Elevating Your Customer Experience

Shep Hyken is back at it again with another great blog about the difference between good and great, and why this is an important distinction when trying to maintain customer loyalty. As he cites, his “customer service research found that the top reason customers are most likely to come back…
VIEW FULL POST

Good Intentions

The rationale behind why businesses should offer a superior customer experience is fairly practical. Great customer service begets stronger customer loyalty, increased sales, and greater revenue. Moreover, most of us believe that we should treat others the way we would want to be treated, i.e., with respect—in the hope that…
VIEW FULL POST

Can Self-Service Fit Within Customer Service?

Self-service options have been all-the-rage for many years now, with one of its earliest manifestations appearing in the form of pay-at-the-pump gas stations. According to PetroleumServiceCompany.com, “In 1973, a station in Abilene, Texas, invented pay-at-the-pump. By 1994, about thirteen percent of convenience stores offered pay-at-the-pump. Less than a decade later…
VIEW FULL POST

The Tide of Employee Turnover

While The Great Resignation has thrust the problem of employee-turnover into the spotlight recently, it turns out that it’s not actually a new challenge. It’s been a long, long time since the norm was individuals working the breadth of their careers for one company and retiring with a pension. In…
VIEW FULL POST

Repeat Business vs Customer Loyalty

For our last dive into Shep Hyken’s ACA 2021 report, we’re going to take a closer look at rewards programs, and how they generate repeat business—and how this differs from customer loyalty. As we have in previous blogs on the ACA 2021, let’s first consider some numbers. Hyken asked his…
VIEW FULL POST

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…
VIEW FULL POST

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…
VIEW FULL POST

Mystery Shopping Under Lockdown

Amid social-distancing recommendations, stay-at-home pleas, and shelter-in-place orders, businesses everywhere are trying to find ways to remain open—even if in a limited capacity—to serve their communities and keep their staff members employed. Restaurants are closing their dining rooms but switching to pick-up and delivery, retailers are shuttering their showrooms but…
VIEW FULL POST

Workplace Harassment

Harassment is an uncomfortable subject for business owners. No one wants his or her employees—or customers, for that matter—to feel violated or objectified. Because most of us live by the golden rule, that we ought to treat others as we want to be treated, we feel a deep empathy towards…
VIEW FULL POST