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Customer Service Success
Most businesses spend more time and energy trying to find new customers than they spend retaining the customers they have. The logic behind customer retention is simple - it costs far less money to keep current customers happy than to spend much more money to recruit new customers. Loyal customers tell their friends about your business and will spend more money than new customers. Here are seven steps to superior customer service.

Building a Customer-centric Company
Finding and hiring the right people and using customer service jobs as a gateway to better paying positions are two of the approaches recommended by Amazon.com, Southwest Airlines, and Texas A&M University. Learn more.

Customer Centered Communications
There are five steps to employee communication that is customer-centered. One is to tie customer goals to employee outcomes and another is to involve the customer. Good reminder thoughts that to bring the customer back, customer service means everything. (PDF)

Customer Service: Commerce Bank
"While Commerce employees are trying to wow customers, the company is trying to wow its staff... banking is grueling, especially for tellers, who make less than other employees and have the most contact with customers. Weekly events like Red Fridays keep the bank playful. That's when the Wow Patrol, along with Mr. C, visits branches and takes photographs of staffers wearing red..."

Customer Service Lessons From the Trenches
Looking for basic, thoughtful information about dealing with difficult customers? Look no further. Here are ideas for dealing with nightmare customers and tips for excellent customer service.

Customer Service Mistake
What's the number one mistake people make when dealing with an angry customer? You probably think he wants you to solve his problem. Right? Wrong. What they really want is to be heard out and listened to and more ...

Cultivating the Customer Asset
Your customers gain value as you sell to them repeatedly. Check out the stages in the development of a customer service relationship. From the Graziadio Business Report from Pepperdine University, this is an interesting analogy.

Four Ways to Motivate Service Professionals
How do you create an environment in which people who serve customers are motivated? Start by motivating yourself. Make sure you hire motivated people. There are two more musts for excellent customer service.

Gathering Customer Satisfaction Data
Your staff can gather customer service and satisfaction data in ways other than paper/pencil surveys. You'll find that it is far easier to encourage your staff to focus on quality service by listening to customers than by any procedures or direction management can provide as oversight.

Selecting And Hiring Customer-Satisfying People
To hire people who are motivated to perform great customer service, you'll need to learn Intentional Hiring Integrity skills. The cost to your organization of hiring the wrong person is high. See this handy check list to measure costs.