1. Remember the critical importance of your tone of voice. You may come across to a customer as having the wrong intent merely because of HOW you say something.

2. Avoid saying, "That's the way we've always done it," and "That's not my job," or "They don't pay me enough."

3. Don't refer customers to your 800 customer service number unless all else fails.

4. Your first words set the tone for the interaction and what will happen in the future with that internal or external customer.

5. Your Job is to Solve Problems. Get OFF to a great start:
Own the Problem "The best way to handle this is..."
Fix It "The fastest way to get this done is...
Follow Through "Let me make a phone call for you..."

6. The customer's problems, concerns or questions must be "owned" by the employee to whom they are addressed.

7. Be flexible and gracious in your approach to customer problems.