Dayely Thoughts by George Daye

Three Months and Counting

Nissan America is seriously dropping the customer service ball with, of all people, my MOM! If there is a patient person on the planet, it's her.  She'll wait... and wait... and WAIT until the last minute to confront someone about a problem.  I guess it's just in her nature.  Myself, I'll call you out and quick if I feel someone is taking advantage of me.

My mom purchased a new 2007 Nissan Versa about five months ago.  Shortly after the purchase, she ran over something on the highway that resulted in her car being in the shop. The shop reported that a fuel line, along with some other components had been damaged and that parts would need to be ordered.  Three months later, the fuel line part has STILL not come in.  My mom has made phone call after phone call after phone call to Nissan America to get the situation resolved, but her car remains in the shop.  So, logical reader, what's the solution?

If the part isn't available, shouldn't the dealer take a fuel line from an existing car in its inventory and fix my Mom's car?  Or shouldn't Nissan America pull a fuel line from the manufacturing facility and send it FedEx overnight to the shop? Logic dictates that one of these would happen, but have not yet.  If I were my Mom, I think I'd make call after call until I reached the Nissan America VP, or President, or whoever, and make some noise.  My mom is the type who will tell everyone she knows the entire story of her car and the 'mysterious, elusive fuel line".  Word of mouth is a powerful thing.

Choose Wisely. It's your right.

I took my family to the Statue of Liberty today where both my wife and son saw it for the first time.  I visited back in 2001, shortly before Sept. 11.  Pretty awe inspiring as I'm sure you know if you've been to see the statue before.  We're lucky, damn lucky to live where we live and how we live.  We're afforded the power of choice.  Take advantage of that power!  If you get treated poorly by a business, don't visit there again.  Spend your money somewhere else where you receive excellent customer service and where the ownership/management care about you as a customer.  Life is way too short to deal with the same BS time and time again.  And the reverse is true when you are treated well.  Go back and build a relationship with that business. Encourage them to keep it up because it's not easy being excellent.  -GD

Central Park on Labor Day

We spent the day in Central Park laying on a blanket and people watching.  This was a really cool experience, as we usually visit NYC during the Christmas season.  The weather was perfect, grass was green and soft and my wife and kiddo couldn't have been more fun to be with.  What more could a guy ask for?

The Friendly Skies... Right?

My wife and I have become 'those people'.  Don't know how it happened, well, yes actually I do but man it seems to have happened overnight.

We flew American Airlines two days ago from DFW to Indiana with our infant son.  Wow.  It never occurred to me that we'd be 'those people', you know, the ones back in seats 17B and 17C with the screaming kid.  That was us and it was stressful as anything I've experienced.  Our son cried... and cried and cried some more.  Unreal that his little lungs hold that much air.  Finally things calmed down and we made it to Indiana, albeit our nerves were shot.  Get to the point George... get to the point.

Our stewardess team on the flight was not happy with us.  And I'm sure many of the passengers weren't either.  But it's the stewardess' job to make sure everyone is comfortable and to take care of any needs, right?  So why the sour looks?  Why the impatience with my wife when she needed to go to the restroom to change a diaper before the seatbelt light had been turned off?  I just didn't understand it at all.  I felt real pressure and we were doing everything possible to calm our son and it would have helped to have some sympathy from the flight crew.

On the other hand, we received wonderful service from a stewardess on a shuttle flight from Indiana to NYC, where we are now.  She was great!  Sharing stories with us about her own grandkids and how she was there for us if we needed anything.  She even moved us to a different row because that particular row had infant flotation devices under the seat.  Wow.  Who does that anymore?  Such personal service. Were put at ease and I'm sure our son was as well  He must have been... he slept straight through the entire flight!  -GD

Following up on the sale

Kudos to Hawk Electronics in Arlington!  After selling us a new alarm system for my Mom's house, the rep met the installer before and after the installation to make sure everything was just right.  This gave my Mom peace of mind and me a good feeling about doing business with Hawk.  Well done!

