Expert insights. Personalized for you.
Advanced techniques are one of the top requests I receive as a customer service trainer. Many people feel the basics are, well, too basic. If that's you, I have five advanced techniques to share. But first, a word from our sponsor: basic skills. The basic skills never go out of style. MORE
"How do you define leadership?" That's the question I posed to the self-described leadership expert. I had just met him at a conference. MORE
"Be more managerial, or you're fired!" The director issued this ultimatum to his two managers. There had been some customer service issues within the department. The director wanted to see change, now. The managers stared at their boss in disbelief. I stared, too. MORE
"You shouldn't have to experience this." The words just blurted out of my mouth. A customer had called, upset about receiving the wrong item. I saw past their anger and empathized with the inconvenience it was causing them. I'm really sorry about the mistake. We need to do better. MORE
"We had $1 million in preventable returns last year." The executive who shared this shocking figure explained that his company had recently entered the consumer market for home improvement tools. MORE
Which fast food burger chain is better: Whataburger or In-N-Out? The debate rages. Texans loudly proclaim their allegiance to Whataburger. Californians quickly tell you that In-N-Out is the best. Other states might feel caught in the middle. So just for fun, I devised an objective test. MORE
228 
Note: The following is an excerpt from Chapter 7 of The Guaranteed Customer Experience. Daniel Pascoe has never owned a car. That might seem inconceivable to many people, but a car isn't necessary if you live in a city that has reliable public transportation—like Portland, Oregon. MORE
The boarded up windows were a bad sign. This isn't the way a guest wants to arrive at a hotel. I pulled on the lobby door, but it was locked. Is this thing even open? An employee saw me pulling on the door and let me in. The hotel was open, but undergoing renovations. MORE
A few years ago, I stopped most of my consulting. The decision wasn't made lightly. My latest book, The Service Culture Handbook , was taking off and I was receiving more inquiries than ever before. But something gnawed at me. Most clients weren't getting the results they wanted. Not just my clients. MORE
Note: Lessons from The Overlook is a periodic update on lessons learned from owning a vacation rental property in the Southern California mountain town of Idyllwild. It's a hands-on opportunity to apply some of the techniques I advise my clients to use. You can find past updates here. MORE
Note: Lessons from The Overlook is a periodic update on lessons learned from owning a vacation rental property in the Southern California mountain town of Idyllwild. It's a hands-on opportunity to apply some of the techniques I advise my clients to use. You can find past updates here. MORE
219 
I frequently hear from people who are trying to learn new skills. They know I create a lot of content around customer service training, so they ask me for some recommendations. Can I suggest a class, a blog, or a book to help them? I usually don't recommend any of those, at least not right away. MORE
Domino’s helped me survive college. My school had a deal with the local Domino’s franchise where you could use your meal plan to order a pizza. The meal plan even covered the delivery driver’s tip. It was way too convenient for a student who was strapped for cash. MORE
Note: The following is an excerpt from The Guaranteed Customer Experience. You can download Chapter One to read the rest of the story about Buc-ee’s. Imagine driving cross-country on a road trip. You need gas, and you need to use the restroom. Choosing a place to stop is a big decision. MORE
The job search site, Indeed , ran baseball-themed commercials during the recent World Series broadcast. In this one featuring Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher, Max Scherzer, Scherzer uses baseball analogies to coach an applicant looking for a sales management position. MORE
Note: Lessons from The Overlook is a periodic update on lessons learned from owning a vacation rental property in the Southern California mountain town of Idyllwild. It's a hands-on opportunity to apply some of the techniques I advise my clients to use. You can find past updates here. MORE
Many trainers are familiar with the acronym KSA. It stands for the three things that training can develop: Knowledge Skills Abilities Training can help improve performance if someone lacks one of those three things. MORE
141 Employees are often confused about mission, vision, and value statements. Here are just a few of the questions I'm frequently asked: What's the difference? What are they for? Do we even need them all? MORE
I've spent a lot of time at the post office lately and it's fascinating. My latest book came out in March, which means I've sent a lot of books to people I interviewed or who endorsed the book. MORE
"The shipping container is stuck in customs." That's the best update I could get from our buyer and it wasn't encouraging. We had been waiting for a replenishment order from our overseas supplier for weeks. Backorders were piling up and customers were getting agitated at the wait. MORE
