Providing Great Customer Service
Customer service is not just a department in business
today. Everyone within your organization must participate.
If you want your customers to come back, you have to
make a connection with each one, provide an incredible
customer experience and have a great product or service.
The best way to make that connection with anyone is to
show them you care about them, and Doug Sandler has
been doing that for years. Doug built his entire business on
fast responses, over-delivering on the promises he has
made, and making sure that every customer feels they are
his most important.
Strickland Bonner
Co-Host, The Nice Guys on Business Podcast
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www.DougSandler.com
Providing Great Customer Service
Contents
Introduction............................................................................................................................................................... 4
Invest ................................................................................................................................................................................................... 4
Inspire ..................................................................................................................................................................................................4
Execute ...............................................................................................................................................................................................5
Why did I write this eBook? ................................................................................................................................... 6
Thinking Ahead Service.......................................................................................................................................... 7
Creating A Positive Culture ................................................................................................................................... 8
There’s Magic in Being Attentive ......................................................................................................................... 9
Get Detail Oriented ................................................................................................................................................ 10
The Best Experience Possible ............................................................................................................................... 11
Caring Beyond the Sale ......................................................................................................................................... 12
Customers Have Rights ......................................................................................................................................... 13
So Powerful ............................................................................................................................................................... 14
Going Above and Beyond ..................................................................................................................................... 15
Taking Ownership ................................................................................................................................................... 16
Making It Right ........................................................................................................................................................ 17
The Deal Closer ........................................................................................................................................................ 18
Keeping it Simple .................................................................................................................................................... 19
A Marriage of Minds .............................................................................................................................................. 20
The Golden Rule of Service ................................................................................................................................... 21
Promise, People, Processes .................................................................................................................................. 22
Small Moments Have Impact .............................................................................................................................. 23
Knowing is Winning ............................................................................................................................................... 24
A Winning System .................................................................................................................................................. 25
Be Memorable ......................................................................................................................................................... 26
Common Sense May Not Be So Common ......................................................................................................... 27
About the Author - Doug Sandler ...................................................................................................................... 28
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Providing Great Customer Service
Introduction
P
roviding great customer service is so much more than answering customer
questions, solving problems and picking up the phone. Great customer service
is about investing in your customers and your business, providing the proper
tools to your team to help your customers, inspiring your customers to take action,
while solving problems and executing a plan of action, not just to satisfy your
customer, but rather, to execute excellently and exceed their expectations, every
single time. Great customer service is also about taking responsibility and putting the
power to making decisions in the right hands. Exceptional service doesn’t mean you
won’t make mistakes. It’s about what happens after you make a mistake. Finally, great
customer service goes beyond service. It’s about caring, really caring. It’s not about
showing up and being available. It’s more about wanting to help your customer have
the best possible experience with your brand and doing everything in your power to
create that experience.
Invest
How do you INVEST in your customers? Do you return phone calls, emails, and social
media inquiries? Do you help your clients understand you can solve their problems
and do you do it with a great attitude? Do you spend more time talking about THEM
instead of YOU? If you are truly invested in your customers, you will be building a
relationship instead of just making a sale. Your customers are human, treat them like
they are important, unique and essential. Because they are.
Inspire
The greatest feeling of success is the ability to INSPIRE those around you. How great
to know that the words you say, the actions you take and the thoughts you have are
important and worthy to someone other than you. So how can inspiring others help
you have happy customers? The people you inspire look to you for leadership,
guidance and answers, which may also mean sales, referrals and great relationships.
And happy customers.
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Providing Great Customer Service
Execute
It’s not just enough to execute a plan. In today’s competitive environment it is essential
to EXECUTE EXCELLENTLY; create above and beyond customer service. Research
shows the importance of not just executing but executing excellently. This can be
seen in many big companies all over the world.
A few examples, online billion dollar company Zappos empowers their employees to
execute excellently and provide free overnight shipping to clients even if it means
losing money on a sale. They hit $1 billion in sales by executing excellently, building
lifelong relationships and investing in their clients. Nordstroms routinely takes
product back (battered, torn and worn) in order to gain a lifetime customer. In the
grocery business with a typical 30+% employee turnover rate, how does Wegmans
manage to keep turnover at well under 4%. They build relationships not only with their
customers but also with their employees. Providing gift cards and free groceries for
exemplary customer service and catching people doing something right.
