After my most recent blog post, basically giving up on our ability to make a difference in the customer service experience, I read this response from a group member on LinkedIn: This is a great conversation to show how the bar of customer service keeps being set and re-set…lower and lower. That makes it [...]

Where have I been, you ask? Trying to pick myself up from utter despair. Two weeks ago I was hired to talk about make or break moments to the managers of a chain of auto repair shops. I had researched the company and their website shared customer focused words that led me to believe they [...]

Hard to believe it but on February 14, 2011, I celebrated six years of business.  They say that most small businesses fail within the first five years. Kind of like marriages hit that rocky point around seven. Well, as a business owner I have passed that hurdle. I thought I would take a moment and [...]

I just got my copy of Scott Ginsberg’s newest book, Ideas are Free, Execution is Priceless. It is a quick, daily read that offers insights, tips, motivations and a few reality slaps in the face. I love it.  Truth be told, although my Amazon copy just came in the mail, I took advantage of a [...]

It is snowing again. We had another snow day from school – one more than we are allowed which means school will go longer in June. I hate winter. I hate the cold. I hate the cloudy days.  Some times it is hard to see the positive in a situation. But if you look hard [...]

This past week I did my civic duty by serving on a jury trial in Judge Cosgrove’s courtroom. I’m not here to talk about the case - but rather want to talk about the culture Judge Cosgrove has developed in her courtroom. As part of the case (a wrongful death suit in which a medical practice [...]

Have you ever experienced such extraordinary customer service from an associate that you wonder about the training they’ve had? Are some people just born with the skills necessary to build customer relationships or can it be learned? Here is a story recently shared about just such an experience: Last week I had the best customer [...]

I met a customer at the local Barnes and Noble bookstore over the weekend.  We both decided to grab a cup of coffee.  My customer, Kathy, is a loyal – no, more like an obsessed Starbucks fan. Everyday she has to have her Starbucks – not just in the morning but several throughout the day. [...]

When you look at the company budget – do you spend equal dollars on marketing for new customers as you do servicing your existing customers? When the economy started to tank, one of the first things companies pulled was training. The focus on customer service shifted from having importance to a “nice to have.” I [...]

How often do you put yourself in your customer’s shoes? To truly understand their expectations and their needs, sometimes it is important to put on their shoes; to fully comprehend how we can best meet their needs. But what about putting on someone else’s shoes to act as they do? I recently learned of a business [...]