Once again – its a number of very small touches that make great customer service. I recently upgraded from Sky to Sky HD – the experience was completely pain-free, but really enhanced by a number of very small touches along the way:
I booked the service by phone and got queued for getting an appointment – when it was my time, Sky emailed and texted me to let me know I could book online, I even got one month free for using the online channel.
The engineer was booked for Sunday between 12-5, but the day before he phoned to confirm and narrowed the time down to between 12 and 2 – meaning I could plan activities for later in the day – he arrived at 12.45.
The engineer was polite, quick and even offered to wear overshoes as it was raining outside, but the icing on the cake was when he left a small card with his cellphone number for 30 day DIRECT support with him rather than going back through a call center.
All installed in 5 days from first call to fully working, great quality product backed by decent service. Would I recommend Sky HD? Damn right I would.
The genius marketers at Ikea have put together an amazing campaign to advertise a new store opening in Malmo.
They created a Facebook account in the name of the store manager, uploaded 12 showroom photographs, and ran a competition for ‘friends’, to tag themselves on a photograph and win the item they tagged.
Its a great idea that spread like wild fire – you can watch a full explanation on video here:
Sunday morning – time to kick back, relax and reflect on the week completed. I like to do this by thinking about the things that inspire me. As ever, we have some inspiring music to accompany our short journey. Fire up that tune, then check out some of my biggest inspirations this week.
A true hero climbs Kilimanjiro – Jon Le Galloudec was a soldier in the British Army, and was shot through the spine in Iraq in 2007. He has joined with 4 friends (including an amputee) to climb Mount Kilimanjiro to raise money for Help for Heroes. There is really nothing more to add – read their story.
The Big Picture – Photo journalism at its absolute finest, The Boston Globe gathers some of the finest news photography and puts together some amazing sets of photos. Their Armistice Day feature was on one of the most moving I have seen in some time (especially photo #17 which I could not stop looking at), and their recent set from the conflict in Pakistan shows us just what an important role photo journalists play in bringing us the inside story of war.
The Visual Miscellaneum – my copy of this finally arrived this week, and its an amazing thing, pages and pages of information presented in a dazzling array of infoporn – you can read more about the project and see some samples over at Information is Beautiful, or buy the book at Amazon. This should be required reading for anyone who makes charts at work – and then maybe we’ll all break free of the defaults in Excel.
“You build on failure. You use it as a stepping stone. Close the door on the past. You don’t try to forget the mistakes, but you don’t dwell on it. You don’t let it have any of your energy, or any of your time, or any of your space.” Johnny Cash
One of the most important pieces of coaching I had was about choosing your responses, the realisation that I could step above the reptilian response and actually choose what happened next was a turning point.
Now I just need to coach myself to do that every time.
The third in my occasional series of recommendations for building your music library – not the new shiny releases in the press, but the older stuff that you need to get a good rounded collection on the go. If you are just buying your MP3 player, these are the artists you need to look into for a great selection of tuneage!
Don’t take my word for it, click the links and see what downloads are available on Amazon.
Serge Gainsbourg – The original Mister Lover Lover, a legendary caner and writer of some of the coolest music ever to waft across the channel. It doesn’t matter if you don’t speak French – the loucheness of ‘L’histoire de Melody Nelson’ was the sound that launched Portishead and more. Serge was the real deal, controversial and cool, fully capable of scandal AND sophistication. Everybody needs some Gainsbourg in their collection.
Depeche Mode – First discovered in my schools day, still loved as I grow middle aged and uncool. The Basildon boys have turned out album after album of high quality electronica – getting darker and darker as they age, with brilliant song writing from Martin Gore. My favourite albums: Violator, Songs of Faith and Devotion and Some Great Reward – a truly marvellous British band. If you have any interest in british electronica of the last 30 years, you need some Depeche Mode in your collection.
Paul Weller – From The Jam to The Style Council to solo material, Paul Weller has been one of the most influential artists of recent years. Starting out as the arch-mod, with angry, spiky tunes and developing a more laid back and jazzy sound with the Style Council in the mid eighties. For me – Stanley Road is an absolute treat of an album, and Sound Affects from the Jam is the soundtrack of my early schooldays. Paul Weller is a true national treasure, brilliant in every way.
