Phil Lauterjung

Posts Tagged ‘customer service’

I have written in the past about marketing automation and how it can help you grow your business.  Yesterday I experienced this from the customer’s perspective.  Of course, the average customer wouldn’t have recognized the use of a marketing automation system; but, it served to remind me of how effective it can be.

It was just another phone call among many others on a typical day.  This one was from a pleasant female voice with Edible Arrangements.  She asked if I remembered buying one of their arrangements last year for Valentine’s Day.  I don’t normally remember everything that I buy for my wife – probably because I buy her so much, hah .  But this time I did remember because I was in Kenya last year for the month of February, and quite far away from my wife.  Read more... (504 words, 2 images, estimated 2:01 mins reading time)

Let’s face it, we all say we are “customer focused”.  Or some other such term.  If we were to ask our best customers, would they have a positive response?  All of them?  How about your own front-line employees?

Here are 5 warning signs that you might be heading off a cliff in your customer focus.  Read more... (580 words, 2 images, estimated 2:19 mins reading time)

Flckr - Serene Silence

Pardon the interruption, but I need to vent.  Don’t worry, I promise not to do this very often; and, this definitely has application for all of our businesses.  It relates back to a recent post – Should Customer Service be a Given? – and is from a personal experience this past weekend.

It started with a call my wife took from Citibank regarding a “problem” with a credit card account.  She couldn’t figure out what the lady was talking about so she did the next best thing and handed the phone off to me.  I’m not really sure why she did, since she has seen me in action on these types of calls before – not always a pretty sight.  Read more... (531 words, 2 images, estimated 2:07 mins reading time)

My last post was about a pet peeve of mine – customer service.  Well, here’s another one, a pet peeve that is.  Might as well keep the theme going this week.

I live in Orange County, CA and have been a member of LinkedIn since 2005; and have found it to be a valuable business network.  However, since I joined LinkedIn they say that I live in the ‘Greater Los Angeles Area.’  I have always thought that very odd since Orange County has over 3 million people and an extremely vibrant business community.  There are many  much smaller communities in California, and other states, whose residents are listed in the proper community with LinkedIn.  Read more... (533 words, 2 images, estimated 2:08 mins reading time)

Photo - Flickr

In the interest of full disclosure I have to admit that customer service is a pet peeve of mine.  Let me clarify, I expect excellent customer service from myself, where I work, and where I do business.  This subject has come up lately because of comments my wife has made about some episodes of not-so-great customer service where she works.  Read more... (570 words, 2 images, estimated 2:17 mins reading time)

ESPN has just released the standings of all 122 MLB, NBA, NFL, and NHL teams.  What’s so newsworthy about that you ask?  Well, they rated all of those teams on eight key factors in giving their fans the ultimate sports experience.  Does that sound anything like what every company tries to do – give their customers the ultimate experience so that they keep coming back and continue doing business with them?  You betcha!  Read more... (763 words, 2 images, estimated 3:03 mins reading time)