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T. Scott Gross

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author, T Scott Gross & Co., Inc.

163 points

Author of Positively Outrageous Service... Recent activity: white paper: My Way, Right Away, Why Pay... meet Gen Y!

WEB: http://www.tscottgross.com/

Jan. 16, 2012

T. Scott Gross and 9 other people answered this question

What's the best way to motivate front line customer service agents?

There is no best way. Ask the individuals involved what motivates them and then design your "contest" to suit the players. more

Customer Service

Customer Experience Management

Talent Management

Jan. 9, 2012

T. Scott Gross and 6 other people answered this question

What action do you take when employees resist change?

When did business become a democracy? Of course, you go for buy-in and all the other touchy-feely stuff but in the end.... more

Customer Service

Human Resources

Change Management

Employee Evaluation

Dec. 21, 2011

T. Scott Gross and 17 other people answered this question

Are surveys and polls still a valuable tool for learning from customers?

Any of the tools mentioned are valuable but none will work efficiently without trust. Customers who do not trust you rarely give you the complete story. Remember it is easier to take your business elsewhere than to complain to management. If I don't trust that ... more

Customer Service

Customer Conversations

Customer Experience

Oct. 21, 2011

T. Scott Gross and 31 other people answered this question

What will be the next big consumer product to become obsolete?

customer service as a part of the bundle is the next consumer product to become obsolete... consumers will cut service out of the deal unless it is service worth paying for. more

Information Technology

Consumer Behavior

Oct. 17, 2011

T. Scott Gross and 8 other people answered this question

With the retirement of the 'Baby Boomers', is face to face customer service dying?

Mark, great question!
Gen Y has redefined intimacy... high tech is high touch. In the near future avatars will handle much of the service work. 95% of callers who deal with an avatar are unaware they are dealing with a computer. See www.mycybertwin.com... send contact info ... more

Customer Service

Face to Face Customer Service

Oct. 5, 2011

T. Scott Gross and 14 other people answered this question

How can a small business gather customer insights on a very limited budget?

Get out of the office. Get on the customer side of the counter. It's easy!

Customer Service

Customer Feedback

Customer Feedback Management

Oct. 4, 2011

T. Scott Gross answered this question

What should your response time be to external customer inquiries? For internal customer inquiries?

When you are really cooking you are anticipating inquiries and there is no response time. Any other request should be acknowledged immediately. more

Customer Service

Customer Satisfaction

Oct. 4, 2011

T. Scott Gross and 16 other people answered this question

Which industries are ripest for disruption?

Killer question! Call centers, anything having to do with energy production, and accounting firms. Avatars are here now and capable of handling call center duties. If an abundant source of inexpensive energy were announced the entire balance of political forces would change over night. Herman ... more

Information Technology

Disruptive Technology

Sept. 16, 2011

T. Scott Gross and 1 other person answered this question

How can sales reps provide value to a customer beyond just their product or service?

We have solid research that says customers put a high value on knowledge... share it with your customers and it will back to you several times over.
Our surveys show the number one thing customers want in a sales transaction is knowledgeable, available sales staff. more

Sales Management

Sept. 13, 2011

T. Scott Gross and 3 other people answered this question

When customers tweet is it primarily to call out bad service, or to offer praise?

It's really up to you....give great customer service and you can expect positive responses. I talked with Southwest Airlines a couple of days ago and they get "way more" positive tweets than negative. If you are getting negative tweets it isn't the customer! more

Customer Service

Customer Support

Sept. 9, 2011

Bill McChesney selected a best answer for

As a corporate consumer, what types of memorable customer service should I expect from a supplier.

There are so many discussions on Customer Service, Customer Relationship Management Systems, Social Media Management and a myriad of other tools to attract new customers on the discussion boards but there is almost nothing in it for the customer. In CIO Magazine there was an ... more

Customer Service

Information Technology

Sept. 5, 2011

T. Scott Gross and 5 other people answered this question at this roundtable

#TChat Radio: The Realities of Business Heresy [8/31 @ 4 pm]

Should the leader steer company culture or should the culture steer leaders?

The leader sets the vision based on the founding values and the culture should be built to support the vision and mission. Sounds complicated.... but it's not! more

Customer Service

General Management

Human Resources

Sept. 1, 2011

T. Scott Gross and 4 other people answered this question at this roundtable

#TChat Radio: The Realities of Business Heresy [8/31 @ 4 pm]

Is a successful company's culture always set by the leader?

