The Thriving Small Business

How Well Does Your Organization Recovery From a Bad Service Experience?

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We are all human and human beings make mistakes.

This is just part of the imperfect nature of living life here on earth.

Because of this, it is important for organizations to take precautionary steps to minimize human error in the workplace.

This concept is what led the quality movement and product manufacturers to embrace quality management as a business practice. Read the Full Article →

4 Things United Airlines Could Have Done Better To Avoid Its PR Nightmare

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Unless you have been living in a cave the last few weeks, you probably saw the shocking video of a passenger being dragged off of a United Airlines Flight on April 10, 2017.

What was the most amazing thing to me was that this event happened because the airline needed to make seats available for employees. Read the Full Article →

24 Tips For Office Etiquette Training

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I admit that I have been in the work force for a long time, however it is disheartening to see the deterioration of basic etiquette and professionalism in the workplace.

Some say it is just “this generation”. I am not convinced – because I see it in all demographics.

I believe it is a symptom of a culture that is modeled from the top down. Read the Full Article →

5 Effective Ways to Improve the Customer Service Experience

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For most businesses, the level of customer service they provide goes a long way towards determining their level of success. A recent American Express survey found that more than half of customers would switch brands for better customer service, so delivering a positive experience is essential.

Every year, companies invest heavily in customer service training, because they acknowledge the importance of getting it right, but many businesses fail to identify exactly what it is customers want. Read the Full Article →

6 Ways to To Give Your Customers a Great First Impression!

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Some organizations provide a great first impression. Others do not. By first impressions I mean the first point of contact a customer has with an organization.

The reality is, customers have choices and organizations that get it pay attention to the details that matter to customers.

Every organization has a slightly different first impression moment. Read the Full Article →

8 Steps for Creating a Customer Service System

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Have you ever interacted with an organization that provided great service in one area and terrible service in another?  How can there be such a cultural disconnect in the service that is provided by the same organization? Every interaction a customer has with an organization is an opportunity to win or lose that customer. Read the Full Article →

10 Tips for Dealing with Customer Complaints

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Anyone who has a business has had the experience of dealing with customer complaints.

While listening to a complaining customer is not something most people enjoy, a complaining customer can be an organization’s friend if they try to learn from the complaint.

There are lots of things customers can complain about – communication breakdowns, process failures, faulty products, rude employees and unclean facilities, just to name a few. Read the Full Article →

How Do You Define Customer Service?

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Customer service is a common term we are all familiar with which means “one who aids or provides help to the purchaser of a good or service”.

Customer service is seen in all industries and across all demographics. It is important because if the purchasers of our goods and services don’t feel like they are taken care of, they will soon find another organization that can, and will take care of their needs. Read the Full Article →

5 Reasons You Should Welcome Customer Complaints!

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The sad fact is only about 4% of dissatisfied customers complain. If a customer does not complain and has an issue that is not resolved, they are likely to go to the competition.

The worst part about this is that the organization isn’t even aware that there was an issue. The other sad fact is that a dissatisfied customer is more comfortable telling their friends about a bad experience than the organization. Read the Full Article →

5 Tips for Improving the Internal Customer Experience

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The term customer is most commonly associated with someone who purchases goods or services. However, Joseph Juran, the famous management consultant, taught that organizations have both internal and external customers. And, internal customers have a direct link to a positive external customer experience.

The external customer is the person who purchases the goods or services, while the internal customer is anyone within an organization who at any time is dependent on anyone else within the organization. Read the Full Article →

5 No-Brainer Tips To Improve The Customer Experience

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We all know that it is the customer that purchases our products and services, and ultimately pays the bills.  Too many organizations lose sight of this reality and ignore the very basic things that could enhance the customer experience.

If you are like me, you can probably give countless examples of a bad customer experience, and hopefully,  remember those times that you interacted with an organization that “got it” and made the experience enjoyable and memorable.   Read the Full Article →

12 Steps to Contract Negotiations

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Negotiating contracts is a skill that every organization and business owner will need at one time or another.

Whether it is the decision to outsource a service, or negotiate the price for new office equipment, business leaders will need to fine tune their negotiation skills.

Most of us don’t have the natural ability to negotiate so the trick is to use a systematic and unbiased approach to negotiate vendor contracts. Read the Full Article →