The Blog of Leon Apel » Daily Affairs http://www.leonapel.com Topics of Interest to Leaders, Entrepreneurs, Investors and Marketers Sat, 24 Jul 2010 23:32:15 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 © admin admin No No Stamina for Late Risers > Early Risers? http://www.leonapel.com/2009/05/03/stamina-for-late-risers-early-risers/ http://www.leonapel.com/2009/05/03/stamina-for-late-risers-early-risers/#comments Sun, 03 May 2009 17:11:45 +0000 admin http://www.leonapel.com/?p=65 Stamina for Late Risers > Early Risers: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090423.wsleep0423/BNStory/Science/. However, you need to read the journal itself to verify the quality of the study’s method. They used only 30 subjects and the specific quality assurance controls weren’t stated in the article.

]]> http://www.leonapel.com/2009/05/03/stamina-for-late-risers-early-risers/feed/ 0 Not A Fan of The Fact That “Leon Apel’s Blog” Rates #2 on Google… http://www.leonapel.com/2007/08/21/not-a-fan-of-the-fact-that-leon-apels-blog-rates-2-on-google/ http://www.leonapel.com/2007/08/21/not-a-fan-of-the-fact-that-leon-apels-blog-rates-2-on-google/#comments Tue, 21 Aug 2007 01:05:21 +0000 admin http://leonapel.com/2007/08/21/not-a-fan-of-the-fact-that-leon-apels-blog-rates-2-on-google/ I’m committed to getting this blog to #1 for my own name… Yup, I’m a stubborn egomaniac like that…haha

]]> http://www.leonapel.com/2007/08/21/not-a-fan-of-the-fact-that-leon-apels-blog-rates-2-on-google/feed/ 0 Get Better Customer Service: Get People to Do Emails, Calls, Research and More For You… http://www.leonapel.com/2007/07/19/train-customer-service-agents-to-do-more-for-you-like-email-you-make-calls-and-research/ http://www.leonapel.com/2007/07/19/train-customer-service-agents-to-do-more-for-you-like-email-you-make-calls-and-research/#comments Thu, 19 Jul 2007 07:55:07 +0000 admin http://leonapel.com/2007/07/19/train-customer-service-agents-to-do-more-for-you-like-email-you-make-calls-and-research/ Do you take full advantage of the services offered by customer service representatives or do you waste time by doing tasks that they are paid to do for you anyways?

 

It sometimes several hours a week to receive proper customer support and implement their recommendations, hence the need to outsource (see previous post).    Lately, I’ve been requesting that my customer service agents to do more for me and save me time doing a lot of the grunt work they ask me to do.  At first I tend to get some hesitation; however, it still works more often than not.

The following are my typical requests, which seem reasonable yet about 50% of companies offering services including PROS/CONS according to my experience:

- Flexibility in Providing Support

WHO DOES IT WELL: Most web hosting companies – You can pay for support offered through multiple channels including web chat, emails, phone calls, and more.  I’ve even given a hosting company access to my computer to help with a support issue (1&1 Hosting)

NEEDS IMPROVEMENT: Most local businesses who are still very Web 1.0 and living in a 20th Century world.  Please adapt!

- Making internal phone calls to other divisions for me (don’t you hate getting the run-around?)

WHO DOES IT WELL: HP (Hewlett Packard)

NEEDS IMPROVEMENT: TD Canada Trust (They couldn’t forward a message to my local branch when asked)

- Emailing me information rather than wasting my time by making me write it down:

WHO DOES IT WELL: 1&1 Internet Hosting – They always give me detailed descriptions and instructions upon request with 24/7 support

NEEDS IMPROVEMENT: 90%+ of local businesses who "don’t do email" and TD Canada Trust

- Listens/responds to my requests carefully as opposed to giving automated answers

WHO DOES IT WELL: Local businesses who do not have automated systems

NEEDS IMPROVEMENT: 1&1 Internet Hosting – I gave specific requests and they failed to read 2+ of my emails

- Friendliness

I found this factor to relevant on a person-by-person basis as opposed to an organizational trend

There are plenty of other examples …

This boils down to AUTOMATED SYSTEMS VERSUS PERSONALIZED SYSTEMS.  Obviously, there is a loss in some customer satisfaction either way:  automated systems are relatively more consistent yet more inflexible due to standard procedures.

 

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