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Providing Great Customer Service
Why did I write this eBook?
In February of 2015 my close friend Strickland Bonner and I started a podcast (The
NIce Guys on Business Podcast) because we thought entrepreneurs and
management teams in organizations small and large needed to hear what it meant to
exceed customer expectations and how to deliver great customer service. What we
found surprised us. People around the world wanted to hear about a simple three
step system that I developed -- Invest, Inspire, Execute. Since then, we have
discussed this system and our practices with hundreds of industry leaders, business
owners and entrepreneurs. In 2016, a year after starting our podcast, it had been
downloaded over 125,000 times in over 130 countries; our message was catching on.
In March of 2015 I released my first book, Nice Guys Finish First, Winning Customers
for Life by Winning Relationships that Last. Quickly, the book rose to the top of the
Amazon bestseller list with over one hundred five star reviews; the message landed
on solid ground and has had stable footing since its release. Again in 2015, I was
pleasantly surprised when my keynote, Better Relationships, Better Business was
well received by corporate America including leaders in the world of customer
service. Great customer service is not a thing of the past, we just need to awaken the
abusers of technology, creators of customer service failures and bad service
providers and tell them enough is enough. The consumer’s day is here, we have the
money and will take it elsewhere. Sam Walton said, “There is only one boss: the
customer. And he can fire everybody in the company, from the chairman on down,
simply by spending his money somewhere else.”
Over the last couple years I have had the honor of connecting with hundreds of great
business leaders. What follows are quotes from twenty one of them, both men and
women, younger and older. I asked them the following question: "What is considered
excellent customer service?" Their quotes have been provided along with the episode
number on The Nice Guys on Business Podcast, when they were interviewed.
Following each quote I go into a bit more detail as to what the quote means to me. I
welcome your comments and hope to also hear from you.
"What is considered excellent customer
service?"
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Providing Great Customer Service
Thinking Ahead Service
Awesome customer service occurs when a team of engaged
customer service experts moves beyond simply answering
customer questions to solving their problem. In many
cases this means answering the questions customers didn't
even know to ask!
Jeremy Watkin
Gofcr.com.
I first introduced myself to Jeremy a few
years ago and knew from my first
correspondence that he totally “got it.”
Anticipating customer needs is critical for
delivering exemplary customer service.
Not only do you have to have the right
people in place to respond to customer
questions, but having a team of people in
place that actively think about adding
value to their customer’s life. That means,
going beyond responding, taking into
account what and how your customer
thinks and helping them answer
questions that they may not even know
exist. Keep in mind, you (or your staff) are
the experts and your client probably
does not know as much about your
product as you do. Help them see more clearly, with a focus on their perspective, not
yours. By doing so, you are helping to create an amazing customer experience,
worthy of adding big dollars to your bottom line as well.
Episode 29
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Providing Great Customer Service
Creating A Positive Culture
Excellent service is putting your employees first and
building a culture that has them putting the customer
first.
Micha Mikailian
Serial Entrepreneur
When Micha was introduced to me
through a friend in common, I
immediately sensed his success did
not happen by chance. Micha, a selfproclaimed
serial
entrepreneur,
earned the title Positive Culture
Creator. I have never before met such
a glass half filled guy in my life. His
infectious smile, enchanting laugh and
keen sense of empathy quickly proved
to me why Micha has been able to
build so many successful companies.
The key to happy customers,
according to Micha, is to have happy
employees. I have seen this first hand
with many organizations I have had an
opportunity to work with. There is a direct correlation between positive culture and
positive cash flow. The biggest and most successful organizations today are proof.
Southwest Air, Google, Apple, Zappos, Nordstrom and countless others have soaring
profits, over-the-top raving fans as customers and a happy workforce. Their offices,
stores and customer service points of contact are staffed by people who not only
want to be there, but want to share the news about how wonderful their company is.
Want to have happy customers? Start by making your employees happy.