Advertising disclosure: This blog participates in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites. You don't need to be convinced that customer loyalty is important. MORE
There's something amazing about being served by an employee who loves the brand they represent. My wife, Sally, and I experienced that recently at the Dr. Martens store on Newbury Street in Boston. We walked in the store and Sally quickly zeroed in on a pair of shoes she liked. Scratch that. Loved. MORE
Advertising disclosure: This blog participates in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. "We We have totally lost control." MORE
Early in my career, I lucked into a solution to a challenging project. My department was asked to create a training program to help contact center agents pitch the company credit card to customers who called in to place an order from our catalog. MORE
This past year has been tough on contact center agents. The pandemic shifted more agents to working at home. Those who were at home already likely had their lives disrupted in some other way. Some contact centers endured unimaginable spikes in volume. MORE
The webinar software wasn't working. An important client was paying me to facilitate a virtual session for its employees. The client had juggled a lot of schedules to make sure everyone could attend. A lot was riding on this. I could feel a rising sense of anxiety. MORE
Advertising disclosure: We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Tell me if this sounds familiar. The CEO announces a service culture initiative. MORE
Customer service managers write a lot of procedures. The big challenge is getting employees to follow them. Employees forget. They get confused. Sometimes, they just don't wanna. This creates consequences. Customer experience becomes inconsistent. Service quality erodes. MORE
My first job was in a clothing store. It was a great place for a high school kid like me to learn new skills. I started in the men's department, but was eager to learn everything I could. MORE
Advertising disclosure: This blog participates in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. We're working on ways to Wow our customers." MORE
I recently went online to check the status of a delayed order. This should be an easy process in today's age. It wasn't. The company wasn't sharing any helpful information via it's ecommerce system. So I went looking for live help. The company's contact information was intentionally buried. MORE
How long does it take to create a merchandise display? This is an important question for a retailer with thousands of stores. Each week, stores received instructions to create new merchandise displays along with the estimated time they took to build. Staffing decisions were centralized. MORE
What is the right amount of time to spend on training? That's the question a customer service leader recently asked me. He had contacted me with some questions about lesson plans for a training class he was running with his team. MORE
141 I recently worked with two clients in the same industry. There were a lot of similarities between the organizations. The business models were similar, they were roughly the same size, and their products were essentially the same. MORE
Inside Customer Service
NOVEMBER 4, 2021
Note: Lessons from The Overlook is a periodic update on lessons learned from owning a vacation rental property in the Southern California mountain town of Idyllwild. It's a hands-on opportunity to apply some of the techniques I advise my clients to use. You can find past updates here.
Inside Customer Service
DECEMBER 2, 2021
There's something amazing about being served by an employee who loves the brand they represent. My wife, Sally, and I experienced that recently at the Dr. Martens store on Newbury Street in Boston. We walked in the store and Sally quickly zeroed in on a pair of shoes she liked. Scratch that. Loved.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Inside Customer Service
SEPTEMBER 9, 2021
Note: Lessons from The Overlook is a periodic update on lessons learned from owning a vacation rental property in the Southern California mountain town of Idyllwild. It's a hands-on opportunity to apply some of the techniques I advise my clients to use. You can find past updates here.
Inside Customer Service
JUNE 24, 2021
Which fast food burger chain is better: Whataburger or In-N-Out? The debate rages. Texans loudly proclaim their allegiance to Whataburger. Californians quickly tell you that In-N-Out is the best. Other states might feel caught in the middle. So just for fun, I devised an objective test.
Speaker: Rebecca Notté, Product Operations Manager and Hannah Chaplin, Director of Product Marketing at Pendo
In this session, Hannah Chaplin and Rebecca Notté will detail the challenges of managing feedback between product and customer success teams and share their best practices on how to combat these challenges.
.png)
Inside Customer Service
MARCH 25, 2021
Domino’s helped me survive college. My school had a deal with the local Domino’s franchise where you could use your meal plan to order a pizza. The meal plan even covered the delivery driver’s tip. It was way too convenient for a student who was strapped for cash.
