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News, tips, and trends to help you reach that next level of customer service.
Updated on Thursday, February 12, 2009 at 12:28PM by
Jeff Toister
I received a Hallmark card in the mail this week. It was in a plain blue envelope with no return address. Hmmmm.
We can learn a lot about customer service from independent service providers. Whether they are small business owners, freelance contractors, or a department of one within a company, these people make their living off the service they provide. This posting is part three of a three part series where we’ll take a closer look at some successful examples to learn how service can make a difference when you are on your own. Part three features a “individual producer” within a company.
The CBS news program, 60 Minutes, has done a few profiles on the people losing their jobs as a result of DHL pulling out of the U.S. market. In early posts, I've criticized DHL for not delivering on their brand promise and for not understanding the underlying causes of their poor performance. CBS has taken it a step further by looking at the people on the frontlines.
We can learn a lot about customer service from independent service providers. Whether they are small business owners, freelance contractors, or a department of one within a company, these people make their living off the service they provide. This posting is parttwo of a three part series where we’ll take a closer look at some successful examples to learn how service can make a difference when you are on your own. Read part 1 here.
PricewaterhouseCoopers recently released its 2008 Global CEO Survey that asked CEOs to name their top source of competitive advantage. A total of 36% of companies identified a topic that fits squarely with our areas of practice. The #2 answer was customer service (19%) while the #3 answer was recruiting and retaining top talent (17%). (The bad news is we aren't much help with the #1 source of competitive advantage, technological innovation.)
