The Shrewd Blogger

My top 5 favorite 'personal productivity' apps on my Droid

noreply@blogger.com (D White) — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 16:38:00 +0000

Good day to All!

I have had my Motorola Droid for just over 1 month now, and have had several opportunities to download both free and purchased apps from the Android Market. Thought I would post a review of my 5 "must haves" for other people considering the Droid or available apps.

1. Advanced Task Killer Free. This is a free app and is among the top on most Droid users lists. Although the latest software update for the Droid did seem to make a notable difference, this app is a must have because it closes out other apps running in the background, and thus draining your battery. With this app, I can get through even the heaviest useage days with a good battery! I randomly throughout the day open and select "Kill Selected Apps" to maintain battery life.

2. Twidroid Pro. I love Twitter. I post, retweet and in many ways, communicate through Twitter. It's a great source of my increasing knowledge. Twidroid Pro brings a very agreeable and user friendly Twitter client to your Droid. Simple to learn and understand, keeps you 'in the loop' when you are away from your lap/desktop.

3. SportsTap. This app is killer. You can follow all teams or set up your favorites in NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, NCAA, Auto, Soccer, Golf, Tennis and even your local sports! Easy to access individual games being played and fairly fast in keeping updated. Live stats are available as well.

4. Weatherbug. I have both The Weather Channel and Weatherbug, but find that I use Weatherbug more consistently. You can set it to run the temp on the menu bar at the top of the screen; I generally don't run apps that suck on the battery throughout the day (or I run the #1 app listed above to kill them), but Weatherbug is friendly and easy to understand, as well as has quick information available.

5. Dolphin Browser. I didn't mind the browser that comes installed on the phone, but the multi-touch (pinch to zoom, slide out to enlarge) features of Dolphin are really terrific. Makes surfing the web on your Droid even easier.

Next post I will review my top 5 "fun" apps that I enjoy!

Until next time. . .

Droid tip #3 - avoid a lost battery cover

noreply@blogger.com (D White) — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 17:20:00 +0000

Good day to All!
I have stumbled upon a few complaints online about people having issues with their Droid battery cover either becoming loose, or even falling off. There are a couple of 'quick fixes' I will offer, including one I discovered online.

The first idea, and probably the most simple, was to take a small piece of paper, such as a sticky note, and fold it in half, then in half again, and place on top of the battery, then replace the battery cover. If that is not enough to make it more difficult to remove, then try folding the piece of paper in half once again.

If you have at least some degree of DIY experience, my next tip involves bending the battery cover prongs, or 'fingers' that insert into your phone ever so slightly. You have to pay attention not to get carried away, as there is not a "lot" of room for error. By bending either 2 or all 4 of the prongs just slightly to the outside, it keeps the battery cover from just falling off.

The last idea is one I discovered online, and also requires at least a minimal amount of DIY experience. Here is the link: http://tiny.cc/CsY3R.

Any of these options will save you the grief of losing a battery cover. I also understand that there may have been a problem during the manufacturing process, and Motorola may replace a lost battery cover door, but I have not confirmed this as of yet.

Until next time. . .

Private Life? Or Public?

noreply@blogger.com (D White) — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 17:08:00 +0000

Good day to all!

Like many, I keep catching tidbits of information regarding Tiger Woods and his self-admitted transgressions. Yet, as I browse through all the day's news headlines on my Twitter and Facebook sources, I find myself constantly wondering if Tiger's life is something I really need to know about.

I like Tiger. He seems like a good, down to earth, fairly common guy. Ok, so he's worth millions of dollars. I guess maybe that's what seperates him from the norm.

He did make some stupid mistakes. Let's face it, sleeping around when you are married is never going to end well. People will see, people will know, and the spouse will eventually find out about it. And your life will go into instant turmoil. Tiger's is no different. In fact, as he is Tiger, many more people would recognize him in public or even semi-private places. He was bound to get caught. It was just a matter of time. If he believed anything other than that, he was simply fooling himself.

I would imagine that in this day and age, most of us know someone that has put themselves through this emotional disaster. It happens, whether I, you or anyone agrees with it or not. We are imperfect human beings. That said, do we really need to know about all the details of Tiger's transgressions? And should he really be held accountable to the media for his error in judgement, and be expected to apologize through the media for the same?

It is probably just another angle of human nature to 'want to know all the juicy details' about other people's mistakes and how they are dealing with them privately. But I would suggest that while Tiger is a celebrity, it is not his celebrity status that arouses people's curiosity. Tiger had a wholesome, clean-cut image, and when we as a society see a celebrity, particularly one with that seemingly high-standing image actually fail, or get tripped up in their life by some stumbling block, well, it creates a media frenzy.

