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Oct31
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As many of you know, I’m a frequent customer of Starbucks and spend a considerable amount of time with my laptop blogging or doing other writing in Starbucks. So, it’s only right that I start off by highlighting one of their bathrooms...
This particular Starbucks I visited today doesn’t get as much traffic as some of the other ones I frequent, so you’ll notice that it is pretty clean. From a design standpoint I do like that it is a spacious bathroom that can easily accommodate a wheelchair or a stroller for the mommies. I also noted the contemporary-shaped mirror with ambience lighting. No fluorescent lights to make your face look deathly white ;)
There were a couple things that I would have added to this bathroom:
1) A little nook to set my purse on. I had to put my big purse on the floor which gives me the heebie-geebies because it’s already bad enough that I’m a germaphobe!
2) A baby changer. Some Starbucks have baby changers, but this particular one didn’t for some reason. 
On a scale of 1 to 10 I would have to give this bathroom an 8 because it wasn’t really accommodating to women. However, I do have to give them credit for keeping it spic and span clean!
Here are more posts on the Bathroom Blogfest:
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Oct31
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It’s time to announce the inductees for this week’s CustomersAreAlways Incredible Hall of Acclaim! These bloggers go above and beyond the call of duty when it comes to sharing with us their experiences and philosophies about customer service.... Glenn Ross...
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Oct30
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I have somewhat of a phobia when it comes to public restrooms. Maybe it has something to do with this reoccurring dream I have of being in this greasy, grimy public restroom - you know the kind you see in...
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I have to apologize for the late posts today, including the much anticipated Carnivale of Customer Service ;) Today’s Carnivale is pretty light, but doesn’t mean that it can’t be fun! So let’s begin...Service Untitled offers another reminder about customer...
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Oct29
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It’s Sunday and I decided to take a break and do some much-needed reading. This week I’m reading How to Know Higher Worlds by Rudolf Steiner. Although this book doesn’t really have anything to do directly with business or customer...
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Remember awhile back when I blogged about The Power of Nice? Today when I was checking my blog stats and incoming traffic, I was pleasantly surprised to find that The Power of Nice blog has linked to me. I’d like...
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Oct27
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I’ve been thinking about selling my photography through an online service such as iStockphoto, so I did some research and came upon this review on iStockphoto’s customer service.I find it very interesting that an online service such as this cannot...
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Here’s a little modge-podge of things that have been running around in my mind this week...1) Reminder that the Customer Service Carnivale is on Monday! Would love to hear about any good customer service stories you want to share ;) ...
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As a customer who happens to be a woman, I pay special attention to the bathrooms of the businesses I frequent. Being a person who has to go to the bathroom every hour (fluid runs right through me!), I like...
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Not too long ago I talked about Easton Ellsworth’s and Teresa Valdez Klein’s Fortune 500 blog project and just last night I finally got around to signing up and picking a few companies to research. (Sorry I lag, Easton!) So...
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Dave Lorenzo of Career Intensity has a thought-provoking post about being a “Servant Leader”. He offers this advice: Try this for the next week:Find three people who can benefit from your expertise and help them. Expect nothing in return.The true reward...
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Oct25
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Digg is supposed to be the biggest social network website these days, yet when I go to do a search for “customer service” in their World & Business section, nothing shows up. Nada. Zero. Zilch. Why is this? You can...
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This is the question that came to mind today. I stand behind the school of thought that says that customer service is the best way to market your business. Sure, you can spend millions of dollars on those Superbowl commercials...
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I overheard a conversation today while I was in Starbucks... Two women were talking about “what’s important in life“. One woman said, “Money is not important. It’s just a means for you to eat and have a roof over your...
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Mike Sigers of Simplenomics asks, What Do You Know About Your Customers? Mike has come up with his own list of things you need to know and I thought I’d add to the list... Here are a few things I...
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Based on a true story...Customer walks into a restaurant. Customer stands there for five minutes for someone to greet her. Customer walks up to one of the two servers asking to be seated. Customer sits down for five minutes and...
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Oct24
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Just wanted to give a shout out and congrats to one of my favorite bloggers, Stephanie Quilao of Back in Skinny Jeans. She recently became one of Typepad's featured bloggers and she says this about them: “One of the things...
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Today as I was reading Mary Schmidt’s blog, I wandered over to her links and discovered a blog called Fishing For Customers. In this post, Control Over Word-of-Mouth, Chuck McKay talks about how businesses have total control over what people...
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A couple weeks ago I was in my old stomping grounds, Wet Seal (WTSLA), checking out what the new “fashion trends” are. Wet Seal is where I began my retail career in fashion and graduated as an over-worked manager. I...
