The Upsell http://www.theupsell.com A Look at Customer Service - The Good, The Bad, The Barely Noticeable Thu, 23 May 2013 21:12:19 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 GoodLife Fitness: Quitting the Gym http://www.theupsell.com/2013/05/22/goodlife-fitness-quitting-the-gym/ http://www.theupsell.com/2013/05/22/goodlife-fitness-quitting-the-gym/#comments Wed, 22 May 2013 07:14:49 +0000 Russel Lolacher http://www.theupsell.com/?p=1192 There comes a time in every man or woman’s life where they need to make a change. They need to take that step to end a relationship so they can move on to something else, whether for the better or for the sake of change. That’s right, I’m talking about quitting the gym. The well-earned [...]

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]]> http://www.theupsell.com/2013/05/22/goodlife-fitness-quitting-the-gym/feed/ 0 Amy’s Baking Company – Do Not Try This At Home http://www.theupsell.com/2013/05/15/amy-s-baking-company-do-not-try-this-at-home/ http://www.theupsell.com/2013/05/15/amy-s-baking-company-do-not-try-this-at-home/#comments Wed, 15 May 2013 16:29:10 +0000 Russel Lolacher http://www.theupsell.com/?p=1190 I’ve always liked the saying, “customer service is how a business shows how much it cares about its customers.” Not sure who said it (I Googled) but let me know if you know. But what about a company that just spews venom at any criticism or negative comments about its business? Last night, Amy’s Baking [...]

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]]> http://www.theupsell.com/2013/05/15/amy-s-baking-company-do-not-try-this-at-home/feed/ 0 Can Self-Service Be Good for the Customer Experience? http://www.theupsell.com/2013/05/01/can-self-service-be-good-for-the-customer-experience/ http://www.theupsell.com/2013/05/01/can-self-service-be-good-for-the-customer-experience/#comments Wed, 01 May 2013 07:35:52 +0000 Russel Lolacher http://www.theupsell.com/?p=1186 The move for business to adopt more self-serve methods has been happening for a while. Gas stations, ATMs, check out counters… But I’m wondering if this is good customer service? If you define that service as getting what I want and having control over how fast I get it, then sure it’s providing you something. [...]

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]]> http://www.theupsell.com/2013/05/01/can-self-service-be-good-for-the-customer-experience/feed/ 0 Customer Experience: Shaw Cable Strike 2 http://www.theupsell.com/2013/04/24/customer-experience-shaw-cable-strike-two/ http://www.theupsell.com/2013/04/24/customer-experience-shaw-cable-strike-two/#comments Wed, 24 Apr 2013 15:01:38 +0000 Russel Lolacher http://www.theupsell.com/?p=1178 How can a bad customer experience with Shaw Cable go from good to “WTH?” Answer: pretty quickly. Recently, I had a bad service experience with Shaw Cable where a bill I received was three times the amount I thought it was going to be. There was bad communications and bad in-store engagement and when it [...]

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]]> http://www.theupsell.com/2013/04/24/customer-experience-shaw-cable-strike-two/feed/ 1 Waking Up to Great Customer Service from Island Sleep http://www.theupsell.com/2013/04/17/waking-up-to-great-customer-service-from-island-sleep/ http://www.theupsell.com/2013/04/17/waking-up-to-great-customer-service-from-island-sleep/#comments Wed, 17 Apr 2013 16:07:15 +0000 Russel Lolacher http://www.theupsell.com/?p=1177 I always love when someone HAS to tell me a great customer service story. You know why? It never happens. OK, maybe once or twice but the “norm” is to be dissatisfied. That’s why when Sean Smith said he had a tale to tell, I had to give him a forum to share.  “Once in [...]

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]]> http://www.theupsell.com/2013/04/17/waking-up-to-great-customer-service-from-island-sleep/feed/ 0 Shaw Cable Customer Service Communication: What Should Be Shared? http://www.theupsell.com/2013/04/11/shaw-cable-customer-service-communication-what-should-be-shared/ http://www.theupsell.com/2013/04/11/shaw-cable-customer-service-communication-what-should-be-shared/#comments Thu, 11 Apr 2013 15:44:10 +0000 Russel Lolacher http://www.theupsell.com/?p=1171 Shaw Cable has come in and out of my life over the years. One of the perks of not being locked into a contract is that I can come and go as I wish. And I do. Sometimes it’s for economic reasons. Sometimes it’s for amount of usage. Sometimes I just do or don’t wanna [...]

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]]> http://www.theupsell.com/2013/04/11/shaw-cable-customer-service-communication-what-should-be-shared/feed/ 5 The Future of Customer Service: Future Shop? http://www.theupsell.com/2013/04/03/the-future-of-customer-service-future-shop/ http://www.theupsell.com/2013/04/03/the-future-of-customer-service-future-shop/#comments Wed, 03 Apr 2013 16:30:13 +0000 Russel Lolacher http://www.theupsell.com/?p=1170 Is the future of our engagement between customer and business evolving right under our noses? What does this future look like? I don’t see flying cars. I don’t see teleporters. I don’t see ray guns. I also don’t see any customer service staff to help me…AHA, that’s the future! Recently, I was in the market [...]

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]]> http://www.theupsell.com/2013/04/03/the-future-of-customer-service-future-shop/feed/ 0 Thrifty Foods: Good Response to a Bad Situation http://www.theupsell.com/2013/03/29/thrifty-foods-good-response-to-a-bad-situation/ http://www.theupsell.com/2013/03/29/thrifty-foods-good-response-to-a-bad-situation/#comments Sat, 30 Mar 2013 00:03:59 +0000 Russel Lolacher http://www.theupsell.com/?p=1167 I see customer service as how a company engages with its customers, and I think we can agree that branding plays an integral role in that. Branding isn’t what you say about your company, it’s what your customers believe about your company (not sure who said that but if you know, let me know). So [...]

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]]> http://www.theupsell.com/2013/03/29/thrifty-foods-good-response-to-a-bad-situation/feed/ 1 Anatomy of a Response to Bad Customer Service http://www.theupsell.com/2013/03/27/anatomy-of-a-response-to-bad-customer-service/ http://www.theupsell.com/2013/03/27/anatomy-of-a-response-to-bad-customer-service/#comments Wed, 27 Mar 2013 16:10:22 +0000 Russel Lolacher http://www.theupsell.com/?p=1163 Well this is interesting. Over the course of writing this blog in the last four years, there have been a few occasions where businesses have responded to posts, whether they were good or bad. I love hearing from a business to get their side of the story. Maybe the customer remembered things incorrectly or had [...]

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]]> http://www.theupsell.com/2013/03/27/anatomy-of-a-response-to-bad-customer-service/feed/ 1 Bad Customer Service: When Talking Back is a Good Thing http://www.theupsell.com/2013/03/13/bad-customer-service-when-talking-back-is-a-good-thing/ http://www.theupsell.com/2013/03/13/bad-customer-service-when-talking-back-is-a-good-thing/#comments Wed, 13 Mar 2013 07:34:12 +0000 Russel Lolacher http://www.theupsell.com/?p=1155 Social media has been the biggest customer service game-changer in recent memory. Now, anyone can get on a computer and share their feelings, both good and bad (but it’s usually because it’s bad). Who cares? If you’re a business, you should. Depending on who that person is, that information can influence a lot of people [...]

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