Think Category

Mar 162011

What makes for great service?

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Deciding that something or someone has given you “great service” is a function of what you need and your expectation of what will be delivered.

Take this recent example in a hotel – would it equate to great service for you?

1) a lovely view from bedroom desk

2) shabby hall carpets and decoration

3) a quiet room

4) no way to get a drink or piece of fruit at 3am

5) a proper, comfortable, office chair at the writing desk

The trouble is, expectations can vary and needs can be unique.

So, how can you be sure that you’re delivering great service to your customers?

Tags: brand, quality, service

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Mar 112011

We remain committed to supporting the success of ‘noble purpose organisations’ and the well-being of the people that work in them. These are institutions where an allegiance to the organisation is said by staff to be their primary motivation for joining up.

As we’ve noted before, they can be places where, paradoxically, there is not a fully or sufficiently ‘shared purpose’ between people. There can also be a lack of attention to the necesary culutre needed to achieve the organisation’s aims.

Here is another cross-sector hypothesis, drawing on the work of Art Kleiner on ‘Core Groups’:

1. Despite the mission statements, in the public and third sectors there can be a propensity to run the organisation in the interests of the bulk of the staff (and, for example, in some local government arenas to the interests of those at the lowest level of the organisation). This requires skilled leadership to ensure that the overarching purpose of the work remains clear and that the end users being served actually do turn out to be the ultimate beneficiaries.

2. In commerce, the core group whose interests are served are more likely to be at the top, running things under the veneer of customer and shareholder value.

What do you think? Please let us know.

Tags: behaviour, culture, noble purpose, values

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Feb 182011

Being surprised

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We love being surprised – whether by the surf dude head teacher or the meditating, ascetic banker (both of whom we have met recently).

Here a sign from reserved seating in Bangkok: priority for older people, pregnant women, those with children, disabled people…and monks!

Monk seat

Tags: assumptions, surprise

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Feb 142011

Bigger than you think

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It is interesting what you notice when travelling.

7-Eleven is not a brand we see much in the UK any more, with Tesco, M&S, Spar and others occupying most of the convenience store market now.

However, in Australia and Bangkok the 7-Eleven brand is pretty much ubiquitous – often with a couple on the same city street.

Reading here you can find a little of the story that makes this franchise the biggest in the world.

Tags: brand, travel

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Jan 312011

More on hope

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This is one of our responses to Helen Bevan’s article on the need for hope in the Health Service Journal.

“I agree that we need to be aware of risk and problems, however, I read this as a welcome balance to the over-focus on pathology – and not a denial of difficulty.

Interestingly, this positive, hopeful article has attracted only a fraction of the comment that the story about KPMG partnering with NHS London received this week.

Well done HSJ on leading with this. I hope [sic] with non-inflammatory intentions. If we believe that we get what we talk about, then this sort of piece can help progress and assist the NHS achieve its potential in terms of eliminating harm to patients and increasing quality care.”

Tags: behaviour, healthcare, hope, leadership

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Dec 292010

Viral marketing

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This is the first bit of viral marketing we recall. The clip is now labelled as coming from Pixar, which is where this bit of self-promotion by Navone led him to.

And now this festive one with an ad agencey behind it selling a web product.

A couple of questions:

1) Do the negative comments added by viewers distract or damage the marketers?

2) Where will viral marketing go next? Flash mobs have been around for a while (probably since Spike Jonze produced ‘Praise You’ for Fat Boy Slim).

Tags: advertising, brand, marketing

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Nov 162010

Quick, make your mind up

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Waitrose charities Waitrose offers tokens which you can allocate to a charity or local organisation as you leave the store. They share £1000 according to the proportion of total tokens each organisation receives.

Which of these three would you allocate your token to?

For what reasons?

– I might need them or know someone who does
– they look popular already and I should support the one that most people think is important
– they seem under-supported and I want to help the underdog
– they already have enough support and mine won’t make much difference
– I won’t allocate at all as I can’t choose between them (or I’m late and need to rush!).

When people make quick decisions, it can be worth exploring the underlying reasoning.

PS – this accumulative and transparent way of expressing a preference (where you can see the relative support so far) is quite an efficient and possibly fairer way of allocating resources. It ensures that lower profile needs or those with weaker ‘brands’ or ‘voices’ don’t miss out completely. If you did this blind (ie the boxes were opaque), the most popular one could well get a much higher proportion of the votes as people are less informed and hence less inclined to make some of the alternative choices listed above.

PPS – the Hampsire search and rescue has consistently had the most support.

