There is a natural human tendency to want to not look bad in the eyes of others. This tendency, driven by our prehistoric lizard brains, makes it difficult to admit we made a mistake or something is going wrong. A whole industry of "spin doctors" has sprung up to help you. They won't help you admit … [Read more...]
Do Twitter nice guys finish last?
I've struggled with how to write this post. The title is my way of letting you know that I am not the white hat in this story. In fact, I was an arrogant, tired, hungry and road-weary business traveler who misused my social media megaphone. I'm willing to admit that for two reasons: 1. It's true and … [Read more...]
Why gathering meaningful customer survey results can be tricky
Businesses supposedly use surveys to improve their service and product offerings all the time. The question is just how accurate are these surveys? For example, an international hotel chain recently asked me to complete a survey about their frequent stayer program of which I am a member. Here's an … [Read more...]
Humanization of Social Media – Jim's Experience
Why yes, we are posting our "She Said, He Said" series a day early this week. We are beginning a transition that will move "She Said, He Said" to a new website under our new venture SheHe Media. We will unveil the website during #shehechat on Twitter, which will occur at its normal time this week … [Read more...]
Automate it or stop doing it
If you're performing a task manually and can't justify automating the task, is it really worth doing in the first place? For several years I managed sign-ups and renewals for one of our web-based solutions manually. We convinced ourselves that there were always too many features to be added to … [Read more...]
Twitter as a customer service venue
Is Twitter a good venue for customer service? While I've seen it work, the problem is that if your non-social media customer service sucks, your social media customer service will just suck more. I've written about customer service before and the companies I've called out for poor customer service … [Read more...]
How the Apple Genius Bar sold an iPhone 4S
Regular readers of this blog know I own and love my htc EVO 4G mobile device. I've even written a few posts about how to resolve the one drawback of the device and double its battery life. So why would a devoted Android fan have just pre-ordered an Apple iPhone 4S (which should arrive later today)? … [Read more...]
Succeed by taking control of the customer experience
Recently, I dined at PrimeHouse in Chicago for the second time. I went back because I remembered that several years ago the experience was far above average for a high-end steakhouse and we even got to visit their legendary Himalayan Salt Room. Most steakhouses get the "steak on a plate and the … [Read more...]
Customer service is simple count and communication
This post could have easily been a rant about a certain government agency charged with airport security and an airport I fly through frequently. If I'd chosen to go that way however, I'd have missed the customer service lesson in what happened to me and hundreds of other travelers one morning not … [Read more...]
The answer is yes, what is the question?
Could your organization live up to this informal motto? Recently, I spent three days at the Naples Grand resort and I assure you they can. Back in 2006 before becoming a member of the Waldorf Astoria collection of hotels, the employees began including "The answer is yes, what is the question?" as … [Read more...]