REICH COMMUNICATIONS

Hypocrisy

 

I think most people would agree that there's always been some level of hypocrisy among politicians.  Not all, of course.  Maybe not even most, but over the years too many seem to have adhered to the concept of ‘do as I say, not as I do.’

Unfortunately, the levels of hypocrisy in government seems to have elevated to new heights over the past two years during the campaign of and now the administration of our current president.

Right from the start, he would be among the first and certainly the loudest of critics of sitting and past politicians.  Some of his jabs might have had some merit, except many things he criticized others for were things he had said or done himself. 

Many were really petty things like criticizing Marco Rubio when, mid-speech, he stopped to take a swig of water – exactly what the president did last week in the middle of a speech about a trade deal with China.  Another example was his criticism of some of his opponents reading their speeches from a teleprompter, which is kind of interesting since he has to be the worst at reading a prepared script off a teleprompter – coming off as wooden and emotionless.

He was a loud critic of the government’s response to natural disasters like Katrina in New Orleans and, more recently, Sandy in the New York area.  Yet when he was called on to be the healer-in-chief after Hurricane Maria devastated the U.S. citizens who live in Puerto Rico, he was silent for a week.  When he did speak out, he was critical and even picked a petty fight with San Juan’s mayor.  When he finally went to the island, he made a mockery of the situation by throwing paper towels to people like he was handing out prizes at a game show.  Bush’s telling his FEMA director “Great job, Brownie” now looks so much more “presidential” than the guy now in office who promised us he could and would act presidential once elected.

But those are trivial and unimportant examples of the president’s hypocrisy.  Much more significant are the hypocrisies we now see – the biggest one currently being charges of sexual misconduct by powerful men not only in politics, but in business, entertainment and even the media, from FOX on one end of the spectrum to The New York Times, with charges coming to light about reporter Glenn Thrush.

The predator-in-chief, who has boasted on tape to groping women and grabbing them by their genitals “because he can,” refused to weigh in on the charges by, at last count, nineteen women against the Republican candidate for Alabama Senator.  But as soon as one charge came up against Democrat Al Franken, who has been an outspoken critic of the president’s policies, he weighed in on Twitter. 

The hypocrisy he displayed in his response to the white supremist rally in Charlottesville and the various mass shootings we’ve seen over the past few months in Las Vegas, Texas and northern California is a real concern.  There has been no real attempt at leadership and healing necessary to unite us as a nation.

The hypocrisies of the president continue to mount, along with constant lies.  Last week, I saw a report that in his ten months in office so far, the president has told an average of more than five lies every day.  Most Americans, let alone people throughout the world including world leaders, are getting tired of the lies and hypocrisies.  The president’s approval rating continues to drop to unprecedented new lows, and many of us now simply take any statements he makes – whether on Twitter or in a news interview – with more than a few grains of salt.

For a man who prided himself as a great leader and as a great communicator and a great deal-maker, we are sadly seeing exactly how hypocritical those boasts have been.

Above & Beyond .. An Uber Superstar

 

 

 

I haven't been to Atlanta for many years, so I didn't realize that the Atlanta Auto Show, the reason for my work visit, is only a 10-minute walk from my hotel.  So I called an Uber car.

 

When we got into the car, a lovely conversation ensued with driver Michelle.  Her "day job," she explained, is teaching piano.  She currently has 89 students at her U Can Play Piano school.

 

After a 7-minute ride, my business associate and I got out of the car and went into the Georgia World Congress Center to get ready for our press event.

 

About an hour later I got a call from Uber Michelle, to say my associate ( also Michelle) had left her cell phone on the back seat.  Uber Michelle only noticed it when she got back home to prepare for her teaching gig. 

 

She offered to bring the phone back to us that evening, after she finished her last lesson.  When we learned she would have a 45-minute drive each way, we said it could wait till tomorrow and if she's working in the city, she could call and we'd meet her.

 

Sure enough, I got a call around 1 today.  She was on her way in and would meet us outside the Auto Show to give us the phone.

 

She called again and I went outside to meet her.  She was so excited to see the phone safely returned, and she took some pictures of us, as she thanked me for my help.  Thanking ME?  She's the one who did the good deed, especially after she admitted she wasn't Uber driving today, since she offered to help a friend with something.  She had, after all, driven into downtown just to return the phone, even after I told her we had a rental car and would have driven to her tonight to get the phone.

