The Customer Service and Social Networking Blog | anthonybarthel | Anthony Barthel

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Thu, 06 Oct 2011 07:03:32 -0700

This isn’t another Steve Jobs tribute post. The man was great, and the world is showing that. This is, rather, a reflection on why, in my opinion, Mac people are so rabid about their products. It’s a reason Steve Jobs knew all so well, and worked to achieve every day. It’s also a spectacular lesson for small and mld-size businesses out there, something we can all strive to achieve.

Simply put, if you look at Macintosh users as customers, (which they are) then the product Apple creates is the customer service within the equation. Yes, there’s customer service at the Apple stores, or online at apple.com, but that’s (usually) a one-time thing. For the majority of us, customer service truly begins the first time we press that button and hear the beautiful C Major chord. It simply works. (And I’m not going to get into a semantics argument that it’s user interface or similar. Fact is, the product works to serve the customer the way they want it, thus, the customer service of Apple becomes the machine itself, whether it be an iPhone or a Macbook Air or an iPad.)

Today It Hit Me - Buy American

Sat, 28 Aug 2010 21:36:08 -0700

I never realized the huge consequences of our buying so much of everything from overseas manufacturers until a few things happened within a week. I call this the week I found out imports were bad.

Now I'm no idiot. I've known for a while that it's bad that we no longer have a manufacturing base in the USA. But the greater and truly wide-spread consequences of why imports are bad didn't hit me this hard until this week. Two things happened this week that really drove the point home. I bought a vending machine company and I was at a wedding.

First the vending machine company. The previous owner has been showing me the routes for the company so I can make sure my customers' machines are filled with candy and other treats to enjoy on their break time. Most of these machines are placed in employee break rooms. But at a number of places, the previous owner of the vending company told me that "this used to be a great customer, but they've had to cut back."

For example, one of my customers manufactures low-flow toilets. They have two large buildings that used to employ hundreds of people working three shifts a day. Now only a few work in the main building and two work in the back building. Why? A Chinese competitor paying slave wages to people who are willing to accept crappy working conditions and a nation (theirs) that is willing to allow companies to pollute its air and waters for the sake of cheaper toilets has taken away jobs of your friends and neighbors. Those guys overseas have no regard for others' intellectual property rights and will sacrifice the health and safety of their fellow countrymen for something cheaper.

Whom Does Your Website Speak To?

Mon, 09 Aug 2010 07:14:07 -0700

While I write all my own content for this blog, I get inspiration from a variety of sources. Today I'm simply going to cut and paste from Margie Hanson of Today's Way, a very effective coach on the Internet and also a very cool lady. She sends out a regular e-mail and this was what was in today's e-mail. You might also consider contacting her for web services.

From Margie Hanson at Today's Way:

Decided to talk about this as my own website needs some updating! I have added to my services and no longer offer some of the items seen on my site ~ so it happens to us all!

All that said, August is a great month to review your website and get it ready for the coming year. Here is a guide to use that allows you to test how well your are communicating via your website. Go through the following questions with a fresh mind and then compare your answers to what you see on your website. You'll know what your next step is then!

Here we go ..

• Define Your Voice

• Know who you are speaking to.

Gift Giving Done Wrong

Sat, 31 Jul 2010 16:00:01 -0700

The art of gift giving is really an incredible thing. Gift giving goes back for centuries as a way to just tell people that you appreciate or love them. A gift with no strings attached is incredible and shows others how much you care.

Recently a couple made a special trip up here to offer me a gift that, in my opinion, was a total insult on so many levels. It was a CD by a friend of mine. Now I know my friend has a new CD out and I've been meaning to go buy a box of them so I can sell them in our gift shop here at the Featherbed Railroad. So why was I insulted? It was a pirated copy.

Stealing music is wrong, period. I don't care how easy it is, that "everybody does it," or that it's rampant. It's wrong. It steals from a number of people and, in this case, it steals from someone I know who is not getting rich on CD sales. He's just a cool local guy with a lot of talent and three CDs. We sell two of these, we will sell this third one when I can get down to see him.

It's $10 to buy one of his CDs, which supports his talent and efforts. It's the equivalent of four overpriced coffees at that big coffee chain. Yet it rewards his talents and efforts. This is true if you support that band that's your favorite or the local guy down the street. $10 isn't much to ask, so when you steal out of an artist's pocket, it's a slap in the face to that artist

Social media revolution: are you in?

