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Cultivating Positive Relationships Customer Service General Marketing Kudon'ts Opinion

 Pay Attention!

Aliens ‘neurolyze’ attention spans? The “Men in Black” movies featured neuralyzers capable of erasing memories. I’m wondering if aliens got hold of the technology and have a launched a worldwide invasion to compromise memories and attention spans in everything from writing and editing to technology and communication. Along the way, inattention, uncaring, and sloppiness are […]

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Cultivating Positive Relationships Customer Service General Marketing Kudon'ts Opinion

 Artificial Intelligence creates unreal expectations

Proper role is support vs. supplant The more we rely on artificial intelligence (AI)-driven systems to make our lives more efficient and competent, the less efficient and competent our lives are becoming. This adversely impacts customer service and support in many sectors. In many cases, AI itself can be flawed—creating all sorts of havoc. In […]

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Cultivating Positive Relationships Customer Service General Marketing Kudon'ts Opinion

 Technology sloppiness, poor due diligence ruin customer service

We’re being assaulted by technology over-communication, poor due diligence, and sloppiness—much of it coming from inconsistent monitoring and attention to detail. This afflicts many tech sectors, including “CRM” apps, “customer service” chatbots, and IT/customer support staffs unable or unwilling to pay attention. A former telecom tech specialist lamented to me that many apps get rolled […]

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Customer Service Kudon'ts Kudos

Product reliability valuable only IF you can get the product

In the last two months, I’ve experienced shipping mistakes and delays with FedEx, USPS, and UPS. Initially, FedEx never delivered a client check because they never picked up the check from the drop-off box. When the second delivery supposedly was sent with overnight priority, it showed up several days later. A one-day USPS check delivery […]

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Customer Service Empowerment Techniques Kudon'ts Kudos

Consumer confidence is a many splendored, and easily shaken, commodity

Great products are part of a great customer experience. Costco has figured this out. In addition to favorable pricing and excellent treatment, Costco has earned a reputation for carrying reputable products. While it’s not a perfect system, more often than not customers can buy products with confidence—figuring that only the crème de la crème will […]

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Building Bridges Cultivating Positive Relationships Customer Service Kudon'ts Kudos Opinion

Tale of two companies: Nova Home Loans displays emotional intelligence in contrast to loan servicer emotional ignorance

A key tenet of successful customer service is the level of emotional intelligence or ignorance that prevails. This pervades all facets of customer service, but one where much improvement is needed is the written word. Especially now, amid major stress, anger, and frustration, corporate America could do itself proud by communicating positively and supportively. Instead, […]

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Customer Service Empowerment Techniques Kudon'ts Opinion

Starry snafu highlights why misleading customer service is worse than none at all

Customer service representations that don’t hold up to actual performance are worse than no customer service at all. My Nextdoor post last week addresses my frustrating “Starry Snafu” experience:  “As a backup to CenturyLink Internet/landline, which I’ve had nearly 5 years, I ordered Starry on a trial basis. When I put in the order, I […]

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Cultivating Positive Relationships Customer Service General Marketing Kudon'ts Opinion

Incessant advertising is another over-communication mistake

I can die a happy person if I never see another Golo or American Home Shield TV commercial come up on the screen. Make no mistake, I actually checked them both out initially. Golo offers a regimen to battle insulin resistance and American Home Shield covers home repairs. In fact, I initially found the American […]

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Cultivating Positive Relationships Customer Service Kudon'ts Kudos

Comcast customer service fails to follow through

Over-promising and under-delivering takes many forms, as a Comcast customer service snafu detailed by ZDnet.com’s Chris Matyszczyk shows. A log-in failure on HBO Max, part of a Comcast plan, led him to Comcast customer service to solve the problem. Ultimately, the problem was resolved…by HBO Max, not Comcast. Oracle.com addresses how customer service can and […]

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Building Bridges Cultivating Positive Relationships Customer Service Kudon'ts Kudos

Peloton experiences ‘under delivering’ customer service woes

It may be Joe Biden’s stationary bike of choice, but Peloton is currently a poster child for under delivering, with buyers expressing strong frustration about long waits to get their bikes delivered. Notes the New York Times in a January 17, 2021 article: “Peloton’s Rapid Rise Is Threatened by Its Slow Delivery…The company has boomed […]