The Tale of One City
Unfortunately, one of our municipality clients had earned a bad reputation with developers and contractors because of the time it took to get building permits approved. Complaints about inconsistent interpretation of building codes, long permit processing delays, and poor customer service were lodged with the City Manager and Building Official on a regular basis. As… Read More »
Never Give Up
As a kid, I always had lots of chores to do. My father was a hard worker, and whether it was projects around the house, helping him in his business, or working on the family farm, my father was determined to make sure that I learned about hard work too. The prevailing rule around our… Read More »
Great Service Defined
I don’t know about you, but it seems to me that most businesses have absolutely no clue how to deliver decent customer service. Even the basics are missing in action. Simple basics like a polite greeting, a willingness to help, and/or a commitment to responsive follow-up to a problem. My telecommunications provider could care less… Read More »
Relationships Matter
We all have those good friends who ask for our advice, and don’t take it. So, one of my close friends bought an older house down the road from me, and the house needed a lot of work. In fact, the entire property was a wreck. We’re talking septic system, water supply, outbuildings, dock, boathouse……you… Read More »
Impressive Results
We recently completed an interesting process improvement project for a large, regional provider of commercial air conditioning services, and the results achieved were impressive. The objective of the project was to improve every aspect of the service dispatching process, in order to dramatically increase customer satisfaction, and customer’s willingness to refer new customers to our… Read More »
Are Your Employees Promoting Your Company?
Companies cannot achieve or sustain high levels of customer loyalty without loyal, engaged employees. Engaged employees are enthusiastic about their work and their company, and their enthusiasm is contagious. It rubs off on other employees, and is obvious to customers. Employees who promote their company provide better experiences for customers, approach their job with an… Read More »
Promoters Grow Revenue
Most companies spend a lot of money on attempts to acquire new customers, and don’t spend anything on systems that will increase the loyalty of existing customers, which will subsequently increase referrals and revenue. Extensive research validates that loyal customers buy more, stay longer, refer friends, and provide feedback that will help you improve your… Read More »
Celebrating Our 22nd Year
This week we began our 22nd year of service to our clients and our community. It has been an amazing journey so far, and, in spite of the current crisis all of us are facing, I am extremely optimistic about the future. I started my business 22 years ago with no business plan, no staff,… Read More »
The Give Back Box
Recently, my son sent me a LinkedIn post about Give Back Box, a very unique non-profit that was founded in 2012 by Ms. Monica Wiela. The idea behind Give Back Box was inspired by Ms. Wiela’s encounter with a homeless man, who was holding up a sign that said he needed a pair of shoes.… Read More »