High Tech Enhancement to Customer Service

Check this out. As a paying customer and I must say, "An excellent tipper," when the service is good, I have an idea to share.

Restaurant tables leave much to be desired these days. We live in a high tech society and yet we are trying to serve people in a traditional way. Today, most youngsters do not know how to serve. In the U.S., today's youth are handed everything on a platter, how could they learn how to serve, or earn tips? For the record, no, I am not a Baby Boomer, I am generation "X."

Here is the idea. Introduce a computer control room that takes orders from table top touch screen computers. Not flat screen, high tech computers, but, rather table computers mounted under the glass with touch screen capabilities. I envision the customer placing orders "On Demand." Orders monitored by the control room and wait staff standing by to please. As the manager, you decide the standard level of agreement in time to fill, for the customer's request.

Instead of individual tips, you might choose a collectivistic approach of pooled tips. Split the tips at the end of the shift. If someone is slacking, the team will sort them out.

Customer satisfaction ratings will be instantaneous and online. Chain of restaurants will have access to the "Order to Demand" and "Fill Rate" real time. The customer is in control of their service with a push of the button. Picture it, an electronic "more coffee please!" No more cups on the side to signal the cup is empty and ready to fill.

The possibilities are endless. Get high tech and enhance customer service.

When in China do as the Chinese

Although, you should have seen the looks the local Chinese would shoot us, it was hilarious. I am confident the Chinese people didn’t even see me. Here are these two (fake), large bodyguards walking side-by-side and I walking behind, dragging my laptop. My laptop is an extension of my brain, so I protected it with my life. I felt like Roger Staubach a quarterback from the 1979 Dallas Cowboys with 2 defensive linemen as blockers, paving a path through the masses. Chinese youth would just point and stare. Fortunately for me, my bodyguards cleared the path and I just rolled with the times.

After work, I often had to drag my computer around Shanghai for dinner, as the two big guys took precedence over me, when they were hungry. My hotel would have added an additional 40 minutes of traffic time to the journey. Who am I to question my giant bald brothers? We all had code names for each other. One guy code named, Iron Eagle (the big wig) and another the Bachelor (the traveler). My code name was Wing Nut! The psychology behind a single wing nut is not too important, psychologically or mechanically. Thanks guys!

When we finally arrived at the restaurant recommended by the Westin Hotel’s concierge we were seated at a six person table. Interestingly enough, two of the chairs were already taken by two Chinese men. This practice is normal for the Chinese, but a little awkward for the Americans. Personal space is a premium in other cultures and proximics are quite different around the world. In the U.S. we are used to being alone and afforded our own space. For fun, reverse it and try sitting at someone else’s table in the U.S. uninvited.

When in China do as the Chinese. When in the U.S. do as the U.S., this rule applies almost anywhere. Unfortunately, many Americans forget this rule and they claim foreign soil as Neil Armstrong claimed the Moon. Research and learn or in other words, know before you go. Most importantly, have fun! Get out of your comfort zone!

Click your way to a million dollars!

Colin Scroggins and Mike Kline ask, “How often do you receive a meeting announcement by email, rather than by Outlook meeting request?” To make sure you remember the meeting you must now enter this into Outlook as an appointment. This seemingly small interruption has huge consequences, as the lost productivity is multiplied across the entire employee base.

For example: Technology is available to schedule a team meeting, but it is not being utilized by all. You are in your office and someone sends out an e-mail notifying you of a weekly staff meeting. Instead of one individual setting up a convenient Outlook Calendar request for the team, everyone is required to set-up the meeting in their own calendars. On average, every distraction during the day wastes approximately 15 minutes. We don’t know about you, but our first response is absolute disgust. Why are some individuals not utilizing available technology to enhance their ability to deliver what we are all being paid to accomplish? Are there any overall hidden intangible costs?

Let's interpret the data?

15 Minutes/Interruption
x 52 Weeks
= 13 Hours/Year
x $15.00/Hour
= $195.00
x 7500 Employees
= $1,462,500 million dollars a year in wasted time/productivity

Now think about It: How many meetings per week does this occur? If the number is greater than zero, than it is one too many times. How many times are these individually scheduled meetings canceled? Any way you slice it, under utilized time, wastes dollars which are directly tied to salary and lost productivity. I didn’t even calculate the following:

• Meeting rescheduling
• Meeting cancellation
• Change of venue
• Cross-referencing existing calendar events
  

All of these actions are automated when using Outlook’s built-in meeting request features, plus these requests can be forwarded to third parties, saving other parties the same loss in productivity.

