The best technology of all

Posted by mattpoy on September 17, 2019 Posted in Future of Technology, Future of Work, Ideas, People Tagged Customer Service, Future of work, Future Technology, People, Talent

At an industry event I attended recently, industry stalwart Amy Cardel shared her views on the changes and impact of technology on doing business, but one simple statement has stuck – that the best technology of all is face to face.

Despite the overload of information, the bombardment of news and the almost permanent connectivity, building relationships with other human beings, talking through issues and needs and resolving them together, remain the best partnerships of all. Somewhere in my early blogs I wrote about similar things that the Tupperware company emphasised back in 1953, and the principles remain today. Sitting across a table, reading and reacting to body language, smiling. It isn’t rocket science.

At the same event I had the pleasure of meeting and listening to NBA superstar Shaquille O’Neal – he was inspirational, he was very funny and entertaining, but most of all he was a normal guy with good values. It’s about people, it always is.

Secret Weapon

Posted by mattpoy on July 8, 2019July 8, 2019 Posted in Future of Work, People, People Skills Talent, Skills, Small Business Tagged Customer Service, Future of work, Investment in people, People, Talent

This is a little story about the secret weapon of a specialist independent bookshop in London. It was shared with me by an individual passionate about books and life in general, and that alone means it’s worth relaying – but beneath lies an important statement about our future.

Today where most things are instant and short-term, where we consume online and read on smart devices, what chance has a small book shop against the giant online stores and discounters? There is not a single book in the store that customers cannot buy cheaper elsewhere.

But the store has a secret weapon. Her name is Claire. She works there and she knows most of the books that pass through the front door – her product knowledge, her people skills and service means people go back and buy again, having decided their loyalty means something to the bookshop.

People continue to make a difference, whether an independent bookshop or an enterprise that spans the globe. With automation on the increase, great people stand out more than ever. It’s about people – it always is.

PS. The little photo is the old public library of Cincinnati, with cast-iron book alcoves, spiral staircases several stories high and marble floors. Sadly it was demolished and the stunning building is worth remembering.

Is the future big or small?

Posted by mattpoy on August 9, 2018August 9, 2018 Posted in Future of Technology, Future of Work, Marketing Tagged Customer Service, Future of work, Future Technology, Marketing

We have just returned from a couple of weeks driving along the Californian coastline, one of my favourite holiday spots, where I noticed a change.

When I first started visiting America I remember marvelling at some of the larger department stores such as Bloomingdales, Macy’s and Nordstrom. Today, these stores look like they are stuck in time, and that is if they are there at all. I sensed more boutique businesses, smaller operators and niche products which are of course supported by mammoth online platforms like Amazon that encourage them to thrive.

How much is technology responsible for this and have the large retailers missed the trend change, or have they been hamstrung by huge properties in malls and cannot move fast enough? Online shopping and service has certainly dented any rosy future for them in their current form.

As consumers we are happy to pay for convenience as ordering online has become slicker and quicker and where product choice is unparalleled. Equally no consumer can tell how large or small an online player really is; plus, who cares as long as the product is genuine and delivered on time to our doorstep.

Combine this with the fact that 20% of people have sold something online in the past year (Pew Research), the reduction in free time most people complain of, and the increase in freelance and contract work, and it all points to a new way of living and shopping which we have taken in our stride. It is likely to gather pace, never to return.

Part of me was saddened to see the old stalwarts fading or missing, but it reminded me that we are on a treadmill of tech-led change, and if we stand still we invariably go backwards.

Customer Experience

Posted by mattpoy on March 5, 2018March 5, 2018 Posted in Customer Service, Future of Technology, Ideas, Marketing, Technology, Uncategorized Tagged Customer Service, Engagement, Marketing

When you consider the brands that genuinely stand out, they do so due to customer experience.

Why do people buy from Apple? For the product and design experience.

Why do people so many subscribe to Netflix? The experience of watching quality TV anytime, anywhere.

Why do people go to Selfridges? For the ‘yellow bag’ shopping experience.

How can technology help enhance the experience for your customers?

The ultimate in convenience

Posted by mattpoy on April 5, 2017April 5, 2017 Posted in Customer Service, Future of Technology, Ideas, Marketing Tagged Customer Service, Marketing

I don’t normally talk about one product or brand but this deserves a mention, even though I have learned it’s not that new. Staying at a Westin in Chicago last week, I noticed the room keys had a small advert promoting their Stay Well campaign.

For just $5 you can borrow a complete set of New Balance running gear including training shoes, so you don’t have to pack your own each time you travel – this is very smart. I didn’t take up the offer as I had my gear with me, but in future…

That is real innovation in thinking and also the ultimate in convenience to the customer.

So let’s loop technology into this – it is a great example of how technology needs to be serving us, integrating with and re-imagining business processes, offering customers choice and making it easy for them to purchase from or partner with us.

Plus, if we exercise in the morning and have to hand back the kit before check-out, it leaves that extra little bit of time for email and online activity later in the day…or is that counterproductive? Either way, I am impressed.