Episode 66
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Providing Great Customer Service
There’s Magic in Being Attentive
The most important thing for every human is to be heard,
effective customer service is letting your client know you
hear them and will therefore do your best to help them.
Shirley Impellizzeri, Ph.D., QME
Drshirley.com
As a guest on The Nice Guys on Business
podcast, Dr. Shirley and I quickly hit it off. She
is an amazing communicator and she
understands the importance of every human
just wanting to be heard. As kids, we were
constantly seeking the approval of our
parents. We wanted nothing more from them
above paying attention to us. As their focus
shifted to us, we would beam with pride
exclaiming internally, “Mom is looking at me,
yay!” Customers are no different, they want to
be heard, and who can blame them, they are
giving us their hard earned dollar, the least we
can do is pay attention. To create a great
customer experience means not just paying
attention, but letting them know they are being heard, repeating to them (in your
words) what they are communicating to you and providing evidence, through action
that you are doing everything you can to help them. Make your customer feel like
their issue, problem or question is important to you and you are well on your way to
providing great customer service.
Episode 174
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Providing Great Customer Service
Get Detail Oriented
Excellent customer service means taking the time to find
out details that are important to each individual
customer; the things that make them feel special and
important. Then use those details to have a human
interaction with your clients. Connect with people, show
respect, courtesy, and genuine interest in their needs. You
never know what you might learn by paying attention to
the little things.
Stacey Sherman
RSPEntertainmentMarketing.com
Good friend and fellow entrepreneur,
Stacey’s upbeat and sometimes offbeat
sense of humor is a perfect match for her
rock and roll marketing company. Imagine
the marketing demands placed on your
company in an industry known for divas,
huge egos and bad boy attitudes. Great
customer service starts with getting the
details right. Getting the details right
means understanding what it is that makes
your customers happy. Sometimes that
can
mean
quick
response
to
communication, and other times it might
be specific product requests. But in every
case, it means making them feel heard,
down to the fine tuned details. Don’t just
go through the motions, show you care, present your best self and pay attention to
your customer’s needs and you will be striking a solid chord with your customer
service skills, even if your singing ain’t so good.
Episode 58
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Providing Great Customer Service
The Best Experience Possible
Depending on the industry, excellent customer service
can be defined different ways. That said, it is the
experience that compels the customer to want to come
back and do business with you again – and tell their
friends and colleagues about you, as well.
Shep Hyken
Customer Service Expert, Award-winning speaker and New
York Times Bestselling Author
Hyken.com
When it comes to customer service, no one
knows more, or is seen as a greater
authority than Shep Hyken. His many
decades of expertise in customer service
however, can be summed up in one word WOW! And Shep has been wowing
customers and audiences worldwide. Shep
knows that the answer to what great
customer service is rests completely on the
customer. Only the customer can tell you if
they received great service. The reward for
service well done is repeat business and
referrals from your customers. If your brand
does it right by providing “wow” service,
customers will go out of their way to
recommend you. It’s not luck that compels
your customers to come back again and again, it’s great service. Treat your customers
with respect, respond to their questions, be available when they need you, be
genuine with your remarks, be honest, open and transparent with your policies and
above all, be human. Customers that sense you want to do well by them will reward
you with their business.
Episode 48
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Providing Great Customer Service
Caring Beyond the Sale
People want to work with people that care about them as
individuals, rather than sales opportunities. Excellent
customer service listens, learns and responds to the
customer’s needs, even if it doesn’t directly align with the
businesses needs.
Brian Dickinson
Everest Climber, Motivational Speaker
Briandickinson.net
When it comes to making a plan come
together, reaching for lofty goals and
making extreme adjustments along the
way, Brian knows a thing or two. When
adversity struck Brian and his climbing
team while on Mt. Everest, he decided to
push on, alone, and work his plan, reaching
his goal, the summit of the mountain.
Excellent customer service works the
same way. No matter the circumstance, it’s
critical to show the customer that you are
aligned with their goals as well. Not only
should you stay with your customer during
the selling process, fostering a caring
environment, but you need to stay with
them beyond the sale, like your future
depends on it, because it does. The dollars invested by the client do much more than
pay for your product or service. Provide compassion and empathy consistent with
exemplary customer service and you will reach your peak with each and every
customer.
