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Experience

Joie de vivre

Nov 16th, 2011
by Michelle Heath.
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It’s funny how life works. It’s like the alarm goes off and it begins again. You take on the day – dealing with the crap-ton of things that come your way – and then find your ways to decompress only to prepare for the alarm to sound again and it’s off to the races.

When you are deep in the cycle it is hard to see beyond your task list, your kids school project, that thing your boss asked you to do, the thing you volunteered for that you have no time for, a family obligation…whatever it is, it is easy to get bogged in checking things off the list and trying to move the ball forward. I have come to realize that I’ve never really lived for the journey…that is until now.

Image by Victor Shaw

You may be saying – “Well, who does!” We all have the pressures of life that make it feel impossible to live for the long and winding road. But, why does that stop us? It hit me hard because, for those of you who know me, my motto has always been “carpe diem” – but as I really look at it, seizing the day has always been about a goal – a vision in my head that I want to achieve, something I desire badly or want to/need to experience. My life hasn’t been about seeing where the road can take me…it’s been about how I’ve paved the road up ahead. The past year has been one of gentle winding roads that lead into hairpin turns – never really knowing what will be waiting around the corner. When you are used to controlling every bit of where your life goes, it’s hard to say: “Today, I am going to let it roll. See where the road takes me. Experience what life throws my way.” It’s like my personal demons sit on my shoulders and tell me: “Shelly, baby, that is crazy nonsense – you can’t possibly handle all of that uncertainty!!” Well, to my personal demons, I tell you that you are wrong. I am thankful for this past year’s roadtrip – it has helped me live for the journey and not for the stake in the ground that I planted 500 feet down the road. I will always be ambitious, vivacious and, as my mother says, “A girl who reaches for the stars.” But I am grateful to have spent the past year enjoying the winding roads and steering through the cliff-dangling turns only to find myself on the other side with my hair windswept, my lipstick slightly messed-up and my joy for living more present than ever. I have learned a lot about my short-comings, things that make me human and things that I need to – want to – improve. I have learned that what makes me happy is subjective and may actually make another human being mental. I have discovered that only I can be me and cannot expect everyone else to do everything exactly the way I would do it. I have learned to believe in myself and to shrug-off my own self-doubt and insecurities and let my energy shine through. It has been a year of tremendous personal growth – I have felt the thrills of the big wave and the calm of the perfect sea. I would not change it for one moment. It has made me who I am and propelled me forward on this fantastic journey called life.

And this I call joie de vivre. It is a step toward experiencing the under-rated art of living. To taking in every experience, learning, growing, sharing, and feeling a sense of completeness in your journey. Knowing that there is always more but choosing not to project manage and plan every step. Instead, letting life come your way, feeling grateful for the people who love you and make you better and always knowing that, around the next turn, there is something new to learn.

Remember me, please.

Sep 21st, 2011
by Michelle Heath.
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There’s this “hidden gem” sushi place around the corner (okay a few blocks) from my apartment. Best sushi this side of town – Sakurabana, in case you’re wondering. Even better than that, they deliver. Better than that, very reasonably priced – I can eat and be full for $20, $40 if I order with friends. That’s a steal in the City for sushi.

So I call probably once a week, give or take, to order dinner. Every time it’s a different girl – no joke. Every time she very nicely asks me my name. My address. My phone number. My order. Every time I tell her this information. Over and over and over. You with me?

Photo courtesy jmorganmarketing.com

Imagine if the next time I called, she asked me for my phone number. Then she looked up my name. My address. My order. Then she could say: “Michelle, same order as last time?” and I could say: “Yes.” She could say: “See you in 20 minutes” and I could say: “Bye.” Time that call. 30 seconds. Time the first call. I’ve timed it: 3 minutes (sometimes more like 5.)

The great thing for Sakurabana is that I keep calling back because the sushi is so damn good. Which is why I think about how much better the service and operational costs would be if they just made that simple change.