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If you’ve been a regular visitor to this blog, you may have noticed the little “Incredible Hall of Acclaim” badge below the topic listing in the middle column of this blog. This is a new program that I have to...
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I was reading Fortune Magazine’s November 2006 issue the other day and came across an article titled “The CEO Stats That Matter”. This article features leading companies that have CEO’s who aim to make a difference. What I found interesting...
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Oct23
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I was off to Squidoo today to find some good customer service information when I stumbled on the Customer Service lens of Andy Rankin whereupon I read about Andy’s customer service blog. Andy’s project consists of writing to companies about...
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Ok, I’m a little late on this news - more like a month late! I found via Micro Persuasion that Verizon has plans to launch their own blog. They’ll have people on board 24/7 to address all issues. Hmmm...that will...
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Every customer is different. We all know that not everyone is outgoing and wants to speak up when necessary. If you have a retail store you’ll notice that there are some customers that just walk in quietly - you know...
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Once again it’s the Carnivale of Customer Service! This week’s carnivale consists of a mishmash of posts I’ve come across today. I’ve tried to feature some new blogs I’ve discovered in order to widen my horizons...and yours too! So let’s...
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Oct21
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A post at Your Customers Matter...Don’t They? reminded me of a recent experience at a Barnes & Noble cafe. If you frequent B & N, you know that they serve Starbucks coffee. It’s actually not a “Starbucks” within the store...
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Meikah of Custserv blogged about Skype and how “Skype’s online customers got the best service Skype has to offer”. She asks if any of us is a Skype customer and I have to raise my hand for that question. I’ve...
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Your overall state of mind and well-being affects how you interact with people. And we know that when you’re happy, your customers are happy, right? Here’s the equation: Happy Customer = Happy You + Happy Work Environment That’s why today...
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Oct19
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The big news for the day...drum roll please...AOL lays off 1,400 customer service reps! Workers in Albuquerque, NM, Tucson, AZ and some people in Ogden Utah have received pink slips. Well, this comes as no big surprise to me. All...
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Oct18
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I sometimes talk to people who “hate” their customer service job. When questioned why they continue in their job, their answer is “I have no choice.” Hmmm...no choice? Didn’t you choose to apply for the job you hate so much? ...
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Shout out to Mark Krupinski of On the Fly for linking to me and sharing his passion for WOM (Word-of-Mouth) Marketing. He shares a story about Disney World and the use of “gift” cards - and he discovers that most...
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Remember awhile back when I asked if anybody had customer service horror stories on video to share with ABC’s “20/20“? Well, I found out at Online Spin (via Service Untitled) that the show aired this past week and I missed...
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There is so much technology nowadays - in fact, I think there’s too much going on! I read the news and every day it seems that there’s a new gadget or gizmo on the market. It’s one thing to say...
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Oct17
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Headsets.com did a press release announcing that they were ranked number 342 out of 500 on Inc. Magazine’s annual list of America’s 500 Fastest-Growing Private Companies. The title to the article was:Customer Service Leaders, Headsets.com, Rank No. 342 on the...
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Sara Cantor of The Curious Shopper has a great post about a store in Chicago called Nina. Now, from looking at the pictures I can see that Nina is not just your ordinary yarn store. This store is modern and...
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Oct16
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Think you’re a customer service ace? Here’s a fun little quiz to test your customer service knowledge. For question #4, I thought of my own acronym for CRM: Customers Really Matter. Well, since we’re having fun, I thought up a...
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“Respect for people is respect for people.” Wise words from Dustin Staiger of Casual Fridays (via Phil Gerbyshak). This reminds me of Jet Li’s recent movie, Fearless. (Great movie, by the way - has powerful life lessons!) In the movie...
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Ah, it’s Monday already? You know what that means...Carnivale of Customer Service! I have some great links to share with you today ;)Service Untitled talks about the idea of having daily staff meetings. Douglas says that he’s never worked for...
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Oct15
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Awhile back I talked about how making your customers laugh is part of customer service and relationship building and there are many ways to accomplish this - especially if you’re a natural jokester.
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I’ve never been to Australia, but a co-worker I worked with at Nordstrom visited Australia and came back saying “No Worries” all day long. Pretty soon I caught the “No Worries” bug and the phrase has become part of my...
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Today’s thought, or quote, of the day comes from an article I read at Times Online: The only differentiator left in business today is customer service. Tony Brennan, managing director of Viewpoint, said this. It’s true. Actually customer service is...
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We’ve had a first bout of rain down here in “sunny California” and what a perfect day to hang out in the bookstore and soak up some knowledge... The first book that caught my eye today was The Power of...