Let's face it. The media is, for the most part, self-serving to a very large degree. They don't really care about Tiger or whether his marriage survives, falls apart, or if he wrecks his car. They care about what sells newspapers, or gets website visitors. So they simply capitalize on people's mistakes such as this, and as the big wheel of media starts to spin, they all compete for the attention. This creates innovative rumors and headlines that in turn arouse people's curiosity, until whether the public really cares or not, they are sucked into the whirlwind of wanting to know the latest and try to keep up with the latest gossip, whether it's even remotely true or not.

What does this serve to do? Does it really satisfy our curiosity? And do we as the public really care if what we read is even the truth? Many gossip magazines found in the supermarket checkout aisles captalize on reader's naiveity and simply "hook" them with headlines. I find that both my daughter's are constantly gazing at these rags as we wait in line to pay for our groceries. And I'm constantly reminding them that Elvis is dead. And "Brangelina" is probably not breaking up because he or her were caught on the beach with someone else. And that aliens have not taken over the Whitehouse (although that might explain a few things. . . ). The point is, these rags wouldn't even be there if people didn't buy them. They create the clever headline, somebody buys the magazine, they get their sale. The magazine company has done their job.

Whether you believe all the "news" inside the rag is really up to you; they really could care less. They are already working on the next issue, and finding clever hooks to get you to buy the new one as well.

If we in the general public continue to serve the media created frenzies by responding to them, as well as spending our hard-earned dollars, or time, on them, they have no reason to quit, or to become more responsible in their approach to real news. And there are many decent news sources that tell the basic story and respect you enough as a reader or viewer to let you make up your own mind.

Sure, I was curious about Tiger when I saw the first headline. But, I suggest you ask yourself: Would YOU want to stand in front of a handful of microphones with several cameras glaring down on you and admit publicly to a poor decision you made, particularly when you are feeling quite crushed emotionally? I suspect you wouldn't like that anymore than I would.

And basically, would you really think that anyone else needed to know? Besides the millions of dollars and high-rolling lifestyle that seperates most of us from Tiger, do we really need to know all the details about his poor decisions? The simple answer is no, we really don't. We are all just satisfying a curiosity this is kept alive by the media constantly 'refreshing' the headlines. His life is his, just as yours and mine belong to us.

Tiger? He'll be ok; people make stupid decisions everyday. I for one believe that whatever happens between Tiger and his wife is personal and should stay between them alone. I don't really need all the juicy details to help me get through the day. In fact, I'm pretty sure his life doesn't really affect mine at all.

Alas, I see another headline I'm trying to ignore. . .

Until next time. . .

Is legalizing pot the real answer?

noreply@blogger.com (D White) — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 17:49:00 +0000

Good day to all!

On November 4, voters in the ski town of Breckenridge, CO went to the polls and voted by an overwhelmingly count to legalize marijuana in their community. The local reasoning behind this, as described in the Huffington Post (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/04/breckenridge-votes-overwh_n_344815.html) was to make a point to their local police force so they would quit busting small time pot smokers.

But is this really the answer?

I would be curious to know how many of these clever pot smoking voters have families? Children? Jobs?

Skiing is an activity that my wife and kids have always enjoyed as a family. Now that pot will apparently legal in Breckenridge beginning on January 1, 2010, will you now consider taking your family skiing in Breckenridge? I won't. How many other families just crossed Breckenridge off their family winter vacation?

Many of the local residents are all rushing to defend the 3 to 1 landslide vote, saying that they just want users to have an alternative to alcohol, or people should be able to make their own choices. And one of the disturbing comments I read is "That's awesome dude! Now I'm gonna learn how to ski and go to Breckenridge!" Feel that warm fuzzy brewing in your tummy?

To be clear, officials at the Breckenridge Ski area maintain that they will not allow anyone under the influence on their slopes. Law enforcement officials continue to stress that you canNOT operate your vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and nothing has or will change those standards. Kudos to both the ski area as well as the Breckenridge law enforcement officers as well.

My point is this: If you put a sugar cube on the ground next to an ant hill, what happens? Eventually one ant stumbles upon this 'discovery' and shares it with others, who in turn share it with others, until the message has spread colony wide that there is a sweet treat available top-side, and all the ants eventually make their way to the sugar cube, with one singularly determined purpose in mind - to get their piece of the sugar.

Breckenridge has passed a 'local' law, voted on by their approximately 3,300 citizens, FOR their citizens. But the splash is much larger than I believe they have considered. Pot users, perhaps even nationwide, will now consider Breckenridge as a vacation area, and perhaps even move there. Are the locals ok with this? They were very willing to change the complexion of their town in one single pen stroke on their ballot. Their town will either live or die with those consequences. The 'ants' will now be flocking to Breckenridge for their piece of the peace they seemingly so desperately seek.

By legalizing pot, do all the users now maintain their personal responsibility? Or do they begin to abuse their responsibilities over time? And do those abuses add up to more DUI drivers on their local roads and highways? Perhaps one of the local school bus drivers happened to be a "pro" vote? Are you comfortable with putting your school age children on that bus?

