Make or Break Moments

APRIL 19, 2010

Want to set your blog up to be downloaded on Kindle? Reading your favorite blogs on Kindle? Hopefully this is one of them. per month subscription you can now receive the updates on your handheld reader. Visit, Kindle: Make or Break Moments to subscribe. Follow the simple instructions that can be found at Mashable (of course!).

Customer Service 100

Customer Service 2009 2008 Social Media 100

Make or Break Moments

JANUARY 1, 2010

Last year I selected three words, which were Bite, Charge and Follow-Up. Just like the Italian alleyway pictured above, I need to ensure that my focus is narrow, razor sharp, niched to a specific client/a specific service. If customer communication or social media is on your list, I hope you’ll give me a call.

2010 100

2010 2009 Customer Service 2008 100

Make or Break Moments

MARCH 21, 2010

This section is about working at the coalface of social media. Is this earned media? How important is brand in the social media space? Influence Much is made of influence, but what does “influence&# mean in social media? Getting to work They say that the best approach to social media is dive in.

Social Media 100

Social Media 2009 Customer Service 2010 100

Make or Break Moments

JANUARY 29, 2010

I should be wrapping things up – preparing for a girly weekend with my middle schooler, but no. I am presenting a series of four workshops on Social Media scheduled to begin February 10 and follow for three additional Wednesdays. Sign up for my class and get charged an unexplainable shipping and handling fee of $19.80.

Social Media 100

Social Media Customer Service 2009 2008 100

Make or Break Moments

MAY 7, 2010

Fast forward to today and the abstract experiment is now a concrete treatise on the state of social media and marketing best practices as a whole. Read all about it and then order your copy.

Social Media 100

Social Media Customer Service 2009 2008 100

Make or Break Moments

APRIL 15, 2010

Join a Group Posted by Deborah Chaddock Brown on April 15, 2010 under Connecting Moments , social media | Be the First to Comment If I were a betting woman I would say that you have joined LinkedIn. He challenged us to grow. “Hit 100 members and we’ll meet up.&#

Customer Service 100

Customer Service Social Media 2009 2010 100

Make or Break Moments

JUNE 4, 2010

Social media has taken over the web. I set up a Wordpress.com blog and with the exception of the $9.95 What did you find? A number of references to your company, perhaps some LinkedIn answers, a blog comments or two? Did you also find a reference to a site that links directly to your name? The cost? It was almost free.

Customer Service 100

Customer Service 2009 2008 Social Media 100

Make or Break Moments

JANUARY 29, 2010

If we find out something new and exciting – we should keep it a secret so that we have a leg up on our competition. Yet isn’t there some value in sharing what we’ve learned so that we can all become better in business, better using social media, better with our customer relationships?

Learning 100

Learning Customer Service 2009 Social Media 100

Make or Break Moments

JANUARY 21, 2010

Or maybe your start-up story is ordinary, but how you came to focus on a particular product or service is unique. You can’t make eye contact. You can’t ask questions and if you could – you certainly wouldn’t be able to hear the answers. You have a unique story as well.

Customer Service 100

Customer Service 2009 2008 Social Media 100

Make or Break Moments

MAY 4, 2010

I was there with 17 others from Norma Rist’s Rist List group of women-business owners (8 of us pictured above) and so we split up and attended different sessions than came together at lunch and dinner to share what we’d learned. My session was called Create a Customer-Focused Social Media Strategy.

Customer Service 100

Customer Service 2009 2008 Social Media 100

Make or Break Moments

JULY 1, 2010

I learned a great deal from her regarding social media marketing, organizing my time better and walked away with a lot of tools. June 20, 2010 Sheila Clover English , Social Network Committee Chair , International Thriller Writer’s Organization I didn’t know Sheila. She is engaging and fun as well!” Don’t do it.

Customer Service 100

Customer Service 2009 Social Media 2008 100

Make or Break Moments

MARCH 17, 2010

“I’m afraid to speak up&# “Management doesn’t listen to us&# “They don’t tell me what I need to know to do my job&# I love the irony of the first two – you are afraid to speak up, but if you conquer your fears and speak up it doesn’t matter because they aren’t listening anyway.

