The Happy Curmudgeon
Amid COVID-19, mask wearing has become a huge political football. As a matter of common sense and exercising critical thinking skills, wearing a mask is not about politics. It’s about our health collectively, and about showing respect for the health of others. Period.
Customer service isn’t one-size-fits-all. While there are some policies that merit universal application, such as listening to and acting upon customer concerns in a caring and substantive way, preferences can vary considerably. What do companies do to best identify what most customers want and expect, understanding that not everyone will be happy? In the words […]
In search of a qualified functional medicine specialist with whom I could partner to improve my health, I discovered a huge abyss of customer service attitudes. The first candidate lost the opportunity to serve me after saying the doc didn’t offer short, complimentary meet-and-greets to determine if a positive connection exists. Oh, and I […]
There’s been a lot of talk about over-communicating with customers during COVID to make sure they know they’re acknowledged and cared about. However, there are definite exceptions—in this case it involves a prospect but the same principles apply to existing customers. A few weeks back, I checked into Inogen, a portable oxygen concentrator company just […]
As important as providing and documenting great customer service is, discovering and acting upon customer dissatisfaction may be even more important. According to a recent business2community.com article: “Customer complaints provide valuable data…There are more of these than you may realize. A study by 1st Financial Training Services found that 96% of unhappy customers don’t complain, however, 91% […]
Hopefully, one of the most enduring COVID-19 crisis legacies will be a corporate culture where customer service reps offer an open hand to help versus a clenched fist. For far too long, corporate America has largely embraced the clenched-fist policy, in which customer service is provided in as small increments as absolutely necessary. In many […]
Have you gone out of your way to provide more compassionate and caring customer service during the COVID-19 crisis? If so, those efforts can become a cornerstone of customer loyalty and buying. In addition to those who already know, tell the rest of the world about it! This is a case where prior “good acts” […]
In this last installment of self-administered customer service, I turn to flowers. After all, Mother’s Day is the planting signal through much of the country. As with so many other things during the pandemic, I did my usual planting—which always inspires and delights me—with a small twist. I had purchased some artificial desert-type plants a […]
Recently, I received a link to a four-minute YouTube under the “Tom Foolery” banner. This installment, entitled “The Great Realisation,” addresses the days when COVID-19 attacked the land. It’s a look back from the future. Amid all the conflicting overly-sanguine and gloom-and-doom reports about the pandemic and lack of certainty about its spread, containment and […]
I had a huge revelation this past week. Beyond all the CRMs, company pronouncements about serving customers, and even our own “self-administered” customer service, there’s an inner strength that can endure when all other efforts falter. Here are a couple thoughts on the matter: You’ve just been ignored, dissed or misinformed by a “customer service” […]
