Starbucks blocks electrical outlets in its cafes – What?
As you may have heard from the media, some Starbucks stores are blocking electrical outlets. Since I have been involved with the company and written The Starbucks Experience, I am often asked about decisions that affect Starbucks customers. For today’s blog, I thought I would share my response to a recent inquiry concerning the “outlet…
What’s your favorite breakfast cereal?
I’ve watched Zappos twitter posters and Zappos bloggers effectively deploy questions like that one to engage their social media tribe. I was speaking at an event in Las Vegas today and heard a panelist offer one of the best distinctions between the lead generating benefits of a web page and the relationship building benefits of…
Wounded but Alive – Surviving Zappos Fun Experiences
I was at Zappos HQ today delivering an advance copy of The Zappos Experience book to Tony Hsieh and colleagues (the book will hit bookstores by Oct 15th). Honestly, I was minding my own business when I became a casualty of an errant foam dart flying across the Zappos Insights work area. You have to…
Give Them the Water
I was satisfied by my old dry cleaner but circumstances prompted a change, so I was in the market for a new one. I stopped at several local businesses but most did not accept my preferred form of payment. Finally, a dry cleaner that accepts American Express — but how will the rest of the…
Experience in an Environment of Fear
Since 2001, I have travelled many times on September 11th. This weekend, however, my travel felt different. From my origin location Denver International Airport through my connections and ultimate destination, travelers appeared anxious and/or apprehensive. In fact, each time we touched down the passenger cabin’s erupted into applause. It seemed as though people had a…
Who’s in Charge? The Customer or You
I see it all too often but today the confrontation was epic! Let me set the stage in my best boxing ring announcer voice…. “In the red corner, a loud, brash, entitled customer and in the blue corner a poorly selected and ill-trained staff…..” Cesar Ritz, the founder of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, iscredited with…
Zappos – Workplace Culture Not Perks
This week Zappos soared to #6 on the Fortune Best Companies to Work For 2011 list! Just one more case example of the empirically demonstrated correlation between happy employees and happy customers. But here is something that might be missed, in 2009 (Zappos’ 10th year in business) the company debuted on the Fortune list in…
Starbucks Trenta – Can your experience get “too big?”
I knew “Trenta” was coming but I continue to be amazed at the media storm and second guessing Starbucks receives. In case you missed it, Starbucks launched their new 31oz drink size option (named Trenta) in 14 states this week including Virginia, Georgia, Florida, Texas, Hawaii and Arizona and will add California to the Trenta…
Building the road with hope and positivity
Half full or Half Empty? A new Gallup poll suggests optimists outnumber pessimists 2 to 1 – at least when it comes to expectations for the US economy in 2011. Given that data, I have a series of questions for you and your company: Do you share optimism for 2011? If so, how are you…
AT&T vs Verizon – A seriously improved customer experience?
Much will be written about the battle of the titans – AT&T vs. Verizon! Thanks, of course, to AT&T’s lost monopoly on the Iphone. AT&T will argue they have a “faster” customer experience and Verizon will suggest they are more “reliable.” In the end, prices should come down on Iphone data plans and features…
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