Inside Customer Service
MAY 20, 2021
I've spent a lot of time at the post office lately and it's fascinating. My latest book came out in March, which means I've sent a lot of books to people I interviewed or who endorsed the book.
Inside Customer Service
JUNE 3, 2021
Note: Lessons from The Overlook is a periodic update on lessons learned from owning a vacation rental property in the Southern California mountain town of Idyllwild. It's a hands-on opportunity to apply some of the techniques I advise my clients to use. You can find past updates here.
Inside Customer Service
MARCH 11, 2021
This past year has been tough on contact center agents. The pandemic shifted more agents to working at home. Those who were at home already likely had their lives disrupted in some other way. Some contact centers endured unimaginable spikes in volume.
Inside Customer Service
APRIL 15, 2021
The webinar software wasn't working. An important client was paying me to facilitate a virtual session for its employees. The client had juggled a lot of schedules to make sure everyone could attend. A lot was riding on this. I could feel a rising sense of anxiety.
Speaker: Emily Tate, Managing Director at Mind the Product
In this talk, Emily Tate, Managing Director at Mind the Product will unpack how we can quickly make deeply-researched decisions on multiple topics that will positively influence your product development process.
Inside Customer Service
SEPTEMBER 16, 2021
"The shipping container is stuck in customs." That's the best update I could get from our buyer and it wasn't encouraging. We had been waiting for a replenishment order from our overseas supplier for weeks. Backorders were piling up and customers were getting agitated at the wait.
Inside Customer Service
NOVEMBER 18, 2021
I frequently hear from people who are trying to learn new skills. They know I create a lot of content around customer service training, so they ask me for some recommendations. Can I suggest a class, a blog, or a book to help them? I usually don't recommend any of those, at least not right away.
Inside Customer Service
OCTOBER 21, 2021
"Be more managerial, or you're fired!" The director issued this ultimatum to his two managers. There had been some customer service issues within the department. The director wanted to see change, now. The managers stared at their boss in disbelief. I stared, too.
Inside Customer Service
OCTOBER 28, 2021
"How do you define leadership?" That's the question I posed to the self-described leadership expert. I had just met him at a conference.
Speaker: Nickey Skarstad, Director of Product at Duolingo
Join Nickey Skarstad, Director of Product at Duolingo, as she discusses why it’s important to actively gather customer feedback, how to build customer feedback loops into your product planning, the best ways to decipher different types of feedback, and different frameworks for how/when to apply feedback processes.
Inside Customer Service
NOVEMBER 11, 2021
The job search site, Indeed , ran baseball-themed commercials during the recent World Series broadcast. In this one featuring Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher, Max Scherzer, Scherzer uses baseball analogies to coach an applicant looking for a sales management position.
Inside Customer Service
JULY 1, 2021
I recently worked with two clients in the same industry. There were a lot of similarities between the organizations. The business models were similar, they were roughly the same size, and their products were essentially the same.
Inside Customer Service
OCTOBER 14, 2021
My first job was in a clothing store. It was a great place for a high school kid like me to learn new skills. I started in the men's department, but was eager to learn everything I could.
Inside Customer Service
OCTOBER 7, 2021
A few years ago, I stopped most of my consulting. The decision wasn't made lightly. My latest book, The Service Culture Handbook , was taking off and I was receiving more inquiries than ever before. But something gnawed at me. Most clients weren't getting the results they wanted. Not just my clients.
Speaker: Bruce McCarthy, Co-Author of Product Roadmaps Relaunched and Founder of Product Culture
Join Bruce McCarthy, co-author of Product Roadmaps Relaunched, as he discusses the best ways to innovate your product roadmap. So that it reflects your customers’ needs while simultaneously and accurately communicating your products strategy and vision.
Inside Customer Service
MAY 6, 2021
I recently went online to check the status of a delayed order. This should be an easy process in today's age. It wasn't. The company wasn't sharing any helpful information via it's ecommerce system. So I went looking for live help. The company's contact information was intentionally buried.
