David V. Lorenzo's Blog is now: www.careerintensity.com/blog

TypePad Service Issues

Thank you to those of you who have e-mailed me about the trackback problem.  I am doing everything possible to correct the issue.  Here is a transcript of the help ticket. 

Those of you who use TypePad should follow this saga closely.  This could be you.

View/Edit Support Ticket: 085605

Support Ticket Details:

Subject: Trackbacks

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Ticket Transcript:

On Oct 19, 2005 6:31:10 AM, you (David) said:

For some reason my trackbacks are not appearing on other sites. This has happened over the course of the past week. Every trackback I send has not appeared. I an not doing anything differently than I have done in the past.

On Oct 19, 2005 3:21:31 PM, TypePad Customer Support said:

Hi David,

Can you give us some example URLs that you're sending TrackBacks to? If you go to a Post you've sent a TrackBack from, is the URL still listed in the "Send a TrackBack to these addresses" field? Or do you see the URLs listed if you check the "View Previously Sent TrackBacks" link? When you saved the Post originally, did it go to the "Sending TrackBacks to URLs..." page?

We need specific detail about what's happening so we can trouble shoot the problem. Please provide any info you think is relevant.

Thanks,

Colleen

On Oct 19, 2005 7:35:02 PM, you (David) said:

Some URLs are:

http://www.typepad.com/t/trackback/3398826

http://www.typepad.com/t/trackback/3402603

http://www.typepad.com/t/trackback/3404958

The URLs are still in the posts.

On Oct 20, 2005 12:25:28 PM, TypePad Customer Support said:

Hi David,

Thanks for providing that information. Is it only TypePad sites you can't send TrackBacks to and TrackBacks work whenever you send to other sites? Or are you only sending TrackBacks to TypePad sites?

If you do a test and send a TrackBack to a post on your own weblog, does it go through?

Thanks,

Laura

On Oct 20, 2005 12:40:53 PM, you (David) said:

It appears to be just typepad sites. I just tried a test trackback to my own weblog and it did not go through.

On Oct 20, 2005 8:04:25 PM, you (David) said:

Readers are also telling me that they can leave trackbacks on my site.

Please be more attentive to this issue. One response per day is not acceptable!

On Oct 21, 2005 3:55:01 PM, TypePad Customer Support said:

Hi David,

Thank you for your note. We receive a large number of support requests each day and respond to them in the order they come in. We may be delayed in getting back to a particular subscriber if there are a lot of other requests ahead of it in the queue.

Could you clarify your most recent statement. You said "Readers are also telling me that they can leave trackbacks on my site". Do you mean that they can or that they CAN'T?

If they are unable to send TrackBacks, what service are they using to send the TrackBacks? Do they receive any error messages?

This information will help us to determine the cause of the problem, so we greatly appreciate your help in getting as many details as possible.

Would you also be willing to let us send some test TrackBacks to your weblog?

Thanks,

Laura

On Oct 21, 2005 4:39:01 PM, you (David) said:

Laura,

Your reasoning for the delay in responding to my request is indicative of the level of service I have received. Essentially, you are telling me that because your service is poor; your service will continue to be poor. I’m sure that the typepad customers will be thrilled to hear that.

As far as my problem with trackbacks, here are some details:

I cannot leave trackbacks on other typepad weblogs. I have tried and tried and the system will not post my information. I can leave trackbacks on all other weblogs.

No one – regardless of the weblog hosting system they subscribe to – can leave a trackback on my blog. People from all the other systems have been e-mailing me to let me know that this issue is occurring.

You may attempt to post as many trackbacks as necessary in order for you to resolve this issue.

May I please have a phone number where I can speak with a manager? I am becoming frustrated by this process.

Thank you,

Dave Lorenzo

Starbucks Tribal Knowledge Part 5 - Blow up the Org Chart

This is Part Five of John Moore’s series on what we can all learn from Starbucks.

The customer is all that matters.  Put everybody as close as possible to the customer.

Here is the picture from Brand Autopsy.

