Author Archives: Shep Hyken

About Shep Hyken

Shep Hyken is a customer service expert, keynote speaker, and New York Times, bestselling business author. For information on The Customer Focus™ customer service training programs, go to www.thecustomerfocus.com. Follow on Twitter: @Hyken

Trust Built Now Will Help You Recover from Future Complaints

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Trust Built Now Will Help You Recover From Future Complaints

GUEST POST from Shep Hyken

When you have your customer’s confidence, the opportunity to create an excellent customer experience dramatically improves. That confidence comes from consistency. The customer knows what to expect, even if any problems or issues arise. They know you’ll take care of them.

This is a follow-up to my article that covered the Customer Service Recovery Paradox, in which a customer’s perception of the company is higher after a problem or complaint is resolved than if the problem had never happened at all. One of our subscribers, Sean Crichton-Browne of Market Culture, shared a great comment. The short version is that when you have the customer’s confidence, especially in potentially tenuous situations, customers work with you rather than against you.

Sean’s insight is spot-on and worth diving into further. Think about the last time you had a problem with a company you trusted versus one that you didn’t. By the way, that lack of trust could be because you haven’t yet experienced how they handle a problem, not because of any inconsistencies or problems in the past. With the trusted company, you most likely approached the conversation differently. You were more patient as you explained the situation, and you were more open to their suggestions and solutions.

Trust Recovery Cartoon from Shep Hyken

Contrast that with a company you don’t yet trust. You go into the conversation with your guard up, wondering if you’ll get the response and answers you hope for. You may even be prepared to fight for what you believe is right.

When customers trust you, they:

  • Give you the benefit of the doubt when mistakes happen.
  • Share more information about what went wrong, making it easier to fix.
  • Accept reasonable solutions rather than demanding unrealistic ones.
  • Remain calm and respectful, making it much easier to help them without having to first de-escalate the customer’s anger.

As mentioned, and worth mentioning again, confidence comes from consistency. Even if the customer has only done business with you once or twice, it can be earned through all of the positive touchpoints of those interactions. Every interaction, big or small, builds confidence. Every time you answer the phone, return a call promptly, respond to email quickly, keep your promises, and more, you’re building trust. When something does go wrong, not if something goes wrong, you will have those past interactions working for you.

Yes, we need to react to complaints and problems when they happen, but remember that your ability to resolve those issues successfully may have been determined long before the problem ever occurred. It’s determined by how you treat customers and manage every interaction, the small ones and the big ones. Every touchpoint is an opportunity to build the confidence that will make future problems easier to resolve. When you have their trust, customers work with you rather than against you.

Image credits: Flickr Mary Jane, Shep Hyken

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Humans Don’t Have to Perform Every Task

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Humans Don't Have to Perform Every Task

GUEST POST from Shep Hyken

There seems to be a lot of controversy and questions surrounding artificial intelligence (AI) being used to support customers. The customer experience can be enhanced with AI, but it can also derail and cause customers to head to the competition.

Last week, I wrote an article titled Just Because You Can Use AI, Doesn’t Mean You Should. The gist of the article was that while AI has impressive capabilities, there are situations in which human-to-human interaction is still preferred, even necessary, especially for complex, sensitive or emotionally charged customer issues.

However, there is a flip side. Sometimes AI is the smart thing to use, and eliminating human-to-human interaction actually creates a better customer experience. The point is that just because a human could handle a task doesn’t mean they should. 

Before we go further, keep in mind that even if AI should handle an issue, my customer service and customer experience (CX) research finds almost seven out of 10 customers (68%) prefer the phone. So, there are some customers who, regardless of how good AI is, will only talk to a live human being.

Here’s a reality: When a customer simply wants to check their account balance, reset a password, track a package or any other routine, simple task or request, they don’t need to talk to someone. What they really want, even if they don’t realize it, is fast, accurate information and a convenient experience.

The key is recognizing when customers value efficiency over engagement. Even with 68% of customers preferring the phone, they also want convenience and speed. And sometimes, the most convenient experience is one that eliminates unnecessary human interaction.

Smart companies are learning to use both strategically. They are finding a balance. They’re using AI for routine, transactional interactions while making live agents available for situations requiring judgement, creativity or empathy.

