You Are Now Entering the Customer Service Twilight Zone

Have you ever had a communication exchange in business that just didn’t make any sense? A couple days ago I had an email exchange that made me feel like I had just crossed over into the Twilight Zone.

A trade association emailed me to find out if I would be renewing my membership for 2009. I emailed back that I would not be renewing. And here was the response -

Mr. Shorr, thank you for responding so quickly.

That was it: thank you for your impressively rapid rejection. What do you make of this remark? Are they being snide? Do they not care…

Twitter Changes the Customer Service Paradigm

Image via WikipediaOh, how I hate to use the word “paradigm”, but … Customer service media include phone, email, chat rooms, blogs … and now Twitter. Only with Twitter, the customer service experience is upside down.

A few days ago my Twitter pal Kim put out a Tweet asking if anyone besides her was having trouble logging on to MyBlogLog. It so happened I was having the same issue, so I Tweeted back to confirm.

Several hours later I received a Twitter reply from @mblsupport, apologizing for the service breakdown and reporting it had been fixed.

Wow. My first reaction was, this is unexpected.…

Do Your Non-Sellers Need Sales Training? YES!

Did you ever stop and think how important your non-sellers are to customers?

• Customer service reps have hundreds of email and phone touches with customers every day.
• Accounts receivable staffers spend most of their day talking to customers, often on ticklish issues.
• Shipping personnel schedule deliveries and expedite orders all day long.
• Credit department employees have some of the very first contact with new customers.

Amazingly, few people in these areas receive basic training in sales skills — such things as how to ask questions, how to listen, how to talk features and benefits, how to present information, how to negotiate, et cetera.

Having just concluded an extensive customer care…

How TO Customer Service–Dig It Photography

Last week I let Sears have it for their poor customer service during my quest to procure a photo of myself for this Web site. But the story didn’t end there.

My next call was to a local studio, Dig It Photography. The owner, who answered the phone himself, asked me to come in for a shoot at 12:30 pm that very day. Wow! Now we’re getting somewhere.

Or so I thought. When I arrived at his studio, the door was locked. Taped to it was a scribbled out note saying he’d be back at 2:30 pm.

Grrr. Big company or small, customer service…

Sears, or How NOT to Customer Service

After months of procrastination, I decided to get a professional head shot for my business. My first call was to Sears, and it turned out to be a textbook example of inept customer service.

I called the phone number from the Yellow Pages and was greeted by a sterile-voiced automated attendant. I had two options–”1″ to schedule an appointment, “2″ for anything else. At least that’s what I think, because while the instructions were playing, the line was ringing loudly.

Before I had a chance to respond, a woman at Sears answered the ring. The first thing out of her mouth–”What’s your…

What Makes a Great Customer Service Rep?

This type of scene played out many a time when I was a sales rep.

Brad: (Solemnly) Charlie, we’ve been forced to make some changes in order to improve our service throughout the territory. As much as I’ve enjoyed working with you over the past four years, I’m no longer going to be your sales rep. You’ve been a great customer, an ally, and a real friend. We’re hoping this change won’t affect our business together. Are you going to be O.K. with this?

Charlie: Oh, sure, Brad, no problem-o. (Solemnly) But Carrie’s still going to be our customer service rep–right?

When you hear a…

The Pros and Cons of On Hold Phone Messages

No company wants to strand customers on hold for an extended period of time. But when it happens, you want to make the experience pleasant–or at least tolerable. Music CD’s or radio make convenient and inexpensive options for on hold background. In some cases, however, a custom on hold phone message is worth the investment. The most common varieties–

1. Educational messages. An accounting firm offering commentary on recent tax law changes, or a veterinary clinic describing symptoms of various pet illnesses, are examples of solid material for educational messages. If you have a timely topic of wide interest on which you…

How to Leave a Voice Mail Message

In Friday’s post, we talked about how to compose a voice mail greeting. But how about leaving a voice mail message? Here are some ideas to make your corporate communicaton more effective.

1. Be brief. Assume the person listening to your message is up to his eyeballs in work, or going through a crowded airport security line. Just provide the short version–background details can wait until the actual conversation.

2. Leave a callback number. You can’t always assume the person has caller ID or remembers your phone number.

3. Say the callback number slowly. I’m a dimwit with numbers. Sometimes I have replay a voice…

How to Compose a Voice Mail Greeting

Most people don’t think about their voice mail greeting as a thing that needs formal composition, but sometimes, a voice mail greeting is every bit as important as a sales proposal or the home page of your Web site.

For instance, the man pictured above (let’s call him Mr. Grim) has a problem. Maybe the order you were supposed to deliver yesterday never arrived. If he doesn’t receive it in an hour, his plant will shut down and he’ll lose a $100,000 customer.

1. If you compose your voice mail greeting with Mr. Grim in mind, you’ll be 3/4 of the way there,…