How to Survive Short Staffing

According to the National Federation of Independent Business’s October 2021 Report, nearly half of business owners report that they have job openings that they cannot fill. According to NFIB Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg, “Small business owners are attempting to take advantage of current economic growth but remain pessimistic about business…
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What Does a Leader Really Do?

When we think about the importance of designing a great customer experience, it’s easy to get hyper-focused on the frontline staff. This makes sense because these employees are the ones with whom the customers will be interacting the most, whether they are the servers at restaurants, cashiers at retail stores,…
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Hospitality is King

For this week’s blog, let’s take a look at Danny Meyer’s outlook on the art of hospitality. Meyer is the CEO of Union Square Hospitality Group, which oversees the Gramercy Tavern in New York City, which in turn is a restaurant that is often voted #1 in any given year…
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Positive vs Negative Reviews

This week’s topic covers part five of Shep Hyken’s ACA 2021 report, which is all about how customers rate and review their experiences at different businesses. We all know that word-of-mouth is critical to maintaining a good reputation and driving referrals, but what do the numbers actually say? The first…
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The Human Touch

The next part of Shep Hyken’s Achieving Customer Amazement 2021 report deals with customers’ preferences regarding self-service and human-to-human options. Specifically, Hyken asked, “When you have a problem or issue with a company or brand, which solution do you prefer to help solve your problem?” According to the report, “41%…
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The Communication Age-Gap

The next part in Shep Hyken’s Achieving Customer Amazement 2021 document covers Communication Preferences, as ranked by the four different generations Hyken surveyed: Gen-Z, Millennials, Gen-X, and Boomers. As with the previous sections in his report, there are several noteworthy differences—but also plenty of common ground—when it comes to each…
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The Value of Customer Service

Returning to Shep Hyken’s Achieving Customer Amazement 2021 report this week, let’s take a look at how much consumers value quality customer service. To begin, let’s consider this number: a 52% majority of people reported that they were willing to pay more if it meant they would receive a higher…
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How Employees Impact the Customer Experience

Shep Hyken’s Achieving Customer Amazement 2021 report is out now, and one of the breakdowns he gives are the elements that add up to a great overall experience. His research uncovered that the following customer-service elements are either important or very important: employee knowledge, employee kindness and helpfulness, ability to…
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Incentivizing Great Mystery Shop Scores

Mystery shopping’s most important function is to serve as a training tool. That’s not the only function, of course: mystery shops are important for monitoring how effective your merchandising is or whether customers are enjoying or even understanding your product options, among other uses. But training should be its primary…
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