Make It Great! with Phil Gerbyshak

Customer Service Quotes

In honor of Customer Service Week, and because I’m doing a few speeches on customer service, I asked my LinkedIn network for their best customer service quote, and WOW, did they deliver.

Here are a ton of great customer service quotes to read and to share.

Please leave YOUR best customer service quote in the comments section so we can inspire each other!

Patrick Allmond:
"You have two ears, two eyes and one mouth. Use them in that proportion"

Peter Morrissey:
"Customers are my only source of revenue to assist me with my goals of the next five years....."

Drew McLellan:
"The consumer isn't a moron; she is your wife." - David Ogilvy

Larry Waters:
"Customers are the one who generate your paycheck every week" and
"Forget the Golden Rule when it comes to customers: use the Platinum rule: Treat your customers the way you would treat your mother."

Douglas Hanna: (http://serviceuntitled.com)
”When I think about customer service it's usually because I'm not getting enough of it.” - Jane Berentson, Editor of Inc. Magazine

“Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts.” - Albert Einstein (I use this when discussing metrics)

“Do what you do so well that they will want to see it again and bring their friends.” - Walt Disney

“The road to success is paved with well handled mistakes.” - Neiman Marcus

Raffaele Ciarla:
"IF YOU DON'T TAKE CARE OF THE CUSTOMER SOMEONE ELSE WILL!"

Adam Segal:
"Customer success is in, satisfaction is out."

Jeffrey Brooks:
"If you can't do the right thing, the customer will eventually realize that the best customer service is somewhere else!"

Panos Levantis:
"We offer a fair day's work fo a fair day's pay.”
“Quality does not come cheap.”
”You get what you pay for."

Cher Lon Malik:
"I know that I always instructed my representatives to remove the "You have to" reminding them that no one HAS TO do anything, the client has chosen our service and if the rep would use the phrase " If you will... then we can" softens the situation everytime. Customers are more receipient."

Toby Bloomberg:
"Under promise and over deliver."

Tim Tymchyshyn:
"What is it doing, not doing, won't do, can't do or has never done before"

Debra Estep:
"'There is far more involved in the relationship with customers than just providing good products and services. It is a question of personal identification.'
Mark Moody-Stuart

“Above all, we wish to avoid having a dissatisfied customer. We consider our customers a part of our organization.” - L.L. Bean

“Profit in business comes from repeat customers; customers that boast about your product and service, and that bring friends with them.” - W. Edwards Deming

My bro Dave has just made a post recently about a local grocery store...
http://www.daverothacker.com/rothacker_reviews/2008/08/publix-lessons.html

From that post this was listed:

“Respect the Dignity of the Individual.”

"If you want people to respect you or your company, you must first show respect for them," George Jenkins."

Damon Richards:
"Your customer doesn't care how much you know until they know how much you care."

Peggy Ireland:
"Forget the boss, suck up to the customers and the boss will put up with dammed near anything!" - Peggy's dad

Clarise Thompson:
"Customers expect it - We deliver it!"

William Gregory Blake:
"The customer is always right." - Peter Drucker

Qualifier: Or at least make them think so. --mine

Erika Andersen:
"Quality in a service or product is not what you put into it. It is what the client or customer gets out of it." - Peter Drucker

"Everybody makes mistakes. It's what happens next that matters."  - Danny Meyer

Rita Radocchia:
"If we don't take care of our customers, someone else will."

Yoel Calek:
"Customers  not products  = Money

“Customers are (your) everything.”

“Eyes open, mouth shut, ears clean and smile... Customer in the house!"

Yvonne DiVita:
"I use a good Lee Thayer quote: "Take your eye off the bottom line." If you're taking proper care of your customers, it stands to reason your bottom line will be strong and prosperous.

Links:
http://leethayer.typepad.com/leadersjourney/2007/10/mp3-file.html"

Derek Bough:
"Price, Speed, Quality? Pick Two.”

On the surface sounds a little tongue-in-cheek; however, there's a lot beneath the surface. For my business, I choose prompt, high-quality service. Oftentimes focusing on price is the worst possible thing for the customer."

Eddie Topfik:
"http://www.despair.com/ap24x30prin.html"

Dana Robb:
"Do what you say you're going to do, and return phone calls" - Terrie Williams

Michael Fisher:
"A complaint is a gift."

Donna Robinson:
"Customers are not an interruption to our work, they are the purpose of our work."

Randi Busse:
"A satisfied customer is a former customer waiting to happen."

Chirag Manocha:
"Customers is the blood in business.
Lose a little bit also gives the pain."

