BarServ Blog and Podcast

Bank of America has announced it is offering credit to illegal aliens.  Now, I'm new to this debate and don't claim by any means to be an expert.  There is a debate within a blog I recently read that talks all about it.  My inital opinion is that I don't like what BoA is doing, and being a BoA account holder for over 10 years I'm seriously considering moving my accounts... after more research of course.

What I do think is interesting about this is the lack of pro-active PR by BoA.  There is a firestorm of blog activity about this 'pilot program' and public opinion is free-falling with no word from BoA.  Try looking for a press release on the BoA Web site.  I looked and couldn't find anything.  If anyone has a lead on where I could find such a release I'd love to see it.

So, BoA is offering credit to "aliens" but seems to be "alientating" its customer base.  Shouldn't I be receiving some sort of statement from BoA in the mail concerning their positioning on the issue?  Do they value this new opportunity more than they value me as a customer?  Where's the love?  I'm definitely not feeling it and I've emailed BoA customer service to let them know just that.

Maybe this type of program would fly in Mexico proper.  I don't know if BoA does business there, but it seems like the right place for this kind of program.  But to offer this here in the US when illegal immigration is such a hot topic is not a very wise customer service-based decision.

George W. Daye, III
Founder and President
BarServ Mystery Shopping Services

I can't believe it's taken this long for the airlines to wake up and smell the customer service coffee.  Only with the threat of government regulation do they begin to budge from their "my way or the highway" mentalities.  Jet Blue CEO David Neeleman posted a statement this week on the Jet Blue Web site as well as on YouTube (quite techy of him, don't you think?) saying the following:

"For customers who experience a Ground Delay for more than 5 hours, JetBlue will take necessary action so that customers may deplane. JetBlue will also provide customers experiencing a Ground Delay with food and drink, access to restrooms and, as necessary, medical treatment."

Mr. Neeleman has done a good job of getting involved and spreading the word.  But, his efforts and this statement only address half the issue in my opinion.  Five hours?  Still excessive.  I appreciate the promise of food, drink and restrooms, which I expect to receive regardless of if those rights are inside a bill of rights document, but five hours on the tarmac before it's deemed as too long?  Three is enough for me and I'm at my limit.

When observing the overall situation, isn't it crazy that only after a few stories get national headlines and the government takes notice that finally something is being done?  Logic tells me that there have been countless complaint letters addressing these long delays on the tarmac for years now, but the airlines have turned a cold shoulder to them.  How can any high-end airline executive sit in his office and think it's okay to have someone trapped in a grounded plane for 11 hours and not do anything about it?  Wouldn't it have been much more commendable if they had come out and done this voluntarily two years ago?  Remember, even though they tell you they are doing this voluntarily, it's not so.  It's just like a baseball manager who is doing a terrible job and is given the option to 'retire' versus being fired.  There's a PR angle behind almost everything.

Another business recently bowed to consumer complaints and government regulation.  The quick-loan industry has suddenly become ethical with the creation of a payday loan council to advise consumers on wise use of these services.  Just as in the case with the airlines, no one wants new rules from the government concerning their industry, and they'll wiggle as much as they can to avoid it.

Although these are examples of how to invite a PR crisis, there is a lesson to be learned here.  Are there areas of opportunity in your own business where you could better serve the customer before reaching the PR nightmare stage?  I'll admit, there are opportunities where I could do so in my own business, but they aren't always as high on my priority list as they should be.  'If it ain't broke, don't fix it' only applies in so many situations and customer service is not one of those.  Your customers are your life-blood and are not to be taken lightly.  Think proactively.  My father always had written somewhere on his desk, 'Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance'.  The 5-P Theory.  Jet Blue, American Airlines, and the payday loan boys did not plan ahead and are now suffering the consequences.  Learn from their mistakes and you'll be leaps and bounds in front of your competitors.

George W. Daye, III
Founder and President
BarServ Mystery Shopping Services

Amazing what employees on the front lines will say, even when interacting with customers.

