The Success Chain

There are many different way’s to earn a customer’s respect and attention.  With so many different choices for consumers these days, it’s difficult to find the right product from the right company.  There’s also a lot of flash and style but no substance behind it, so that the well-designed websites, or the gorgeous retail building, might hold the promise of excellent merchandise, but turn out to be just the opposite.  We live in an era where people are used to playing many different roles while believing in none of them.  So to find a person with a business sensibility and an inventor’s creativity, like Steven Barbarich, there’s already something that sets him apart from the rest of the herd.

His business practices have always been based on excellent customer service, which means listening carefully to the customers needs as well as wants, and trying to determine what would be the best long-term choices for them, rather than making the quick sale.  It’s time-intensive, but it has many important rewards, and rewards that aren’t always immediately readable.  They pay off in other ways, however, like having the satisfaction of working with a customer base where the people are satisfied with their purchases, and also understand that if they should have any issues with their products, when they call there will be another human being on the other end of the phone.

Aside from the customer service, which is really plenty to recommend him, there is another quality that is extremely commendable.  Donating a portion of the profits to help victims of natural disasters suggests a business model that is committed to the community.  It means that they intend to stay in the community, too, and have an investment not only in their own business surviving, but in the well-being of all the people who make up the community.  Compassion is a difficult thing to find these days, and when it shows its face, it deserves all the recognition it gets.

Companies throughout the world have begun to rethink the ideas and the policies of customer service.  Perhaps this is in response to a growing need to really keep those customers, perhaps this state of the economy is bringing to the forefront, the necessity of the customer.  For whatever the reasons, companies are focusing on the understanding of the experience of the customer and on managing their businesses in ways that truly do cater to the needs of that customer.

For years, analytic research has been done, questionnaires and data have been collected, and this gave some business owners the sense that they had insight into what their customers wanted.  But this is not necessarily the case.  These are all just interpretations of the experience, and do not necessarily reflect what it is people are actually experiencing when they do business where they do it.  This has become the concern not only of customer service departments, but in marketing departments, quality control departments, in all aspects of an organization.

Steve Barbarich applies this new way and knows that only when the company addresses these issues as a whole unified team, does this way of thinking really become successful.  This is an approach that is based on scientific observations of Systems Thinking.  An approach that works backward from the end result, to discover the aspects that created that end.  This is also sometimes referred to as Root Cause Analysis.

And as stated, it involves all the departments of one company for success.  Most businesses still do not operate in such an all inclusive way, but this is essential in order for consistency and harmony in a company’s philosophy and business practices across the board.  Tension within a company, creates inconsistencies outside of the company.

An example would be that the market department analyzes data on their own to determine what a customer needs or wants.  That product is then turned over to the sales person, who may have more of an insight into the needs of the customers, and they are unable to sell what the marketing department thought would be a good idea.  This creates customer dissatisfaction.  When everyone truly works as a team, the customer experience will be spot on, and wonderful every time.

There are some fantastic neighborhoods in Canada, and some of the most civic-minded citizens in the world live here.  It’s a great blend of cultures here, and there are enormous possibilities for a good life.  At TransGlobe Property Management, we understand how important a good neighborhood can be, and we’ve been working in our neighborhoods for over 15 years.  Over the years, we’ve built a strong team of employees and clients that make us very proud of our track record.

We have some excellent living and working spaces to show for it, too.  We offer thousands of possibilities for you to make your dreams come true, whether you’re looking for residential or commercial property.  Our database is very user-friendly, so that you can find your ideal neighborhood and look for the places with the specifications that you want.  After you move in, we’re still with you all the way, and respond to issues with speed and efficiency.  We’re not just dedicated to closing a deal, we’re dedicated to creating better neighborhoods by participating in  the efforts required by all of us.  We have excellent ratings from the Better Business Bureau, and have worked hard to achieve this, but this also comes from having excellent clients and residents like you.

