Category: Uncategorized

Time is a precious thing. Never waste it.

Post author By M3 Sweatt
Post date 30/09/2007
6 Comments on Time is a precious thing. Never waste it.

There are times when we hear that something isn’t possible, that a schedule can’t be met, that there’s not enough time, there aren’t enough resources or that’s not my job. (I’m saying in general, not at Microsoft 😉

There are two stories that I have followed over the last few months and years, respectively, stories that make you think and put things into perspective. When I drift into thinking that something is too hard or I think that I don’t have enough time, lately I’ve thought of these stories.

The first of a little girl, Gloria Strauss of Seattle, with the weight of a horrendous disease balanced by the love of her family and a community, meeting every day as best she could with grace and strength. The stories ran and can be found in the series linked to A prayer for Gloria | Gloria was more than just a story (Seattle Times series) from last Sunday (September 23, 2007) by reporter Jerry Brewer. “The series has been an authentic portrayal of one family’s fight with cancer. Gloria succumbed to neuroblastoma, a confounding and vicious disease, but her family rejoices despite their sadness.

The second is of Sam Sullivan, the mayor and native son of Vancouver, who is paralyzed but not confined by the bounds on his wheelchair, and works hard each day to make his corner of the world a better place… from the article in the Times, Maverick Vancouver, B.C., mayor faces Olympic-size challenge, by Greg Bishop today (Sept 30, 2007). “Sullivan is very visible as mayor, and residents have few reservations about stopping him for a word or two. Sullivan struggles each morning to get out of his bed and into his motorized wheelchair…”

Yes, there are many stories that can inspire, frustrate, frustration, disappoint and enlighten. Not necessarily about faith or beliefs, but about what can be accomplished. As Jerry Brewer, the reporter that chronicled Gloria’s effort to battle cancer, wrote…

“I’m so sad that Gloria is gone. She’s helped me re-examine my own spirituality. She’s helped me learn how to love better. She’s shown me what true commitment is.”

Given the recent untimely passing of Marc Olson from the Office team, old friends such as the truly irrepressible Christopher Bock and far too many others, I remind my kids (particularly my nine year old) that time is too precious to waste.

Make the most of time: I often quote the throw-away line from Willy Wonka “Time is a precious thing. Never waste it.”

I’m going to help the kids with homework now, and make the most of this rainy afternoon.

Tags: Microsoft, Daylight Saving Time, Daylight Savings Time, DST. DST

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Poor Customer Service Ethics is more than just Outsourcing, it’s a lack of understanding the customer’s needs

Post author By M3 Sweatt
Post date 29/09/2007
2 Comments on Poor Customer Service Ethics is more than just Outsourcing, it’s a lack of understanding the customer’s needs

In the last issue of BusinessWeek there is an article on “The Ethics of Outsourcing Customer Service” by Bruce Weinstein.

“It’s a familiar scenario: A product you purchased recently has developed a problem, so you call the company’s toll-free number and are connected to a “customer service associate” in India or the Philippines. You describe your problem but have a hard time understanding what the company representative is saying. You try several more times to communicate why you are calling but cannot get information that you can comprehend. You ask to be transferred to someone in the U.S. and are then put on hold for what seems like an eternity. You hang up in frustration and vow never again to purchase anything from this company.

“More and more businesses are outsourcing not just manufacturing jobs but services ones too. On the face of it, this seems like a smart financial move: By slashing labor costs 25%, 50%, or more, companies that have had slim profit margins are now able to enrich the bottom line and keep shareholders happy.

“Outsourcing customer service, however, is not only unethical. It’s bad for business.”

For a moment, let’s also distinguish between overseas staffing and outsourcing internationally. Yes, I certainly have been on the receiving end of less-than-perfect customer service when calling a company, but this is not just a factor of outsourcing. Here’s an example of where it worked recently:

This past week we had a problem with a consumer electronic (a TV) so I called the manufacturer yesterday, on a weekend, expecting to get a message saying “call back as we’re off for the weekend.”

Guess what: someone answered, on a Saturday afternoon after lunch.

“Hi, this is John for Sharp Electronics. How can I help you?”

After giving all my information to John and detailing the problem, he said that I should call back the same number on Monday with my case number, and that a Sharp representative would have more information after looking at my case. Having read the above article, I asked: You don’t work for Sharp?”

“No, I am a representative for [Sharp] and staff the weekend lines to make sure that the company responds to your needs. We take customer calls, send them to resources on the web and if we need to, we take down their information so Sharp can work on it first thing on Monday.”

Very cool.

