Welcome to the Customer Service Carnivale! Step right up for a dose of good customer service tips and stories...and make sure to try the popcorn and cotton candy as well!

Customer Service Tips

Love this! Heidi Miller presents Spoken Communications: Dear corporations: nothing else matters if your customer service s**ks posted at Spoken Communications.

This next post is geared more towards consumers, but there are good lessons to learn: How to Deal With a Bad Deal posted at fivecentnickel.com.

Surbhi Bhatia shares some thoughts about Guerilla Advertising posted at The Viewspaper.

Customer Service Tools

Alan Underkofler presents 7, 10, Ok How about 11 Top Reasons Twitter is a Must Have for Your Business posted at Square Martini Media.

Customer Service Stories

There are many reason why Amazon is well-known for excellent customer service. Service Untitled shares one of those reasons: Simple Returns With Amazon.com.

Ms. Smarty Pants shares a good experience with TomTom Customer Service posted at Ms. Smarty Pants

I really like this story told from the perspective of someone who has worked in service: That's the Spirit posted at A Personnel Matter.

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.

It's been awhile since I've been to the dentist, but I can't put it off any longer. I need some work done, but I don't want to see just any dentist. Of course, I want a dentist who offers great customer service - someone who understands that it's the little things that count.

I was looking at this San Diego cosmetic dentist's website and noticed their list of dental services. Have you ever been offered refreshments like bottled water, tea, or muffins at a dentist's office? How about soothing music on an iPod as you get your teeth worked on?

I'm sure there are many dentists out there who have forgotten or don't even realize that it's how you treat patients that determines whether or not their dental practice will be successful.

I was inspired to write this article, How to Build a Successful Dental Practice, just in case there are any dentists out there who need a little reminder of what it takes to attract loyal patients. Hopefully, it will give you some food for thought and make you think about any changes that are needed to take your business to the next level.

Remember that customer service is not something that is provided by retailers and restaurants. If you run any type of business, you should still be thinking about how you can best serve your customers.

Photo Credit: Emran Kassim

Welcome to the "better late than never" edition of the Customer Service Carnivale. I apologize for the late posting as I was working on a client project that took up most of the day. Thanks for your patience!

This edition features what I thought were the best submissions that offered genuine customer service tips or stories. Also, as a reminder, any previous stories that have been published in a previous carnivale will not be posted again.

So, without further ado...

• I love this great story Traci Hayner Vanover's shares: Now Hear This: Happy Customers = Evangelists.

• This one will make you laugh, 13 Signs That You Don't Want To Eat There, and this one will make you appreciate what servers do, When The Flowers Dry, posted at So You Want To Be a Banquet Manager....

• I'm not really sure if I agree with this post - what are your thoughts? Is total control the no 1 must have quality for great leadership?

• I like the tips offered here: Customer Service- Dealing with the Difficult Customer posted at Changing the Outlook on Customer Service.

• The characteristics offered in this post can actually be applied to any business: Things That Make a Trade Show Rental Service a Quality One

• Wally Bock shares Community is a Characteristic of a Great Working Environment. A great work environment creates happy workers mean happy customers!
  

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.

For quite a few years now T-Mobile has topped the list for wireless customer service, however, it seems as if Verizon is gaining ground.

J.D. Power and Associates recently released the results of their 2009 Wireless Customer Care Performance Study in which T-Mobile, Verizon, and Alltel (owned by Verizon) were in a three-way tie. This semi-annual study tells how well wireless carriers service their customers in three point-of-contact methods:

• Telephone calls with a customer service representative (CSR) or automated response system
  
• Visits to a wireless store
• Visits on the web

I personally have a T-Mobile account and for the past eight months that I've been a customer, I've been very happy with the service. Before that I was an AT&T customer and the service was horrid. I could get into a long, drawn-out story about my experience with AT&T, but I would need about 100 pages to tell it!

Whenever I call T-Mobile I never have to wait too long to talk to a CSR. Everyone I've spoken to has been very pleasant and respectful.

