This is the best real-world self-test I’ve ever found. If you wouldn’t say it to your grandma, why would you say it to your customer? There are lots of phrases you use every day that irritate customers, and you have no clue until you insert “Grandma” at the end.

When you think about your favorite store or vendor, you can probably pinpoint something they do that makes them special in your opinion and why you choose to do business with them again and again. What is it that makes your customers think and say “Wow!”?

I recently had one of the best and one of the worst customer service/interaction experiences of my life. Talbots: Laurel is the perfect example of how by listening to the customer and following through with solutions that benefit them vs. the company, a company can create an environment that breeds loyalty, bigger sales volume and of course referral business. US Airways: Mary, the attendant from @#$%^, customer satisfaction and comfort was not important to her. In fact, as a customer, I felt like I was just a bothersome gnat to this individual.