First, who doesn’t like to be remembered? Norm! Know my name, know what I like – make it super easy for me. Please? I will tell all my friends and sing your praises. Second, think about the operational costs. I’ve been to this restaurant in person. It’s a decent sized restaurant for a sushi joint but there are only a few servers and they are probably manning the phone too. So, whoever is on that night gets my call. What if the staff were trained to use an iPad to enter the orders? You only need 3 at $450ish – (fuzzy math): $1350. Monitor for the kitchen: $250. Maybe some small cost for the order entry app. Say you need 3 of those at $100 a year – (more math): $300. Wireless network: call it $400 w modem, router and cables. Total cost to the business: $2300. My gut tells me they would cover this cost in one night of sales. So, one night of sales in return for a a far more efficient serving staff, a much better customer experience and, I would bet, more orders and customers (ah, revenue.)

“The easier you can make it. The fewer steps involved. The better the service,” a friend of mine always says, is the key to great service. My friend, I concur.

MTV Turns 30 and I Feel Old

Aug 1st, 2011
by Michelle Heath.
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This week, MTV turned 30. I read Dave Holmes’ post on PopWatch about his love affair with MTV and all I could think of is how old I feel. I know, it’s not about me, but 30 years later – how can you not think about your first MTV experience and life before MTV?

When cable came down our street, my parents decided that not everyone in the house needed cable and that, apparently, since they paid the bills, only they did. So the crappy 15″ tv with the rabbit ears that adorned their bedroom bureau was outfitted with a cable box and remote. Along with a strict warning NOT to go in their room to watch tv. A kid’s dream come true.

via Wikipedia

I remember running home from the bus stop, turning on the tv and sitting mesmerized on their bed watching “Video Killed the Radio Star” for the first time. I was completely hooked. Duran Duran, Thompson Twins, Depeche Mode, Madonna, Billy Idol…the list goes on. Watching the songs I listened to on my boom box come to life on the (small) screen.

Then I heard my mom’s car come down the driveway and off went the tv, smoothed out the bed spread, lights off and back in my room doing my homework and dreaming of My MTV.

What was your first MTV experience?

#nostalgic #videodidkilltheradiostar

Why Flash-based Websites Make Me Cuckoo Bananas

Jul 5th, 2011
by Michelle Heath.
1 comment

So, I get an email today from a website design and development company telling me about their services and asking if we can set up a call so I can learn more. Cool, I get it. Cold call email. They are looking to generate some new business. Being the kind of girl I am, I decide not to say no right away and to at least take a look at their website and their work to see what they are all about. That’s when things failed big time.

I clicked on their URL and got this:

 

 

 

 

You know what that is, don’t you? It is that horrendous count-down (or count-up) you wait for when you have to load something in Flash. Now, let’s say you send me a flash app or a file or something I know is built in Flash. Well then whether it’s right, wrong or indifferent, I expect to wait for the thing to load (still annoying but my expectations are set). When you send me the url to your website, I expect it to load immediately – seconds or less – not take over 3 minutes to buffer a completely useless Flash intro that then leads me to another completely unusable Flash-based menu. I know you creative types. I am one too. I want things to look amazing and hip and all that jazz. BUT…I am also a a practical marketer and know that I only have a few seconds to convey my message before someone yawns, gets frustrated and moves on. I know HTML is not all that snazzy or sexy. It doesn’t spin and whirl and twirl. It doesn’t play music and talk. But, it loads fast and helps me get a potential customer interested right away.

If you are in the business of attracting customers and getting them to buy what you sell, skip the fancy Flash crap and get ‘em right to the goods. Your bottom line will thank you later and so will I.

<end rant>

Jet Blue you blew it – again

Oct 1st, 2010
by Michelle Heath.
3 comments

Picture 29If you’ve been following along from my previous post, you’re probably wondering what happened when I raised the service issue to Jet Blue. I tweeted this post, got it retweeted a bunch of times, posted it to Facebook, sent it through the Jet Blue Cares feature on their site and told everyone I could about my bad  Jet Blue service experience.