 

This is an example of someone with a real commitment to go above & beyond for customer service, and Uber should be very proud of her.

 

If you know anyone in ATL who is looking for piano lessons, contact  Michelle Barnett at  [email protected].  Tell her David from NY sent you.

 

 

 

Short-Sighted Corporate Think

 

I just had an interesting experience with a potential vendor.  They're a big (not giant) operation and they approached me about using one of their services to promote a client's upcoming event.

I hadn't thought of using them and the budget is already locked in. But I asked about the cost and learned it would be $800.  I asked the saleswoman how low they could go, explaining maybe I'd pay for it out of my own pocket and use the results to justify including it in the budget for next year. I told her I could handle $200.

The saleswoman checked with her manager and was told they could drop it to $500.  I told her all I felt comfortable paying from my pocket was $200.  I explained that I'm a small business and my fee for the project couldn't justify me shelling out $500 of my own money. 

She said, by email, sorry, maybe another time.

My emailed response was thanks for trying, but isn't $200 better than $0?

She wrote back that she understands and agrees, but had to go with her boss' decision.

Corporate-think at its best. 

I could understand not going below a certain price for a hard product, which has a real cost for production, distribution and profit margin. Or for a service based on hours.  Of course you don't want to lose money on a sale.

But this is, essentially, a digital effort, where something I provide would be put into an existing digital network.  Minimal, if any, time involved.  And if it brought the results the vendor said it would, I know I would have no trouble selling  the client on using it next year, at full price...in fact, maybe using it more than once at full price.

So here's a great example of corporate thinking... for a difference of $300 -- a big deal out of my pocket, but an amount that won't make a bit of difference either way for this big company -- they stand to lose more than that a year from now.  Plus, I might have looked to use the service for other clients.

Short-term, short-sighted thinking.  Not at all the way to build business by adding new customers...even small ones who might eventually become bigger ones.

Over the years, I've done deals on pricing that have paid off nicely in the long run.  I am so glad I am in business for myself and don't have to rely on shortsighted decisions by higher-paid higher-ups.

The Unfriendly Skies ... Keeping Customers in the Dark

 

Here I am, writing this at LaGuardia Airport.  I've been here since 9:30 this morning.  It's now 3:55 p.m. on Thursday.

 

I'm trying to get to Charlotte, N.C. to represent my client The National Road Safety Foundation at the National PTA Conference, which begins tonight at 6:30.  I'm supposed to be manning the client's exhibit.

 

My flight on Delta was supposed to depart at 11:10.  When I got through security, the monitors said the flight was departing from gate C29.  I went there, but the sign at the gate was for a different flight.  I saw I had received a text from Delta, which said the flight was at a different gate in another wing of the terminal.  When I got there, the sign at that gate was for a flight to Kansas City, leaving 5 minutes before my flight.  There was no one from Delta at the counter.  There were many passengers milling around, and none knew anything about the flight.

 

I walked back and found the Delta customer service center. The agent there had absolutely no information except that the flight was on time to leave from gate c21, where the Kansas City flight was about to board.  So I waited there, just to have a place to sit

 

At the Delta terminal at LGA, they now have iPads at the seats, so I went on one and looked up flight info.  The Delta site said the flight was departing on time from yet another gate.  I knew this couldn't be accurate, since it was already close to 11:20 and the sign at gate c21 now did say Charlotte.

 

At about 11:45, some people were saying the flight was delayed till 1.  I went to customer service, where they made some calls and learned the rumor was right...the flight was going out at 1:43.  Gate still unknown.

 

I asked for a lunch voucher.  The agent, a supervisor, said they only give vouchers if the delay is more than 3 hours.  I said, you're going to let a difference of 30 minutes stand in the way of satisfying an upset customer?  Its our policy, she said.

 

We did finally board for the 1:43 flight, after I received 3 different texts from Delta, each 2-5 minutes apart, saying the 1:43 would depart from three different gates.  Got settled in, they closed the door and... we waited.  After a few minutes, the pilot came on the P.A. and said they had  discovered a dent on the wing, and the plane would need to be checked further.  So we got off the plane, as they canceled the flight.

