August 30th, 2010
Posted in Communication, Project Management by Chris Krasovich
Sometimes it feels like customer service has gone the way of chivalry, doesn’t it? When’s the last time someone at the checkout stand or in the drive through actually cared enough to make your experience pleasant, much less took responsibility if your experience wasn’t??
As irritating as the lack of good customer service may be, it’s also a reminder that those of us in the client services sector are, in essence, providing customer service as well. That means we need to work to be responsive, accountable, cheerful, and more, and it also means that when we screw up, we need to know how to deliver an authentic message do assure the injured party that we are aware of our mistake and will work to fix it, however that may be.
And to that point, I thought I’d share what I feel the critical steps are in making an elegant, genuine apology. Feel free to apply as needed in both personal and professional interactions. If the steps outlined don’t go far enough, maybe you should consider learning the Japanese art of ceremonial bowing to up the ante.
1) Describe the situation.
2) Acknowledge the damage done and take responsibility for your part in the situation.
3) Express your regret.
4) Reassure the injured that the situation won’t be repeated and (in the best case) indicate what steps you’ve taken to ensure that.
5) Offer some form of restitution whenever possible.
6) Request forgiveness.
July 26th, 2010
Posted in Communication by Jay Sanders
Got a good idea? Give it away.
That sounds like a weird thing to say. Especially if your livelihood depends on the quality of the ideas you come up with. Stashing them away to be strategically deployed at “ah-ha” moments when you can be the hero seems a much more profitable course, yes?
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July 13th, 2010
Posted in Communication by Sean Donnelly
Image courtesy of www.useit.com.
No, it’s not a modern reworking of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Scarlet Letter. Nor is it the lasting image from my 10th grade geometry final. Rather, it’s a symbol of how the Internet has transformed the way we think.
In recent years, usability experts have examined how we process web content. One of their tests involves eyetracking, or the tracing of the movement of the eye across a web page. From these tests, researchers can develop “heatmaps” that illustrate how much users looked at different parts of the page, with the color red indicating the most viewed areas. The heatmaps reveal that generally we read web content in an F-shaped pattern, taking in the first couple of lines of text then scanning down the left side of the page.
Recognizing this trend, content providers need to adjust their writing to accommodate our online reading habits. Keep copy concise. Front-load it with the most useful information. Provide a clear call-to-action. These measures will give your message a better chance of reaching its audience. [At this point, I should probably follow my own advice and rewrite this post ... nah!]
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June 3rd, 2010
Posted in Communication, Inspiration, Social Media by Jay Sanders
Often as a society we decide something is too important to be left to professionals. Think punk rock. YouTube videos. And, yes, blogs — that wonderful web invention that allows everyone, including you and me, to become published writers.
Great. Now I’m a writer. How do I start?
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