As a business owner, the phrase "wearing many hats" is something that most likely applies to you — especially if you own a smaller retail business. Not only do you have to run your store but you also have to take care of orders, customer care, online presence, marketing — you name it. The list is never-ending.

Debbie first began as a telephone secretary and has grown with the company over these many years. Always a smart and dedicated woman, she has successfully raised up many employees and also married, had children and is now Debs, grandmother to 3 lovely grandboys. Debbie lived through one big hurricane in Houston tearing up the building we had just moved from and went on to move again our offices into our own ABA Building. We have upgraded and switched out equipment so many times it would be difficult to count. Throughout all these moves, equipment changes, improvements as well as employee movement, Debbie had stood steadfast and kept the Houston office humming right along. So many ABA customers know her well. Debbie and her Houston office have won the ATSI Award of Excellence for over 20 years to add to the long list of her many achievements.

If you researched customer service trends for each previous year, you would see that the growth was pretty linear and with no surprises. In a nutshell, customers desire a better overall experience, AI is finding its door in and steadily improving and instant messaging is the dominant form of communication.

It's inevitable that things will go haywire at some point during the customer support process. Once your company starts growing, this once-perfect customer support system will experience some major growing pains. And if you don’t do anything about it, your business will be in danger of falling into the overcrowded swamp of unsatisfactory customer service.

Big congratulations to Vicki for 40 years with A Better Answer. Vicki started with us when she was only 17 and now 46 years later (with time off in between to have children) we’re celebrating a lifetime of service. Vicki has had a spectacular history with ABA. Vic started as a TSR answering lots of customers calls on one of those vintage switchboards. She was such a star it wasn’t long before she grew with the company until she was the manager. From that position Vic began selling new accounts which was her first love. Her enthusiasm and dedication are remarkable and have carried her through some really challenging years. The Dallas office has moved several times, upgraded and changed equipment many times and always, Vicki grew and handled with great ability. Of course, all our customers think they are going to have a Vicki answering their phones because of her upbeat personality. All our TSRs are wonderful but there is only one Vicki.

In today's saturated market, running a small company is everything but simple. And while your instinct will lead you to strive for more innovative and original ideas with a clear competitive edge, don't discard the value of good old-fashioned customer service, which can be even more critical to growing your brand.

As businesses start to shift back to an in-person working environment, it’s essential to keep your workplace safe against the spread of COVID-19.

When you're preoccupied with a workload coming from all directions, customer service needs commonly fall to the wayside. You might be aware of the issues, but taking action can slip through if you're overwhelmed by tasks. 

Offering around-the-clock customer service help is something most customers expect companies to provide. In fact, 75% of customers expect a resolution within five minutes when contacting customer support for help. 75% also rate fast response times as the highest factor in a positive customer experience. 

The idea that robots or artificial intelligence (AI) will start taking over human positions is now very real. Even the customer service industry is utilizing it to improve customer experiences.