Episode 102
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Providing Great Customer Service
Customers Have Rights
Customer service is a basic right: the right to be treated
with respect and dignity.
Mike Aoki
Reflectivekeynotes.com
Mike has got to be one of the most detail
oriented and focused person I have had a
chance to interview on The Nice Guys on
Business podcast. I reached out to Mike
originally through Twitter and although
that channel has a reputation to be a bit
cold, sterile and robotic, Mike responded
quickly and with enthusiasm to my
request for an interview. To Mike and to
those in the know, great customer service
is about extending to your customers the
basic rights missed by so many
organizations - respect and dignity.
Always respect your customer’s needs,
even if they do not work in tandem with
what your company provides. As long as
you show respect you will be on the proper path. Over the years I have invested time
with customers helping to educate them about the services I provide, sometimes to
find out during the conversation that they do not have the budget to invest in my
services. Instead of hurrying them off the phone or rush them through the meeting, I
take time to build a relationship, being respectful of their budget. They might revise
their budget to stretch to my pricing or quite possibly they could refer someone to
my company. There have been countless times when respect and dignity have won
the deal when budget did not align with my fees.
Episode 131
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Providing Great Customer Service
So Powerful
Customer Service is serving the customer so powerfully
that they become your biggest fan even when they’re not
giving you money!
Ryan Ayres
Focus53.com
Ryan, a savvy entrepreneur and fellow
podcaster knows that great customer service
trumps money every time. Although your bank
cashes checks and does not accept customer
service as payment, great service can mean
multiple future sales when you don’t focus on
the sale, but instead focus on the power zone,
customer service. You want your customer to
be your biggest fan, or as Ryan always puts it,
quoting Peter Shankman, turn your customers
into “Zombie Loyalists!” In other words, create
fanatic customers willing to do almost
anything (in a zombie-like state) to send
business your way. The way to do that is to
develop superior, over the top service. Forget
the money, treat your customers to service they can’t possibly get anywhere else.
Episode 168
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Providing Great Customer Service
Going Above and Beyond
Excellent customer service is… Making your customer feel
understood, valued and important. Going above and
beyond what they expect, and exceeding their expectations
wherever possible. In my industry, relationships are
everything, and they are your greatest asset - so treat
everyone how you would like to be treated, and make every
interaction count!
Ross Barber-Smith
Electrickiwi.co.uk
So you want to be a rock and roll star (or a
customer service star)? Ross knows all about
that, he’s been creating websites for the music
industry stars for years and he understands that
great service is about going above and beyond
for your customers. Unless you have a
monopoly, you have a ton of competition,
dozens if not hundreds of companies do what
you do. Going above and beyond for your
customers starts with exceeding expectations
every time you interact. It’s not the big things
that will set you apart (sure, that helps) but
rather the little things like remembering your
customer’s name, last vacation destination,
spouse’s name, ages of their kids. The little things are so essential for great service,
and usually they don’t cost you a cent. I can assure you, a returned phone call or email
in less that 5 minutes will set you miles from your competition. I have won many deals
over my competition by simply returning a phone call in a timely manner. Don’t stop
there however, follow up, follow through and make the experience great for your
customer and prospective customers and you will be a rock star in their eyes.
Episode 52
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Providing Great Customer Service
Taking Ownership
It's all about ownership, I don't want to be bounced
around to several different departments or to be told to
expect a callback. I'm looking for the individual who is
representing the company to completely own my problem
and do absolutely anything to fix it.
James Kennedy
Reelpeopleskills.com
When James and his company were introduced
to me in 2015, I was excited to see how they
handled their customer service, since the
premise of their company is to role play and
teach organizations about how to handle
adversity, unique situations and how to interact
with others. What I found so very interesting is
the level of ownership that James and his team
took. Great customer service is no different.
Customers want to feel like they can get
answers quickly and they hate having to wait
through a series of call transfers, management
“elevations,” and policy reviews before a
solution, if any is presented. Companies that are
progressive, smart and successful give the power of decision making to the front line
of their organizations, allowing those that interact with the customers to make
decisions for the company. To please your customers, you need to empower your
staff to make the experience top notch. If you want your customers to stay with you
a lifetime, give your team the ability to own the transaction. Your customer and your
staff will be much happier.
