BLOG ARTICLES BY AMY
Don’t tell me what I can’t do!
This week, I thought I’d share a short video with you on the power of positive phrasing. It’s based on a segment in my “Customer Service Survival Skills” workshop where I always say, “Don’t tell people what you CAN’T do for them, just tell them what you CAN. Don’t tell customers they CAN’T do, offer […]
Thanks, but no thanks: The dirty truth about feedback
The other day I was sitting at lunch with a group of people, when a woman I just met asked for my business card. She glanced down at it, looked at me, and said, “Can I give you some FEEDBACK on your business card photo?” My response? “Hell no you can’t give me feedback on my photo!” […]
The Most Dangerous Word in the World
When you read what the most dangerous word in the world is, I’ll bet you’ll be surprised. When you saw the subject of this email, you probably thought about words like: Hate, no, or can’t, and I agree those are dangerous words. However, I think the most dangerous word in the world is SHOULD. Here’s […]
Why I hate compromise and you should too
Like many of you, I hate losing. When I was a child, I cried when I didn’t win a game. As an adult, I don’t like buying raffle tickets or lottery tickets because I get mad when I don’t win and angry at myself for wasting my money on a one-in-a-million chance at something. Another […]
The Importance of Having an Attitude of Service
In my 22 years in the training and speaking business, I’ve presented A LOT of customer service and customer communication programs. In these programs, I teach many different skills that enhance the customer experience and make the customer service provider’s job easier and less stressful. However, before I take a customer service “gig” I always […]
7 Phrases to Avoid if You Don’t Want Customers Getting Fired Up
Many people don’t realize that a simple, “seemingly” innocent comment, when said to an angry customer can turn a concern or complaint into a full-blown argument. When it comes to the words you choose, they can either be water or gasoline on the customer’s smoldering emotions. If you’d like to be a customer service fire […]
Does Persistence Pay Off? YES!
The other morning I was up early and hoping to catch some cute video of the 10 foster puppies who currently reside in my dining room, of all places. We all know puppy videos can be really cute, especially with older puppies who are up and about, running, and playing. However, I never thought the […]
10 Questions You Should Be Asking Your Customers – and Probably Aren’t
Some people mistakenly believe that if customers aren’t complaining, they must be happy. What they don’t realize is most unhappy customers never communicate their concerns or tell you why they’re unhappy, they simply “vote with their feet” and never come back. Customers often don’t have the time, energy, or heart to tell you that you’re no longer meeting […]
Are Your Questions Making People Paranoid?
The other day I was at the animal shelter where I volunteer and I was very impressed with how super clean our cat room was, so I asked a staff member, “Who cleaned the adoptable cat room today?” It seemed a simple enough question, so I didn’t understand why the response was a somewhat fearful, […]