The global economy is going through a challenging time right now. Many of us are sitting around scratching our heads wondering how the heck we're going to get out of this mess. Some of us are looking to President Obama to lead us to a new way of life while others have just given up.

We're all quick to point fingers at overpaid CEOs and executives who haven't made any meaningful contributions to their companies. I've done my own finger-pointing as well.

Despite all this chaos, however, we're seeing this silver lining....

Companies are realizing that delivering excellent customer service is vitale to the success of a company. Sure, many companies still have a ways to go in improving their attitude towards customers, but overall we're seeing a shift in mindset. Companies are finally waking up to the idea that attending to customer's needs is the key to keeping or increasing their market share.

A prime example of this is Hyundai and their Hyundai Assurance Program. If a customer purchases a car from Hyundai but gets laid off, Hyundai will pay their car note for them for a year.

Hyundai figured out what car buyers' objections were - one of them being a fear of losing their jobs and not being able to make their car payment. The company came up with the program to help overcome people's fears. Now other auto companies like GM and Ford who are offering similar programs.

Then there's Russ Gerdin, a billionaire who owns Heartland Express Inc., a trucking company that continues to still do very well despite the economic downturn. Gerdin was featured in this month's Conde Naste Portfolio where he reveals his method of keeping customers: pushing his employees to do dozens of little things a tiny bit better than the competition. Besides that, Gerdin has kept a $300K yearly income for the past 20+ years. No fancy bonuses for him.

I don't know about you, but I don't look at the economy as a bad thing. This is an opportunity for companies to continue to improve their service. What do you think?

For those of you who live in the U.S., I hope you had a good holiday weekend!

I just wanted to write a quick post to let you know that the Customer Service Carnivale was posted yesterday over at Kevin Stirtz's blog, Amazing Service Guy.

Click here to read the carnivale!

There were quite a few submissions, but only a few posts made the cut. As a reminder, when you submit a post to the carnivale, please make sure the article is customer service related.

Click here to submit your article for the next Customer Service Carnivale!

If you've been reading this blog for awhile, I'm pretty sure you know what the key is to attracting and keeping loyal customers!

For those of you who aren't quite sure, read on...

J. Brandon Darin of Fortune magazine interviewed Emily Yellin, the author of Your Call (is not) That Important To Us. Yellin says this about the current state of customer service:

I think that customer service is going to be important with the economy the way it is because as companies start to compete about price, service is going to be the one differentiator.

I agree with everything that Yellin said about why customer service has gotten so bad. CEOs need to take responsibility and set the standard for customer service within the company. When a CEO values customer service and impresses upon everyone else the importance of a strong service-oriented culture, that energy trickles down to everyone.

When you provide great customer service, you create loyal customers...

So, what's the big deal with customer loyalty anyway?

Here's an article if you're wondering what the long-term value of customer loyalty is...

"Never neglect the little things. Never skimp on that extra effort, that additional few minutes, that soft word of praise or thanks, that delivery of the very best that you can do. It does not matter what others think; it is of prime importance, however, what you think about you. You can never do your bst, which should always be your trademark, if you are cutting corners and shirking responsibilities. You are special. Act it. Never neglect the little things." --Og Mandino

What little thing can you do for your customers today?

Welcome to the Customer Service Carnivale! I apologize that I didn't get this post published sooner. Think of it as a fun carnivale at night with all the bright lights :)

Customer Service Tools

I'm a firm believer in using social networking websites to keep in touch with customers. Although this next post is geared towards real estate agents, anybody can apply the basic tips. Check out: The Real Estate Agent’s Guide to Using Twitter + 10 Essential Resources.

Find out how to Drive Traffic to Your Company with a Toll Free Number. I agree that an 800 number makes you more accessible to customers. Another post at the same blog is Time Zones and Businesses Can Mix Well.

Customer Service Tips

Douglas Dolan offers some very sound tips when dealing with unhappy customers in How Best to Handle Customer Conflict | The Solopreneur's Guide.

GP asks the million dollar question: Can the Customer Always be “Right”? I like the idea of influencing someone by baking for them ;)

GeekMBA360 tells us how an owner sets an example of good customer service in Only one waiter takes orders at a very popular restaurant.

I believe that your personal productivity is related to how well you manage your customers and projects. Check out these tips in How To Improve Your Personal Productivity With Task Management.

Learn what the biggest mistake in restaurant customer service is by reading Training The Trainer.

Working in a fast-paced service industry can mean high pressure. Learn how to Perform Under Pressure.

Learn why it's so important to Respond to Feedback that customers give you.

Customer Service Stories

After reading this latest submission from the Banquet Manager, What Do I Do With This Bottle Of Wine?, I'm convinced that Banquet Manager really, really needs a new job! ;)

If you have any credit cards at all, I think this is a must-read: Capital One Raises Interest Rates After Balance Paid Off! What happened to Customer Loyalty?

Silicon Valley Blogger offers up a really good review of an online stock broker in TradeKing Review: How Does TradeKing Measure Up?