Customer Service 100

Customer Service 2009 2008 2010 100

Make or Break Moments

JANUARY 5, 2010

Companies need to quickly get on board with reading what is being said about them on line – hopefully it is ALL GOOD – but on the off chance it isn’t, Twitter will become the fastest, easiest, most visible way for companies to “nip it in the bud&# and show consumers they are on top of their customer service.

2010 100

2010 Customer Service 2009 2008 100

Make or Break Moments

JULY 27, 2010

This past week I asked the question – how do you say thank you without using the words and Patrick Hazlewood had an awesome answer: Although every interaction with the customer is part of the “sale&# or “sale process,&# including post-sale follow-ups or customer service responsiveness, not everything must be a sales pitch.

Customer Service 100

Customer Service 2009 2008 2010 100

Make or Break Moments

JANUARY 12, 2010

In the first episode an executive from Waste Management works on the front line, picking up trash, cleaning toilets and may even end up getting fired! The premise is a good one, my hope is that in future weeks we’ll see executives meeting their actual customer face-to-face.

Customer Service 100

Customer Service 2010 2009 2008 100

Make or Break Moments

MARCH 9, 2010

They use technology to allow service men and women to deposit checks no matter where they are stationed. They have created a company that puts the specific needs of their customers first. I was especially intrigued by what the article refers to it as their Secret Sauce.

Customer Service 100

Customer Service 2010 2009 Attire 100

Make or Break Moments

JULY 9, 2010

Big main frame machines that took up an entire room in a company, cost millions of dollars and required special cooling so they didn’t over heat. is celebrating their 35th year in business. is celebrating their 35th year in business. Maybe that doesn’t seem like a lot of years for some businesses but they are a computer company.

Customer Service 100

Customer Service 2009 2008 2010 100

Make or Break Moments

FEBRUARY 8, 2010

Earlier today I posted a follow-up article on the situation – [link]. I’d be interested in your thoughts regarding the latest information. All the best, Dennis Add A Comment home top Site Information © 2010 Make or Break Moments Ministry Free Theme by eGrace Creative.

Customer Service 100

Customer Service 2009 2008 2010 100

Make or Break Moments

MARCH 15, 2010

Just like the One Minute Manager and Who Moved My Cheese , the book is set up in a story format to share the great insights of the author. ’s new book Peaks and Valleys. ’s new book Peaks and Valleys. ’s new book Peaks and Valleys.

Customer Service 100

Customer Service 2009 2008 2010 100

Make or Break Moments

MARCH 22, 2010

It makes me think of my customers. If I mess up and don’t deliver as promised – do I at least make sure the resolution is a good experience? If I bite off more than I can deliver – do I own up or hope they don’t notice? Or do I wait for them to call, hoping they forget?

Customer Service 100

Customer Service 2009 2008 2010 100

Make or Break Moments

JANUARY 11, 2010

Will customers remember the 20% discount we gave them or the fact that we were open in the evenings? No, but it is all of those little details that add up when the customer thinks back on how the experience MADE THEM FEEL. Will they remember that we offered them coffee or used their name? we might ask them.

Customer Service 100

Customer Service 2009 2010 2008 100

Make or Break Moments

JANUARY 4, 2010

Two enthusiastic thumbs up. They are creating separate pages for each product with a “one-page simple explanation of each specific product…Forget jargon-filled ads and book-like bank documents; the bank of the future needs to cut straight to the point.&#

Customer Service 100

Customer Service 2009 2008 2010 100

Make or Break Moments

AUGUST 9, 2010

We didn’t grow up together. Our kids weren’t in soccer together. We didn’t work at the same place. Bekah was the friendly, neighborhood cashier at Drug Mart. That’s where we met – at register 5.

Customer Service 100

Customer Service 2010 2009 2008 100

Make or Break Moments

JULY 13, 2010

How do you pick up the conversation from there? The conversation is going along just dandy and then you ask a question – they say nope can’t help you – and you are left with this awkward silence. You might ask “well, do you know someone who can say yes?&# Why not be that person?

Customer Service 100

Customer Service 2009 2008 2010 100

Make or Break Moments

MARCH 17, 2010

It started with a bad experience and when he called to complain and went up the chain of command he had his first encounter with John Fleming. He cracked up laughing and called to share the ironic experience with his new best friend the GM. He used that free night in Chicago; the room spectacular – the bathtub – dirty.

