Customer Service

Why Businesses Should Embrace Live Chat Software for Sales and Customer Service

Live chat has been an up and coming technology for a number of years now, but its importance was driven home when we saw new research from the online help desk buyers’ research firm Software Advice. They found that regardless of the nature of the question, 56% of millennials preferred live chat over the phone,…

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The best metrics for getting started with employee engagement {Guest Post}

During the last decade or so, human resource management has been essentially flipped on its head. What was once a decidedly employer-centered market has become one driven by the needs and concerns of the employee. Despite still relatively high competition for jobs in a recovering global economy, more and more companies that require a skilled…

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Automated Call Answering Cuts Costs But Also Cuts Customers {Guest Post}

The size of a customer service department is, of course, directly related to the size of the business it is serving. A small company with only a limited number of customers will not have the same demands as a large one serving millions of people. For the latter, it can become a costly operation to…

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The Cost of Serving Well

It was such a thought-provoking question.  In an interview this week, I was asked, “how much does it cost a business owner to deliver memorable service?”  Earlier in the day, I had read about a police officer in Connecticut, Michael Castillo, who was on a call to break-up a fight at a Target store.  After…

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How great are you?

Ernie Andrus made his coast-to-coast run across the United States when he was only 90 and he is well on his way to doing it again at age 92! In 2013 Ernie, a World War II Navy veteran, set out to break a record for the oldest man to run across America.   The prior record…

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Seeing through the Eyes of Your Customer

Having just finished my new book about Mercedes-Benz and given that I recently spent time with Mercedes-Benz dealers at their annual conference in Las Vegas, I took the liberty of modifying a popular children’s logic puzzle by inserting a Mercedes-Benz E class.  Can you solve this puzzle in 20 seconds?  What parking lot number is…

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Don’t Cry Over Spilled Coffee – Sue!

Nothing is stranger than the truth!  In case you missed it, a police officer in North Carolina is suing Starbucks for a spilled cup of FREE coffee. Let me not make light of the fact that the officer purportedly burned himself when the lid popped off his free cup of Starbucks.  The officer claims that…

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Are your property values up? Thank Starbucks

What does brand equity get you?  Among other things – happy neighbors!  According to recent reports, when a Starbucks opens nearby your property values rise – alot.  Before you think this phenomena occurs anytime a multi-national company opens its doors in your vicinity, the research also shows that its better to have Starbucks than Dunkin…

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Would you have your wedding at Starbucks? Becoming a Beloved Brand

So would you?  Would you have your wedding at Starbucks?  How about your reception? Lets switch venues, how about at Taco Bell or Subway? While I have never heard of a Taco Bell reception, I have been tracking the phenomena of Starbucks weddings and receptions since I worked on my first book about the company…

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Human and Automated: Customer Experience Management at Its Best

According to customer support technology reviews firm Software Advice and research they conducted, manually trying to manage customer relationships and consumer complaints through email and spreadsheets is going the route of rotary-dial phones! What was once an expectation in large business is becoming stand fare for small business owners as well. Integrated software solutions are…

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FREE RESOURCES

The Starbucks Experience: Leadership Tips eBook
Elevating Care in Healthcare: Lessons from the UCLA Health System eBook
How to Win Every Customer, Every Time, No Excuses! Article