What other artists would you include in your perfect music collection?
Sundays inspiration post had a track called Fitzcarraldo as the accompaniment – a song inspired by a Werner Herzog film of the same name. A story about a man who decides that the only way to fulfil his dream is to drag a steamboat over a mountain so that he can set up business in the Amazon, farming rubber.
It is a truly odd film, starring Klaus Kinski and about a zillion Peruvian tribesman, but the underlying theme is one of determination – the amazing quality that some people have for persistence. His dream is eventually fulfilled, despite some setbacks along the way, the scene of Fitzcarraldo smoking his cigar is one of my favourite film moments.
I’m always fascinated by people with the relentless desire to improve and achieve – sportsmen that press on become champions, business leaders that continue when all else seems lost and people that drag boats over mountains in order to chase their dreams.
Next time the going gets tough, or all else fails – it might be worth remembering that persistence begins with the decision to continue – a small step, but the next one you MUST take if you are going to achieve.
It’s that horrible becalmed time when record companies don’t release much so they can clear the decks for the Christmas rush – all diverting their marketing dollars to the x-factor and novelty nonsense – so new releases are a struggle. Never fear though, I’m here, sifting through the releases and making sure you get the best new tunes for your music collection. Don’t take my word for it though – hit up the links and have listen before spending your hard earned cash.
Miike Snow by Miike Snow – reminding me a little bit of the recent Friendly Fires album, an intelligent mix of electronica and pure pop from a group that includes production duo Avant and Bloodshy (Britney and Madonna). With a pedigree like that, you know this is going to be top drawer quality. Includes the singles Animal and Black & Blue.
Asleep at the Back by Elbow (Reissue) – as all the furore around Seldom Seen Kid dies down, I’ve found myself drawn again and again to this album, the debut from Elbow. In my opinion, it’s their strongest album – with Powder Blue and Newborn amongst my favourite tracks of all time. This reissue has extra tracks from the Newborn EP and some unreleased demo’s which are all a good listen.
Live at Reading by Nirvana – it’s easy to forget just how powerful Nirvana were at their height – but this romp through their 1992 set at the Reading festival shows just how exciting it would have been to see them at the time. It’s a patchy affair, with some rough sound and terrible weather affecting the overall quality of the set – but its undeniable how ferocious some of the tunes were – well worth a listen if you enjoyed Nirvanas brand of grungey-pop.
What new music are you listening to at the moment?
Slightly later this week, because I used all my time yesterday working on today’s Sunday Inspiration. It’s a special edition because it’s a project I have been involved in. As always, some music to listen to whilst you read on – click here to listen to the marvellous Fitzcarraldo by the Frames – a song about the mountains of effort you put in for love – Fitzcarraldo was man who pulled a ship over a mountain to follow the thing he loved.
Now – this weeks inspiration – I am proud to have been involved with a book that has just been released by my Mum – all the details are over here.
A Power Within – Poems of Love is a book of poetry take from the blog of the same name. My Mum has been writing poetry to record her life as she cares for my stepfather, who is suffering from Multiple Myeloma. I was involved in formatting and editing the book – and laying out ready for the publisher.
The book is completely inspirational for me as it shows how love conquers everything – shining through even the darkest days. I’ll leave the poetic writing to my mum, but please consider visiting her site, reading the poetry and leaving some comments – and maybe purchasing a copy of her first self published book. Each sale will include a donation to the International Myeloma Foundation, and the Church in the Village where Mum lives.
That’s my inspiration this week – what has been inspiring you?
That means all the great features of Bing are now available in the UK – including Visual Search (previously), Instant Answers (try this) and the ever changing, beautiful home page, are all now live.
The full features of Bing are over at the DiscoverBing site. Congratulations to those in the team that are turning Bing into a decision engine!
Matt Rutherford is passionate about creating excellent service and support experiences.
Matt is currently part of the team bringing support for Microsoft Online Services (BPOS etc) to the world.
Matt also loves music, movies and design - and can be found Clay Pigeon Shooting at the weekend - and blogging about shooting at the ShootClay website.
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