It's time to talk about chatbots again. Last year I asked if chatbots would solve customer service. As companies, we want automation to take over simple tasks. But, as consumers, we want something else. We want seamless transactions and brand consistency. We can...
Your marketing is awesome. Your website looks great. The descriptions are descriptive. The photos are top quality. The colors are realistic. And the e-commerce piece is working without a hitch, Your marketing may be awesome -- but is it effective? Here's a quick case...
Comcast received a lot of praise at one time for being an early adopter of Twitter for customer service. Really, people said nice things about the company. Look it up. If you took to Twitter, you could get "escalated" help. Otherwise? Good luck. We talk a lot about...
A new report says that the future of retail is increasingly frictionless and personalized. Future of Retail 2016, by research firm PSFK Labs, identifies 10 factors that companies will want to put in place to build brand loyalty, engage with customers, and generate...
I thought the crispy bacon on the breakfast buffet would be the highlight of my day. I was wrong. There would be champagne. (More on that in a moment.) I spent three nights in three hotels recently as part of a road trip to southwest Florida for a conference. The...
Should you use Twitter for customer service? This is a question a lot of businesses wrestle with. Both whether to be there and how to use the platform wisely. As a customer, I typically use Twitter for three types of customer service situations: When a company's phone...
Debbie Marriott Harrison tells this wonderful story about how her grandmother knocked on the door of the Embassy of Mexico and convinced the chef there to teach her how to make tacos and tamales. Harrison is the third generation of Marriotts in the hospitality...
In a 24/7, customer-centric world, you have to be present to be part of the conversation. Snooze, and you will lose. A recent consumer poll found that 47 percent of customers value speed in responding to questions or complaints. Dig into the data and several more...
My gym now has wifi. This means I can stream the Foo Fighters one day and Renee Fleming the next, and that I'm no longer limited to whatever playlists are currently downloaded onto my phone. (I can also monitor my e-mail, which says something about boundaries,...
The other day I overshot my friend’s stall and stopped to purchase water from another vendor lining Half Street near the entrance to Nationals Park. As I handed over a $5 bill and waited for change, he asked if I was going to give $1 tip to his “cashier” inside the...