Are you comfortable taking your family to Breckenridge, which is a BEAUTIFUL area, for a winter ski trip, or a summer get-a-way vacation, when you get put in a hotel room that was recently vacated by a visitor who came to town to take advantage of the scenario, and lit up in your family's room?

The voters of small town of Breckenridge have failed themselves, all by setting out to prove a point to their local police force. Their actions will no doubt push other groups in other towns to spinoff and push for similar ballot initiatives in their cities. But their actions have also put their town under a heavy microscope. People will be watching, waiting to say "I told you so" or ask "what did you expect?"

I will be watching, and hoping they do not allow their beautiful community to go down the tubes; that their ski area will be able to maintain a professional and safe place to ski; and perhaps more importantly that their local law enforcement will be able to maintain safe and secure town streets and highways.

Ultimately, the voters have put the reputation of their town at stake. Will the pros outweigh the cons? Will the number of pot users coming to town be more than the number of non-users that cancel their trips to Breckenridge, thereby keeping the money flowing within their community, supporting the tax base?

One last important point: I'm not taking aim at medical purpose marijuana use. There are many case studies that back up the use of medical marijuana in many treatments. It is between the doctor and the patient, and I have no desire to step into that relationship.

Until next time. . .

Does Black Friday Make Your Wallet Blue?

noreply@blogger.com (D White) — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 16:29:00 +0000

Good day to All!

Here we are! It's here!! Are you ready? More important, are your credit cards ready?

Yep, Black Friday is upon us. The mega-marketing campaign for the marketing holiday of the season has begun. Are you one of the millions that is brain-washed into maxing out your credit cards only to prove that you love your kids, spouse or family?

Sure, there are some super deals available on Black Friday - no doubt! But in the name of personal responsibility, should be all dash out and spend ourselves poor? Why do we do this? Because it's Christmas? Did your parents rush out when you were young, overspend and over-extend on your Christmas gifts? Is Christmas even really Christmas anymore? I suggest that the mega-marketing machine that is American business has changed the entire philosophy of what Christmas Day was originally all about.

The concept of what is now Christmas grew from the Romans, who celebrated Saturnalia, which grew from being celebrated for one day to a week long celebration which ended on December 25. This custom was a time of merry-making, pranks and gift giving, and some available information reads that there was also a day of 'role-reversal' in which the masters and their slaves switched roles. Over time, this custom changed many times and ultimately, fusing with many other customs and traditions, grew into what is now Christmas Day. And in my humble opinion, specifically within the last 20 years, Christmas has been forcefully evolved into a marketer's dream.

I suspect that there wouldn't be but a few people naive enough to not be able to see the snow job of the t.v., internet, and paper (newspaper ads, catalogs and magazines) blitz that we start being inundated with on Thanksgiving Day (and in many ways, a few days before, as Black Friday ads are "leaked" - which is simply another marketing ploy to create a sense of excitement among consumers who suddenly have convinced themselves that they need to get up at 4:00 on Friday morning to go out and save tons of money.)

Now, please understand, I'm not writing this as a modern day Scrooge by any means. I love the feeling of not just finding, but giving that perfect gift to my kids or my wife - seeing their face light up when you get it just right. It's awesome. And yes, as a dad, I admit that I almost always tend to 'overdo' it as well.

My point is that I think we as an American society have almost lost that sense of giving from the heart, and its been forcibly replaced by the marketing frenzy with a sense of quantity over quality. So many of my friends and family go out and buy tons of gifts, and it seems to have quite literally become a contest for some of them to see who can give the most gifts. The thing is, if a person is quite well off, then no big deal; however, some of them are NOT and every year, I hear them complaining about how Christmas put them in debt up to their ears and how they'll have to work all year to make enough room on their credit cards to do it again.

Huh?

Why? Did Christmas itself put them in the red on their credit accounts? Quite simply, no. Not at all. They are responsible for their own finances. Yes, they were 'sucked in' to the marketing frenzy that the mega-marketing machine created, and basically just fell into the large crowd of brainwashed shoppers out 'saving money' by spending even more on Black Friday. I've always looked at 'sales' like this: Are we really saving money if we are spending money on something that we or whoever we are buying it for doesn't need or necessarily want? How is saving $300.00 on a flat screen t.v. that you don't really need a 'good deal' or really saving money? It just isn't. My grandfather used to say "you can't spend yourself rich." He always gave the best gifts when I was a boy. They meant something to me. Sure, some of them were really nice gifts, but you know what? Some of the most meaningful gifts I have received in my lifetime have been some of the most simple things, that I will never forget. They were quality gifts.

