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Customer Service Information |
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Have You Hugged a Customer Today?
It all started a couple of weeks ago when a friend asked me if I could scan and print some of her slides. No problem, I said. Boy, was I mistaken.... As it turns out, I seldom use my scanner for slides. And no matter how many different 'Kathy' techniques I tried to get it to work, nothing. I even resorted to reading the online manual (what was I thinking?). Still didn't work. After several (okay, many!) bull-headed attempts to figure it out myself, I called the Epson tech help line. The good news, they actually answered the phone near midnight. The bad news? My scanner was out of warranty, so I'd have to pay $9.95 for their tech service. I was pretty desperate, so $9.95 seemed a bargain. And indeed, I got the help I needed. I was, once again, a happy pup. Didn't think about it again until the telemarketer called today.... 1 - Good For Me Before the call, I had virtually no attention on Epson, my scanner, or the slides that are now beautifully printed. And I must say, when I answered the phone and heard, "Is this Kathleen?" (my first clue that it's not a friend calling!), I was a little annoyed. For whatever reason, I didn't hang up. And I answered all the rep's questions about my experience with the Epson tech guys. I was reminded that I didn't call just once, but twice - when I had some follow-up questions a few days later. The call reminded me how great it was to be able to access their tech support 24 hours a day. (Is it just me, or do you, too, find that everything breaks down in the middle of the night?) And the quick survey made me think back to the beautifully printed artwork that I scanned from my friend's slides. Gotta say, I felt really good when I hung up the phone! 2 - Good For Them What's in it for Epson? Well, if even half of their calls today end in another smiling customer like me, they're doing great! They're also getting valuable feedback that can help them improve their tech support, and their products. Who knows if the two tech guys I spoke with last week were one "5" on the survey away from getting fired, or getting a promotion? I'd like to think that my positive feedback helped them personally, in some small way. It's a win-win situation. And I like that. 3 - Make a Habit of Hugging Your Customers Yes, I could have emailed Epson and told them how helpful their tech guys were. But I didn't. Which got me thinking.... How often do we actually take the time to "hug" our customers and supporters? We might: - call someone who's just bought one of our products, and thank them for their purchase - call a participant the week after our teleclass to see if they have any questions - write a quick thank-you note to someone who's been supporting us - thank someone, in writing, for their help with a project - write to thank someone for coming to live workshop - surprise an especially good customer with a small gift (free RealAudio download of a teleclass, for example) - ask our best customers for feedback about our product, or our service - take the time to be grateful, and find ways to let people know about it! Thanking our customers isn't just good for the soul. It's good business. I'll be hugging lots more often - and more deliberately - in the future. I hope you'll join me. Best-selling author Kathy Gulrich helps clients get from idea, to action, to results - more quickly, and more easily - whether they're looking to write a book, develop a new product, or market their product or business. Clients love her direct, no-nonsense approach - and her gentle insistence on great results. Find out for yourself: Check out one of Kathy's teleclasses, or pick up a free worksheet, at http://www.smARTbusinessCoaching.com
MORE RESOURCES: AI Chatbots Are Ready to Talk to Customers. Sort of. The Wall Street Journal Pricing, AI, DPA, Customer Service Tools; Bill Emerson Interview; Training This Week; STRATMOR CD Workshop Mortgage News Daily Samsung Electronics Canada Customer Service Wins Bronze in ‘Best Use of Omni Channel' at International CX Awards 2024 Yahoo Finance Qme secures $3M funding to streamline customer service across Africa Techpoint Africa Building Competitive Advantage in Customer Care Through AI The Business of Fashion 311 Customer Service Center City and County of San Francisco FTC Finalizes Order with H&R Block Requiring Them to Pay $7 Million and Overhaul Advertising and Customer Service Practices for 2025 and 2026 Tax Seasons Federal Trade Commission News Ikea expands integration with assembly services platform Chain Store Age JEA is inviting bids for 19-story downtown tower that used to be its headquarters The Florida Times-Union Consumers Demand Enterprises Modernize to Improve Ailing Customer Experience, Says Research Business Wire American Lamprecht Enhances Visibility for Air and Ocean Shipments Using Descartes Solution Supply Chain Dive Women in Fintech: A Conversation About Loyalty Ecosystems in Financial Services with Becky Hill Finovate Neterra Enhances Its Customer Service Monitoring System Total Telecom Gladly Named a Leader in Constellation ShortList™ for Digital Customer Service and Support PR Newswire QueueKiosk™: Saving Thousands of Active-Duty Man Hours & Improving Customer Service at the MPF Office Kiosk Marketplace Finally, hard data on a real-world AI business use case: It’s huge for customer service Sherwood News Liverpool reinvents customer service through digital platform ComputerWeekly.com CSPI & Nutrition Action Customer Service CSPI Newsroom Firm to expand customer service in Yorkshire with new service centre Golf Business News Textron Aviation to Open New Service Facility at Essendon Fields Airport, Expanding Capabilities in Australia Pittsburg Morning Sun Help Department of Taxation and Finance Six Game-Changing AI Customer Service and CX Strategies Hospitality Net Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program (CDPAP) New York State Department of Health Cigna's customer-centric strategy could ripple across the sector Modern Healthcare Major AI Success Story: Giftify Achieves 40% Faster Customer Response Times with Enterprise AI StockTitan How banks can build consumer confidence with stellar customer service Insights by Samsung Contact Us About Your Bill myclearwater.com Customer Service Center apps.tampagov.net 311 - Birmingham’s Customer Service Center City of Birmingham (.gov) Palm Coast Utility Department Celebrated for Enhanced Customer Service City of Palm Coast 70% of customer service to rely on AI by 2028: Gartner Outsource Accelerator DESCO's meeting held to enhance customer service and power reliability The Business Standard Customer Service & Support Hillsborough County (.gov) My experience as a Customer Service and Sales Intern Toby Shapiro's Experience at A.D. Sutton and Sons Chapman University 3 Ways To Quickly Make $50 GOBankingRates Delta’s annual profit-sharing day spotlights ‘people first’ strategy The Atlanta Journal Constitution Welcome to Riverside Public Utilities City of Riverside (.gov) Celebrate Customer Service Week City of Riverside (.gov) Which companies have the best customer service? Amazon, Shein, Costco among top-rated brands USA TODAY Con Edison Proposes Investments to Meet Growing Demand for Clean Energy, Enhance Customer Support T&D World Contact Reverb Support Reverb Charter Names Robyn Tolva Senior Vice President, Customer Service Reliability | Charter Charter Communications America's Best Customer Service 2025 Newsweek 8 strategies for using AI for customer service in 2025 Sprout Social Attorney General Bonta Demands Better Customer Service for Californians California Department of Justice AI for Customer Service Market worth $47.82 Billion by 2030 - Exclusive Report by MarketsandMarkets™ PR Newswire Can artificial intelligence rescue customer service? The Economist Permits–customer services King County Lifeline Support for Affordable Communications Federal Communications Commission Department of Transportation Governor Tom Wolf President Biden Announces New Customer Service Actions, Targets Subscriptions and ‘Doom Loops’ CX Today 11 key elements of excellent customer service Business.com Launch of New Districtwide Customer Service Platform The School District of Philadelphia Shep Hyken, HPU Customer Service Expert, Mentors Students and Staff High Point University Summer EBT | Department of Human Services Governor Tom Wolf Video Quick Take: Intercom’s Brian Donahue on How AI Agents Can Be Your First Tier of Customer Service Support HBR.org Daily How Intercom Achieves 86% Resolution Rates with Claude AI: A Customer Service Revolution - Anthropic |
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