We all know that there are a ton of books written on the subject of customer service and what attributes the best companies have, along with why certain companies fail at providing even a marginal customer satisfaction experience.

Hey, I even wrote one of those books a few years back titled "Lip Service," which included 50 humorous stories of the worst customer service in America and interviews with the 10 best companies in the world.

Trust me, after spending two years researching the book and then writing it, great customer service and the lack thereof gets under your skin.

Therefore, you so appreciate great service and, at the same time, have so little patience for poor service because you know how easy it is to correct the situation.

All in all, to develop great service is no mystery. You just have to follow a few basic rules and then consistently adhere to them. The concepts are simple and have been around for centuries, with people being the main ingredient. Remember: Technology is there only to assist us in the process.

Here are the six basic reasons customer service fails:

* Employees don't like what they do.

Jim Collins wrote a fantastic book a few years back titled "Good to Great." One of his main points is that having a great company requires getting the "right people on the bus."

Hire people with the right attitude, work ethic and a little desire, and in most cases (with the exception of training), the rest takes care of itself.

Look at your company, and think of your best people. I guarantee that they have the "right stuff."

* Not asking enough questions.

I feel that I talk about this concept daily regarding asking questions. This applies to all people, whether you are a salesperson, in customer service, a teacher or even a doctor.

Questions allow you to find out what is going on. The more questions you ask, the more information you acquire, and the more you will find out about the situation or dilemma.

Really, you can never ask enough questions. Don't be afraid to take charge of the situation and find out what really happened in a customer service situation. All customers want is to be taken care of.

Your job is to figure out their level of expectations and to see what can be done to correct the area of concern.