I have bugs in my living room. Big, leggy, gross bugs and when you squish them a blue goo comes out.  Ick.  At first there was just one and then a few days later, one more.  Over the last month I’ve seen and disposed of about 12 of them and yesterday when I saw one [...]

There are three schools of thought on product pricing: Set it and forget it Set it and haggle Leave it open for interpretation We are used to the price being the price and unless there is a coupon or special, the marked price is what you are expected to pay.  Conversely, if you have traveled [...]

  There is a bookstore called Politics and Prose located in a neighborhood of DC that opened almost 30 years ago. The founder, Carla Cohen, truly understood the value of being connected with her customers. In an article in Inc Magazine a few months ago, the bookstore and more importantly, Carla Cohen, were featured. There [...]

Now here is a dilema for you to chew on. Friends of mine just went out for a fancy dinner. They don’t normally go out, married over 30 years, both busy in their careers, they are lucky if they have time for a quick spin through the local drive through. But last weekend they decided [...]

Hangers Cleaners in Kansas City was featured on Cool Runnings for taking a different approach to a pretty boring business segment – dry cleaners. Joe Runyon, the owner of Hangers Cleaners shares his thoughts on making a business successful. And in his case – being successful in an industry that is declining.  Watch the video, [...]

Are you familiar with Clinique and their line of skin care products? You find them in the department stores along with several competitor counters offering eternal life. Frankly, although a lot more expensive that the Suave brand at my local Drug Mart, I do like the Clinique products. My mom just came to town for the [...]

If you aren’t using Twitter to connect with your customers – you are missing out on a great, real time venue. This weekend I discovered an article by Jeff Bullas about how the Fortune 100 companies are using (or not, as is the case) Twitter to be connected with their customers. It turns out that [...]

  After my most recent blog post, basically giving up on our ability to make a difference in the customer service experience, I read this response from a group member on LinkedIn: This is a great conversation to show how the bar of customer service keeps being set and re-set…lower and lower. That makes it [...]

Where have I been, you ask? Trying to pick myself up from utter despair. Two weeks ago I was hired to talk about make or break moments to the managers of a chain of auto repair shops. I had researched the company and their website shared customer focused words that led me to believe they [...]

I recently participated in the question of the week at Dr. Shannon Reece’s site Strategies and Tactics for Women (however, they work for men too). The question – how do you go about making your customers a fan of your business? Thirty seven people responded with their take on the situation – I am tip [...]