[belated entry; busy is good]

IDEO is listening.

With no more nudging than our recent bloggy squawk, the revered designistas rocketed to bigwidesky some replacement method cards, a deftly penned note, personal contact card, and a paperclip we’ve dubbed "le sex bomba". An impressive response, for sure, from an organizational monstrosity that understands the inescapable gravity of personal, human customer service [as Eliot noted earlier with uncharacteristic brevity, customer service is marketing]. And given that we really ain’t nobody to them, well, their attention feels nice.

[We're still deliberating whether or not IDEO is just playing along with our earlier conspiratorial suspicions, or if they've inadvertently included some proprietary scrap: check out this curious sketch on one sheet of their packing paper.]

During our recent San Francisco travels, Skye and I were disrupted by the last of the Universal Soldiers. His name's Justin, so hints his URL, and he's revolutionizing something or another with an idea that was bound to come about sooner or later: 24/7 real-time first-person, erm, programming. Though I reckon his is a case study in content-second webcrap, don't take my word for it. Check out for yourself the exciting highlights of his first week of broadcast, including "sleeping" and "cleaning up after a party" -- just like your own life, except in lousy resolution.

[Still, props for follow-through.]

I was wrong. My initial distaste for Windows Live Messenger's Whatchoo Listenintoo? gimmick was unfounded. This is actually an ingenious feature. Provided they aren't merely shuffling through a random playlist, my conversee's current choice of music reveals a level of communicative nuance and emotional subtlety beyond even the most winkety of emoticons. And when Gregtober77 writes that "painting, sculpture, opera, ballet, poetry and theater shouldn't bother considering ordinary people" while listening to Cinderella's "Heartbreak Station", there's something to be said for subtext indeed.

In an effort to further the intimacy (and perhaps irony) of Messenger convos, perhaps the next version should also indicate when a partner "is deleting a message", as it does when they're writing one.

My comrade, sharp tack extraordinaire at a respected academic-centered consultancy, posted the following at his organization's official blog:

Why isn't there a FAQ on this site?

Good question. We'll put one up soon.

I can only assume his post is in response to 1) redundant queries or 2) the suggestion of a FAQ, specifically, to field them. His site receives respectable traffic from all sorts, folks who no doubt inundate his whipsmart cohorts with fairly tedious questions. Indeed, FAQs (in their traditional use) are useful for pre-qualifying clients & associates, redirecting lost interlopers, and translating industry jargon. But here's why I must dissuade said tack from a FAQ: they're designed to end a conversation before it begins.

Continue reading "Frequently Avoided Questions" »

I was reading the St. Louis Post Dispatch (the printed version!) one recent morning and came across this associated press story:

On many college campuses, home recipes are what's cooking.

Aside from some ridiculous talk about parents and children born after 1981 being closer than any previous generation, it’s an interesting article highlighting a topic close to all bigwidehearts. Becoming more human.

Continue reading "Whatcha' Got Cookin'" »

Typos, malapropisms, and spilled drinks notwithstanding, creatives are – each in our own way – perfectionists. This just makes us ordinarily human, I reckon. After all, the pursuit of quality is a common human endeavor – an airtight moon base, a better relationship with Dad, a more comfortable sitting position – and perfection is just the ever-elusive end of that journey. But we perhaps wrestle more rounds than most with the unattainability of perfection because it's actually in our job descriptions, after the part about turtlenecks.

Continue reading "rounding corners" »

I have had numerous conversations recently regarding customer service; both professionally and personally. Companies tend to think of customer service as a call center operation and a necessary evil in doing business. It should be far more than that. B2C companies get all the attention when it comes to this but it’s also a problem with many B2B companies as well. In both cases, it's an opportunity if your industry is weak or even average in this area.

Nordstrom usually comes to mind when you think of companies that stand out. Fast Company’s latest edition calls out Sir Richard Branson at the top of their list of companies that put the customer first. John Strande has a great suggestion for Levi based on his recent experience with them and David Armano discusses some of the changes the Chicago DMV has implemented that made a profoundly positive impact on an experience he was dreading based on historical encounters.

Strande and Armano's posts highlight what a profound impact you can have on an overlooked touchpoint with your customer. Take a step back, put yourself in the customer’s shoes, and think about what would turn this into an opportunity to develop a loyal customer, or even learn something that you can leverage for a better future experience. It’s really not that complicated. Just make it an important area of focus, enlist the help of your frontline employees and your customers, and investigate what leaders in other industries have done to develop great customer service. There are numerous ways that technology can help in ways that didn’t exist even five years ago. Once you go down this path, stick with it and continue to look for improvements. Don’t just pay it lip service for 18 months and then forget about it. The dividends this pays over time are huge. A customer that contacted you out of frustration could become one of your biggest evangalists and teach you something about your business.

Quick, someone tell the cable and phone companies.