The goal isn’t to replace humans with AI. It’s to use each where they excel most. That sometimes means letting technology do what it can do best, even if a human could technically do the job. The customer experience improves when you match the right resource to the customers’ specific need.

That’s why I advocate pushing the digital, AI-infused experience for the right reasons but always – and I emphasize the word always – giving the customer an easy way to connect to a human and continue the conversation.

In the end, most customers don’t care whether their problem is solved by a human or AI. They just want it solved well.

Image credits: Google Gemini, Shep Hyken

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Just Because You Can Use AI Doesn’t Mean You Should

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Just Because You Can Use AI Doesn't Mean You Should

GUEST POST from Shep Hyken

I’m often asked, “What should AI be used for?” While there is much that AI can do to support businesses in general, it’s obvious that I’m being asked how it relates to customer service and customer experience (CX). The true meaning of the question is more about what tasks AI can do to support a customer, thereby potentially eliminating the need for a live agent who deals directly with customers.

First, as the title of this article implies, just because AI can do something, it doesn’t mean it should. Yes, AI can handle many customer support issues, but even if every customer were willing to accept that AI can deliver good support, there are some sensitive and complicated issues for which customers would prefer to talk to a human.

AI Shep Hyken Cartoon

Additionally, consider that, based on my annual customer experience research, 68% of customers (that’s almost seven out of 10) prefer the phone as their primary means of communication with a company or brand. However, another finding in the report is worth mentioning: 34% of customers stopped doing business with a company because self-service options were not provided. Some customers insist on the self-service option, but at the same time, they want to be transferred to a live agent when appropriate.

AI works well for simple issues, such as password resets, tracking orders, appointment scheduling and answering basic or frequently asked questions. Humans are better suited for handling complaints and issues that need empathy, complex problem-solving situations that require judgment calls and communicating bad news.

An AI-fueled chatbot can answer many questions, but when a medical patient contacts the doctor’s office about test results related to a serious issue, they will likely want to speak with a nurse or doctor, not a chatbot.

Consider These Questions Before Implementing AI For Customer Interactions

AI for addressing simple customer issues has become affordable for even the smallest businesses, and an increasing number of customers are willing to use AI-powered customer support for the right reasons. Consider these questions before implementing AI for customer interactions:

  1. Is the customer’s question routine or fact-based?
  2. Does it require empathy, emotion, understanding and/or judgment (emotional intelligence)?
  3. Could the wrong answer cause a problem or frustrate the customer?
  4. As you think about the reasons customers call, which ones would they feel comfortable having AI handle?
  5. Do you have an easy, seamless way for the customer to be transferred to a human when needed?

The point is, regardless of how capable the technology is, it doesn’t mean it is best suited to deliver what the customer wants. Live agents can “read the customer” and know how to effectively communicate and empathize with them. AI can’t do that … yet. The key isn’t choosing between AI and humans. It’s knowing when to use each one.

Image credits: Google Gemini, Shep Hyken

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How Empowered Are Your Employees?

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How Empowered Are Your Employees?

GUEST POST from Shep Hyken

Earlier this year, I wrote a Forbes article celebrating the 50th anniversary of the famous Nordstrom story in which a man wanted to return a set of used tires – even though Nordstrom never even sold tires. That fact didn’t stop the employee from giving the customer a refund. Right or wrong, that story is still talked about 50 years later!

I’ve mentioned this story in the past, and the point is that stories like these become legends inside an organization, and if the brand is lucky, they may even get some good press. They are not easy to find, unless you intentionally look for them. Nordstrom had been in business for 75 years before this legendary story was discovered and shared.

I’ve written about many such stories. They are a reminder for every company to find its unique story that exemplifies the importance of customer service. These stories are powerful because they become a “north star” for how a company should treat its customers. Publicity is optional. The real value is cultural.

Nordstrom Tires Story Cartoon from Shep Hyken

For example, there are numerous Ritz-Carlton legendary stories, such as Joshie the Giraffe, in which the hotel staff made a big effort to return a stuffed animal to a child. There are also stories that aren’t so famous. I interviewed Horst Schulze, the first president and co-founder of the Ritz-Carlton, who shared a story about empowering employees to take care of their guests.

The short version is that the Ritz-Carlton allows employees to spend up to $2,000 to resolve a guest issue without seeking manager approval. One day a housekeeper found a guest’s computer. The guest had already checked out and flown from California to Hawaii. She took it upon herself to book an airline ticket and personally delivered the laptop to the guest.

