March 2, 2018 — Online channels are playing a larger and larger role in customer service. Not only are customers buying more online, they are taking their service issues online as well, via email, text, web chat, and other online channels, including social media. And customer service reps need to be ready to handle those…Continue reading
February 16, 2018 — Customer Service Reps are often advised to treat each customer as their only customer. Shannon Butler, a customer service representative at Brenntag Southwest takes that advice literally because she has just one very large customer. But whether reps are working with one customer or one hundred, Butler’s advice in this month’s…Continue reading
February 1, 2018 — In some organizations, there may be as many as five generations interacting in the service center, and they all have different needs, attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors. "It is important to understand these generational differences, because everyone comes to the party with a different set of expectations," says Meagan Johnson, "and the…Continue reading
January 18, 2018 — It’s January 18 and many of us have already abandoned our New Year’s resolutions. But never fear, it’s not too late to inspire your service team to rethink their resolutions with these suggestions from the pages of Customer Communicator newsletter. Chip R. Bell, author of Kaleidoscope: Delivering Innovative Service that Sparkles suggests a resolution that…Continue reading
January 5, 2018 — Every other week we post a brief article from Customer Communicator. Over the course of the year we’ve covered everything from building trust with customers, to maintaining positivity, to saying "no" the right way. To wrap up the year, we’re highlighting five of our favorite posts. Timely and informative, they showcase some…Continue reading
December 14, 2017 — In the December issue of Customer Communicator, Nancy Friedman reminds readers about the importance of the first and the last 10 seconds of a customer call. Friedman, a customer service consultant known as The Telephone Doctor, notes that reps should start each conversation with a positive, and end each conversation with a…Continue reading
November 30, 2017 — Customer service reps have to deal with a variety of customers — ranging from the calm and polite to the slightly overbearing to the downright irate. It’s all part of the job, and it pays to be prepared for all of the possibilities. When confronted with an angry customer, Nancy Friedman, a…Continue reading
November 16, 2017 — From effective listening to computer savvy, there are a lot of skills needed to be effective in customer service. This month Customer Communicatornewsletter asked its panel of frontline reps, "What are the most important service skills?" The responses provide practical insights for anyone working in customer service. For example, Jerrard Gates of…Continue reading
November 2, 2017 — Many organizations require customer service reps to use scripts and detailed protocols when working with customers. In some cases, they are used as benchmarks or guidelines, but in other cases reps are required to follow the scripts word for word. This often sounds robotic, but with the right approach, even a…Continue reading
October 20, 2017 — Working in customer service can be difficult and stressful, but that doesn’t mean that success is beyond reach. In the October issue of Customer Communicator newsletter, motivational speaker and author Shiv Khera says that success is largely a matter of having the right attitude. And for Khera, that starts with actively seeking out…Continue reading
