Articles

US Cities Customer Service Rankings

Cities that provide consistently friendly and efficient service to travelers can increase their attractiveness as a destination, bringing much-needed revenue to the area. In order to evaluate and compare the service quality among major US cities, The Cicerone Group conducted a first-time national survey. . . [read more]

The Brand-Service Connection

It is easy to tell companies apart. Just look at the physical signs they display: logos, slogans, street signage, employee uniforms, storefronts and all those other cues that are meant to differentiate brands and send messages to the market.
But what happens when customers start doing business with these companies? After a certain point the “customer experience” is defined not by the information sent through brand messaging, but by the service interactions that occur between customers and employees . . .  [read more]

The Proper Feudal Spirit

A subject of perennial debate among those who manage customer service workers is whether good service skills are innate or trainable – a sort of Nature vs. Nurture argument . . . [read more]

What is Service Good For?

The Service Revolution of the 1990’s promised a basketful of rewards for companies that excelled in customer service quality. They would achieve competitive differentiation, increased customer retention, lower costs and more word-of-mouth advertising. In addition, their profit margins would go up, with customers happily paying a premium for superior service. The reality was not always so rosy. . . [read more]

Return on Service

Is good service a good thing? Many businesspeople would say that it is. . . But if you ask them how much they should invest in good service and how much return they expect from their investment, the answers start to get fuzzy . . .  [read more]