Again, that's not to say that there are some really great deals available to us as consumers on Black Friday. It's just my opinion that we as a consumer group should probably try to reign ourselves in and not just follow the massive crowd blindly. We've probably all got home from that mad shopping trip, piled the bags/boxes on the bed and thought "Wow. . . did I really just do that" followed by a sense of "WHY did I just do that?" I believe if we all took a step back from the marketing trap, that we can still find some great deals, yes, even after Black Friday. With an application of common sense, a little patience, and some direction, that or those perfect gift(s) are out there, and the person receiving your gift, no matter how large or how small, will appreciate it far more than you and I will probably ever know.

Until next time. . .

Shopping with your Droid

noreply@blogger.com (D White) — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 23:05:00 +0000

Good day to All!

Here we are again on the cusp of the mega-marketing machine's biggest holiday season. With the economy affecting people the way it has been, I almost look for people to become a lot more price savvy this year. And I have downloaded and messed around with what seems to be a pretty great tool available for your Droid to help you get more bang for your buck.

I downloaded the app "Barcode Scanner" and have played around with it off and on for a few days. While it does not have or find everything I have scanned with it, I can say that most of the big ticket or more expensive items are found relatively quickly.

The way it works is as soon as you download and open the app, it utilizes the camera function for the scanner capability. The home screen shows what the camera is seeing, and you hold the camera above the UPC code to scan the object. You then click on product search, and it will essentially "google" the UPC code that was scanned, and offer you a list of places that carry this product, and usually the prices they are selling this product at as well.

If you are looking to grab and go (purchase the product and take it home right away) then this really isn't going to help; however, if you are planning on doing some price comparisons, and possibly ordering online, then this tool could potentially save you some green.

Good luck and please feel free to let me know if you have found any cools apps as well that I should be exploring!

Until next time. . .

A Must have app for your new Droid

noreply@blogger.com (D White) — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 18:51:00 +0000

Good day to all!

I spend time everyday perusing different blogs looking for complaints, fixes, and great suggestions to improving the function of my new Droid. I also play with my Droid constantly, learning new shortcuts, features and capabilities on a daily basis. I have to say that I have not had any trouble with mine at all. It's been a great addition to my life, helping me stay connected, and I use it to blog, twitter and keep up with my Facebook friends.

The biggest complaint on the blogs that I have consistently seen with the new Droid is the battery life. Comments range from positive - saying they love the battery life, to negative - saying they are very disappointed. Just looking at the comments a bit deeper, my sense is that most of the negative comments are from people who are really using their new Droid, meaning they have downloaded a few to several apps, and are using their Droid 'heavily' - making calls, running apps, utilizing the cool navigation feature, etc., etc.

I have downloaded around 20 apps, some to sample, some to use daily, and some have not "made the cut" and have been deleted, as they were not really useful to me. If you are not downloading and/or utilizing apps on a heavy, or continuous basis, I'm guessing your Droid's battery is performing up to your expectation. If you are downloading and using apps heavily, well, I have an app suggestion that you quite frankly have to download from the app market to make your Droid's battery perform up to your expectations.

I am a person that has no use for an electronic device that I feel like I have to charge every chance I have in order to 'nurse' it through the day. That being said, I have experimented with my Droid a few different ways to essentially test the battery life and see what it can withstand.

I ran it one day with the apps Weatherbug, Twidroid, and SportsTap each running continuously, while also using the phone for messaging, email, and calls. My battery was down to about 40% having run from 7:30 a.m. to around 11:00 a.m. Obviously, that is not something that most Droid users are going to be pleased with. At that rate, I figure by 3 p.m. my Droid would be dead. I recharged the device back to 100%, ran the same apps through the afternoon and had the same results.

I had read several suggestions from different users suffering the same problems with their Droid, and the most common one was to download the app "Advanced Task Killer" from the Android Market. I had done this prior to my battery experiment above, so yesterday morning, I opened the app and proceeded to kill ALL the selected apps that were listed below. Now, by doing so, the temperature will no longer constantly display on the information bar at the top of your display, assuming you have downloaded either the Weatherbug app, or the Weather Channel app. This is not critical to me; you can still open the app on your phone, view the temperature or forecast, then close the app by using the above mentioned Task Killer app in order to conserve every ounce of battery life.

The comparisons between my 2 experiments above are astounding. My Droid battery made it through an entire afternoon showing a full charge; I charge it every night, and once again, so far today, it is still showing a fully charged battery as of noon (running from 7:00 a.m. to noon so far). I am still receiving all emails, making a few calls, checking temperatures a few times, but also, utilizing the Task Killer app to shut down all "unneeded" applications after use.

Once again, I am still experimenting with my Droid, but I truly believe that the app "Advanced Task Killer" is a must have for all Droid users. This will be specifically helpful on travel days or 'on the go' weekend days where you do not always have the option of grabbing a quick charge.

I'll keep you posted.

