Jananas

To further my point on why business cards should have your e-mail address, I’d like to refer you all to the following picture. Even the chip trucks on the University of Toronto campus have e-mail addresses and market them.

A good friend of mine just moved from the east end back to the west end of Toronto. He was calling Toronto Hydro today to provide notification of termination of service because his hydro is included with the rent at his new loft. The conversation went something like this…

Hydro: Are you moving to another location in Toronto?

Friend: Yes, but I don’t need hydro because it’s included in my rent at the new location.

further discussion and continuation of cancellation process. Five minutes later.

Hydro: Are you moving out of the province of Ontario?

The probem with rigid CSR scripting is that your staff aren’t allowed the flexibility to respond properly to the customer’s unique situation. In this case, whomever developed the scripting didn’t follow the flow through of the logic and, as a result, the CSR was asking unnecessary questions (and spending time & money doing so).

I recently was given a business card that had a tagline, a small graphic, and a phone number. While it was clever, it was missing some very important information (as far as I’m concerned) – an e-mail address and, given that this person had one, a website address. Really, in today’s environment how do you not provide such vital information to clients or potential workmates?

I had some information that needed to be e-mailed to the individual and had to google them to find their e-mail address. So now I’m annoyed. If you want me to contact you, I shouldn’t have to go and look up how to do so. Then their e-mail address is on their website as text, and doesn’t automatically link into my e-mail program. I’m now doubly annoyed. I make a mistake typing it, so the e-mail bounces back. The end result was that I got sidetracked by other deliverables and didn’t bother going back to look up their information a second time. How much business do you think is lost as a result of people experiencing the same thing?

To add insult to injury, the context is e-business strategy. FAIL.

The end lesson? If you want/need someone to contact you, make it easy for them. If people have to go through additional steps to get, especially what is now considered to be, basic information – many of them are going to give up rather than going the extra mile. (Although this is also why a lot of companies love IVRs and poorly designed websites…)

My mister and I were having a conversation earlier today about how much change (money that is) we accumulate in our daily lives. He’s been rolling his to cash in for spending money on an upcoming trip to Thailand. However, he still has $28 in rolled pennies which he’s saving to “spend on something ridiculous”. I countered that a great date would be to spend the cash equivalent of pennies on a date night. Well, make that two date nights – one for each person. I’m suggesting cash equivalent because I don’t think most places would appreciate getting the price of a beer or a veggie dog in pennies, but the sentiment of having a set spending limit for the evening is still there. I think its a fun challenge, if only because it would be light hearted!

(Note to self, start saving pennies!)

Akoha defines themselves as “a launchpad for traveling acts of kindness.” To me they are more that. They are also about re-establishing friendships outside of the Internet, i.e. not just stalking statuses on FaceBook or Twitter, but rather taking someone for a coffee or a drink in the real world. They are, to a lesser extent extent, about spending time with friends without having to spend a huge amount of money. They are about enhancing reality using an online experience, not defining your reality as your online experience. To further this I’d like to suggest the following missions, which I believe continue along those lines:

• Sing someone happy birthday (instead of just buying the birthday guy/gal a drink)
• Play a boardgame with friends
• Take someone to a museum or art gallery (in this case, also helps support local institutions)

I saw an ad this week for a special on CTV, called “To hell with it: the decline of civility” in modern society, airing tonight at 7pm. This struck a chord with me, given how close it is being released relative to the launch date for Akoha. Mostly because I believe that “playing it forward” is beginning to bring that level of thoughtfulness and civility back into our direct world and daily existance. One of the mission cards is to say thank you, which is a wonderful sentiment and something that is often forgotten (and something that is sadly lacking in our current political environment).

It may be idealistic, but I do believe that we, as individuals, have the power to change the world around us. By stepping back, taking a moment, smiling at the world, and taking the time to thank people for their help we can reverse the slow slide into rudeness.