Based on the AMERICAN CUSTOMER SATISFACTION INDEX (ACSI), customer satisfaction with personal computers of all types (desktop, laptop, and tablet) is at an all-time high of 80%, up 2.6% from the 78% score of 2010 and 2011.
Part of the reason is that tablets garner more customer satisfaction than desktops or laptops, so increasing tablet market share boosts the industry’s overall score. Among companies, Apple continues to dominate the ACSI rankings and its iPad continues to gain market share.
Paula Cole’s next album will be an independent release entitled, Raven, and she is raising the production money through fan pledges. For me, Paula’s live performances are emotional and very personal. Saw her perform at the World Cafe in Philadelphia last October – she was awesome.
If you would like to pledge money for Paula’s independent release, CLICK HERE.
Most conference centers are designed to accommodate seminars, registration activity and the usual business networking. I rarely see a piano in a conference foyer. So, imagine my surprise when I found a beautiful, white baby grand piano just outside the room in which I’d be speaking at the Mechanical Systems Week conference in Chicago. And the piano was in tune – amazing! I sat on the bench and started playing the jazz standard, “When Sunny Gets Blue” by Marvin Fisher. Just like magic, a small crowd gathered and everyone was smiling. Music makes people happy.
The first tune was followed by “Misty” by Erroll Garner, then “Tenderly” by Walter Gross, and on and on… Great fun!
Last week, a group of candid and courageous trade school students at Laney College in Oakland, California taught me an interesting lesson. How? Keep reading.
It all began years ago, when I met Nick Kyriakopedi, Laney College’s HVAC and Electrical Department Chair, at an HVAC Excellence conference in Las Vegas. Nick’s ebullient personality made it easy for us to become friends and so when I phoned him a few weeks ago to say I’d be consulting in Northern California, he jumped at the chance to host a soft skills class. Nick assured me that the students would be astute and that they would appreciate my presence. Boy, Nick was not kidding.
The classroom was packed with more than 60 students and their remarks ran the gamut from how to handle persnickety customers, where to park their truck, to questions about personal hygiene and customer’s pets. Needless-to-say, we had lots of laughs too.
Some students were in their early twenties and others were forty-something. Their inquisitive and eager demeanor made the time fly. They courageously let it all hang out and this resulted in a mutually beneficial learning experience.
I continue to learn much from those whom I serve. When I see courage in the classroom it reassures me that there is hope for the future.
This week, I will be speaking at the Mechanical Systems Week conference in Chicago. My speech title is Service Managers: Keep The Bar High. To watch a preview, click below.
Click here to download the complete survey.
See the Contractor Magazine cover here.
What are Absolute Extremes? They are words such as always, all, never and every. These words are almost never accurate and they can confuse customers and fuel confrontation. The best strategy is to avoid using Absolute Extremes.
Here are a few examples:
He is never at his desk.
She is always late.
They all have terrible attitudes.
He frowns on the phone during every call.
Customers appreciate accuracy and a minimal amount of editorializing.
Compiling 30 year-old photos into a high-tech collage can be fun. I used Animoto to create this 30 second compilation. Enjoy!
Click on the link below.
How can this be?
ManpowerGroup, a world leader in the workforce solutions, reports that 49 percent of U.S. employers are experiencing difficulty filling mission critical
positions within their organizations. According to the more than 1,300 U.S. employers surveyed, the positions that are most difficult to fill include skilled trades, engineers and information technology staff.
My question: Does the USA lack skilled workers or do we lack folks who want to learn new skills? What do you think?
The June issue of HVACR Distribution Business Magazine published an article about the skyrocketing sales of my Customer Service Handbook.
To read the article, click here.
Learn more about the book by clicking on the below image.
Article excerpt: “Regarded by many as one of the best contractor customer service experts worldwide, Coscia is an avid researcher of customer service trends. He conducted one of the industry’s first studies of stress in the customer service environment, which revealed the causes of stress along with the most common manifestations of post-stress behavior among customer service professionals.”
