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Use the Power of Service Generosity

Use the Power of Service Generosity

Andrea Cassell is an award-winning author of children's books featuring her dog, Kibby, a miniature labradoodle that teaches life lessons. When Kibby died of cancer, the family had to cancel their long-planned holiday trip. The Delta Airlines contact center operator...

Fire That Customer!

Fire That Customer!

I was seated at a restaurant table across from a customer who had been extremely rude and loud to his waitress his entire meal. His coffee was too cold, his chicken too salty, the room was too hot, and the waitress was not quick enough. It was darkly staining the...

Take Your Customers on a Walk on the Wild Side

Take Your Customers on a Walk on the Wild Side

The waiter handed us a breakfast menu with the announcement: “The buffet is a much better value than a la carte.” But when he saw my nonplused reception he added, “...but none of our local flavors are on the buffet.” So, what did his announcement really mean? He meant...

Would Your Customers Label You a Daredevil?

Would Your Customers Label You a Daredevil?

This is my 80-year-old late father on a Go-Kart? “I wanted to show my grandchildren I could be a daredevil,” he explained. It was his label for being unexpectedly adventurous through risk-taking. And risk-taking is the foundation of customer trust. We all live our...

Are You Taking Care of Service Air?

Are You Taking Care of Service Air?

Much of my career has been devoted to promoting a great customer experience. It differentiates organizations from their competition since it is crafted around an emotional connection, not just a functional outcome. If the airline flight lands on time in the right...

Give Your Customers a “Dashboard Special”

Give Your Customers a “Dashboard Special”

Charles Holland worked the soda shop fountain at the Longhorn Restaurant when I was in high school. He called it his dashboard—you know the one at a soda shop all the different flavors you could put in a soda—cherry, strawberry, chocolate, vanilla… He was about to...

Add Sprinkles to Your Customers’ Experiences

Add Sprinkles to Your Customers’ Experiences

“I figured if I was going to make the world a better place, I’d do it with cookies,” said Stranger Than Fiction character Ana Pascal. It is a powerful concept for innovative service. “Sprinkles” is code for any heartstring-plucking surprise that takes service from...

Stop Institutionalizing Customer Deception

Stop Institutionalizing Customer Deception

Last week I stopped mid-morning at a local fast-food restaurant and ordered a breakfast burrito to-go. There was no one behind me in the drive-thru lane since it was 10:30 am. The lovely person asked if I would pull across the lot and park; someone would bring out my...

Are Your Promises to Customers Treated as Sacred?

Are Your Promises to Customers Treated as Sacred?

Mescal is a unique adult beverage I occasionally enjoy. Mescal is in the same beverage family as tequila, but it is made with different types of agave plants; tequila is made only with blue agave plants from the state of Jalisco, Mexico. The tradename of my favorite...

Are You Delivering “Grandmother Service”

Are You Delivering “Grandmother Service”

A giant cookie bowl shaped like a bright-colored clown sat on a shelf in my grandmother's kitchen. It was never empty. It seemed to be always grand kid ready. She kept an extra kids pajamas in her bottom right dresser drawer just in case a grandchild elected to spend...

Avoiding “The Goat Man” Syndrome

Avoiding “The Goat Man” Syndrome

When I was a young boy growing up in rural Georgia, the Goat Man was a real legend. He traveled all over the country with a large herd of goats pulling a dilapidated old wagon. I saw him twice over a dozen years. You could smell him coming long before you saw him. His...

Do Your Customer Experiences Feature Unicorns?

Do Your Customer Experiences Feature Unicorns?

“I write children’s books because there are no unicorns in adult literature, and today’s world needs unicorns.” The quote came from renowned children’s book author Jackson Pearce at a weekend Writers Retreat sponsored by Georgia Writers Museum. The sentiment could be...

Make the First Time a Charm

Make the First Time a Charm

Your mother advised, “You don’t get a second chance to make a good first impression.” Correct or incorrect, your customers’ first encounters with you and your organization teach them what to expect as well as whether to return. That first look shapes their...

Power of Remembering

Power of Remembering

This weekend was a time of remembering. My wife and I visited the National Infantry Museum in Columbus, GA. The magnificent museum traces the history of the U.S. infantry through realistic exhibits, amazing sound effects, with colorful displays and graphic movies. It...

Are You Creating a Strong Service Ethic

Are You Creating a Strong Service Ethic

The concept of “ethic” is a philosophy or perspective that is so deeply embedded it shapes what a person considers “right” or “wrong.” We speak of a work ethic as an outlook that drives initiative and ambition. Soldiers may not enter military service with a patriotic...