Innovative Service:  Making Your Mark

Innovative Service: Making Your Mark

My nephew came home after his first semester at college sporting a brand new tattoo on his ankle—the Greek letters of his new fraternity! He was very proud of it and eager to show it off. Despite the wintry conditions of the Christmas holidays, he refused to wear...
Innovative Service as a “Jack-in-the-box”

Innovative Service as a “Jack-in-the-box”

There is something magical about a jack-in-the-box. First, the toy is always colorful. Most make happy music as you wind the crank. But, the coolest part is the fact that you never know exactly when the “jack” is going to pop out of the box. What makes this toy such...
On The Other Side of Innovative Service Basics

On The Other Side of Innovative Service Basics

“When USA Today, Temkin Group, and Business Week all picked Amazon.com as the #1 best service company—an on-line fulfillment company—it’s proof good old fashioned service is dead.” The comment sounded like a “kids are going to the dogs” statement someone’s grandfather...
Focusing on Your Customer’s I-Chart

Focusing on Your Customer’s I-Chart

I love Tabasco pepper sauce…on just about everything. Having lived a while in New Mexico and having working a lot in Mexico and Central America, I have a strong preference for hot spicy food, especially if it has a Hispanic style. A good breakfast is not a perfect...
Adding a Special Attraction

Adding a Special Attraction

Betty’s is an antique all-purpose grocery store in Helen, GA.  Started in 1973, the store provides walls full of antiques as well as a cavalcade of off-the-beaten path items.  They also provide the usual high quality meats, canned goods, fruits and vegetables.  Need...
Disrupting Ahead of Your Customer

Disrupting Ahead of Your Customer

“If I had asked people what they wanted,” Henry Ford is rumored to have said, “They would have said faster horses.” Now, before you fire the market research department, it is important to remember Henry Ford’s arrogance about customers also lead him to chide,...