Last week, Bruce Buschel over at the New York Times ran a column on ‘The 100 Things Restaurant Staffers Should Never Do‘.  It was very comprehensive, so much, in fact, that it had to be split into two columns.

From the first commandment – “Do not let anyone enter the restaurant without a warm greeting”, to  the last “Show your appreciation for good customers with a free glass of port, a plate of biscotti or something else management approves”, Bruce hits the nail on  the head when dealing with Customers.

While he may have written  this for restaurants, I think that many of these, if not all, will apply to all Customer Service interactions.  Take a look at his column and see for yourself!

Thanks for reading,

Brandon

I saw this on Twitter today:

What is with my customers today?! They’re all slow and stupid. I mean they’re like that everyday but today it’s worse. #customerservice

I don’t even know where to start…

I will spare the person the shame of having their name posted on here, but I will ask that we all take a good hard look at our business and our processes. Are we encouraging or instilling this type of behavior in our employees?

As Charles Shulz would write – “Good Grief!”

Let’s get with the program, thanks for reading!

Brandon

There is an old saying about farming that goes, “Every mile that you are closer to your market is a tangible advantage.”

Actually, it comes from a book originally published in 1867, however, the maxim is still true.  While Peter Henderson was originally talking about getting produce to market, this principle applies to virtually every facet of business.

For example, we have to look no further than the off ramps on major highways to see that fast food restaurants and gas stations jostle for signage and physical location, all with the goal of attracting more Customers. After all, the closest one to the freeway will often end up with the most Customers.

In today’s digital world, we don’t compete for Customer solely along highways, but also online.  oOr Customers are no longer a mile away, but merely a click.

Those companies that are positioning themselves “next to the highway” are snapping up Customers left and right!

Are we as companies using every feasible (note that I did not write possible, but rather feasible) way to position ourselves closer to our Customers?

Twitter, Facebook, You Tube and countless other Social Media systems offer ways to ensure that we are closer to our Customers than our competition.  Are we using them?

Think about it, let me know what you think…..and thanks for reading,

Brandon

Legend has it that when Coca Cola first came out a century back, it contained a substance (Cocaine) which made it highly addictive!  While the addiction part may not be entirely substantiated, I have met a fair number of people who ‘can’t live’ without a Coke (or Pepsi).

Having grown up in the South, I have had a few “Co’ Cola’s”, as we call them, and while I love their taste, they simply can’t compare to the “new” flavors that have emerged recently of soda with Cane Sugar instead of Corn Syrup.  Pepsi has tried it, Coke makes a version in Mexico of this, however, my all time favorite is Jones Soda.

There are several dozen flavors (check out some of the uber-bright ones in the picture), but the purest and most addictive of  them all is their Cola flavor.

Aha! Therein lies the rub (or whatever Shakespearean quote that I meant to say).

It turns out that while stores stock plenty of Fufu Berry and Green Apple, finding Cola flavor is a veritable search for the Holy Grail.

I have contacted the company, hoping that they could point me towards a store in my area that carries it.  What I got in reply was a canned answer that directed me to, “check with my local store for all my favorite Jones soda flavors”.

Um….they don’t carry my favorite flavor.  That’s why I am contacting you!

So, I have tried again. I have contacted Jones on their website and via Twitter @jonessodaco, hopefully someone in their system can figure out where they stock it and send me a crate or two.

I’m off to try their Facebook site, wish me luck, and thanks for reading!

Brandon

What a great week! I am always happy to experience Customer Service Week and this one exceeded my expectations.

Great webinars presented by HDI, countless Customer Service Week video from around the world, and, of course, free book giveaways!

Our winners for the week are:

Monday – @jmwernette

Tuesday – @BACox

Wednesday (4 Winners!) – @vickirogers, @yeseniachappell, Ken Brown and Michelle Andersen

Thursday – @Ibyte2

Friday – @sherryaggie02

*A special thanks to ServiceSphere for donating their win back to the Customer Support community for a re-drawing. Thank you, Chris!

It may be 5 PM on a Friday wherever you are, but remember…our Customers still expect us to provide great service.  Have a great weekend and thanks for reading,

Brandon