Reg Adkins:
"My favorite customer service quote comes from an unlikely source. When I was in the army I worked in ordinance (bombs, bullets, etc). We took great pride in the fact that our ammunition arrived at the line, accurately and quickly. Our (the 261 Ord Btn) quote was, "ON LINE, ON TIME"

Kare Anderson:
"<client's name> it's so good to see you again!"

Nigel Sanders:
"Every client you keep, is one less that you need to find."

Tracy Gingrass:
"...the long-term benefits of reputation, customer loyalty, and delighting the customer make a lot more fiscal sense than cutting corners to save a few short-term dollars."- Steven Williams, from Survival is Not Mandatory"

Allan Keller:
"It's easier to keep a customer than get a new one."

Nick McCormick:
"Coffee stains on the flip tray suggest to the customer that we do not service our engines properly."  - Jan Carlzon

Tom Bruno-Magdich
"A customer’s problems, complaints and anxieties are my opportunities."

Michael Capaldo:
"Make sure that your actions make your customers feel as if they've just been to Disneyland as they leave your office, rather than that they've been to the dentist."

Happy Customer Service Week!

This week is Customer Service Week, and I have 2 presentations I’ll be doing this week; one in person at Weber State University in Ogden, Utah (where I’m writing this post at the downtown Ogden Marriot) and for HDI via webinar (which you can sign up for free at HDI’s website. I hope you can join me in the webinar (already 1000 signed up for this week’s webinar series) at 12 noon central.

Here’s the schedule for the week:

Monday, October 6th - Brandon Caudle - "Customer Service Villains" – Battling the enemies of Exceptional Customer Service
Tuesday, October 7th - Pete McGarahan - "One for All, and All for One" – The Power of a Team!
Wednesday, October 8th - Bren Boddy-Thomas - “Changing your Clark Kent Help Desk into a Superman TEAM!”
Thursday, October 9th - Kirk Weisler – “Finding Your Green Lantern”
Friday, October 10th - Phil Gerbyshak - “Superhero U: Unleashing Your Inner Customer Service Super Hero”

If you’d like me to come to your organization to share the customer service message, send me an email and let’s get it booked for 2009.

Learning from the Celebrity Experience Expert

Today I am delighted to bring you Donna Cutting, author of The Celebrity Experience, and someone I am pleased to call my friend! As she’s on a whirlwind blog book tour, I only had time to slow her down for 5 questions about her book and how managers can implement red carpet customer service!

 

 

 

 

 

Phil: What is red carpet customer service?

 

Donna: Red-Carpet Customer Service is demonstrated when a service professional has mastered the basics of service, adds the “and then some” and customers walk away feeling as though they’ve been treated like Hollywood celebrities.

 

 

Phil: Why is red carpet customer service so important?

 

Donna: From a business standpoint, there is no better way to differentiate your company in a competitive marketplace than by providing an exceptional customer experience. In today’s world, people are used to receiving poor customer service and they talk about it – with their friends, on blogs, on social networking sites. You can give them something else to talk about – an experience that is so uniquely positive, they can’t wait to come back and bring friends. Every company featured in The Celebrity Experience because of their extraordinary service has seen real bottom-line results because of their efforts.

 

 

Phil: What is 1 simple and inexpensive way companies can institute a "red carpet customer service policy?"

 

Donna: You can start by combing through the experience your customer has with you from start to finish, and eliminating any of the negatives from the process. For instance, John Wood, CEO of Hub Plumbing and Mechanical, Inc. in Boston, MA knew that his customers were worried about inviting strangers in their home and disliked getting voice mail. He developed a strict nametag and uniform policy, and sends each customer an email that includes a photo of their plumber so they know who to expect when they open the door. He also hired people for 24 hours a day to answer his telephone so customers always hear a live person on the other end. He eliminated the negatives with those simple changes and immediately differentiated himself from other plumbers in his area.

 

Phil: What's your favorite personal example of red carpet customer experience?

 

 

Donna: My husband and I recently stayed at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center. This is a hotel which is included in my book and I am not surprised when their employees (or STARS, as they are called), who know me as the author of The Celebrity Experience, give me extraordinary service. They have been told to take excellent care of me and my guests, and they do.

 

However, one morning my husband and I went down to a little shop in the resort to look for coffee we could brew in our room. The woman in the shop did not know me or my husband from Adam.

 

Jim, my husband, asked if they sold coffee. They didn’t and the woman asked him, “didn’t you get coffee in your room?” “Yes,” Jim said, “but I drink a LOT of coffee.” We all laughed.

 

Without a word, the woman picked up the phone. When she hung up, she told my husband, “It’s all taken care of.” We got back to our room later that day to find no less than 20 packets of coffee sitting on the counter! To top it off, without our asking, the coffee was replenished daily. Now there’s an employee who’s been empowered to give her customers red-carpet service!

