Tag Archive for 'service'

Please remain seated for take out

Published
by
Ehren
on October 5, 2008
in Interests, Mentions, fun and marketing
. 0 Comments

I ran across this clip over at The Animation Show (which by the way guys … when are you going to show up in Toronto already? … I mean … there were showings in Ottawa this summer! You’ve got to drop by Canada’s biggest city at some point.)

Anyways about a week ago I hopped on a Air Canada flight back to Toronto from Vancouver and there happened to be a small kerfuffle surrounding who was sitting near the emergency exit. Apparently there was a man sitting next to the emergency exit who did not speak English very fluently (possibly none at all) and had to be moved to another seat. He seemed to understand enough English (or general hand gestures made towards him) to realize that he was being moved to another seat (and made some attempts at refusing to budge) but I don’t think he liked the fact that he had to move away from the window … not that anyone generally would.

I just found it peculiar because I’ve never come across a situation like that before. I can understand the need to understand English but I also wonder what happens during international flights then? Is a particular language required depending on the flight or is it English?

Maybe the man should have arm wrestled for the seat. It’s all about customer service and expectations — I think if you’re going to move someone from their original spot next to the window, perhaps they deserve something in return for the unexpected change in service. Maybe a free meal or a better seat in first class?

Here’s a hilarious clip from The Life and Times of Tim:

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Brand This!

Published
by
Ehren
on June 12, 2008
in Aspirations, Mentions and marketing
. 1 Comment

Branding. Branding. Branding. Everyone is worried about their brand and their reputation. Does it make a difference? If I made cardboard boxes and they were boring looking — where as my competitor had dynamic-looking boxes, my brand would gradually be identified as the boring one. Can I improve my brand by aggressively pushing it?

Likely not. Let’s look at it another way — if I were lazy (Not that I actually am … but yes I was told many times as I grew up that I was lazy and that I should work harder — it’s one of those things that you get accustomed to growing up in a Chinese Canadian family) and delivered rather work that was merely good enough — i.e. it served its weak purpose. Then that is what people would identify me with regardless of how often I can try and tell them that I am an innovative individual that excels in integrating new technology with evolving business objectives.

Let’s look at it this way, you can’t change your brand unless you change the approach to your product first. I was talking with a co-worker today about how annoying it was to have Rogers Communications suffocating us with their so-called “branding” attempts.

I get to see them on the subway, bus, station ads, tv ads, radio ads, and all the cell phones that are prominently displayed at various store locations. Not only do I have to deal with their constant presence wherever I go, but Torontonians have to deal with the fact that the SkyDome was officially renamed as Rogers Centre after Rogers Communications purchased the building. Can a business get anymore overbearing? Probably … but no matter how often Rogers keeps throwing their name at us, I’m still going to think and feel the same way.

The SkyDome is an integral part of Toronto’s identity so it represents a HUGE opportunity for Rogers to shove its brand in our faces. I think this is a flaw in handling branding. Branding shouldn’t be regarded as a way to inundate your potential customers with the name of your company. Rogers is generally identified by friends and acquaintances as a monopolistic, large communications corporation with plenty of policies but lacking in solid products that deliver true value to customers. Most of their customers are using their services because they have to, not because they want to. See the flaw in thinking? The goal should be to focus on delivering such great a product that customers WANT to use it and would not hesitate to encourage their friends and family to do the same.

SkyDome and CN Tower

The SkyDome (oops I meant Rogers Centre) and CN Tower in Toronto, Canada

Rogers is primarily an example despite I realize that their heavy branding push is meant for consumer attention. Nevertheless for businesses out there that have lengthy discussions on brands and whether it makes an impact on sales — the simple response is: your product defines who you are. If your product is lousy, then your company name is associated with lousy products. If the design on your packaging is lame — then your company is identified as the one with lame packaging. Don’t forget about what your own employees think about your product — they are a real testing ground. All too often employees and their opinions are overlooked. Why? Because we trust focus groups more? Fine — go spend ten thousand dollars for an opinion that you could possibly get by simply asking your employees for feedback.

The case for individuals and each employee works in an almost identical fashion. There are a lot of articles on managing online reputation or personal branding but most of them come to the same conclusion. By no means am I suggesting faking anything — the key is to simply be the best of who you really are.

As Stephen Covey and many others after him (including my old project management instructor) put it … “Begin with the end in mind.”

Who are you? How do you see yourself within the bigger picture?

What and how will you deliver?

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How the Toronto Transit Union Failed their Customers

Published
by
Ehren
on April 26, 2008
in Mentions, Ponderings, marketing and politics
. 4 Comments

How ironic that I would post more about the TTC today — right after my post about subway seating. I was at a friend’s place yesterday and it was pretty amusing to me when our host informed us that the TTC had just declared a strike. It wasn’t the fact that amused me, in fact it was the shock and expressions on everyone’s faces around me that indicated to me how bad of a situation the Toronto Transit Union (ATU Local 113) had put themselves into.

