feedback « Customer Experience: Take A Stance

Posts Tagged ‘feedback’

01
Apr
2011

celebrate friends and fans – 2011

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Fridays are for celebrating Stance Friends and Fans. I encourage you to visit their facebook page, website or place of business and tell Stance about your experience with them.

Today we look back at the Stance Friends and Fans featured in the first quarter of 2011.

We kicked the year off right and celebrated Culinary Connectors which shares the love, passion and excitement of Denver’s culinary world.

Next was Seattle Fish Company, the region’s largest supplier of fish. We celebrate them because they bring value and selection that are second to none — with the personal service of a three-generation, family-owned business.
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Lagniappe (pronounced lan-yap), refers to a small, unexpected extra gift or benefit presented by a store owner to a customer at the time of purchase and is why we celebrated Marketing Lagniappe and their search for great service.

The following Friday we celebrated Diana and Michael Kearns, The Kearns Team, who take pride in their knowledge of Denver Real Estate, especially in Stapleton, Park Hill, Wash Park, Highlands, Whittier, Lowry and Lower Downtown.

And who can forget celebrating 34° Crispbread, also a local company, whose mission is simply to make the very best crackers that are as good on their own as they are with a little something extra — especially when that something extra is cheese.
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Today we say happy birthday to CrossFit Denver, which was the first public CrossFit affiliate in Colorado opened in 2005 by Denver native, Randy Goldstein.

On St. Patrick’s Day we celebrated The St. Baldrick’s Foundation, the world’s largest volunteer-driven fundraising program for childhood cancer research that funds more in childhood cancer research grants than any organization.
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We said farewell to March and celebrated The National MS Society Colorado Chapter, a collective of passionate individuals who want to do something about MS now, and Earth Force, who engages young people as active citizens who improve the environment and their communities now and in the future.

Which of these Stance Friends and Fans did you have an experience with?
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If you have had an experience with any of these Stance Friends and Fans, please share it here. If not, visit them today. I look forward to hearing about it and sharing your experience with other Stance Friends and Fans.

Tags: align, analysis, benchmark, brand promise, cem, change agent, customer centric, customer experience, customer feedback, customer retention, customer service, engage, expectations, family owned, feedback, Friday, retail service, social media, sparkpoint, touchpoint, word of mouth
Posted in Celebrate Stance Friends and Fans

18
Mar
2011

celebrate friends and fans – 2011

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Fridays are for celebrating Stance Friends and Fans. I encourage you to visit their facebook page, website or place of business and tell Stance about your experience with their them.

March is National Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Awareness Month. The National MS Society Colorado Chapter is a collective of passionate individuals who want to do something about MS now – to move together toward a world free of MS. .
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Each year, thousands of Coloradans come together to raise funds and awareness for the Society by participating in fundraising events all around the state.
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Join the movement and MOVE OTHERS!

In the United States today, there are approximately 400,000 people with multiple sclerosis MS—with 200 more people diagnosed every week. Worldwide, MS is thought to affect more than 2.1 million people. While the disease is not contagious or directly inherited, epidemiologists—the scientists who study patterns of disease—have identified factors in the distribution of MS around the world that may eventually help determine what causes the disease. These factors include gender, genetics, age, geography, and ethnic background.

MS is a chronic, often disabling disease that attacks the central nervous system (CNS), which is made up of the brain, spinal cord, and optic nerves. Symptoms may be mild, such as numbness in the limbs, or severe, such as paralysis or loss of vision. The progress, severity, and specific symptoms of MS are unpredictable and vary from one person to another. Today, new treatments and advances in research are giving new hope to people affected by the disease.

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If you have had an experience with the National Multi Sclerosis Society Colorado Chapter, please share it here. If not, visit them today. I look forward to hearing about it and sharing your experience with other Stance Friends and Fans.

Tags: align, analysis, benchmark, bike ms, brand promise, cem, change agent, colorado society, customer centric, customer experience, customer feedback, customer retention, dontate, empower, engage, expectations, Experience, experience exemplified, experience mapping, feedback, Friday, hike ms, journey, moment of truth, ms, multiple sclerosis, optimal conditions, restaurant customer service, run ms, sparkpoint, strategy, touchpoint, word of mouth
Posted in Celebrate Stance Friends and Fans

04
Feb
2011

celebrate friends and fans – 2011

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Fridays are for celebrating Stance Friends and Fans. I encourage you to visit their facebook page, website or place of business and tell Stance about your experience with their company, product or service.