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Oct14
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Easton of Business Blogwire needs your help with a corporate blogging project that he started. Being one that follows a few of the corporate blogs - mainly Dell and Southwest - I took a keen interest in the project and...
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I’m all for old-fashioned approaches to the way we do business. That’s why I think Glenn Ross’s post is a good read. As a matter of fact, just the other day I sat down to write a few handwritten greeting...
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I came across this article by Alan Fairweather, author of How To Get More Sales Without Selling... The title of the article caught my eye: “Difficult Customers - Theres No Such Thing” This is what Alan says: “There are actually...
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As I browse through my RSS feed for “customer service”, I come across many articles where the word “sucks” appears in them. Of course, someone is complaining about how customer service “sucks” nowadays or how some company did them wrong. ...
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Mike Sansone of Converstations is spreading the good vibes with a story told by Doug Mitchell at Moments of Clarity. Doug and his family went to watch a movie at the Century Theater in Jordan Creek Town Center in West...
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Oct13
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Mike Wagner has a great post over at Own Your Brand! which talks about a topic that catches my interest....you know, the robots that live amongst us. Hey, I have to admit that I was once a robot too, but...
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Things have taken a turn for Pizza Hut, one of the brands under the Yum Brands Inc. (YUM) conglomerate. According to the Wall Street Journal, the company has stated that it is “obsessed” with improving performance for Pizza Hut. Chairman...
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I was in Michael’s yesterday - on the hunt for some elastic to make stretch bracelets. It has been awhile since I’ve been in Michael’s and was captivated by everything. It’s like being in a candy shop, you know! The...
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Here’s an interesting topic... I came across this post about Muslim taxi drivers at the Minneapolis airport who refuse to take passengers who are carrying alcohol. Being that the majority of drivers at the airport are Muslim, it’s turned into...
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I heard a song yesterday and the words included “making a difference” which inspired this post....Have you ever thought about wanting to make a difference in the lives of others? How about putting a smile on a customer’s face or...
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Oct12
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The “big news” today is that Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) has acquired a privately owned company by the name of Colloquis Inc. According to this press release, Colloquis offers “online business solutions that feature natural language-processing technology.” The article goes on...
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What if the only advertising that existed in this world was word-of-mouth advertising? Take away newspapers, computers, cell phones, and let’s go back to the “olden” days for a minute. Take away all those variables and all you have is...
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Today I’m blogging from Starbucks (SBUX) - but this isn’t your ordinary Starbucks. I’m at the corner of Fifth and “F” Streets in downtown San Diego. It’s a two-story Starbucks that’s humming with energy. Urbanites sit at their laptops doing...
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Thanks to Starbucker at Ramblings From a Glass Half Full for sending his story about a hotel stay in Boulder, Colorado. He said that the stay wasn’t exactly “perfect” because they had to change rooms the first night, but the...
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Does your company have scripts in place when talking to customers? For instance, if a customer says something, you make your employees answer a certain way? Do you make your employees greet the customers using the same old greeting....“Howareyoutoday?” If...
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Oct11
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I guess the customer service bug is catching on! I just read about Home Depot Inc.’s (HD) $350 million vow to improve its stores and customer service. Included in the plan is the addition of more workers, more merchandise, and...
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Oct10
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Wow. It’s been awhile since I came across a great customer service story. The trophies are on my virtual shelf collecting dust! I’ve been cooped up in my little bungalow here in Mexico, so I don’t have a story to...
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Inc.com just published an article about which cities rank best and worst in customer service. The study was done by the Mystery Shopping Providers Association and determined the wait time for banks, restaurants, and retail stores. Baltimore, Maryland came in...
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I think it’s a disservice to my online customers if I direct them to a website that could be financially disastrous.
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According to a sidebar on this article, there are six types of loyalty programs (the source of the information is too small for me to read..sorry!) One of the six types is “Affinity” - meaning you build a lifetime value...
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I was reading this article which states that the money companies are spending on customer service doesn’t seem to be paying off. Is that true? Sometimes it does seem that we’re still eons away from receiving great service, but a...
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Oct 9
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My own experience with Applebee’s has been ok. Just ok. Nothing to write home about.
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In search of a new blog to read, I came across Michael Cage’s Entrepreneur’s Life where a recent post has to do with...yes, customer service. Michael has a great question to ask: Imagine that I am a "perfect customer" for...
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This article states that shoppers are annoyed when manufacturers change the way a product looks. Companies think that going through a makeover will somehow keep the brand image “fresh”, but in this case change does not seem to be for...
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Because it’s a holiday today here in the U.S., I decided to take a break from Carnivale of Customer Service for this week. However, next week is open if anybody would like to host! Let me know by tomorrow, Tuesday,...
