Becoming Indispensable to Customers: You could fade away into obscurity and no one would notice. Now, that’s a depressing thought. People hate the idea of being dispensable: it makes one want to scarf down an entire bag of Cheetos while binge watching Toddlers & Tiaras (such a dark place). This becomes an even scarier prospect…
A Multi-Channel Approach When considering your multi-channel customer service options it’s easy to think of social media as only useful for keeping up with Aunt Bertha or staying connected to your college buddy everyone called “Keg Stand.” The thing is, social media has evolved into so much more than its initial purpose; it has swiftly…
Business Communication Facts: The modern business has a multitude of choices of tools to communicate with their customers, potential customers, and internally with their team. The list of tools ranges from traditional phone calls to live web chats or automated chatbots. But new technology requires time and money and with a small team, you don’t…
The customer service industry is bogged down with lies. From the patently false to the outrageous, it’s easy for a business owner to get lost in a sea of misinformation on providing good customer service. It’s also easy to trust those old customer service myths as gospel. The good news is that no one has…
There may be no greater miracle than getting through the holidays in one piece. Between the stress over finding just the right gifts, the events, all of the junk food (delicious, delicious junk food) and the rush to ingest it all within the span of a month – it’s a wonder we get past the…
Customer Service vs. Customer Support I’ll admit it: I am not at my best when I’m behind the wheel. If I get cut off in traffic, I immediately say something along the lines of, “(insert expletive or name calling)! Learn how to drive!” Yet a second thought always occurs after my standard reaction. While I…
You don’t have the time or money to acquire new customers. Well, that may not be true, but it is a costly undertaking to build a customer base. It also takes quite a bit of money to bring new customers in and even more money to get them to even spend a dollar. Your true…
“Have no fear of perfection – you’ll never reach it.” ― Salvador Dalí It’s hard to admit this, but we aren’t perfect. There, I said it. What business is flawless? As humans we are naturally destined to err. It’s what you do with the customer service mistakes that sets you apart from the crowd. PATLive…
Engaging in taking blame: I had a battle royale with my toddler during shower time last night. She is currently in the midst of an internal struggle between the desire to be big enough to take a shower and really hating water spraying in her face. It may not sound like a big deal to…
Growing up, getting called “easy” was an insult. The I’ll-see-you-at-the-flagpole-after-school type of an insult. But in the world of customer service, being called “easy”, or a customer-friendly business, is one of the greatest compliments a company can receive. It’s sad to say, but people expect difficulty when communicating with most companies. We have trained ourselves…