34 Degrees – What Does It Mean? Thirty-four degrees is the latitude of Sydney, Australia, where company founder Craig Lieberman discovered his passion for food and wine. It’s also where he got his first taste of Australian crispbread, the inspiration for their thin and crispy crackers. In 2003, Craig launched 34 Degrees and began importing specialty foods from Australia. Eventually Craig’s desire to bring his business and his love of food closer to home illuminated the need to take the company in a new direction. In 2008, he discontinued his importing venture to become a manufacturer focused exclusively on making 34° Crispbread in Colorado.
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Mission – Simply to make the very best crackers that are as good on their own as they are with a little something extra — especially when that something extra is cheese. Taking pride and pleasure in what they do today, knowing that their creativity and commitment to innovation will elevate their customers’ enjoyment of 34° Crispbread tomorrow. Using a handful of natural ingredients, they carefully bake wafer-thin crackers until they are subtly toasty and overtly tasty. 34° Crispbread offers six varaties: Natural, Sesame, Cracked Pepper, Rosemary, Lemon Zest and Whole Grain.
.What makes them so clever?
: The perfect companion to cheese.
: Simply made, simply delicious.
: Effortless entertaining.
: Clean and crisp.
: They’re good for you.
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Look for 34° Crispbread products in specialty stores and restaurants, or contact them to find out how you can order them direct.3507 Ringsby Ct, Ste 106
Denver, CO 80216
tel: 303.861.4818
fax: 303.484.4664
sales@34-degrees.com

34° Crispbread on facebook.

34° Crispbread website.

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If you have done business with or enjoyed 34° Crispbread, please share it here. If not, visit them today. I look forward to hearing about it and sharing your experience with other Stance Friends and Fans.

Tags: boulder, brand promise, cem, cheese and crackers, colorado business, crackers, customer centric, customer experience, customer feedback, customer retention, customer service, employee training, empower, engage, entertaining, expectations, Experience, experience exemplified, family owned, feedback, food and wine, Friday, happy customer, importing, moment of truth, natural ingredients, optimal conditions, positive referral, repeat business, repeatable, restaurant customer service, retail service, social media, sparkpoint, touchpoint, wafer thin, word of mouth
Posted in Celebrate Stance Friends and Fans

22
Jan
2011

celebrate friends and fans – 2011

9 Comments

There is a great word that originated in Louisiana called: lagniappe (pronounced lan-yap). The Creole word literally translated means “the gift.” It refers to a small, unexpected extra gift or benefit presented by a store owner to a customer at the time of purchase. The people of Louisiana have embraced the term and broadened the definition to include any time a little something extra is given.

When applied to marketing, it equals a marketing lagniappe: any time a business goes above and beyond to provide a little something extra.
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Stan Phelps, Chief Solutions Officer for Synergy Events, is searching for 1,001 examples of marketing lagniappe for his book: What’s Your Purple Goldfish?
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The basic ingredients or R.U.L.E.S of Purple Goldfish: Relevant-Unexpected-Limited-Expression-Sticky.
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REWARD: For each of the first 1,001 examples of lagniappe Phelps will donate a non-perishable food item to the Thomas Merton Center, a soup kitchen in Bridgeport, CT that provides food and other programs that help people move out of poverty to become self sufficient.
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In addition, each Purple Goldfish example will be featured on the website and the best examples will be featured in his upcoming book.
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How to contribute:

: e-mail your Purple Goldfish to sphelps@synergyevents.com.
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BONUS: If your Purple Goldfish gets in to the book, you receive a complimentary signed copy.

Examples of worthy marketing lagniappe or Purple Goldfish:

: Southwest Airlines – Grab you bag . . . it’s on. Southwest doesn’t charge for bags.

: TD Bank – TD Bank’s penny arcade in their lobby, a free service to exchange coins.

: Five Guys Burgers and Fries – Free peanuts while you wait and extra fries with your order.

: Doubletree Hotels – Complimentary warm chocolate chip cookie when you check-in.

: Zappos – Free upgrade of your shipping to next day.

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What is your recent Purple Goldfish? Tell Stan Phelps and share with Stance.

Want to learn more? Watch this YouTube video: Marketing Lagniappe – In Search of Your Purple Goldfish.

Visit marketing lagniappe for more great examples of a Purple Goldfish.

Follow Stan on Twitter.

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If you have submitted a Purple Goldfish, please share it here. If not, visit them today and submit a new one for the book. I look forward to hearing about it and sharing your experience with other Stance Friends and Fans.

