Today we look at the all-to-common dilemma of mismanaging customer questions. I once worked with an ex-TV news reporter, who actually created a company devoted to teaching the art of “question deflection.” In fact, this person did quite well. Why? Because there is an enormous corporate appetite for manipulating customer questions. Do we really think that customers like our clever, devious, and manipulative ways of managing their queries? Or, how about the recent trend to just “ghost” customer questions altogether? Do we really think these behaviors lead to a bounty of repeat and referral business? Join us as we look at a solid way to raise the bar on customer satisfaction. Come on folks…JUST ANSWER THE DANG QUESTION!Support the show

In life, we find that answers to many of our questions can be found hidden in simplicity. The same holds true for business. Today we look at the silver lining of viewing our businesses through a very raw, elementary, and basic lens. Granted, we all thrive on selling a product or service that produces a payment, but what about the journey we take customers on to that payment? Often times it’s in these “transactional stretches” that we create the most impactful favorable, or unfavorable impressions. Oversimplifying our companies allow us to see what the customer sees! What are we doing right? What are we doing wrong? What can we change to make the transactional journey a better experience for our customers? Enjoy!Support the show

Long-term business success can be severely hampered by employees who streak! What is streaking? What are the easy ways to detect if streaking is happening in our companies? What impact can streaking have on our customers? Join us as we uncover three, simple concepts that can eliminate streaking, and set up guardrails to avoid streaking events in the future.Support the show

The business boneyard is full of companies that were infected with “circular” customer service! Are we taking customers on a never-ending journey, that seems full of lip service, and zero action? Like a mouse on a wheel, many customers experience the ugliness of pursuing service, only to find their efforts lead them around, and around, and around, with no resolution in sight. My wife and I just endured such a three-month journey, and it was not our first such experience. Many of us have experienced this service wheel on more than one occasion! This episode offers an invitation to search, and destroy any “circular” service that maybe infecting your company! Kick back, do a little day dreaming, and get rid of any “stinkin-thinkin” that may be leading your customer service department. The likely outcome for “circular” service providers is the business graveyard!Support the show

Cryptic communication, tardy responses, shoddy detail management, and unanswered customer questions can cripple business success, and hamper future growth. On the flip side, prompt and detailed correspondence can help companies grow by exceeding customer expectations. However, both sides of this coin rest on the shoulders of managing email activity. So, why do so few companies touch on this? Why do so many owners and managers leave such an important function up to personal preference? What do our customers think of how we manage their correspondence? Are there costly dangers to poor email-inbox management? How should we be approaching this administrative skill set, that marries up with our customer service deliverables? We hope our questions can energize quality thinking! Enjoy the show!Support the show

Overseeing 8,000 employees creates unique vantage points for assessing business. Wesley uses his career background to support the notion that professional selling is a noble calling, and that this career path is loaded with premier leadership opportunities. We are honored that Wes joins us to highlight, and define, key elements of the profession that many of us are proud to be associated with. This is a great episode to share with anyone still contemplating their potential career path. We have segmented this 1:37:00 podcast into sections that can be accessed quickly and efficiently. We have listed the time markers, and section headings below. Enjoy the show!00:01: Introduction05:57: The Awakening09:21: The Cornerstone10:40: The “Character” Factor15:41: Hiring Good Character22:15: Developing Human Relation Skills28:06: Developing Leaders34:30: The “Good Name” Factor39:12: Evangelizing Truth45:10: Developing Public Speaking Skills51:28: The Personal Skill-Building Mindset1:02:04 Developing Strategic Planners1:09:41: Genuine Enthusiasm1:16:52: Advice for Career Selection1:24:32: Tipping Points1:33:34: Closing & The Special Song From the Shop Floor to the Top Floor – Releasing the CEO Withinby Wesley E. Cantrellhttps://www.amazon.com/shop-floor-top-Releasing-within/dp/1615071083 High-Performance Ethics: 10 Timeless Principles for Next-Generation Leadershipby Wesley E. Cantrellhttps://www.amazon.com/High-Performance-Ethics-Principles-Next-Generation-Leadership/dp/1414303416 Her Husband is Known in the Gatesby Bernadine Bigner Cantrellhttps://www.amazon.com/Husband-Known-Bernadine-Bigner Cantrell/dp/161579557X Bending the Twigby Bernadine B. Cantrellhttps://www.amazon.com/Bending-Twig-Bernadine-B Cantrell/dp/096470286XSupport the show

Exceptional customer service starts with an understanding that the complexities of life are behind every business veneer we encounter. All business professionals have lives that can directly affect their work attitudes. As service providers, we don’t always know what our customers are encountering in their personal lives. In fact, we have no idea how good, or bad their day, week, month, or year is going. However, we can always be sensitive to the notion that they are navigating life challenges, and that some of these challenges may affect their professional disposition. With that in mind, we invite you to spend five minutes to examine, and consider how to weave these understandings into your service mindset. Support the show

Imagine perceiving that all of our daily work activities serve a customer! Well, in reality they do! Whether it’s an invoice paying patron, an associate, a teammate, vendor, supplier, direct report, or even a boss, we have an opportunity to demonstrate good business stewardship. Set aside fiveminutes for this contemplative message. Imagine adopting a simple mindset that can leave a trail of smiling fans along the road to a rewarding, fruitful and productive career? Enjoy!Support the show

Giving sincere business compliments can kickstart healthy and productive relationships. The power of authenticity and genuineness are unspoken business qualities that are routinely overlooked. However, every generation seems to respond favorably to business professionals who consistently display these tenants. This show encourages us to harness the art of delivering accolades that matter to the receiver. We can set ourselves apart from the competition by highlighting a hard-earned achievement of our potential customer, and then expressing an authentic compliment that resonates with the recipient. Support the show