I visited Target on Carrier Parkway and I-20 in Grand Prairie yesterday to return a faulty DVD player.  I approached the counter after hearing "Next!" called by the woman working the customer service area.  I placed my box on the counter, handed the woman the receipt and was promptly ignored.  As she held the receipt, she looked to another woman who worked there and said, among other indiscernible grumblings:

-"No one had better write me up for nothin'.  I didn't do nothin'"
-"I don't need this job"
-"They know I'm only here until I can find something better"
-"Who wrote me up?  I better not find out who did that"
-"I never checked out the keys.  Someone must have written my name in there"
-"She (the supervisor) doesn't know what she's talking about"

I stood there for at least a full minute while she carried on about getting written up for something having to do with checking out keys.  She then turned her attention to my transaction but continued to grumble under her voice about the supervisor.  So as the customer and based on what I heard, I can now assume Target management is incompetent, Target jobs are not valuable, employees have grudges against Target management, Target has a checkout system for keys that does not work effectively (good to know if I'm the criminal type), and one of the supervisors is an idiot.  Is this the type of impression I should be given when visiting, of all places, the customer service counter?

I choose Target over Wal-Mart for a reason.  I've dealt with Target enough to know their customer service is excellent, so this seems to be a staff training issue.  I'd like to hear from anyone else via the comments section who has had an experience similar to this

As of 1:47 p.m. CST, BarServ.com and SHOPNet are back up and running.  CI Host said it was some type of DNS registry error.  Sorry for the inconvenience everyone!

As of 12:22 p.m. CST, BarServ.com is experiencing a service outage.  We have contacted our hosting provider, CI Host, and they are currently tracking the problem.  More updates to follow soon and thank you for your patience.

I experienced the epitome of inattentive service today during my visit to the Kroger grocery store near my home in Grand Prairie, Texas. I've blogged previously about how there's nothing more frustrating thatn needing assistance and you can't get to, or can't find, the person that provides that assistance. 

It was early this a.m. and I needed to pick some things up for my wife's office and I was really in a rush.  I decided to use the self-checkout lane and scanned my first item.  A message appeared telling me to wait for cashier assistance.  I looked around, but no one was there at the self-checkout station.  I waited probably one minute before flagging down a bag boy and asking for help.  He got on the intercom and paged for someone to help.

Thirty seconds more go by and finally in walks the woman who is supposed to be supervising the self-checkout area... from outside the store!  She had been outside smoking, which was evident from the smell of cigarette smoke on her clothing.  She cleared the error from my station and I was able to continue my checkout.  No apology, not even a sense of urgency.  Needless to say, I was not happy with my experience at Kroger today.

As a consumer I have many choices when it comes to buying the things I need.  This is a small incident, but it may be enough to drive me to another grocery store in the area.  There are probably 5 to choose from in a 5 mile radius.  I expect attentive, courteous service and to find the help I need when I need it.

Think about this in your own business... were you accessible to your customers today?  Were you there when they had a question or needed assistance?  Did you return their email or phone calls within 1 business day?  Don't let your customers think you're outside smoking when they need you most.

I recently joined LinkedIn for business networking purposes.  What a great site!  I can't believe how much powerful information is shared there and better yet, for free!  If you're a user of LinkedIn, please feel free to look me up and add me as a connection so we can share contacts. A cool feature on LinkedIn is the Q&A section.  I was able to publicly post the following question:

"What is your biggest challenge when providing and maintaining a high level of customer service?"

One of the responses was from Kimon Andreou, an IT portfolio manager at Royal Caribbean Cruises.  Kimon replied:

"To the customer, practically everything is a high priority request. But, there are resource constraints, compliance issues, etc. that they don't (and shouldn't) care about and it's my job to make everything so transparent and streamlined that they don't notice."

So true!  Transparency is a prime concept of excellent customer service.  Just like magic, at least from the customer's POV, everything seems to fall into place.  Less worries, less hassle and more results.  I deliver shopping reports to each of BarServ's partners each month.  My partners probably don't care much about cancellations, shoppers not following through with assignments, inaccuracies or missed details.  All they really care about is reports delivered to them that contain usable information on how they can improve customer service. 

What magic can you start working behind the scenes?  Think of creative ways to improve the customer experience and make it smoother and more enjoyable will improve your standing with your customers.   If this is done little by little, you will convert your customers to loyal customers and raving fans.  This reminds me of The Tipping Point, a book I Podcasted about last year.  Keep making little adjustments and you're sure to succeed.

