Customer dis-service.

Tags

Business, Customer Care, Customer Support, Offshoring, Thoughts

Seriously, what happened to true Customer Service? Today I am sadly reminded of the inadequacies in training for technical support, or even a lack of care on the side of the employer. Personally, I’ve long seen offshoring as natural selection for the online world we live in, an inevitable progression to de-centralized support that can cheaply cover any continent at any hour. I can (somewhat begrudgingly) get past the broken English, poor grammar and thick accents that need third parties to translate them. What I can’t forgive, is the consistent attitude that the customer is wrong and if you can’t ask a question that’s on the cheat sheet in front of the CSR, then it must be your fault.

I’ve long suffered these issues, which to some extent have forced me into getting the nous for being my own technical support, so that I never need to call support. Today though, I had to get online because even though I knew the issue, it could only be resolved directly, by the company. The problem was simple enough; the city I live in has recently been incorporated into the adjacent city and therefore has an updated address. Unfortunately, the city and zip code are not recognized by the company website (neither have they been updated by Google maps – *tsk *tsk*). Over thirty minutes of reading ‘refresh your web page and try again,’ the CSR indicated that I must be doing something wrong as it worked fine on their side. See, for me, I understand that what you’re doing internally, doesn’t necessarily translate to what the customer sees, externally. They didn’t get it, apologized in broken English and said it was a ‘technical glitch’ – this explanation is right up there with the Apple ‘Genius Bar’ guy, who explained that my old 3G randomly rebooted because of ‘artifacts in the system.’ Yes, I’ve 24 years of technical experience in IT yet readily admit to not knowing a fraction of things; still, the smell of bullshit is an unmistakable odor.

I’m digressing a fair bit from my point here, which is the perception that the larger the company, the proportionally less qualified the support staff appear to be. Truth is, when you’re small, you have to care about the customer because if you lose just one, it’s potentially damaging to your future growth. Reaching critical mass sadly emboldens companies to allow a certain amount of customer fall-off because individuals are not so important any more. Ironically, I’m quite keen to lay a large portion of the blame at we consumers, who often just sit back and take it, hoping the problem will solve itself.

Ultimately, as company owners, no matter the size of the corporation, you and I should be walking the floors of customer service and occasionally make random calls to our own technical departments, else, how can you ever understand the level of quality you’re promising customers?

The 4-Hour Work Week.

Tags

4 Hour Work Week, Books, Business, Freelance, Outsource, Review, Tim Ferriss

While there are many usable soundbites from this book, it didn’t quite capture the magic of self-employment that Pam Slim so eloquently covers in ‘Escape from Cubicle Nation’. Tim Ferriss comes across as someone who just happens to land in scenarios that enable him to experiment with the direction of work and life, which some of us just don’t have the luxury of….yet. The whole book could be summarized in far less words as to simply outsource everything you can and trust in the people you employ.

There is so much in here that is common sense and those with at least a few smarts or industry experience will not find anything new. If on the other hand, you spend your days stressing about the business you’ve already grown and haven’t worked out the logistics of backing off, this could be a kick in the right direction.

As with most ‘inside information’ these days, don’t expect to find the bonus information on the website particularly explosive or even up-to-date. The intention here is good but you’ll get a better structure for new forays into the freelance game, or even advancing your small business, elsewhere.

Following my bliss.

Tags

Business, Development, Direction, Focus, Freelance, Life, Mind, Thoughts

As part of the restructure of my life, I’ve spent the last 3 years putting together the building blocks that have been missing for the 35 years prior. Well, of course there is always development going on but lets just say I hadn’t previously opened myself enough to become fully receptive to my own consciousness. No, I’m not going to power into a long diatribe about understandings of subliminal and background process that continue, even when you think you’re not paying attention. Those conversations are best enjoyed with multiple minds and heated exchanges.

Now I am receptive to my own desires, I’m able to direct energies to my vocation which has narrowed to travel, video and education. I still have some way to go to become the expert in my game but the voices directing me, keep informing that this is what I *should* be doing, so, I’m sticking with it. Following something you enjoy and believe in is an amazing way to feel that your life has a point. In this age of pseudo-enlightenment and 10-second consumption it’s hard to grasp our sense of belonging and ultimately, a desire that our life has not been wasted or in vain.

I would like to share the four things that have been paramount to both how I’m living my life now and how I’m steering myself toward the work I was born to do:

Draw a line in the sand
I never make New Year resolutions but as of late, I am marking public lines in the sand to ensure I achieve a task and keep moving forward. There are many books that advocate this practice and they are absolutely right – having a big public message that you’re going to do something means you have to get it done and there’s no turning back without unwelcome humiliation. It also stops you making false promises that you think will disappear if they’re kept to yourself.  Even if you don’t have anyone to speak your intent to, facing yourself in the mirror or writing a goal down is often enough inspiration to get on with it.

Act on intent
Ideas in your head are worthless unless they have an exit point into the real world. If you find yourself consistently saying ‘I’d love to do this but I need to get a website/business license/portfolio first”, then procrastination is hindering the explosion of your passion for the idea. The best time to do something is when it’s exciting, so go at it with gusto and worry about the minor details along the way. Sure you may need a website, but a splashscreen with contact info will suffice until you start to gain momentum with business. Yes, portfolios can be necessary but until you start doing some work, free or otherwise, you won’t have anything to put in the portfolio.

Don’t drown in the details
We can often get wrapped up trying to absorb a ton of information, to ensure we know as much as possible for marketing ourselves but take a minute to think; is 10% of 10 skills better than 100% of 1 skill? It could be that your jack-of-all-trades offering requires multiple talents but try not to learn too much before you need to and stick with what will get you launched.

Find your temple of thought
For me, this ended up being hiking. Whenever I’m stressed, finding it hard to think of life’s purpose, or need to open my mind to new ideas, I find a long steep hike and push myself hard. For others it’s often solitude, quiet and meditation – the catalyst doesn’t matter as long as you know what it is and can get ready access.