Cost avoidance is cost savings: We live in a culture where time is money.

All under-utilized time wastes dollars which are directly tied to personnel and resources. By using the tools provided by the Corporation to streamline your business processes, you reduce the operation costs across the business. By not utilizing the tools provided you are promoting fraud, waste and abuse. Good stewardship of money is essential to business success. Organizations can cut costs by reducing head count or by using technology effectively. How much money are you wasting? What would you do with 1.4 Million dollars or more?

Shanghai Pajama Party: What’s that all about?

One of the many strange Chinese cultural observations that I have been fortunate enough to experieince, is many of the Shanghai, Chinese people get off work (in the summer months only), bathe, put on pajamas and then set-up lawn chairs in the middle of the sidewalk to cool off and relax. This ritual sounds relaxing and welcomed. There is nothing wrong with relaxing, it is healthy. Now imagine this ritual taking place in the middle of a busy New York sidewalk at rush hour. A sea of people, bikes, and vehicles going by at fast pace trying to get home and while all of this activity is taking place there is a Chinese man or woman laying out on a lawn chair, pajama top slightly pulled above their belly as they rub it in relaxation. In more technical terminology, a manufacturing company might call this sunbathing routine a bottleneck. The sunbathing slows down the production, of getting a tired, hungry individual from their work to home.

My question to you is how can an individual relax with thousands upon thousands of pedestrians walking past and observing your belly rubbing ritual? There are over 18 million people living in Shanghai. Things that make you go Hmmmm! What’s that all about?

Eat Humble Pie: By Swallowing Pride we Enable Innovation

My extreme risk taking, although informed, is a little fast and furious for my Greater Asia region business partners. We must continually be aware of our cultural similarities and also our cultural differences.

If you read my Blog regarding El Chupacabra invading Asia on Wednesday, April 12, 2006 you will see a classic example of my personal decision in choosing to enable innovation by swallowing my pride. Pride lied and told me to get out of Dodge; however, the right business decision is a hard call sometimes, so I stuck it out. I still have one close casualty (my better half)! My injured party is due to my inability to build a relationship with the Malaysian course owner. Trust comes first, prior to my using my network of family, friends, and business acquaintances to move mountains. My strategy was a tad faulty.

Eating humble pie, I met with my Malaysian counterpart via a telephonic bridge line (phone call) communication. We discussed a few options, shared some history of the benefits (win-win), and came to an agreement to proceed. Of course, there are still some negotiations to iron out and some HR legal discussions to take place, but these risks are low.

In dealing with American business partners it seems a natural progression for our international counterparts to embrace a similar style of work communication (the spirit of El Chupacabra). Americans are known for a “My Way or the Highway,” way of doing business. We seem to be a little short sighted on adopting another cultures way and thus often lose in international negotiations.

Negotiations in the Greater Asia region will include the exchanging of gifts. For one example, what is the gift giving policy at any given American business? I think you will find it is across the board pretty low. Reasons for low gift exchange includes, ethics training and the perceptions your company is being bought off in negotiations. The question I think about in regards to gift exchange is: How can you have a single policy that crosses many cultures effectively?

Culturally, the Japanese are the biggest gift exchangers and the exchange is a very important part of a relationship. Gift giving is a ceremony. The Chinese, the Malaysians and the rest of the Greater Asia region follow suite on gifts. By not embracing a simple gesture of thoughtful gift giving we make relationship building more difficult. Cheap gifts are insulting (lack of respect). Never give gifts with company logos (disrespect).

There is always room to challenge the status quo and design approved exceptions to policy, procedure and we have always done it this way syndrome. Get real and make good business decisions by developing your knowledge and skills in intercultural relations. The future is more global than today!

Did you Know, Microsoft Outlook Calendar Allows Business to Business Calendaring?

In a continuing effort to share tips and tricks in virtual meetings I wanted to be certain that you are aware of a really cool feature in the Microsoft Outlook Calendar Tool. I guess I took it for granted that most people were aware of the ability to send meeting calendar requests across different companies, providing each company is using Outlook as their email and calendar tool. Most companies I work with do use Outlook.

My wife and I both work for high-tech companies and we share our honey-do lists by adding appointment notifications such as medical appointments, travel dates, baseball games, gymnastics, dinner engagements, who has to pick up the kids due to meeting conflicts and so on. I am sharing this so that you have an opportunity to benefit from the use of this cool feature.

