I've spent 20 years teaching people to communicate. Phone anxiety has never been worse. I see it most often among younger employees entering the workforce, and the issue is more complicated than it seems. Find out more.
customer excellence
Assumptions don’t only create misunderstandings; they create consequences. Assumptions are my kryptonite. Most of the time, I think quickly. I can pull together disparate pieces of information, discover something new, and come to a conclusion or reveal a new and exciting idea. While this has allowed me to create a … Read more
Why do some voicemail messages result in a return call and others don’t? While there are many reasons, one of the biggest contributors to the unreturned call is the detailed message. The role of a detailed message is threefold: To provide information to someone you already know or are already … Read more
This past week, I spent the afternoon with a group of energetic business owners. We worked together to design each company’s approach to customer service. One of the reactions that resulted from our work was, as one participant put it, “I’m realizing I don’t know exactly what our clients are … Read more
Since 2020 the requests I’ve received for customer service training have grown by over 50%. Why? The main reason is the same challenge that’s impacting most industries – too few people with the necessary skills to satisfy customer demand. When creating training experiences for these teams, I approach the work … Read more
This past week contained a disappointment – for myself and others. What occurred was surprising and frustrating. Like a tightened knot I was convinced I could untie, I kept revisiting the situation, obsessing. This is always a sign that there’s a lesson to be learned. Uncovering it has resulted in … Read more
Whether I’m working with a team on customer service or sales skills, our conversation inevitably includes a discussion about how and why everyone seems to be more irritated these days. There are lots of reasons – the economy, world politics, the environment – to name a few. These are things … Read more
The skills and actions involved in creating excellent customer service are many and varied. Achieving all of them, even half of them, with every staff member, especially in a large corporation, demands constant vigilance and commitment. Fortunately, the foundation of customer service is easy and very straightforward. Its absence is … Read more
Omnichannel is a word that irritates me. I hear it as industry speak, jargon, a made-up word. And all of this is true. However, it doesn’t take away from the importance and value of understanding and acting on omnichannel communication to create customer service excellence. Omni comes from the Latin … Read more
The combination of the pandemic and our current economic climate has definitely increased stress levels. For many businesses, this means an increase in emotional conversations with customers. My webinars on the skills for managing and de-escalating big emotions on the phone, by email and in person, are in greater demand … Read more
When I sat down in September 2021 and planned out how I would write about and share the skills of storyfinding, humility wasn’t even on the list. I added it about six weeks ago and, much to my disappointment, I can’t remember what inspired this addition – at least not … Read more
Years ago at a holiday gathering, an existing client introduced me to the CEO of a fast-growing national company. The beginning of the introduction was the standard, “I’d like you to meet Mary Jane who, etc. etc.” But then he ended the introduction with a statement that surprised me and … Read more
Inspiring the trust of others is not a small task. It’s something quite … monumental, that moment when another human being gifts you their trust. Trust is essential to the successful growth and longevity of our businesses and yet most of us don’t give this much thought or attention. In … Read more
Preparation is an essential element of storyfinding. It allows us to develop and ask great questions. The challenge is finding the right balance between scant and excessive research. The key to successful preparation lies in understanding how it supports our ability to discover more through conversation. Don’t be afraid to … Read more
Storyfinding allows us to create communication and service excellence with both prospects and customers. The first element is curiosity, which is a HUGE topic. This video includes more information about curiosity, as well as examples of how it can be used … or not. Enjoy the video and do subscribe … Read more
“Curiosity is the engine of achievement.” Sir Ken Robinson Allowing curiosity to guide our conversations is the first step of storyfinding. With both prospects and customers, curiosity helps us clarify and deliver on expectations, reveal additional ways to serve and work together, and continually build on the all-important elements of … Read more
