Purple Wren

What Do Frozen Pears Have to Do With the Customer Experience?

I just arrived home to a driveway full of snow that needed shoveling and a box of pears from my favorite fruit supplier. It's a holiday gift we get every year from a much loved relative. Imagine my joy at seeing that little box beside my door - epecially after a major winter storm and being snowed-in at another location.

Unfortunately, the little box was sitting in a couple inches of snow and there were footprints in the unshoveled driveway. The UPS driver left them beside the door and they are now frozen pears that have been sitting out overnight.

I wish I had thought to take a picture...

Would you leave the box of delicate fruit in a snowbank? In my mind it's an example of poor customer service. Next time I hope they leave them with a neighbor. Maybe the drivers have guidelines to follow, but it didn't make much sense to me.

Another example of customer service - this time excellent - is the staff member at Harry and David who assured me they will send out a replacement box at no charge. Can't wait to get them!

Hope we're here next time to receive delivery.

What experiences of customer service - good or bad - have you noticed lately?

Have You Seen Sue?

This week I was a tourist in Chicago. My 3-1/2 yr. old grandson was quite anxious to visit all the dinosaurs (and the 5 yr. old enjoyed them, too).

We spent a lot of time looking at fossils and displays at the The Field Museum. Of course, the highlight was SUE, the largest tyrannosaurus rex fossil discovered. (We're both from South Dakota!)

Have you visited yet?

Environmentally Friendly Paper

Here's an interesting marketing solution!

Harbor 100 is a recycled, multipurpose paper. It's produced in partnership with Frogfile, Hemlock Printers, and Grays Harbor Paper.

That's not so unusual.

What's interesting is that the wrap is printed so you can fold it into an origami tree for your desk or office. Great way to call attention to an environmentally friendly product and make something fun out of the wrapper.

Thanks to Larry Hnetka for the tip.

What are you doing to reduce your impact on the environment? 

Help Design the New Pepsi Billboard

Here's your chance to help design a billboard! Pepsi has created an interactive site where you can select a stencil and "spraypaint" a board - there's several of them.

I think it's kinda neat to see and hear the traffic from the Times Square webcam. Makes me happy to get away from the noise!

Interesting project. You don't have any control over who will paint over your spot. It will be fun to see what they look like when the project is over.

Check it out at This is the Beginning.

Mediacom vs Sinclair: Breaking News!

Breaking news! Mediacom has reached an agreement with Sinclair. Broadcasting is going to be restored immediately. (News Release)

So go ahead - make your Super Bowl plans.   Ooops, wrong station. (blush)

Here's a list of some of the shows you've been missing, paired for your reading pleasure.

America's Most Wanted/Bones
Hell's Kitchen/House
Vanished/Image Removed
American Dad/Trading Spouses
So You Think You Can/Drive
Stacked/American Idol

Clairol Uses Graphics and Interactive Media for Better Customer Experience

Here's something fun for a Friday.

The Try It On Studio from Clairol is a great way for customers to use graphics and technology to select hair colors (and styles) using their own photo or a model.

How can you use imagery and technology to better serve your customers?

Photo of hairstyle samples on flickr by bunchofpants->

Pictures from the Capitol: Mediacom vs Sinclair

Here's a few pics.

Two of Mr. Smith and Mr. Commisso talking after the hearing.

Mr. Faber and the press.

Mr. Pardini and the press.

Like Prof. Janet Keefer, I have "no dog in the hunt."

I am a Mediacom customer, and like many other Iowans, I just want to watch TV. Since I have had conversations with Scott Westerman, he has been "the face of Mediacom" for me, and I have had more patience about the situation.

My thanks to all the Mediacom people I met today who were gracious and answered all my questions - they know who they are. They are also the face of Mediacom.

I met David Smith and he was quite pleasant to share small talk with. Would I feel differently given a chance to know him and hear his side of the story? I'm not sure. He didn't share that much of himself in the hearing. Maybe it's how different parts of the country do business. I didn't get to meet Mr. Faber.

Live blogging is much different than collecting facts and sifting through the information and being able to verify it, etc. before writing a story. This is a collection of my thoughts about what I heard and felt as it was going on. So it's subject to change as each bit of information is heard and pondered.

In the end, we're all people just trying to get along. This reminds me of the New Orleans catastrophe. It seems like the people who get hurt the most are the ones who can least afford it. I really didn't think about that issue until today. I also knew it was difficult in rural Iowa to get services, but unless you have been there or lived there, or have relatives there, you might not understand. Many of us can vote with our feet, but what about the rest? Is this discrimination?

My message to companies is listen to your customers and respond! You might not like it sometimes and you may have to be transparent and accountable. It's the way of doing business today. Who are you listening to?

Oh yeah, thanks for listening to me. This was a great experience and I urge all citizens to get involved in something they feel passionate about and make their voices heard. If you want to talk about the power of blogging and new media, give me a call! It's fun to collaborate.

Summary from the Capitol: Mediacom vs Sinclair

I'm sitting in the West Des Moines Library coffee shop (watch for a website soon) relaxing after listening to all the discussion at the Capitol. I have a lot of thoughts in my head and am going to try and capture some of it for this post. Again, please bear with me. This is my personal experience. I really don't know a lot about the cable industry, or the protocol for hearings at the state level.

Representative Ralph Watts, Republican, took a swing at the whole group, saying the State of Iowa ought to stay out of it. He further indicated the parties ought to solve the issue between themselves and "the public will vote with their feet."

