customer service
The Cult of Amazement
Shep Hyken | February 19, 2020
By Shep Hyken In the updated and revised edition of The Cult of the Customer, I cover the concept of amazement. This may be old news to my followers, but it is worth repeating. Amazement does not come from a WOW or over-the-top experience. Those happen on occasion, especially when problems are handled well. But on a day to day basis, amazement happens when you deliver experiences that are consistently and predictably above average. They could even be just a tiny little bit above average. What makes that amazing is that it is always predictable. The customer owns it because they know it’s going to happen. What happens when there’s...
The Worst Thing That Happens Is Your Customer Loves You
Shep Hyken | February 14, 2020
What if the worst thing a customer ever said about you was, “I love you!”? Even on a bad day, you’re still so good that they love you! Are you that good? Do customers love you even when there’s a problem or complaint? Here are six ways to make customers love you no matter what! Become customer-focused. This means that in addition to creating an amazing customer experience, every decision keeps the customer in mind. It doesn’t mean every decision will make the customer happy, but the customer is always kept in mind when any type of change is made, from price to changes in features to new and even discontinued products. Be ...
The Last Customer on Earth
Shep Hyken | February 6, 2020
By Shep Hyken What if you only had one customer left to do business with? Maybe this was the last customer on earth? Norman Beck—my friend and faithful reader of The Shepard Letter—and I were talking about this idea and he shared another way of looking at it. In his words, “It’s like the last gas station you’ll see for miles as you enter the desert. Maybe you stop and make sure you have a full tank of gas.” Of course, you don’t want to run out of gas in the middle of the desert! In business terms, maybe you’ll focus on making sure this customer is happy, filling the metaphorical gas tank with an excellent customer experi...
Once Upon a Time in Businessland
Shep Hyken | January 29, 2020
By Shep Hyken Today I share with you a fable. Once upon a time a great genie paid a short visit to the town of Businessland, where he happened upon three entrepreneurs, each of whom wanted to open an ice cream shop. The great genie offered to grant each of them a wish, but only if that wish would absolutely guarantee the success of their venture. The first entrepreneur said, “I wish for the best tasting ice cream in all of Businessland.” The genie frowned and said, “I will not grant your wish. The best ice cream on earth won’t guarantee your success.” The second entrepreneur said, “I wish for the best location in Businesslan...
Batteries Included
Shep Hyken | January 22, 2020
By Shep Hyken “There are two kinds of people: Batteries Included and Batteries Not Included.” That quote comes from Dan Sullivan, founder and president of the Strategic Coach program. If you’ve been following my work, you’ll probably recognize his name. I’ve learned a lot over the years by attending his workshops and coaching sessions. He recently released a book that included many of his quotable words of wisdom. This one—about Batteries Included or Batteries Not Included—resonated with me. If it doesn’t already resonate with you, I bet it will in just a moment. I have what appears to be an endless amount of energy. ...
Your Emergency Response Plan — Be Prepared
Shep Hyken | January 16, 2020
One of our Shepard Letter subscribers, Tom Korff, wrote in with an important question: how should customer support agents handle callers who are threatening to harm themselves and/or others? This is a serious topic. I will share my thoughts, but it’s important to note that the brevity of my answer does not diminish the importance of the question. If someone threatens to do harm to themselves or others, it cannot be taken lightly. If you find yourself in this situation, the first step is to inform the customer that such statements are taken seriously and that you will be informing the proper authorities. It’s important to make this s...
How To Help Your Front Desk Colleagues Overcome “Compassion Fatigue”
Doug Kennedy | January 15, 2020
By Doug Kennedy As part of the prework I do before conducting on-site training workshops for front desk teams, I always look at the existing, in-house training standards and content. Nearly all programs cover the concepts of showing empathy, and especially at Forbes rated hotels, to establish authentic, emotional connections. Yet when I look at how colleagues are trained on how to deliver on these standards, I find that most managers are simply going over scripted welcome messages and reviewing interpersonal communications techniques at their meetings. It seems to me that most front office leaders underestimate just how challenging i...
Smile and the World Smiles With You—Unless It’s Fake
Shep Hyken | January 9, 2020
By Shep Hyken One of our faithful Shepard Letter subscribers emailed me a story. He was at a store, and the employee was friendly and engaging. But when he saw her later—when she was off duty—she acted indifferent toward him, almost rude. She wouldn’t even smile, which made him wonder, “Shouldn’t people greet you as warmly outside of their work environment as they do while on the job?” When you hire someone for a job, you should understand their personality. Do they come to the job with the positive attitude you want your customers to experience? Or do they have to “fake it”? The old cliché of “hire for attitude and t...
1
Technology
2
Industry Happenings
3
All Things Independent
4
Operations
5
Market Reports
Breaking News
User Engagement or Guest Engagement?
Hollywood’s Most Exclusive Hotel Peninsula Beverly Hills Set to Install InvoTech UHF-RFID Uniform System
The Cult of Amazement
commingle:engage Provides Hilton Hotels Brand Compliant Social Media & TripAdvisor Guest Review Responses – From $499.
As the first news aggregate for the hotel industry, Hotel-Online is the industry’s must-read daily news source for everything hotel curated for busy professionals. Sign up today for industry news delivered to your inbox.