Sunday, March 27, 2011

Pipe Dreams - a Lot of Room to Improve Customer Service

By I.J. Hudson


I’m thinking of starting a plumbing company.

Okay, this is a rant - and a review of lessons I thought most people and businesses understood.   

These are very simple lessons I tried to teach my children, (mildly successful) and a practice that I assiduously follow:  always return phone calls ---- and do what you say you’ll do. 

I maintain that if you do both, you’ll be way ahead of the competition.  In other words, you’ll be ahead of the competition by being responsive and true to your word.  Wow!  Such a concept.  

From my viewpoint, these two traits are not remarkable – shouldn’t be – but are in certain areas.  My most recent brush with non-believers in these principles is with the local plumbing industry.  We’ve called four different plumbing companies serving the Gaithersburg area to perform a simple task.   
Often we are told someone will be out the next day to give us an estimate.  They may actually show up, but the estimate may be weeks in coming, if at all.  We have to call twice just to ask for the estimate. (Still don't have it.)

Others say the owner will get right back to us, and he does – until he forgets to follow up after he hangs up.

We looked up these companies on “checkbook.”  Oddly enough, the most highly rated companies for price and service were the companies that didn’t follow up, didn’t return phone calls.  The lowest rated company returned calls right away.  I guess they were eager for business because of the low ratings.

Perhaps a hybrid company could be formed – one that took customer service seriously, and did a great job. 

I apologize if I offend any plumbing companies out there that believe they offer both.  So far, I’m not finding you in my immediate area, and would suggest that anyone with some real smarts and a decent bankroll jump into this market.  Either there’s not enough competition (not enough folks going into plumbing), or a time-honored trade has slipped a couple of notches.  I hope not.

Being mediocre shouldn’t be rewarded.   Why wait days for someone to return your call, promise to show up  – and then they don’t .  Then you call back to beg, get a recording and wait for them to return the call!  Why pay THEM to torture YOU?

Why not choose a plumber that does good work and takes customer service seriously?  I would certainly  pay more to receive dependable service.  

Returning phone calls and doing what you say you’ll do doesn’t require plumbing skill.  It’s what we should expect from companies providing service - any company. 

I think there’s an opening for a new company that has a simple message.  “If we miss your call, we’ll call you back within a couple of hours, schedule the estimate, be on time for the job and do it right the first time.” 

From my point of view, that would be remarkable service that I’m missing now.


Saturday, March 19, 2011

Linear News - Not So Much!

By I.J. Hudson

I was reminded earlier this week about how the expectations of people have changed.  Well, actually, the expectations of most people, not the older generation (oops, wait, I’m approaching that group).

I watched a “rerun” of the Arch Campbell Show in Washington, DC on NewsChannel8.  It was actually the repeat of the show from the night before.  I had missed the original time the show aired.

Wait, I missed the original time the show aired??  Is that relevant anymore?  Not really.  Like an unread book, the show was new to me.  I stumbled across it airing in a linear fashion.  Later, I found out Arch provided a link to the show on Facebook.  I could watch it anytime, as long as the link to the archived show was not broken.  Sometimes we simply forget just how “un-linear” our information channels are.

So the question is, “what is a repeat?”  It’s the TV industry’s definition of a show that has already aired by THEIR schedule – not yours.  Appointment viewing, for the most part, has been over since the DVR (remember Tivo?) – we just didn’t know it yet.  And that was just the first strike against appointment viewing.  The internet (small i) was strike two and probably strike three.

The mainstream media will keep trying to keep its core alive – the main news broadcast at dinnertime – complete with commercials for Rx drugs for the ailments of our seniors, and try to pay homage to new media.  They present stories, use Skype, let you vote on stories, let you know that their reporters are tweeting the latest.

I suspect much of that “linear” core will fade – sooner rather than later.

Now that my 85-year old father-in-law has his iPad, it may be much sooner.

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Just the Facts!

By I.J. Hudson

This is basic communications theory:  You want the message to get through without a lot of noise.   

However, that doesn’t keep some firms from screaming at the top of their font. Total turn off!