The answer is not a simple yes or no.... the truth lies somewhere along a continuum between disconnected and fully engaged. As the leader for whatever reason begins to loosen the reins there is more room for an informal leader (or group) to fill the ... more

Customer Service

General Management

Human Resources

Aug. 26, 2011

T. Scott Gross and 3 other people answered this question

What's your definition of a disruptive technology?

Better to think a bit broader to Disruptive Thinking which might include any product or process that suddenly alters the fundamentals of an industry or endeavor. more

Information Technology

Disruptive Technology

Aug. 15, 2011

T. Scott Gross and 6 other people answered this question

How do you show your customers that they're valued?

Ask their opinion...and then pay attention.

Customer Service

Customer Experience

Aug. 3, 2011

T. Scott Gross and 4 other people answered this question

In what way will the increasing sophistication and power of smartphones influence customer service?

That is a huge question and possibly unanswerable...... but here's a couple of thoughts: service will be branded, there will be fewer folks involved in service, avatars are in our future, and unemployment is not going away. more

Customer Service

July 25, 2011

T. Scott Gross and 9 other people answered this question

Are we owning the technology we're creating or is the technology owning us?

If you are thinking about how involved we are with our technology the answer is technology owns us... but if you consider the things we do better but just differently then the reverse is true. So the short answer is: it's up to you. more

Information Technology

Quality of Life

July 21, 2011

T. Scott Gross and 4 other people answered this question

Does social media make 'the customer is always right' wrong?

The customer is always right until he stops being a customer and starts being a liability... more

Customer Service

Human Resources

July 19, 2011

T. Scott Gross and 14 other people answered this question

What are easy ways for small businesses to (almost) instantly improve customer experience?

get out of the office... step in front of the counter... answer the phone

Customer Service

Customer Experience

July 13, 2011

T. Scott Gross and 11 other people answered this question

Who owns a company's culture?

You can't delegate culture.

Customer Service

General Management

Human Resources

Company Culture

July 11, 2011

T. Scott Gross and 7 other people answered this question

Do you think Gen Y employees are better suited for startups or more established companies?

I agree that birth date doesn't determine personality.... if it did we could just ask "what's your sign?" But recognizing that the question was asked from a broad brush perspective, Gen Y is best suited to companies that have the resources to cater to this ... more

Customer Service

Human Resources

July 4, 2011

T. Scott Gross and 12 other people answered this question

What is the first steps in building an online presence for a company that only has a website?

Chances are if the company is that far behind the web site is not in great shape. The place to start is getting the web site updated as it acts like a template for whatever follows. more

Blog Best Practices

Internet Marketing

June 24, 2011

T. Scott Gross and 5 other people answered this question at this roundtable

Avoiding the Potential Pitfalls of Marketing Automation [6/21 @ 1 pm]

What is your opinion about marketers attending sales calls?

At first blush it is an awful idea. A better mix would be to require marketing and training to work together on new marketing initiatives so as to avoid driving new customers into a poorly executed offer. more

Lead Management

June 20, 2011

T. Scott Gross and 15 other people answered this question

Is customer centricity overrated?

The mistake,if there is one, is in treating each customer the same as if they all have the same value to the corporation... they don't. Consider the idea that each customer has a value proposition. more

Customer Service

June 16, 2011

T. Scott Gross and 13 other people answered this question

How can you reward customers who are effective brand advocates?

Customers who act as brand advocates often consider themselves "part of the team." One of the best ways to reward them is with "insider" information. more

Customer Service

Brand Awareness

June 14, 2011

T. Scott Gross and 9 other people answered this question

Is branding a luxury for small businesses?

Absolutely not! You have a brand whether you like it or not... the biggest problem I see is people getting a logo confused with a brand. The logo is what you see. The brand is what you think, your expectations. What's your brand? Anything you ... more

June 13, 2011

T. Scott Gross and 5 other people answered this question

What small to medium sized businesses need Social Media the most?

Because of the threat of immediate damage to reputation and because almost everyone is a potential client, hospitality businesses are most in need of a positive presence in the social media. more

Business Growth and Development

June 8, 2011

T. Scott Gross and 13 other people answered this question

Poll: Do you work on the weekends? If so, how much?

I work every day... but I also play everyday. I enjoy my work and it is difficult to tell when I am doing it... or not. Our goal is to make our work so much fun that we won't be able to know for certain ... more

General Management

Human Resources

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Customer Service

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