Every customer deserves great service, this is true. But frankly, your team doesn’t have infinite energy. In terms of energy and therefore effectiveness, customer service is a zero sum game. Time and energy devoted to one customer is time and energy lost on another. So why not pull back a bit from your fly-by-night customers and devote more time to your elite customers. Open Forum offers four ways to do this. Start simple, with real small talk. Instead of having your customer service reps ask “how are you” and power through the script, have them ask it and then actually listen. Next, begin to step-up your game by offering immediate response to customer inquiries. Use Twitter, texting, and email to do this. Every little problem is a big one, at least as far as your elite customers go. Make sure you treat the tiniest thing as a serious issue. It’ll keep customers loyal.

Imagine how difficult it must be to provide good customer service to hungry people. Seriously, just imagine how grumpy you get when you’re hungry. That’s why the restaurant industry is a perfect case-study for how to give good customer service. This Open Forum article focuses on three most important high-level questions of customer service, here’s …

Doing customer service right goes far beyond assuming the customer always is, so check out this helpful infographic from Customer Service Heroes, and find out how to best serve — and retain — your clientele. Via CustomerServiceHeroes.com. Helpful infographics.

Just because online businesses don’t see customers face-to-face is no reason to neglect the ever-important area of customer service. This infographic from Desk.com lays out seven ways to offer that personal touch to keep your customers coming back for more. Via Desk.com. Like infographics? So do we.