Ok, so the title throws off the ending, but I want to give kudos to a company that did, in the end, do the right thing. Some of their competition hasn't treated me so well, so you have to point out a successful venture when the time comes.
When it comes to customer service, it's about both emotion and numbers. There are times when you make a calculated risk that says "this customer isn't worth keeping." It's rare, but it happens. That being said, I want to keep as many customers happy as possible. Sometimes, that takes a little forethought on the part of an organization's management. It requires a model that instills independent thought amongst customer service reps within certain parameters. It's the absolutes that kill a company.
Here's the quick story for AT&T....
I don't know if Motorola intentionally built the plastic piece that connects the H681 Bluetooth headset to one's ear badly, or if I just got the lucky unit. But, once the temperature dropped below 40 degrees in my car for the first time this year, the plastic broke. So, rather than trashing the $80 device that I've grown fond of, off to the "AT&T Device Support Center" I went. It was after a call to customer service and stops at two different retail stores. Upon arrival, I finally was granted an audience with someone who knew something and more importantly, had been granted the ability to take care of a customer.
It would have been easy for Nathan, the CS Rep, to follow the absolutes which are, "Physical damage to this device is not something we cover." The problem in this case was, the thing broke because it got cold and it cost me $80 + tax. The issue wasn't whether I could have afforded a new one or made do with the existing. The point was, I wanted something that worked as it was supposed to and didn't require duct tape to hold it together just because it finally dropped below 40 in San Antonio.
So, today Nathan is my CS hero. Here's why:
1. He didn't pawn me off on someone else so he didn't have to address a somewhat confrontational question.
2. He took the initiative to take care of a customer quickly. Rather than sending me to the Manufacturer to get a replacement which would have taken months, he just said, "We can't promise this every time, but here is a new one."
3. He said Thank You even after I got a little heated at the beginning of our discussion about the rules.
Pros
1. I'm happy and will probably continue for a while to use AT&T a lot
2. AT&T has an additional customer that is a walking advertisement for their devices.
3. The other folks inside the AT&T customer service lobby also witnessed some successful
Cons
1. It took a while and several stops to get to the person I needed.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
The Illusion of Freedom and the Bondage of Fear….
The following post is NOT a political statement. It is rather designed to inspire thought and discussion over an individuals control over their own opportunity. As of late, there are a lot of companies, people, and politicians all asking what their country can give them as opposed to how they can work to further themselves and their nation. If we are to be successful in life and business, we must work hard, persevere and continue trying. The following are just some of my thoughts on the matter:
In the late 1500’s and early 1600’s settlers from Europe sailed across an ocean without GPS, Cell Phones, refrigerators, processed foods, ocean view cabins, on-board swimming pools or all you can eat buffets. They didn’t have computers or search and rescue teams should they be stuck in a hurricane. They evaluated their opportunity, controlled their fears, and made decisions in spite of risks. They paid attention to the weather and skies to help navigate, and when they failed, they tried again. They made a nation from nothing. They knew in their hearts the right things to do and they did them. Why did they continue to try what today is deemed impossible? They continued because they knew their actions furthered their survival and ultimately their quality of life. They tried again because they understood life is a journey more than it is a destination. They had faith and overcame fear. Their inaction would insure their death. They sailed, some died, some survived; but ultimately they knew that only through hard work, evaluated risk, and action would they ever further their and future generations’ position. It was done both for individual selfishness and the greater good. Those two are not necessarily mutually exclusive. They were not perfect people just as nobody is perfect, but it is because of these men and women of action as well as those that followed, that today we are the beneficiaries of such incredible ease of life in relative terms.
Today, I read the paper as I have almost every day for decades. If you haven’t noticed, we are finished. The guy who writes the article said so. It must be true. Of course, he knows all since he is in the media. The TV “reporter” whose station gets uncounted amounts of advertising graft from politicians who want to stay in office also said there was an insurmountable crisis that I cannot possibly handle. I must be paralyzed by fear. It’s on TV, so it must be true. Of course, this is the same gentlemen, although we use the word here lightly, who 10 years ago told me that the very policies my fellow citizens and I can no longer handle today were our only salvation to make it through life. It was the fast track. No pain, lots of gain. No work, lots of reward. But now, did you hear: Our car-makers won’t provide us cars anymore. Our bankers have no money. Our retailers will shut down because nobody wants to buy things anymore and you should definitely crawl in a hole, turn off your lights (because if you leave them on the global warming problem will melt your house down), and shiver in fear until the masterminds of politics save you by blessings of the minimum for survival. It is a shame that our shortened memories have such lazy recollection and that we are so easily purchased through a 30 second pronouncement of half-truth and manipulation. Just as lab rats are trained to go through a maze to get their piece of cheese, we are being trained to wait in the line of our fellow fearful friends (hear-after referred to as the “FFF” because all government programs must have an acronym). Fortunately, we have the ability, unlike the caged rats, to understand that we control our circumstances individually.
The question becomes, who among us shall remind the FFF there are options? By standing in the FFF line, we are not working, purchasing, building, striving, moving, or failing. We just are. We are paralyzed by fear because we are being told we must be. We sit in the virtual emergency room of life hoping that we’ll be handed our bread-crumbs and our housing. Perhaps it was this emergency room that they meant when they said nationalized healthcare? I’m impressed. It’s delivered to everyone ahead of schedule. We let others tell us what our “needs” are and what our “wants” should be. We are told our beliefs are right or wrong. There is no debate. It just is because it must be. So we believe because the sign at the beginning of the daily newspaper says we must. But we live in the Land of the Free? What is freedom? Is freedom the ability to live in mediocrity and fear? Or is it the ability to build something and provide benefit to those we care about upon its success. It is the ability to wake up every morning and know that I have the knowledge within myself to strive for success, to define who I am, and to break out of the FFF line. We may and should choose to question why the article writer believes his prediction of doom is correct and show why it doesn’t have to be. Break the patterns of self-fulfilling prophecy. We may and should choose to question the motivations of those who tell us only they can help us instead of us helping ourselves. But, we must be men and women of action and responsibility. It is our ability to control our destiny and it is our right to have the freedom to fail and succeed so we may learn from those failures and successes.
Failing hurts. It’s not fun. But failure is also the ultimate incubator of success. Without failure, we do not learn from mistakes and we do not learn how to be better. We must be allowed to fail and we must be allowed to lose. Those who fail in spite of responsible action and calculated risk should be commended for trying. And those who fail but rise up again in spite of the FFF should be hailed as heroes. Ultimately, those who try to remove failure deny its existence and condemn those in their wake to a life devoid of color. And worse, their ignorance and audacity, perhaps a better word could be impudence, removes the hope of a better life while insuring a life of mediocrity. It is tenacity and power of faith that built our nation. It is the pain of loss that teaches us the sweetness of victory.
Ultimately, allowing a coma to overcome one’s self, brought on by the fear of failure is the death knell of freedom. It is the guarantee of mediocrity at best and likely circumstances far worse. Creating policy to eradicate failure only insures an ultimate demise that will destroy the human spirit and pass all control to those manipulating the message. The belief that an individual, organization, group, or nation is at any time so great that it may not fail shows only that it is already mostly dead. Resuscitation is only a possibility with a renewed assurance of the freedom to succeed and the freedom to fall so that each may rise up again. Individually, you are successful because you make decisions in spite of and not because of others whether they be government, neighbors, friends or foes. You control the journey through tenacity and faith. You control your freedom. God Bless what was the land of the free and the home of the brave. May it be so again through the power, strength, tenacity and faith of its individual people and in spite of those who lust only for political power.
Chris Day
cdayontheedge@yahoo.com
12/7/2008
In the late 1500’s and early 1600’s settlers from Europe sailed across an ocean without GPS, Cell Phones, refrigerators, processed foods, ocean view cabins, on-board swimming pools or all you can eat buffets. They didn’t have computers or search and rescue teams should they be stuck in a hurricane. They evaluated their opportunity, controlled their fears, and made decisions in spite of risks. They paid attention to the weather and skies to help navigate, and when they failed, they tried again. They made a nation from nothing. They knew in their hearts the right things to do and they did them. Why did they continue to try what today is deemed impossible? They continued because they knew their actions furthered their survival and ultimately their quality of life. They tried again because they understood life is a journey more than it is a destination. They had faith and overcame fear. Their inaction would insure their death. They sailed, some died, some survived; but ultimately they knew that only through hard work, evaluated risk, and action would they ever further their and future generations’ position. It was done both for individual selfishness and the greater good. Those two are not necessarily mutually exclusive. They were not perfect people just as nobody is perfect, but it is because of these men and women of action as well as those that followed, that today we are the beneficiaries of such incredible ease of life in relative terms.
Today, I read the paper as I have almost every day for decades. If you haven’t noticed, we are finished. The guy who writes the article said so. It must be true. Of course, he knows all since he is in the media. The TV “reporter” whose station gets uncounted amounts of advertising graft from politicians who want to stay in office also said there was an insurmountable crisis that I cannot possibly handle. I must be paralyzed by fear. It’s on TV, so it must be true. Of course, this is the same gentlemen, although we use the word here lightly, who 10 years ago told me that the very policies my fellow citizens and I can no longer handle today were our only salvation to make it through life. It was the fast track. No pain, lots of gain. No work, lots of reward. But now, did you hear: Our car-makers won’t provide us cars anymore. Our bankers have no money. Our retailers will shut down because nobody wants to buy things anymore and you should definitely crawl in a hole, turn off your lights (because if you leave them on the global warming problem will melt your house down), and shiver in fear until the masterminds of politics save you by blessings of the minimum for survival. It is a shame that our shortened memories have such lazy recollection and that we are so easily purchased through a 30 second pronouncement of half-truth and manipulation. Just as lab rats are trained to go through a maze to get their piece of cheese, we are being trained to wait in the line of our fellow fearful friends (hear-after referred to as the “FFF” because all government programs must have an acronym). Fortunately, we have the ability, unlike the caged rats, to understand that we control our circumstances individually.
The question becomes, who among us shall remind the FFF there are options? By standing in the FFF line, we are not working, purchasing, building, striving, moving, or failing. We just are. We are paralyzed by fear because we are being told we must be. We sit in the virtual emergency room of life hoping that we’ll be handed our bread-crumbs and our housing. Perhaps it was this emergency room that they meant when they said nationalized healthcare? I’m impressed. It’s delivered to everyone ahead of schedule. We let others tell us what our “needs” are and what our “wants” should be. We are told our beliefs are right or wrong. There is no debate. It just is because it must be. So we believe because the sign at the beginning of the daily newspaper says we must. But we live in the Land of the Free? What is freedom? Is freedom the ability to live in mediocrity and fear? Or is it the ability to build something and provide benefit to those we care about upon its success. It is the ability to wake up every morning and know that I have the knowledge within myself to strive for success, to define who I am, and to break out of the FFF line. We may and should choose to question why the article writer believes his prediction of doom is correct and show why it doesn’t have to be. Break the patterns of self-fulfilling prophecy. We may and should choose to question the motivations of those who tell us only they can help us instead of us helping ourselves. But, we must be men and women of action and responsibility. It is our ability to control our destiny and it is our right to have the freedom to fail and succeed so we may learn from those failures and successes.
Failing hurts. It’s not fun. But failure is also the ultimate incubator of success. Without failure, we do not learn from mistakes and we do not learn how to be better. We must be allowed to fail and we must be allowed to lose. Those who fail in spite of responsible action and calculated risk should be commended for trying. And those who fail but rise up again in spite of the FFF should be hailed as heroes. Ultimately, those who try to remove failure deny its existence and condemn those in their wake to a life devoid of color. And worse, their ignorance and audacity, perhaps a better word could be impudence, removes the hope of a better life while insuring a life of mediocrity. It is tenacity and power of faith that built our nation. It is the pain of loss that teaches us the sweetness of victory.
Ultimately, allowing a coma to overcome one’s self, brought on by the fear of failure is the death knell of freedom. It is the guarantee of mediocrity at best and likely circumstances far worse. Creating policy to eradicate failure only insures an ultimate demise that will destroy the human spirit and pass all control to those manipulating the message. The belief that an individual, organization, group, or nation is at any time so great that it may not fail shows only that it is already mostly dead. Resuscitation is only a possibility with a renewed assurance of the freedom to succeed and the freedom to fall so that each may rise up again. Individually, you are successful because you make decisions in spite of and not because of others whether they be government, neighbors, friends or foes. You control the journey through tenacity and faith. You control your freedom. God Bless what was the land of the free and the home of the brave. May it be so again through the power, strength, tenacity and faith of its individual people and in spite of those who lust only for political power.
