Let's Talk Service: Recent Episodes
Eve Ward
In today’s episode of Let’s Talk Service, our host Eve Ward, founder of move concierge and relocation company Bond and Des Voeux, discusses the most productive, positive ways to work with contractors, and how best to spot any potential red flags along the way.
Eve also delves into methods of measuring honesty between two parties, as well as the importance of setting out expectations at the beginning of any partnership. She examines how a job or contract can be successful if clear and honest communication is utilized, and the importance of patience.
All this and more, on this week’s episode of Let’s Talk Service.
In this episode, we discuss:
[1:49] - networking in the relocation industry
[3:50] - the importance of written and verbal agreements
[4:09] - sticking to timelines
[4:40] - you must talk about budgets!
[5:26] - providing constructive feedback
[8:20] - red flags and how to address them
[10:50] - recommendations, reviews and references
In today’s episode of Let’s Talk Service, our host Eve Ward discusses why it’s so hard to be honest with service providers, particularly those that work in our homes. Why do we struggle to ask for what we want? And how can we tell a service provider they haven’t given us what we asked for, without coming across as rude, or upsetting anyone?
Eve also gives her thoughts on tipping culture while recounting her recent experience of buying a coffee; why do we feel so pressured to give, and what’s considered too much or too little?
All this and more, on this week’s episode of Let’s Talk Service.
In this episode, we discuss:
[0:40] - our frustrations this week
[2:18] - how do our emotions act as barriers to honesty?
[3:15] - Eve’s hammer; an experience
[5:40] - the importance of communication
[9:35] - both sides of the client/service provider relationship
[12:00] - honesty in our industry
[13:37] - annoyance clouds our judgment
[15:02] - the varied ways people speak to me
In this episode of Let’s Talk Service, Eve considers the importance of forging bonds with the people we work with, specifically with cleaning staff, and the impact this can have on the work provided, and future relationships.
Eve ponders the effects of making staff feel valued, and how this might alter their output and the quality of their work. She also delves into the importance of setting out requirements before a job begins.
Just how important is it to do your research before working with a cleaning company? And how do differing standards influence decisions? All this and more on this episode of Let’s Talk Service.
In this episode, we discuss:
[0:55] - The example of cleaning
[2:52] - The importance of doing your homework
[5:55] - Being clear with your requirements
[6:54] - Who supplies what in this partnership?
[8:24] - Pricing
[10:00] - Feedback is from both sides
In this episode of Let’s Talk Service, Eve ponders a recent shift in the service industry.
She examines the dichotomy between the emergence of ever-more-advancing technology and receiving a top level of service, and considers whether a lack of personalized service is turning too many potential customers off.
Questions like ‘Can chatbots show warmth?’ and ‘Is familiarity with service providers detrimental?’ are also looked into.
Join Eve as she tries to discover the reasons for the gaps in the service industry, explains the importance of honesty between all parties, and asks ‘Where has all the service gone?’
In this episode, we discuss:
[0:48] - What does it mean to be a customer today?
[2:12] - How do we keep up with expectations?
[3:03] - Gaps in service providers
[4:00] - Equal focus on clients and vendors
[6:20] - Understanding our vendors
[8:10] - The shift is in the value
[9:10] - What makes a service provider good?
[11:10] - Taking pride in growing a business
Connect with Us:
In this episode of Let’s Talk Service, Eve looks into the concept of the timed table, a necessary tactic for restaurants and bars during the Covid-19 pandemic.
90 minutes might sound like long enough to enjoy a nice meal out at a restaurant, but is it? What about circumstances where it’s not enough? And what’s best for both the restaurant and the customer to manage the situation? Eve answers these questions and discusses how to achieve a balance between a restaurant making money, and keeping its customers satisfied.
In this episode, we discuss:
Timestamps:
[01:11] - What is a timed table?
[02:21] - Eve’s experience with a local restaurant
[04:50] - Evoking an emotional reaction
[05:20] - Managing expectations
[07.26] - Understanding both sides
We’re delighted to welcome you back to Let’s Talk Service. Our host is Eve Ward, founder of Bond and Des Voeux, a move concierge and relocation firm, and she’ll be discussing all things service; the good, the bad, and everything in between. Join us every other Tuesday for new episodes.