Here’s what happened.

Sept 22nd 10am: Posted blog post, tweeted, facebooked

Sept 22nd 12:18pm: @JetBlue responds via Twitter and says:

We can’t track the details without info – please leave us a note at http://jetblue.com/speakup

Sept 22nd 12:19pm: I respond to @JetBlue by saying:

Hi and thanks for responding. I did that this morning (submitted form). Let me know what else you need. Got an email saying to wait for response.

Sept 22nd 4:48pm: I heard nothing so I sent another tweet to @JetBlue saying:

So, should I wait?

Sept 23rd 9:28am: Still nothing from Jet Blue. Sent another tweet saying:

Wondering when @JetBlue is going to address my issue from yesterday’s blog post? http://bit.ly/bCjrKM So disappointed in lack of service.

Sept 23rd 1:44pm: Finally get an email from Jet Blue. Here’s what they said:

Hello Michelle,

Thank you for contacting JetBlue Airways regarding your recently booked reservation and the
promotion offered the next day. We certainly appreciate your candid blog regarding the customer
service experience you had. Please understand this is not typical of the customer service we know
most of our jetters have grown to expect. Our leadership staff has been notified and will provide
some feedback to the crewmembers you spoke with.

The promotion offered did start after you booked your reservation. The guidelines for the promotion
were very specific. They did state the promotion was available to newly booked travel; changes to
existing travel are not eligible. It also stated the flight had to be booked on
www.jetblue.com/promo. Your flight was booked prior and not from the link provided the next day when
the promotion began.

Michelle if you would like to take advantage of this offer there is an alternative option. You are
welcome to cancel the current reservation and follow the link to book again using the same dates you
selected. You can go online to www.jetblue.com to cancel or call one of our friendly crewmembers.
You will be subject to the cancellation fee and any increase in fare when rebooking for the
promotion.

We truly value your patronage, and we hope to provide you with a renewed JetBlue experience in the
future.

I read it. I keep re-reading it. I am still dazed and confused. “A renewed JetBlue experience.” How exactly do they expect to “renew” me when they basically offered me nothing to keep me as a “valued” customer? Now, keep in mind, this promotion was not for a free ticket or something of what I’d consider significant consumer value. I run $50 promos all the time and 1) they work 2) if someone missed it I would give it to them to keep them happy and loyal. I especially love that they are happy for me to cancel and rebook but that I will be subject to cancellation fees. How is that helpful to me?

What kills me here is how Jet Blue could have really turned this around and made it a kick-ass experience for me. My friend, Nathan Burke, recently wrote a post about a bad Zappos experience that a great Zappos service team member totally turned around. He is now a huge fan of the brand – enough to tell everyone through his blog.

Well, Jet Blue, you blew it again. Rather than just giving me the promo and keeping me as a happy customer, you basically send the message that my business is not worth $50 and 500 Jet Blue points. For realz?!

So, I put it back on you yet again, Jet Blue. Is this really all you guys have got? The service bar has been raised my friends – are you doing the limbo or the pole vault?

I look forward to your reply.

Jet Blue you made me blue

Sep 22nd, 2010
by Michelle Heath.
2 comments

I’m running the Army 10-miler in DC at the end of October. I’m so excited for the race because I get to stay with my high school friend who lives in Maryland and hang with her for the weekend. I needed to book my flight so, of course, I checked Jet Blue to see if they fly to Baltimore. Jet Blue is always the airline I check first to see if they go where Picture 23I’m going. If they don’t, I am usually bummed because I love flying Jet Blue. Great prices, excellent in-flight service, cool brand. But, Jet Blue, this week you tweaked my nose and I’m not happy.

Here’s what happened.