 

Of course, it was a madhouse at the customer service desk, although I was impressed with how calm the agents were.  But then again, their travel plans hadn't been disrupted.  One woman I spoke with was on the verge of tears because she was supposed to be in Charlotte for her niece's 6:30 wedding.

 

Delta told me I could be on their next flight out at 9... tomorrow morning.  "Unacceptable," I said.  "You will get me to Charlotte tonight."

 

The agent found a seat for me on a U.S. Air flight, going out from the same terminal at 6 tonight.  So all is working out, at least so far.

 

My issue is not with the delays.  Stuff happens.  Planes break and need repair, weather makes a messs of things, computers go down.  My issue is with Delta's total failure to communicate with passengers   No one, even after I asked, got on the P.A. to tell us anything, even if just to say there were delays and that they had no further information.  They told us nothing. 

 

Some basic information and maybe some small niceties like offering everyone coffee or bottled water would have gone a long way in showing they really do care.  A small and inexpensive gesture, along with some information, could have saved the day. Right now I'm looking at a bunch of people who, if they have the choice, will not choose Delta again.

 

Oh by the way, I am about to have dinner on Delta, using the voucher the airline ended up giving me. 

 

Bon appetit.

 

Laws of Physics Don't Apply to Airlines

 

"What goes up must come down."

That's an old saying that refers to the law of gravity.  It certainly does not seem to apply to the major airlines when it comes to pricing.

When the airlines were hit with rising fuel costs, we certainly understood when they hiked up their prices.  After all, fuel accounts for about a third of airline operating expenses.  And we stood by as they used other means to offset the cost of fuel -- baggage fees, payment for food inflight ... even, in some cases, a charge for a pillow or blanket. 

Now, as the price of oil is plummeting, the airlines are seeing a windfall that will result in record profits.  But there's no talk of trimming fares.  Instead, some carriers are talking about reconfiguring planes so they have more room for "premium" seats that give a few inches more legroom -- for a higher price, of course.  That will also mean fewer coach seats, which will kick in another law -- the law of supply and demand -- resulting in higher fares for coach.

Delta, says a story in The New York Times, is predicting a profit of $5 billion next year, pushed up by an estimated fuel savings of $1.5 billion.  The industry overall forecasts profits of $25 billion next year, up $5 billion from this year.

I don't hear Delta or anyone in the airline business talking about dropping the baggage fees.   And they still have the nerve to charge from $100 to $200 to make a change in travel plans once you've purchased a ticket, even though you're not using the time of an airline employee as you make the changes yourself online.  What a racket.

A price break in airfares or dropping the baggage fees would go a long way in building customer trust in the industry, which has fallen almost as fast as the price of oil.  I'm not going to hold my breath on this one, though.

 

 

 

 

Telemarketing Turnaround

 

Unless you happen to be a telemarketer, you’ll probably agree with me on this … I hate telemarketing calls.  I must get several a week at the office, selling printing, electric power, copier service, moving services – you name it.

What really bugs me is when the caller realizes he or she isn’t going to make a  sale, and click, they just hang up.  No parting words like, “ok, thanks” or “sorry we can’t help you now, but please keep us in mind” or even a simple “Thanks for your time, Goodbye.”   Just Click!  Like their time is more valuable than mine and they’re onto the next call rather than an extra two seconds to say “Ok, thank you.”

It burns me up.

So just imagine how furious I was the other day.  I had received a call from a woman from an office supply company, saying she had good prices on toner.  I told her I didn’t buy much, but if she wanted to send an email with her prices on the cartridges I use, I’d consider it.  She thanked me so much, saying she’d had a tough day and my willingness to consider her offer made her afternoon.

Sure enough, I got an email from her, but the prices were just about the same as what I pay at the Staples down the street.  And with Staples, I get points toward money-back coupons.  So I deleted the email.

A few days later, Eleni (that’s her name) called to follow-up.  She was very nice on the phone until I told her that her prices were no better than Staples’ prices.  Then, with no further words from her, the phone went dead -- Click.

I can’t begin to tell you how mad I was.  I went down the hall to tell my co-worker Jeanne, who writes a blog about customer service, and as I told the story I got more and more pissed off.  This was someone who I had spoken with for a few minutes, and then we had further interaction when she sent her prices.  But as soon as she saw I was not going to buy, she hung up.  How dare she!  I even looked for her email to send a nasty note, but I had already deleted it.

Grrr.

About ten minutes later the phone rang.  I recognized the voice.  It was Eleni.  Before I could rip into her, she began to apologize, saying she didn’t know what happened, but the phone had gone dead. She was calling to tell me she had not rudely hung up on me, and that even if I didn’t buy now, she hoped I’d keep her info on hand for the future.  But mainly, she said, she wanted to apologize for hanging up on me, even though it had been an accident.

I was so stunned and pleasantly surprised that I placed an order with Eleni for a couple of ink cartridges.  And I sat there at my desk, slowly shook my head and smiled.

    .  .  .  .

 

P.S.  If you're looking for office supplies and furnishings, Eleni can help and get you a good price.  She's at 718-392-0615 or by email at [email protected].  She promises she won't hang up on you.

 

Who should "own" Social Media?

 

Here's something to add to the continuing discussion regarding where responsibility for social media should lie in the corporate organization chart.  It's been an ongoing battle between marketing, PR and advertising, with some adding customer relations into the mix.

A survey by The Creative Group, reported in MediaPost a few days ago, adds some fuel to the fire.  The survey of marketing and ad executives shows that 39 percent of them feel social media outreach belongs under the purview of the communications/PR department.  Thirty-five percent say it should reside in the marketing dept., and 15 percent feel it should be assigned to the customer relations dept.  Five percent felt it should be a direct responsibility of the CEO.

MediaPost writer Erik Sass adds his own opinion that social media should be the responsibility of all the departments mentioned above.

In theory, he's right.  But in real-world practice, one person or one department needs to have day-to-day responsibility for the organization's social media outreach and dialogue.

My vote is for the PR department. 

The PR discipline is supposed to be sensitive to the impact and tone of communications.  The PR person or PR department is supposed to be most adept at putting ideas into words that explain, motivate or convince an intended audience.  If that audience happens to be reached via social media, the tool that is utilized is still words, or in some cases words and pictures or video.  But it's all based on the written word, which is what we in Public Relations are supposed to best at.

The PR person can't -- and shouldn't -- work in a vacuum, though.  That's where all the other departments come in.  Guidelines should be established based on input from the marketing and advertising folks, the customer service people, the lawyers (ugh) and possibly even the CEO as well.  But implementation and day-to-day dialogue via social media should be under the guidance of the PR people.

There should be protocols established so predetermined actions can be taken if a problem or firestorm erupts online, as we've seen happen.  That's when it might be necessary to have group decisions made regarding content and wording. 

But everyday communications via social media should be, in my opinion, handled and overseen by the PR people.  They're the ones who should be most adept at a company's communications with the world beyond the boardroom.

 

 

Bad Idea: Using Racial Slurs in Ads

What were these ad folks thinking? 

 

Maybe the better question should be... Were they thinking at all?

Automotive News reports on a thoughtless move by General Motors' ad people when they approved a spot that uses racial stereotypes offensive to Chinese people.  As bad as it is anywhere, anytime, it's especially dumb for a company that's looking to sell more product in China.

Automotive News says "GM wants to expand sales in China and plans to spend $11 billion through 2016 on new plants and products in the country. GM is targeting 5 million deliveries in China by 2015. Sales of GM and its Chinese joint ventures increased 11 percent to a record 2.84 million last year. The company already sells more vehicles in China than its home market."

So creating an ad that calls China "the land of Fu Manchu" where all of the girls sing "ching, ching, chop-suey" is a perfect way to endear your brand with the people of the world's most populous nation, right?

The problem lay in someone's choice of music, since the offending references are part of a song that is used in the ad.  The ad's theme  is a throwback to the 1920's era, but surely the creatives at the agency could have found appropriate music without offensive lyrics.

The ad for Chevrolet didn't run in China.  It ran in Canada and also was used online in Europe.  But these days, anything can be seen worldwide and we need to be sensitive to everyone's feelings.  The South China Morning Post saw it and yesterday reported on the ad, calling it "racist" in the story headline.

"Our intent was not to offend anyone and we're deeply sorry if anyone was offended," a GM spokesperson told Automotive News.  "We're reviewing our advertising approval processes to make sure this doesn't happen again."

Someone was asleep at the switch, that's for sure.

