Win the Customer! - Latest Comments

Re: 5 New Customer Service Rules to Serve Like Zappos

Tal Shnall — Sun, 06 Jan 2013 22:23:45 -0000

It's funny...I was reading the zappos experience book last week and it's nice to see you highlighted the attributes of great customer service culture. Enjoyed the read :)

Re: Can you crowdsource customer service?

Flavio Martins — Sun, 06 Jan 2013 09:52:25 -0000

This is a fantastic idea. Great way to get real-time data on guest experience and how the product is performing.

Re: Tweetily – Tweet WordPress Posts Automatically

Flavio Martins — Sun, 06 Jan 2013 09:49:24 -0000

Yes, I replied to your tweet and the update should be coming out in the next couple of days.

Re: Tweetily – Tweet WordPress Posts Automatically

Scott D Lewis — Sat, 05 Jan 2013 13:33:13 -0000

Did these 2 questions ever get answered? I too am confused by the random time added option and can't find an explanation anywhere.

Re: Can you crowdsource customer service?

Humm Systems — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 20:52:47 -0000

Humm has figured out a mega-effective way to collaborate with consumers in a much deeper way. Giving guests a voice, on premise and in real time gives the guest-oriented service provider ideas and insights never before possible. We'd love to collaborate on this topic!

Re: 5 Creative Ways to Improve Customer Service with Social Media

Flavio Martins — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 12:33:13 -0000

The videos are fantastic! What a great way to continue the customer experience even after the product has been purchased.

As far instructions go, I also like IKEA's assembly instructions. Very simple, minimal, functional, with no need for reading cryptic words as the graphics are very non-handy customers like me.

Re: Funny Customer Service Stories You’ll Never Forget

Flavio Martins — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 12:27:57 -0000

You are absolutely right. No one should ever think to use this as the model for customer service, especially with today's customers ultra connected with social media and the power of social media voice multiplication. But the stories are entertaining.

Re: 7 Customer Service Rules from Richard Branson, CEO of Virgin

Flavio Martins — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 12:23:51 -0000

Good luck! I'd love to hear your thoughts as you get your service going.

Re: 7 Customer Service Rules from Richard Branson, CEO of Virgin

Elle — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 12:15:29 -0000

Great tips! I will apply these tips with my new business project! Thanks!

Re: 5 Creative Ways to Improve Customer Service with Social Media

MediaLab3DSolutions — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 16:40:27 -0000

Whirlpool uses instructional animations on YouTube (/WhirlpoolCorpCare) to enable customer self-help. Besides the boost in customer satisfaction, they've also noted reductions in call center inquiries and warranty expenses for certain products.

Re: How to Fix Windows Vista Unidentified Network Error

audy — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 03:27:59 -0000

hey i did what u said.. but i really need help bcuz after i restarted my computer.. i didn't noticed anything.. plzzz help me.. i'm out of solutions and i tried everything..

Re: Funny Customer Service Stories You’ll Never Forget

Stefanie Amini — Tue, 01 Jan 2013 05:18:41 -0000

Funny...but i would never be so rude to the customer. they are in need of help, and its not our place to make them feel (more) stupid. The customer has to be treated as if they are king.

Re: 4 Lessons on Customer Service You Can Learn From Batman’s Utility Belt

Flavio Martins — Sun, 30 Dec 2012 10:14:32 -0000

You're welcome Shep! I hope we see more of Batman's utility belt tools in upcoming Batman movies. It's all explosions today, we need a bit more of retro Batman and his gadgets.

Re: Customer Experience Lessons From Motivation Guru Zig Ziglar

Flavio Martins — Sun, 30 Dec 2012 10:13:33 -0000

James, you are correct. Apple has redefined what customer experience in retail is supposed to be, but we'll see how that continues to develop with some of their recent decisions that have gone away from this concept. I think that they are moving towards more self-service as an experience model rather than high-touch service which they've traditionally had within their retail stores with product experts.

Re: 5 Customer Service Training Mistakes We All Make

Flavio Martins — Sun, 30 Dec 2012 10:11:35 -0000

You're right Rebecca. One of the latest posts here talks about the need for customer service "inside out", meaning we need to first develop the service mindset internally as part of our organizational culture, then we can effectively deliver it to customers.

Thanks for the feedback!

Re: How to Fix Windows Vista Unidentified Network Error

Flavio Martins — Sun, 30 Dec 2012 10:10:18 -0000

Thanks for the update!

