is how your employees feel about the whole thing.  Happy employees equal happy customers.  “If mamma hate happy, ain’t nobody happy.” In the book 30 Reasons Employees Hate Their Managers [...]

I just finished reading Spencer Johnson, M.D.’s new book Peaks and Valleys.  Just like the One Minute Manager and Who Moved My Cheese, the book is set up in a story format to share the great insights of the author.  Basically the book is about how we view the peaks and valleys of our life; [...]

If customers can’t find you – it is tough to build a relationship.  I recently learned a lesson from a group of young boys who had developed a band.  They were being interviewed on a radio station and when the disc jockey asked where fans could find them on the Internet they said: “Just remember [...]

I recently received an email bringing my attention to an article focusing on 12 customer service lessons from the best customer service companies. Although I don’t believe there were any huge new “ah ha” moments, the list is a good one that focuses on the importance and value of building relationships with customers. Keep it personal Don’t [...]