This post was prompted by something I got in the mail today.  It was a direct marketing firm offering to “Make your phones ring! Crowd your aisles with Customers!”  Both sides of the flyer were crammed with copy about everything they could do for you.  I’ll bet somewhere in there - there was a message. I'm going to call them to help me with direct marketing?

I argued with myself over emailing these folks and offering my services.  I have helped small businesses make their message stand out.  They started with a brochure that had way too much stuff on it.  I helped them clear the clutter.  “Just the facts” – Sgt. Joe Friday.   Okay, just the facts, but worded in a memorable way.

What problem are you solving?
How are you different from the other guys?
Here’s how you get started.

My point is simple.  State your case – and toss all the verbage/fonts/whatever  gets in the way of your core message.  

If I can’t find your message instantly, I’m not going to call to ask you to explain it.  

You get one shot to be remarkable, to attract my attention.  Don't wind up in the trash.


Saturday, March 12, 2011

Timing, Cycles and Charlie Sheen

By I.J. Hudson


This post is all about timing.  It seems appropriate for several reasons. 

As I write this, the clock is moving toward the end of Eastern Standard Time toward the annual Spring Forward-Fall Back ritual of resetting almost every timepiece and replacing batteries.  I say almost, because I invariably forget at least one, not to mention the car clocks.  I always have to dig out the manual for one of the cars.

We talk about being in the wrong place at the wrong time, or at the right place at the right time.  Consider the icy road that just caused an accident that is "just wet" and safe two hours later.  Timing.

Another reason concerns cycles and seasons.   Try to find a swimsuit in late summer, or a winter jacket in mid-winter.  It’s time to make people think and buy for the next season.  I’m not a fashion guy, so I really don’t care.   

Other cycles make more sense to me – like lawnmower and snow thrower repair.  The big repair shops fix mowers in late Winter/early Spring so they’re ready for use when the grass awakens. They start adding snow throwers/blowers to the mix in July.  That may be a tad early for some, but at least you’re prepared for that occasional August snowstorm.  You can’t be too careful.  Washington, DC weather can be unpredictable.

The last element of timing is Charlie Sheen.  It seems almost everyone is viewing the proverbial “train wreck” and complaining about all the coverage at the same time.  It’s way past his fifteen minutes of fame, yet the saga stretches on and keeps growing – in part, because of social media and all the media.   On Google, I get 549-million hits for “Charlie Sheen;” for “Japan Earthquake,” 20.5 million. And there is a movement afoot, complete with Facebook page, to have Sheen be the 2012 commencement speaker at George Washington University.

In a statement released to bloggers, the GW group pushing for Sheen asks, "why must we suffer through the fomulaic commencement speech?  Why not hear from a man who has known both the sweet tastes of success and the sour bite of failure."  Some question whether they're serious or just having fun.

They say Sheen would be good for the University:  "This social media rally is truly a testament to the GWU school spirit, to the buff and blue blood that courses through our veins."

Timing?  What does this say about social media?  We’ve seen it heralded as the “app” for change from dictatorship to democracy.  It certainly can be used to bring people together to support a common idea.  It doesn’t mean every common idea is a good one.  It also doesn't mean everyone who "likes" something really likes it, or that a lot of people who do "like" something will go to the trouble of  clicking and joining in..

And the last point about timing.  This is a movement to have Charlie Sheen speak at the 2012 commencement, not this year’s commencement.  What if Charlie Sheen’s fifteen minutes of fame are over before 2012, and someone else is in the spotlight. 

It's all about timing.

 
Publish Post

Sunday, March 6, 2011

iPad for Seniors - YES!

By I.J. Hudson
Sharing ideas about how we live our lives has been around as long as we’ve been around.  Cave walls display figures for us to interpret.  They weren’t drawn for us, but the human race just happened to last long enough to stumble upon those walls to examine the distant past.  

In Internet terms, the distant past isn’t so distant – in years.  

The key to sharing information has always been the interface.  Remember when card catalogs were the only interface to find books in a physical library?  

Interfaces we've managed to survive

Each layer between that information and making it available to see/read/hear has always slowed the process because there’s translation going on.  Pencil – pen – keyboard –mouse – stylus --


Some may remember DOS, Windows for Workgroups 3.1.1 and when we first began our march to build a better mouse.  That is ancient, but it certainly beat paper and pencil for calculations. Then we began showing up at meetings with a “Palm Pilot,” and started a love-hate relationship with graffiti.  And, of course, it gave us another reason not to pay attention in meetings.

