I got an email this morning that even floored me, the most cynical person in the world. It came from a PR person who was pitching me a new product – A shirt. Yes, a shirt. Nothing special about the shirt, it was simply a new style from a new designer. But here’s what gets me: The subject line of the email was: “Hi! Can I borrow your audience?” (Insert blogging-car-skidding-to-a-halt sound here…) Can you borrow my… Hold up… WHAT? Can you “BORROW MY AUDIENCE?” Are you serious? OK. Not even taking into account the fact that my audience… IS AN AUDIENCE, and not, say, A SPATULA, no, you can’t “borrow my audience.” Let’s understand something – My audience is [...]

It’s SO the little things. In a future blog post, I’ll be talking about the wonderful experience that is GroundLink. But as I was taking a GrounLink car to JFK this morning, it got me thinking about why I loved them so much – And I realized that yet again, it’s the little things. Here’s a list of eight things you can do RIGHT NOW, for little or no cost, that will improve your customer service, get your customers happier than they’ve ever been, and get them talking about you to all of their friends! 8) Know your audience. This is one of the easiest, yet most forgotten things in customer service. Imagine being able to talk to your audience [...]

A bit over a month ago, I was contacted by Facebook, asking if I’d like to “merge” my “fan” page (I’m STILL not comfortable calling it that) with my “personal” page on Facebook, and turn my “fans” into “subscribers.” Facebook’s logic there was that I’d only have to post all my content in one place, and could determine which content was “public,” (i.e., subscribers, the world, etc.,) and which I kept only for my “friends.” I volunteered to give it a shot, even after being told there was no turning back – i.e., my “Fan page” would disappear, and I couldn’t bring it back. After asking a ton of questions (and to Facebook’s credit, the person who reached out to [...]

So I get an email today, criticizing me for congratulating the Giants in the HARO this morning by using the term “my NY Giants.” Apparently, I’m pompous and self-centered for saying “My” as opposed to “Our.” I responded that today, after an awesome win, I think everyone in NYC considers the Giants “theirs,” and more importantly, is that really the most important thing for them to worry about in their busy day? To which I get this vitriolic reply, stating that I’m completely full of shit, and that I’m nothing but a braggart, who should learn to be nicer to people. Me. I should learn to be nicer to other people. The guy who invites anyone to ask me any [...]

I’ve said it before – We don’t currently live in a world that regularly expects excellent customer service. In fact, with each passing generation, the customer service bar is actually lowered a bit more. Example: In the 50s, you’d drive into a gas station, and four uniformed attendants would rush over, each handling a different chore, from checking your oil, to pumping your gas, to cleaning your windows, and other basic automobile tasks. It was simply what was done. Can you imagine that? Four guys, waiting for you to drive in, and actually running to service you? I was driving to Atlantic City last week to give a speech, and stopped in to get gas. Because New Jersey is one [...]