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TwitterYou know that old joke, “how many (insert relevant person here) does it take to screw in a light bulb?” I often ask myself that question when I’m in a business…though I don’t tend to laugh at the punch line so much. Here’s my joke: “How many staff members does it take to figure something [...]
Posts Tagged ‘customer service’
QUALITY CHECK: Service from the Back Nine from Highland Pacific Golf
March 4th, 2011 
Russel It’s been far too long since I put a business to the The Upsell Q&A. Matt Diederichs, manager of the guest services team at Highland Pacific Golf Course said he was up for a few queries. Who am I to disappoint him? Here’s the latest Quality Check: 1) What is your definition of bad customer [...]
Head and Shoulders Shampoo Was Right: First Impressions are Important
March 2nd, 2011 Russel I recently had a Twitter discussion regarding those who judge good or bad customer service and/or food based on one visit. This all stemmed from a tweet by local bakery Bubby Rose’s Bakery. I’ve included the tweet below: So, as a critic, am I being too harsh on businesses by judging them on my initial [...]
What Does the Devil and Great Customer Service Have in Common?
February 24th, 2011 Russel It’s in the details. Sad to say that expectations for great customer service has gotten so low that even OK to moderate service blows us away. “WOW, THEY BROUGHT US WATER!” Sad, but true. In a world where your barista wants a tip for just doing their job, it’s the little things…the effort…that seem to [...]
Posted in My Tips 
Tags: Business, customer, customer service, Education and Training, Home, Scotch Tape, Social media, Valentine's Day 
10 Comments »Black Swan to White Swan pt. 2 – Guest Post from Adrian Charlie
January 12th, 2011 Russel Adrian Charlie’s last guest post took us down a dark path of bad customer service. Can part two take us to a land of engagement, leadership and assistance? Read on: The next morning I found a DM from Swans: “The GM of Swans, Janina Ceglarz, would like to address your issue personally. Please call xxx-xxxx, or [...]
Black Swan to White Swan pt. 1 – Guest Post from Adrian Charlie
January 9th, 2011 Russel Adrian Charlie recently had a pretty interesting customer service experience at a local bar. I read as he tweeted a few comments while it happened and, as the “are you kidding me” moments ramped up, I had to ask him to provide a guest blog. How many strikes can you count? A few nights ago [...]
Posted in Guest Reviews Tags: bad service, Black Swan, customer service, engagement, pub, Swans, Times Colonist 6 Comments »Great Customer Service is the Ultimate Upsell
January 7th, 2011 Russel Would you like that Keg-size? Have you seen our featured product? For a $1.99, you can get fries… These are all questions and suggestions to get the customer to spend more money. You may not need what you buy. You may not have even thought about purchasing them. But it plants that seed and gets you [...]
Posted in My Tips Tags: Business, Business Services, customer, Customer Management, customer service, Rate of return, roi, Salesforce.com, Twitter, upsell 2 Comments »OK, You Have Me. Now What Are You Going to Do With Me?
January 4th, 2011 Russel Shopping during holiday season isn’t the most enjoyable way to spend your time. And that’s really what you’re spending the most of: your time. Time finding parking. Time navigating the crowds. Time standing in line. Mind-numbing time. (I’m a big shopper, can you tell?) What I don’t understand is why more businesses don’t take advantage [...]
Posted in My Tips Tags: booze, Business, Business Services, Coast Capital Savings, Crime Stoppers, crm, customer service, engagement, Liquor store, Queue area, Toronto 3 Comments »PIG: Don’t Punish the Newbie
December 13th, 2010 Russel I’ve always liked PIG BBQ Joint. I may not have gone to it often but I always enjoyed the “carnivore-to-go” feel at their little location in Victoria, B.C. So, when I heard they were moving to a new location, expanding their menu and adding booze to options…well, I was a lot of excited. I have [...]
Posted in My Reviews Tags: attitude, bbq, BC, Booty Call, customer service, Food, personality, pig, pulled pork, service, Victoria 1 Comment »Duck, Duck, Goose isn’t Good Customer Service
November 16th, 2010 Russel I met my friend Todd at one of the local pubs, Irish Times, just a few nights ago. I hadn’t been inside in months, not for any negative reason, there is just a lot of different places to eat in town. The night went really well. Our server (Alicia? Alisha? Something with an “A”) did [...]
Posted in My Reviews, My Tips Tags: Business, Business Services, consistency, customer, Customer experience, Customer Management, customer service, Irish Times, pub, service No Comments »