Technology and impatience

Posted by mattpoy on August 30, 2016August 30, 2016 Posted in Big Data, Customer Service, Future of Technology, Technology Tagged Customer Service, Data, Engagement, Future Technology, Futurology

We are losing patience with technology and it is putting pressure on companies to provide services at record speeds, yet it seems as though it is never enough.

I always felt one of the greatest wonders of technological change was how organisations put services into the hands of the customer and we marvelled at this as great service – for example, checking ourselves in for a flight and printing our own boarding passes. They made us do the work and we thanked them for it.

I use a 10-second video to make my case of a young girl less than a year old who is given a copy of a magazine to keep her occupied. Within moments she is swiping the magazine because she thinks it operates like an iPad and when the magazine shows no sign of responding, the girl is crawling away having lost interest.

Today, the tables are turning on technology and we are becoming ever more unsatisfied – I thought technology was supposed to be the next utility but when Wifi was down for a while at the house this weekend it caused much consternation and one of kids declared they “couldn’t function.” When networks are down, we criticise the technology, when a store runs out of a product, we complain that they haven’t mastered big data and when online banking is not available we ask why they couldn’t update their systems when we are asleep.

I have seen “internet”, “wifi” and “phone battery” all added to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and it isn’t always in jest. It is one thing technology progressing leaps and bounds to give us new ways of working and shopping and learning – but can it match our ever-increasing standards?

Technology 1-0 Humans

Posted by mattpoy on June 24, 2012 Posted in Customer Service, Future of Technology, Technology Tagged Customer Service, Future Technology, Futurology

In the spirit of the European Championships, my headline represents a football scoreline. Yes, technology has edged ahead in the customer service stakes. Here are two examples.

As my picture shows, the Heathrow car park-to-terminal electric pod is in full swing. It is wonderful. Park your car, go to pod A or B and follow the simplest of instructions to transport yourself to the terminal in exactly 5 minutes. No waiting for buses or queues and every detail has been accounted for in the interaction with the passenger.

On the return journey from my trip, at the terminal in Dubai in the middle of the night, I approached a very quiet Emirates check-in area with no other people around. I checked myself in, printed my boarding card then my luggage tag, weighed my bag, saw it shuffle back and forth as its weight was verified, and finally watched it disappear down the conveyor belt. I marvelled at how easy this was. In fact, I came home and shared how excellent the customer service experience was and yet there was not a human being in sight. I even created a slide for my presentation around this story. This is technology at its best and the place we are heading.

Was I pleased with my experiences because there were no other people around? I don’t think so. I was satisfied because they were easy, I didn’t have to wait and there was no negotiation involved. In a world where there is too much to absorb in too little time, this is what we look for in our daily interactions. What does this mean for us humans? We really have to find other ways to add value.

It’s down to the people again

Posted by mattpoy on July 29, 2011 Posted in Customer Service, People, People Skills Talent, Uncategorized Tagged Customer Service, Investment in people, People, Service and Support

I was closely watching the exchange in the US over the debt issues and President Obama supported the Gang of Six plan to reduce trillions of debt over 10 years. In a news debate on TV, the panelists claimed it was led by somebody with whom the President had a close relationship over the years. No surprise.

Now apply this to technology and to every walk of life. Despite the new platforms and tools now at our disposal, doesn’t business still get done when people make a connection with each other and find a situation that benefits both parties? Hasn’t it always been the case, and will it not always be that way? I think so.

I do enjoy the US – such good service and huge choice of everything you care to buy. Little wonder that so much innovation stems from there. It seems to have this knack of combining ideas and people to create some of the most innovative and forward thinking applications of technology.

Look at the image above. In a Brookstone store, I found this cushion; it was a remote control embedded within the softest material. Tacky in some respects, ingenious in others, but it sells! The US has such a willingness to try things, to embrace failure as a step in the right direction; as one leading author claimed, “By failing in a project or task, that is one less mistake that can’t happen next time.”

I enjoyed being a part of the Service 800 event where the theme was excelling in customer service. I had a chance to present to the group and engaged in some interesting conversations with individuals from 3M, GE Healthcare, Lexmark, Siemens and others, as well as some quite brilliant personalities from CompuCom. Some of these great people were kind enough to share a testimonial for me (see the tab above). Europe can benefit so much by watching and learning from these service experts.

Dubai experience

Posted by mattpoy on February 18, 2011 Posted in Customer Service, Future of Technology, People, People Skills Talent, Technology Tagged Customer Service, Future Technology, People, Talent

Spent most of this week in Dubai, working with a new reseller partner to help grow the region. Only two blog posts ago, I talked about companies’ ‘secret weapons’ and this team is impressive. They surrounded us with a circle of dynamic and motivated individuals who are chomping at the bit to make a difference. I sense this partnership will do well, they are keen to succeed. I also had the most pleasant check-in experience via Emirates Airlines. I checked-in myself, printed my own luggage tag and boarding card, all at a kiosk and weigh-in counter utilising the latest technology – quick, effortless and impressive. We can all learn from this experience – I felt it was the best customer service, I had to do it all myself, yet it was more satisfying when it worked.