Magic Shop

Are your frontline employees going to save or kill your most important quarter? At Apple, nothing is left to chance

Fast Company, November 1, 2007 — Day one at my new job. Sporting white headphones, I am plugged into a computer watching Ridley Scott's awe-inspiring "1984" Macintosh ad, reviewing the company history, and getting pumped up about my new workplace. Like most of my coworkers, I'm already a loyal fan of the company, so starting this job will take my interest to the next level. I'm working as a Mac specialist at the Apple Store.

What happens between now and Christmas is the most important time for a very large sector of our economy: The National Retail Federation predicts almost $475 billion will pass between customers and merchants this holiday season, and whether such notable brands as Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Gap (NYSE:GPS), Home Depot (NYSE:HD), Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX), and many others think... continue reading

Behind T-Mobile's customer service success

She's blunt. She's flashy. And customer-service chief Sue Nokes is T-Mobile's secret weapon in a cutthroat industry

FORTUNE, October 1, 2007 — Marry me, Sue!" We've just pulled into the parking lot of Albuquerque's Jefferson Commons call center, home to 800 T-Mobile USA customer-service representatives, and outside there's mayhem. Hundreds of screaming, chanting people are standing in front of the building, bedecked in a wild array of hot-pink clothing (T-Mobile's signature color) ranging from T-shirts to cowboy hats to feather boas. They're waving signs, holding up camera phones, and generally acting like starstruck teenagers. One guy's wearing a fuchsia bathrobe; another, in a fluorescent-pink wig, is screaming, "We love you!" over and over.

All this booty shaking and flag waving might seem a bit extreme, given that technically today's event features a middle-aged woman on a routine visit... continue reading

Was Sprint's Sacking of 1,200 Customers Sound Business?†

Canning Chronic Complainers a Good Call, but Average Consumer May Get Wrong Message

Advertising Age, July 12, 2007 — Sprint Nextel's decision to "fire" some of its customers may be a good business decision — but could come back to haunt it in the long run.

Consumers Aren't Happy With Your Call Centers†

Study Finds One Out of Five Callers Gives Up; PC Companies Worst Offenders

Advertising Age, June 12, 2007 — When customers call, marketers aren't doing a very good job addressing their concerns. That's the conclusion of a new call-center-satisfaction study, which found one-fifth of callers hang up with unresolved issues. Callers to personal-computer companies were most unhappy, with a satisfaction score of 64 out of a possible 100.

Dell Quells Critics With Web 2.0 Tack†

Social Media Has Turned Customer Service Inside-out for All to See

Advertising Age, June 11, 2007 — Back in the summer of 2005, Dell ignored Jeff Jarvis' complaints about a lemon laptop at its own peril. The blogger's "Dell Hell" rants teed up a mainstream story starring the PC manufacturer as an arrogant giant that became a case study in how one man's website could shred a corporate reputation. Now Dell, working to shrug off that image and right recent business declines, might be on to a different kind of web-based watershed. In mid-February, it launched IdeaStorm, a place for customers to submit suggestions about its products that's become the repository for more than 5,500 recommendations and 24,000 comments.

Climb Aboard The Plane Of The Future

At a skunk works in Seattle, Boeing engineers look to Wal Mart, Disney and Starbucks for ideas.

Forbes, June 4, 2007 — At Boeing's Payload Concepts Center north of Seattle, engineers are studying techniques used by Starbucks , Disney , Cirque du Soleil and Wal-Mart for clues to make flying less of a chore.