Top 5 Customer Service Articles for the Week of September 1, 2014

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.

A Sorry Apology? 3 Little Words Customers Tire of Hearing by Chad Brooks

(Business News Daily) The more times you tell your customers you’re “sorry,” “thank you” or “please” when they come to you for help, the angrier they tend to get, new research finds.

My Comment: More wisdom from Zendesk. It seems counterintuitive to think that saying, “I’m sorry” could have negative impact on the customer. I mentioned this in my top five list 2 weeks ago that had the full report. This article does a great job of summarizing a couple of the very important points of the full report.

‘Thank You’! The two most important ‘Customer Experience’ words of all by Ian Golding

(IJ Golding) ‘Thank You’. Two little words. Two words containing a total of eight letters. As a parent you spend most of your life teaching your children to use the words regularly. As a child, you are constantly reminded of their importance. It is unlikely you have ever looked up the dictionary definition of ‘thank you’ – so I have done so for you – you can thank me later.

My Comment: In just about every customer service presentation I deliver, I always include the concept of appreciation and saying thank you. I don’t like to limit it to just the customers. There are also our internal customers; the people work with and/or who depend on us in our own organizations. They also need appreciation. This article is a great reminder of just how important those two words, “Thank you!” are.

Good Customer Service – Tips for Doing it Right by Joy Busse

(Busse Design) Remember how in the not so distant past you could speak to a real person who would actually help you with your customer service needs? You picked up the phone, dialed a number and within moments a perfectly congenial and helpful representative was taking care of you. Five minutes later your problem was solved and you were back to your life. It was easy. What happened to that?

My Comment: Great tips for any business to build confidence by providing an excellent customer experience. Some of the ideas are simple, but that doesn’t mean that everyone or every company does them. But they should.

7 rules for real customer relationships: Zendesk founder Mikkel Svane by Mikkel Svane

(BRW.) Customer service interactions are becoming your primary means of creating true customer relationships. To be a successful business today, you must understand how relationships actually work, and how to build them. While the ways in which you do this work may be specific to your business, there are some fundamentals about relationship-building that are universal.

My Comment: Zendesk is a great company and Mikkel Svane is a very smart guy. Here are seven universal customer service “truths” that can turn an average interaction into an experience that creates loyalty and confidence.

Help Your Employees Experience The Sort Of Service You Want Them To Deliver by Adrian Swinscoe

(Forbes) Personally, I think there is an opportunity for many firms to go further and think differently about how they help their employees understand the sort of service that they want them to deliver.

My Comment: Great article about treating employees like customers. They should experience the same level of service. It’s not very effective to treat employees poorly and then expect them to treat the customers better. My favorite saying about this is what I refer to as the Employee Golden Rule, which is to treat employees like you want the customer treated – even better.

Shep Hyken is a customer service/CX expert, award-winning keynote speaker, and New York Times bestselling author. Learn more about Shep’s customer service and customer experience keynote speeches and his customer service training workshops at www.Hyken.com. Connect with Shep on LinkedIn.