The Bacal Interviews On Customer Service, Social Media and Related Business Topics

Robert Bacal holds an M.A. in Applied Psychology, has written a number of books on customer service and business, and has trained and consulted on customer service issues for over 20 years. In this section, you'll find uniquely formatted shorter interview pieces on various aspects of customer service, social media and related business ideas. You will be surprised!

How Can You Serve Your Customers "Where They Are" On Social Media, When They Are Everywhere?
Robert explains why it's not necessary to serve customers on their preferred social media platforms and that providing customers with too many choices is counter-productive.

Is Customer Service Broken?
In this article Robert explains that the answer to this simple question isn't easy, and that it may be hard to turn around the decline of customer service. Then he suggests how companies, by shifting their focus, might make inroads.

Why Blaming Doesn't Work To Improve Customer Service
At minimum this interview on blame reminds us that blaming never changes things positively, and at best it's an eye opener for customers (and managers, employees) who think the way to improve things is to blame.

The Three Different Worlds of Customer Service Perceptions - The Twain Shall Never Meet
Robert is asked about the various perceptions amongst the players and stakeholders related to customer service, and it's a brain stimulator. It goes way beyond most discussions of poor customer service and applies system thinking and root cause analysis to customer service, and the news isn't good.

How Good Does Customer Service Have To Be? The Answer Will Surprise!
In this interview, Robert explains that often, even bad customer service won't impact on the business results of a company.

Customer Service Vs. Servitude, and I'll Have Some Brats With That
In this cutting interview, Robert suggests that many customer service advocates want a level of customer service that requires employees to function in servitude rather than providing a service.

Is It Possible That Social Media Is Making Customer Service Worse? You Bet, and Here's Why
Despite the contention that social media will result in better customer service levels, Robert talks about why social media is resulting in worse customer service, and it makes sense.

Survey Based Research On Customer Behavior and Use of Social Media Often Very Misleading
A must read for anyone that relies on survey research to make decisions about customer service levels provided to customers. Robert talks about the discontinuity between what people say and what people do, and how it affects the survey results.

Should We Be Rethinking Customer Service?
In this interview Robert suggests that we need to think and talk about customer service as a business tool, and not an entitlement of customers. Sometimes improving customer service can damage a business.

Where Do You See Customer Service Going This Year (Customer Empowerment)
Some comments on where customer service is going and why customer empowerment is an illusion.

Government and Customer Service

The Challenges Government Faces in Delivering Customer Service
Some believe that "government customer service" is an oxymoron because government employees are lazy, stupid, uncaring, inflexible, but in this interview Robert explains why it's difficult to offer the same kinds of customer service one finds in other sectors.

Obama's Call For Improved Government Customer Service - A Fool's Quest
Obama announces customer service initiative. Is it going to have any positive outcomes?

Will taxpayers be willing to pay more to get better service from government?
Of course the answer is no, but there's some additional interesting points in this Bacal Customer Service Interview