If helping others is an intuitive part of being human, why is it so hard to get good service? I am going to offer two reasons. People, in general, don’t value and recognize the importance of service. They view it as a second-class calling or someone else’s job. They don’t realize the incredible and critical … Continue reading Why is it so hard to get good service? Here are two reasons and some things you may have never considered doing to improve it.

I saw a great quote from the author Ann Voskamp, “Sometimes it helps in the moment to think… People aren’t being difficult, they are having difficulty.” Why is this such good thinking? So many times when we are dealing with others, whether those “others” are customers, coworkers, friends, or family members, it is easy to … Continue reading One change in thought to make conflict more manageable.

I want you to imagine you are a leader in a business who makes and sells a wonderful technology that everyone wants but is not designed for real people. It is hard to use and requires training. Truth be told, the learning curve actually proves to be a barrier to entry, it simply does not … Continue reading The case for people-centered business.

Hospitality. What does it bring to mind? Hotels? Restaurants? Well, while it may relate to those things, it can relate to every business. Hospitality is more than an industry, it is an approach to how you serve your customers. Think of a quintessential hospitality experience, the dinner party. A dinner party is all about service, … Continue reading Hospitality. It can help your business no matter what business you’re in.

In her new book, Make it, Don’t Fake It, Sabrina Horn gives us insights and wisdom gleaned from years of working with executives and other influencers about how finding the right thing to do comes out of authentic integrity. The book is essentially a road map for leading with purpose and transparent values. And it … Continue reading Book Review: Make It, Don’t Fake It by Sabrina Horn

For a lot of people, customer service means making a call or going to a counter to make a return, get a refund, or make a complaint. But that’s only a small slice of a much larger world.Customer service is what every company does (or doesn’t do) knowingly or unknowingly. It begins the moment a … Continue reading Customer service IS the work.

Imagine you’re a customer and you are on a company’s website. You see a tagline that says, “Customers are our priority.” How do you feel? More confident? More trusting? More important?Now imagine the same scenario, but this time the tagline is “Customers are our priority ... because they pay us.” Now how do you feel? … Continue reading What’s your tagline?

“One of the key reasons people don’t serve each other in organizations is because they’ve been told to serve something else. Usually it’s targets or goals.” -Joel Bailey, Director of Product and Service Innovation, EY Seren Imagine a professional sports team who gives every player a financial bonus for hitting certain individual goals but no … Continue reading The magic bullet for great service. It’s not what you think.

“It’s easier to make products and services for the customers you seek to serve than it is to find customers for your products and services.” Words of wisdom from the book This Is Marketing by Seth Godin.This is all about being curious and listening. If we don’t know our customers, we cannot serve them. And … Continue reading Business is not about persuasion, it’s about provision.

Someone asked me once, “why should I be kind?” My answer? Because you can. Isn’t that enough? You can be kind. You can be of some service. You can make things better. You can. Of course, I guess you can be unkind. But why? What’s the benefit in that? It’s not to feel good, we’re … Continue reading Why should you be kind?