Articles

Building and Sustaining a Service Culture

• 3 Key Qualities of Selfless Leaders

• Five Keys to Success from Shark Tank and a Titan of Industry

• Augmented and Virtual Realities will Transform Service Cultures, Part 1

• Building Customer Loyalty in Times of Restraint

• Can Everyone at Your Organization Define "Good Customer Service"?

• Concierge Level Service—It's Not Just for Hotels Anymore

• The Essence of Timeless Exceptional Service

• An Exercise for Improving Your Work Environment

• Fast-track Teambuilding for New Associates

• Five Pillars of Sustaining Exceptional Service

• Fostering "Googleyness" in Your Organization: Five Key Factors for Success

• Holding Others Accountable is SIMPLE

• It's All About Trust: Eight Key Ways to Build Trust

• NICE Teams Finish Last

• Solving the Top Five Pet Peeves of IVR Callers

• Subaru Embraces Heart and Humor for Success

• Three Strategic Steps for Building a Culture of Innovation

• Train Your Customer Service Reps to Create MAGIC-al Customer Service Experiences

• What is the Most Important Quality of a Leader?

• What Makes a Manager MAGIC? An Interview with a MAGIC^® Manager and her Associates

• Workplace Gossip: Is it Harmful or Helpful? It all Depends ...

• Your Workplace is a Human Community: The Link between Peter Drucker and MAGIC^®

Change Management

• 12 Ways to Create a Culture of Appreciation

• The Balance of Play and Work: Four Reasons to Make a Shift

• Engaging the Trending Generation

• Five Barriers to Customer Engagement

• The Five Elements of Learning as a Team

• Five Ways to Change Bad Habits

• Four Lessons in Leading the People Side of Change

• Help Fuels Team Effectiveness

• Here Come the Millennials: Is Your Workplace Ready for Them? Part I of II

• If Culture is Key, then How Can Training Help?

• The Importance of Practice and our Reluctance to Do it

• Leadership Trends are Looking More Human

• Leading a MAGIC^® Culture: What's Love Got to Do with It?

• Lessons from the Clearing

• Life at Work: What's Your Story?

• Living the MAGIC Standard as a Leader

• Make the Transition, Succeed with Change

• Make Yourself a Millennial-Ready Manager; Millennials Part II of II

• The Myth of Multitasking

• Organizational Change and Personal Identify: Lessons from Uncle Ray

• Practicing Kindness as a Leader—Six Simple Practices

• The Six Constructs of Skeptics and How to Engage Them to Support Organizational Success

• Stay True to Yourself: Avoid the Three Elements of the Compromise Trap

• Take Control of Your Time

• Think Outside the Box

• Three Ways to Strengthen Leadership through Self-reflection

• Virtual Leadership-Closing the Distance

• Why We Procrastinate and Nine Ways to Kick the Habit

Customer/Employee Engagement and Experiences

• 10 Belief Triggers that Can Sabotage Your Success

• A Custom Customer Experience Builds Confidence and Trust

• Ambidextrous Agents Increase Customer Satisfaction and Sales Performance

• Are You Delivering on Your Brand Promise?

• Best Practices for Customer-focused Chats

• Creating Customer Insistence: Six Steps to Success

• Critic or Partner? What's the Impact?

• Employee Engagement - Why Care?

• Exceptional Customer Experiences and the Bottom Line

• Funny or Not So Much? Getting a Handle on Humor in Your Workplace

• The Guy in the Next Cubicle? He Really IS Your Customer!

• Help Yourself to Happiness

• How to Create Employee Engagement with that One Bad Apple

• Inspire MAGIC^® Employee Engagement: Three Strategies for Success

• Is Work Engaging or is it Just Work? Five Elements of "Flow"

• Put Time on Your Side: The Ultimate Time-Saver

• Putting the "Custom" in Your Customer Experience

• Server or Servant? Join the Dialogue

• Six Lessons in Cultivating Loyalty

Customer Service, Communication and Coaching Skills

Four Keys to Releasing Happiness

• Are Microinequities Damaging your Workplace? Transform them with Micro-MAGIC^®

• Coaching According to Alex

• The Art of MAGIC

• Are We Talking the Same Language?