As crazy as this may sound, the housekeeper was not reprimanded but instead was applauded for her efforts. Then, she was coached that next time, overnight shipping would be sufficient. The point is, there’s no risk in taking care of a guest. The story became a teaching moment for both the housekeeper and all Ritz staff, reinforcing the hotel chain’s commitment to empowered, guest-focused service.

Not every company will have a $2,000 empowerment policy like the Ritz-Carlton or a story like Nordstrom that literally defines their customer experience, but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy similar benefits.

So, here’s your assignment. Find your company’s legendary customer service story. If you don’t yet have one, start looking for those stories. Use them in training, meetings, and internal communications. Over time, they will become the DNA of your customer service culture. And who knows? Fifty years from now, someone might still be telling your story.

Image credits: Pexels, Shep Hyken

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The Paradox of Customer Recovery

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The Paradox of Customer Recovery

GUEST POST from Shep Hyken

Here’s something that might surprise you. Some of your most loyal customers may be the ones who have had problems and complaints in the past. For years, I’ve been preaching that when a customer comes to you with a problem or complaint, the goal is not only to resolve the issue, but also to restore their confidence.

I was recently reminded of the concept known as the Service Recovery Paradox. Back in 1992, Michael McCollough and Sundar Bharadwaj coined the phrase to describe, according to Wikipedia, “a situation when the customer thinks more highly of a company after the company has corrected a problem with their service, compared to how they would regard the company if non-faulty service had been provided. The main reason behind this thinking is that the successful recovery of a faulty service increases the assurance and confidence from the customer.”

BOOM! That’s the point. Fix whatever needs to be fixed in such a way that makes things right and restores the customer’s confidence in you so well that they want to continue doing business with you. Furthermore, if done the right way, you not only get the customer to come back, but that confidence can also create loyalty. When the customer says, “I know I can depend on them even when there is a problem,” why would they consider doing business with anyone else?

Customer Service Recovery Shep Hyken Cartoon

When a customer brings a problem or complaint to your attention, they are hoping for you to take care of it. It’s how you go about doing so that will create the Customer Service Recovery Paradox. Three things must happen:

  1. The resolution makes the customer happy. It may be as simple as answering a question. Or it may require a repair, or a replacement of something that can’t be fixed. Regardless, the customer must agree that the resolution is satisfactory. However, that only brings you back to what the customer expected in the first place. Dissatisfaction can linger from the effort and friction they experienced in getting the issue resolved.
  2. It must happen fast. Speed is your friend. The faster to resolution, the better.
  3. Go beyond the fix. The problem is resolved, and you did it quickly and efficiently. That helps restore the customer’s confidence in you, but let’s take it just a bit further with what happens next. While some instances may require a refund or discount, that’s not always necessary. A simple note or email that thanks the customer for letting you help them and reminds them you will always have their back may be all it takes.

When customers know they can depend on you, especially when things go wrong, why would they risk doing business with anyone else? That’s not just customer retention. That’s a foundation for customer loyalty.

Image credits: Pexels, Shep Hyken

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Customer Experience Failures Are a Gift

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Customer Experience Failures Are a Gift Pixabay

GUEST POST from Shep Hyken

When things go wrong for your customer, that’s when you have the best opportunity to prove how good you really are. Anyone can look good when everything is running smoothly, but your true customer service “chops” show up during a service failure.

I recently went to a doctor’s office for an appointment. I arrived early to check in. The nurse at the desk was – no exaggeration – horrified that she had to tell me there was a glitch in the scheduling software, and my appointment had to be rescheduled. While some people might have taken a, “That’s too bad … it happens attitude,” she couldn’t have been more apologetic, showing tremendous empathy, and immediately went to work to find another time for me to return to see the doc.

I was at a restaurant and ordered a sandwich without mayonnaise. (I hate mayonnaise!) Of course, the sandwich came out slathered with mayo. The server spotted the mistake while setting the plate down in front of me. Before it even hit the table, she put it back on her tray. She served the rest of the food to everyone else at the table, and like the nurse who had to reschedule my appointment, she apologized and showed empathy. She immediately went to the kitchen to fix the problem. Several minutes later, I had a perfect sandwich.

