Tag Archives: Customer service

Emulating and bettering the best in business

Posted on September 6, 2012 by Jon Stow

  Cyber wars There was an interesting take recently on the Apple v Samsung wars, in which accuse the other of violating their intellectual property particularly with regard to mobile or cell phones. Apple had a really big win on … Continue reading →

Posted in Business planning, Customer service | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Why consistency and continuity of service is important

Posted on August 20, 2012 by Jon Stow

  Shopping for essentials As consumers, when we are out shopping we have an expectation of what we can buy. We do not like to be disappointed to find that what we want we can no longer get. At our … Continue reading →

Posted in Business planning, Customer service | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Never assume

Posted on August 16, 2012 by Jon Stow

Once upon a time, my first job was with an international and mainly Far-Eastern bank. I wrote a nice letter of application in my best handwriting and was placed in the “Income Tax Department”. We only dealt with personal tax. … Continue reading →

Posted in Business planning, Customer relations | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

The writer of letters

Posted on July 26, 2012 by Jon Stow

  The writing habit Quite a lot of my work involves writing. I write to clients, and I write to tax authorities and I write to service providers on behalf of my clients. I write articles and I write web … Continue reading →

Posted in Customer service, management | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Shops and the personal touch

Posted on July 16, 2012 by Jon Stow

  Times are changing There is no question that shopping has moved on in the last couple of decades. It has moved to out-of-town retail parks and it has moved on-line. As a result, many shop premises in the UK … Continue reading →

Posted in Business planning, Customer relations, Customer service | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Slings and arrows of outrageous fortune in small businesses

Posted on June 15, 2012 by Jon Stow

Literary truths I have borrowed from Shakespeare in the title, but also remember Enid Blyton who inspired me to be a bookworm as a child: “What does it matter if things go wrong? l sing and I’ll whistle my brave … Continue reading →

Posted in Business planning, Customer relations | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Accident recovery in business

Posted on June 8, 2012 by Jon Stow

Feelings Business life is not always perfect. Sometimes things go wrong. A client has a bad experience. It may well not be your fault, but the client may not share that perception. You have to work out what you can … Continue reading →

Posted in Customer relations, Customer service | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Selling yourself short

Posted on May 17, 2012 by Jon Stow

  Over-delivery As I said the other day, restaurants so often show the best and worst examples of how to do business, all in an hour or so. On our recent trip away, my wife and I visited another bar-restaurant … Continue reading →

Posted in Business planning, Customer service, Sales | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Doing far too much not well enough

Posted on May 15, 2012 by Jon Stow

  Riding for a fall My wife and I have been away recently, which has meant eating in restaurants rather more than we usually do. I love restaurant watching. So often one can see in a very short time the … Continue reading →

Posted in Business planning, productivity | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Do you offer a service or a process?

Posted on April 30, 2012 by Jon Stow

  Old chestnut I have been involved in an on-line debate covering the old chestnut of price versus value. This is a very important issue in most service businesses and particularly for smaller businesses., because we all need to think … Continue reading →

Posted in Business planning, Customer relations, Customer service | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment