Blog

Handle problems with care

Last December I worked with a hotel leadership team in Dayton, OH. One of the discussions lead to identifying the obstacles that stood in the way of creating promoters of its hotel. Consumer research firm Bain and Company defines promoters as those customers who are the least price-sensitive, have the

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Work vs. Play

Earlier this week, a friend of mine passed along a copy of Daniel Pink’s latest book, Drive. It was a pleasant surprise because, having read his bestseller, A Whole New Mind, it was on my buy list. One of the reasons I enjoy reading authors like Daniel Pink, Malcolm Gladwell,

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Next?

When was the last time you checked yourself into a flight and checked a piece of luggage at a self-service kiosk at the airport? Like supermarket self-service checkout stations or ATMs, I find these kiosks helpful. Once they become familiar, they’re easy to navigate and usually end up saving me

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Compete FOR customers, not AGAINST them

Have you ever sensed an adversarial, “us vs. them” mentality from employees of service organizations? Perhaps you were on the receiving end of what you would describe as rude or abusive behavior? Or perhaps it was more subtle—like dismissive body language or an exasperated sigh? Maybe it did not even

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Excuse me. That’s not where the cart goes!

The other day I walked by a supermarket employee who was hanging out near the front entrance of the store smoking a cigarette. I noticed him because it always confounds me when employers permit their employees to smoke someplace where non-smoking customers have to pass through their second-hand smoke in

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Online order snafu makes a Christmas wish come true

Earlier this month, my brother-in-law ordered a glow-in-the-dark football from Baden Sports as a Christmas gift for one of my boys. When the package arrived this week, my wife opened it to find a glow-in-the-dark soccer ball rather than the football that was ordered. She compared the product received to

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At Albertsons, 3’s a crowd

How many of you enjoy standing in line, waiting to be served? Long before Disney mounted large flat screen televisions to keep its guests entertained while waiting in line to see the next attraction, supermarkets have positioned tabloid newspapers near the checkout aisles to ease the inevitable delays that accompany

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That’s my job!

What happened the last time you asked an employee to do something that was not his job? Did he cheerfully accept the responsibility and work beyond his job description to fulfill your request? Did the employee begrudgingly fulfill your request—making sure you knew through body language or words that he

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Don’t just be grateful—be great!

A few years ago, The Broker Restaurant in Denver, CO participated in a local radio promotion. As a part of this promotion, the radio station mailed out $25 unrestricted coupons to area residents who completed a survey about their radio listening preferences. Because there were no restrictions, these coupons were

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