Wed, 09 Jun 2010 07:40:29 -0700

Recently someone posted a link to this video and asked if we thought social media (Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, etc.) was a fad? The correct answer? Who cares? It's a reality of today's marketing and, as such, needs to be a factor in your plans. If it's not, you are missing one of the biggest boats that has ever sailed. If your sales are down and you're not participating in social marketing, now's the time to do so.

Community Spirit

Tue, 08 Jun 2010 05:40:44 -0700

Clearlake, California is a city that has a little bit of Rodney Dangerfield syndrome. While it's one of several cities on the shores of Clear Lake, this little city of some 16,000 people has a rather poor reputation. Even among the locals, it's looked down upon and that's by people who live in cities that are often looked down upon by those in areas like San Francisco, Santa Rosa and Sacramento.

But it's time to reevaluate good ol' Clearlake because it would appear that there's a bit of pride stirring in their blood and it's starting to rub off on the city itself. This past Saturday a group of local citizens got together with supplies donated by the local hardware store and repainted a building that is owned by the impoverished city government. The city's plans were to raze the building, which is occupied by a hair salon at present, but financial woes actually prevented that from happening so the building became an eyesore.

Why the local government is competing with private business is another matter and not relevant to this blog, which is about customer service and social networking. Back to community pride.

Follow The Money

Mon, 24 May 2010 07:58:24 -0700

One of the most famous quotes is credited to bank robber Willie Sutton who, when asked why he robbed banks, answered, "Because that's where the money is."

Arguably, you're in business because that's where the money is. Yes, you've got that passion for your product or service and you like dealing with the public and the game of the hunt is also something that's exciting - "finding" new customers is a thrill, after all. But where do you find 'em?

Of course you know I'm going to say "On the Internet." That was obvious. But what may not be obvious is where they are, unless you do something I did just this morning.

Google and others provide tremendous information about what people are searching for. Arguably, they do this so that dorks like me can see what people are asking for and deliver that. The more accurate Google's searches are, after all, the more you're going to like their service and use it. The more you use Google's service, the more eyeballs see their ads and the more money they make. That's how Google works, which is essentially exactly how your site works. The more eyeballs see your site, the more money you could make because your terrific web site lets prospects know about your fantastic operation.

A Good Web Site

Thu, 20 May 2010 08:47:14 -0700

I recently was contacted by someone asking me to do their web site. They provide a high-quality service and have for some time. But they were lamenting the fact that giving their guests an excellent experience didn't seem to account for as much as it used to. This is due to Facebook and the Internet, in my opinion.

Today we are constantly being bombarded by people on Facebook commenting on this and that and updating what kind of grapefruit they ate at breakfast or whether they should buy single-ply or two-ply bathroom paper. But they're also updating us on where they went on vacation while they're still on vacation, making us want to emulate that experience.

I firmly believe a human can only take so much mental input at any given time. If your friends went to Hawaii and are constantly hitting you with pictures and stories about how wonderful it is while they're still there, you're going to want to go there.

So the fact that my prospective customer is only on the web with a static web site isn't good enough any longer. Now they're going to have to update their site with something relevant. A blog works, as does a free account on Facebook. Heck, we just set-up an account called Featherbed Guest where our guests can leave comments on Facebook right from the confuser in the dining room. We’ve also set-up a Facebook account for Oktoberfest (happening October 2) and have generated quite a bit of activity even though it’s months away.

Give Them Gas

Sat, 15 May 2010 10:38:20 -0700

The guests at the Featherbed Railroad are some of the coolest people in the world. We get folks from all over and they bring some great stories, including stories about fantastic customer service.

One of these guests told me about his annual fishing trip. Now this trip takes some doing. You drive 1800 miles to a lake. Launch your boat, cross the lake and get to the other shore. At the other shore, you put your boat on the campsite's trailer where a quad takes you and your boat over a hill to your final lake destination.

At that destination is a camp ground where you can stay for a week for $20 and a store that sells supplies.

Normally you would buy all your provisions for such a trip at the WalMart so that you don't get ripped off when you get there, which is what he did the first year. He soon learned that the prices at this very remote store were really low, so now he just brings his boat, his tent and a credit card. The rest of the supplies he gets at the store and he doesn't have to trek them in.

