By Robbie Pleasant, TMCnet Contributor

Many businesses have taken steps to help the customers as best they can without actually being there to help them. Whether it’s through online forms, automated phone menus, or any other means, it distances the customer when all they want is to speak with someone. When that happens, one must remember the importance of each customer experience.

Every time a customer service agent speaks to a customer, the experience will color the customer’s opinions with the company for better or worse. Too much time on hold? You can say “your call is important to us” as much as you like, they still won’t be pleased. Is the agent rude, uppity, or unhelpful? That one employee will reflect badly on the entire company.

Fortunately, the reverse is true as well. A single customer service agent can win a customer over for good, and a good experience will reflect well on the company as a whole. This is what Shep Hyken describes as a “Moment of Magic,” that makes the company stand out as a shining example of good service.

There are many ways to help provide customers with that magic moment. For example, Phone.com (News - Alert) provides tools such as Fonolo that helps remove the irritation of waiting on hold, as it’s the one that waits and calls you when the agent is ready. It also provides customer appreciation through gestures as simple as notes, while it also makes sure to listen and respond to any and all customer feedback.

These are just some of the steps Phone.com has taken to provide the best customer experience possible, but all of them help. Satisfied customers make for good business, and the opposite is true as well. Learn from these decisions, and take steps to provide customers with the best, most magical experience possible, and it will help your business.