Tags: align, angry customer, benchmark, brand promise, cem, change agent, customer centric, customer experience, customer feedback, customer retention, customer service, employee training, empower, engage, expectations, Experience, experience exemplified, family owned, feedback, Friday, happy customer, journey, lagniappe, marketing, moment of truth, optimal conditions, perception, positive referral, process, purple goldfish, repeat business, repeatable, restaurant customer service, retail service, social media, sparkpoint, strategy, touchpoint, word of mouth
Posted in Celebrate Stance Friends and Fans

20
Jan
2011

why do you social media?

2 Comments

I have almost 800 friends on my persoanl Facebook page, over 300 fans on my business fanpage and close to 1500 followers on Twitter…not huge numbers, but respectable. Of those 2600 friends, fans and followers, 75 percent consists of retail, blogs, restaurants, services, entertainment, career connections and news sources.

Every day I read about what is for sale, what the economy is doing, how to run my business, what time happy hour is, what the special is tonight, why bedbugs are making a comeback, how to train my dog and the latest top 10 list about something.
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I comment. I engage. I ask questions. I like. I share. I tweet. I retweet. I post. I suggest. I repost…and over and over.
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Oh, and I also schedule updates to post later. I do this to make good use of my time and share information on a wide variety of topics that interest me and my friends and followers. I am proud to say that 99.4 percent of the time, I am available to ENGAGE with friends, fans and followers when the post goes live because that is the point of social media.

So why do I Social Media?

From a professional level (for my business and for my clients): to build relationships and to understand the root causes of customer sentiment and behavior in order to prioritize improvements that enhance each customer’s experience.

Listen
Know your customers
Care about your customers
Evolve with your customers

From a personal level: to create relationships, to support those I believe in, to stay connected with my past, to build my future and to find out what the special is tonight….because after all, food is high on my list of priorities.

Why do you Social Media?

Tags: align, angry customer, benchmark, brand promise, cem, change agent, customer centric, customer experience, customer feedback, customer retention, customer service, empower, engage, Experience, experience exemplified, feedback, happy customer, ice cream, journey, listen, moment of truth, optimal conditions, perception, positive referral, process, repeat business, restaurant customer service, social media, sparkpoint, strategy, touchpoint, word of mouth
Posted in Social Media

14
Jan
2011

celebrate friends and fans – 2011

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Fridays are for celebrating Stance Friends and Fans. I encourage you to visit their facebook page, website or place of business and tell Stance about your experience with their company, product or service.

In 1902, Mose Iacino’s family came to Colorado from Grimaldi, Italy, in search of a better life. Young Mose had a mind full of ideas, an entrepreneurial spirit and an appreciation for quality seafood.
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In 1918, Mose Iacino, age 16, set out to bring fresh seafood from Seattle to the people of Denver and the surrounding area and created Seattle Fish Company. Although much has changed since that time, Seattle Fish Company remains a family-run business, where Mose’s spirit of innovation, dedication and service lives on.

Mose developed a system for transporting fresh seafood to the landlocked state of Colorado. It entailed packing fresh fish in sawdust and ice, and shipping the goods by railcar from Seattle. At each train stop, the ice was replenished to keep the seafood fresh. Denver citizens flocked to his stall inside his uncle’s shop at 1537 Market Street downtown. Little did Mose know that he was launching a career that would last a lifetime.

Today, fresh and frozen seafood is flown into Denver International Airport seven days a week from American coasts and port cities from around the world. The product travels in special shipping containers that maintain the seafood in peak condition.

Mose built a thriving business on ingenuity, customer service and quality seafood. His son, Edward Iacino, carries on the tradition as Chairman and CEO, grandson James Iacino is President and granddaughter Chelsea Iacino is Human Resource Manager.

Today, nearly 100 employees work to deliver their products to more than 650 grocers, restaurants, hotels and caterers, making them one of the largest seafood distributors in the western United States. They are also an active member of several industry organizations that help ensure high quality and sustainable practices. As the region’s largest supplier, they bring value and selection that are second to none — with the personal service of a three-generation, family-owned business. As a certified Marine Stewardship Council supplier, Seattle Fish Co. is committed to protecting the environment and maintaining sustainable practices from catch to consumer.

Visit Seattle Fish Co. on facebook.

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If you have had the pleasure of experiencing a Culinary Connectors tour, please share your experience. If not, visit them today. I look forward to hearing about it and sharing your experience with other Stance Friends and Fans.