Customer Service 100

Customer Service 2009 2008 2010 100

Make or Break Moments

JANUARY 16, 2010

I wanted to go to watch them last night but something came up. Tags: customers shoes , making it easy to do business , Marcelitas , reading glasses , The Reunion Band Dan Griffin said, Hey DCB. Did not know you were a Reunion Band fan. I went to HS with those guys – there were a year or two ahead of me.

Customer Service 100

Customer Service 2009 2008 2010 100

Make or Break Moments

DECEMBER 21, 2009

The purpose of your website should be to get the reader to take a predetermined action: pick up the phone, send you an email or fill out a contact form. Make sure your website is doing its part to capture the reader’s attention and get them to pick up the phone so you can do your magic.

Customer Service 100

Customer Service 2009 2008 2010 100

Make or Break Moments

APRIL 11, 2010

Crack me up. “Yeah, before it was just lip service but now we really mean it.&# Another employee came up and heard our discussion. “Yeah, Tom is right, if we don’t put customers first we could get fired.&# Oh, there’s motivation for you. So I asked him – how long as that been the slogan?

Customer Service 100

Customer Service 2010 2009 2008 100

Make or Break Moments

DECEMBER 16, 2009

One person was behind the desk, I was no more than five feet away and talking to her when she picked up the phone and called a vendor, totally ignoring my presence. I assume the purpose of Internet marketing is to create sales. I walked into the small store. Lesson Learned: One way to create sales is to get people into the store.

Customer Service 100

Customer Service 2009 2008 2010 100

Make or Break Moments

MARCH 11, 2010

Oh my goodness – the two groups were shocked to discovered their opposite approaches and all of a sudden the conversation got derailed with people offering up times when they struggled to effectively communicate. I couldn’t have planned it better. » makeorbreakmoments.com said, [.]

Customer Service 100

Customer Service 2009 2008 2010 100

Make or Break Moments

JULY 28, 2010

It is like the guy in the bar that comes up and says “haven’t I seen you somewhere before?&# “Your sales approach is offensive given the sensitive nature of your product.&# “Oh.&# I am still not sure if this was a prank. Or his first day on the job. Or just his approach. And you are like – really?

Customer Service 100

Customer Service 2009 2008 2010 100

Make or Break Moments

MAY 20, 2010

I’d come early to watch the warm ups and stay for the game. I had been inspired by Bench’s baseball career and read his book Catch You Later which also offered up some pretty encouraging thoughts that helped me through that rough patch. He’s got to ride that nag till it drops.&#

Customer Service 100

Customer Service 2009 2008 2010 100

Make or Break Moments

FEBRUARY 23, 2010

But before I could pick it up and delve into the latest Tiger Woods, Bragelina, Brittany scandal, my eyes fell upon a scrapbook/photo album. Expecting a typical auto repair store with worn carpet, car and truck magazines and ugly metal chairs I was pleased to walk into an inviting waiting area; warm, clean, comfortable.

Customer Service 100

Customer Service 2009 2008 2010 100

Make or Break Moments

JUNE 24, 2010

Full disclosure or as Kathleen says “transparency.&# If our customers see we are being up front and honest – they will trust us and remember, people buy from those they like and TRUST. Do you invite your customers to be trusted investors in your relationship? Do you convey your value?

Customer Service 100

Customer Service 2009 2008 2010 100

Make or Break Moments

JUNE 4, 2010

The guys who just plod around the office corridors, just turning up for their paycheck… Well, those guys don’t have a prayer, poor things. I look forward to meeting other such passionate individuals at the up coming Linchpin event and I would encourage you to find an event or host one yourself this coming June 14th.

Customer Service 100

Customer Service 2010 2009 2008 100

Make or Break Moments

SEPTEMBER 3, 2010

My daughter finally made her selections and I retrieve my checkbook only to discover that I can only write the check for up to $40 of the purchase. “It used to be $75 but the bad checks were so much that the company said we can only take checks up to $40.&# Anything over that, I will have to find another method of payment.

Credit Card 100

Credit Card Customer Service 2009 2008 100

Make or Break Moments

JANUARY 20, 2010

We need to do the same thing with our customers. Of course that means we have to engage them in conversation – exit interviews – follow up surveys or phone calls to ask about the service and experience and then listen for patterns. Customer complaints are another great place to look for patterns.

Customer Service 100

Customer Service 2009 2008 2010 100