As I pondered the question of others using this neat feature, I began asking my friends, if they were aware of this feature. The answer I received is an overwhelming no. Sometimes, the most simple tasks, we perform are overlooked as we assume everyone knows, but in actuality, they may not.

Here is how you invite an individual to a calendar request. Insert the individuals email address into the Calendar tools TO: field, set-up the calendar event and click send. An email calendar request will be sent to the individual and they can accept it or decline it. The only negative to this is the accept invitation and/or decline does not show-up under the tracking feature. However, I use it to schedule meetings with suppliers and customers all the time and I have never had an external company not show.

Examination of cool tips and tricks, help us to organize busy business schedules. This examination is essential to helping us meet our high demand on our time. If we manage our lives better, we are less stressed and able to perform at a much higher rate of deliverables. Technology is supposed to make our lives less stressful, not more. Use technology to enhance your life, reduce your workload and be more productive.

If you have other cool tips, please comment and post them for others to benefit from. Open communication changes the world.

Thoughts for Setting up Effective Virtual Meetings

Working virtually and internationally are two growing challenges for today’s businesses. Time zones, meeting times, connectivity, language barriers, accents, hidden prejudice, hurt pride, and culture are all major players in the success or failure of virtual meetings. When I first started working virtually, meeting times were very convenient. The main reason meeting times were convenient is because we met on U.S. time, my time. What is the issue with meeting on U.S. time?

The world can be divided into three great regions. The Greater America Region includes: Canada, North America, Latin America, and South America. The Greater European Region includes: Europe, Middle-East, Africa, and Russia. The Greater Asia Region includes China, Japan, Taiwan, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Korea, India and many others. The number one challenge is in the time zones. The Greater America Region might be starting their day when it is the end of the day in the Greater European Region and the middle of the night in the Greater Asia Region. How do you meet with everyone around the globe at the same time without inconveniencing someone? You can’t meet globally at the same time without inconveniencing one or two of the regions, someone will be calling into an early or late meeting.

Technology was created to make our lives more convenient, but in reality our lives have been taken over. As I began to understand the issues in meeting virtually and the assumptions we make about other regions, I began to change meeting times based upon the attendees region. If a U.S. presenter wanted to share something I would require three separate presentations or meetings. The burden of time was now the burden of the presenter. A good rule to follow is to allow the inconvenience to impact the few (presenters of information) for the benefit of the many (regional employees). If a presenter desires to train or meet virtually, have them set-up convenient meetings for the regions. Sharing the burden of meeting at all hours helps to build credibility and relationships. However, it also set a standard for abusing the time zone shuffle. The expectation is not always followed due to constraints in connectivity, transportation, access to a shared computer, and pure selfishness.

Here are a couple of ideas to aid you in setting up effective meetings virtually.

1. Use the Outlook Calendar tool to change your time zone to the time zone you plan on meeting in. Set-up the meeting in the time zone you want to meet in and then change the time zone back to your local time zone. Outlook will convert the meeting time back to your local time. This little trick is easy and fairly accurate to ensure you are working on the same time, in their time. Remember that the Greater Asia Region is twelve plus hours ahead, so Friday meetings are not advisable.

2. Remember to check an international holiday website to ensure your meeting is an actual work day. Often times, people forget that other countries have holidays too. For example, scheduling a meeting during the Chinese New Year or on Israeli holy days will result in your meeting not being attended.

3. Don’t forget about prayer time. If a country has a large Muslim population, companies generally provide prayer rooms and prayer times are recognized and supported. Individuals will usually block their calendars to allow themselves less conflict with mandatory prayer.

4. For large meetings ask everyone to go on mute. Some telephone bridge lines use (*6) to mute and un-mute the phone line. It is important to address the issue of being placed on holdwith background music. Back ground music can be very distracting to the presenter and attendees, if someone places you on hold with music playing until they return. Background noise can also distract. Personally, I have heard many things while hosting meetings virtually. Some of the more interesting virtual noises include; flatulence, dish washing, vacuums, snoring, talking to someone else, restroom noises, flushing toilets, crying babies, doorbells, and dog’s barking. This list is not exhaustive.

5. Use a convenient web sharing service like WebEx, Macromedia Breeze, Microsoft Live Meeting or others to facilitate and capture questions. Accents and names may cause issues with understanding questions and/or feedback. Having a question typed out for you will enhance your ability to effectively answer questions.Many international attendees in China and India have changed or shortened their names and/or adopted American names in business (sometimes very humorous names).