Tags: align, benchmark, brand promise, cem, change agent, customer centric, customer experience, customer feedback, customer retention, customer service, empower, entrepreneurial spirit, Experience, experience exemplified, experience mapping, family owned, feedback, Friday, happy customer, marine stewardship council, moment of truth, optimal conditions, perception, positive referral, repeat business, repeatable, restaurant customer service, restaurants, seafood, seattle fish, seattle fish co, social media, sparkpoint, strategy, sustainable, touchpoint, word of mouth
Posted in Celebrate Stance Friends and Fans

12
Nov
2010

celebrate stance friends and fans

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Fridays are for celebrating Stance Friends and Fans. I encourage you to visit their facebook page, website or place of business and tell Stance about your experience with their product or service. If you have already done business with the featured Friday Stance Friend or Fan and have a story to share, please do.

Today we celebrate SooperTramp, Trendy Dog Collars and Leashes for your Canine Sooperstar, started in 2009 by Suzie Brown.
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SooperTramp was inspired by SooperCooper, Suzie’s 1.5 year old Golden Retriever and best pal ever. While searching for a collar and leash set that fit Cooper’s silly personality, Suzie learned quite a bit about construction of collars and leashes and the importance of using quality materials. Unfortunately there was nothing out there that had any personality. Of course quality was a must but Suzie wanted cute and sassy too. So, she took matters into her own hands.
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After months of research, practice, testing (SooperCooper’s job) and fabric shopping, SooperTramp was born. SooperTramp products are made from high quality, washable designer fabrics and are backed with the strongest nylon webbing on the market.
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Comfort and durability make the top of the “must have” list: collars are constructed using contoured Nexus buckles that fit the curves of your dog’s neck, welded, large-gauge D-rings and the strongest thread available. Solid, reinforced stitching is used to keep the hardware in place. SooperTramp accessories will hold up during every adventure and your pooch will be lookin’ good.

If you have been purchased a leash or collar from SooperTramp, please share your experience. If not, visit them today. I look forward to hearing about it and sharing your experience with other Stance Friends and Fans.

Shop SooperTramp.

Vist SooperTramp on Facebook.

Tags: align, benchmark, brand promise, cem, customer centric, customer experience, customer feedback, customer retention, dog, dog accessory, dog collar, dog leash, employee training, empower, engage, expectations, Experience, experience exemplified, experience path, fabric shopping, family owned, feedback, Friday, happy customer, moment of truth, nexus, optimal conditions, perception, pooch, positive referral, process, quality materials, reality, repeat business, restaurant customer service, sparkpoint, word of mouth
Posted in Celebrate Stance Friends and Fans

03
Nov
2010

third party doldrums

1 Comment

I spend a lot of time building relationships on the great internet via social media. I talk regularly with people I have never had the pleasure of meeting and have made some real friends along the way.

I also have regular cyber conversations with restaurants, hotels, out of state services and local business owners. Each group has created an identity for themselves or the establishment they represent. As a consumer and believer in the almighty word of mouth marketing (WOMM), it excites me to watch the relationships grow before my eyes.

Which is why, on a recent visit to a local restaurant and bar, I was saddened by the treatment (or non-treatment) from the staff. Now don’t get me wrong, I am NOT looking for handouts or freebies, just the continued sharing and conversation that is done online.
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Before heading to happy hour with four other ladies, we all did our fair share of tweeting and facebooking about where we were going and at what time. We included the twitter handle of the establishment and even received a tweet back from them. They were happy we were coming in and excited to serve us (I bet they were also happy for the free WOMM). Also, I should mention, this was not my first time “chatting” with this business. I have been a supporter and so have the other ladies who include foodies, business owners and mega social media users.

The staff had no idea who we were. I do not expect the average restaurant to know who I am as I am not famous, but when five ladies have tweeted, facebooked and checked in on foursquare, it is assumed that an owner, manager, bartender, host or bartender will have some clue. Nothing. Enter the third party doldrums.

This particular establishment hires an agency to manage their social media which is NOT a problem at all for me. The problem is they do not have a system in place to inform the on-site staff of what to expect at any given time.

One large benefit of social media is building relationships with potential and current customers. People do business with people they like and spend money in places that make them feel good.

At this point the relationship has been broken and the experience was a let down. Even more alarming is that the employee, customer and company are not aligned so there is no way to provide the optimal customer experience.

