Posts by Shep Hyken

There are lots of ways that we can show appreciation and offer congratulations to people—clients, employees, partners, or anyone else we encounter. But there’s something special about the personal handwritten note. Some of my colleagues and I have had experiences where we received handwritten notes in various situations, and I can tell you they really…

A customer-focused mindset means more than just customer service training in all the how-to’s of providing great customer service. And it means more than just having a positive, warm attitude. It includes all those things, plus a deep, ingrained understanding of why we want to deliver a great customer experience, every time. Some of the…

National Customer Service Week is coming up soon, the first week in October. It’s a great time to think about what it is that makes for good customer service! In truth, it’s impossible for us to determine among ourselves whether we have good customer service. It’s really all up to our customers and their perception…

What kinds of complaints do you hear from your customers? Are you frequently hearing the same complaint, over and over again? If so, stop it! Now that might be over-simplifying things, but the point remains: if you keep hearing the same thing repeatedly, daily, maybe even many times each day, then you need to get…

You need your customers to trust you. But that has to go both ways. You also have to trust your customers. Are there rules or processes that you’ve put in place, perhaps with good meaning, but unintentionally tell your customers that you don’t trust them? Even worse, are your customers insulted or offended by some…

Customers may ask you a lot of questions, but they don’t always know the right questions to ask. And even if you give them answers to all the questions they ask, if you leave unspoken the answer to the question they should have asked, you could have an upset customer before too long. Truly customer-focused…

You may be familiar with the “4 P’s of marketing”: Product Price Place Promotion But do you know the 5th “P”? It’s Personalization! Personalization has been around as a part of business for a long time—whenever you’re relying on your memory of past customers and welcoming them by name and building rapport, you’re using personalization.…

Sometimes thinking small is the best way to make a big improvement. Think about customer service. If you’re just a little bit better than average, all the time, that adds up. Even if you’re just 1% better than average, but you’re consistently 1% better than average every single time without fail, that will help you…

Many problems that cause customer complaints boil down to a failed process. Good intentions can be ruined by human error, and create a bad experience—a Moment of Misery—for your customer. And what’s worse, most of those customers won’t tell you about their problem. They simply won’t come back—and throw in a little negative word-of-mouth for…

Is honesty really the best policy? In customer service, the answer is yes! Our relationships with our customers are important, and they want (and deserve) the truth, no matter what. We can approach subjects with tact and empathy, but must still be honest. If there’s a problem, be upfront about it. The customer will find…