Tags: behaviour, choices, Decision-making, thinking

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Oct 42010

National treasures

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“Oh, they really are a national treasure.”

Who would you agree on?

1. Absolutely they are (for the moment at least) – Gary Lineker, Bruce Forsyth, Eddie Izzard, Michael Portillo, Delia Smith, Alan Titchmarsh, Gary Barlow, David Beckham, Felicity Kendal

2. Maybe – Peter Tatchell, Ann Widdecombe, Simon Cowell, James Corden, Dawn French, Johnny Rotten, Eddie ‘the Eagle’ Edwards

3. Possibly, but not yet – Neil Kinnock, Chris Moyles, Piers Morgan, Cheryl Cole

4. Might be losing it – Jonathan Ross, Cliff Richard, Gordon Ramsay, Jamie Oliver, Helen Mirren

5. Was and no longer – Bob Geldof, John Humphries, Bono

What do these characters share in common? Well they have moved from being a figure of hate or fun (or irrelevance or especially narrow interest) to someone who most recognise and someone who doesn’t polarise opinion very much.

And many have done something special beyond they classic role – showing a bit of passion, doing something different or just being resilient with staying power in the face of a challenge.

So the choice is: change or continue the same; show humility or demonstrate no self-awareness.

Tags: behaviour, brand, culture

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Sep 132010

Unlocking the value of old designs

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Airmail envelope

A (largely) defunct innovation: the airmail envelope.

Yet instantly recognisable to those of a certain age.

Now a useful way to share seeds from the garden.

What else could this evocative design be used for?

Tags: Design, innovation, photo, travel

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Sep 32010

What does your ‘out of office’ say (about you)?

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Here is an analysis of ‘out of office’ replies we’ve received over the summer.

The rationale? To explore the patter and to give us all with some options for what to do.

There was a wide range of styles, largely varying in regard to 7 factors:

– any greeting at start
– any named sign off at end
– statement of which days they are not around
– whether they will be checking in the interim (does the BB rule ?)
– explanation of why not able to answer
– whether any contact person is given
– the number of ways to contact them.

Here are some examples. Which do you like and which do you loathe? What do others need from these messages? What does your personality favour?

The fully factual: no pre-amble, no grateful ending (though all use please !)

This is the dominant style – guided by the default wording in Outlook. It would be great to know the Myers Briggs type of these folk. We guess I (not E)

I am currently out of the office with limited access to my e-mails. I will be back on Tuesday, July 15, 2010. In my absence, please contact….

I am away from 11th August to 6th September. For anything important please contact…

I will be out of the office starting 11/08/2010 and will not return until 13/08/2010. I have no access to my emails and will reply to your message on my return. For urgent assistance please call one of my colleagues on …

I will be back in the office on Tuesday 12 Aug to deal with your enquiry. Please call xxx for urgent enquiries.

I am now out of the office on annual leave until Tuesday 31 August 2010. If your email is urgent, please contact …

The getting-grateful: no pre-amble, bit of appreciation in the ending

I will be out of the office starting 12/08/2010 and will not return until 13/08/2010.If this is urgent, please contact my PA… Thank you.

I am currently on holiday and will return to the office on Monday 23 August. If your message is urgent, please contact … I will reply to you as soon as I can. This message has not been forwarded. Kind regards

FYI. I am now out of the office until Wed so will be in touch then. Many thanks!

The getting personal: the start of the name

I am now away from the office until Monday 9 August and will not be picking up e-mails. If your message is urgent, please contact …, otherwise I will respond when I return. Kind regards R

Thank you for your email. I am currently on leave until Tuesday, 3rd August 2010. If your email is urgent, please contact …. kind regards E

I will be out of the office starting 29/07/2010 and will not return until 30/07/2010. If your enquiry is urgent please contact … for workforce information issues, or alternatively I will respond on my return. Thanks J

The higher rapport: person based start and end, and with a bit of explanation

Hello. I am on leave until 9 August – please contact … in the meantime. With thanks P

The no-other-contact: no details of others

Thanks for your message. I am taking a break so only checking email intermittently. Best P

The third person

M is away until Monday 9th August 2010. If your message is urgent please contact …. Thank you For the latest news and commentary from … follow us on Twitter

The full: including names, numbers and emails

Thank you for your e-mail. I am out of the office until Monday 2nd August and will not be able to access emails or phone messages. If you require an urgent response, please contact… Otherwise, I will respond to your query at the earliest opportunity. Best wishes B

The wow!

I am away from 14th July to 7th August on fieldwork in East Greenland. For anything important please contact xxx

Tags: communication, personality

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