Episode 54
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Providing Great Customer Service
Making It Right
Great customer service means taking responsibility when
things don't go well and doing what you can to make it
right for the customer.
Kimberly Morrow, LCSW
AnxietyTraining.com
Believe that your customer is in for the long
haul with your organization and when things
don’t go exactly as planned with your product
or service, take responsibility and do
everything you have to do to correct the
situation, even if it means losing money on the
transaction. I was introduced to Kimberly
Morrow, a licensed social worker and therapist
through her business partner. What I found so
special about both Kimberly and her partner
Elizabeth was how well suited they were for
profession, extremely empathetic and
compassionate. When a problem arises with
your customer, making it right is essential.
Correcting the problem is only one step in providing excellent customer service.
Other steps include maintaining a positive attitude during the resolution, keeping your
customer informed along the path to problem resolution, and finally, following up
after the problem is resolved. Each step is a part of the customer journey as well and
although there may be detours, make it a journey they would recommend to others
in spite of the problem they encountered.
Episode 106
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Providing Great Customer Service
The Deal Closer
Excellent customer service doesn't happen after you close
the deal. Excellent customer service closes the deal. Quit
worrying about the money. Quit worrying about sales.
Find ways to be helpful and people who need your help.
Terry Lancaster
TerryLancaster.com
I am a worrier, always have been,
probably always will be. But there is one
thing Terry Lancaster has taught me
about selling and customer service. And
that is this, if I worry about the sale and
not customer service, I am taking the
long way to closing a deal. Selling is
about delivering great service every
step of the way. Selling is not about
winning, selling is about helping the
customer solve a problem. Be helpful
through the entire process. As someone
that has spent an entire career selling, I
can attest to the fact that Terry is 100%
correct. When I started taking pressure
off myself about closing a deal and
working more on helping and less on the
numbers, business started coming to
me. The reward for problem solving and excellent customer service is more closed
deals, more referrals and more raving fans. Terry is well schooled at making deals
come together because he understands the importance of excellent customer
service and giving people solutions to their problems.
Episode 91
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Providing Great Customer Service
Keeping it Simple
Excellent service begins with simplicity. As consumers, we
crave easy - and that means being able to deal with a
company in the simplest possible way while expending the
least amount of effort.
Eli Federman
Simplifyingservice.com
Simple should be so easy, but many
organizations want to complicate the
process. Great service is the same way, it
is so simple, but many companies lock up
personnel with a maze of policies,
procedures and complex systems. Often,
customer service departments are
caught between management and legal
departments, the outcome of which is
paralysis of the front line. Your customers
are looking for a way to make life easier.
Customer service and front line
employees, left to decode complicated
systems will often fail, handcuffed by too
many required actions and unnecessary
steps to resolve an issue. The companies
that provide excellent customer service keep it simple and make it easy for their
customers to do business with them.
Episode 165
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Providing Great Customer Service
A Marriage of Minds
Good customer service is the byproduct of a good
relationship with your client. Much like a good marriage,
once you start to understand your client’s needs,
providing good customer service becomes natural.
Steve O’Brien
Steveobrienvo.com
Since our introduction to the podcasting
world, Steve has served as the voice of The
Nice Guys on Business. Steve originally was
awarded our business for two reasons. First,
he is crazy talented, and I would put his skill
set and capabilities against anyone in the
voiceover business. Second, he won over our
hearts with his personal service, his ability to
know exactly what we need , and his love for
his craft. Great customer service starts with a
passion for what you do. Next it’s a love for
your customers. I challenge anyone in a
position to deal directly with customers to try
and fake passion. Passion comes from the
heart, the same place great service is from.
Episode 33
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Providing Great Customer Service
The Golden Rule of Service
Treat each and every interaction with the same care and
attention you wish to receive.
Che Holloway
Darkjusticeshow.com
According to Che, the golden rule
applies, and I couldn’t agree more.