Chris Day
cdayontheedge@yahoo.com
12/7/2008
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Moving the Goal
There is a marketing/pr strategy that says when the opposition, competition, or the proverbial "other side of the road" gets too close to winning a battle against you, a great solution is to move the playing field and the goals. Essentially, you redefine what is important to consumers and change the order of the copy points. While individuals are smart, masses are not. The "masses" are more easily swayed when being asked to redefine what is important to them. Case in point, if you are losing ground in a political campaign discussing a war, then you stoke the embers of something else like economic troubles and point out that if economics aren't solid, war is almost irrelevant.
While the concept of distraction and repositioning is not new, the formal strategic approach sometimes referred to as Brand Framing is significantly more advanced. This deep integrated approach between the psychological state of the target group with traditional marketing methods creates a significantly more effective approach.
While the concept of distraction and repositioning is not new, the formal strategic approach sometimes referred to as Brand Framing is significantly more advanced. This deep integrated approach between the psychological state of the target group with traditional marketing methods creates a significantly more effective approach.
The Changing Gatekeeper
So, we finally survived the never ending election cycle. Can it really be called a cycle if it never ends? Anyway, this last election, regardless of who your choice was, taught us a lot about the new state of media, journalists, and public relations as a whole.
Here are some of the keys you can take away from the last couple of years:
1. Journalists are no longer the gatekeepers of information they once were. The advent of the social media scene and the need for readers(or viewers, listeners, etc), ratings, and revenue have usurped any real ability to filter actual news.
2. Bias always exists. I don't care how neutral you think you are, you just aren't. This has always been true but never more evident. We know MSNBC is liberal. The numbers prove it, the studies prove it. We know Fox News is more right leaning although will periodically attack "their" side to prove they are "fair and balanced." The fact that the Editor of a major newspaper in San Antonio wrote an editorial shortly after the election explaining why their bias wasn't real bias was laughable. Basically, and I am taking a lot of liberty with my paraphrase, the statement was: yes, we should have done things differently in reporting and been less one sided, but we didn't. So now that our candidate won, we really don't want you to think any less of us. P.S. Please keep paying your subscription for our sub-par reporting.
3. If you really want to get a story or information out, you need to remember the implication of the name "Public Relations." By definition, Public Relations is about getting messages to the public. If the gatekeepers of journalism are no longer as relevant as they once were, then you must go to the public directly. Mr.Obama's campaign was incredibly good at this while McCain's approach was stale and old. The frightening thing about this is it leaves the responsibility for the conveyance of truth at the hands of the publicist instead of the journalist which further adds to the relativistic culture that has become the United States. As a publicist, this is both an opportunity and a responsibility. As a Journalist, it is a wake up call.
Here are some of the keys you can take away from the last couple of years:
1. Journalists are no longer the gatekeepers of information they once were. The advent of the social media scene and the need for readers(or viewers, listeners, etc), ratings, and revenue have usurped any real ability to filter actual news.
2. Bias always exists. I don't care how neutral you think you are, you just aren't. This has always been true but never more evident. We know MSNBC is liberal. The numbers prove it, the studies prove it. We know Fox News is more right leaning although will periodically attack "their" side to prove they are "fair and balanced." The fact that the Editor of a major newspaper in San Antonio wrote an editorial shortly after the election explaining why their bias wasn't real bias was laughable. Basically, and I am taking a lot of liberty with my paraphrase, the statement was: yes, we should have done things differently in reporting and been less one sided, but we didn't. So now that our candidate won, we really don't want you to think any less of us. P.S. Please keep paying your subscription for our sub-par reporting.
3. If you really want to get a story or information out, you need to remember the implication of the name "Public Relations." By definition, Public Relations is about getting messages to the public. If the gatekeepers of journalism are no longer as relevant as they once were, then you must go to the public directly. Mr.Obama's campaign was incredibly good at this while McCain's approach was stale and old. The frightening thing about this is it leaves the responsibility for the conveyance of truth at the hands of the publicist instead of the journalist which further adds to the relativistic culture that has become the United States. As a publicist, this is both an opportunity and a responsibility. As a Journalist, it is a wake up call.