Shep Hyken CX Failure cartoon

After both of these experiences, I received email messages asking me to complete a short survey. I gave each of these people and businesses a perfect, five-star rating. It wasn’t that they were flawless. In both cases, mistakes were made. But they each made a flawless recovery. In both situations, they didn’t offer a refund or anything for free. They just fixed the problem – but they did it with style. And when someone cares as much as these ladies did, how could I stay mad at them?

One important point: For this approach to work, problems have to be rare, not frequent, occurrences. No matter how nice employees are or how well they handle issues and complaints, if problems happen regularly, customers won’t trust the company. Excellence in recovery can only overcome occasional failures, not “systematic” ones.

I don’t need to rehash my Five Steps to Handling a Moment of Misery (Complaint), but it’s important to point out that both people handled the problems well. Rescheduling an appointment seems like a bigger issue than remaking a sandwich, but that’s not the point. The point is they both fixed the problem, and the attitude they took while doing so became even more important than the fix.

Both of these stories illustrate how, when you really care, you can win back your customer. A mistake isn’t the end of your relationship with a customer. Handled the right way, it’s an opportunity to build trust and loyalty by showing how good you really are when things don’t go according to plan.

Image credits: Pixabay, Shep Hyken

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Does Every Customer Get Your First-Time Energy?

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Does Every Customer Get Your First-Time Energy?

GUEST POST from Shep Hyken

While this isn’t formal research, I’ve asked many people the question, “What do you think is the most common question that customers ask employees?” I made the point that this isn’t about calling customer support; it’s a people-to-people interaction.

Almost everyone answers correctly: “Where’s the bathroom?”

If you were asked that every day – sometimes multiple times throughout the day – at what point would you start to act frustrated with any customer who asked you that question?

Here’s the point: The 50th person asking you where the bathroom is doesn’t know they are the 50th person. For them, it’s their first time asking you, and your response should make them feel that way.

This reminds me of my days performing magic shows at trade shows. One of my clients hired me for 10 straight days, during which time I performed twelve 20-minute shows daily – that’s 120 shows!

After the final show, my client asked, “How is it that after doing all of those shows throughout the week, you seem to be just as fresh as the first show?”

Feels Like the First Time Shep Hyken Cartoon

I hadn’t thought about it, but with not much thought, I answered, “I think about each audience. Everyone in the audience deserves my best effort and energy, as if they were my first. If I came off as bored or tired, I’d be letting them down, not to mention letting my client down. So, even though I may have performed the same tricks and delivered the same lines for every show, each audience – even the 120th audience after 119 shows – deserved my very best effort – my first-time energy.”

When a server at a restaurant recites the daily specials for the 12th time that night, do you want to hear them delivered with enthusiasm or with the boredom of repetition? Or maybe it’s a chef who has been asked 20 times a night for many years to prepare a dish that earned him a reputation and keeps customers coming back again and again.

Baseball legend Joe DiMaggio understood this principle perfectly. The story is a perfect example of this concept. A reporter interviewed DiMaggio and asked why he played every game so hard. He replied, “Because there might have been somebody in the stands today who’d never seen me play before and might never see me again.”

The best employees, chefs, athletes, and entertainers understand that repetition is their challenge, not the customer’s problem. They find ways to keep their responses and reactions fresh, be it the first or 500th time. This mindset transforms an ordinary customer experience into something extraordinary. Every customer deserves your first-time energy.

Image credit: Pixabay

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Small Flaws Can Taint the Entire Customer Experience

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Details Count

Small Flaws Can Taint the Entire Customer Experience

GUEST POST from Shep Hyken

Have you ever walked into a restaurant bathroom and found paper towels scattered on the floor or an overflowing trash can? What immediately crossed your mind? What did you think about the restaurant? For most of us, our thoughts jump to, “If they can’t keep their bathroom clean, what is their kitchen like?”

I call this the Bathroom Experience, a powerful metaphor for how seemingly minor details can dramatically impact customers’ perceptions of a business. A clean bathroom goes unnoticed because it’s expected. But a dirty one? That sends customers a message that the restaurant might be neglecting other details.

This concept extends far beyond restaurants. Before moving into my current office, I toured the building and specifically checked the bathrooms on multiple floors. The way the building maintained its bathrooms told me what I needed to know about how the property management company handled details throughout the rest of the building.

