Blog
Are You Giving Your Customers What They Really Need?
My wife is an educator; actually, she is a graduate school professor of educational leadership. She recently mentioned a powerful quote by revered educator, author and speaker Nicholas Ferroni that got me thinking about customers. But, then, just about...
Service Delivery From Contented Employees
In 1907, Carnation Evaporated Milk introduced a brand-new ad to promote its product, “made from contented cows.” Since I lived on a cattle farm and milked a cow twice a day for most of my teenage years, I thought a lot about the productivity of cows with high...
It’s Not Picture Day!
Jim Collins is credited with the line, “Good is the enemy of great.” I would like to add another axiom: “Perfection is the enemy of excellence.” Now, don’t get me wrong, there are clearly areas where perfection should be the minimum standard. ...
Serving as a Role Model of Greatness
When I was a young boy, I imagined I was Wild Bill Hickock a lot of the time…or sometimes I was Hopalong Cassidy. We watched the great cowboys on black and white television and then rushed to the back yard to replicate their antics. I now live on the 13th...
Agile Trumps Speed in Customer Service
We hear a lot these days about customers' need for speed. They seem to want everything the day before yesterday. Uber Eats is working on home delivery via drones rather than worry about traffic delays. Amazon is putting distribution centers in...
Sprinkles: Antidote to The Demise of Customer Surprise
When I was ten years old, I did a very naughty thing. I secretly watched my parents hide all the Easter eggs. As my cousins and siblings rushed into our backyard on the hunt for brightly colored eggs, I calmly went straight to all their hiding spots! ...
Does Your First Impression Tell Your Story?
Your mother likely told you that you did not get a second chance to make a good first impression. That is literally true but may not be completely accurate in its intent. But, the point of the power of first impressions is a solid one. And, one to be...
You Are Known by Your Works
Many years ago, I worked for the president of a bank famous for aggressive bank acquisitions and rapid growth in the financial services space. The bank ultimately became the Bank of America and the president became the B of A CEO. Hugh McColl was famous for his...
Laboring on the Hobby Side of Work
I have a new handyman. And, Mike is terrific. It all started with a really simple chore—power washing a sidewalk and applying a concrete sealer. I had power washed it before but the sycamore trees nearby had stained the concrete so much it needed a...
Stop Delivering Service Ga Ga
I do not understand the lyrics in the hit song Bohemian Rhapsody. The music is terrific and I am a major Queen fan. But off the beaten path words like Scaramouch, Bismillah, and Fandango are not in my everyday vernacular. Yet, their hit song Radio Ga...
Serving in Acapella
It was the 100th anniversary of the church in which I grew up. So, the red-letter day called for a homecoming, complete with a delicious pot luck lunch following the 90-minute worship service. The congregation sang many of the old gospel hymns, the...
Do You Need a “Billy Joel?”
It was Tuesday afternoon around 5:30pm. The lobby lounge was super animated. The large Orlando convention hotel’s afternoon “watering hole” was abuzz with people engaged in upbeat conversation and jovial laughter. For a weekday, it clearly seemed the...
Serving Over Your Head
We have a lot of funny lines about exalted stations. Someone "marries above their class," makes decisions "above their pay grade," and plays a sport "over their head." The concept is about stretching beyond the norm, outside the boundary, or past what might be...
Are You Raining on Your Customers?
Rain comes in many forms. It can be a downpour that leaves you soaked; a shower that leaves you damp, or a mist that leaves you regretting you did not bring an umbrella. Folks in Seattle even call a heavy fog a version of rain! Rain is also a...
What’s Your Story?
The Pirate’s House is a restaurant in the edge of Savannah, GA that started as a tavern in 1753. In fact, the building housing the restaurant is the oldest standing building in Georgia. Locals will tell you that Captain Flint…you remember him in Robert...