strategic customer service – Page 8

Do you hide promotions from your customers?

September 2, 2011 by Rebecca Morgan, CSP, CMC, CVP, VMP

I love my local Hobee’s restaurant chain. It has good, healthy food and great service. Today I met my friend Mitch for breakfast there. He’s frequented this Hobee’s at least once a week for 10 years.

When the cheerful server approached us, she looked at me and said, “You get a free piece of coffee cake since you’re wearing a Hawaiian shirt!”

“How great,” I responded, as I love their coffee cake. “I had no idea you were running a Hawaiian shirt promo.”

“It’s only on Fridays in the summer,” she explained. “We all wear Hawaiian shirts on summer Fridays so we give our guests a coffee cake if they join us.”

I asked Mitch, “How come you’re not wearing a Hawaiian shirt?”

Terrific Tami

August 27, 2011 by Rebecca Morgan, CSP, CMC, CVP, VMP

Most surgical waiting rooms I’ve visited have been trash strewn purgatories where anxiety-laden loved ones await news of patients’ surgical outcomes.

“Grow a pair”

August 19, 2011 by Rebecca Morgan, CSP, CMC, CVP, VMP

A male long-time colleague told me this in response to my complaint about another male colleague who kept interrupting me in meetings and hijacking the conversation.

Give your staff your opportunity to shine

August 21, 2011August 5, 2011 by Rebecca Morgan, CSP, CMC, CVP, VMP

I’ve worked for bosses who took every chance to be the star of the show, including taking credit for my accomplishments. I’ve also served under a rare few who stepped aside to give me the spotlight when they could have rightfully taken it for themselves.

Recently I had the latter. While it might seem like a small experience, it meant more to me than I would have thought.

Is your staff’s ignorance hurting your sales?

July 4, 2011June 4, 2011 by Rebecca Morgan, CSP, CMC, CVP, VMP

I love that California restaurant chains now list their dishes’ nutritional information. It helps me make better choices.

However, I’ve discovered that some restaurant staff prefer to not become even minimally familiar with the information. It made me wonder if there are other industries where staff’s purposeful ignorance is costing them sales.

“You are being rude!”

May 11, 2011May 11, 2011 by Rebecca Morgan, CSP, CMC, CVP, VMP

I was told this the other day after a tense conversation with a rep who made allegations about my actions that weren’t true and kept interrupting me. I thought I was being logical, persistent and not letting her state things that were untrue. She thought I was being rude.

Can customers be rude?

Absolutely.

Can customer service providers be rude?

Of course.

Is it ever acceptable for a provider to tell a customer s/he is rude?