Now that Fall is upon us, most of us are already planning for the upcoming holiday season.  That turns our attention to our employees and how to best serve our customers.  Here are few interesting articles and trends.

1. How To Hire For Customer Service Positions– See what Micah Solomon has to say about hiring for traits vs. experience.  We especially like the 5 traits and whole heartedly agree on warmth!  http://www.forbes.com/sites/micahsolomon/2016/07/07/how-to-hire-for-customer-service-positions-best-practices-and-science-to-the-rescue/#53622f9c3d59

2. What’s Hot In Customer Service — And What’s Not– Shep Hyken shares some insights in the column in Forbes, on what is hot in customer service.  Read about two-way video and imagine how hiring the right traits for video will be incredibly important.  http://www.forbes.com/sites/shephyken/2016/07/09/whats-hot-in-customer-service-and-whats-not/#c675911601a5

3. Why Facebook Messenger is a Big Deal for Customer Service– We knew this was coming…. See what Joshua Gans shares in this HBR article about how it is “quick and convenient”.  That is all customers really want.  https://hbr.org/2016/05/why-facebook-messenger-is-a-big-deal-for-customer-service

4. The Power of “Old School” Service- Before we get too carried away with the latest and greatest approaches to service.  Check out this article by Joseph Michelli about how customers find comfort in “the familiar”.  Who said customer service was easy?  http://www.youngupstarts.com/2016/03/30/the-power-of-old-school-service-four-reasons-your-business-should-bring-it-back/