28 May 2010
When a company makes a mistake, it can be the brightest moment in their history. Toyota had that opportunity. But they missed their moment. Big time. How a company reacts, removes the pain, and repairs the emotional connection shows the true colors of that organization more than almost any situation they [...]
28 May 2010
I recently heard a story about a Paradise Bakery & Café general manager who earned the nickname “Cowbell Sandy” from her adoring staff. It seems that a couple of years ago she started an incentive program to increase add-on sales of bottled water, cookies, and other high margin items. She worked with [...]
28 May 2010
I just got back from a large supermarket chain to do some grocery shopping. I don’t usually shop at this location of the chain, but it was convenient for me today. Aside from the expected minor annoyance of not knowing the layout of the store, all went fairly smoothly until the [...]
27 May 2010
Does life ever sneak up on you and teach you a lesson? You, too? Glad to know I’m not alone. Saturday, I had to work at Sparkspace. We don’t do a lot of Saturday meetings because we are primarily a business meeting space and most businesses don’t make their staff go to meetings on the weekend. [...]
27 May 2010
Staples had a sale on computer remotes. Regular price $74.99, on sale for $19.99 — a $50.00 savings. I already had one, but at that price, it made sense to get a back-up. I dropped by on the way home — unfortunately I arrived at 5 minutes past closing time. The doors were [...]
27 May 2010
My husband and I ate at one of our favorite restaurants a few nights ago and were astounded by the incredibly poor customer services skills of the on-site manager. It was a rather curious situation and I honestly believe that a third grader could have handled things better than this guy. Read full story
26 May 2010
It has been my believe that what customers really want is EASY. Make it easy for them to do business with you and you will have a customer for life. Even in tough economic times most people still value convenience over price. Read full story
26 May 2010
To be successful, in any business, we need to give our customers what they want, in a way that works for our business. We should focus on doing what our customers want AND what we can do well. Then we need to do it well. In fact we should do it better [...]
26 May 2010
“Good morning! Welcome to our USA Today route. Now, if I should go completely brain dead and miss you, please don’t hesitate to call me at the number below. I will personally re-deliver your paper as soon as possible. If you have a complaint that you and I can’t solve, you may call my district [...]
25 May 2010
There is something special that happens when someone takes the time to put pen to paper and leave a thank you for your kindness or business. I was recently a guest at Crowne Plaza in Philadelphia and I left a tip for the housekeeper. (Note: I really am a good hotel [...]
25 May 2010
When I purchased my printer several years ago, I bought a three year extended warranty. Unfortunately, last week, just as I was about to print out handouts for a presentation the next day, my printer died and I found out exactly what “warranty” meant. Read full story
25 May 2010
The headline of this post comes from a blog post by my friend Brian Carroll. His post describes a conversation he had with a client where they discussed how lead generation often ignores current customers. As a result of the discussion, one CEO decided his company would begin focusing more on [...]
shaun sayers: Thinking about it, it is a while since I have had ...
Stephen Hendren - presentation skills trainer: With reference to your customer objecting to the t...
Bill Hogg: Alan, thanks for commenting, you make valid points...
Melanie: It seems like the underlying issue of A&F is t...
Never again: I recently tried to order some items from their we...
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