By Jamie (jbcurio)

Davisville Entrance at First Hour of Strike - by jbcurio

Generally speaking, the Toronto Transit Union gets somewhat of a bad reputation right off the bat and work actions/strikes will rarely ever automatically get the support of the public who is the key customer of the service they provide. That all said and done, the Toronto Transit Union (ATU Local 113) doesn’t do much to reach out to their key stakeholder — their actual customers (Torontonians) — here is their website.  (Update:  Erin Balser pointed out that there is a new website albeit limited - WeMoveToronto.ca)

Why does the website look so poorly made (i.e. from the early 90s)? Why is there no blog? And why do I never hear the Toronto Transit Union say something to me — the customer? As soon as you take a look at the website, you will realize it was not meant for the customer or the public — it was meant for union members. Did they not think that the public may want to visit their website and hear what they want to say?

I may not be keen on supporting the Toronto Transit Union or the city for that matter because I find they that they like to play political games by using the public as a pawn, but I sure think that the union is lacking some major communication skills with the public. Let’s take a look at a series of events last night (technically this morning) from my perspective around 12:15am (April 26 2008):

1. Host comes out and tells everyone that the TTC is on strike.

2. People are silent as the shock settles in.

3. Anger replaces shock as they think about getting home or the plans they made for the next few days.

4. Flick on the television and tune into CP24 which confirms that the TTC is on strike.

5. The media continues to broadcast Mayor David Miller’s unedited announcement to the press.

6. The media continues to post or blog ttc strike-related news and encourage commuters and stranded TTC users to call in and tell their story.

Where is the Toronto Transit Union at this time? Sleeping already? Why aren’t they saying anything?

Right — they are going to hold a press conference sometime today.

My point is that by the time they get around to holding a press conference; the city, the public and the media have already thoroughly communicated with one another. This means the average citizen in Toronto and TTC user will have already formulated in their head, how they perceive TTC workers and their union (or at least the latest ‘version’ so to speak). In a world where communication is now almost a constant and instantaneous between an organization and their stakeholders, why isn’t the Toronto Transit Union reaching out and informing their customers with their side of the story?

I find that while the media and the city of Toronto continue to try and simplify the issues so that it is more easily consumable content via newspapers and the internet, I still only have a vague idea as to what the TTC workers want. Inform your customers — it will only help you gain support and at the very least, not make you seem arrogant.

The Kicker

It’s a funny thing about promises and a person’s word (or word of honour). You may not say that you guarantee it — you may not say that you promise it, but if you say that you will do something — you better do it and deliver. Otherwise, don’t say it. Surprise surprise! This applies to organizations as well.

The Toronto Transit Union had originally promised a 48-hour notice before any strike action took place. Granted, the TTC did do that over the past weekend and then declared that there would not be any strike on Monday as they were making progress over some tentative agreement — but fast forward to Friday April 26 2008 — there was no 48-hour notice. In fact, the transit union decided to leave people stranded in the middle of the city at midnight when plenty of people are still out and about. Wow — good job with the public relations (hello karma!).

The Consequences

There won’t be any visible consequence. A strike may happen, the government may interfere and recall them to work, or perhaps there will be an agreement made. People will move on in their daily lives. That said, Torontonians will hold yet another grudge against the Toronto Transit Union and lose respect for TTC workers for holding them hostage yet again. Why else can’t we ever get majority of people to commit to using only public transit (yes I am simplifying — I know there are other reasons)?

Customers don’t care about how a service works — they just want it to work. That said, they will care about the people and organizations who serve them well but as always, communication is key — particularly when it comes to accountability and transparency. Is this how ATU Local 113 (Toronto Transit Union) markets themselves? Probably not.

Some may point out that there are legal issues that can’t be discussed publicly — ok. fine. So? How does that prevent them from communicating properly and being upfront to the public that they serve?

As a final note, let’s take a very brief look at the media coverage thus far on the current strike.

Media Comparison

Globe and Mail - Public comments / Encouraging people to submit videos or photos / Live blogging / Video

The Toronto Star - TTC Strike Watch Blog / Back-to-work legislation / TTC Strike Survival Guide / Video

National Post - TTC Strike Edition / More news about negotiations (with more from Transit Union)

Local Online Media - Transit Toronto / BlogTO

Toronto Transit Commission - Just a website but with an update.

ATU Local 113 - Oh…just this website no updates.  WeMoveToronto.ca has a few updates.

*****

At least the TTC and the city are going public with announcements, but really the Toronto Transit Union should be doing more to communicate as well. All three organizations are part of a larger picture. As I think I’m saying way too often these days — we must keep thinking about our role. A blog just might help … it’d be a good start.

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