Customer Service
Business Cards: Only One Number, Please.
Give people ONE contact number on your personal or business card. Maybe two.
But not three. Not four.
It seems I’ve read at least 3 articles this month advising people to put every possible contact number on their business cards! Yikes!
photo credit: justgrimes
Um, no. Don’t do that. Here are three reasons why:
You have the technology. When [...]
Six Seconds That Cost Billions
Here is a 6 second audio file. Please listen carefully.
Make your own at MoreCowbell.dj
You’ve probably heard this six-second message before. I just added “more cowbell” to make it less annoying / more beautiful.
In case you don’t have speakers, here’s what the six-second message says,
When you have finished recording, you may hang up, or press pound [...]
The 2 Worst Customer Service Scripts for the Age of Social Media
I’m a long-term customer (soon to be ex!) of two vastly different firms.
Company A has a so-so service offering.
Company B has an unique and exceptional product.
However, both companies give stinky customer service. And here’s a key difference in their loathsome customer service approach:
Company A apologizes profusely and insincerely at every turn.
Company B apologizes for nothing, [...]
Beware of the Frantically Busy
Many Midwesterners freak out about being busy.
“I’m so busy,” screeches a former colleague. “Busy! Oh, it’s crazy. So busy, busy, busy.”
Sure she’s busy.
She’s usually busy saying she’s busy!
Consequently, she’s not getting much of anything else done.
(She does, however, charge her clients for her hand-wringing over how busy she is worrying about how much she has [...]
When The Customer is Wrong…
Consider the old chestnut, “The Customer is Always Right.”
Well, there’s an extreme value judgement for you! Morality, right and wrong, and eternity — what business maxim could possibly be more suspect?
If you’re a professional, you know that customers often have misconceptions. And as a pro, it’s your job to set them straight.
Embrace the misconceptions of [...]
Drive and Dial is the new Drink and Dial
Drink and dial” defined:
when a guy (or gal) has to get liquored up to get enough nerve to call you.
“Drive and dial” defined:
when you notice that a friend only calls you when he (or she) is in his/her car.
Which is worse? The “drive & dial” phenomenon is only one-half step up from “drink & dial”. [...]
Why do telemarketers drink and dial?
Most of the time, it seems that telemarketers “Drink and Dial.”
I pick up the phone, and somebody at the other end badly pronounces my last name. (It’s Bergells. Pronunciation guide: Brrr-gals. Two syllables. Not three.) Or they ask to speak to the Human Resources department. (I’m a sole proprietor.)
Two minutes at Google, and telemarketers could [...]
Good-Bye Cell Phone. Hello Skype!
Windsor, Canada is only a 2 hour, 20 minute drive from my office in Grand Rapids, Michigan. And I go to Canada frequently. Business, pleasure — it’s all good in Canada.
Back in the 1999-2001 era, my Nextel cell phone let me stay in touch with state-side colleagues for my monthly package price. But for reasons [...]
Where’s the Hand Snapped Michigan Asparagus?
Originally uploaded by G.Chris Clark.
Mmmmm….. I love West Michigan in May. One of the key reasons is that May is the month and West Michigan is the place — for the most delicious asparagus in the entire world.
No exaggeration!
From Mother’s Day to mid-June, you cannot beat West Michigan for hand-snapped asparagus. It is abundant, and [...]
Leave me a voicemail: the winning 5-step formula!
If you leave me a voicemail and you want me to call you back, it is a great idea to leave me your phone number! Seriously!
Over the past year, I hear at least 10 voicemails from people who sound very nice — people I would probably love to work with — but they bobble the [...]