• Communicating with Emotional Intelligence:It Works Like MAGIC^®

• Earthy Matters

• Four Keys to Releasing and Sustaining Happiness

• Getting to the Catchpoint: Paving the Way to a Happy Ending for All

• The Gift of Attention

• Gobbledygook Be Gone: Now is the Time for Plain Talk

• Got Patience? You'll Get Better Service if You Do

• Got Tough IT Complaints? Get Results with a Proven Two-Pronged Approach

• Initiating Sensitive Feedback Conversations

• It's All About Me: A Lesson in Customer-Focused Communication

• Listening to Myself

• Master the Three Levels of Acknowledgement: Deepen Your Commitment to Respect and Accountability

• The Points are Not the Point! It May be Time to Rethink Your Feedback

• Seven Factors for Success from a Coaching Legend

• Seven Tips for Giving and Receiving Meaningful Feedback

• Six Customer Service Lessons from…a Contractor?

• Six Strategies for Dealing with Difficult People

• Think You're Likeable? Take The Test To Know For Sure

• Verbal Blunders and their Impact on Perception

• Why Don't People Read my Emails?

• Wow Your Customers with Extreme Service: Four Secrets to Success

Improving Service and Sales

• 10 Ways to Manage Social Media Customer Service with MAGIC

• A MAGIC^® Best Practice: Uncover the Catchpoint - Satisfy the Caller

• CAUTION: Superstars Can Hurt Your Contact Center!

• The Design and Use of a Standard for Human Performance Measures

• Digital Call Monitoring - Take Less Time, Achieve Greater Impact

• The Irreplaceable Human, Part 1

• Five Fight or Flight Reactions and What You Can Do to Make them MAGIC

• Love Thy Customer: Four Drivers of Service Excellence

• On the Right Side of Wrong

• Power of Trust

• Rockville Bank Creates MAGIC^® Connections with Note Cards

• Soft Selling Yields Hard Profits in Contact Centers

• The MAGIC^® of Relationship Selling

• Three Principles for Creating 'As Promised' Customer Experiences

Life Lessons from Tragic Moments

• And the Prize for the Most Tragic Phrase Goes To...

• Are You Turning Raving Fans into Roving Fans?

• Are Your Recovery Efforts Hurting Your Reputation?

• The Best Laid Plans

• Break Room to Rest Room: Bad Behavior and What You Can Do About It

• De-Stress with MAGIC^®: What the Three Blind Mice Can Teach Us

• Did You Hear What I Meant? A Little Effort at Empathy Makes a Big Impact on Relationships

• Misguided Intentions Detract from Customer Service

• The Most Tragic Customer Service Call of the Year

• No More Ifs, Ands or Yes, Buts: Two Words that Can Change your Life

• No Service - No Sale

Life Lessons from Tragic Moments - cont'd.

• Saying "I Don't Know," It's Not as Bad as You Think

• Six Self-management Strategies for Stressful Times

• Switching Directions Can Transform Service

• Tragic Words and Phrases: What NOT to Say to a Customer

MAGIC in Action

• 5 Ways to Transform Ambiguity

• A MAGIC^® Moment in the Country

• A MAGIC^® Transformation at the DMV

• A One and Only Customer Experience and a Dream Come True

• A Random Act of MAGIC^® Can Do a World of Good

• All You Need is Love…Make that 'Time,' Will Ya?

• Are You an Effective Email Reader? Eight Rules for Reading and Responding to Emails

• Being Truly Human:  The Two Core Elements of Human Potential

• Fly First Class with MAGIC^®

• Hospital Patients Deserve and Expect MAGIC^® Care

• Learn the Secrets of an Extraordinary Customer Experience from a Rare Flower, the Blue Tulip

• Life Lessons from a Witch, a Teacher and a Little Dog, Too

• The Lost Art of Being Truly Helpful

• MAGIC^® Global Training: Overcoming the Language Barrier Part 1 of 2

• MAGIC^® Global Training: Adapting to Culture Part 2 of 2

• MAGIC^® Saves the Day (and an influential customer)

• My Staples Experience: Easy Is as Easy Does

• The Power of Words

• Same Food, Different Service: What's the Secret to Success at McDonald's?

• Small Gesture - Giant Impact

• Staying Personal

• What is the True Meaning of Appreciation? A Life Lesson from Thanksgiving and Economics Class

• You May Be Listening, but Are You Paying Attention?

Motivation and Empowerment

• 10 Ways to Be Kind to Yourself

• 20 Secrets from a Centenarian on Life, Passion and Inspiration

• 20 Ways to Reduce Stress and Get Fit as You Work…in Three Minutes a Day

• A Daily Dose of Inspiration: A Story that Will Boost Your Spirits Throughout the Year

• A Fresh Look at R and R... It's Not What You Think

• Are You Ready to Make a 100 Day Commitment?

• Awaken the Magic in You - It's Productive

• Be Productive Like Ike

• Befriend Doubt

• Can You Go 21 Days Without Complaining? Six Strategies to Help You Succeed

• Coping Strategies for Turbulent Times

• Do You Have More Stress than in the Past? Learn to De-Stress!