 

Phil: What is one thing managers can do to inspire greater red carpet customer service in their employees?

 

Donna: Treat your employees as you want them to treat your customers and reward them in tangible and intangible ways every time they “Make It Great” for a customer.

 

Thanks Donna for stopping by and helping me Make It Great!

 

This interview has been a part of Donna Cutting’s Blog Tour.

 

Yesterday, the blog tour stopped at these blogs

 

   
• Andrea Nierenberg's blog
   
• Dr. Sally Witt will conduct a book review on her blog.

 

Today, you can also read about the book at:

 

   
• Betty Lynch / My Country Kitchen
   
• Becky Wyatt / Becky Wyatt Online

 

And tomorrow the blog tour continues:      

 

   
• Wendy Piersall / CEO of Sparkplugging, will be hosting a guest blog by Donna about how to be a A-list customer.
   
• Heidi Richards/founder of WECAI and Virtual Women's Blog
   
• Carol Deckert will be interviewing Donna LIVE at 7pm on her Ladies In Business Today

 

Buy The Celebrity Experience to get your own copy of Donna’s book.

Great Customer Service from Hertz

I just traveled to the beautiful city of Kansas City where people are the friendliest of anywhere I've ever been in my life. Wow! From the smiling lady who checked in my bags at the airport, to the folks at Starbucks who sold me a cup of coffee fast, to my friends at Heartland HDI who made me feel right at home (especially Howard, who will be getting an article all about him soon), to the folks at the TSA who got me through security in 90 seconds, to anyone else I encountered. WOW!

I want to call attention to two folks from Hertz who took extra special care of me. They were both too concerned with helping me that they didn't give me their names, but they were GREAT and are to be commended.

I spoke in Overland Park, Kansas until 4:00 PM, with a 5:45 PM flight out of Kansas City International airport, typically a 30 minute trip. I only had 1 page to check, so I should have had plenty of time to do what I needed to do. Except the directions the GPS was saying conflicted completely with the printed directions I had made before my trip, so I got lost. BADLY.

I spent 25 minutes driving in one direction, only to be scolded by the GPS that I was going in the wrong direction. I've never been to KC before, so I trusted the GPS was right.

The GPS got me to Hertz at exactly 4:55 PM. I not-so-patiently waited while a nice man came up, checked out my car, and asked me how my stay was. I gently asked "Any chance of me making my flight at 5:45?" fully expecting him to say "No way."

Instead of answering me, he called another Hertz employee over, gave him the keys to the rental car I had just returned and paid for, and had him deliver me directly to my gate AND help me with my bag AND make it to the airport by 5:05 PM without speeding. WOW!

Hertz went the extra mile for me, and for that, they now have a loyal customer who will tell EVERYONE about these 2 great associates and my great experience. If anyone is traveling through Kansas City International, I highly recommend the GREAT customer service Hertz offers.

Photo credit to Josh Bancroft

Meatball Sundae: Downloadable MP3 and Transcript

As promised, here's the transcript of the  Seth Godin Phil Gerbyshak Teleseminar in PDF and also, the downloadable MP3 file so you can listen offline.

For your listening pleasure, I also left the player here, so you can still listen to it in your browser if you prefer.

I hope you enjoy it!


MP3 File

Question for you the reading/listening/viewing audience: Should I do this again? Who would you like to see interviewed? I've got some ideas, but I'd LOVE to hear your thoughts on how we can make it great in 2008!

Texting for Pizza: Another way to disappoint your customers

AnnaMaria Turano shared a very interesting article about Papa John’s Delivers via text message, to allow customers to text in their orders.

Great news, right? Faster orders mean happier customers, right?

Well...this is a super cool advancement for leveraging a new technology.

Unfortunately it's the wrong company trying to execute it. Until Papa John's can get their online ordering system right, I can't recommend ordering from them in any way, shape, or form.

Get this: If you order with Papa John's online, the folks in the stores don't have the authority to refund your money if you pay by credit card, and can't even offer you a gift card if they hose up your order, for fear of "shorting their till."

This is a case of Papa John's trying to run before it walks. I hope they get this right, so other pizza places can leverage this cool technology. Unfortunately when you're dealing with Papa John's, if they screw up, they'll never make it right.

Remember my Valentine's Day pizza horror story? Almost 10 months later, and after several attempts to contact their corporate headquarters INCLUDING twice through their online submission form, I still can't get no satisfaction from the folks at PJ.

Better technology, failed execution. That's Papa John's!

Customer Service Quotes for Customer Service Week: Twofer Tuesday

"If you make customers unhappy in the physical world, they might each tell 6 friends. If you make customers unhappy on the Internet, they can each tell 6,000 friends." - Jeff Bezos

"Customers don’t expect you to be perfect. They do expect you to fix things when they go wrong." Donald Porter

What are you doing to make your customers happy?