Somebody Help The Gearheads - Social Media Works

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 21:05:42 -0700

This past weekend I went to a steam engine festival. I love this festival because of all the cacophony of machinery, smells and people. It's terrific. Unfortunately, I don't think many people agree with me based on this year's attendance. But maybe it's not the festival itself.

The festival and the entire organization are run by a bunch of "old gearheads." These are my favorite people because I can sit and chat for hours about all sorts of machinery and such and they can show me all manner of fun things about said machinery. Hooray for old gearheads, I'm getting closer to being one of them every day.

Unfortunately for these guys, the world is presently run by young nerds. Disagree? How about over 300,000,000 Facebook users? How about Google slowly replacing things like libraries, yellow pages and even newspapers in our lives. Having an iPhone trumps having anything else in the palm of your hand except the palm of your sweetie's hand.

But it's not that we're more interested in this digital stuff than the old gearhead stuff. No. The problem is that we're just inundated by it. Party invitations come electronically now, not in the local newspaper. You don't necessarily plan your weekend by what's in the community calendar, you've been pressed for this and that cool event by a combination of Facebook posts, Tweets and e-mails. And these old guys have none of those things. So we forget that they're there.

I Was Amazed

Wed, 09 Sep 2009 10:24:01 -0700

Today I did something that I do rather frequently - I mis-dialed the telephone. I'm sure everybody in the world has done that once or twice. Instead of calling the local event planner, as I had planned, I reached JT Auto Glass.

The lady who answered the phone spoke clearly and understandably but I still asked her who I had reached as I was expecting to get the event planner. When I informed her that I had mis-dialed, she offered to look up the correct number for me. I couldn't believe it. What? She was going to go out of her way to help a total stranger who had simply dialed one digit incorrectly?

This is the kind of service that you expect from some mythical company on an old time television program, but not an automotive glass company. What had happened - did I call a television commercial? Holy smokes, this blew me away so much I wrote this whole blog about it.

So, the company I had reached was JT Auto Glass. Next time I have a glass issue I'm going to call them. In fact, I might just call them next time I have a wrong number. This totally impressed the heck out of me.

Lake County Travelogue Video

Wed, 26 Aug 2009 20:02:10 -0700

Thought you all might like this video I shot, edited and compiled for Lake County. The video is going to be used in the State Fair booth and also at the local County Fair booth. I'm kinda proud of it - whatchu think?

Fix The Light Bulbs

Fri, 05 Jun 2009 18:14:30 -0700

Many of my rants are going to be about things that small businesses can do to gain more market share and also keep customers coming back. That's something I'm passionate about. This is a blog post about light bulbs.

What the heck is so important about light bulbs? Simple.

Have you ever been in a business where a noticeable number of light bulbs are burned out? Makes the business look terrible in my opinion.

I've heard that Disneyland calculates the life expectancy of the light bulbs at the park and then replaces them when there is about 20 percent of the estimated life still in them. That's smart. You don't walk down Main Street USA and see a bunch of bulbs burned out.

If Disneyland keeps things well illuminated, small businesses should, too. To walk into a business and see the lights burned out makes me think they don't care about other areas of the business. How clean are the restrooms? How good is the inventory?

I went into a restaurant and they had about half the bulbs out in their ceiling fans. I asked them about this, and they said that it was too bright and hot in their establishment when all the bulbs were on. So, my next question to them was why they don't just buy lower voltage bulbs? Seems logical, right?

Customer Service - Where It's Not

Fri, 05 Jun 2009 16:51:02 -0700

This little rant is about customer service, how to and how not to.

Today I had to go to our local town to get a few things in advance of Wild West Days. Wild West Days is a lot of fun and is celebrated in an old western town with covered sidewalks and the like. It's neat. All I needed was a pen on a leash, that's it.

I went to the local office supply store where I rarely find anything I want in search of this pen on a leash. You know, like the pens they have in banks. I'd steal one of those, but they're on a leash. While I was at the office supply store wandering the aisles, a couple of gents walked in and, after finally distracting the clerk from her computer, asked if they did business cards.

She immediately turned around and rummaged through a card file, taking quite a bit of time. Finally she told the gentlemen about a business card order that's been pending since January. This is June, that's six months. Yikes. She wrote down the name and number of a good provider in the area and sent them on their merry way.

