Very Good Service: good customer service stories

We present here a selection of top customer service articles that we came across during the 2013 year:

1. Customer Service Bundles

   This is a collection of customer service stories (and the articles covering them) which have made it “viral”, usually because a single employee in a company did something beyond the call of duty to deliver a good customer experiences. Our most recent bundles can be found here: http://bundlr.com/b/customer-service4 – covering period up to December 2013.

2. Mobile Devices and Customer Service to Make 2013 the Year of the Consumer:

   This article talks about the emergence of new technologies and the widespread use of mobile devices which allow companies to deliver personalised marketing to customers and thereby enrich their customer experience. The full article was published on Forbes.com website. – http://www.forbes.com/sites/sap/2013/01/02/mobile-devices-and-customer-service-to-make-2013-the-year-of-the-consumer/

3. What is the key to great customer service?

   A debate organised by Business Reporter of the Daily Telegraph where a panel of industry experts give their opinion about what constitute great customer service. Views differ depending on the industry but there is one key common element: being able to handle customer interactions. The full article is available here: http://business-reporter.co.uk/2013/12/the-debate-what-is-the-key-to-great-customer-service/

4. Customer service wish list

   List of behaviours and characteristics that companies should adopt in order to improve the customer experience. Article published by Richard Shapiro and republished on the Customer Think blog. http://www.customerthink.com/blog/my_2013_customer_service_wish_list

5. Should You Bother Using Social Media to Serve Customers?

   Published at the end of 2012 so let us make it qualify for 2012! This Harvard Business Review article on customer service and social media highlights some of the key questions to ask whilst designing a social media customer service strategy. http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2012/12/should_you_bother_using_social.html

6. Customer service- why it matters and how to do it right?

   A background post designed to launch new initiatives, check lists and tool kits to be published alongside this article on the Forrester blog. http://blogs.forrester.com/kate_leggett/13-01-04-customer_service_why_it_matters_and_how_to_do_it_right

7. Luka Apps, 7-Year-Old Boy, Writes Letter To Lego, Gets His Toy Replaced –

   A classic customer service story to rank alongside the Morton’s steakhouse, Sainsbury’s and Krispy Kreme hits where a little boy gets a new toy after a diligent customer service officer delivers excellent customer service. Story narrated in an article by the Huffington Post which can be found on their website: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/09/luka-apps_n_2434781.htm

8. Could 2013 Be the Year That Customer Service Gets Better?

   -Article published on Time Magazine website showing that whilst investment in customer service has been held back by difficulties in measuring ROI, there are signs that things are changing 2013 and companies want to improve their customer service further. Read more: http://business.time.com/2013/01/11/could-2013-be-the-year-that-customer-service-gets-better/#ixzz2HkpzeNuZ

9. Forrester’s top 15 trends for customer service

   These 15 trends could probably all figure in many people’s top 10 lists of things to get right for customer service in 2013. Some are easier than others to implement but for those companies who adopt the full package, they would certainly be ahead of the curve in terms of customer service delivery for 2013. This article was published in ComputerWorld. Read more on their website: http://blogs.computerworlduk.com/app-dev-and-programme-management/2013/01/forresters-top-15-trends-for-customer-service/index.htm

10. Customer service in 2013: Your challenge checklist

    A useful checklist flagging the main challenges for 2013. Based on research by the Customer Contact Association and Kana. Professionals will usefully go through this list at various point during the year, say quarterly to give a new impetus at their customer service improvement programme. The article was published on the website mycustomer.com – The full article can be found here: http://www.mycustomer.com/topic/customer-experience/customer-service-2013-expert-s-view/161181

11. 20 Tricks of the Trade to develop superior customer service

    This list of short, to the point, things to do to keep customers happy does not introduce new concepts but brings them together in a powerful package which promises to be effective if deployed fully. The article was published by Small Business Trends and can be found here: http://smallbiztrends.com/2013/01/20-customer-service-tips.html

12. Complainers finding their voice

    The dark side of customer service is how to deal with complaints and this article from the BBC gives some insight in what consumers are expecting in terms of complaints handling. Two key elements are highlighted. First the response time must be as short as possible and secondly, customers do like a single contact point who is going to handle the entirety of the complaint. The full text of the article can be found here:  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-20959424

13. Business case studies on customer service

    The Times 100 business case studies provide unique access to the way companies have developed certain aspects of their business. The series cover many aspects such as policies, strategy and integration with other activities such as sales. We have selected here one specific case study but there are plenty more to look at depending on your specific interest: Developing competitive advantage through customer service.

14. The institutionalisation of customer service

    This speech by Martin Wheatley – Managing Director, Conduct Business Unit at the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment – was published on the FSA website and explains why financial regulators encourage better customer service:  http://www.fsa.gov.uk/library/communication/speeches/2013/0312-mw.shtml

15. The 51 Best Customer Service Tips for Entrepreneurs

    This post gives a long and detailed list of recommendations for entrepreneurs who wish to establish a good service culture in their business. Not all will be applicable or relevant but certainly a good check list against which you can test your own practices – http://mikemichalowicz.com/the-51-best-customer-service-tips-for-entrepreneurs/

16. Should you invest 1 dollar in customer service or marketing

    Interesting pice promoting the case for businesses investing theri marginal dollar in customer service rather than marketing – http://www.bigcommerce.com/ecommerce-blog/should-you-invest-1-into-customer-service-or-marketing/

17. Customer service: the new proactive marketing

    This article builds on research conducted by the White Ofiice of Consumer Affairs to support the case for better customer service in the quest to retain existing custmers and thereby considerably improve the chance of success of a business. The findings were published by the Huffington Post and can be found here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/hulya-aksu/customer-service-the-new-_b_2827889.html

18. Twitter is for customer service whether you like it or not

    This short blog post gives simple 5 steps peace of advice on how to set your twitter account and the team handling it ready for dealing with customer service queries via Twitter. Whilst a lot of details will be required to put it in place fully, especially for a large organisation, this Twitter customer service starter kit could be useful for many companies just starting on Twitter. The full text can be found here: http://socialmediatoday.com/chrissyme/1332856/twitter-customer-service-whether-you-it-or-not

19. Is social customer service a priority where you work

    This article includes a number of interesting statistics about the use of social media and customer service whereby many companies (38%) aim to improve customer service via the use of social media but a much smaller proportion (19%) involve their customer service department in social media activities. The research was published on Hootsuite blog and can be found here: http://blog.hootsuite.com/why-social-customer-service/

20. Maybe you get bad customer service because you are a bad customer 

    A tale where the “customer is always right” motto might not apply. Very often the customer himself has a very strong influence over the quality of service received. Before you complain about bad customer service, it might be worth considering what role you played in it. To read the full story visit:  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/matt-walsh/bad-customer-service_b_3799574.html – August 2013

21. Can you improve customer service by empowering your team?

    An article by Alistair Niederer who is the CEO of Teleperformance in the UK and South Africa and is responsible for 6000 members of staff who deliver services to clients on a daily basis. He argues that service provided by an empowered employee is more likely to be able to deliver a great service to customers. The full text can be found here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alistair-niederer/can-you-improve-customer-_b_4193366.html – November 2013

 The new 2014 edition of the best customer service articles is now available here: https://blog.verygoodservice.com/best-customer-service-articles-2014/

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