The Indomitable Spirit of the True Product Manager

February 4, 2008 By 2 Comments

Q: Why is a Product Manager like the Office Photocopy Machine?

A: Because when it works no one notices and when something goes wrong, everyone wants to kick it.

My sincere thanks to Mike for that PM joke told to me during a particularly challenging day in the world of software Product Management a few years ago.  Also, my sincere apologies to anyone I’ve just offended, along with my encouragement to lighten up!

Unfortunately, that joke rings a little too close to home to make it completely comfortable… .

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Filed Under: Product Management Tagged With: , , ,

The Best Marketing Ever: Employees that Surprise and Delight Customers

January 18, 2008 By 2 Comments

When was the last time that you had one of those "Wow" experiences as a customer, where you walked away "surprised and delighted" about how you were treated?

Travel a lot?  It probably doesn’t happen for you with the major air carriers.  Most of my customer experiences with the airlines leave me shocked and disgusted. I’m convinced that the airlines study Customer Service Secrets of Attila the Hun.   Shop in Big Box retail stores?  Similar story…perhaps without the edge of nastiness that the airlines (or cell phone or cable) companies have mastered. 

All of this changed for me recently, as I found myself on the receiving end of two different transactions that left me absolutely surprised and delighted.  And no, they didn’t take place with an airline, cell-phone, cable or big box company.  They were two retail establishments that clearly didn’t get the memo that you have to be nasty to your customers to succeed in this world.

What is it about leaders that tolerate poor customer service from their employees?


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Filed Under: Leadership, Marketing Tagged With: , , , , , ,
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