People often wonder why customer service providers don't apply common sense to seemingly simple situations. As I recently discovered, many customer service behaviors don't come naturally. Let's add another reason to the list: our common sense often gets hijacked by our emotions.

I called a customer service line today to schedule some minor repairs at my home. The person who answered the phone gave me an unusual greeting:

I've been blogging about a customer service challenge I experienced with the Avis car rental company. The problem is now mostly resolved and I think I'm ready to share a few lessons learned.

Yesterday was the five year anniversary of Toister Performance Solutions. Although this post is a bit of self-indulgence, I thought I'd take a moment to share the top five business lessons I've learned in that time.