Monday, March 10, 2008
Technology and Change
Technology and Corporate Change
7.3 million pages of information are added daily to the Internet. An individual based in San Antonio, TX, can conduct a virtual conference call with live cameras (built into a computer) to an unlimited number of people in multiple countries daily. A company can network its phones, printers, computers, bank accounts, payment systems, meeting schedules, human resources functions and almost anything else between offices across town or offices around the globe. Today’s American business is operated by knowledge and data along with the prowess to sift through what is important and what is not. An encyclopedia used to take up a large bookshelf. Today, all of that information can be stored on a piece of equipment the size of a stick of gum and taken with you in your pocket.
Since the mid-1980’s the ability to consolidate and assimilate information via technology has been the core growth factor in US business. If you aren’t convinced, check out almost every paid position in the country over $30,000 per year and see what the requirements are for having a grasp of the computer or another tech oriented device. The positive side to this is that we are aware of vastly more of the world around us than before and where business used to be limited to a small area for most, now a company of only one employee can be described as a multi-national. The downside of it all is that we have become far less personal. Most business today is conducted via the web using email and similar communications functions. As an example, the youngest billionaire ever(23 years old) created the communications website Facebook. It is a social network, professional network, and advertising space all built into one. Companies use it to recruit while populations in Columbia use it to fight a war against rebel factions. That removes a lot of the personal element of business making the relationships much more about how an employee can act and react to what technology they have at their finger tips.
If one is to study and learn the rapidity with which a corporation can change, they must recognize that data transferred via different technology to its core customer, employee, or constituent can be done in the fraction of a second. That can mean instantaneous sales or instantaneous business collapse.
7.3 million pages of information are added daily to the Internet. An individual based in San Antonio, TX, can conduct a virtual conference call with live cameras (built into a computer) to an unlimited number of people in multiple countries daily. A company can network its phones, printers, computers, bank accounts, payment systems, meeting schedules, human resources functions and almost anything else between offices across town or offices around the globe. Today’s American business is operated by knowledge and data along with the prowess to sift through what is important and what is not. An encyclopedia used to take up a large bookshelf. Today, all of that information can be stored on a piece of equipment the size of a stick of gum and taken with you in your pocket.
Since the mid-1980’s the ability to consolidate and assimilate information via technology has been the core growth factor in US business. If you aren’t convinced, check out almost every paid position in the country over $30,000 per year and see what the requirements are for having a grasp of the computer or another tech oriented device. The positive side to this is that we are aware of vastly more of the world around us than before and where business used to be limited to a small area for most, now a company of only one employee can be described as a multi-national. The downside of it all is that we have become far less personal. Most business today is conducted via the web using email and similar communications functions. As an example, the youngest billionaire ever(23 years old) created the communications website Facebook. It is a social network, professional network, and advertising space all built into one. Companies use it to recruit while populations in Columbia use it to fight a war against rebel factions. That removes a lot of the personal element of business making the relationships much more about how an employee can act and react to what technology they have at their finger tips.
If one is to study and learn the rapidity with which a corporation can change, they must recognize that data transferred via different technology to its core customer, employee, or constituent can be done in the fraction of a second. That can mean instantaneous sales or instantaneous business collapse.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
A long day in the customer service line
I've got a congratulations and a complaint today.
We'll start with the congrats because I"m feeling like good news. I bought a great Samsung printer in mid-2007 but there was a bit of a programming glitch that kept popping up. It got bothersome enough that I called customer service. After a fairly frustrating day dealing with people who act more like automotons, it was nice to get a person who actually knew what he was doing. When I called a computer voice told me that the wait would be about five minutes but they were on in three. Then, after discussing my problem for about 60 seconds, he told me what the problem was and that the tech service guys would need to email me a fix. Then, you know what he did? He actually called the tech guys himself and it was in my email box within ten minutes. So, in total, my problem was fixed in under fifteen minutes. CONGRATULATIONS TO SAMSUNG for doing the right thing and to the customer service rep for actually fixing a problem and taking care of the customer. Customer service is practically non-existent these days and it is a moral imperative to recognize it when it comes along. Even better, I'm not paying any premium fees to receive good service from Samsung, they just did it. I'm now a devotee.
