Top 5 Customer Service & CX Articles for Week of September 25, 2023

Each week, I read many customer service and customer experience articles from various resources. Here are my top five picks from last week. I have added my comment about each article and would like to hear what you think too.

Decoding CSAT: What It is and How to Calculate Your Score by Dorcas Adisa

(Sprout Social) In this article, we answer everything you need to know about customer satisfaction score (CSAT). We’ll discuss its importance and how to calculate it. Further, we’ll also share strategies to help you improve your CSAT score.

My Comment: The CSAT score, or “Customer Satisfaction” score, is a popular assessment that many companies use. Simply put, this survey tool helps measure the customer’s “satisfaction” with the company’s product or service. This comprehensive article covers the advantages of the survey and how to calculate the score correctly. Just when you think you understand CSAT, think again. You may learn something new from this article.

One Big Reason Costco Has Better Customer Service Than Other Stores by Dana George

(The Motley Fool Ascent) If you’re a Costco member who has dealt with the store’s customer service, chances are you’ve experienced a positive exchange. And that may be because Costco employees are happier overall. Of course, there’s no way to know for sure how another person feels, but everything — from providing customer service to helping members find what they’re looking for — seems to come easier to Costco employees. Is it possible that the primary reason Costco customer service enjoys such a strong reputation lies in its ability to bounce back from pandemic-related job losses?

My Comment: Costco is a big box retailer that is recognized for delivering an excellent customer experience that consistently garners high ratings and reviews from its customers (members). How do they do it? This article shares some of their methods, with an emphasis on how they staff their stores. Here’s a chance to learn from a customer service icon.

Do Your Customers Feel Honored? by Chip Bell

(Forbes) Honoring comes in countless forms. We honor with ceremony, ritual, and eloquent elocution. Awards, plaques, and decorations publicize our expressions. But honoring is bottom line about how a person is treated. In the words of Eliza Doolittle in the hit musical My Fair Lady, “The difference between a lady and a flower girl is not how she behaves, but how she is treated.”

My Comment: Chip Bell is no stranger to this weekly roundup. He just released another article in Forbes about making your customers feel honored to do business with you. The first question that came to my mind is, “Shouldn’t we be the ones who are honored to do business with a customer?” Chip flips this around and suggests that if you are delivering a high enough level of customer experience, your customers will feel honored to be doing business with you.

How to Overcome Cross-Functional Collaboration Obstacles in CX by Kelechi Okeke

(CXService360) In the field of Customer Experience (CX) management, one of the most significant challenges that organizations face is ensuring that their CX initiatives run smoothly across various departments and teams. While cross-functional collaboration is essential for delivering exceptional customer experiences, it can also become a hindrance if not managed effectively.

My Comment: Even with the best intentions to deliver great CX, some companies fail to get everyone (and every department) in alignment. It takes cross-functional collaboration. Several years ago, I met the author, Kelechi Okeke, when I was at a speaking engagement in Nigeria. In addition to his writing and consulting in the CX space, Kelechi works for a company, so he’s speaking and writing from experience. His take on this problem is worth reading. He calls upon several other industry experts, myself included, to share their thoughts on how to get everyone on board without any cross-functional breakdowns.

Is the Customer Service Recession Ending? By John Dijulius

(The DiJulius Group) Since the middle of the pandemic, customer experience in nearly all industries has dropped to a two-decade low. Customers, patients, clients, tenants, guests, or whatever you may call the person buying your services and products have been frustrated during these tough times. Due to an unprecedented booming economy, leaders started taking shortcuts, solely focusing on sales and profit, reducing their hiring standards to fill positions, and expecting and demanding more of their employees including their customer service representatives, yet not investing in the employee culture and customer experience. All of this has caused employee burnout, low employee morale, high turnover, inconsistency including bad experiences along the customer journey, and customer attrition.

My Comment: Since the pandemic, many organizations have struggled to deliver a better customer service experience. I’ve never referred to this problem as a customer service recession, but it makes sense. In this article, customer service expert John DiJulius shares his take on why he believes a turn-around is coming soon.

Shep Hyken is a customer service/CX expert, award-winning keynote speaker, and New York Times bestselling author. Learn more about Shep’s customer service and customer experience keynote speeches and his customer service training workshops at www.Hyken.com. Connect with Shep on LinkedIn.