Car Repair Customer Service Done Right

Note: The following is an unabashed plug for a local business. If you’re a competitor, don’t take it personally. Better yet, use it as motivation. So, my truck suddenly developed a rather severe front-end shimmy (a highly technical automotive term, implying that my vehicle was demon-possessed), and I began to imagine all sorts of complicated… Continue reading Car Repair Customer Service Done Right

Workplace Retrace

Someone recently posted a photo on Facebook of their office walls, and that caused me to think about the offices I’ve had over the course of my career(s). In four decades of work, they’ve run the gamut from yuck to bling, and in looking back I’ve realized that some were pretty noteworthy. The Introductory Bullpen… Continue reading Workplace Retrace

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Categorized as Business

Kicking into Kickstarter? Be prepared to kick yourself.

A Facebook friend posted a link to this New York Times article. It’s a long but entertaining look at a failed* Kickstarter campaign to fund a PID-controlled espresso machine. The article is a cautionary tale about what happens when a good idea is poorly executed, and project backers feel they have been treated unfairly, if… Continue reading Kicking into Kickstarter? Be prepared to kick yourself.

Praising Parrot

I crashed my drone and it was traumatic, but good service does a lot to ease the pain.

Laws of Combat

I’m going through my files – physical and computer – and deleting or archiving those that are likely beyond their useful life. This is one of the final steps in unwinding the website business. In the process, I’ve run across a lot of things that I acquired and kept over the years for no apparent… Continue reading Laws of Combat

Borders Ruins

On July 18th, Borders Group, Inc. announced that it was closing 400 bookstores and liquidating its inventory, having failed to find a rescuer after it declared bankruptcy. The company is another victim of technology, having missed the boat, the train, and even the bus that runs to the online hubs for selling books and music.… Continue reading Borders Ruins

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Categorized as Business, Travel

Random Thursday – The Customer Service Complaint Edition

Some random thoughts about some puzzling and odd – OK, let’s be honest: they’re annoying – business practices that have caught my attention: Budget asked me to complete an online questionnaire about a recent car rental. I found it odd that the survey offered only check boxes and radio buttons, and provided no option for… Continue reading Random Thursday – The Customer Service Complaint Edition

Google’s free website program doesn’t help everyone

I posted brief rants about the Texas Get Your Business Online (TGYBO) initiative yesterday on Facebook and Twitter, but that wasn’t particularly satisfying, so I want to continue the rant here. After all, anything worth doing is worth overdoing. Here’s a quick refresher. TGYBO provides free websites and hosting (for a year) to small businesses in… Continue reading Google’s free website program doesn’t help everyone

How not to manage customer relations

I’ve noticed a couple of recent examples of inexpert customer relations from companies large enough to know better. One arrived in via email yesterday afternoon, from my insurance company (Farmers Insurance). It touted its “Go Paperless” program, in which its customers could elect to receive policy-related documents electronically (gee…what a cutting edge idea!). Sounds innocuous,… Continue reading How not to manage customer relations

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