The concept also extends beyond restrooms. Recently, I checked into a higher-end hotel, and as I was relaxing on my bed, I looked up and noticed thick dust coating the air vents. I found myself wondering what I would breathe in throughout the night. We could refer to this as the Vent Experience.

Dirty Bathroom Shep Hyken Cartoon

These mismanaged details are oversights that create a ripple effect. When a customer picks up a rental car and discovers the glove compartment won’t stay closed, they might wonder, “If they missed this, I wonder if they checked to make sure the brakes were working properly.”

Many years ago, my assistant sent a performance agreement to a client who booked me for a speech. The client called me to discuss canceling the booking. It turns out the agreement had a number of typos and punctuation errors. I was shocked and embarrassed. It turns out my assistant accidentally sent the draft she was working on instead of the final version. I apologized and explained what happened. Fortunately, the client accepted the explanation, but I’ll never forget his comment, which made me realize how important little details are. He said, “I am hiring someone who is supposed to be a good communicator. The document you sent had so many errors, I questioned your ability to do the job.” Ouch! That hurt, but he was 100% correct.

Here’s the point: Details that seem insignificant to you might concern your customers. For some, these examples cause customers to make assumptions about other things that they can’t see.

So, what’s your version of the Bathroom Experience? What small detail is your team overlooking that customers notice and use to judge you and your business? Finding and fixing these details doesn’t just solve small problems; it prevents customers from imagining bigger ones.

Image credit: Pixabay

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The Reasons Customers May Refuse to Speak with AI

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The Reasons Customers May Refuse to Speak with AI

GUEST POST from Shep Hyken

If you want to anger your customers, make them do something they don’t want to do.

Up to 66% of U.S. customers say that when it comes to getting help, resolving an issue or making a complaint, they only want to speak to a live person. That’s according to the 2025 State of Customer Service and Customer Experience (CX) annual study. If you don’t provide the option to speak to a live person, you are at risk of losing many customers.

But not all customers feel that way. We asked another sample of more than 1,000 customers about using AI and self-service tools to get customer support, and 34% said they stopped doing business with a company or brand because self-service options were not provided.

These findings reveal the contrasting needs and expectations customers have when communicating with the companies they do business with. While the majority prefer human-to-human interaction, a substantial number (about one-third) not only prefer self-service options — AI-fueled solutions, robust frequently asked question pages on a website, video tutorials and more — but demand it or they will actually leave to find a competitor that can provide what they want.

This creates a big challenge for CX decision-makers that directly impacts customer retention and revenue.

Why Some Customers Resist AI

Our research finds that age makes a difference. For example, Baby Boomers show the strongest preference for human interaction, with 82% preferring the phone over digital solutions. Only half (52%) of Gen-Z feels the same way about the phone. Here’s why:

  1. Lack of Trust: Trust is another concern, with almost half (49%) saying they are scared of technologies like AI and ChatGPT.
  2. Privacy Concerns: Seventy percent of customers are concerned about data privacy and security when interacting with AI.
  3. Success — Or Lack of Success: While I think it’s positive that 50% of customers surveyed have successfully resolved a customer service issue using AI without the need for a live agent, that also means that 50% have not.

Customers aren’t necessarily anti-technology. They’re anti-ineffective technology. When AI fails to understand requests and lacks empathy in sensitive situations, the negative experience can make certain customers want to only communicate with a human. Even half of Gen-Z (48%) says they are frustrated with AI technology (versus 17% of Baby Boomers).

Why Some Customers Embrace AI

The 34% of customers who prefer self-service options to the point of saying they are willing to stop doing business with a company if self-service isn’t available present a dilemma for CX leaders. This can paralyze the decision process for what solutions to buy and implement. Understanding some of the reasons certain customers embrace AI is important:

  1. Speed, Convenience and Efficiency: The ability to get immediate support without having to call a company, wait on hold, be authenticated, etc., is enough to get customers using AI. If you had the choice between getting an answer immediately or having to wait 15 minutes, which would you prefer? (That’s a rhetorical question.)
  2. 24/7 Availability: Immediate support is important, but having immediate access to support outside of normal business hours is even better.
  3. A Belief in the Future: There is optimism about the future of AI, as 63% of customers expect AI technologies to become the primary mode of customer service in the future — a significant increase from just 21% in 2021. That optimism has customers trying and outright adopting the use of AI.