Come Sit On My Facebook

Thu, 04 Jun 2009 16:59:41 -0700

I've found that everybody and their brother has a stupid Facebook account. Here's a shocker, so do I.

So, if you'd like to sit on my Facebook, er, join me, you can click here. I understand that you've got a life and all that but you can read even more off-color comments and stupid pictures of stuff.

Along the same lines, you can get real updates about stuff in the automotive world by following me on Twitter. Sure, it's another big waste of time, but why not?

Then there are all the valuable things I post on Curbside. Have you been there recently? I continually add content and our hit counts continue to rise. That's a good thing.

Got A New Review Posted

Mon, 23 Mar 2009 22:14:12 -0700

Just posted a review of the 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution - what a fun car! You can read the review on the Curbside. While it's the stuff video games are made of, it's also...wait, don't read the summary - read the review!

By the way Ginger's feeling even better still and is now spending more time planning her next escape. While I'm not giving her a lot of credit, I do hope that the car situation taught her a lesson. We shall see.

Hardly A Hobble Left

Sat, 21 Mar 2009 16:19:31 -0700

Ginger must be feeling better because she took the insurance papers that my uncle Mike sent me and shredded them all over the living room. What a bad dog. This type of behavior is usually a sign that she's bored and is looking for something to do. Well, that or she's somehow not happy about the insurance situation in the United States, maybe I don't give her enough credit. Dogs tend not to care about national issues, so I'm going to go with the former option, that she was bored.

I had planned to give her a heck of a steak dinner tonight (left over steak fat) and now I'm not so sure. Since the "dog healer" stopped by yesterday she seems full of piss and vinegar.

I let her out front for a while tonight but this time she was on a very long leash!

Of course Zora got to run and run and it's so fun to watch Zora run. I think Zora must be part speeding bullet, like the kind that Superman is faster than, but he wouldn't be much faster than she is!

Ginger's Better

Thu, 19 Mar 2009 19:40:20 -0700

Gingee Ginge is doing about the same today. She mostly spends her day crashed out on our bed, in her recliner (don't all dogs need a recliner?) and, today, out in the sun on an absolutely beautiful day.

The weather was positively perfect today so Ginger took advantage of it by sunning herself on the back porch. She even got a bit curious about the work I did in the herb garden and came to sniff around.

Of course she was very excited when I cut up a beautiful Maple Farm ham because she knows that I'll always share with my girls. Man, that's some good ham.

Anyhow, she's doing okay today but still has a bit of a limp when she hobbles around.

Ginger Updates

Wed, 18 Mar 2009 21:22:34 -0700

Our dog, Ginger, was hit by a car last night. We had a big St. Patrick's Day shindig at our Bed & Breakfast with over 100 guests in attendance and Ginger got out after everybody left for home.

After a while she wandered off in her typical fashion, but then she came back some time later limping and with blood on her here and there. She lay down on the floor and didn't want to get up, making awful moaning noises. I thought she had been in a fight with some weird animal like a raccoon.

After a while two women drove up and said they had seen her get hit by a car! The police were there and everything, but then she got away (typical Ginger!) and found her way back to her daddy 'cause she knew I'd take care of her.

A friend of our, Joey Luiz from Shannon Ridge Winery, was here and knew a thing or two about animals. He suggesting covering her to keep her warm and then calling the vet. We did both.

The vet gave her a thorough going over, proclaiming that nothing had been broken but that she probably had some injured ligaments. She gave her some doggie tranquilizer and sent her back home with us.

Thanksgiving Coffee Company

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 15:34:34 -0800

Yesterday we spent the morning with Paul Katzeff of the Thanksgiving Coffee Company in Fort Bragg. The folks at Thanksgiving's motto is "Not Just A Cup of Coffee, but a Just Cup of Coffee." They see coffee as a medium for doing good and have done very well.

After three hours of touring their plant and tasting all sorts of wonderful coffees, we've decided on a specific blend for the Featherbed Railroad (our Bed & Breakfast) and will soon be taking delivery on our special brew.

In addition, we're also going to switch our coffee brewing methods to French presses instead of the typical drip method. French pressing gives the coffee a much better flavor and is also a unique experience for the guests.

I'm hoping folks like this new method of brewing their own coffee and can learn some of the special things that went into the beans getting to their table. All our coffee will be Fair Trade and sustainably grown. In addition, it will be organic, of course.