Starbucks: Starring Chris Tucker

One of my favorite movies of all time is Friday, starring Ice Cube (as Craig) and Chris Tucker (as Smokey). One particular scene is where Smokey visits Craig's house and wants to make Koolade, but Craig informs Smokey they don't have any sugar. Smokey goes on a hilarious rant... (and I'm quoting by memory) 'Damn Craig! You don't ever have two things that match! Bread no butter... Cereal no milk... Koolade no sugar... Damn!' It seemed no matter what it was, Craig was always out of a key ingredient.

You'd think that type of thing only happens in movies, but it happened to me Monday at, of all places, Starbucks. This was one of their small stores inside Super Target. Ready to be amazed? I ordered my usual Grande bold roast coffee but they weren't able to fill the order. Guess what they were out of..... COFFEE!!

Imagine Discount Tire being out of tires. Or how about a Game Stop with no games? How about Bath and Body Works being stocked with nothing for your bath or your body. Weird huh?

I honestly don't get this type of customer service screw up. Shouldn't brewing coffee be the No. 2 task behind unlocking the doors in the morning? I'd like to know if this has happened to you. I need to know I'm not alone! GD (Moblogged from the mall while my wife shops!)

Moblogging? A Test

I'm sending this blog from my PDA. Cool technology if you can stand typing an entire blog from a microSized device like my Treo. So here's my first attempt... I'll let you know how it goes at the end of this entry.

For those who don't know, I'm the rookie Dad on my block. Our son is 8 weeks old and in need of constant attention as I know all babies are. Feeding, burping, swaddling, shooshing, swaying, bathing and one other thing... Oh yes.. Diaper changes, are an hourly activity in the Daye Household. He needs these and often needs them NOW. My son's needs got me thinking about customer service. How does it equate?

Customers are a lot like babies! They are in need of constant attention when doing business with you. Let's use a couple dining out as an example: They can't do anything for themselves and count on the server to meet their every need. If these needs aren't met, they will 'cry' about it to management. So just like a newbie parent, staff at the restaurant should be attentive with an eye for detail and let nothing be missed. The health of the business and the opportunity for repeat customers depends on it.

And as for this 'Moblogging' thing... Not too bad. I'll give it another go after the swelling in my thumbs goes down. :)

Moving Day

I fondly remember my first apartment I shared with my friend Darrell.  It was a small, one bedroom place on the second floor located in Southwest Arlington, Texas.  Darrell and I were both in our late teens and figured we'd make the arrangements work out no matter how uncomfortable.  'Uncomfortable' included sleeping every other night on the couch, not owning a vacuum, eating off paper plates, stocking the fridge with Shiner Bock beer and bologna, and wiping the word privacy from my vocabulary for some time to come.  Those days were a blast, truth be told, but eventually Darrell and I partied ourselves into an eviction notice and out of our first apartment.  It was time to move on to bigger, better and more mature.  Not to mention better choices of meals.  Shiner Bock and bologna sandwiches can only carry a guy so far.

This same situation is what has happened to me in a blogging sense.  I have been writing somewhat regularly for a year or so over at Libsyn.com.  Libsyn is primarily a podcasting host with the added ability to  post blogs along with those podcasts.  While very efficient at the podcasting, the blogging tools at Libsyn were lacking and I needed a cleaner presentation.  So, the time has come to pack up, shake hands with my former 'roommate' and move on to bigger better and more mature.  Typepad, here I am, suitcases in hand.

Those of you who haven't read my blogs before, I'll attempt to move some of them over to this new site.  I primarily write about customer service, good and bad, and how I believe it can be improved.  I'm convinced there is always room for improvement no matter how much a company touts its customer service skills (Starbucks, you are SO the target of my next rant!) and I do my best to call attention to these opportunities.  Also, I CRAVE feedback and stories from others about their experiences. I like to discuss the nuts and bolt of these experiences, learn why they happen and try to figure out ways to repair them.  I like the dialogue.  I like the discussion.  I like the sense of community that these discussions create.

So, that's what I've got for today.  I'll save my Starbucks rant for another day (PREVIEW: I visited a Starbucks with (gasp) NO COFFEE brewed!) and hope that readers will come back for more.  Meanwhile, pardon the mess while I unpack and get settled in.  I hope you like what I do with the place!

Best regards and happy reading,

George W. Daye, III
Founder/President
BarServ Mystery Shopping Services