When in doubt, think about how you
would like to be treated and do the
same for your customers. Although not
in an industry typically known for its
exemplary service, as a television and
film actor, Che throws aside the
traditional thinking that being a diva is
acceptable. Che’s mentality is that
everyone he comes in contact with is a
customer, therefore, he treats everyone
with respect. Traditional customer
service is no different. With each touch
point, it is essential to be kind,
empathetic and caring. Although there
are no analytics for compassion, showing your customers that you care will win you
future business and lots of referrals too. You want your customers to feel like stars.
Episode 135
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Providing Great Customer Service
Promise, People, Processes
Excellent customer service is living the 3Ps: delivering on
your Promise consistently, treating all the People -- inside
and outside your organization -- with respect and
kindness, and having internal Processes that work
smoothly for customers and staff.
Tema Frank
FrankReactions.com
I love a great system and Tema has created a
magnificent one to help guide your
organization’s level of service. It all begins with
being consistent about what you promise and
sticking to your promises. Customers love
when they can count on you. Once you have
gained their trust, you are well on your way to
making an A+ grade in the category of
customer service as long as you keep in mind
that you are dealing with people - human
beings. If you are treating your customers like
account numbers, running them through
efficient systems like voice automation,
canned email responses and sterile customer
relationship management software, you are
not doing yourself nor your business’ bottom line any favors. People want to be
treated like people, with emotion, feelings and kindness. This does not just apply to
your customers, the same can be said of your employees. Treat them like human
beings and they will pay it forward to your customers as well. One additional point
worth noting, if you have not done an analysis of the systems you have in place for
quite some time or if your current systems are outdated and not up to today’s
standards, you may want to consider a change. For example, if you are a company
invested in marketing and you are not up to speed using appropriate channels within
social media, you will need to make some big changes to stay connected with your
customers and to earn an exemplary grade for customer service.
Episode 179
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Providing Great Customer Service
Small Moments Have Impact
Here is what kick ass customer service means to me: Small
moments have impact. Make sure every touch point brings
value to the experience. Throw in some moments of
surprise and joy - it's so simple, but rarely done.
Sunny Lake
About.me/sunnylake
When you have a name like Sunny Lake,
I truly believe that you are a seriously
unique individual. As a close friend and
contributor to The Nice Guys on Business
podcast, Sunny is always talking about
unique ways in which to make her
customers happy. Great customer
service should be a part of the fabric that
makes your business so special.
Remember the small stuff is what people
love. Things like remembering a name, a
smile and a hearty hello will go far when
someone is having a less than stellar day.
The beauty of small moments of
sunshine? Most of the time these
moments do not cost your organization a
cent. How much does it cost to answer
the phone of the first ring or to make sure the restroom paper towel holder is filled or
to keep your work area neat? Nothing! You may not think these areas are considered
customer service, but I can assure you, each of these small items makes up a
touchpoint (an opportunity for a customer to come in contact with your brand). Also,
take time to celebrate wins in your customer’s life. The simplicity of sharing their joy
will be unmatched by any grand marketing program your company develops.
Episode 184
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Providing Great Customer Service
Knowing is Winning
Customer service starts with really knowing who your
customers are and how to best connect to them. Using
generic customer service programs that do not resonate
with your tribe can actually do more harm to your brand
than good.
Dr. Letitia Wright
Wrightplacetv.com
Who is your customer? That is a question
that often is not so easy to answer,
especially when you are an entrepreneur
in the process of developing your
business. We work so hard at building a
product or service that we are passionate
about, that we can forget to turn around
and see who is following us. Work hard at
not only discovering what drives you, but
have a deeper understanding of what
drives your customer as well. At the
intersection of those two points, invest
your time and energy for winning results.
Once you know who your customer is,
find out their expectations. It can be as
easy as asking them. Or you may have to
dig deep, through trial and error to see what level of service your customer is
expecting. Remember, as you develop a plan through trial and error, mistakes are
bound to happen, it’s what comes next that’s really important.
Episode 36
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Providing Great Customer Service
A Winning System
The best customer service is anticipatory. When a company
has anticipated my needs and created a process of
interaction that is easy and straightforward, they've won
my business.