Okay, so I booked my flight to Maryland Monday afternoon. Paid full price. Done. Then the following morning, I get an email with an offer:

Book a flight by October 1, 2010 for travel through December 15, 2010 and get $50 off a future flight on JetBlue, plus 500 bonus TrueBlue points.

I read the fine print and decide to call Jet Blue to see if they will apply this promotion to the flight I just booked. They are service-oriented people. They want me to jet happy, right? Hm, not so much. The call goes something like this:

Me: Hi. I booked my flight yesterday and got an email with a special offer that I’d like to apply to the flight. I registered for the promotion online and just need to apply it to my flight.

JB: Hm, I don’t think we can do that.

Me: Really? I just booked my flight – just 12 hours ago.

JB: Well, I need to put you on hold to check.

Me: Okay

<listening to static-infused horrible music for 15 mins>

JB: Okay, I am transferring you to someone who can help.

Me: Great. Thanks.

JB2: Hi, so you want to apply the $50 promo to the flight you just booked?

Me: Yes, that would be terrific.

JB2: Sorry we can’t do that.

Me: Why?

JB2: Because you need to book the flight online to get the promotion.

Me: But I already booked the flight online. And I registered for the promo. And I’m a True Blue customer. Can’t you just apply the promotion through your system?

JB2: No, we can’t.

Me: Really? I fly you guys all the time. Your the first airline I think about flying. I was even thinking about opening a Jet Blue credit card. So, you’re saying that there’s no way to make this happen for me? Think about it. You guys win. You give me points and a $50 voucher and I spend more to fly. (I know, I’m a dork, I seriously said that.)

JB2: No, I’m sorry, I can’t. It’s our procedure. But, I’ll write down your concern and send it to our customer feedback team.

Me: Is there someone else who can help me? I am really disappointed.

JB2: No I’m sorry. Is there anything else I can do to help you today?

Wow. I hung up the phone dazed and confused. How is it that I could get such great service on the plane – entertaining in-flight attendants, TVs in my seat, on-time flights – everything that signifies happy jetting. But, then when I call their service line, I get not one but two service reps who cannot apply a promotion to a purchase to keep a loyal customer happy?

So, Jet Blue, I ask you, where did your customer service food chain go wrong? Maybe it’s because most people do everything online and never need to call. Maybe it’s because you only care about the in-flight service. Maybe it’s just fluff you add to your brand to make it seem better than the other fuddy-duddy airlines. In someways, I don’t care because all that matters is I feel like I was fooled. You showed me a side of your brand that didn’t live up to the image you created through your ads, your messaging and your in-flight experience. What a let down.

We all know that air travel is competitive. Travelers like me are always looking for the easiest way to travel at the best price. I want to keep on lovin’ you, Jet Blue, but you did me wrong. It’s an important message to all of us running businesses. Think about the message you send to your customers – are all the customer-facing teams in your company aligned around meeting the expectation of that message?

To me, Jet Blue is to airlines what Zappos is to online shoe shopping. Recently I called Zappos to apply a promo code for free shipping. Guess what, they did it – no questions asked. I was on the phone for probably 2 minutes. And she even asked how the weather was in Boston. That’s a well-rounded, empowered and customer-focused company. It makes a difference to customers who have choices about where to spend their money and where to apply their brand loyalty. Jet Blue, I encourage you to learn a lesson and take a look at your approach to service.

Do people really talk on the iPhone?

Nov 17th, 2009
by Michelle Heath.
2 comments

I did it. I finally did it. I know, you’ve all been giving me crap forever about my Blackberry. Some made fun of it’s phallic trackball, others Picture 57it’s lack of app power, still others its inability to play music or even take a darn picture for that matter. Many asked why I wouldn’t switch. My answer? 1) Don’t want to switch from Verizon to AT&T  2) Don’t want to give up my keypad.

Well, on Sunday, November 15th, I did both.