If When you make a mistake, do you immediately fix it, or do you hide behind "policy" or (worse) blame it on the customer?

Happy Customer Service Week 2007!

Customer Service Week Webinars: Sign up today

Did you know October 1st through the 5th is Customer Service Week? It's a time you can celebrate all the great folks that give you customer service throughout the year.

As part of the Customer Service Week, I'm doing a webinar. In fact, there is a series of great webinars to sign  up for at http://www.thinkhdi.com/csweek. I expect it'll be a lot of fun, and this year, I'm doing a webinar on The Million Dollar Pizza: How One Bad Experience Can Cost Your Company (or Your Help Desk) a Million Dollars or More!

Of course, when you do a high profile webinar like this, you have to film a promotional video so folks know you're serious and that you mean business.

If you're on site, watch the video right here via YouTube.

Reading via RSS or e-mail? Click here to view my promotional video, an interview with Hudson from Rib Riot, or check out the rest of the rock stars here. One note: You do have to a member of HDI to sign up for the webinars, but the promotional videos are free and fun!

What's Phil Up to? Shameless Self Promotion

Just wanted to share a few of the things I've been working on lately in case you're curious what I'm up to.

First things first, I wanted to share something coming up:
I'll be on Blog Talk Radio with Wayne Hurlbert on August 2nd at 7:00 PM. You can tune in live on the Internet, or call into (347) 996-5832 to ask me questions about my secrets for building strong client bonds online and offline.

Next up is Customer Service Please and Thank You, a little article I guest-wrote over at Customers are Always for Maria Palma.



Get back to your basics - 7 Steps to Reconnect with an old friend (in 30 minutes or less) - An article I wrote for Jesse Petersen's series

Improve the customer service level of your help desk (or anywhere in your company, I just happened to focus on Help Desk) -  I did a fun teleforum for ILTA (International Legal Technology Association) all about what I do during the day and how you can have more fun in the workplace as a manager. All you have to do is put in your name, and you can view (and listen to) the teleforum free of charge.

Hospitality: It feels like home - I wrote an article over at Talking Story for the July Ho'okipa about the Hospitality of Complete Giving.

Choices: The topic of the month at 100 Bloggers, not articles just written by me, but articles that inspire me to think about choices.

Don't work with a jerk! and 5 Ways to Show Your Team You Care - I wrote two management article I wrote over at Slacker Manager.

Customer Service MAGIC: You can make the MAGIC happen!

I love GREAT customer service. I had some today at Louise's Trattoria in downtown Milwaukee for lunch today. The only thing that would have made it better would have been if the waiter had told me his name. Otherwise, he was outstanding!

Recently I received a review copy of How to Talk to Customers: Create a Great Impression Every Time with MAGIC by Diane Berenbaum and Tom Larkin, an excellent read for customer service experts, and want to be experts.

MAGIC means Make A Great Impression on the Customer, which I think is cute. I'm an acronym guy, so this was easy for me to remember.

So how do you create MAGIC for your customer, and how did my waiter do in his question for MAGIC?

M - Make a connection: Build the relationship
Very friendly and I was almost connected to our waiter. But no name = no connection. Sorry Charlie, or Mac, or Billy or Buddy or whatever your name was.

A - Act Professionally: Express Confidence
This was done in spades. Always a "sir" and a "you're welcome" and "thank you" in every interaction. AWESOME!

G - Get to the Heart of the Matter: Listen and Ask Questions
OK, so he was a waiter, and how many questions did he really ask? PLENTY! "Would you like more water?" "Care for any Parmesan cheese or pepper?" "Care for a lemon with your water?" "How about some dessert?" and he listened to my answers and took care of my needs. Not TOO MANY questions, which I hate, but just enough to get the job done.

I - Inform and clarify what you will do
Each time, our waiter told us what was going on, gave us confidence he knew EXACTLY what to do, and then executed the tasks to perfection, asking questions as needed. Outstanding!

C - Close with the Relationship in Mind
Again, I would have liked to get his name, but the fact he had a broad smile, and invited us back are about as good as I can expect in a lunch rush in downtown Milwaukee.

Again, had he given me his name, he would have been spotless, as it was, he fully exceeded my expectations, and it wasn't that hard. I'll be re-reading this, especially the "MAGIC Maxims" at the end of each chapter, and share the best with my team. I recommend you pick up a copy of How to Talk to Customers: Create a Great Impression Every Time with MAGIC for your customer service team, and Make the MAGIC happen!

Check out more from the authors at their corporate website, offering customer service training and much more!

Technorati Tags: communico, magic