Until next time . . .

Motorola Droid tip #2

noreply@blogger.com (D White) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:06:00 +0000

Good day to all!

Still exploring and learning my new Droid and having a blast doing so! Found another 'shortcut' I wanted to share with everyone!

I discovered that there are some apps available for setting up some of your contacts for "Speed Dial" which is a very handy feature for your most often made phone calls. With a little playing around with my Droid, I set them up very simply, which negates the need for another app to set up that runs the battery down faster.

On either of the 3 home screens, longtouch the screen, then select "shortcuts" and then select "Direct Dial."

Scroll your contact list and select the contact number you wish to have on your home screen by pressing the phone number (some contacts may have a home, work or cell number) on their card. Upon selecting that contact number, your phone will return to the home screen, and that "Speed Dial" number will now appear there. Repeat to add additional "Speed Dial" numbers.

When you need to place a call to that person, simply press their number and the call will be made immediately.

Should you ever decide that you do not need that contact number on "Speed Dial" all you have to do is long press the applicable contact number on your home screen, then slide it to the trash can that appears at the bottom of the screen. Contact button will be gone.

You can also add an entire contact card to the home screen by selecting "Contact" instead of "Direct Dial" in the above step. When you press the contact card, you can select which number to call (assuming they have more than one), email them, or even view their Facebook profile if they are set up that way. Of course, this contact card can be removed in the same fashion mentioned above should you no longer need it.

You can also customize your home screen the same way by adding applications, bookmarks, direct messages, directions, emails, gmail labels, music playlists, or many options in the settings tab.

Have fun playing! Whatever you add and decide you don't need, the Droid is very happy to let you longpress the button, and slide it into the trashcan that appears at the bottom of the screen.

Until next time. . .

Motorola Droid tip

noreply@blogger.com (D White) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 21:22:00 +0000

Good day to all!

I have been fairly surprised at the number of blogs I have seen that people are 'annoyed' or 'frustrated' by having to go to settings in the menu on their Droid to turn the ringer off or to vibrate.

And to take advantage of this, many great programmers have developed some cool apps that are available at http://www.android.com/market/ that can solve this perceived problem.

Why do I say this is a "perceived" problem? There are some common sense applications that are already available on your new Droid, right out of the box.

Option 1: At the home screen, when you first hit the power button on the top of the unit, you will see 2 buttons: one is a green, unlocked padlock, on the left, and on the right side, a gray speaker button. Before you touch the green 'unlock' button, simply press and drag the gray speaker button to the left. This automatically puts the phone in "quiet" or "silent" mode, which you can verify by seeing the once gray speaker button as now being yellow, with a speaker "X" on your display. This is a very convenient and quick way to avoid embarrassing situations in meetings, church or with Mom and Dad at the dinner table. After meeting or dinner, simply bump the power button on the top of the phone once again, press and drag the yellow speaker "X" button to the left, and your phone display will return to the last sound setting you had it on.

Option 2: If the home menu is showing (the phone is already on; you've been using it) simply use the rocker volume switch on the outside right edge of the phone, pushing the button down, you will first come to a vibrate function (you will feel the phone vibrate, as well as see a vibrating phone icon on your Droid's display). Next, if you press the down button once more, you will turn the ringer off completely, as you can see by the speaker "X" icon on your display. To turn the ringer back on, and/or the volume up, simply press the top part of the rocker switch to return to the sound level you desire.

Of course, I love downloading and playing with new apps as much as the next person, and have messed around with a few, including the sound "toggle switch" but have found myself constantly preferring either of the simple factory options listed above, as they seem much quicker and definite in their settings, instead of leaving you wondering if you did in fact silence your phone.

Until next time. . . .

Merrell Shoes

noreply@blogger.com (D White) — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 18:27:00 +0000

Happy day to all!

My last blog went into some 'light' detail regarding a business' online presence and monitoring customer satisfaction through social media tools. I gave an example of a bad experience I had with Home Depot as far as customer service. Today, I want to give you an example of an outstanding job of customer service by Merrell Shoes.

Late this summer I purchased a pair of Merrell Paragon shoes. I tried them on in the store and instantly fell in love with them. Now let me say, I have always been a big fan of Merrell shoes - I have had numerous pairs of both their hiking boots as well as running shoes, and had great luck with all of them. So dropping $100.00 on these new Paragon's wasn't a big concern to me. I threw them on and wore them out of the store.

Over the next few weeks, I wore the shoes off and on, but mostly just to work. I am predominantly sitting at a desk for a large portion of each day; I say this to let you know that this particular pair of shoes were not being 'over used' in any way. After about 1 to 1 1/2 months of wearing the shoes to work and occasionally out shopping on the weekend, my problem developed.