Rep. Deborah Berry, D-Waterloo, expressed appreciation to the Sinclair folks for coming to Iowa to share. She had one question: "is the end in sight - is there an agreement forthcoming, a compromise to meet the needs of the public?" Mr. Faber answered at length saying it was hard to predict, they believe their price is fair, he thinks Mediacom is counting on the government stepping in to settle this.

Representative Vicki Lensing, D-Iowa City, wrapped it up nicely saying "we want to understand... it's been confusing and frustrating." The intent of meeting was to understand. The question was asked of Sinclair what their mission was. Answer was to provide service to communities and to make a profit and return on investment for shareholders. The technology law of 1992 was mentioned again and again during the session. Rep. Lensing said maybe we need to look at the law and see if it's still working. The public is expecting immediate access to news and sports. "Please get this settled for the interest of the public... While it's private, it's in the interest of the community... Iowans don't care (about Mediacom, Sinclair, or legislation). They just want to watch TV. Just work it out."

Professor Janet Keefer, associate professor of journalism at Drake University spoke last. She recently wrote an op-ed piece. She had not prepared a statement and indicated she had "no dog in the hunt."  (That's a term I love and will borrow from her.) There were plenty of chuckles when she mentioned Marvin Middlemark, the man who invented rabbit ears, and how he was probably pleased that we are using them. She wanted to watch the college football championship and was able to with the rabbit ears. She doesn't understand why Sinclair would not want their signal broadcast. She said sometimes laws have unintended consequences and "I think we're seeing that in Iowa." She mentioned Sinclair has a reputation as being aggressive and somewhat of a renegade and we needed to look at the regulatory paradigm. She questioned "when will this all be over?" It reminds her of the movie about the personal life of Hitler. She thinks cable systems are NOT like department stores - they're more like a public utility.

Senator Tom Courtney, D-Burlington, did a very good job of chairing the meeting.

Evidently the closest scenario is the Sinclair McLeod contract. It was asked toward the end whether there could be details shared in the public interest. Sinclair indicated they will check with McLeod to be sure it's OK with them before releasing info. That will be interesting. The public would like to see the numbers and understand the deals.

Live from the Capitol: Mediacom vs Sinclair is a Hot Topic on the Hill

We're still listening. I'm getting to the end of my battery, so will take notes on paper for awhile and wrap this up when I get to a source of electricity.

From Mr. Faber: We don't feel an obligation to offer our signal to cable companies at a price lower than we set. The price we have asked for is far, far below the amount we think our stations are worth. His point is they do take into account the public interest.

Don't you have a monopoly? was a question that was asked of Sinclair.

I don't have the names and titles of all the speakers and I'm sure you'll be able to see a lot of this on the news because all the major channels are here.

Needless to say, it's a hot topic today on the hill!

Live From the Capitol: Mediacom and Sinclair Speak

Rocco B. Commisso, Chairman and CEO of Mediacom, a publicly traded company, gave a little history about the company. He didn't have a prepared speech, but spoke from the heart.
He then turned the mic over to spokesperson Ed Pardini, Sr. VP of Mediacom, who spoke about the impact Mediacom has in Iowa.

Mediacom cares. About people. About Iowa. About their customers. That's just the feeling I have after listening. I heard Rocco Commisso speak several years ago and was impressed with his passion then, too.

Next up, David D. Smith, President of Sinclair Broadcasting who spoke briefly and turned the mic over to Barry Faber, general counsel. I heard a lot about the legalities of the situation. They said they prefer to stick to the facts, not the emotions, and that they didn't come prepared with a commercial about Sinclair.

I don't have the sense Sinclair cares about their customers. They are worried about the letter of the law, not the spirit of the law. Just my impression. The analogy given was something about a sweater for sale in the store and if you can't pay the price, there's no deal. They don't feel it's discriminatory.

Now - to the meat of the matter. It was asked of Sinclair why they won't agree to binding arbitration. Barry Faber replied at length. They indicate they are considering arbitration. The analogy is if you have a house for sale and you determine your lowest price and the offer made wasn't meeting that, would you go to a third party and let them decide? The law is clear that they don't have to arbitrate. They think the free market should be allowed to work.

Senator Mary Lundby, Republican minority leader from Cedar Rapids area spoke at length. She led off telling Sinclair they might do well in Iowa to give the fifteen-minute commercial and she was disappointed in Sinclair's lack of speaking about the customer. Yeah Senator Lundby!

Senator Lundby asked Barry Faber if he has ever been to Carroll, Iowa. No, he hasn't. Senator Lundby has relatives there who can't get a signal with rabbit ears.

Lots of discussion about the FCC laws from Mr. Faber.

I still think it's the bully in the schoolyard.

Representative Wayne Ford says, "it is personal."  He was waiting to see a package from Sinclair about who they are, but didn't get background information. He told them they are seriously underestimating the people of Iowa. "Where is the heart?" is one of his questions.

"Where is the public interest?" is the question from Senator Michael Connolly, Democrat from Dubuque. Their response is they are sorry the public is impacted by this. But their obligation does not extend to entering into agreements with private companies who make a profit from selling cable. They indicate they take an interest in the public. They say the vast majority has choices. Senator Connolly said Barry Faber's answer comes up short for him and their policy stiff-arms the public. Being sorry just doesn't cut it. People don't have the choices Sinclair thinks they do.

I'm a consumer and don't really know about the legalities of this. There's a lot behind the scenes. Again, I speak about the customer experience.