Thankfully my good experience happened late in the day because it's always nice to finish on a high note. Earlier, I had the misfortune of actually calling a billing department at Verizon and expecting them to know something about my bill. I've got to hand it to them for their commercials which are excellent, but their affiliation with Idearc Media is a nightmare. Let's just say that while advertising does work, advertising with them cost me more than the business I received by a lot. It doesn't help when the company you are supposed to be working with crashes your website and then blames it on you. The details are too painful but if you really want them, email me. Just don't do business with Verizon's directories or Idearc media if you can possibly avoid it.
We'll start with the congrats because I"m feeling like good news. I bought a great Samsung printer in mid-2007 but there was a bit of a programming glitch that kept popping up. It got bothersome enough that I called customer service. After a fairly frustrating day dealing with people who act more like automotons, it was nice to get a person who actually knew what he was doing. When I called a computer voice told me that the wait would be about five minutes but they were on in three. Then, after discussing my problem for about 60 seconds, he told me what the problem was and that the tech service guys would need to email me a fix. Then, you know what he did? He actually called the tech guys himself and it was in my email box within ten minutes. So, in total, my problem was fixed in under fifteen minutes. CONGRATULATIONS TO SAMSUNG for doing the right thing and to the customer service rep for actually fixing a problem and taking care of the customer. Customer service is practically non-existent these days and it is a moral imperative to recognize it when it comes along. Even better, I'm not paying any premium fees to receive good service from Samsung, they just did it. I'm now a devotee.
Thankfully my good experience happened late in the day because it's always nice to finish on a high note. Earlier, I had the misfortune of actually calling a billing department at Verizon and expecting them to know something about my bill. I've got to hand it to them for their commercials which are excellent, but their affiliation with Idearc Media is a nightmare. Let's just say that while advertising does work, advertising with them cost me more than the business I received by a lot. It doesn't help when the company you are supposed to be working with crashes your website and then blames it on you. The details are too painful but if you really want them, email me. Just don't do business with Verizon's directories or Idearc media if you can possibly avoid it.
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Happy New Year and Holiday Experience
Happy New Year to all and may 2008 be great. As I travelled across the country by car this holiday season, I got the chance to observe the world outside my little corner of it a bit more. The sad truth is that the state of customer service continues to degrade, but there were a few highlights among the holiday service disaster. Amazingly, I found Alamo car rental's speed, efficiency and price to be amazingly good. I'd always felt as though Hertz provided the "Gold" standard in customer service for the car rental industry. But, they've been slipping lately in that sector while their prices continue to lead the pack. This year, Alamo had the best price and great service, and I haven't been able to say that about anyone in a long time. I should also point out, a lot of that had to do with the three customer service reps on the front desk. They acted as though they wanted to be there. They didn't treat their customers like one more bolt on an assembly line waiting to get screwed on too tight.
On the other extreme was my historically favorite ski area in the country. I hadn't been back to Winter Park Ski Area in the heart of the Colorado Rockies since they finished their "upgrades" over the last two years. While this area's ski school is still way beyond average, I noticed this "family" ski area has priced itself so high that my lift-mates on most rides were asians or europeans and not the more regional based crowd of the past. While this kept the lift lines short and you can credit this to the weak dollar if you want to, but Winter Park along with most of the rest of the domestic tourism industry has forgotten who their "core" customers were. I understand they can make a buck right now, but it isn't sharp long term thinking to forget to take care of the guy who can drive to you while wooing the people who have to fly 5000+ miles.
The key message to all of this is take care of your core, and build your level of service.
On the other extreme was my historically favorite ski area in the country. I hadn't been back to Winter Park Ski Area in the heart of the Colorado Rockies since they finished their "upgrades" over the last two years. While this area's ski school is still way beyond average, I noticed this "family" ski area has priced itself so high that my lift-mates on most rides were asians or europeans and not the more regional based crowd of the past. While this kept the lift lines short and you can credit this to the weak dollar if you want to, but Winter Park along with most of the rest of the domestic tourism industry has forgotten who their "core" customers were. I understand they can make a buck right now, but it isn't sharp long term thinking to forget to take care of the guy who can drive to you while wooing the people who have to fly 5000+ miles.
The key message to all of this is take care of your core, and build your level of service.
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