Monday, November 13, 2006

Customer Service

On our last adventure I left Christine Kane talking to Dorothy and Toto began to follow me down the Road. Christine uses the time she found her dog to explain experiencing creativity. For me, this is a perfect example of trying to find my place in the universe. So far the dog hasn't come home, but I feel one is following me. I even named it, RadioBack.

Starship_cruiserStarting today, our primary method of travel for Six Degrees will be the Starship Cruiser. The speed in which she vaporizes the boundaries of status-quo and flirts about the fringes of the universe is beyond human comprehension. The music piped on board originates at The Loft.

A short time in hyper-drive places the Starship outside our solar system and in the beautiful city of Des Moines, Iowa. (Thanks to Starbucker for these coordinates) Thea Gilmore is just finishing "When I'm Gone" as Tom Vander Well of QAQNA greets us at the Space Port. Tom doesn't just instruct when writing about customer service, a very dear topic of mine, he orchestrates. Before leaving, Tom takes us ten miles past the city's edge to a Mail Pouch barn. Inside we find this absolute beauty. Tom directs us to the West and CustomersAreAlways.

Dar Williams barely lays down "Echoes" before California re-entry. Maria Palma hands us an aromatic Breakfast Blend as we de-board. Maria injects heart and soul into positive customer service experiences. Thanks so much for your hospitality Maria! She says, "if you enjoy my stories you'll be delighted with Mary's.

The Starship elevates and rockets toward New Mexico and Mary Schmidt. Lindsey Buckingham picks a beautiful guitar on "Down on the Rodeo." The very first impression that leaves an everlasting one with us about Mary is that she's a professional - her writing projects this most clearly. While showing us around Albuquerque, Mary points toward Service Stars & Snafus. We found this inspiring tidbit there. Mary talks about sound, positive business practices, but she didn't hesitate to tell us about something Broken.

Screaming eastward across the U.S., Gold Frapp plays "Beautiful." Ordinarily we wouldn't be visiting someone line Mark because he has no blogroll. But Mark is one of those cats out here doing good things. His work, This is Broken, is a most constructive vehicle that businesses and folks should pay attention to. Here's what else Mark is up to. I recommend Uncle Mark's Gift Guide. We contact Mary from New York and ask, "who else has passion out here?" "Go Down Under guys."

Sweet! We can crank up the Starship. We might be able to get two songs in before arriving in Adelaide, Australia. Evanescence jams on "You" as we revel in our good fortune in meeting really good people today. Lee Hopkins greets us with most south of the equator warmth. Lee writes about blogging, communications and tools to help your personal growth. We can't help but to notice the sincerity and human voice that he weaves into his work. Lee says, "you guys look pretty tired, but try stopping in Winter Haven, Florida, before taking Route 4 back to Tampa."

Ben Lee closes out our trip today with "Catch My Disease." The Starship lands in one of the many lakes surrounding Winter Haven and we transport to shore. Josh Hallett welcomes us. Josh is a true Internet and Social Media consultant. I am veering off course just a tad here because I am familiar with Josh. The intent though, is to highlight Josh's vast experience on blogging - click on his blogging category and settle in for a fresh, educational adventure. Josh leaves us with a post on our topic of customer service today.

Once home, I see Rosemary attacking her computer. She's been averaging over 3,000 words a day for the last month on a book and it reminded me of a couple of posts on customer service that she wrote for me when she was still a bank manager. Mr. Fiorucci's House and Roger. Be advised, these stories are touching. Besides being one of the best managers I've ever seen, her customer service skills were almost better!

Man! What a fantastic day! Thanks for riding along in the Starship.

5 comments:

Steve Sherlock said...

Dave, thanks for taking us along. Some of these landings were places the Hitchhiker Team has found (but you presented them in a new light) and some of these places were indeed new and exciting. I like how you navigated this journey.

Where next Captain?

Dave said...

Thanks Steve! I really do need to push the Starship beyond the sixth degree. "Give me more power Scotty"

Anonymous said...

You are welcome captain! Don't let the flux capacitor mess up the warp drive. :-)

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the link-love. Now, who wants to meet at the Cantina in Mos Eisley for a little jawa-juice?

Dave said...

Aeyyy Starbucker! Power loss can usually be traced to lack-of-blogrolls.

Tatooine is still a few galaxies away Tom. "Give me more blogrolls Scotty."