CX leaders must recognize the generational differences — and any other impactful differences — as they make decisions. For companies that sell to customers across generations, this becomes increasingly important, especially as Gen-Z and Millennials gain purchasing power. Turning your back on a generation’s technology expectations puts you at risk of losing a large percentage of customers.

What’s a CX Leader To Do?

Some companies have experimented with forcing customers to use only AI and self-service solutions. This is risky, and for the most part, the experiments have failed. Yet, as AI improves — and it’s doing so at a very rapid pace — it’s okay to push customers to use self-service. Just support it with a seamless transfer to a human if needed. An AI-first approach works as long as there’s a backup.

Forcing customers to use a 100% solution, be it AI or human, puts your company at risk of losing customers. Today’s strategy should be a balanced choice between new and traditional customer support. It should be about giving customers the experience they want and expect — one that makes them say, “I’ll be back!”

Image credit: Pixabay

This article originally appeared on Forbes.com

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Creating Memorable Experiences to Drive Loyalty

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Memory-Driven CX

Creating Memorable Experiences to Drive Loyalty

GUEST POST from Shep Hyken

Why do customers come back to the places where they love to do business? Our annual customer experience research ranked the top experiences that get customers to come back:

  • Helpful employees
  • Knowledgeable employees
  • Friendly employees
  • A convenient experience
  • Hassle-free shipping and delivery
  • Easy returns
  • Personalized experiences
  • Empathy

The decision to come back could include any one of these or a combination of items on this list — or anything else that the customer experiences the first or last time they did business with the company or brand. The point is that it’s not the experience itself that drives loyalty — it’s the memory of the experience that truly determines loyalty.

This subtle but powerful distinction explains why some businesses enjoy fierce loyalty. The customer’s memory creates an emotional connection that transforms a simple transaction into one of many interactions—in other words, a repeat and/or loyal customer. A recent MarTech article about creating these emotional connections through CX memories and how B2B and B2C brands are winning over customers with “memory-driven CX” included some compelling ideas that validate this concept. The article emphasized the power of a sentence that starts with the words, “Remember when. …” It turns out that the memory of a good experience can boost dopamine in the brain, and the result is that customers are more likely to trust and stay with the brand.

And that is the basis of an emotional connection. Dopamine is a chemical the brain releases that makes you feel good. This chemical release potentially happens twice: during the actual interaction with the brand and when the customer recalls the interaction at a later time and date.

This doesn’t happen by accident. Just as a brand can be purposeful about giving the customer an experience worthy of remembering, it can also be purposeful about getting the customer to recall the experience.

Certain companies have done this at scale. Chewy, the online pet supply retailer, sends birthday cards to its customers’ pets. The cards are often personalized with the pet’s name. Starbucks sends its “members” a free drink or food item for their birthday. It also celebrates “coffee anniversaries,” reminding customers of when they first joined its rewards program. Netflix sends a “What We Watched” summary of what its subscribers have watched in the past year.

You don’t have to be a recognizable brand to do this. Any size company—in any industry—can do the same with a little thought and this five-step process:

  1. Create the Experience: First, you must deliver an experience that is positive and worth remembering.
  2. Identify Key Touchpoints: Map the customer journey (if you haven’t already done so) and identify the key touchpoints that could have the highest emotional impact.
  3. Enhance the Key Touchpoints: Once you’ve identified the impactful touchpoints, engineer them to become memorable. For example, Trader Joe’s, the grocery store chain, trains its employees to interact with customers when they check out, enthusiastically commenting about what’s in the customer’s cart. This last impression leaves a lasting impression.
  4. Design a Follow-Up Campaign: Design a campaign similar to Chewy, Starbucks or Netflix that reminds the customer why they enjoy doing business with you.
  5. Measure the Impact: Don’t assume the prior four steps are working. Ask or survey your customers to ensure you’ve created the “Remember When” experience that will help drive repeat business.

When customers are excited about their experience, they say, “I’ll be back.” Taking that to the next level is doing something that gets the customer to think back on the experience, creating a “Remember When” dopamine reaction moment. That reinforces the original (or last) experience the customer had with you. By deliberately creating experiences worth remembering and then helping customers remember those memories, you are increasing the chances of the customer coming back. And the more they come back, the more likely they are to become a coveted loyal customer.

Image credit: Pexels

This article originally appeared on Forbes.com

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