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The world is changing. It has already begun. Some people have already realized this. Some are acting accordingly. They’re taking action, securing their futures, their families’ futures, and the future of their businesses. They’re already winning. There’s a book everyone on this list should read. Some of you probably already have (I’ve talked about it before.) The Sovereign Individual: Mastering the Transition to the Information Age (back in stock on Amazon) What is a Sovereign Read more…

Five Things To Know Before Taking a Job in a Call Center First, a bit of background. I had a hard time finding a job out of college. I did such exciting things as data entry, administrative work in an office (as a man), and my favorite, stacking heavy cement tiles in a cold warehouse. Eventually, I got a job in the call center of a mutual fund company. This was in 2008. I bet Read more…

The Worst Part of Any Business… I’m getting out of customer service… sort of… Wall Street Playboys hate what I do…  And so do I. At least by their definition. They said in a recent tweet that customer service is “the worst part of any business.” They go on to complain about ridiculous returns, annoying questions, and bottom feeding. And I know where they’re coming from. When I first took over customer service for James Read more…

Why is perception such an important part of customer service? “Some say you ain’t cool unless you gotz a AI chatbot…” This post was based on a question I recently answered on Quora. “What the eyes see and the ears hear, the mind believes…” A lot of people ask me questions about customer service. Everything from basic principles, to specific software recommendations, to just paying me to set it up and run it for them. Read more…

The Best Way to Deal With Disgruntled Customers Keep ’em gruntled! I don’t know if gruntled is a real word. My spell check says it isn’t. But you get the idea. Once you dis-gruntle someone (and if they’re not gruntled, assume it’s your fault until proven otherwise), it’s very hard to re-gruntle them. Not saying it can’t be done, just that by that point, you’re fighting a losing battle. But let’s say you’re at that Read more…

How do you handle customer service  issues? Prevent them before they happen. Chances are, aside from one-off craziness, most of these issues are something you’ve dealt with before. They’re probably something you see a lot. They might be something you’re causing without even realizing it. Maybe people tend to get angry when their subscription renews because they forgot about the payment. The standard approach is to “handle” the issue. Maybe you’ve got some procedure for Read more…