It happens to all of us. We finish a conversation with a client and feel, well, unaccomplished. Perhaps the next steps aren’t clearly agreed upon. Or important items are completely forgotten and another conversation needs to be booked. It doesn’t have to be this way. There’s a very simple way … Read more
In the past 12 months, I’ve experienced a substantial increase in requests for customized reception and customer service training. And I say “yes” as quickly and as often as possible. My interest in phone communication was sparked early in childhood, by the major role the phone played in my small-town-Northern-Ontario … Read more
This past week I’ve had two customer experiences that left me frustrated, sad and … briefly considering taking my business elsewhere. One was with my optician. This past August marked my 23rd year as their customer. In person, all of the staff are energetic. They always create a truly personal … Read more
It is a whole new world when it comes to customer service. The pandemic has given every business a myriad of things to think about, implement and change in order to keep both staff and customers safe. It’s a huge responsibility. Despite all of this, it’s important that service excellence … Read more
Reopening is not a return to things as they were earlier this year. We remain a world impacted by COVID-19. Yet this past week, several colleagues shared stories with me of their clients’ high expectations. There was someone who was surprised by a wait of several weeks for a haircut. … Read more
Almost every small business owner I’ve worked with starts out keeping track of prospects using a spreadsheet. They carefully choose and set up the columns. Then they add to it weekly, sometimes daily, listing all the people they’ve spoken to and a bit of information about what was discussed. They’ll … Read more
For the past few years, due to my husband’s journey with Alzheimer’s, I’ve been assisting him with his duties as Power of Attorney (POA) for his mom, who also has dementia and now lives in a nursing home. We have almost completed transferring this POA to other family members, which … Read more
This week’s post is from Rosanne Burke, a dementia care consultant, trainer and speaker. She offers dementia training workshops for business owners who want to learn how to make their business dementia-friendly and helps family caregivers feel more confident and competent by creating a personalized caregiving plan. In Canada, seniors … Read more
I had two thoughts collide in my head on Thursday morning and the result is this blog post. The first thought, familiar to all bloggers, was, “Oh my gosh, it’s the weekend again already – and not just the weekend but the Canada Day long weekend. What am I going … Read more
Listening to audiobooks is one of my favourite things to do, especially when I’m on the road to Moncton, Charlottetown, Fredericton or Saint John. I’ve had the library app, OverDrive, on my phone for years and it feels like an exciting new gift every time I use it. I recently … Read more
As many of you know, I recently dove into creating online courses. This has involved a massive learning curve – well, less a curve than a continual roller coaster (and I’m not a fan of roller coasters). The process could have been shorter – and more profitable for everyone – … Read more
A bank teller wants to do more for the customer who suddenly requests all their funds but is confused and forgetful throughout the transaction. A dentist wonders what she can do for a long-time patient who struggles to pay their bills because they can’t remember how to use their credit … Read more
My post of March 10 created feedback and debate, not only here on my website but on social platforms. Similar to most creators of a regular blog, I was thrilled this happened. Not only that, I learned a lot from the ensuing discussion that will directly impact the content I … Read more
Sara Moginot is a customer service aficionado, a regular reader of this blog … and the author of this article. While walking along the beach one afternoon, I watched my big red dog dart in and out of the waves. Groot brings zest to everything he does, wherever he is – … Read more
To celebrate 20 years of The Phone Lady, we're revisiting what truly makes communication meaningful. Every second week, we'll share a bit of wisdom to remind us that small shifts in how we speak, listen, and connect make a big difference. (You'll also receive access to our Exclusive Resources, including 4 ebooks.)
Remember party lines? Switchboards? Yellow Pages? The traditional telephone is almost gone, but its cultural impact deserves a ringing endorsement. Mary Jane weighs in.
A fresh phone hell in the office: Younger workers who don’t say hello when they answer a call need to know it’s a problem. Mary Jane weighs in on generational phone challenges - read here.
Bosses and employees are wrestling over whether voice calls have a place in the hybrid era. The Wall Street Journal recently spoke to Mary Jane. Find out more here.
22 Minutes correspondent Brandon Hackett figures out which end is up on this thing called a telephone, with help from The Phone Lady. Watch Telephone Lessons for Millennials.