How to get exemplary service

by Rebecca Morgan, CSP, CMC on April 18, 2013

My South African friends kept complaining about how bad service is in their country. They shared several examples to which I said, “I’ve had similar experiences in various countries. But I’ve also had stellar service here and in other places.”

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Simple gestures can make a customer go “wow”

by Rebecca Morgan, CSP, CMC on April 18, 2013

In Cape Town, the Stonehurst Guest House provides simple, clean lodging in a lovely Victorian home with a central courtyard. The owner, Jan, is a kind artist who has run the inn for 30 years. Dan, the manager, and Maureen, the housekeeper, are friendly and accommodating. I chatted with each during my 3-day stay and found them friendly and helpful.

But it was something Jan did that made me go “Wow!”

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What’s your annoying communication habit?

by Rebecca Morgan, CSP, CMC on April 1, 2013

After a day in Cambodia, my American travel companions and I found ourselves modifying our language when speaking to those with limited English skills. We’d traveled abroad enough to know to speak slowly, enunciate every syllable, avoid contractions, use simple words and basic sentence structure. But in our quest for clear communication, we soon matched the syntax of the local shopkeepers we encountered.

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The Honesty Continuum

by Rebecca Morgan, CSP, CMC on March 28, 2013

Since you were a tyke, you’ve oft heard the adage, “Honesty is the best policy.”

  • But then your best friend got mad after you told her the boy she had a crush on told you he didn’t like her.
  • You lost your first boyfriend after you told him he had bad breath.
  • You ended up in the principal’s office after telling your chemistry teacher he didn’t explain the experiment well, thus your blowing up the beaker.
  • You were shunned at work when you told your coworker she’d never get promoted since she kept messing up in her job.
  • You got fired because you told your boss his idea of not answering the phones so everyone could get more done would lose customers.

So, is honesty really the best policy?

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The obliviousness epidemic

by Rebecca Morgan, CSP, CMC on March 20, 2013

It’s everywhere. You’ve seen it day in and day out.

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Don’t irritate your customers

March 10, 2013

Wouldn’t it be great if every customer was ecstatically happy with you all the time? Imagine how easy your job would be — you’d merrily go about your business serving additional customers, selling more, and creating win/win solutions. Unfortunately, that scenario can only be seen in fairy tales. We who live in the real world [...]

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Don’t focus on reaching your goals

March 8, 2013

Traditional advice is to set stretch goals, a tad beyond what you believe you can achieve, then celebrate when you’ve achieved them.

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Interview on presentation

February 1, 2013

Here’s a short (7-minute) video interview of me from the Peryon HR Conference in Istanbul discussing some key points from my presentation, “The Power of Our Words.”

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Is your IT department costing you money and customers?

January 23, 2013

I set up a new account at my bank, which meant I needed to create a new online user name, password, etc. The setup email said to put a “9″ in front of my tax ID number on the online banking screen. I did. The system would not let me proceed. Frustrated, I called customer [...]

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How well do you anticipate your customers’ needs?

December 20, 2012

One of the hallmarks of a great customer service rep is someone who knows his/her customers so well, s/he can understand what the customer may need, often before the customer does. This is not an easily taught skill. I learned some of what it took from various jobs.

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