I recalled why I purchased devices from Sharp in the past and how this influenced our latest: the company is responsive.

[Follow up: Following my weekend call, I was on the phone with a rep on Monday morning who had already triaged the problem and had a set of things for me to try with the set. After going through the list, Sharp quickly arranged to dispatch a repairman who diagnosed the problem and authorized for a replacement to be shipped to me. In less than a week, I had a new set, and Sharp followed up to ensure that my needs had been met.]

(Disclaimer: I have worked closely with Sharp Electronics in the US and Japan during my career and always found the company to be very customer focused, innovative and hungry for my business.)

Sure, you’re sure to run into poor customer service experiences as a result of outsourcing, as I have with one large PC manufacturer, a peripheral company and household appliance company — these past issues are clearly in my memory. In two cases the service was from North American operators who clearly had no clue what was what or even the basic details of the product (or the company for that matter, mispronouncing the name of the stovetop manufacturer). And in another case, I couldn’t make out a word the operator was saying, due to the poor connection (as if I were calling the outback via a string and two tin cans) and the unintelligible accent.

I agree with the author above that “working on the front lines of customer service means, first and foremost, being able to understand what the customer needs and then meeting those needs efficiently.” In some cases, outsourcing works, and in others, it doesn’t. Companies that place a premium on meeting the needs of their customers will enjoy better extended relationships that will encourage greater word of mouth support, repurchase and as in my case, consumer loyalty. These are some of the reasons we’ve purchased and repurchased products from Dell, HP, Sharp, Sony and Toshiba… as well as Microsoft.

Tags: Microsoft, Customer Service, Customer Support.

Tags advice, articles, customer service, customer support

Uncategorized

Your questions: How do you remove email addresses that automatically come up when you type in a name in Outlook? Or Entourage?

Post author By M3 Sweatt
Post date 29/09/2007
5 Comments on Your questions: How do you remove email addresses that automatically come up when you type in a name in Outlook? Or Entourage?

This from Holly (hope you’re well 😉

“How/where do you remove an email address that automatically comes up when you type in a name? For example, somebody had a another email address that you’ve deleted and updated but, somewhere in memory it gets pulled up when you are searching their name. Am I making sense?”

Yes, you are making sense. 😉

Assuming that this in Microsoft Outlook, the app is trying to be smart and help you by auto completing your email address…

On the Tools menu, click Options.
Click E-Mail Options.
Click Advanced E-Mail Options.
Do one or more of the following:
To turn off automatic name checking: Under When sending a message, clear the Automatic name checking check box.

Then I find out it’s actually Entourage. 😉

For Mac Entourage, see http://www.entourage.mvps.org/glossary/mru.html for more details…

Entourage X and 2004: To clear ALL there is a preference in Mail & News: Compose: Clear List button. There is also an option in the preferences to disable this feature all together.

Entourage 2001: There is no Clear List button. See: How to Remove Addresses from the Entourage Address Cache (http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;280299)

Both versions: To clear a single address, add it exactly like the one that is remembered to your address book and mark it as Junk (or assign category Junk). You can just delete the address, but if you receive it again it will just be added back. Marking as junk will permanently remove it from the AutoComplete list.

Tags Office, Your Questions

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Survey says… Many Online Retailers ignore as much as One-Third of Customer Emails

Post author By M3 Sweatt
Post date 27/09/2007
2 Comments on Survey says… Many Online Retailers ignore as much as One-Third of Customer Emails

An interesting article on BusinessWire (Sept 25, 2007), Survey Reveals Top 100 U.S. Online Retailers’ Customer Service Shortfalls, highlights how top retailers don’t live up to customer’s demands when it comes to providing “an exceptional customer experience.”

Seems that most dropped the ball and found that success could be as simple as answering their email, providing better self-help tools and returning customer calls…

“Overall, the Talisma audit revealed that online retailers are failing in three key areas:

1. One-third of email queries were ignored – Email is generally accepted as one of the most efficient communication tools. This seems to have been overlooked by many online retailers as 34% didn’t reply to customer emails.

2. Lack of Self-Help Tools – 97% of online retailers had no knowledge base to help prospective buyers make an informed decision based on product features and suitability, known issues, or customer service accessibility and policies.

3. Accuracy of information provided – only 51% of emails and 72% of phone calls answered provided accurate information.”

Gives me greater incentive to ensure that I am getting to my email backlog in a more timely manner (with apologies)

A copy of the report (along with a list of the online retailers surveyed) is available at http://www.talisma.com/tal_emails/us/retail/ret_us_form.asp.