The Horrors of Calling Customer Support

No one likes calling customer support. We’ve all had experiences where we waited on hold forever, been transferred multiple times, talked to support staff who didn’t understand what we needed, and on and on. Some industries are especially notorious for this, including telecoms, airlines, and financial institutions, but it’s no…
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Hire for Attitude

You might think it’s a bad time to be picky when hiring. Given factors like the so-called Great Resignation, the shrinking labor pool, and how competitive businesses have to be with one another to even attract job seekers, it’s no wonder that managers are just thrilled to receive qualified applications.…
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Preparing for Stagflation

Market volatility has certainly caught everyone’s attention recently. The Dow Jones is down over 5,000 points year-to-date, purchasing power is down over 8%, and the economy shrunk 1.4% in the first quarter. Former Chair of the Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke, as well as an alarming number of economists, are now…
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Customer Service by Example

Leading by example is one of those philosophies that most of us know and firmly believe in, even if we sometimes joke, “Do as I say, not as I do.” Concepts like taking responsibility, being a good teammate, and always giving your all, seem so much more valid when the…
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More Tips for a Customer-Centric Foundation

As we discussed last week, the most successful companies are the ones that cultivate a superior customer experience, the ones that take pride in everything they do. On its face, that idea doesn’t seem all that revelatory: after all, don’t most business owners think that keeping their customers happy is…
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Building a Customer-Centric Foundation

The most successful companies are the ones that place the customer experience above all other considerations. Yes, that even means over maximizing profits or emphasizing growth. Those customer-centric businesses understand that you need a strong foundation before you can build the rest on top of it. They understand that profits…
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Stop Wasting Your Time

When you’re in a position of leadership at your company, your time is precious. There aren’t enough hours in a day for you to handle everything yourself, and you can’t afford to shorten the day further with poor productivity. Dayshift supervisor, store manager, or business owner—or something in-between—it doesn’t matter.…
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Understanding Your Company’s Culture

Alison Doyle, writing for The Balance Careers, describes company culture as “the shared values, attributes, and characteristics of an organization.” She goes on to explain its importance by saying “workers are more likely to enjoy work when their needs and values are consistent with their employers.” After all, believing in…
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Shrinkflation

According to Wikipedia, shrinkflation “is the process of items shrinking in size or quantity, or even sometimes reformulating or reducing quality, while their prices remain the same or increase.” The term is relatively new, and is usually attributed to British economist Pippa Malmgren, who used it in a Twitter conversation…
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