The Shaved Soapbox

Wordless Wednesday – Patterns in the sand

Baldy — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 09:30:42 +0000

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Wordless Wednesday – Hole in the Wall

Baldy — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 13:18:16 +0000

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Customer communication

Baldy — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 10:08:18 +0000

Your customers will choose to communicate with you an a variety of ways, phone, email, instant messaging, twitter, facebook etc.

How they communicate could tell you a lot about how urgent they perceive their issue to be.

If the customer phones you, it means they want action now, whether it is to enquire about a product, or to give some feedback about the service they experienced...they want you to deal with it now.

Same could be said for instant messaging i.e. SMS, BBM, Skype. It is not as important to them, because they never know whether you are in front of your computer, or have your phone in your hand, but they still want you to deal with their request as soon as you get the message.

Email messages are probably another step down on the totem-pole.

When it comes to text-based communication you need to be extremely careful. Emotion cannot be conveyed via text, although I've seen some valiant attempts, and whatever you read or reply has a good chance of being misinterpreted.

So if you are dealing with an angry client that fired off an email while being angry, don't reply to it, rather phone them back.

Chances are they've cooled down by the time you phone and probably regret even sending the mail, but if you send back a terse response because you see their mail as a personal attack, then you'll be adding kindle to the fire, and probably lose the client for life.

That follow-up phone-call, and dealing with the issue, will, on the other hand, probably gain you a client for life.

Value vs Profit

The Otter Trail Run

Baldy — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 07:50:05 +0000

This is definitely on my bucket-list of events to do

2011 Otter African Trail Run Teaser from Motion Pixel on Vimeo.

Solution Provider

Apple Wireless Keyboard – (About R800)

Baldy — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 08:01:22 +0000

You can get this from any iStore

Apple Magic Mouse – R899

Topeak Micro Rocket Carbon Pump – About R400

Baldy — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 07:59:25 +0000

Can be found at most good bike shops

http://www.topeak.com/products/Pumps/MicroRocketCB

Crumpler Prime Cut iPad Case

Baldy — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 07:41:09 +0000

R499 - Colour: Charcoal

Can be ordered from here

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Wordless Wednesday – Raindrops

Baldy — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 10:45:36 +0000

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Value vs Profit

Baldy — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 08:30:25 +0000

It is sad to see the decline of value I'm getting as a client of many businesses.

This is happening in the endless pursuit (shortsighted) of profit, to maximise the 'return' for the shareholder.

The myth that a certain percentage of 'return' or growth on an investment is a minimum requirement, is being perpetuated by the countless MBA programs out there, run by professors, who in many cases have never built a successful business.

They see success as the amount of money the businessman gets back from the amount he initially invested. They see only this, because they are outside observers, who can only see the objective and tangible things.

What has happened to the Brand, that tries to maximise value for the client? The client is after all the one that makes it possible for a business to grow and make money. And at some point the same client will vote with his feet, when the value he gets for his hard-earned cash becomes too diluted.

In my opinion, the customer experience has been ruined by an influx of MBAs, to maximise the investor's experience. This is not sustainable.

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Wordless Wednesday – Rose

Baldy — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 08:30:42 +0000