March 6, 2009
I need everything in this room! The arrangement of eclectic pieces with a soft palette is so comforting. Check out the featured article in this months Elle Decor.
Meet our new friends
February 16, 2009
Ottawa Office Supply
See link in "Resource Links" in right column below.
Ottawa Office Supply
See link in "Resource Links" in right column below.
More On Customer Service
February 12, 2009
The following article gives a very brief and well conceived list of customer expectations. This comes from a daily newsletter called Exchange Everyday, which is for the early childhood education industry. I think you will find it applies quite nicely to any service.
What Customers Expect
Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal;
nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude.
Thomas Jefferson
In The Ten Commandments of Customer Service (Atlantic City: Raphael Publishing,
1997), Richard George and John Stanton observe...
"Customers expect the following from you: reliability, empathy, assurance,
decorum, follow-up, initiative, responsiveness, seamlessness, and tenacity.”
* Reliability means that your services perform as promised.
* Empathy recognizes me, the customer, as an individual with individual needs
and circumstances.
* Assurance suggests that you stand behind or guarantee your offerings.
* Decorum means that you, your staff, and your physical surroundings look the
part.
* Follow-up is undertaken to see if you have solved my problems.
* Initiative promises action before I request it.
* Responsiveness means timely and appropriate action to satisfy me.
* Seamlessness enables me to feel like I am dealing with a single person or
entity.
* Tenacity means that you never let go of me.
The following article gives a very brief and well conceived list of customer expectations. This comes from a daily newsletter called Exchange Everyday, which is for the early childhood education industry. I think you will find it applies quite nicely to any service.
What Customers Expect
Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal;
nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude.
Thomas Jefferson
In The Ten Commandments of Customer Service (Atlantic City: Raphael Publishing,
1997), Richard George and John Stanton observe...
"Customers expect the following from you: reliability, empathy, assurance,
decorum, follow-up, initiative, responsiveness, seamlessness, and tenacity.”
* Reliability means that your services perform as promised.
* Empathy recognizes me, the customer, as an individual with individual needs
and circumstances.
* Assurance suggests that you stand behind or guarantee your offerings.
* Decorum means that you, your staff, and your physical surroundings look the
part.
* Follow-up is undertaken to see if you have solved my problems.
* Initiative promises action before I request it.
* Responsiveness means timely and appropriate action to satisfy me.
* Seamlessness enables me to feel like I am dealing with a single person or
entity.
* Tenacity means that you never let go of me.
Here's a Little Optimism
February 5, 2009
from Remodeling Magazine
Industry News
Remodeling Industry Forecast Available
The Joint Center for Housing Studies’ Remodeling Futures Program has made its latest report in the Improving America’s Housing series available online. Entitled The Remodeling Market in Transition, the report brings a variety of research to bear to describe the factors contributing to the current economic downturn within the remodeling industry. While the report does not speculate on the timing of a recovery, it predicts that the effects of the correction will be less severe than those in the new construction industry. To download a PDF (8MB) of the report, click here.
from Remodeling Magazine
Industry News
Remodeling Industry Forecast Available
The Joint Center for Housing Studies’ Remodeling Futures Program has made its latest report in the Improving America’s Housing series available online. Entitled The Remodeling Market in Transition, the report brings a variety of research to bear to describe the factors contributing to the current economic downturn within the remodeling industry. While the report does not speculate on the timing of a recovery, it predicts that the effects of the correction will be less severe than those in the new construction industry. To download a PDF (8MB) of the report, click here.
More on Aging
February 4, 2009
Changing Aging President Obama’s Web Site Features Long-Term Care - An American First: http://tinyurl.com/b8nrgf
Changing Aging President Obama’s Web Site Features Long-Term Care - An American First: http://tinyurl.com/b8nrgf
Expo closing doors
January 30, 2009
First of all today, we bid a hearty farewell to January!
Victim of the downturn economy: The Home Depot announces closure of Expo Design Center brand. http://tinyurl.com/d3afye
Am I becoming a purveyor of doom stories? Not likely. This is opportunity for, my favorite topic, extraordinary customer service. This was inevitable. Watch for The Great Indoors to go next. (Sears version.) Ever been to an Expo or Great Indoors? How was the customer service? Not good. In fact, not much different than the Home Depot. Certainly a different product offering. Certainly some fine looking displays. Credit for these goes to the professionals who chose the products and designed the displays. Unfortunately, none of these people were present on the sales floor. Shoppers were left to figure it out themselves. I just ached to jump in and help, but that might have been a bit presumptuous, and frankly, not very lucrative for us. The concept was flawed from the outset. Quality in customer service simply cannot take place in big box venues.
First of all today, we bid a hearty farewell to January!
Victim of the downturn economy: The Home Depot announces closure of Expo Design Center brand. http://tinyurl.com/d3afye
Am I becoming a purveyor of doom stories? Not likely. This is opportunity for, my favorite topic, extraordinary customer service. This was inevitable. Watch for The Great Indoors to go next. (Sears version.) Ever been to an Expo or Great Indoors? How was the customer service? Not good. In fact, not much different than the Home Depot. Certainly a different product offering. Certainly some fine looking displays. Credit for these goes to the professionals who chose the products and designed the displays. Unfortunately, none of these people were present on the sales floor. Shoppers were left to figure it out themselves. I just ached to jump in and help, but that might have been a bit presumptuous, and frankly, not very lucrative for us. The concept was flawed from the outset. Quality in customer service simply cannot take place in big box venues.
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