Say What’s On Everybody Else’s Mind

How do you handle a tense customer situation?  Address it head on. The Big Picture has a great example of this. Barry was on Jet Blue flight 229 from Burbank to JFK the day after the scary landing gear accident. Here’s his story:

“As you would imagine, the cabin was a bit tense. The co-pilot comes out of the cockpit before takeoff and announces, "the captain has personally inspected the landing gear of this aircraft, and he says these are the finest looking set of wheels he has ever seen on any aircraft."

Everybody relaxes. It was an uneventful trip."

Addressing the issue head on is the way to maintain your credibility with your customers and make everyone feel better about your brand.

Forget the Penny – Greed Won’t Allow It

Seth has a post about the “odd penny” that occurs occasionally when we purchase something and the tax makes it work out to $X.01.  Seth proposes that the company just mark the item up a few cents and say “forget the nickel”. 

This is a case of theory not matching reality.  In theory, Seth’s idea is great.  It’s great for all the reasons he has taught us.  The problem will occur when someone at corporate realizes that the company could be taking home four more cents on each sale.  The mandate will come down to collect all the nickels and pennies – because the customer is not price resistant.

That’s just reality.

Your Sign and Your Customers

The other day I went into a local candy store to pick up a couple of cigars (as a celebration for a family event – I don’t advocate smoking).  I looked through the glass case and found the cigar I wanted and I saw a big sign that read:

“Do not open cigar case!  Ask the staff for assistance.  This means you!”

This sign turned me off.  I walked out of the store and decided to forget the cigars.

I was thinking back to a trip I took to a small town a couple of years ago.  I was visiting some of the great local shops and I saw a sign that read:

“Please do not touch the merchandise. If you break it, let us know because you now own it.”

Right next door was a shop selling identical merchandise.  It also had a sign.  That one read:

“Please hold and enjoy the merchandise. If you break it, please let us know so that we can forgive you.”

Which store do you think had more people browsing and talking to the staff?  I’m willing to bet that the second store had higher sales as well.

Everything you hang in your place of business represents your brand.  Every piece of literature and everything your customers see, hear and feel represents you.  Don’t let your customers down.  Treat each customer like they were a member of your family.  Would you let your mom hold the merchandise?

A Trained Chimp Could Do Better

There are only a few things that really aggravate me.  Bad customer service is one of them.  Rob at Business Pundit posted a story today that is typical of the customer service at technical companies. 

The person telling the story had to be transferred three times before he got to someone who was qualified to solve his problem. When the qualified person came on the line, he just grunted like an animal. 

Seth had a similarly horrible story a few weeks ago.

There are hundreds of these stories on blogs and more are being posted every day.  When will companies wake up and realize that excellence in customer service is not a competitive advantage – it is the price of entry!

Little Words Big Difference

Two small words can make all the difference in the world in a customer’s experience.  Seth tells another story of how this has had a direct impact on him. 

The night clerk at Seth’s hotel helped him get the gym open at 4AM.  He could have said “no” but he found a way to say “yes”. 

There was no fanfare.  No big TV commercial at the Super Bowl. But this hotel just faced a moment of truth in Seth’s eyes.  If will probably face 1000 more throughout the day in the eyes of other customers.

Is your business up to this challenge?

Why is it Difficult to be Nice?

Make no mistake about it – I live in Cynical City,USA. 

New York can make you a hard, callus person – if you let it. 

It seems that people never take the time to recognize great service but they always point out service that falls below their expectations. Seth reminded me of this today with this post.

In that spirit:  I want to thank David’s Barber Shop on East 84th Street in Manhattan for giving me an outstanding haircut today!  The barber who cut my hair was Joseph.

Tomorrow I’m going to find out my mail carrier’s name and thank him.  I wonder how many people actually do that.

I Want Not I Need

Here is another great example of how marketing and service are linked. 

You make a promise through your brand.  You keep that promise in your service.

Thanks again, Seth Godin.

The Gymnast’s Toilet

There is a lesson in this picture for all of us.

   

When it comes to product design or service delivery, it’s about the customer.  It’s not about you. Always view things from the customer’s perspective.

This is a hotel bathroom in  Wichita, Kansas.   I’m sure somebody thought it was a good idea to put the toilet paper holders out of the way.  I’ll bet they even patted themselves on the back for giving the customer double the normal amount.

Thanks to This is Broken.