Inside Customer Service
SEPTEMBER 30, 2021
Many trainers are familiar with the acronym KSA. It stands for the three things that training can develop: Knowledge Skills Abilities Training can help improve performance if someone lacks one of those three things.
Inside Customer Service
AUGUST 26, 2021
Advanced techniques are one of the top requests I receive as a customer service trainer. Many people feel the basics are, well, too basic. If that's you, I have five advanced techniques to share. But first, a word from our sponsor: basic skills. The basic skills never go out of style.
Inside Customer Service
SEPTEMBER 23, 2021
Advertising disclosure: This blog participates in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites. You don't need to be convinced that customer loyalty is important.
Speaker: Liz Love, Chief Commercial Officer at ProdPad
Join Liz Love, Chief Commercial Officer at ProdPad as she details how product feedback can improve your product development process while mitigating stakeholder conflict, constant feature requests, failed launches, unexpected outcomes, unhappy users, and complexity.
Inside Customer Service
SEPTEMBER 2, 2021
How long does it take to create a merchandise display? This is an important question for a retailer with thousands of stores. Each week, stores received instructions to create new merchandise displays along with the estimated time they took to build. Staffing decisions were centralized.
Inside Customer Service
JULY 15, 2021
Note: The following is an excerpt from Chapter 7 of The Guaranteed Customer Experience. Daniel Pascoe has never owned a car. That might seem inconceivable to many people, but a car isn't necessary if you live in a city that has reliable public transportation—like Portland, Oregon.
Inside Customer Service
AUGUST 12, 2021
Advertising disclosure: This blog participates in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. "We We have totally lost control."
Inside Customer Service
AUGUST 5, 2021
"You shouldn't have to experience this." The words just blurted out of my mouth. A customer had called, upset about receiving the wrong item. I saw past their anger and empathized with the inconvenience it was causing them. I'm really sorry about the mistake. We need to do better.
Speaker: Hannah Chaplin, Director, Product Marketing at Pendo and Esther Edel, Product Operations Analyst at Pendo
Join Mobile expert Hannah Chaplin as she shares best practices and real examples to help you improve your mobile apps with in-app guides.
Inside Customer Service
APRIL 22, 2021
Customer service managers write a lot of procedures. The big challenge is getting employees to follow them. Employees forget. They get confused. Sometimes, they just don't wanna. This creates consequences. Customer experience becomes inconsistent. Service quality erodes.
Inside Customer Service
JULY 29, 2021
Early in my career, I lucked into a solution to a challenging project. My department was asked to create a training program to help contact center agents pitch the company credit card to customers who called in to place an order from our catalog.
Inside Customer Service
APRIL 8, 2021
Advertising disclosure: This blog participates in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. We're working on ways to Wow our customers."
Inside Customer Service
JULY 22, 2021
The boarded up windows were a bad sign. This isn't the way a guest wants to arrive at a hotel. I pulled on the lobby door, but it was locked. Is this thing even open? An employee saw me pulling on the door and let me in. The hotel was open, but undergoing renovations.
Speaker: Hannah Chaplin - Director, Product Marketing at Pendo and Dan Dalton - Director, Product Management at Pendo
This interactive session, Hannah Chaplin and Dan Dalton will share their experience of building product roadmaps that align with company goals while also ensuring that customers are truly heard.
Inside Customer Service
JUNE 10, 2021
Note: The following is an excerpt from The Guaranteed Customer Experience. You can download Chapter One to read the rest of the story about Buc-ee’s. Imagine driving cross-country on a road trip. You need gas, and you need to use the restroom. Choosing a place to stop is a big decision.
Inside Customer Service
JULY 8, 2021
What is the right amount of time to spend on training? That's the question a customer service leader recently asked me. He had contacted me with some questions about lesson plans for a training class he was running with his team.
Inside Customer Service
AUGUST 19, 2021
"We had $1 million in preventable returns last year." The executive who shared this shocking figure explained that his company had recently entered the consumer market for home improvement tools.
Inside Customer Service
JUNE 17, 2021
Employees are often confused about mission, vision, and value statements. Here are just a few of the questions I'm frequently asked: What's the difference? What are they for? Do we even need them all?
Let's personalize your content