Bill Hogg shares an experience at Orange Lake Resort - Holiday Inn: Part 1. While you're there, make sure to read Part 2 for good tips!

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of customer service carnivale using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Photo Credit: Jodi Juricic

"Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not." -Dr. Suess

Ah, Dr. Seuss. Such a person with a great deal of wisdom!

This quote came from the book, "Caring: Making a Difference One Story at a Time". The book is published by the hospital, Kaiser Permanente, and is full of stories from employees of the company. My friend is a RN and I've heard tons of stories these past 10 years. You really have to be a caring and giving person to work in the medical field. Those of you who tune into the TV show, "Grey's Anatomy" get a snippet of what's involved in taking care of patients.

What I've learned from all the stories my friend has told me is that all people need is a little kindness in their life. A smiling face...words of encouragement...or even just a hug. That's enough to make a difference in someone's life.

The Customer Service Carnivale is coming up this Monday, May 11th...Have you submitted a post yet? The deadline is this Saturday, May 9th.

Also, just a heads up that the May 25th edition of the carnivale will be hosted by Kevin Stirtz who blogs over at AmazingServiceGuy.com. Any posts submitted on the BlogCarnival submission page on or after May 10th will be included on Kevin's blog - that is, if your post is customer service related ;)

Would you like to host an upcoming edition of the carnivale? Send an email to: maria [at] people2peopleservice [dot] com.

Going to the dentist is a very big deal for most people. It can be a little nerve-wracking, to say the very least. The idea of someone putting all these different tools in your mouth and the sound of a drill hitting your teeth is enough to make your palms sweat like crazy! Ok, so maybe I'm just speaking for myself...

Since most people go to the internet for research before they choose a dentist, or any professional service for that matter, I thought I would do a website case study of a local San Diego sedation dentist so that you have an idea of what I believe constitutes a customer-friendly website.

I decided to do this case study because I know that there are many people out there with new businesses who want to create their first website. Those of you regular readers may find the information a little redundant as I've done several case studies on my old blog, Customers Are Always, but it's been awhile since the last case study. I think that websites are evolving and we could all use a refresher every once in awhile.

In this case study I'll be sharing with you New Image Dental, the website of Dr. Scott Strommer and Dr. Leslie Strommer, a husband and wife team.

The Most Important Page of a Website

When people first come to your website, they typically want to know who you are and what your business is about, so an "About Us" page is highly recommended. This page tells people what your background is and what the mission of your business is. This is a very important page because it is equivalent to a handshake if you were meeting a customer for the very first time.

On their About Us page, the Strommers share their education and background in dentistry. They also included a picture of themselves - another element of a website that is recommended. Even if it's just a website, you still want to make a personal connection with your customers.



How Will Customers Contact You?

You'd be surprised how many people forget a Contact Us page. If a customer wants more information about your services, there needs to be contact information or else you stand the chance of losing them as a customer. Make sure to include an email address, phone number, and the mailing address of your business. You want it to be as easy as possible for customers to contact you.

In addition to the standard contact info, the New Image Dental's Contact Us page includes business hours as well as a map and directions to their office. Having this information on your website saves the customer the hassle of calling you on the phone to get that information.


Information, Information, Information

What kind of services do you offer? This is the type of information you also want to include on your website. Dentists offer various services and many of these services may be foreign to customers. Offering definitions, descriptions, how-to information, a F.A.Q. page, or news about your services or industry is valuable and helpful.

New Image Dental has a "Patient Library" page, an "Online Resources" page that connects customers with information about the field of dentistry, and a "Your Questions" page that answers the most frequently asked questions that clients have about their practice.



When people do searches on the internet, the information you provide on your website could show up in those search results. The more information you have, the more chances you have of showing up on the front page of a search engine like Google. For example, if a customer was doing a search for "San Diego veneers", the New Image Dental website would probably show up.

Make It Easy To Do Business With You

What I like about the New Image Dental website is there are forms that new patients can download and fill out before they even come into the office. This saves new patients a great deal of time on the day of their appointment. They can just walk in and all their information is ready to hand over to the receptionist. This is an idea that doctors or lawyers could adopt - or any other business that requires paperwork for clients to fill out.


Think about what you could add to your website to make it easier or more efficient for customers to do business with you.

Personal Connections

Nowadays we have many ways to connect with our customers. I've mentioned Twitter before. There's also Facebook, MySpace, a myriad of social networking websites, and blogs that are available to communicate with others.

One thing I would like to see the Strommers do is create online profiles to social networks and link to them from their website. Of course having an online profile isn't a necessity, but it could help build their personal brand and possibly connect with new clients.

On a Scale of 1 to 10...

I would give the New Image Dental website a 9. The overall look and feel of the website is inviting and easy to navigate. I knocked off a point for not having a blog or social network profile connected to the website. Like I mentioned before, these elements are not a necessity, but I think a blog would be beneficial for clients who want to learn more about their business. A blog would give the Strommers a chance to build upon their expertise by offering information that isn't available anywhere else.

If you have other thoughts to add about the New Image Dental website or website creation in general, feel free to leave a comment!