Is Now Really a Good Time to Mystery Shop?

Unless you’ve just returned from a sabbatical in the Alaskan interior, you’ve probably noticed that these are unusually intense times we’re living in: the headline of every newspaper and the highlight of every cable news segment is singularly focused on just how perilous it is to even go outside. Hyperbole…
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The Attitude of Indifference

There’s no getting around the fact that December is a tough time for employees. On the one hand, increased sales are a critical boon for business, but on the other, there’s seemingly no end to the stress and frenetic pace of the holiday season. But the people working in the…
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A Service-First Sales Culture

According to a Gallup poll, as quoted in Shep Hyken’s article, “Five Ways Salespeople Can Contribute To A Great Experience,” salespeople are the lowest ranked profession outside of members of Congress. That there’s such a large negative sentiment to overcome for successful sales is a bitter pill to swallow. As…
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Delivering the Best Customer Experience

Delivering the Best Customer Experience Shep Hyken recently posted another invaluable article recently, “20 Tips on How to Deliver an Amazing Customer Service Experience”. Let’s do a deep dive on a few of his points to really reinforce the importance of emphasizing customer service above all else, even before the…
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Commandment No. 10 – Thou Shalt Practice the CANEI Principle

We have finally arrived at the tenth entry on Shep Hyken’s Forbes article, The Ten Commandments of Superior Customer Service, titled “Thou Shalt Practice the CANEI Principle”. What does CANEI mean? As Hyken explains, “CANEI is Dr. Edward Deming’s concept that stands for Constant and Never Ending Improvement. It is…
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Commandment No. 9 – Thou Shalt Lighten the Lines

The penultimate entry on Shep Hyken’s Forbes article, The Ten Commandments of Superior Customer Service, is “Thou Shalt Lighten the Lines.” Hyken begins by observing that no one likes waiting in line. He goes on to explain “the word ‘line’ is a metaphor for making the customer wait unnecessarily for…
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Commandment No. 7 – Do What Is Necessary, Not What Is Comfortable

Commandment No. 7 from Shep Hyken’s Forbes article, The Ten Commandments of Superior Customer Service, is “Do What Is Necessary, Not What Is Comfortable”. Succinctly, Hyken puts it, “If you are focused on your customer, you will do what’s right and necessary, not what’s easy.” So how does one know…
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Commandment No. 6 – Thou Shalt Anticipate

“Thou Shalt Anticipate” is commandment number six found in Shep Hyken’s Forbes article, The Ten Commandments of Superior Customer Service. Anticipation requires some measure of assumption, which is a risky proposition according to the old saying, “when you assume, you make an…”—well, you know the rest. But being prepared is…
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Commandment No. 5 – Thou Shalt Be Willing to Apologize Quickly

The next commandment laid out in Shep Hyken’s Forbes article, The Ten Commandments of Superior Customer Service, “Thou Shalt Be Willing to Apologize Quickly”. We all hate being wrong, especially when it means we’re not just incorrect but that we’ve actually aggrieved someone else. In the context of business, this…
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