After 35 years in business, I have seen, and heard, my fair share of vendors who default to situational fabrication while resolving customer issues. There are many problems with transaction fabrications, but the most glaring is unspoken. In many cases, the customer can sense the lies and embellishment, yet they will rarely tell us that their “BS Radar” has picked up our deviancy. They simply disappear, leaving the vendor with no chance of obtaining repeat, or referral business. So today, our show presents a simple, and effective alternative. Thanks for tuning in!Support the show

Sharing stories of life can often begin the restoration process for people who have endured similar experiences.Amada Blackwood shares her remarkable story of escape, and survival, from the horrors of human trafficking. Knowing that many others have been hurt by these dark corners of our world, Amanda shines her bright light with a message of hope and healing. This is a “Pay it Forward” episode that could benefit someone you know, and care about. Thank you, Amanda!Support the show

Observant buyers can effectively read the tea leaves of business behavior. Savvy customers can sense when they are about to walk into a service mess, or a buyer’s paradise. Baseball pitchers often telegraph their upcoming pitch. They do this by defaulting to unique, repetitive, pre-release throwing mechanics that their opposition learns through observation. Businesses do the same thing. Often times our customers know when we are about to deliver bad service, or no service at all. This show encourages executives, and owners to get acquainted with what their employees are telegraphing customers. However, and more importantly, we want corporate leadership to fully understand what types of service their paying customers are receiving. This show looks at some common behavior no-no’s, as well as exemplary customer experience intentions being projected by The Dock Café (Stillwater, MN), and Home Comfort Interiors (St. Peters, MO).Support the show

What would companies look like if the C-Suite personnel engaged in the routine duties of every employee position? The annual figures are about the same for start-up companies compared to businesses that shut their doors. After watching transactional behaviors for over 30 years, I can comfortably claim that many of these dead enterprises died on the “Experience Economy” battlefield. Quite frankly, many of these companies went to the boneyard because they routinely delivered dissatisfying experiences to customers. This show looks at how executives can discover small revelations, improvements, and corrections wrapped up in customer-centricity. These 1% changes can really add up, and quite possibly, change the trajectory of a company. Have a GREAT July 4th America!Support the show

Why do some businesses deliberately choose to do what is wrong, even when they know their decision will lead to customer dissatisfaction? To coin an old phrase, some business actions stick out like a sore thumb. Many times, the pain suffered from these actions hurts worse than that sore thumb? So why do we do these things? Do we understand the true cost of serving up service we know is bad before we deliver it? Referrals are essential to the success of many business models. Likewise, a necessary cadence of repeat business is often the lifeblood to certain enterprises. This show helps us enhance customer satisfaction, and ensure a steady diet of repeat and referral transactions. These five minutes explore three, simple suggestions that can help deliver the right experience to customers. To all the restaurants out there…please throw away those wilted mint leaves!!! Support the show

What are the various ways we engage with customers? More importantly, how do we engage with our customers. Do we wing our encounters and default to verbal wrestling. Do we blurt out the first thought that bubbles up, or do we patiently listen before a careful response? Do we put thought into what we will say, should say, and do say? This episode will open up a vault on the QSS principle, which was initially taught well over 2000 years ago.Support the show

Acquiring experience-oriented opinions about purchases can be an arduous task, resulting in excessive costs, and low engagement. This show looks at where to find inexpensive, and expansive information about what buyers think, and how they feel about our businesses. Enjoy!Support the show

How often do we recognize the golden opportunities tucked inside of negative events? Probably not as much as we should. Turning lemons into lemonade is an overused cliché, that is undercapitalized in real life. Processing a warranty claim presents a viable opportunity to embrace this cliché, and deliver a customer-centric experience. Consumers understand that problems may arise, and all they really want is professional and expeditious issue resolution. It is at this intersection that many companies fail miserably. This episode is an opportunity to start winning glowing reviews, that stem from handling negative situations in positive ways. Invest the next four minutes hearing a couple of stories, and a few ideas about turning lemons into lemonade. Support the show

As we take the week off from our “3 Biz Tips in 5 Minutes” podcast series, we invite you to Join us as we catch up with Gordon Manzione. The last time we connected was on Episode #43, dating back to August 13, 2020. Today we chat with Gordon about Australia, America, and his unique, creative, and evolving gift of video storytelling. Always candid, engaging, and good natured, Gordon will leave you smiling! Thanks for tuning in, and cheers to the GLHS class of 1976!G-MANhttps://www.youtube.com/@gman1184The Elephant in The Roomhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATurE4NOtLYSupport the show

Imagine reducing the quantity of time in order to increase the quality of service?We invite you to tag along for a five-minute broadcast that unveils the customer-pleasing math of delivering exceptional service in the Experience Economy. More or less, this episode is all about accomplishing more, with less! Are you a “720 Company”, or a “120 Company?” Enjoy the show!Support the show

Want better customer experiences? If so, then how about we start by examining the very packaging we use to get our products into the marketplace. How do our parcels really look when they hit front porches or receiving docks? It may seem trite on the surface, but we do send our customers perception-building messages, each time we ship a product. Stop and ask yourself one question. How many times have you received a delivery that was poorly prepared for the long, and sometimes rugged haul by carriers? My guess is that around 50% of those improperly packed deliveries contained damaged, or slightly impaired product. We encourage you to spend the next five minutes with us as we wrap a familiar topic with some fresh thinking. Sometimes, the answers are as simple as making sure the bananas are not at the bottom of the grocery bag! Healthy customer experiences start with the perception we wrap around our products. Enjoy!Support the show