November 28, 2014
Micromanaging Your Customers
We are not in kindergarten and do not need little footsies and signs to tell us where to stand, how far apart, and who is up next in the line.
Actually, it's really not all that complicated--we can figure out to lineup in front of the counter and wait our turn civilly.
Micromanaging your customers (or for that matter your employees) is a pretty stupid idea.
Get your own house in order--and do a good job servicing the people that are paying you (or working to make you a success).
How about you take your little feet over behind the counter and get the line moving that much faster and stop making us wait so long to begin with to give you our business.
Happy Black Friday...loosen the reins a little won't you and you'll find a happier customer (and employee) base and make some more money in the process. ;-)
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
November 26, 2014
Goods AND Serices --> AMAZON
Goods AND Serices --> AMAZON
January 8, 2014
Amazing Amazon
They are the best online retailer--love 'em!
SELECTION: Amazon has everything.
PRICE: Amazon is reasonably priced.
SPEED: Amazon Prime gets you your goodies delivered in under 48 hours.
RETURNS: Amazon takes returns easily; virtually no questions asked.
Amazon is so customer focused that you can even email Jeff Bezos, the founder and CEO himself, at Jeff@Amazon.com.
Aside from their highly successful retail operation, they have the Kindle tablets, Amazon Web Services (AWS) for cloud computing, Kiva Robots for warehouse operations, and more.
So what's the secret of their success?
One thing, according to the Wall Street Journal, is their tough hiring practices.
Amazon has "several hundred" interviewers called "Bar Raisers" that give candidates extremely thorough interviews.
Bar Raisers typically have conducted "dozens or hundreds of interviews and gained a reputation for asking tough questions and identifying candidates who go on to become stars."
Typically, it "takes five or six employees at least two hours each" to evaluate and vet an applicant.
Amazon makes all this effort in recruiting to weed out people who are the wrong fit for the company.
They believe that it's better to invest in a sophisticated recruiting process than to make costly hiring mistakes.
While this certainly sounds like a well thought out and vigorous hiring process, the article makes little to no mention of performance measures showing that their hires really are better matches, have superior performance, or stay with the company longer.
The one anecdote given was of a Bar Raiser who found a candidate for a programming job that "didn't know much about the specific programming language."
Barring some real statistics though, either you could conclude that Amazon's hiring process is truly superior or perhaps question why it takes them 5 to 6 interviews to do what other successful companies do in 1 or 2.
Either way though, Amazon is a amazingly great company. ;-)
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
Amazing Amazon
July 26, 2013
Sears Couldn't Sell An Appliance Let Alone A Rolex
The Wall Street Journal (21 July 2013) described how Sears online has started a marketplace where they are now hosting the selling of high-end goods at their low-end department store site.
Sears which normally sells kitchen appliances, tools, and crappy clothing is now trying to market $33,000 Rolex watches and $4,400 Chanel handbags.
Good luck to that after their failed 2005 merger of Sears and Kmart--as if combining two lousy companies make one good one.
Since 2005, the company revenue has steadily declined about 25% from $53 billion to $39.9 billion and they lost $4 billion in 2011-2012. Yeah, that today's Sears!
My own horrible experience with Sears:
I went online to order a range, and Sears botched the order over and over again and kept me holding endlessly throughout the miserable process and at each stage asking for my feedback and apparently doing nothing with it.
Problem #1: It started out pretty simply--I asked for some guidance comparing a couple of models, chose one, and they entered my order. However, when I looked over the order, they had entered the incorrect delivery date--when I wasn't available. So I contacted Sears back to correct the mistake, but they couldn't get their system to reflect the correct date--it would only show the original incorrect date--and this is a multi-billion dollar company? But I shut an eye when a supervisor finally assures me that it will arrive on the correct date.
Problem #2: The next day or so, I get a call from a Sears customer service representative who asks me whether I am the Andy located in XYZ (some G-d forsaken location)--ah, no! Well, they explain that's where they have my order shipping to. They can't explain how that happened, but promise Sears will fix it.
Problem #3: This time, I get a call from the Sear's installation company. They are demanding that they will not come out to do the install unless I pay them a required inspection fee. But I explain that my order from Sear expressly states that shipping and installation are FREE. Sorry, they tell me free is not free, and if I have a problem, here's a number to their national whatever line.
Three strikes, Sears is out--I contact them to review what had happened and to cancel this order. They refuse to cancel it--again, I think to myself this is a multi-billion dollar company? Over and over again this goes on, until finally they agree to cancel the order and refund my money.
All this nonsense literally wasted hours of my time.
Sears is no longer that brilliant mail order catalog of the early 20th century; now they are a dumpster diving junk company trying to sell brand stuff, but they are laggards to the brilliant Amazon and eBay retailers--and soon Sears will be out of business headed to the big retail trash bin of history.
The Rolex watches and Chanel bags are just another Sears circus sideshow. ;-)
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
Sears Couldn't Sell An Appliance Let Alone A Rolex
March 22, 2013
Down In The Dumps
As crazy as these mugs are including their $4 price tag, what adds to this comical scene is that there is the broom leaning up against the stack on the right, which I suppose you would rightfully need if these mugs were accurate.
I am sitting here thinking (briefly--very) about what exactly the social commentary is for these nasty mugs, and I believe that this is about people wanting to let down their (no, not their pants!) facade of perfection and propriety and having to do everything right at work and at home, and just instead for a while being silly, crude, and even (a little) stupid.
It's like the person who says the most inappropriate thing at the most inappropriate time and says, "Did I say that?" And everyone starts laughing as the tension of the moment is swept away.
