customer service

Customer Service Lessons from Nordstrom

Nordstrom's one-rule customer service "handbook" is almost as well-known as the company's excellent reputation with customers. Here's why.

Think Twice Before Ditching Your Current Bank

Choosing quality over customer loyalty can be a big decision when it comes to your bank and personal finance goals. Here are some tips for making the decision to switch.

How to Get What You Want on Customer Service Calls

Learn 8 effective strategies for getting what you want on customer service calls. Communicate better, communicate smarter and get your problem solved!

Getting More Than a Good Reference

If you can get a stellar testimonial or reference, you can leverage those references to help you move your business to the next level.

Why Stellar Service Alone Doesn't Produce Amazing Profits

If you're consistently providing stellar service but your cash flow is stagnating, here's what might be wrong and what you can do to produce higher profits.

I Finally Canceled Comcast Cable…Before It Hurt More Than My Wallet

Treat me poorly once, Comcast, shame on you. Provide startlingly awful customer service again, and you lose my business entirely.

10 Examples of Shockingly-Excellent Customer Service

It always gives me a bit of hope when a company actually goes above and beyond the call of duty and provides excellent customer support. Here are a few recent example

How to Staff Customer Service for an Ecommerce Business

What should trigger the decision to hire (or designate) an employee dedicated to customer service? If you're running an ecommerce business, your company can benefit from the

Get Rid of Bad Customers

Bad customers are costing you more than you realize. Here are some types of bad customers and techniques to get rid of them (without alienating your good customers).

The Awesome Art of Getting Great Deals Online

This is a lovely guide to getting the most out of your consumer purchases on the Internet.

Ordering Online Versus Calling it In: Which is Better?

Somewhere between the eight ball and the brick wall behind you, you find yourself stuck. Do you place your order for that product or service online, or through a customer service a

Where Oh Where Are My Worms? Be On Your Toes When Ordering From Small Web Businesses

As Main Street small businesses disappear, it's nice that we can still order from small companies online. However, spoiled consumers take heed: Not all small companies are created

The Letter Always Wins

When it comes to shaming companies into rewarding the disgruntled customer, writing an old fashioned letter (and having the tenacious personality of my husband) is all that's reall

Great idea for Papa Murphy’s – make the pizzas in order.

What do you get if you cross a bunch of hungry people with an ineffective ordering system? You get the riot that almost happened at my local Papa Murphy’s on Friday. And if they do

IMPORTANT UPDATE: The See's Candies debacle

For those of you (and I presume there were many) who took up the incredible See's candies offer I posted yesterday, I have bad news. I too got the email from See's saying t

Many Happy Returns: 5 Tips for Getting What You Really Want This Holiday

Sadly, a recent poll by Inside Indiana Business reports that 13 percent of consumer

DeepDiscount.com's Price Match...don't hold your breath

I'm sorry to say that my long-time lover affair with DeepDiscount.com has come to an abrupt end. I've always been a fan of their low prices and free shipping, but even bett

Beating corporate America at its own game

For almost a month now, I've been having some problems with the usually-reliable Amazon.com. I love Amazon. I always have. That's why I decided to buy my living room lamps there,

Throwing out your own trash

Businesses, especially big businesses, try constantly to shift work from their paid staff to their customers. It's one of the major trends in business today. [more]

Crappy service, great food...what to do?

Yesterday I witnessed something quite special. My lovely wife, who is usually not one for complaining, decided that the service we had received at a local restaurant (or hadn't in this case) was not on. [more]