On the exact same day, after NO heavy use or running in these shoes whatsoever, both shoes suffered what can only be called a 'blowout' on the inside front, near where the ball of the foot rests against the side of the shoe. You can only imagine how disappointed I was. The shoes still looked brand new at that point, probably having only been worn for maybe 20 days or so by that time. They were now unwearable, and basically garbage. I contacted the store that I had purchased the shoes from, and they bluntly informed me that there was nothing they could do. I threw the shoes in the back of the closet, thinking someday I'd get around to making a point to letting Merrell know my disappointment, and perhaps try to remember them next time I headed to the store I purchased them.

Last week, I stumbled upon the shoes in the closet. I picked them up, looked them over and was filled with disgust again. Picked up my cell phone and Tweeted something to this affect: "Bought a pair of Merrell Paragon shoes, fell apart, total junk" (I do not remember the exact quote, but that is pretty close). To clarify, at that point I was not following Merrell shoes on Twitter, and they were not following me.

Are you sitting down? Within minutes I received a direct Tweet from Merrell stating that they had seen that I had trouble with a pair of their shoes, and would I please direct Tweet them back and let them know what the issue was. I was very surprised at the response. I direct Tweeted them, and they asked me to reply to them with my email address, if I felt comfortable doing so. I thought, "What the heck," and did it.

Shortly afterwards, I received an email from one of their customer service representatives, stating that they were sorry I had a bad experience with their shoes, and could they please replace the product or offer me another pair of running shoes. I was quite pleasantly surprised. Here I had thought this was a dead issue and that I was fooling myself by keeping the shoes, and I was just basically Tweeting out of frustration. And now I was getting direct Tweets within minutes, and emails within the hour directly from Merrell offering to fix this problem.

Ultimately, Merrell asked me to send a photo of the problem shoes, which I did, and they responded by sending me a brand new pair of shoes. Now how's that for a positive experience in customer service?

By quickly reaching out to an unhappy customer that is 'getting the word out' that they are unhappy with their product, they not only made that customer happy, but essentially stopped all negative comments, and quite honestly created positive comments being made about their company.

Now does this mean everytime we, as consumers, are frustrated with customer service, or a product, or standing in long lines, that we should reach for the phone and tweet away? I'll leave that up to you, but I will add that I do think this begs what I will call a good application of common sense and personal responsibility. If we all run out and overdo it, we run the risk of essentially what I'll call 'overexerting the system' and ultimately will run the risk of not being taken seriously as consumers; however, this also shows that we are no longer powerless either. We now have the ability to optimize our standing as valuable consumers to companies that recognize the value of not just maintaining, but interacting with us on a real-time basis, particularly when it comes to fixing a real problem or dissatisfaction.

Look at it this way: The companies who recognize not only the importance of social media as a communication tool, but also utilize this tool as a rapidly growing communication venue are the companies that give themselves the best opportunity to grow and move forward into the future.

So what if Merrell didn't have a grasp of the power of social media? Well, I would have Tweeted or commented through my different social media accounts to family, friends and followers, who some in turn would have spread the word even further, and ultimately, as the ripples expanded, possibly including several hundred to even a thousand different potential customers that would have at the least, thought negatively about Merrell shoes the next time they were in the market to purchase footwear. Now imagine 50 different people had a negative experience with their product and put the word out. This suddenly turns into a very costly problem for this shoe company, and a serious loss of market share.

Yet, by understanding and utilizing social media as a great customer service tool, Merrell not only saved face, but the comments I make are positive, which will probably encourage people to at least consider Merrell shoes for their next purchase.

Merrell Shoes gets high marks and kudos for restoring my faith in their company. They walk the walk when it comes to customer service. They get it. They will keep me as a customer. I suggest you consider a pair of Merrells. They stand behind their product. In real time.

Customer service lives!

Until next time. . . .

REAL Customer Service

noreply@blogger.com (D White) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 22:29:00 +0000

Happy Monday all! Hope your weekend was great!

In today's day and age, how many times have you witnessed or been a part of a truly good customer service scenario? I can certainly say I've been in some good examples of BAD customer service! How bout you?

For example, I was in Home Depot in Pueblo, CO just over a year ago looking for about 50 sheets of 1/2" 4'X8' sheet rock to finish my garage. Had done some calling around and online shopping and found the best price to be at Home Depot. Hooked up to my trailer, and headed over. When I arrived, I found the sheet rock easily enough, and made several requests for some help in loading such a large amount. After about the 6th or 7th request with nobody showing up, I finally caught a gentleman wearing the usual Home Depot vest, and asked him if I could get some help in loading 50 sheets of sheet rock. His response? And no, I'm not lying: "Do it yourself." I drove over to Lowe's, they matched the price and loaded my trailer for me. I've been back to that Home Depot store exactly ZERO times since then.