Laura Cannon
Lauraccannon.com
Laura and I made a re-connection in
business when she got close to launching
her book, “The Conscious Entrepreneur.”
Just the title alone proves her level of care
and finesse that goes into running her
businesses. It’s important to anticipate the
needs of your customers. What questions
will they have, what problems might they
encounter and how would they like to
communicate these issues to you? I
recently subscribed to a streaming video
service called Sling, when the Olympics
were aired on network television. Because
Sling anticipated the huge drive in traffic to
their service, they did their best to handle
all the extra calls they received. Wait times
on the phone were long but their automated system provided wait times and
explanation for the longer wait than normal. Their Twitter feed and other social media
channels were regularly updated, showing installation and services issues and
problem resolution times. Although I ended up cancelling the service (not due to Sling
customer service issues) they had an easy and liberal cancellation policy. Work
towards knowing what your customer wants and needs and you will rate positively
for customer service.
Episode 188
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Providing Great Customer Service
Be Memorable
Great customer service means being memorable. It means
being worth talking about. It means making customers
and clients want to share a story. Companies that inspire
their customers to tell others, turn to social media or
write a blog post about their experience will find success.
What are you doing to be "blog-worthy"?
Sean Carpenter
CarpsCorner.net
Your customers want to not only buy your
products and services, but they want to
remember you, for all good things. Give them
something to remember. I dub Sean as our
podcast’s first superfan. Sean’s comments on
social media were always so memorable, so
uplifting and so heartwarming that when I took
a trip to his hometown in Columbus, Ohio on
business, I just had to meet him. For the record,
I was not disappointed. Sean was so friendly,
had great stories to tell about his family and his
business and left me feeling so good about
myself. Do you make your customers feel this
way? Although I am not Sean’s customer, I know
he must treat his customers the same way. Provide over the top service, with a
winning personality, give your customers great treatment and they will love you back.
In the meantime, you are making memories that will last a lifetime.
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Providing Great Customer Service
Common Sense May Not Be So Common
As a customer I know that I happily pay more for
products/services with companies where their customer
support employees are given the freedom to apply common
sense, good humour or simply just a bit of empathy when
helping you. Rigid, scripted and mindless support teams are
a fast track to losing my business.
Dan G Rice
LeadingFromAnywhere.com
There is only one cheapest priced
product or service, and hopefully, if you
play your cards right, it will not be yours.
Customers that buy from you because of
price will leave you because of price. Dan,
a coaching client of mine and community
leader of our Nice Guys community
Facebook page (NiceShortCut.com) has a
similar philosophy to many other
successful business owners:
Always
keep your customer in your sights when
making policies for your organization. The
companies that win business today, are
flexible, fast and fun, and they love their
customers. Great customer service
involves giving your employees all the
tools they need to turn a good service experience into a great one, and a problem
into a resolution. Know when it’s ok to break the rules for your customer and
empower your people to turn every opportunity into a win and you will win big in the
category of customer service.
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Providing Great Customer Service
About the Author - Doug Sandler
In 2013, Doug started his reinvention into the world
of customer service as a professional speaker,
author and podcaster. Armed with over 30
successful years of business experience, Doug set
out on a new journey, to educate organizations on
how to make customer service a top priority and
how to make the customer journey an important part
of a company’s purpose. As an expert in the field of
customer service, his book, Nice Guys Finish First,
quickly ranked as an Amazon Best Seller. As a
podcaster, Doug has interviewed Arianna Huffington
from HuffPost, Dan Harris from Good Morning
America, Ron Klain, White House Chief of Staff and
dozens of celebs on topics including customer
service, wellness and building winning relationships.
He specializes in teaching others the "how-to's" of
creating a lasting network and strengthening
connections. Doug is a nationally recognized speaker and writer. His weekly posts
and podcast reach thousands of readers and listeners. Doug has been titled by the
International Customer Management Institute (ICMI) in the top 100 of Social Media
Thought Influencers to Follow.
Doug Sandler
www.DougSandler.com
The Nice Guys on Business Podcast
410-340-6861
[email protected]
Twitter - @djdoug
FaceBook - The Nice Guys Community
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