Our thinking on the customer service experience

Private and public sector organisations both face a constant service challenge: to understand, meet and exceed the demands of their customers, whilst also improving business performance and controlling costs.

Our thinking presents videos, articles and discussions on the issues, case studies tools, techniques and key lessons that organisations can learn from in their journey to improve the customer experience and put service first.

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What chocolate cookies teach us about customer service

When your customers just aren’t coming through the door, how can you still build trust and create a positive customer experience for them? And where does a chocolate cookie fit into the picture?

DoubleTree by Hilton took an innovative approach when facing the COVID-19 pandemic.


Are Aged Care providers listening to clients and staff?

Australian Aged Care providers need to create a positive organisational culture towards complaints if they're to build consumer trust, improve services by learning from feedback, and meet the complaints requirements of the 2019 Aged Care Quality Standards.

This article was first published in the Nov/Dec 2019 print issue of Australian Ageing Agenda magazine and online in Jan 2020.

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When does an organisation's culture prevent learning?

The way an organisation listens to, and learns from, customer feedback and complaints makes a definitive statement about whether it has a culture of continuous improvement that puts customers first.
Aged Care Standards (c) Australian Quality and Safety Commission

Putting consumers at the heart of Australia’s Aged Care Quality Standards

On 1st July 2019, the Australian Government launched new Quality Standards requiring Aged Care service providers to put the consumer at the centre of service provision. How effective are quality standards in establishing a consumer-centric culture?

Online customer service own goals that'll break your business case

As organisations continue investing in online customer service, how can you avoid 'own goal' service delivery failures that undermine your business case for self-service?


Is your organisation 'customer-centric' yet? A simple test to find out

Customer experience is repeatedly listed as a top priority for senior executives. Does your organisation pass this simple test?
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How to ACE customer loyalty after a complaint

When things go wrong, what marks out a world-class organisation is how they handle, and respond to, a customer's complaint. How did New Zealand's ACE car rentals turn a customer complaint into customer loyalty?

We're a 5 star hotel, but we're not interested in your custom

Not the customer experience you'd expect from a premium hotel, but the results of approaching five leading providers in Sydney, Australia as potential training venues. What lessons can we learn about the critical role of front line staff in generating sales by creating a positive customer experience?

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Human factors: how complaints psychology affects business performance

How do customer emotions affect the way an organisation should respond to customer complaints? Psychology research can help us with the answers to this question.

This article was featured in SOCAP Australia's Consumer Directions magazine • June 2015

Galaxy image by Miriam Espacio from Pexels

Employee attitude can create a stellar customer experience

An employee's attitude can create a stellar customer experience. This New Zealand Local Government case study describes how one person's dedication and commitment created an exceptional customer experience.

Key image by Hilary Clark from Pixabay

Improving service performance: why complaints hold the key

Customer service managers seeking to improve customer service performance need to consider whether to change their strategy, processes, structures, technologies or their organisational culture.

In this article, we look at the practical steps needed to improve customer service performance – and why complaints hold the key to achieving rapid results.


Improving Local Government's customer experience

Whether the pressure comes from customer feedback, outside organisations, elected politicians or budget changes, it’s clear that Local Government faces constant demands to keep the standards of services high and demonstrate good value for taxpayers’ money.

So how does a council raise its customer service game and improve its customer service experience when it has fewer options available than the private sector?

Aircraft in sunset

Why business process must never replace humanity in a contact centre

When a bereaved airline customer's needs don't fit your processes, should we prioritise processes or humanity? Here are three lessons for managers to learn about bringing humanity to their call or contact centre.

Parcel delivery

Brilliant basics: How FedEx delivered outstanding customer service

Simple attention to the basics of customer service can achieve spectacular results. In this case, FedEx delivered customer delight, as well as a parcel.

Credit card image by Steve Buissinne from Pixabay

Brilliant basics are essential for good service: a case study of banking failure

Following a UK bank being voted the most complained about provider, its CEO stated that being "socially useful" was a way to rebuild customer trust.

A more basic requirement is addressing the process failures and disconnects that create poor customer service. This case study of a UK bank's customer service failure illustrates what it's like dealing with failed processes.

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Why social media matters in complaints management

With conflicting reports on its value to organisations, how can leaders decide whether social media is something that really matters when prioritising budgets for complaint management?


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