Good customer service has become a lost art. Many companies talk the talk, but don't even make an effort to walk the walk. What constitutes a good effort? Is it just showing up and nodding your head that you are sorry about the problem? Perhaps sometimes. Or is it going out of your way to keep a customer happy, regardless of the situation you've had tossed in your lap? In my mind, in this day and age of real-time social media outlets such as twitter, facebook, and perhaps even this blog, poor customer service can become a knife-wound on the future of one's business. All it takes is one or two poor or lackadaisical efforts and your company's name can be damaged beyond repair. What do I mean by this?

Let's say back to my Home Depot example above that I had Tweeted how pathetic the customer service was at Home Depot in Pueblo, CO. A good company understands that a real-time online presence is important and is constantly monitoring the web for 'mentions', both good and bad. In that case, either the coroporate home office, or even the local office, is aware, generally within minutes, of the comment and it is classified as either positive or negative. Negative comments are acted upon swiftly, and handled with diligence. This allows the company instant damage control. In the Home Depot example, I didn't Tweet, I just left appalled and disgusted at their careless reaction to a $400.00 sale. Yet, if they had their company set up online where they were made aware of my negative response, for example, a manager could have walked out on the sales floor over to the sheetrock and attempted to find out who just Tweeted the negative message and made a swift effort to resolve the situation immediately. This would have turned the experience into a positive, as I would have quite likely been impressed at how they had found out what I had said so quickly, and cared enough to come take care of me as a customer.

If, in this example, they had no online monitoring system in place, and I had Tweeted at that moment as I left the store, and several other times after that experience to all my friends, family and followers on Twitter as well as Facebook, several people would be instantly, or at least quickly aware of my negative experience, and probably most of them would be influenced in their decision making as to whether or not to do business with Home Depot themselves. And they would have heard about my positive experience in direct comparison over at Lowe's where they were instantly and happily available to not only help, but to load the entire amount themselves to save me the trouble!.

Now imagine that several of those people Tweeted and/or commented on THEIR Facebook or other Social Media outlets about my experience to all their friends. This negative experience would have had the potential to bloom to over a thousand different people within 24 to 48 hours. How would that have affected Home Depot's sales in the long term?

Now I really don't intend to harp on Home Depot. Look past that at the example. Sure, they failed miserably in their customer service in that instance. But the example is the point. In this day and age, do you want to take a chance on an unhappy customer utilizing social media to slam your company, and the word multiplying rampantly and rapidly over the web to the point that it stifles potential sales and damages the ever-important bottom line? No way. These instances have to be acted upon swiftly and ACCURATELY.

Accurately in this case means you have ONE CHANCE to turn this unhappy customer into a very satisfied customer and correct the situation into a positive experience. One chance at damage control. You do it wrong and you are probably, or at least possibly going to come out of it even worse. Do it right, and with any luck, that once unhappy customer is Tweeting about how you care about your company, or how your company handles good customer service, and how your company walks the walk. In today's world, this puts your company 'one up' on all your competition, and in a short time, can be the difference maker in your company growing and shining, or simply slipping away into oblivion.

See my next post about a company that not only talks the talk, but truly walks the walk.

Motorola Droid first impressions

noreply@blogger.com (D White) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 16:44:00 +0000

Hey All! Sorry I missed you yesterday, was feeling quite under the weather and not very productive at all. Hate those days!

Got my new Motorola Droid on Tuesday, November 10. First impression, out of the box, it has a nice solid feel to it. I'm switching to it from a Motorola Q9m, which was a great phone, and built like a tank. This one feels like it weighs a bit more, and seems to be as well built. This is one of the reasons I am sticking with the Motorola brand.

The unit arrived with about a 60% charge, so I was able to power it up right away and get a feel for the touch screen menues and programming. The software on the unit is made by Google, and called "Android 2.0". The touch screen has a very nice, crisp feel to it - much better than my wife's Motorola Krave! I was able to immediately navigate my way around the screen with little effort, and no "mis-reads" as I dragged down the menu. My next step was to try out the touch qwerty keyboard. I have to admit, this was one of the main things I was interested in checking out, as I have an iPod Touch and as many experts agree, the Touch and the iPhone are the standard as far as touchscreen keyboards. The Droid delivers. I would say that the ability to type on the iPhone/Touch and the Droid are almost even. Very impressed. You say you don't like typing on the touch screen qwerty board? No problem! The Droid offers a very functional slide out keyboard as well. I usually prefer the on screen myself.

Setting up the unit required at least amateur abilities. I set mine up to get both personal and corporate emails. The personal required signing up for an gmail account (which is semi-annoying, as I already have a yahoo, msn, and a hotmail account for different purposes). I rarely use the yahoo account, so it's not really a big deal, and would probably make things even easier if I just gave my personal gmail account address to my friends and family - I would effortlessly and quickly get all my emails on my Droid. I get my other accounts now, but you have to set them up to deliver to and through your gmail account online once you get it all organized. Took me a bit to figure out all the ins and outs of the gmail as far as setting up the Droid to synch the way I wanted it too, but it seems to be working just the way I wanted.

