Customer Service Blog, Customer Service Article

Below are blog posts, articles and tips focused on customer service and experience. To view just the articles (typically longer than a blog post), click here.

Each week I read a number of customer service and customer experience articles from various resources. Here are my top five picks from last week. I have added my comment about each article and would like to hear what you think too. Continue reading →

What does a good customer experience look like at your company? What does good customer service look like? Ask everyone on your team and listen to the answers. Will they be the same, or different? It will be interesting to see if your team recognizes the difference between experience and service. Continue reading →

Tools of the Trade: Learn the Tools Needed to Make a Great Customer Support Center

Discover the best tools and software to provide a great customer experience.

Shep Hyken sits down with Jackie Gonzalez, Vice President of Operations at PATLive to discuss the best tools and methods for a customer support organization.

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This week we feature an article by Daphne Kasriel-Alexander who tells us how to create mega-fans who can then become your biggest advocates. – Shep Hyken Continue reading →

In 1945 George Orwell published the literary classic, Animal Farm, which was required reading in my middle-school English class. I always remembered the line: All animals are created equal, just some animals are more equal than others. Someone recently referenced the book and this famous line, and it made me think about how customers are treated. Continue reading →

Learn the Rules of Being Crisis Ready

Are you ready for a customer service or brand crisis?

Shep Hyken discusses handling and preparing for a customer service or brand crisis with Melissa Agnes, the author of Crisis Ready: Building an Invincible Brand in an Uncertain World.

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This week we feature an article by Jason Grills who discusses the importance of integrating an effective customer support system and how to decide upon live chat software for your organization. – Shep Hyken Continue reading →

It’s morning and you’ve just had breakfast. What are you going to have for dinner? 49% of people in the U.S. do not know what they are going to have for dinner. That stat comes from David Portalatin’s address at the Art of Beef Summit, sponsored by Cargill. As he was addressing foodservice executives and salespeople, he emphasized that not knowing what’s for dinner, just hours before consumers are supposed to eat it, is a problem. Not for the foodservice people, but for consumers. They don’t know what they want, and whether they know it or not, they are looking for help. Not necessarily in the form of a plea for help, but in the form of wanting an easy and convenient way for them to decide what they are having for dinner. Continue reading →

Create Your Own “Secret Ingredient” to Stand Out From Competition

How can you separate yourself from the competition?

Shep Hyken is joined by Gigi Butler, the founder of Gigi’s Cupcakes, the largest cupcake franchise in the world, to discuss how she differentiated herself from the competition.

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This week we feature an article by Matt Nolan who shares five keys to building more compelling, sustainable customer relationships. – Shep Hyken Continue reading →

Two years ago I reported on NewVoiceMedia’s “serial switchers” report that indicated that $62 billion was lost due to poor customer service. That number, in their new report now has that number pegged at $75 billion! That’s a lot of lost business!

Here’s my take on this. Customers want and expect more than ever before – because that’s what we have we taught them. Continue reading →

Grow Sales, Revenue, and Customer Loyalty While Improving the Customer Experience

How can you create a better online support experience for your customers?

Shep Hyken is joined by Jamie Edwards, Kayako’s co-founder and chief operating officer, all the way from London, to discuss the importance of live chat and how it can improve the customer service experience.

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This week we feature an article by Gary Anderson who explains why the customer experience creates customer loyalty and generates repeat business. – Shep Hyken Continue reading →

A successful customer experience strategy is a result of the company’s culture. In other words, and I’ve said it many times before, what’s happening on the inside of the company is going to felt on the outside of the company by the customer.

So, let’s look at the inside of the company. Let’s look at the EX, which is the Employee Experience. The EX is part of the culture. It starts with how leadership wants their employees to feel about working for their company. One of my favorite concepts to write and talk about is the Employee Golden Rule, which is to treat employees like you want the customer to be treated. The EX is what will make or break the CX. Continue reading →

The Future is Here: Artificial Intelligence and Bots in Customer Service

How will AI and bots transform customer service in the near future?

Shep Hyken discusses the next phase of customer service, automated messaging, with Joshua March, Co-founder and CEO of Conversocial.

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This week we feature an article by Rohit Prasanna who shares a great list of 10 customer service trends that will affect the customer experience this year. – Shep Hyken Continue reading →

The other day a buddy shared an experience he had with a company that sold him mulch for his yard. When the truck arrived, he asked the driver and his co-worker to put the mulch in the backyard. The driver said, “I’m sorry. Dropping the mulch off in the backyard is considered white-glove service. You needed to let us know you wanted the mulch in the backyard when you ordered it.” In this case, sorry had a double meaning. Maybe the driver was saying he was sorry to apologize, and at the same time, he was also saying, “Too bad. Pay more money if you want the mulch delivered an extra 50 feet to the back of the house.” Continue reading →