Last week I met with Terri Bartlett, the intrepid president of Marketing EDGE, for lunch at Forty Four, the restaurant at the Royalton Hotel in Manhattan. We had lots to talk about, and didn’t even... Continue reading
Visit the original Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams shop in Columbus, Ohio, and its sense of quirkiness and celebration will draw you in right away. It’s a strong case study in hooking and involving customers. Here... Continue reading
Google the phrase “managing expectations” and you’ll get 66 million hits. A search for the refinement “customer expectations” brings back 54 million hits. With so much information available, and so much interest, it’s amazing that... Continue reading
Long, long ago, maybe back in the ’80s, “empowerment” was the hot new thing in workplaces. The word itself had a regenerative, creative, motivating sound. It held the possibility that, instead of laboring under bureaucratic... Continue reading
Perhaps we’ve trained customers to believe that they’re always right or “king” so thoroughly that some of them feel “special” enough to violate institutional norms with impunity. Some of the behavior I witnessed during a... Continue reading
Is this little hotel room presentation cute, or what? A couple of weeks ago my colleague Katie and I went to an all-day meeting in Virginia Beach, VA where we stayed at a Hilton Garden... Continue reading
It’s normal to be annoyed when you’re solicited at home by an organization you don’t know or don’t care about. But being mishandled by an organization you support is irritating too! A fundraising call I... Continue reading
It’s amazing how much impact a single individual can have on an organization’s service or teamwork through a combination of personality and thoughtful action. When you see it happen in front of you it gives... Continue reading
Sometimes service people say things that an astute customer knows are false. They act as if embroidering the truth enhances their self-image or their organization’s, while making the customer feel better and more cared for.... Continue reading
If you’ve been reading my posts about service, then you know that I bestow both compliments and critiques and that I typically name the recipients of praise and keep the pans anonymous. (You can check... Continue reading
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