I think to some extent we all need that...to break the tension of the everyday rat race we live, and to give everyone pause to just say or do something a little silly and for everyone just to laugh it off. And then the real business can go on with everyone knowing that there are real human beings behind those suits and stone faces.
Anyway, this was probably the strangest display in a retail store I have seen, outside of the Village in New York City, but that's another story. ;-)
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
Down In The Dumps
March 2, 2013
Sony, From Hipster to Nerd
Bloomberg BusinessWeek (18-24 February 2013) reports on Sony that "after eight years of losses in the TV business, it projects a $215 million profit this year--only after selling its New York headquarter for $1.1 billion."
LA Times reported last May that Sony announced its largest ever loss for year-end March 31, 2012 of $5.6 billion, nearly double its prior-year loss of $3.2 billion. They also announced layoffs for 10,000 employees.
Sony is reorganizing and shedding businesses (displays, chemicals, etc.) and according to Bloomberg looking to generate 70% of sales and 85% of profit from just 3 remaining businesses--cameras, smartphones/tablets, and gaming.
However, Sony has lost its way...
Maybe it started in the 80's when Sony lost out in VCR (videocassette recorder) format wars with its Betamax to VHS, and it continues today with a lack of innovation in the mobile technology marketplace. Anybody want to buy a Sony Ericsson phone? Ah, no!
Additionally, if you have ever been to a Sony retail store--probably not--they are a truly sad imitation of Apple and virtually nobody is in there. Hello--echo.
Sony is not only losing the technology war, the retail war, and the market share (it has only 4.5% of the phone market according to the Wall Street Journal) and earnings war, but also the branding war and they have just become plain uncool.
Sony's products have names that are unrecognizable, unpronounceable, or just plain alphabet soup.
Do you want to buy a MacBook or a Vaio, iPhone or Xperia, Kindle Fire or PRST, a Sharp Elite or XBR, an Xbox 360 or a PS4?
The answer is obvious to everyone but Sony. ;-)
(Source Graphic: Andy Blumenthal)
Sony, From Hipster to Nerd
December 10, 2012
I'm Looking At You Looking At Me Looking At You
The EyeSee Mannequin has a camera built into its eye that watches you while you shop.
According to Bloomberg BusinessWeek (6 December 2012), the EyeSee Mannequin sells for about $5,130 and it conducts consumer profiling--using technology to identify criminals--it determines your age, gender, and race and tracks your shopping patterns.
Newer versions of EyeSee will likely have a sensor for hearing you as well, so it can "eavesdrop on what shoppers say about the mannequin's attire."
Next to these mannequins, you have to consider who are the real dummies, when everything you do and say can be monitored.
Next time, you're peering at that mannequin, be careful, it may be peering right back at you--and when it says something be ready to jump. ;-)
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
I'm Looking At You Looking At Me Looking At You
June 15, 2011
Apple Store "Heaven"
Apple Store "Heaven"
April 27, 2011
Smartphone Apps For Shopaholics
In the old Ginsu commercials, they used to say "In Japan, the hand can be used like a knife...but this method doesn't work with a tomato."
Smartphone Apps For Shopaholics
April 9, 2010
Apple’s Self-Sufficiency Model
Apple has an amazing self-sufficiency model, where they have only 6 desktop support analysts for 34,000 worldwide employees, 36 helpline agents for 52,000 computers, only 38% of their IT budget is for baseline operations and 62% for innovation, and their IT spend is just .6 of 1%. These are numbers that most CIOs dream of. And of course, that’s only the beginning of the Apple story…
There is no doubt about it Apple is firing on all cylinders. Apple has become a $50 billion a year company building and selling technology products that consumers are salivating for—whether it’s a MacBook, iPhone, or the new iPad—everyone wants one, and I mean one of each!
Apple’s slogan of “Think Different” is certainly true to form. It’s reflected in their incredibly designed products, innovation in everything they do, and the keen ability to view the world from their user’s perspective.
Here are some amazing stats on Apple (heard at the Apple Federal CIO Summit, 8 April 2010):
- Apple as the highest gross revenue per square foot in retail at $6250.
- Apple’s online store is the most visited PC store and is a top 10 retail website
- iTunes has over 125 million user accounts and does 20,000 downloads a minute
- The iPhone 3GS is ranked the #1 smartphone in customer satisfaction by JD Power Associates and has over 150,000 apps
- Apple processes over 1.9 million credit card transactions per day
- Apple’s MobileMe has over a million subscribers
- Apple is ranked #1 in customer satisfaction by Consumer Reports, 10 years in a row.
- Apple is ranked the most innovative company by both Fortune Magazine and Business Week.
Here are some of Apple’s self-proclaimed keys to success:
- Steve Jobs—A leader who makes it all happen
- Innovation—Rethink things; “If nothing existed, what would it make sense to do?”
- Consumerism—Focus on the entire customer experience and make it excellent
- Avoiding complexity—Simplify everything so that it completely intuitive to the users and be good at deciding what you are not going to do.
- Attention to detail—This involves creating an immersive experience for the consumer that permeates the design process.
- “The concept of 1”—Build consistency across products; standardize, simplify, and architect around commonalities.
- Learnability—Users should be able to quickly learn their technology by watching others or by exploring
- People—Smart, motivated employees and a special emphasis on their intern program
While the key factors to Apple’s success are not a recipe that can simply copied, they do offer great insight into their incredible accomplishments.
Next stop for Apple seems to be taking their success in the consumer market and making it work in the enterprise. This will go a long way to addressing users concerns about their technology at home being better than what they use at work.
Apple’s Self-Sufficiency Model