Chatbots Could Follow the Path of IVR, a Once-promising Technology That Earned Customer Ire through Poor Implementation By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD I don’t often use web chat because I find a phone call is faster and more thorough. Recently I made an exception and learned a valuable lesson. The email said that my new […]
Tag: customer service
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A Contrast in Customer Service Outcomes
By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD In Customer Service is a Strategy, Not a Slogan, I put forward the question: Do you actually provide quality customer service or just brag about it? I then offered a comparison study, based on personal experience in the area of automotive repair. Here is another consideration from the retail sector. […]
By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD Does your organization make customer service a priority? I expect that it does. In fact, I suspect that the phrase “customer service” is found somewhere in your mission or vision statement, etched on a wall plaque, proclaimed in your marketing material, and oft orated by upper management. However, as is […]
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Customer Disservice
Sometimes a Call Center Is Its Own Worst Enemy By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD When call centers work as intended, they’re an amazing resource. They provide needed information and allow for the speedy resolution of problems. They’re fast, convenient, and effective—most of the time. Though I like to celebrate call center success in this column, […]
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Providing Quality Service
By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD Growing up, I remember a radio commercial with the tag line, “Service sold it.” Even as a young kid I was able to grasp the concept that providing quality service was a great way to close more sales and gain new business. Over the years, I have heard this mantra […]
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The Cost of Poor Training
By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD My wife ordered a coat online from a well-known regional chain for a Christmas present. She has a history of positive shopping experiences at the chain’s physical stores and assumed their virtual store would be no different. The coat went on sale the week before Black Friday, and when combined […]
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How Would You Like us to Contact You?
By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD After our basement flooded and the insurance company said, “Sorry, you’re not covered,” I knew it was time to find a new insurer. As I scanned a website for an insurance agent’s phone number, I spotted an information request form. I filled it out, including the customer-centric option: “How should […]
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Is Customer Service a Phone Call Away?
By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD Today’s younger drivers have never had the experience of pulling into a gas station and having an attendant run out to fill up their car with gas. When it comes to fueling their vehicles, all they know is self-service. I have a vague recollection of that time. When first offered […]
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Choose Your Business Partners with Care
By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD Conference planners sometimes ask me to sit on a panel. The common format is that each panelist makes an initial presentation, followed by a Q&A. Other times the presentations are longer, with no time for questions. Most of my panel experiences have not been positive. For my first one, my […]
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Is Being Effective Good Enough?
By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD It doesn’t matter if a call is answered in a modern contact center or by one person in a small, single-phone office. In both cases customers evaluate them the same way and expect the same outcomes; each call is compared with every other call and judged accordingly, regardless of who […]