Improving Customer Service

What’s the cost of losing a customer?

It wouldn’t be a good situation to be gaining customers in respectable numbers, but losing existing customers just the same. Gaining or losing a customer has a significant impact on a company’s profits. If new customers are gained by offering them significant discounts—a pretty common practice—the value of keeping those existing customers who are paying [...]

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“Hatesurfing” to positive business outcomes

Is the Internet one big complaint box? It seems that way, according to the author of this article on “Hatesurfing”. One suggestion by social media experts is for businesses to begin their activity on social media sites by finding out what people are saying about their business. Then, if negative comments or content is found, [...]

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Mobile technology stores especially need top-notch customer service

Cell phone stores are finding themselves at the frontline of wireless service and, because their customers are indeed wired, need to provide the best possible customer service. A mystery shop at such a store would be a great way to do that. A mystery shopper can give the wireless store owner a firsthand report from [...]

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Apartment leasing industry can learn much with mystery shopping

Mystery shopping services can be a vital training tool for people in the leasing industry, where building customer relationships is key. When it’s been used in the past, the secret shoppers have uncovered problems most often when the professional is speaking with someone on the phone or communicating via the Internet. A mystery shop determines [...]

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Every company should be in the customer service business

In this excellent article from the Minneapolis Star Tribune, customer service expert John Tschohl points out that every company should think of themselves as a customer service company, not a retail or manufacturing company. That means that everything that company does has to be geared toward making the customer experience[J6] better and better.[J7] Included in [...]

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What constitutes good customer service? Here are 8 tips

The process of using a mystery shopper to evaluate your business usually focuses on the customer service you and your employees are offering.  But just what constitutes good customer service and a good customer relationship? This article highlights eight top areas to evaluate in your business: 1)      Answering the phone: Whenever possible, make sure a [...]

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Some customer service myths you might want to explore

If you’re in business, you’ve probably heard at least one of the myths on this list of 10 and have adopted it as your customer service practice. Never put callers on hold? Maybe. Maybe not. It’s more important what happens on that call after someone picks up than the hold time, per se, according to [...]

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Ignoring what the customer wants? One of four killer mistakes

In this article from BNET.com, a customer service advocate outlines the top four reasons companies go out of business and every one of them has to do with customer service.  With examples like Blockbuster, Borders, United Airways and W.T. Grant stores, the author points out that, yes, economic and technology changes were factors in each [...]

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When the front-line is kept from going with the flow

Policy miscommunication.  That’s what I chalked my most recent Bad Customer Service Experience up to.  It had been one of those days. I was late. It was raining. I didn’t have a coat or umbrella. I was tired and on the verge of a cold.  I ran into the Big Box store with my short [...]

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One bad apple can spoil your whole bunch

I live in a small community where pretty much everybody knows everybody else. That can be good in times of trouble and bad when, well, you have stirred up trouble. We have a small organic and natural foods market here. For a long time, it was the only one of its kind in the area.  [...]

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