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From a friend: a suitable short movie on wisdom

I just received this from my incomparable friend, JuliAnn: the Wisdom Book movie: it seemed appropriate to include it here:

http://www.wisdombook.org/

Please watch this video. Then take a deep breath and a few glorious minutes to take it in. Ask yourself- "What is the wisdom I carry to share with the world, what would I say if asked to share in this book?"

Tags: whack, advice.

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If someone says “that’s impossible”…

Five days since I posted, as I have been recovering from a cough/virus/whatever, and I was Mr. Mom all weekend long whilst my much better half spent the weekend with friends. 

I have this of interest…

… from mathoov’s Flickr stream.

Thanks to Ariel for the link.

 

Tags: Ariel Waldman, whack, quotes.

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http://tinyurl.com/3qmjqj

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Watching the water level drop

A while ago, Beth (who I first worked with in the Exchange group on DST and now on customer satisfaction improvements) told me a story that she’d heard from her husband in the past.  When people leave a large company, it’s like when you remove your hand from a swimming pool: you don’t really notice a change in the water level.

But in some cases, people see the water line drop significantly when great people move on to a new role or leave a company.

I saw the water level drop today.  Twice.


http://tinyurl.com/dcup2z

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Anticipate your customer’s needs, eliminate inconveniences

John Wayne Airport saw that customers were inconvenienced and came up with a simple solution, showing that sometimes more (power plugs) is better… and need not be expensive.

Picture this, frequent air travelers: you’re at the airport, awaiting a flight, and unable to get to the airline lounge. You don’t want to run down the battery on your notebook PC or other important portable electronic gadget, so you search out a convenient electric power plug… only to find that the only rare ones available are either in use by another traveler recharging their menagerie of devices, or no where near a convenient place to sit or use your PC.

This won’t happen to you in southern California… Orange County, to be specific.

One of the reasons I like John Wayne Airport: they put the traveler first.

Anaheim power plugsThree words: plentiful electrical plugs.

In this case, a long power bar tracks the back of the seating at the gate, with the plugs easily accessible as you recline in the well-worn leather seats.  My kids were able to power their Nintendos, Zunes and leave me a plug for my laptop and phone.

This is a good example of how one airport — which I’ve seen grow from my traveling trade show days from a small municipal airport to a very nice, modern regional hub — recognized that their customers were inconvenienced by a lack of a key resource (power) and made more ports available.  Cheaper than touch down stations or another lounge area,  unobtrusive, and conveniently located. 

“Gates 2 – 14, in Terminals A and B of the Riley Terminal now have custom-designed power receptacles located between the backs of the passenger seating rows. The outlets are surge protected, ensuring safe usage.

“We are pleased to be able to offer new and improved services in the Terminal providing our passengers with more convenience and a positive travel experience,” said Alan L. Murphy, Airport Director.”

You can read about other improvements at the airport here.  This is also one of the few airports that actually seems to have ample seating for all passengers awaiting their flight. (For more information about the Airport Improvement Program, email improvements@ocair.com.)

What barrier or nuisance can you eliminate today that will benefit your customer?  What can you provide that will lower their frustration?

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PC hardware failing? Repair may not be an offered option

An interesting post today on Consumerist where an HP Customer Service rep comes across with a sales offer

A reader on Consumerist.com relates an encounter (over chat?) with an HP customer service representative to discuss a hardware failure with his Compaq computer. The CS rep couldn’t help the situation, as the hardware was apparently out of warranty, but the customer then found that they were on the receiving end of an upsell to a new HP computer “with an awesome offer” or some such deal.

Ouch.

Interesting to note that the customer cited leaking capacitors as one of the problems.  I recall that the motherboard of an old PC of ours was replaced long after the warranty had expired, when it was found that the unit had faulty, leaking capacitors.  Perhaps the customer should escalate to second level support…

But let’s keep in mind that this is a PC that was released five or six years ago (Compaq Presario 6010US) according to the time machine that is Amazon.com (Date first available at Amazon.com: March 13, 2002) with a 1.4GHz AMD Athlon XP processor, 256MB RAM, and 40GB HDD. 

IMO, a new PC is certainly a smart bet.

(Link: Hewlett Packard: This HP Customer Service Rep Thinks He’s A Genteel Salesman)

Kingston S: May I confirm the model number of your computer facing the issue as: Compaq Presario 6010US Desktop PC?

Consumerist Reader: that’s correct

Kingston S: [redacted], I am sorry about that but I will not be able to assist you in this regard as it is out of my support boundary. Shall I share my views with you instead?

Consumerist Reader: what?

Kingston S: [redacted], you can contact the Authorized Service Providers and they may be able to do something for this.
Kingston S: This is because this was one of the best computer model when it was released.

Consumerist Reader: is there a phone number?

Kingston S: Now, that it has become old, and the options for taking it for a bench repair is not left at all.
Kingston S: The phone support is a paid support.
Kingston S: [redacted], don’t you think it is high time to upgrade your PC?
Kingston S: Why I suggested that because HP is selling new computers at attractive discount prices which has got all the Advanced features and latest technology support.
Kingston S: It is also shipped with the latest Windows Vista operating system.
Kingston S: There is an instant rebate going on with HP. You will get computers from HP even with the latest Windows Vista operating system preinstalled starting from $ 350. Isn’t that an awesome offer?