One of my favorite movies is BladeRunner, a future-based sci-fi thriller released in 1982 starring Harrison Ford.  One of the components of the film focuses on the idea that scientists will one day manufacture human beings strictly by using synthetic parts.   One such scientist, a specialist in creating synthetic eyes, is confronted by the bad guys, who ponder aloud, "If we could only see what's been seen through your eyes." 

That's quite a few eyes, at least in the movie, and also quite a few different perceptions.  This really got me to thinking.  We've all heard the cliche, "Perception is everything," so let's take a moment to contemplate how perception impacts your business.

How do you think your customers would rank your business if they were asked the following: "What company is the best (Insert your industry here) company in town?"

Of course you're hoping for positive response.  You'd like to think your office supply store, gas station, restaurant or retail store is the town favorite.  You probably hear comments often on what a great job you're doing (and I'm sure you are!), but remember this is a very, very small number of people compared to everyone in your city who knows you're around. You want to be viewed in a positive light by more than just those people with whom you do business. There are plenty of people who don't use your services and pass by your location everyday.  Regardless if they are your customer or not, they all have perceptions.  And to be successful in business, you strive to build positive perceptions and loyal customers.  The BarServ 3V Pyramid(tm) is how you can harness customer perception and reach those ripe, potential customers who may be teetering on the edge of doing business with you, but just need a little push.  We'll cover the 3V Pyramid, but let me first share something interesting I read in the Wall Street Journal this morning.

The Journal reported that respondents to a recent poll felt Microsoft (yes, Microsoft!) had the best company reputation versus 60 other large companies for 2006.  Honestly, I had to read the article twice.  Microsoft?  This is the same Microsoft that just a short while ago admitted to having paid a blogger to alter entries on the community-based online dictionary site, Wikipedia.  The same Microsoft that launched and (although not admittedly) crashed with their Zune music player.  Big, bad Microsoft, who was embroiled in anti-trust litigation for years, is now ranked number one in corporate reputation by this poll.  Other companies that you'd think would rank higher did surprisingly poorly: Disney (13), Apple (22), and Starbucks (28).  So how did Microsoft pull it off?  I think you need only look to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to find the answer.  Their charitable foundation has received buku press this past year, especially when partnering with Warren Buffet.  When you start talking billions of dollars, people sit up and take notice. 

Bill Gates, without realizing it I'm sure, harnessed steps similar to the BarServ 3V Pyramid (3VP).  The 3VP, pictured above, has three levels: View, eValuation and Vote. 

"View" encompasses the bottom or the base of the 3VP.  This represents how people see your business.  This is the face of your operation.  Marketing and branding, appearance of your storefront, how you present yourself, how you interact with customers and your over all look are all part of View.

"eValuation" is the middle portion of the 3VP.  This represents how people think about your business once they've had an opportunity to View you.  They eValuate everything they know about you and mull it over.  This could take less than a millisecond or more than a few years.  Everyday, your company is being subject to eValuation.

"Vote" sits at the top of the 3VP.  This represents action, or what happens when your customers have already had an opportunity to View and eValuate your business.  These customers Vote by choosing whether or not to do business with you.

Most business owners have View and Vote covered.  They put some sort of marketing plan together, launch it to the world and then wait for the customer to Vote.  These businesses are missing a crucial step in the customer perception process: eValuation. 

Bill Gates influenced people by becoming a leading philanthropist and partnering with a high-profile donor.  This move made such an impact that the outcome of the eValuation process was a Vote in Gates' (and in this case, Microsoft's) favor.  Other companies listed in The Journal article executed similar influences.  Sears did so through sponsorship of ABC's Extreme Home Makeover. Whole Foods made an effort to become more socially and environmentally conscious.  All these companies harnessed the eValuation portion of the 3VP and reaped the dividends.

How can you harness the 3VP for your own business?  Is there an opportunity to become more involved in your community?  Can you make a difference outside the scope of your everyday operations?  What can you do to raise visibility and awareness of your company within the groups who don't know you exist?  Or maybe they do know you exist, but don't have anything other than their initial View by which to judge and ultimately Vote?  Take action while you have the opportunity, and then once they Vote in your favor, knock their socks off with killer customer service. 

George W. Daye, III
Founder and President
BarServ