As for #2, actually, surprisingly, it wasn’t that tough of a switch. Mind you, I have small hands (not sure how you big guys do it) and the auto-correction works pretty well, for the most part. I’ve put my thumbs to work and have gotten pretty good at typing pretty fast. The interesting thing I’ve found about typing on the iPhone is that I need to concentrate much more than I did on my Blackberry. My Blackberry was like typing on a computer – you know where the keys are, you could be putting on lipgloss and talking to your boss and still typing fast and furious. On the iPhone? Well, not so much. I have not yet attempted to apply gloss and type but have tried to talk to my boss and type (sorry, Dave) and it requires more concentration on the actual letters I’m trying to press. I know this sounds weird but it’s true and I guess I’ll get used to it so I can, once again, talk to Dave while typing.

As for #1, here’s my opinion. This device is not a phone at all. It is a mini-computer in disguise which is why the zillions of people who have iPhones just say “Yeah, AT&T sucks, but what are you gonna do?” Nada, that’s what you’re going to do. You’re going to fall in love with the slick display and the shiny buttons (mmm…shiny). The swift touchscreen action, the skakey-shakey to refresh Facebook, the endless app store, the iTunes all in one place, and the list goes on. You’ll notice I never said…the phone.

There was an interesting and timely Twitter post today by Jeremiah Owyang where he asked…

What percent of the time do you use your phone to actually talk? I use iPhone maybe only 5-10% for talking.

To which @Aaron Strout RT’d and said he uses his phone “about the same” and @jspepper said “Talk on iPhone??!”. Jeremiah later posted…

Most responses were they use their “phone” as a device/computer now. And the iPhone voice capabilities are substandard.

But isn’t the thing called an i…Phone?

You see, I talk on the phone. Alot. I have blown-out every wireless plan I’ve ever had. The interesting thing that happened on Sunday when I Picture 48got my iPhone is that I started talking on the phone less and using email, text, chat and other communication methods to “talk” to my peeps. I guess between email, text, Facebook, Twitter, Four Square and the other apps I haven’t even discovered yet, I can know where they are, what they are doing, what they had for lunch, where they’re meeting for drinks (mmm…drinks) and how they feel about the lastest celebrity drama. I can open attachments of all shapes and sizes, browse webpages and take pictures and share them on Twitter.

So, I ask you my new lovely, are you really a phone? I hear you ring every once and a while but, IMHO, you are not a phone. You are a shiny, beautiful gateway to helping me share more stuff with more people. Whether that sharing is through a Word doc, text message, song, photo, geo position or a simple virtual gift, it’s less about talking on the phone and more about sharing on my device.

Maybe you should have been called the iShare? Hm, that has a nice ring to it. :)

*iPhone photo credit: weboptimiser.com; Rotary phone photo credit: cornbreadandbeansquilting.wordpress.com

An experience to remember

Dec 22nd, 2008
by Michelle Heath.
No comments yet

I happen to believe that it’s all about the experience. It’s one thing to meet someone for drinks. It’s another to meet-up at The Liberty Hotel and experience a restored prison with hip decor, great music and fun people watching. It’s one thing to shop online. It’s another to visit BlueFly where you can shop by price, color, size and style. The thing that gets me coming back for more is the experience and, boy, did I have one today.

I decided to take my 5-year old daughter, Maddie, to the Nutcracker. It just so happens I was a dancer in a former life and had the honor and unique pleasure to dance in the Nutcracker ballet once upon a time. It is an experience I will never forget and, to this day, influences my ability to stand on tip-toes to reach stuff on the top shelf and to sit with good posture:)

Anyhow, I got two tickets and decided we’d make it our first experience. Then, I met John Osbon and he took our experience from good to great. John is a member of the Boston Ballet board and is also active in my daughter’s school. I had won an auction prize of some ballet tickets a while back and he helped me put them to good use. He heard about my love for the ballet and how Maddie is taking lessons and loves it as well and told me he’d leave a special surprise for her at the desk.

