Shep Hyken

National Customer Service Week is coming up soon. Every year it is the first full week in October.

The word dramatic is a great word. When you use it to describe changes you make to improve customer service, it has a positive meaning.

As we close out the year, I thought I'd break from the traditional customer service and experience topics and get a little personal—maybe even a little motivational.

I'm going to switch up my typical customer service and experience content to share a little motivation.

I recently wrote about taking the extra step to deliver amazing service. There were three steps: pay attention, care about your customers and put forth extra effort.

What is a professional? Is it the opposite of an amateur?

What does it cost to be nice? Some would say, "Nothing." When it comes to people interacting with people, that's probably true.

It's never fun to share bad news with a customer. Many people are scared to be the bearer of bad news.

Stop comparing yourself to the competition.

What do you call your customers? Do you call them "customers?" Maybe you call them clients, members, guests, patients, residents... the list can go on and on.

Much of my life is spent traveling. Lately, I've been home more than usual, along with most other people in the era of COVID-19.

Get ready to do a little math. While not my typical lesson, this is very important. It's about customer retention—which can lead to customer loyalty.

Want to engage and connect with your customers more effectively? Then listen to what Matt Gillin, the co-founder, and CEO of Relay Network, has to say.

Sometimes you find life lessons in unexpected places.

One of our faithful Shepard Letter subscribers emailed me a story.

"Smile and the world smiles with you." That is part of a longer quote attributed to Stanley Gordon West.

What's your story? What reasons compel your customers to do business with you? What gets them excited about doing business with you?

I see light at the end of the tunnel. While we're not back to "business as usual," we are starting to see business reopen and adapt to a new normal.

I first came across this idea in the book Moments of Truth by Jan Carlzon, which I consider one of the most important books written on customer service.

We've all heard the expression surprise and delight. The intention is that we surprise our customers with better-than-expected service.