Over the years of my customer service journey, I always enjoyed being able to answer “Yes” to a guest question. First of all, no one likes being told “No”. “We’ll get to that in a moment. But years back, as a manager at a Colorado cave and theme park, I dealt with a litany of both guest and employee issues over the course of the day. In some cases, I was being called to help a guest with a problem or question, but many times it was staff, many of whom were younger and shy around management. On my first week, I decided that when I arrived to deal with an issue, the first words out of my mouth w ..read more

We have been seeing a lot lately, in regards to AI and Chat GTP, and its potential effects on business, employment, and the future of dealing with consumers. There is a fair amount of speculation surrounding this, and depending on what business you re in, if it is not already a part of your life, it most likely will be in one way or another. Widespread use of service kiosks has become popular, especially in higher volume fast food restaurants, airports, and transportation hubs. Some say it makes ordering easier, minimizes mistakes made by humans, and automates a once human process. Every day ..read more

I live in what is the definition of a resort market. Glenwood Springs, Colorado, on the Colorado River. With a theme park, world class skiing, whitewater rafting, and every other outdoor method of outdoor fun, it is a lively place, full of people being humans. The concept behind Dealing With Humans applies to virtually any business regularly dealing with customers, clients, guests, and the lot. But nowhere is it more apparent than in a high-end resort market, or ANY place people go to “escape”, for that matter. We will talk about that word in a moment. People love to vacation, if they can. It ..read more

Today’s entry is about the closest thing to a “rant” that you will find on this blog, so far. In fairness, I said “so far”.  Here we go. I am tired of Karen. No, I am not tired of challenging customers. I am tired of the lazy act of calling someone Karen, simply because they challenged you a bit.  Maybe it was too many questions. Maybe it was a perceived “attitude”. Maybe it was, in fact, a customer from hell. It doesn’t matter. STOP with the lazy “Karen” excuse for not effectively and lovingly dealing with humans. There is no denying that some customers are never going to be happy ..read more

When someone buys your product or service, no one can argue that it is a transaction. But what if you stopped calling it that, and called it an “interaction” instead? It’s still a transaction that is taking place, but when you look at it as a human interaction that also happens to BE a transaction, different things can happen. What, you ask? Well, first, you are leveling the playing field that you and your customer are on. You come to the table with human needs, just like they do. And when you approach it that way, the entire situation becomes more genuine, and everyone is more likely to benef ..read more

I have taken a break from writing while deciding exactly what direction I wish to take this blog. But with the hottest topic in customer service right now being staffing, I want to chime in. We have heard countless stories of terrible “post pandemic” service in every sector of our business. It seems to immediately become a conversation about poor staffing.   Listen. I don’t know you, or your business, so I don’t know what your customer service philosophy is but I ask you this. Are you willing to explore the reality that it is a not so much an issue with your staffing as it may be wit ..read more

I have made some interesting observations this summer at the theme park I am a manager at.  You see, we have a gondola that takes you to the park from Glenwood Springs, Colorado, a place with varied weather conditions to say the least.  In the event the gondola closes for long periods of time, we offer bus service up and down a dirt road that comes up the back side of the mountain. On rare occasions, it is not safe to drive it, and we must notify guests that they must remain on the mountain until we can continue gondola service. Now, I have a question for you. What do you think upset ..read more

Here’s a great “what if” for you.  What if your guests and clients walked in with a video screen over their head, highlighting in some way, both good, and bad points in their life and worldly travels? What if you could see some things that made them the humans they are? Would you treat them differently? Would you treat them with either more, or in some cases, less compassion? It’s a big what if, I know, but it’s an important one in dealing with humans. As I have said in previous posts, I am not here to imply a customer guest’s behavior is justified. But what if you had just a little insig ..read more

Hello friends. I have taken quite a break from posting. It was intentional. I felt that during the pandemic, elections, and daily challenges, we were all just trying to survive, and new information would not be absorbed and learned as it should during this time. But, due to the stress I see in both the customers in my workplace and the people I encounter daily, I realized that it is time to remember why I started this mission in the first place. While those of us in the business of serving others in some way should not be responsible for the mental well being of the world, I think we can be a ..read more

I have gone for quite some time without a post, not just because of being a bit overwhelmed where I work, but because I am watching an interesting societal phenomenon unfold, and I wanted to see it play out further before commenting.  Now it’s time. I am beginning this with blatant self promotion. Go back and read all of the posts on this site, because human insecurity and need for relevance are showing themselves at levels many in the business of serving people would agree is alarmingly high. It is easy to quickly attribute it to the Covid outbreak, but I believe it to be more than that ..read more