On today’s episode of Let’s Talk Service, Eve applies customer service knowledge to guide us through the world of real estate. She discusses the importance of setting clear expectations with the realtor or real estate agent, how to build trust with your realtor to foster a long-term partnership, and how being clear about your desire for ongoing communication can set your realty experience up for success.
This episode, we discuss:
[02:30] The importance of doing your homework
[08:31] Building trust within the interview process
[12:46] Setting expectations for continued communication
Thank you for listening! I'd love you to join me for a new episode every other Tuesday and hear from our guests and their perspective on fabulous customer service. If you’re interested in more information, check out Bond and Des Voeux on Instagram!
Over the past few episodes of Let’s Talk Service, we’ve discussed the role we all take on as customers, how to remedy apathy in the customer service world, and how customer service is a partnership between the customer and the business. Join us on today's episode, where we are reviewing these notions specifically through the lens of contractors that provide service within the home.
This episode, we discuss:
[05:17] What to do before inviting a contractor into your home
[05:53] An example of taking responsibility and control when hiring a contractor
[08:35] Ways to mitigate risks from the start of the project
[10:02] Setting clear expectations
Thank you for listening! I'd love you to join me for a new episode every other Tuesday and hear from our guests and their perspective on fabulous customer service. If you’re interested in more information, check out Bond and Des Voeux on Instagram!
Have you ever lodged a complaint and felt like no one was really listening? Or maybe worse - Have you taken a moment to compliment a service and then felt like an inconvenience for taking up their time? On this episode of Let’s Talk Service, we dive into the cross-industry epidemic of customer service apathy, discussing what we think is the driving force behind this trending “no one cares” attitude.
This episode, we discuss:
[03:20] How a lack of listening can hinder proper customer service
[04:08] What is causing customers to feel disempowered and disenfranchised
[05:46] The impact of status and familiarity on customer service
[06:56] The disconnect between the customer and the service provider
[08:29] What to expect on future episodes
Thank you for listening! I'd love you to join me for a new episode every other Tuesday and hear from our guests and their perspective on fabulous customer service. If you’re interested in more information, check out Bond and Des Voeux on Instagram!
The moving concierge industry may still be considered relatively new, but customer service has been around for centuries. At Bond and Des Voeux, a move concierge and relocation consulting firm, we take customer service very seriously. In fact, we center everything we do around providing the highest level of service to our clients and collaborators. On today’s episode of Let’s Talk Service, we discuss our approach to providing top notch customer service in the moving concierge industry, including a peek into our process and the core values we hold that keep our clients highly satisfied.
This episode, we discuss:
[1:43] How Bond and Des Voeux makes clients’ lives easier
[5:57] The importance of having proper back office support
[8:08] Why operating independently is vital for customized customer service
[9:10] What to expect on the next episode
Thank you for listening! I'd love you to join me for a new episode every other Tuesday and hear from our guests and their perspective on fabulous customer service. If you’re interested in more information, check out Bond and Des Voeux on Instagram!
In our last episode, we chatted about customer complaints, how to deal with them, and how to regain a customer’s confidence when it’s once been shaken. In today’s episode, we are discussing how to complain effectively.
I know that this can be challenging sometimes as we tend to allow our emotions to get the best of us but there is a way to get your point across without letting these external factors take over.
This episode, we discuss:
[1:15] The best piece of business advice I’ve ever received
[2:55] The key elements of a complaint
[5:30] Evaluating why things didn’t go the way you had hoped
[9:00] Why most businesses truly value feedback
[12:08] How focusing on blame detracts from our complaints
As always, I'd love you to join me for a new episode every other Tuesday and hear from our guests and their perspective on fabulous customer service. If you’re interested in more information, check out Bond and Des Voeux on Instagram!
If you have worked in the customer service field for any amount of time, the odds are you have experienced some type of customer complaint. While we have been socialized to cringe at complaints and even become defensive at times, customer complaints can actually be very valuable for your business. Join us for this week’s episode as we discuss ways to approach customer complaints that will leave everyone involved, including you, feeling more satisfied.
