Category Archives: Customer Service

Employee development – Day One – Discretionary skills

Posted on December 5, 2013 by mcgntr

DAY ONE I tell my college students that whatever their level of skills may be is okay by me. My role is to help them: identify and build on their strengths, improve their thinking skills, and gain confidence in their … Continue reading →

Posted in Customer Service, Employee Performance, Human Resources, Management Skills, Training & Development | Tagged 5 minute coaching, college students, Customer Service Experience, Employee Development, employees, Engaging Employees, Improve employee performance, Managers create attitudes | Leave a comment

Oh those First Impressions!

Posted on June 12, 2013 by mcgntr

BUSINESS IMPRESSIONS When you attend a training conference, or go to a Chamber of Commerce meeting, or join a business discussion group – you expect your colleagues to act and look “businesslike” and professional. The conference attendees may be from … Continue reading →

Posted in Business Writing, Customer Service, Training & Development | Tagged Business Writing, Create image in writing well, First Impressions, Making lasting impression, Opening like a handshake, Professional writing, Writing the opening line | Leave a comment

Business Decisions are Rooted in Values

Posted on March 30, 2013 by mcgntr

You may not agree with the Fortune editors’ selections on The Greatest Business Decisions of All Time (Title of their 2012 book ) but you will certainly find the proverbial food for thought. What struck me, as I read the stories, … Continue reading →

Posted in Customer Service, Human Resources, Life Reflection, Management Skills | Tagged Best business decisions, Decision-making, Ethics in business, Ethics over profits, Forbes success stories, GE Crotonville leadership training, Innovative decisions, Jack Welch's Crotonville, Johnson and Johnson Risk taking, Leadership decision-making, Leadership transformation, The Greatest Business Decisions, Tylenol recall | Leave a comment

Collaborating – The Ben & Jerry’s Way

Posted on March 19, 2013 by mcgntr

Who but Ben & Jerry’s — that hippie ice cream maker in Northern Vermont — would bus sixteen customers to their manufacturing plant to show these customers how they fixed their complaints. BUT, that was not enough. The plant managers … Continue reading →

Posted in Collaboration, Customer Service | Tagged Ben & Jerry's Respond to customers, Changing Customer Service, Collaborating with Customers, Collaborative Culture, Creating Collaborative workplace, Customer Service Experience, Engaging Customers, Engaging Employees, Management Collaboration, Open customer service culture | Leave a comment

Collaborating with Customers

Posted on October 29, 2012 by mcgntr

Today’s Customers: Trained to Collaborate! The Do-it-yourself ness of the Digital Age, where customers enter their info, choose services, and pay on the spot, has changed customers’ self perceptions! It affirms the belief that their needs and viewpoints are critical … Continue reading →

Posted in Collaboration, Customer Service, Management Skills | Tagged Collaborating with Customers, Customer Collaboration, Listening to Customers, Responding to Customers, Services Customers Want | Leave a comment

Stop the Noise & Listen to Me

Posted on August 17, 2012 by mcgntr

As I wait for the final edit approvals for my book The Moment of Goof – Customer Service in the Digital Age, it dawned on me that in the end what customers everywhere were really saying was “Listen to Me.” … Continue reading →

Posted in Customer Service | Tagged A customer is not, Customer listening, Service customer wants | Leave a comment

The Mistake of Being Nice

Posted on August 10, 2012 by mcgntr

Ask a service person “What is the most important aspect of the job? You will hear: “Be nice to my customers.” In my customer service training sessions, my participants share frustrations when ‘being nice’ didn’t work. Nice did not … Continue reading →

Posted in Customer Service, Employee Performance, Training & Development | Tagged Changing employee service behavior, Confidence and the customer, Customer Service is not nice, Mistakes in being nice, New definition for nice service, No more being nice | Leave a comment

On Attitude Erosion

Posted on August 6, 2012 by mcgntr

If you use the “Hire for Attitude, Train for Skill” approach touted by Southwest Airlines, you may expect that your new employees will continue to display those great open attitudes far beyond the three month introductory period. “Great” attitudes, like … Continue reading →

Posted in Customer Service, Employee Performance, Management Skills | Tagged Bad attitude causes, Chance impact on Attitude, Changing Attitudes, Managers create attitudes, Stop attitude erosion | Leave a comment

On Losing Empathy

Posted on July 19, 2012 by mcgntr

As the medical field has expanded, so has the awareness that professional stoicism is a mistaken virtue. Patients often complain that doctors and nurses lack empathy and treat the disease, but not the patient. The reality is that doctors and … Continue reading →

Posted in Customer Service, Employee Performance, Human Resources | Tagged Customer Service Stress, empathy, Empathy forums, Stress build up, Working with the Public | 2 Comments