Re: INFOGRAPHIC: Customer Service Online Matters

Flavio Martins — Sun, 30 Dec 2012 10:09:55 -0000

Thanks for pointing out the article! That's fantastic research.

Re: Turning Customer Service Inside Out!

Flavio Martins — Sun, 30 Dec 2012 09:56:33 -0000

So true. I've seen too many organizations that preach "great customer service" but then internally treat their people in a way that the service mindset never sets in. You can't give what you don't have. Great service comes from who you are, and that means building the culture of service internally first.

Re: Turning Customer Service Inside Out!

Customerbooth — Sun, 30 Dec 2012 06:56:55 -0000

You can't be outside what your are not inside. I think this is golden rule of great customer experience-"customer service inside out". Actually to change internal culture within organization to be customer oriented is way harder and requires a lot of time and continues effort.

Re: INFOGRAPHIC: Customer Service Online Matters

Jeff Toister — Fri, 28 Dec 2012 18:57:25 -0000

Excellent post and insightful analysis, as always Flavio, although there's one point I don't quite agree with. According to my own research (link below), 75% of customers expect a business to respond to email within one business day or longer. Granted, that leaves 25% that want it faster, but I think this represents a few opportunities.

First, companies like yours that respond very quickly are *exceeding* expectations, which is always good.

Second, auto-responders can help establish customers' expectations for an email response time. Most customers will be okay with a reasonable response time as long as the company actually meets it.

Third, I'd much rather wait for a good response than get a poor one instantly. I've had many instances lately where I've received a reply to my email within an hour, but it was poorly written and didn't solve my problem or answer my question. This created additional, and unnecessary back and forth.

Here's the link to my email response time data:
http://www.toistersolutions.co...

PS. Your point about the need for more proactive service is outstanding - I totally agree.

Re: 3 Ways to Guarantee Customer Service Failure

Jeff Toister — Mon, 24 Dec 2012 11:07:31 -0000

Your first two suggestions confirm a bit of human nature that companies should recognize. We simply don't notice, or remember, things that happen exactly the way we expect them to. The only way to make an impression on a customer is to provide service that's better or worse than they expected. I imagine most companies would prefer to do better.

Your third suggestion is also right on. I've written a book on this subject called "Service Failure" that identifies 10 different ways it's difficult for employees to provide outstanding service. www.servicefailurebook.com

Re: How to Fix Windows Vista Unidentified Network Error

Redd Reilly — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 22:37:28 -0000

none of these worked for me or any other suggestions i found. i finally gave up & just started plugging laptop directly into my internet which sucked but then i called my router tech support & easily got it to work now! just wanted to let u guys know!

Re: The Most Dangerous Kind of Customer Service Feedback

Jeff Toister — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 17:46:46 -0000

Great post as always, Flavio! I wanted to respond with a couple of alternative or additional perspectives to consider.

1) I don't think anything less than 5 stars is *necessarily* a disaster. Two customers can receive the same service, feel the same way about it, but one will rate it 4 stars and the other 5. I'd much prefer the 4 star rating since it's a clearer signal that there's room for improvement. The five star rater may like your business so much that they don't want to bother you with a few small problems. (Of course, I completely agree the goal is always earn 5 stars.)

2) I'd like to suggest a sixth step to using customer feedback -- establishing appropriate expectations. For example, I used to work for a company that provided valet parking services for hotels. Visitors would often be surprised at the parking rates since they were much higher than they were accustomed to paying back home. We had to train our valets to be very upfront with parking rates and to be prepared to offer alternatives if the rate was too high for the guest. For guests who still decided to park with us, it was up to our valets to provide such amazing service that it felt like a good deal.

Re: 5 Customer Service Training Mistakes We All Make

Rebecca Winn — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 06:58:46 -0000

Hi Flavio, I picked this link up from a re-Tweet - what a sensible and well written article! Sadly, there will always be organisations who do just pick up the off-the-shelf 'cheap' customer service training option, and they will almost always wonder why it makes no difference whatsoever. Customer service delivery DOES take practice and what's more, it begins with everyone involved understanding why it matters, and why it makes their job easier when they get it right! Keep writing, I shall be following your blog with interest. Best wishes. Rebecca

Re: Customer Experience Lessons From Motivation Guru Zig Ziglar

James Lawther — Sun, 09 Dec 2012 14:31:28 -0000

Flavio, my favourite point is "you catch more flies with honey than vinegar". You only have to walk into an apple store to see that, and I am not so sure it is just the product.

James