Monthly Archives: May 2014

May 8, 2014 · 8:34 am

Why I Block Data Gathering

I can’t decide if what I’m about to write is me being a total hypocrite or the blinding flash of light that comes with insight.

Digital Ghostery

(Photo credit: ToadLickr)

I’ll let you folks be the judge.  Confession:  I block data gathering as I surf.  I use not one but TWO very good, very effective browser extensions to do so:  Disconnect and Ghostery.  Why two?  I’m not sure – maybe I’m just a belt and suspenders kind of guy.  I white list Google Analytics since I use them every day for myself and for my clients and not to do so just doesn’t feel right.  Damn near everything else is blocked.  Do I do this because I am afraid the government or some large internet company is going to find out I like golf and wine and rock music?  Not a bit.  Let me give you my thinking.

I have a very curious mind.  I want to know stuff.  Moreover, I like to find stuff.  The problem with where the internet has evolved is that much of the data being gathered is by marketers of all sorts as well as for content personalization.  For example – are you signed into your browser?  Is Google allowed to track your search history?  If so, the results I see when I look something up won’t match the results you get when you do the same search.  Why?  Because Google uses your search history and what you clicked on in those searches to guide the results they present to you in the interest of making those search engine result pages more useful.  I understand how many people might find this useful. I don’t.

You are probably aware thousands of companies are gathering information about your activity on the web.  They sell this data, usually without your permission.  Then again, so do credit card companies, car dealers, and others.  That’s not my issue.  It’s the damn algorithms.  How is one to discover new stuff if everything one sees is the result of an algorithm having decided what to serve me based on my viewing and purchasing habits?  I want to hear opinions which conflict with my own and find products that are unlike those I’ve bought before.  When I search, I want to be surprised with what I find, not reminded of the roads I’ve traveled before.

No business points today other than this:  while we may serve our customers’ interests by feeding them a diet of things they’ve proven to like, it’s in their interests as well as ours to get them to try new things.  Part of what I feel is less optimal in this world is that many of us don’t listen to the things we don’t like because it challenges our world view or our sense of security.  Listening isn’t liking but a closed mind isn’t smart.  I block data to keep mine open – to prevent anyone -or any algorithm – from deciding how I see the world.  You?

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May 7, 2014 · 8:42 am

Service Done Right

I go on an annual golf trip – no shock given that golf is a frequent topic here on the screed. This year’s takes place in a few weeks and part of our group’s tradition (it’s our twentieth trip!) is that each guy brings “free stuff” for every other guy. Of course, it’s never free to the giver, but that’s part of the charm, I guess.

Over the years I’ve made a variety of commemorative T-shirts for the group as my gift and I’ll be doing that again this year (sorry if I ruined the surprise for any of my group that visits here). I designed them and sent the file off with my order to Design-A-Shirt, the company I’ve used several times before. What happened next is customer service at its finest.

First, when they began working on the order, they sent out proof sheets to show me how they had cleaned up what I sent them and to get an approval to proceed.  This is the first step in very smart customer service.  After all, why take the chance on an unhappy customer (bad) or on having to redo an order (worse, and a killer of margins)?  This was NOT a form email.  It came from a person and I responded to a personal mailbox as I approved what they were doing.

To this point, I’d call this above average, smart customer communication.  Here is where it gets extraordinary.  I got this note yesterday:

Hello Keith,

I wanted to follow up on the order you placed with us to provide you with a production photo of your design printed on fabric. Please see the attached photo for reference. We are concerned about the text… as it’s a bit hard to read. To fix that we would either have to move the “ball” up to make the font larger, or use a different, thinner font that would be more legible. Please advise!

Wow.  They printed the approved design on T-shirt fabric and had a human give it the once over.  That same human took the time to write me a personal note and to ask for guidance.  I should remind you that this is for 13 shirts and the total cost was around $150, far from a big order.  Even so, they made me feel as if I was ordering 13 dozen.  Giving equal attention to every customer is part of doing it right.  Not surprisingly, late last night I got an email that the order had shipped and will be here at the end of the week – several days ahead of when it was promised.

Think I’ll be back?  You bet.  More importantly, by using them as an example of perfect customer communication and service – that which goes above and beyond the customer’s expectations – I’m hoping you’ll both learn from them and given them consideration if you need to make a shirt or two.  I know I talk often in this space about how excellent customer service costs less than you think and retaining a customer is always easier than finding a new one.  Hopefully this real word example resonates.  Does it?

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May 6, 2014 · 10:13 am

Turn The Page

English: Picture of Bob Seger. Cropped version...

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Happy Birthday Bob Seger!

One of Michigan’s favorite sons turns 69 today and I thought we’d get a quick business lesson from his 1973 song “Turn The Page“  for our subject this TunesDay.  It may be one of the best “road” songs ever written.  As is our custom, a quick listen and then a business point:

You might be familiar with Metallica’s version in which the road-weary musician is transformed into a stripper/prostitute.  The song’s been covered by many other musicians as well, probably because its message of the hours of boredom, bone-crushing travel in between performances resonates with anyone who’s ever lived that life.  Then again, you don’t have to be a musician – the 100,000 miles I used to travel a year (fortunately when air travel was much less painful) had me singing this song to myself more than once.

You hear the weariness in the sax line – it sounds like a late night after a long day.  You also hear the challenges of dealing with people who judge you for how you look and not who you are.  It’s a song about putting up with “all the other stuff” for this:

Out there in the spotlight you’re a million miles away
Every ounce of energy, you try to give away
As the sweat pours out your body like the music that you play

The moment when you can do what you love and bring joy to everyone involved.  Isn’t that a little of what we all live with each day?  It may be the slog through traffic or a stuck train.  It might be working on a the parts of a project – footnotes, cleaning up a presentation – that are really drudgery.  It’s knowing that even though it’s raining at the moment, there will be a glorious day of sunshine.

Happy Birthday, Bob.  Thanks for reminding us that we need to keep turning the page and looking ahead to the good stuff.

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