Laziness and Apathy are Customer Service Killers

Most people in front-line customer service jobs want to work hard, be helpful, and take care of the customer. No matter what the reason behind bad incidents the really bad thing is that they can create a negative impression for the business. The customer experience is lost.
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Is Your Customer Service Too Well Done?

Don’t let ease of process ever overrule a customized service experience in your business. Today’s consumers want service their way in the channel of their choice! What are the choices available to your consumers and how are they presented?
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3 Apps No Small Business Owner Should Be Without

Often, cash-strapped startups look to free software to help solve their day-to-day problems. Unfortunately, not every free app is designed as well as Google Drive or Evernote. Many are rendered unusable by poor interfaces or a lack of technical support. Some apps work well, but are not designed to grow with a business.
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Why Employees Need Guidelines, Not Just Rules

Rules are an essential part of any business. Rules are necessary to ensure we make intentional decisions. Rules are written to make sure people are treated equally and consistently. But it’s impossible to make rules to govern every possible scenario that may occur.
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Are National Retailers Outpacing Locals on Customer Service?

The folks at at Software Advice—a free resource for customer service technology reviews—just concluded a six-month project called “The Great Retail Experience Race: Local vs. National.” The research was designed to compare the customer experience of five small retailers and five comparable national chain stores.
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How to Deal with Unpleasant Online Customers

The more you sell, the more likely you will have to deal with unpleasant customers along the way. Don’t cheat yourself of precious time by arguing with them; just handle it without emotion and as the awesome business owner that you are.
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5 Ways to Use Market Competition to Your Advantage

When envisioning and establishing my business, I focused on both short- and long-term goals. My short-term goal was to outgrow a local competitor’s annual gross sales. I knew I wanted to eventually compete with multimillion-dollar giants, but first, I needed to examine my strengths and their weaknesses.
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A Competitive Advantage: Be Nice

If you’ve been reading my customer service articles or watching my weekly videos on YouTube, then you know my definition of being amazing is about consistently being better than average. And above average means exactly that. You don’t have to be over-the-top amazing.
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