The tribute to Steve Jobs that’s been floating through my mind can be found nestled in the bridge of a Paul Simon song, “So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright”–his eulogy for an earlier visionary. Architects may come and Architects may go and Never change your point of view. When I run dry I stop awhile and […]
So Long, Steve Jobs (and Frank Lloyd Wright) Read More »
From Micah Solomon -keynote speaker, customer service speaker. My battery died briefly on my aging Volvo, and in that gap I lost the stations that had been preset into my car radio. After driving around a few days manually selecting the stations (more or less just one station) I generally listen to, I found myself
A Customer Service Trend To Embrace–Or Be Left Behind. Read More »
From keynote speaker – customer service speaker Micah Solomon Richard Carlile, a British publisher, bookseller, and campaigner for press and voting rights, spent 1819 until 1823 in prison for distributing the banned works of radicals and reformists and exposés of officially sanctioned massacres. As soon as he was sprung from prison, Carlile tried to skirt
Self-Service: From Sketchy Backwater to the Mainstream of Customer Service–Or Not? Read More »
From keynote speaker – customer service speaker Micah Solomon Beating Little Kids at Chess When I see customer service employees refusing to budge in disputes with customers over small charges, rushing them out the door when it’s closing time, and a thousand other by-the book, stingy behaviors, it’s troubling to me because it speaks of
Misguided Customer Service: Beating Little Kids at Chess Read More »
I think you’ll enjoy this 8 minute customer service radio and podcast interview Greg Corombus did with keynote speaker and bestselling customer service author Micah Solomon (yup, that’s me) for his Business Owner’s Toolkit. My subject: “The Power of Exceptional Service.” In the 8 minutes, we cover whether service has recently gotten better, worse, or
New Customer Service toolkit podcast with Micah Solomon Read More »
Some years ago I heard Tom and Ray Magliozzi–the humorous polymaths who host Car Talk on NPR–clue in an exasperated caller to their theory of customer service: Half the companies out there are like Honda – so rarely do they encounter a problem that when they do, the startled dealer is woefully unprepared to handle
The Car Talk theorem of customer service Read More »
Consciously striving to create a positive corporate culture may sound like a fluffy, expensive frill. But it brings hard-nosed, impossible-to-knock-off results. Ask Southwest Airlines: A host of low-cost, short-haul competitors (Remember United’s “Ted” brand? What, you don’t?) Those copycats are gone now: Southwest’s culture–a culture that’s impossible for
Consciously creating your corporate culture: Just a frill? Read More »
Labor Day is a good time to remember: you’ll never achieve great customer service without great employees – treated in the manner they deserve. There’s no shortcut here, no way to “game” this. The overlap between the “greatest companies to work for” and the companies with the highest-rated customer service is enormous. Container Store, Costco,
Labor Day, customer service, and serving your employees Read More »
It’s important to be aware that service begins when a customer comes in contact with you–it doesn’t always wait for you to make intentional contact with the customer. For example: suppose you’re the manager for the suburban superstore below – Suburban superstore – broad view from sidewalk approach ———— and a customer has just pulled
Customer service begins BEFORE you think it does Read More »
By Micah Solomon – keynote speaker, customer service speaker, customer service consultant, and #1 bestselling author of “Exceptional Service, Exceptional Profit: The Secrets of Building a Five-Star Customer Service Organization.” Visit with Micah at https://customerserviceguru.com Funerary art: Hermes guiding the departed Myrrhine Not that it comes down to this often, in most lines of work.
The ultimate reason to be nice to a customer Read More »