Customer Service Blog Posts

Free branded travel coffee mug. Free gift with purchase. Free t-shirt with a gigantic logo on it that you’ll never wear. You love them all. But why? Why are we more likely to patronize a business that has handed us free stuff? According to Jerry McLaughlin, president of Branders, one of the…

The phone rings. The caller on the other end of the line is freaking. He is screaming into your ear and you are trying to figure out how to help him. Problem is, you’re on edge from an earlier call, and you are afraid you might lose it on this guy. This…

Are you are one of the 86% of Americans who sit all day at work? Studies show that excessive sitting is a key risk factor several major medical issues facing the U.S. today: heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and breast and colon cancers. But according to the Ergotron JustStand Survey & Index…

Did you know that the typical adult human brain requires 20% of your resting metabolic rate (RMR – that’s the total amount of energy your body expends at rest)? So let’s say that your RMR is 1,500 calories. That means your brain uses up 300 of those just to keep you going.…

When I was in college, I used to work for the Alumni Relations Office, and let me tell you, there is no one more distressed than a 70-year-old alum who can’t figure out how to sign up for their class reunion. During my time in this office, I learned a lot of…

What’s the difference between an optimist and a pessimist? The optimist is the person who invented the toilet. The pessimist is the person who invented the diaper. Optimism, while undeniably great fodder for countless jokes, is one of the most critical components in successful businesses. Nowhere are the benefits of a positive…

When it comes to the success of your business, ensuring a positive consumer experience is everything. If you want to knock it out of the park, teamwork, dedication, and a great social customer experience are essential each time a customer steps up to the plate. SAS' customer experience infographic offers an at-a-glance…

At some point or another, everyone has a bad customer service experience. It may be offensive, embarrassing, or upsetting, and has the ability to turn an otherwise peaceful day into a disaster. And anyone who’s been on the receiving end of an employee’s rude or lackadaisical service knows how much it stinks.…

With a proliferation of self service channels such as the web, mobile and kiosks – all of which are often managed by contact centers – it is important that customers must be guided, albeit subtly, to choose the right service channel so as to manage the costs of multichannel interactions. Often, customers…

With all of the shenanigans call center staff has to contend with on a daily basis, surely there must be an extensive manual dedicated to the navigation of difficult in-call situations. Um, not so much. There is no such manual in existence, just like there is no manual for life, or childbirth,…