Top 5 Customer Service Articles For the Week of July 29, 2013

Top Customer Service and Business Articles

Each week I read a number of customer service articles from various online 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.

Top 10 Most Amazing Customer Service Stories Ever Told (Slideshare) by Merlin

(Merlin) Here are 10 amazing stories that will either blow your mind or warm your heart.

My Comment: What makes these ten customer service stories amazing? Sometimes it’s just the attitude of the people. Sometimes it’s some creativity. Sometimes it’s the company and the employees having fun. I’d take one each week and share it with the team. What can we learn from each story? What can we take from each story and use in our own business?  Let’s not just enjoy these stories. Let’s use these stories to learn how we can take our customer service to the next level.

10 Ways to Improve the Customer Experience by Gallup

(Gallup) Executives must start by engaging their employees and then taking these steps to help their workers become effective brand ambassadors.

My Comment: Excellent ideas on how to improve the customer experience.  Implement any of these ten “ways” and you, your customers and your employees will be better off for doing so.

3 Ways Customer Service Will Enhance Your Bottom Line by Jason Boies

(Salesforce) Goodman says that not even 25% of customers bring their service issues forward because it’s often just too much hassle. Many of them still believe companies won’t care and/or won’t fix the problem to their satisfaction, even if they did receive their complaint. Here are three ways for customer service leaders to address this particular challenge.

My Comment: Three great ideas on creating a better customer experience; empower your people, ask for more complaints and communicate/educate to prevent future problems.  Yes it’s common sense, yet it’s nice to be reminded of some of the more sound customer service/experience strategies and tactics.

The True Cost of Bad Customer Service by Desk.com

(Desk.com) Bad customer experiences are more expensive than you think. Learn the true impact of bad customer service and its effect on customer loyalty and satisfaction.

My Comment: This infographic illustrates the high cost of bad service, and has a few great ideas on how to deliver a better customer service experience.  While a very general overview, the concepts will make you think – and hopefully take action.

Expert Feature: The Hidden Truth That Allows Some Businesses To Charge More Than You Do by Scott Aughtmon

(Bay Business Help) I heard of a Chinese legend that a man named Morris Mandel once shared. It first reveals an obvious lesson about the fact that many good things in life are ordinary. But it reveals a hidden lesson that I think you’ll want to see.

My Comment: The title of this short article should compel just about anyone to read this article.  How do you make price less relevant?  Read this story and you’ll start to understand how and why some companies can get away with charging more than their competition for similar products.

Professional speaker and New York Times bestselling business author. For information contact (314) 692-2200 or www.hyken.com. For information on The Customer Focus™ customer service training programs go to http://www.thecustomerfocus.com. Follow on Twitter: @Hyken

(Copyright ©MMXIII, Shep Hyken)