Posts

Rainy days and sundaes always bring me down

Excuse the play on title words, that have a very (very) loose tie in to ice cream in any shape or form. Though Ben & Jerry’s features on the periphery of this blog post, I am discussing rainy day wins and fails, specific to my day at Universal Studios Hollywood. To quote another song badly, […]

Cultivating a “Club Med Culture” in a “Brooks Bros.” World

20 years and a couple of lifetimes ago, I arrived in Cancun, Mexico with a couple of bags, boyish excitement and a bundle of energy. I was a GO, Gentile Organizateur a hotel worker in Club Med, part teacher, part drinking buddy, part host, part companion. I had no clue. I was recruited in New […]

How safe is safe? Online banking demands confidence

I’m a Wells Fargo customer (as well as having other bank accounts) and I like their online banking because it’s obvious they put a lot of thought into the customer experience.

My bowl is half empty – the CPK soup experience

Online, it’s not always easy to fix a problem as it happens. Most interactions are live but without life (human interaction). The next best thing is to offer a toll-free support number, and actually have someone there to answer the calls when they come in. After that, as far as email support, set an expectation and exceed it. i.e. post you respond within 2 business hours and get back to them in 1 OR call them back.

How much does a hot chocolate at Christmas cost?

Online it doesn’t take much to meet or exceed expectations either. Offering something as a surprise or something unexpected (free upgrade on shipping? smoother checkout?) can often tip the balance, changing an online visit into an online experience.

Boiling down to the barista – Starbucks, Peets, Coffee Bean

Coffee shop brands are arguably more susceptible to passionate followers than most other high street brands. As a regular Coffee Bean (CB) customer I will pass a few Starbucks (SB) on my search for a CB store and – horror of horrors – settle on SB if a convenient CB store cannot be found on […]

The Best Analytics Program in the World

The Best Analytics Program in the World is <drum roll> Your ears. Talk to your customers, elicit input, provide mechanism for feedback, test vigorously, beta updates to internal and external audiences, listen. Analytics isn’t just about seeing who visits your site, it’s about ensuring the experience when someone arrives exceeds their expectations. By consistently polling […]

I am on the list but not on *the* list

My son and I just got back from a prescreening of the Dreamworks Pictures movie, “Madagascar 2 : Escape from Africa” a fair flick, rated 71/2 out of 10 by both my son and I… “We like to move it, move it” 🙂 This was a press / focus group event at the Rave Motion […]