Have you had the third party doldrums? If you are an establishment who hires out of house social media management, what systems do you have in place to avoid third party doldrums?

Tags: align, analysis, angry customer, benchmark, brand promise, cem, change agent, customer centric, customer experience, customer feedback, customer retention, customer service, employee training, empower, engage, expectations, Experience, experience exemplified, experience mapping, experience path, feedback, happy customer, journey, listen, moment of truth, optimal conditions, perception, positive referral, process, repeat business, repeatable, restaurant customer service, retail service, social media, strategy, touchpoint, word of mouth
Posted in Customer Experience

19
Oct
2010

the new #7

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A friend texted me an interesting question last night as she was eating in a local restaurant.

What do I do when the service is good but the food is not?
Do I tell them?

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A valid question and a reminder that not all the focus can be on the customer experience because the product is just as important.

A great customer experience supports a well planned product, whether it is the perfectly executed nine course tasting menu at The French Laundry, the best shoes at a great price from Zappos or a superb night’s stay at Ritz Carlton.
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Imagine that during your visit to The French Laundry you are treated as royalty, but instead of being served a divine dish fresh from The French Laundry farms, you are served beanies and weenies. No amount of planned, repeatable customer experience will make that acceptable for the price of the product, right?
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So I propose an addition to the Six Laws of Customer Experience by Bruce Temkin, customer experience transformist and Managing Partner of the Temkin Group.
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1. Every interaction creates a personal reaction.
2. People are instinctively self-centered.
3. Customer familiarity breeds alignment.
4. Unengaged employees don’t create engaged customers.
5. Employees do what is measured, incented and celebrated.
6. You can’t fake it.

And the New #7: A well planned product or service that is aligned with the experience.

So what did I tell my friend? A bad product is a bad product. Fortunately there is always room for improvement…but not if they don’t know.

Although her opinion is just one of many, if the restaurant integrates customer feedback and insight throughout the organization (one of four core customer experience competencies by Temkin), then they already know and (hopefully) are making changes to the product so it meets the customer experience they provide.

And then, once again, the employee, customer, organization AND product/service are aligned.

Tags: align, analysis, angry customer, benchmark, brand promise, bruce temkin, cem, change agent, core customer experience competencies, customer centric, customer experience, customer feedback, customer retention, customer service, employee training, empower, engage, expectations, Experience, experience exemplified, experience mapping, feedback, happy customer, moment of truth, optimal conditions, perception, positive referral, price, process, product, repeatable, restaurant customer service, retail service, six laws of customer experience, social media, sparkpoint, strategy, system, touchpoint, word of mouth
Posted in Customer Experience

12
Oct
2010

don’t allow indifference

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I run in to this a lot:

I go to an establishment with certain expectations which are not met. I look around and note that everyone else seems to be happy with their experience, in fact, the place is packed. Are they receiving OR perceiving a different service or experience than I am, or are they just indifferent?

Last Sunday I went out to eat brunch and watch the Bronco game with a group of friends and it was not a good experience. The server was friendly but not attentive or helpful, they were out of two beers on the menu, they no longer served the “giant cinnamon roll” highlighted as a specialty, the hollandaise sauce was “refrigerator” cold, the eggs were runny and the breakfast burrito did not have any eggs in it. We were generally bummed, but it appeared that everyone around us was generally happy. Could it be that the overarching expectation of most customers was just to be fed, watered and provided a certain level of entertainment? Were their expectations just low enough to make mistakes acceptable?

If that is the case, then what is the motivation for the company owner to improve upon their systems and offer a solid experience? How about this:

Doing good business and making good money means there is an opportunity to do GREAT business and make MORE money.

I do not believe the company, employee and customer were aligned. Instead, everyone was operating independently of one another and without similar goals.

How do you approach companies who are doing well despite providing a mediocre customer experience? Are you indifferent?

Tags: align, analysis, angry customer, benchmark, brand promise, cem, change agent, customer centric, customer experience, customer feedback, customer retention, customer service, employee training, empower, engage, expectations, experience mapping, feedback, happy customer, journey, moment of truth, mystery shops, optimal conditions, perception, positive referral, process, restaurant customer service, social media, sparkpoint, strategy, system, word of mouth
Posted in Customer Experience

Posts Tagged ‘feedback’

What do I do when the service is good but the food is not? Do I tell them?

And the New #7: A well planned product or service that is aligned with the experience.

take a stance:

What do I do when the service is good but the food is not?
Do I tell them?