Off we went through the sleet and snow. We were both on pins and needles wondering what the surprise would be. We arrived at the desk and waiting for us was a brown Boston Ballet bag. Inside, were two signed pairs of dancer’s shoes and two Nutcracker snowglobes. Nothing like being in tears with my daughter and the show hadn’t even started! We took our seats in the beautifully renovated Boston Opera House where Maddie promptly took off her snow boots and donned her well-used pink toe-shoes. She could not have been more excited as we waited for the lights to dim. She was riveted through the entire performance and wanted for more as the lights came up. Then came the best part.

The backstage tour. Where, although my camera battery died (when will I learn!) , I got some great shots of my girl with the sleigh and the giant Christmas tree. But all she wanted to do was go home and put on her new toe-shoes. We practiced our releve and arabesque in the living room and she wore her ballet tights to bed so she could “slip on her toe-shoes when she wakes up”. What would have been a day at the ballet was turned into an extraordinary experience for a 5-year old aspiring ballerina and her ballerina-at-heart mom.

A magical day created by an unforgettable experience. Check out the photos.

Shipping charges really suck

Nov 22nd, 2008
by Michelle Heath.
2 comments

Sorry to rant but I can’t help it. This is a constant pet-peeve and, if you have anything to do with a retail website, you should listen up.

IMHO, the difference between a good website and a great website is the experience. When it comes to online shopping, sure there are ways to make browsing better but at the end of the day, it’s all about the check-out. Were you up-front with the total cost? Was it easy for me to get my stuff and get on to the next thing I need to do? Did you give me the ability to do it all in one-screen or did I have to page through a whole bunch of optional and promotional screens?

Well, this morning, I decided I need some new stationery. I want something that looks classy but is economical, given my employment situation. I googled “discount stationery” and up came a bunch of sites. I clicked on American Stationery, which was one of the top links. I quickly browsed a bunch of different options and found one that I really liked. It was a little bit more than I wanted to pay, but it was unique and I really liked the colors and the envelope liner. Plus, they threw in the printing of return address on the envelopes. Okay, off I go to check-out. The usual – register, shipping address info, next, next. Total cost: $68. Great, I’m in. Next screen, confirm shipping address. Got it. Credit card info, check. Then the confirmation screen appears and it is at this point, before I hit the money button, that I find out the shipping charge is an additional $11! What the f? Three screens before that, they said the total cost is $68? But it’s not. It is in fact $79. You’re telling me, American Stationery, that you want me to pay an additional 16% for shipping? I am so sorry but I DON’T THINK SO! Actually, that is not only annoying but insane. How can shipping cost them $11 for a tiny little box of notecards? It is one of the major problems I have with online shopping.

Let me talk to you about a site that does it right. Nordstrom’s online. Here’s how they do it. Flat rate. $5. All the time. You order $50 of stuff – five bucks. $500 worth of stuff – 5 bucks. It’s that easy and, as a frequent online shopper, they get most of my business because the shipping is a flat rate (and returns are free.)

My advice to you, online retailers, is this – figure out how to make shipping cheaper and easier for your customers and, guess what, they will come back. I would love to know how many abandoned shopping carts are strewn across the internet because of shipping charges. There is a price to be paid for convenience but each consumer has a tipping point where they’d rather just get in their car or walk to the store to go get it. Online retailers need to think about how they are making the shopping experience valuable for their online shoppers and I would guess ‘value’ to the online shopper means easy, great selection and economical.

So, you lost my business, American Stationery. Maybe if you had put the shipping charge up-front I would have been okay with it. Maybe I would have left anyway (probably the case). With the holidays around the corner and a recession in the mix, figuring out how to entice shoppers to buy seems like a no-brainer. If you’re an online retailer, why not test out a variety of shipping promotions? Free shipping days, flat rates, free shipping on certain dollar amounts. Test it out and see what works. Something tells me that providing free or minimal shipping charges will lead to a more profitable customer down the line.

My $.02.