Even the best well-oiled customer service machine can (and will) malfunction.  Follow our tips below to avoid the four key mistakes that can turn a basic malfunction into a full disaster.  We want to help you to keep your business safe and your customers happy.

One of the most self-destructive ways to listen in business and personal situations is listening with what I call the "yeah, buts."  This condition occurs when there is a kernel (or more) of truth in something negative that is being said but you don't want to hear it.  You are defensive about what the speaker is saying, so the first response out of your mouth is "yeah, but."  

Whether you're listening to a customer, boss, or spouse, you've got to put the automatic "yeah, but" response on hold.  These responses keep you from hearing the other person.  You block out any chance you have of learning something from this person.

-Michael C. Donaldson, Negotiating for Dummies

Noticing body language:

Your mission is to norm at least three completely different "types" of people.  Look for at least one of each of the following types: shy, powerful/confident, and arrogant/aggressive.  

In a notebook, draw a stick figure of each of the people you are norming.  Now use a Head/Shoulders/Knees/Toes model to scan each.  Write a one- or two-word observation next to the corresponding areas of the body (such as, "head back, nose slightly up, shoulders slumped forward, hip tilted to the left side, hands on hips, feet two feet apart").  Allow yourself to write with plenty of detail, but limit yourself to two to ten minute of observation for each person.  

Once you've done this exercise on paper today, continue throughout the week without writing it down.  Practice this exercise often enough and you'll start doing it automatically-which is the goal.

- Janine Driver, You Say More Than You Think

Never assume you know what your customers want. 

-Renee Evenson, Customer Service Training 101

While this tip seems so obvious, it's a lesson we can all keep refreshing ourselves on.  It's still so easy to get it wrong, plus it pertains to so many areas: customer service, sales, marketing, problem resolution, and on and on.

Let's looks at a couple of specific sample scenarios to see how it applies.

 Some of you may recall when we introduced this concept nearly a year ago, and we are re-introducing it due to some great love for it and since we want you all to have the freebie that we are including. 

So you ask: what does KISSing have to do with customer service? A LOT!  For those of you who don't know, K.I.S.S. stands for "Keep it simple, stupid."  Implementing good, basic customer service practices is not hard (in fact, it's rather simple!), and for many people, it comes naturally once they are given a gentle nudge to embrace these skills.  What simple (K.I.S.S.) customer service standards and practices should we all embrace, no matter what business we are in?  Just nail these 4 skills...

It's fitting to discuss "giving thanks" since we are in the midst of celebrating the many things we are thankful for during this month of Thanksgiving.  In business, the #1 thing we should be thankful for is our customers, which is rather obvious since they are the reason that we are staying in business, and they help us to afford putting a turkey feast on our tables (figuratively and literally).  It's a given that we are thankful for them, but do they feel appreciated?  Before I give you tips for taking your thankfulness beyond just saying "thank you," let me tell you about an experience that we are currently having with one of our vendors (crossing my fingers that they will read this and finally choose to be different)...