I am writing an article for an association magazine and recall seeing a set of rules that came from Nike in the 1980’s. Referred to at the time as an escaped email from within Nike it outlined 10 Principles that supposedly represented the dogma and maxims of Nike as they went out and competed in the market in the early days of their existance. In searching through the Internet, I had a hard time finding them. Finally I resorted to calling Nike’s PR arm in New York City. Leaving a message I thought, “well, they will never call back .
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Archives for Customer Service
Real World Bathroom Humor
My sixteen year old daughter had just come out of the restroom, her hands still wet from washing. She smiled, walked over and put her damp hands on my forearm and looked up into my face and said with a giggle, “Excuse me mister, could you help me get my penny out of the toilet?” Argh! It takes me back to a visit to the COSI Museum in Columbus, Ohio. That is where I was engrossed (or is that gross’d?) in the bathroom stall experience. As I entered the mens room and found that appropriate seat, I looked up and
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Professionalism is Catchy
I work with lot of colleges and universities. Several years ago I did some strategic planning for one group of post secondary schools which eventually lead to being asked by a lot of different education institutions to conduct Strategic Planning, Sales Training, Marketing & Branding classes and workshops. Recently Kent State University started asking me to help some of their internal customers as well as external clients with various projects. I have come away from these experiences with a new found respect for the professionalism of some of the Kent State people. These are warm, intelligent and yet very progressive
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IKEA – Which is Swedish for "Great Customer Experience" – big grin
One quarter TRILLION catalogs a year and over 600,000,000 customers makes IKEA of Sweden big. But not so big that they can’t pay attention to customers. Recently I was eating lunch with family in one of their stores (the famous Swedish Meat Balls with mashed potatoes.) I noticed a young man a few feet away from me with his back turned toward me. He walked away and there was a Microwave. Right in the middle of the cafeteria. A microwave. How many restaurants would even consider allow YOU, the lowly customer, the choice of reheating your food when it
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Bryant Heating Equipment Leaves a Cold Feeling
I came home from a Holiday get away to a cold house. My Bryant furnace was on the fritz. Told by the repairman that it was the “Cadillac” of equipment. He then proceeded to tell me how I would need a new squirral cage fan and motor for $1000. A new furnace is only $3000. What a rip off. There is no way a motor and some fan blades cost $1000. Our conversation now turned very cold. He finally came back with an offer which gave me a discount if I bought a one year service contract that brought
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Baby Boomers Start to Lose to Gen Y
Bryan Badger is THE honcho at Hot Pockets. For two years he has been the CEO in Colorado. In our conversation he pointed out that his sales track the economy. As it goes south, his sales go north. The really cool stuff he is doing has to do with the culture there at Hot Pockets. The average age of his employees is about 32 years of age, so he had to change the culture to cater to the younger audience. Some of his ideas are so simple that they are brilliant. Guitar Hero for lunch. That’s right. There are times
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The Crush of Black Friday Mania
For those who think that shopping on the Friday after Thanksgiving is all about sweet deals, you may be missing the point. I think of a couple of years ago and my son and two of his friends. We were standing in line at a CompUSA at midnight in order to capture some sweet Black Friday promotional goods. Did we freeze? You betcha. Memories? Off the chart. It was a zoo and the service a joke. But the memories of being with my son during the wee hours of night is forever. I remember the year where we also timed
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When Doctors Give Bad Service . . . YOU DIE!
There is a large medical care organization who approached me about working with their leadership. A proposal was created and then, when my phone calls were not returned I got the message . . . “thanks, but no thanks.” Now I am OK with that. If you get 100% of all the business you are shooting at then you are either priced too low, or you are lying. But then I got thinking. If an organization who has the lives of their customers literally in their hands . . . does not have enough professionalism and follow up to call
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I am Steamed Up. . . and that is a good thing!
The carpets in our Cave Dwelling had never been cleaned since we moved into our new home. With a social event on the horizon, the Supreme Commander undertook the task of getting someone to come and shampoo a few rooms of carpet. The TV advertisments for Stanley Steemer are masterful. There is the one that says, “Our certified AND BONDED employees will safely clean your carpets.” That “BONDED” thing is powerful. It causes the customer to have an internal conversation that goes something like. . . “Do I want someone who is NOT bonded to come into my home? I
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Paul Newman whoops up on James Bond
Maybe it is the blue eyes. The Customer Experience is so dependent on the dedication of those who deliver it. In a recent interview with Daniel Craig, the newest in the James Bond stars, he was reflecting back on some of his previous films. He was talking about working with Paul Newman in the 2002 film Road to Perdition. “The best thing I can say about Paul Newman was he worried about his craft and about what he was doing. He talked it through, and when he got it right it pleased him and when he got it wrong it
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