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It’s crossed my mind several times with my jewelry business. I know that there is quite a bit of competition nowadays in the handcrafted jewelry market and I’ve often thought about lowering my prices. However, I know better now.
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Oct 8
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#4 is a good one. When I was a real estate agent, I often encountered buyers who told me they wanted one thing, but come to find out what they actually needed was totally different.
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I love to travel and I love to fly. Being in an airport gives me this kind of adrenaline rush that I can’t explain in words. It’s the thrill of going on an adventure - being somewhere in a far-off...
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Mike Wagner of Own Your Brand posted an article by Steve Vaught titled “Do You Invest in Your Buds?” where Steve says: “Organizations invest in a variety of places. Too often they under invest in their people. Big mistake. Even...
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This weekend I had a conversation with an owner of a business who used to work at UCSD in the psychology department. Like me, he had received his degree in psych, but somehow ended up getting into business. We discussed...
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In response to my post about Zappos.com the other day, Tom Vander Well of QAQnA says that creating a culture of customer service doesn’t happen overnight and that "slow and steady wins the race".I also believe that building your customer...
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Oct 5
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Lewis Green of L & G Business Solutions dropped by and left a comment today, so of course I had to check out his website and find out all about him. Not only does Lewis have a great deal of...
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Susan Friedman, author of Meeting & Event Planning For Dummies, offers her ten commandments of great customer service which are certainly great reminders. I know I've covered most of these "commandments" here before, but it doesn't hurt to repeat them...
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I know, this is hard for many of us to do - admit that we are wrong. Our ego stands in the way of letting people know that we made a mistake. We’re all human and we make mistakes. Most...
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Oct 4
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Stephanie explains RSS the “Oprah Way”. Gotta love her creativity ;) After learning about RSS you won’t have an excuse to miss all the customer service tips I have to share! I also hope you’ll subscribe to all the customer service blogs there are out there!
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I worked in a retail environment where most of the time people would complain during the meetings about so and so being late all the time, who wasn’t cleaning the bathroom, and what customers are always returning items.
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Came across this little tidbit at SFGate.com. People sharing their “mind-boggling” bad customer service experiences. Roberta Guise’s story gave me a little chuckle:“While trying to buy a computer at this company's retail store, all we got was "No." "No, we...
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A fellow Know More Media writer, Noelle Wong of ImageAide, shares with us the characteristics of companies that she is loyal to: they provide consistent services or products - no change from the first purchase to the next, unless it...
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I’m trying to familiarize myself with Digg.com (I know, I'm a little out of it!), so I spent some time browsing the website trying to find a good customer service story to tell. However, I came across this story by...
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Oct 3
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According to this article, Texaco in the Cayman Islands has a new program called “Customer First”... "The name "Customer First" is a daily reminder that when we are servicing our customers - they are first. It reminds us that the...
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It’s National Customer Service Week! Although I should be really happy about this - you would think - actually I’m really thinking “Well, shouldn’t it always be National Customer Service Week?” Just like every day should be your birthday? (That’s...
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Glenn Ross’s post inspires me to offer my own example of “going the extra mile”. I’m sure you’ve all had those instances when customers come in looking for a particular item which you didn’t carry. What do you say to...
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There are many things that we can learn from Tony Hsieh, the CEO of Zappos.com . If you don’t know, Zappos is probably one of the biggest online retailers for footwear right now. And the secret to the company’s success? ...
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Oct 2
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Dave Lorenzo of the Sales Intensity blog offers his million dollar secret to making more money as a sales person: You make more deals when you answer the phone directly. Not only is Dave's suggestion great for sales, it’s good...
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I was reading the latest issue of BusinessWeek the other day and came across Jack & Suzy Welch’s column where someone asks:Who is a company for - not legally speaking, but philosophically? Some people say it belongs to the shareholders,...
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Alan (Parenthetical) offers another opportunity to listen to your customers:Make an opportunity to take customer support calls and you'll have another visceral experience. It's a different experience from usability studies. Seeing how your software behaves in the wild is every...
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It seems that this new click-to-call service is starting to catch on in the online business world. For some background on this service, you may want to check out this previous post....I don’t do much shopping online, but when I...
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Hear ye! Hear ye! It’s another edition of Carnivale of Customer Service! This week Converstations is hosting and the theme is “Turning Customer Loyalty to Customer Royalty”For those of you who know me, you know that Starbucks is the company...
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as some of the other ones I frequent, so you’ll notice that it is pretty clean. From a design standpoint I do like that it is a spacious bathroom that can easily accommodate a wheelchair or a stroller for the mommies. I also noted the contemporary-shaped mirror with ambience lighting. No fluorescent lights to make your face look deathly white ;) 
