Adam Toporek
Orlando, FL
- 713 comments
- 785 likes given
- 726 likes received
Fanatical a/b Customer Service & Customer Experience. SMB owner / franchise developer. I dig dogs and MMA, but not combined. Run the Customers That Stick blog.
You redecorated... and now Jack Bauer is texting me saying he can't find his food bowl!
The site looks great! Very clean and easy-to-read. Kudos to you and the SS team!
Thanks for sharing Shonali -- and a nice CS roundup!
51 tips... I might have to read that one in installments. Enjoyed @dbvickery 's story -- more than Brian did, I'm sure! :)
Well, I missed this -- but good for you! BTW, if you need tips on how to handle these folks in the future, there's an Arizona bakery in the news today that seems to have figured it out. :)
Congrats Sean! Very exciting news, and I know you'll knock it out of the park!
@Shonali @Adam | Customer Experience Hah! You should have given me a hard deadline like @belllindsay I'm an expert at stretching out time. :) Seriously though, I'll email you this week.
So cool my friend! You must be jazzed!
I'm confused. I thought you just wrote press releases. :)
I always make sure to lambaste you with proper vocabulary. Don't want to give you a reason to ban me.
@ginidietrich @Mark_Harai If you could reach through the computers and slap them, they wouldn't say it.
@dwaynealicie You know Dwayne, reading your comment reminded me about one of the cool things about The Goal. It uses the socratic method as a teaching mechanism, so when you read it, it really gets you thinking about your own organization. I'm due for a re-read soon I think!
@Howie Goldfarb @ginidietrich I'm a huge fan of the pareto principle for customer service. It's the only way to successfully provide superior service with limited resources.
@Howie Goldfarb @Adam | Customer Experience @bdorman264 @ginidietrich @howiegoldfarb Doesn't matter if it's free. You'll hang up eventually -- the house always wins.
@Howie Goldfarb @belllindsay @Adam | Customer Experience Yeah, @belllindsay was collecting those 13 words for me. Appreciate it -- I needed them. :)
You should have snuck in the back that morning so they couldn't see you coming and fix your usual. I really do appreciate the training and consistency of Starbucks. Considering their size and volume, it is pretty impressive.
Have your supermarket call me; I'll tell them that when good customer service to one is bad customer service to Howie, it's a mistake. :)
@bdorman264 I tried blocking you... apparently, you broke through anyway.
I saw that movie. At the end, @ginidietrich feeds Dan the Barista to Jack Bauer. The coffee cups are used as evidence. Oops... I should have said #spolierAlert
I only have one customer who takes all of my time, that is @howiegoldfarb who I just keep on hold hoping he will hang up.
@ginidietrich Anything for you my dear! :)
I think we actually agree about Dan. You might have missed when I said "Either way, it seems clear from the story Dan knew how to make a regular customer like Gini feel extra-special without hurting service to others." But I am glad you cleared it up; the post did make it seem like it was more frequent.
Those situations are always tough -- but the thing is, if your ethic is to give great service, you are usually way past the point when you should have said something by the time you actually do. It's a shame when it happens (usually), but I'm sure you and your business are stronger for it.
Thanks to you and @belllindsay for having me here! I still want to see you write that post.
@Shonali Thank you Shonali! Much appreciated.
The key word is "creep." It is rare that clients become time vampires in one single instance; it is almost always an accumulation over time.
In consulting/professional service businesses, I think it is nearly impossible for people just starting out to avoid it. However, once you have experience, you will know where the time leaks tend to be. So, two ideas: 1) Use that knowledge to get it into the agreement upfront, so you can be crystal clear going in and even better 2) include "3 hours of monthly support time" or whatever. That way you're not nickel and diming them every time they email or call, but also you have set a limit and an expectation.
In the end, great customer service is all about perception and expectations.
@maxchristianhansen Thanks Max! As you point out, there is a significant differentiation between different businesses, and while this concept is relevant to all, it plays out differently in a consulting firm vs. a coffee shop.
As a non-PR, I'm a big fan of #5, hire a communications expert. I saw a presentation recently about what you should do in a crisis, and it was accompanied by specific examples of what people actually did. It was painful to watch.
I always say CMO is one of the toughest c-suite positions because everyone thinks they know marketing. I think there is a similar dynamic for PR/Comm. Many people don't understand that it only looks easy because when professionals do it right, it well... looks easy.
Excellent post Jeannie! Point 3 is crucial -- not only wanting to hear the truth but also making sure the people being led understand that truth will not be punished but is welcome no matter how difficult the news.
I would also add that enlightened leaders can differentiate the short term from the long term and accordingly understand the difference between an investment and an expense.