Published Articles
Customer Service Reality Check
Customer Service in Healthcare
Great Service Begins with a Look Inside
Five Small Things That Make a Big Difference
Be Extraordinary: Put a Little Extra Into the Ordinary
Customer Service in the Ready-mix Industry
Is your service in a slump?
The customer is the purpose of your work, no matter what your specific job in the process. And sometimes it is good to remind yourself that the customer pays the bills, generates payroll, and buys new equipment.
The Marketing and Customer Experience Headbutt
How many times have you felt a disconnect between a company’s customer service message and your true experience? TCP blogger Joan Fox reminds us how important it is to “walk the talk.”
Signs of Customer Appreciation
Why wait for an annual event? TCP blogger Joan Fox explains how you can make every day a customer appreciation day.
Hot Customer Service Opportunities
‘Tis the season for construction crews to battle sweltering summer heat. Joan Fox shares simple ideas for surprising and delighting your hottest customers.
Would You Pass a Customer Service Audit?
Joan Fox shares her top 10 tips for ensuring a consistently excellent customer experience.
What NOT to Say to Customers
It all started with the phrase, “It’s not my job,” to which customers around the globe retorted, “What do you mean it’s not your job? If you can’t help me, why are you here?”
Customer Satisfaction — Who Cares?
Pursuing customer satisfaction as a way to become a service leader, and therefore more profitable, is the wrong pursuit. Customer satisfaction is simply the price of entry into the game. It keeps the doors open and the employees paid, but it does not grow your business.
What Stories are YOUR Customers Telling?
Early last week while working in Bentonville, Ark., I rented a car from a rental company that I use occasionally, but certainly not often. I have no loyalty to any particular one as I have been unimpressed by all of them.
STOPS and STARTS for Better Service
In December, we talked about how to set SMART goals and I promised to give you some considerations on what to stop doing and start doing to reach your goals. This article is about a few STOPS and STARTS to begin the year with a customer service focus.
SMART Customer Goals
Now is the perfect time to look back to evaluate and peer forward to plan for the next year. The ready-mix industry is steeped in best practices and measuring efficiencies related to operations.
Distinguish your Brand with Customer Service
Have you ever considered that you appear to be exactly like your competitors? They hire the same kind of people. They teach them the same things. They deliver the same product. Most customers would be unable to articulate how your company is different, besides the signs in front of your office and…
To Hunt or to Keep: That is the Question
Customer acquisition is sexy. There is something about the hunt that gets people excited. It’s kind of like dating-lots of attention, communication and messages of appreciation. Then when acquisition occurs details are forgotten, communication lags, and words of fondness are articulated less often.
The Most Important Decision Producers Make
Give up right now on the chance of ever delivering a consistently excellent customer experience, if you are unwilling to hire differently.
From Mediocre to Magical
Step by step—how to go from mediocre to magical.
From Mediocre to Magical: Part 2
Did you do your homework? If so, every area of your company has a list of touch-points they own. Now let’s talk about what to do with them.
Five Steps to Complaint Handling Success
What you need to know to effectively handle a complaint.
If the Shoe Fits…
Providing an upgraded experience through knowledge is the point at which the experience transitions from generic to specific—and that’s when customers will refer you.
The Question of Loyalty
CEOs are famous for giving lip service to customer service. Statistics bear out that typically few resources, whether human or financial, are invested in improving the customer experience.
Customer Service Begins Inside
You can’t give what you don’t have. The culture produces great service.
Measure It to Manage It
The reality is that we can’t manage what we don’t measure. And without measurement, things can easily wield out of control.
From Lip Service to Service Leadership
Service matters. But does it really matter that much?
Your Drivers: A Forgotten Asset
Many producers say they have trouble finding good drivers. But some may fail to invest as much as they should in these key employees, who are often responsible for customers’ most memorable interactions. TCP blogger Joan Fox offers three important ways you can help drivers represent you.
