» Customer service

It isn’t the quality of the people in a business that contributes to its success. It is the quality of the relationships between the people in the business, and between them and clients, prospects, other businesses, and all other stakeholders that creates success—or failure. Developing good relationships is absolutely fundamental. It is an essential requirement for successful management, leadership and business growth.

Related material:
> blog: Why call centres can’t, won’t and don’t help you

Customer service

A short piece about being right

Being right can be a big problem for people in charge—and indeed for people whose quality of service relies on their capacity to give good advice: accountants, financial

Why it’s rarely worth ‘going the extra mile’

People who talk about customer service often advocate ‘going the extra mile’. In addition to providing the services the supplier is contractually obliged to provide,

Shiny red car

One day, a driving instructor wrote in and asked for comments about his website. Could we think of any ways to improve it?

Customer service thought

Many businesses that think they provide customer services just don't get it. They think that service begins and ends in the interactions they have with their customers,

Drill

Apart from a few odd individuals, people don’t buy power tools so they can slip into the garage and caress them. They buy an electric drill because they need a hole in the wall.

Customer service: a game of equals

In this video, Jeremy Marchant discusses how serving the customer is a relationship of equals.

An emotionally intelligent approach to sales

...Amazingly, the salesman still persisted – so my client walked out, the laptops not bought...

Submarine

The navy's most advanced submarine came to a halt and eventually limped into port.

The meaning of a communication is what the recipient makes of it

The outcome of any communication is what we intend it to be

We can only understand what someone says to us in the context of our own experiences and attitudes. We cannot import the other person into our minds.

Jumping the queue

A journalist is standing with other commuters in a long, snaking line for a bus, when a smartly dressed businessman blatantly cuts into the queue line behind him...

Better leadership delivers better customer service

Good service starts at home

Being passionate

“Do people buy what you do or why you do it?”

Customer service

Further reading