In the future I think it would be nice if J.D. Powers & Associates also took into account how wireless companies use social media and engage with customers that way. I took a quick look at T-Mobile's twitter account and I can see that their Twitter team is very active and engaging.


On the other hand, Verizon has several Twitter accounts (@VZHelpNetwork, @VZWSupport, @VZWOffers, etc.) depending on what type of information or help that you need. For me that can be a little confusing. As a side note, neither one of these accounts even has the amount of followers that T-Mobile has.

What do you think? Is T-Mobile at the top of your list in customer service?

I believe in karma. You know the saying, “What goes around, comes around.” I’ve lived that philosophy for many years and I’ve seen it in action in my own business. I like to think of karma as a slight variation of the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would like them to do unto you.

So when I heard the news about Amazon buying Zappos, the first thought that came to mind was, “That’s karma!”

Think about it. Zappos has built their whole business on providing exceptional customer service. They’ve invested the time and the money in making sure each and every customer is satisfied. Tony Hsieh, the CEO of Zappos, has created a company culture that promotes fun and creativity which in turn has produced a happier work environment.

And now the investment has paid off big time.

So, what are you doing today to increase your karma? Are you living by the Golden Rule in every interaction you have with someone else whether it be an employee, supplier, vendor or customer?

Read other perspectives of the Amazon-Zappos deal:

• Amazon-Zappos: Not the Usual Silicon Valley M & A
• Q&A: Probing the Amazon-Zappos Deal
  

Welcome to the latest edition of the Customer Service Carnivale! Just like our previous edition, there are some great customer service tips and stories to share. Thanks to everyone for their contributions!

Customer Service Stories

Madeleine Begun Kane thinks Amazon invaded her privacy in Kindle Swindle? posted at Mad Kane's Political Madness.

After reading Marquette Bank would have been smart to apologize to Sheryl Stone posted at The Business Ethics Blog, I'm going to start paying more attention of all the different fees that banks charge me!

And speaking of banks...Miss Bankrupt presents Rape by Credit Card posted at Miss Bankrupt.

Customer Service Tips

Companies spend a great deal of time evaluating their customer service reps, but what about
Evaluating the Evaluators?

Managed Services offers some really good customer service tips in The Difference Between Customer Service and Exceptional Customer Service posted at Managed Services Blog.

Great Management presents Benefits to Management Development Programmes posted at GreatManagement Blog, saying, "Regular training and development programmes increase job satisfaction and morale among managers and of course employees."

GP shares thoughts on Customer “No” Service posted at Manely Montana, saying, "the perils of customer "no" service".

I've always believed that word-of-mouth marketing is the best type of marketing. We learn from Peter Cantelo the 4 Steps To Building a Referral Based Business posted at vivavi.co.uk.

Treating your employees with respect (internal customer service) is just as important as treating your paying customers with respect. If you treat your employees as gophers, you may end up with rants like this one: "I'm Not Your Secretary, I'm The Banquet Manager Dammit."

Wally Bock presents The Fallibility Factor posted at Three Star Leadership Blog, saying, "Here's a news flash. The people who work for you will make mistakes. Most of them aren't worth mentioning."

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.

Would you like to host a future carnivale? Contact maria[at]people2peopleservice[dot]com for more information.

Browsing through Twitter's search tool looking for customer service information, I came across some interesting tips that people have shared...

I like the last tip: "Every complaint is an opportunity for something positive". That's a good one to print out and keep posted so that you can see it everyday!

If you ever share something customer service-related on Twitter, you can also add the "#customerservice" notation at the end. It's easier for people to discover you that way.

Do you have a customer service tip you'd like to share? Leave a comment!

Are you on Twitter? You can follow me here. FYI: I tweet about many topics, not just customer service.

Other interesting articles on the web about customer service and Twitter:

• HOW TO: Use Twitter for Customer Service
• Customer Service Via Twitter
  

Related Posts:

• A Tale of Social Media

• What Are Customers Saying About You on the Internet? Three Places to Check