One would tend to believe customer service is customer service. No trends. A smile is a smile. Empathy, listening, going the extra mile are standards. Apparently things change and what might have been hot is not. Shep Hyken, the customer service and experience expert with What’s Hot In Customer Service — And What’s Not

Other good reads this week:

There’s Much More to Customer Service Than Policies And Rules — It’s A Philosophy

Customer service is a way of thinking that needs to be adopted by everyone in an organization, from the newest employee all the way up to the CEO.

The Experts’ View: Providing Top-quality Customer Service in the Multi-channel Age

The competition from digital newcomers is seen as a major driver for change. While everyone agreed that change needs to come from the top – and not all leaders see the full picture yet.

Empathy and Humanistic Design are Customer Service Game Changers

Customer service should be about more than dealing with angry people. It should prevent them from becoming angry in the first place.

Finally, a different read. While the lady profiled in the article is not secret shopping, her persistent letter writing to brands is calling out their customer service and garnering her the title of Queen of Customer Service. All Hail the Queen of Customer Service

When it comes to customer service, she doesn’t play. According to her own estimation, she writes “easily a dozen” letters every year to companies informing them of faulty products, unmet expectations, and customer service infractions. She’s been doing it for 20 years. And she gets results.

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