• Eight Ways to Drive Yourself Calm, Not Crazy

• Expressing Thanks and Appreciation: It's Not Just for Thanksgiving Anymore

• Fed Up with Information Overload? Five Strategies to Reclaim Your Time and Sanity

• Finding Happy in the Here and Now

• Finding Silver Linings: Four Steps to Achieving a Healthy and Balanced Life

• Five Types of Boredom and Six Ways to Deal with Them

• Five Ways to Practice Mindful Pausing

• Four Ways to Demonstrate Humanity and Deepen Trust

• Four Ways to Tap into the Power of Thinking Small

• Higher Ground

• The How and Why of Call Center Employee Incentives

• How Happy Are You These Days? Determine Your Life Satisfaction Score and Get Happier

• How to Find Your Patch of Sunshine

• Inspiring Participants to “Catch the Fire”

• It's Time to Release Your Inner Hero

• Lack of Sight Leads to Clear Vision

• Mahatma Gandhi and Customer Service Week

• Maximizing Happiness: Five Small Changes Yield Big Impact

• The Mental Switch - I've Got a New Attitude!

• Motivating People in Call Centers

• Never Stop Learning: 8 Ways to Ignite and Sustain the Passion

• New Research on Wellbeing: How to Enjoy Each Day and Get More Out of Life

• New Ways to Motivate Your Staff

• Nurture the MAGIC^® Within: Adopt 12 Happy Habits

• Overcome by Information Overload? Seven Ways to Manage the Challenge

• Piecing Together 10 Life Lessons from a 1000-piece Jigsaw Puzzle

• The Powerful Present

• Recognize Associates during Customer Service Week

• Re-enchantment of the Workpklace: Six Ways to Create a More Enchanting Office Environment

• Self-Compassion: Mastering the Practice of Inner Kindness

• The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People: "Self Help" that Stands the Test of Time

• Seven Proven Health Benefits of Laughter

• Seven Reasons to Embrace Impossible Thinking and Beautiful Questions

• The Seven Veils of Curiosity and 10 Benefits of Embracing it in Your Culture

• Seven Ways to Express Gratitude

• Show Appreciation During Customer Service Week - and Every Day of Every Week

• Six Practical Ways to Practice Being Present

• Six Ways to Practice Mindfulness and Realize Six Significant Benefits

• Stop Dwelling on the Negative: Seven Ways to Show Self-Care

• Sum Up Your Vision in Six Words

• Take Time for Yourself

• Three Proven Practices to Manage Stress

• Three Ways to Fill Your Heart and Soul this Season

Research on Service/Performance Improvement

• Americans Fed Up with Customer Service and Griping About It

• Customer Rage Reaches Record High: New Study Provides Keys to Keeping Customers Happy

• Five Brain Facts that Influence How People Learn

• Four Key Strategies for Building Emotional Connections with your Customers

• Global Customers Demand and Expect More: New Research Reveals How to Increase Retention and Loyalty

• The Impact of Social Media and Online Recommendations

• Incivility is on the Rise

• It's Time to Rethink and Redesign Frontline Managers

• New Research Reveals Link Between Happy Customers and Strong Financial Performance

• Optimize Cognition at Work by Reducing Decisions

• Research Proves Bad Customer News Travels Fast; Turn 'Madvocates' into Fans

• Thomson Job Impact Study Reinforces Blended Learning Yields up to 163% Increase in On-the-Job Performance

• Three Strategies for Managing the New Information Paradigm

• Two Out of Three Americans Would Rather Do Household Chores than Deal with Customer Service Reps

• Want Deeper Customer Loyalty? Focus on your Brand Warmth Factor

Training Tips and Techniques for Facilitators

• Five Steps to a MAGIC^® Facilitation

• Four Ways to Invigorate Learning and Performance with Music

• Handling Challenging Facilitation Moments with MAGIC^®, Part One

• Handling Challenging Facilitation Moments with MAGIC^®, Part Two

• How to Make a MAGIC^® Connection with Your Participants

• How to Use Focus Groups

• Tricks of the Trade: Tips for Facilitators - Creating a MAGIC^® Culture

• Tricks of the Trade: Tips for Facilitators - Encouraging Participation in Class

• Tricks of the Trade: Tips for Facilitators - Explaining Locus of Control and Delivering MAGIC^® in Alternate Formats

• Tricks of the Trade: Tips for Facilitators - Filling your Facilitation Toolkit

• Tricks of the Trade: Tips for Facilitators - Translating MAGIC^® Concepts into MAGIC^® Actions