Okay, I.J., where are you going with this?

Suppose you weren’t interested in the Internet as it progressed and didn’t live through all of those interface evolutions?  Suppose you thought GUI (Graphical User Interface) really meant gooey?  Suppose you’re 85 and considering your first computer?  That could be a daunting task if you had to deal with the usual ways of extracting information. 

My father-in-law is about to enter the world of iPad and I think that’s a good thing.  He’s always been an inquisitive fellow who enjoys history, wildlife and ideas.  The iPad will make it easy for him to do what he wants to do – and the only interfaces he will need are connected to his wrists.  A door partially locked by keyboards, mice and complications will be opened.  

And while he won’t have a USB port or other “necessities” required by others, he will be able to tap into the basic information he wants, whether websites, pictures or email.  

If you focus on needs and goals, I think the match up is perfect.  He’s coming to the Internet at a decent time – when the interface wasn’t always in the way….

The only issue to settle now is whether to go for the newest iPad with the cameras, so he can see and be seen by the great-grandkids, or take the older iPad for a discount???

Saturday, March 5, 2011

Innovations Mean Something - Period!

By  I.J. Hudson

HTC’s slogan is roughly, “innovation doesn’t mean anything unless it means something to you.”

I suppose that’s true in one sense.  If you “get” how a device or product with help you or change your life, it does mean something to you.  If the product could change your life but the company does a poor job of explaining it – it won’t mean anything to you.  I’m not suggesting that HTC is doing a poor job of anything.  I am saying that the phrase, when directed to the right individuals, is very strong; to a larger group of people or researchers, I think it misses the mark.  

Innovation successes can be a matter of timing, teaming with other emerging technologies, changes in society, or a combination of all three.  The highway to acceptance is littered with great ideas that never made it to the forefront.  A lot of these ideas were in an age of slow communications.  Now things can succeed or be labeled a failure very quickly.   

Take the Apple Newton PDA.  Yep, I tried one at a preview.  Its graffiti would not recognize my left-handed writing worth a darn.  Some cited it as a big flop, but others argued the failure prompted researchers to think about what was possible.  Actually, that’s what they’re supposed to be doing anyway.

That’s part of innovation.  Another part is deciding whether to improve the existing device, or making something entirely new that both fixes the original snag, and incorporates other features that address the core problems consumers want solved.   The mix of ideas, technologies and business models that comes together to make a product successful is not linear in nature.  Sometimes they mature together, sometimes they don’t.  When they do, the tech world changes; the combination is disruptive almost overnight.  Everyone sees it, even the trenchers. Wow!  Not only does the “idea” lightbulb come on, (like in the comics) but it’s a CFL bulb.

Trenchers?  I have a trench theory of gadgets:  A lot of tech people are early adopters.  “Yeah, I’ll try that because it’s cool, it’s the newest.  I’m not sure if it works any better than what I have, but it’s new and improved – ergo, what I have is ‘old and unimproved.’”   The trenchers, by contrast, are those who wait until they see real value before exchanging what they have that works for the next new thing.  “I am not willing to give up what I like and know for something just because it is new.”  The new thing may be a year old before they try it; or the trencher may have consulted with friends and seen it in action – finding out for themselves what the true value proposition is for them.  In short, the gadget must let them do something they want and need to do that the old device won’t.   

Unmistakable advantage trumps the trencher’s comfort level with the status quo.  “If I’m going to have to unlearn how to use that stylus on a smartphone and learn how to use my fingers on a touchscreen, it had better be worth it.  That’s pretty basic.  The really smart early adopters will argue that THEY see the value of things earlier than most people.  Maybe so.

The takeway from my ramblings is that innovation can mean a whole lot, even if it does not mean something to you.  As our sharing of ideas gets faster, innovations brewing thousands of miles and years apart can now meet up much more quickly to make the next big thing happen. 

The innovations will be there and either recognized by the marketplace as important now, or mix with other innovations to be important later.  The innovations will keep coming at us faster.  It’s up to us to recognize what’s important.