I'm still doing some of the set up on the unit, but have had trouble getting my corporate (we use Microsoft Outlook 2003) calendar to synch correctly each time. Again, seems to be working now.

The Droid competes (probably on more of a perception level) with the iPhone on the platform of being able to download "apps" - which, yep, for me is all part of the fun. You can see just a few of the available apps (just the tip of the iceberg) at http://www.android.com/market/. Sorry, you have to have the Droid in your hand and touch the "market" button to have access to what seems to be thousands of apps available. If this phone sticks in the market place, which upon having it for 3 days thus far and having no reason to see how it won't, the available apps will explode. Apps range from being free to around $20.00; there may be some for more than that, but I don't recall seeing any as I scrolled through pages and pages of them.

Apps are available under several different headings: Comics, Communication, Entertainment, Finance, Health, Lifestyle, Multimedia, News & Weather, Productivity, Reference, Shopping, Social, Sports, Themes, Tools, Travel, Demo, and finally Software Libraries. They are simple to download, just click on purchase, free ones begin downloading immediately, paid apps lead you to a streamlined store to enter your credit card info, then begin downloading. They download generally within a few minutes, depending on the size of the app.

I love the wi-fi capabilities of the Droid, and found a neat little app that acts as a simple 'toggle switch' on the App Store for free. When you turn on the wi-fi and it connects, it uses this connection and avoids the verizon connection, from what I can tell. (Of course, calls come in on the verizon network.) When you flip the switch off, it instantly is reconnected to the 3G verizon network.

Of course, the Droid is a phone, and what review would be complete without a few calling capablity remarks. I'm impressed by the crystal clear sound through both the set itself, as well as the speakerphone. I could hear callers simply without straining (the in-call volume adjusts by a rocker switch on the side of the phone.) Dialing out was simple, as was finding contact information.

One other comment, regarding battery life. This is a biggie for me. I have absolutely NO USE for an electronic device that simply cannot make it through the day without being charged. The Droid makes it through the day quite effortlessly. I've been leaving it plugged in to my USB port on my desktop computer, and it charges to 100% within a few hours of being plugged in. After that, I leave it unplugged, and it seems to hold it's charge well throughout the rest of the day, until I arrive back at work and repeat the charge pattern. Overall, I'm QUITE satisfied with the battery life!

My thoughts on my Droid this far are that the unit really is a solid, viable product for Motorola. It seems to work quite well, seamlessly in fact. Apps seem to work without causing glitches, and through only 3 days, I've had no problems with the unit.

If I do, you will hear about it.

Until next time. . . .

Renaissance Hotel on Quebec in Denver, CO

noreply@blogger.com (D White) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:49:00 +0000

Hey guys, hope your Monday was at least bearable.

We stayed at the Renaissance Hotel on Quebec in Denver, CO weekend before last. Nice place, clean rooms, great restaurant downstairs, classy. No complaints, just kudos to Marriot for the great facility.

My first real problem was the surprise of no wi-fi. Not even that there isn't 'free' wi-fi, but NO wi-fi even offered in general. From a Marriot hotel chain? That's hard to fathom.

My second problem was getting my laptop setup and plugged into their hotel room 'dashboard' of connections only to discover that there was a $10.00 fee to even use the internet. THAT is UNfathomable in this day and age.

Marriot needs to step up to the plate and update not only this very nice hotel in Denver, but ANY AND ALL of their hotels worldwide at this point as far as I'm concerned with FREE wi-fi.

The Renaissance in Denver is beautifully arranged for business travelers, and in this modern day age of instant communication and a "wired" lifestyle, Marriot needs to be a leader in the hotel industry in providing this service, or they will become a follower. Business people, including myself, will start looking for other places to stay if they can't get it together.

Basically, a room for $200.00 + then they have the gall to charge you an additional $10.00 just to plug in to the web? I don't think so.

Tomorrow, I will be writing a quick 'first impression - out of the box' review of the Motorola Droid!

Until then. . .

Getting this train rolling

noreply@blogger.com (D White) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:11:00 +0000

Hey there, getting this thing up and rolling.

I have a theory that common sense is TOTALLY lacking in this day and age. It's something that is taken for granted. I hope to instill some in my kids.

One of my pet peeves is something my kids say. . . I ask them to do this or do that, and what's the first thing they say? "I know, Dad!" So, an intelligent being would presume this to mean that they know what they have been asked to do, right?

Umm, yeah right. Then later, when said project has not been completed (often something as similar as a daily routine item such as making their bed) I'll ask, "why isn't this done?" Right?

Guess what the standard answer is. . . "I don't know. . ."

And they wonder why I don't have any hair?