This episode, we discuss:
[2:54] How to focus on the fix instead of the blame
[4:45] Using empathy and accountability when approaching a complaint
[8:22] The importance of follow-up
Thank you for listening! In a future episode, we would like to use real-life customer complaint scenarios and discuss together the best ways to approach them. If you have a customer complaint story you would like to share, whether you were the customer or you were on the receiving end of the complaint, please contact us on Instagram. We will make sure we change names to keep everyone protected, but it will give us a great opportunity to discuss the difference between successful and not-so-successful approaches to complaints.
As always, I'd love you to join me for a new episode every other Tuesday and hear from our guests and their perspective on fabulous customer service. If you’re interested in more information, check out Bond and Des Voeux on Instagram!
Do you always expect the expert to be right? Times are changing! In a pre-Covid world, staffing and stock shortages weren’t an everyday problem. Today, those issues are disrupting customer’s and professional’s expectations alike, causing estimate errors and delaying timelines for months on end. Being a customer is no longer a passive role: It’s time for the customer service exchange to be a real partnership. On this episode of Let’s Talk Service, I discuss how to ask the right questions to navigate tricky customer service situations, properly manage emotions and expectations, and create a partnership that will leave you feeling truly satisfied.
This episode, we discuss:
[0:54] The impact of not asking the right questions
[4:24] How to build a partnership with the experts
[5:46] What to do when you’re given an estimate
[7:50] Why ‘client pleasing’ causes issues in a post-Covid world
Thank you for listening! I'd love you to join me for a new episode every other Tuesday and hear from our guests and their perspective on fabulous customer service. If you’re interested in more information, check out Bond and Des Voeux on Instagram!
Welcome to Let’s Talk Service! My name is Eve Ward, host of the Let’s Talk Service podcast and founder of move concierge and relocation service Bond and Des Voeux. My work in customer service and finance has helped me see a lot of the world, which has allowed me to gain a deeper understanding of what customer service really is and how each of us play a different role. Join me in discussing these topics and more on this very first episode of the podcast.
This episode, we discuss:
[0:53] The inspiration behind this podcast
[2:00] What I mean by ‘customer service’
[2:55] How customer service connects us all
[4:50] What to expect on future episodes
Thank you for joining me for the first episode of Let’s Talk Service! I'd love to hear from you. Send me a message if there’s any topic related to customer service that you would like to cover and join me here for a new episode every other Tuesday. We’ll hear from our guests and get their perspective on fabulous customer service. If you’re interested in more information, check out Bond and Des Voeux on Instagram!
No tip-shaming here! As an expat, the who, what, and when of tipping can get a little...overwhelming. More recently though, I’ve found that tipping has become a culture shock even for people who have lived in the U.S. for their entire lives. As someone who has been immersed in the customer service industry for decades, I feel that it’s time we start the conversation and begin to educate ourselves on tipping etiquette across industries. On this episode of Let’s Talk Service, join me for an honest conversation about how to navigate tipping culture in the U.S.
This episode, we discuss:
[0:34 ] Why tipping is such a culture shock
[3:48] Who we should and shouldn’t be tipping
[6:22] When to tip and why it matters
[7:48] Our solution to the tipping chaos
Thank you for listening! I'd love you to join me for a new episode every other Tuesday and hear from our guests and their perspective on fabulous customer service. If you’re interested in more information, check out Bond and Des Voeux on Instagram!
When you hear the term ‘customer service,’ what comes to mind? Depending on the industry or country you’re in, your experience could be vastly different. I started my customer service experience in hotels in the 80s, and travelled from the UK to Germany, India, Korea, Hong Kong, and many other places around the world. Join me on this episode as we discuss these differing cultural experiences and the thread that ties them all together.
This episode, I discuss:
[1:30] My customer service background
[3:34] Why you’re always providing a service
[5:22] Customer service experiences across the globe
Thank you for listening! I'd love you to join me for a new episode every other Tuesday and hear from our guests and their perspective on fabulous customer service. If you’re interested in more information, check out Bond and Des Voeux on Instagram!
Thanks for joining us for the Let's Talk Service podcast. In this quick episode, we're sharing our mission for this podcast and what you can expect from us with each episode.