Other Voices: Why Your Marketing Plan May Not be Working

 

 

We open our pages periodically to others who want to add their voice to the blogosphere.

Our guest blogger is Aileen Galsim, a graphic and print design enthusiast in the U.K. who blogs for Showcase Creative, a UK based printing company that provides Custom Presentation folders, calendars, and other printed presentation products.  Aileen asks that you check out http://www.showcasecreative.com to see their range of products.

 

Many people believe that a great marketing plan is the most important part of getting your products or services out into the mainstream. After all, a company can have the best product in the world, but if nobody knows about it, then it’s a waste, right?

But a marketing plan can be completely useless to a company’s bottom line if its products or services are not up to industry standards.

If you have a budding business and feel like you are ready to take the next step by investing in a marketing plan, the first action that you should take—and it may be one that saves you money in the long run—is to make sure that your products and services are good enough to handle close scrutiny from the general public.

Being a small- or medium-sized business can often keep your products or services insulated from truthful advice or constructive criticism from customers. One of the smartest things a company can do before embarking on a large-scale marketing plan is to invest money into improving its products and services first.

There is no advertising campaign in the world that can cover up for a bad product or a company that provides poor service. Defects that may not have been an issue with hundreds of customers may become apparent when you have thousands of customers. And your customer service people may be stellar, but are they prepared to handle the sudden surge in sales?

If not, the consumer will catch on very quickly in these times of social media, and your company will lose sales, customers, and its overall reputation.

Start from the Bottom Up 

It's natural to want to start from the top and work down. The mindset of trying to get as many customers as possible first, and then focusing on your products or services, can bring a quick, short-term boost to your sales, but it could be little more than a mirage. Exposing your products to a large market prematurely can do more harm than good.

What can you do to ensure you’re providing earnest service?

• Conduct thorough product testing
• Re-train your service employees
• Make sure your customer service is scalable to your growth
• Use surveys and questionnaires to get feedback from current clients
• Speak with a lawyer about potential liabilities

Even after your marketing plan launches, you'll want to ensure you’re staying on top of what the customer is thinking. Newsletters and social media can provide ways to communicate with customers, to be sure you are addressing their needs and staying on top of any potential issues.

Word-of-mouth is still one of the most powerful marketing tools available. In fact, the internet has only made it stronger, since one person’s opinion can be heard by hundreds, if not thousands, through blogs and social media. Remember, you want long-term growth, not just a blip.

The key is to build a solid foundation by providing a great produce or service first, and then embark on a large-scale marketing plan later. Everything starts with your reputation, and once that is in place, your marketing, advertising, and sales will begin to take care of themselves.

 

Service of Stupity

My friend and business associate Jeanne Byington, a PR maven, writes about customer service in her blog The Importance of Earnest Service.  It's on my blog roll.

I had a customer service experience the other day that I just had to share, it was so stupid.  Jeanne put it up on her blog, and I'm also sharing it with my readers here.  But do check out Jeanne's blog.  Twice a week she gives examples of customer service, both good and bad. It's fun reading.

...

 

I get The Wall Street Journal delivered to my office every day.

I frankly don't remember how much I pay for the subscription or when it expires.  I do recall that when I ordered it, it was a good deal – maybe something like $9.95/mo.  But it's just not one of those things I normally give much thought to.

I had a call last Friday morning from The Journal offering me "their best deal" of $29.95/mo and I'd get two months free.  So that comes to about what I seem to recall I've been paying per month.

At that moment, I didn't remember what I've been paying.  So I asked the nice man on the phone how much I'm now paying.  He said he didn't have that information.

I then asked him when my subscription expires.  He said he didn't have that information.

He then asked to confirm my address, and he gave me the address that I moved away from two months ago.  I told him my new address and also told him I've been getting the Journal here at the new place since we moved.  He had no information on the new address.

I then asked him how he expected me to make a purchase decision without key information that he should have – like how much I've been paying and how much longer is my subscription paid.  He started to tell me I could call the Journal's subscription number – 1-800 something. 

But we didn't get that far, because I politely told the guy I didn't have time to call to get information about my account that they should have.   The call wasted about four minutes of my valuable time, and it also wasted the time of the person who's getting paid at the Journal's call center.

Customer service?  No, more like service of stupidity.  And shame on the Journal's customer service or marketing folks for putting their employee in such a stupid position.