TransGlobe is very active in local affairs, participating in many different fundraisers and functions.  We participate in charity events to do extremely fun activities to raise money for fighting cancer and helping sick children to get the help they need.  We’re also visible here through our fleet of company cars, having switched recently to fuel efficient vehicles.  This also marks our commitment to where we live.  Clean air and a sustainable future are a big concern for all of us, and what we do on the earth while we’re here does indeed have long-term effects on the next generations.  We believe that our actions in the neighborhoods, as well as our actions in our business model, speak volumes about our commitment to our future.

Attending a symphony concert can be a great event for a classical music lover. And if all goes well, any given audience member is unlikely to consider whether or not they are satisfied with the customer service they received. This is an important distinction to make, and businessmen such as Steven Barbarich understand that sometimes providing the highest level of customer service means that the client will likely be unaware that it has happened. This is because they are more strongly focused on the great purchase they have just made or in the case of the symphony, they are imagining the intricate bowings of the virtuoso violinist they have just seen and heard.

Symphonies can be extremely satisfying and engaging events to attend, however, when there is an issue with tickets, information and even hosting assistance, the pleasure can be easily mitigated into frustration and sometimes even anger at the company or venue. This why it is important for a venue housing establishment to realize that the overall experience of a symphony, or other concert or performance includes more than dressing up and listening to great classical music.

The box office itself is a major service provider and organization and people skills are an important part of the job. Many people have a lot of questions regarding the seats they are purchasing, and when they are demonstrating a concern with this it is important to make sure they know exactly where they will be. In addition, patrons can have many questions while they are at the venue, particularly if it is a large multi-purpose facility and they have never been there before. Proper guidance to restrooms and other public services is essential. A staff person is really demonstrating excellent customer service when they suggest local restaurants and other events and attracts that are occurring in the area.

You may find that when your organization implements a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system you will observe that the number of customer complaints increases. This often happens after the implementation of complaint handling systems.

Very often organizations and businesses actively discourage complaints because their processes and procedures end up being so barrier-ridden that customers will move to another company’s products rather than negotiate this confusing landscape.

By using a customer complaint management system integrated with a CRM will provide a strategic asset which can also provide an income source.

When you are considering making a big purchase, say a house or a car you do a lot of research right? You want it to have all the things that you need so it can meet your needs? Like you want granite countertops or a V8 engine, and you just can’t live without a hook up for your IPod. I mean really, who even listens to the radio anymore? What are commercials?

You have to have that same mindset when you are thinking about remodeling and upgrading your homes, especially if you are buying new appliances, a grill and especially a hot tub. You need to ask yourself some questions before you go out into the vast world of Jacuzzi hot tub retail. First off, you’ll need a check list.

A good idea is to do some preliminary price research online. Check out the Steven Barbarich vehicle choosehottubdirects.com for primo pricing and excellent customer service. This site is a good starting point and you may end up even buying your tube here because of the great wholesale prices.

Speaking of prices, first you should consider your budget. There are a bevy of options depending on your price. From blow up tubs, to crazy, fit 20 people and listen to music underwater tubs.

Think about what the dealer offers you. Will you have to set the tub up by yourself? What if you have a problem in the future? These are all very important questions that you should ask before you put up the money to buy one.

Make sure the tub you pick has adequate seating for what you intend to use it for. The least fun thing is having too many people crammed into a too small tub.

Think about the costs it will take to heat your tub. And consider how hot you want it. Depending on where you live there can be significant differences.

YouTube created another controversy. There was a video featuring Dominos employees that showed them basically defiling food they were preparing for customers.

In a world now of constant take out food and sit down restaurants it is rather disturbing to think what disgruntled employees might be doing to the food that we all order.

The scandal became so much of a big deal that the Dominos execute had to post a response to the video and because it became such a sensation.

And Dominos is not the only one. There is a video on YouTube of a young man using a sink as a bathtub. He was a Burger King employee. And of course it probably happens more than you think.

This seems to happen when customer service training for the employees or management training for the managers goes by the wayside. It’s when employees don’t think their company cares about them that they feel a need to do things like this.

Again it can be difficult to control the mindset of every employee in a company as big as Dominos or Burger King.

Why did these employees choose to put these on YouTube? Surely they had to know that someone would see them and that there would be backlash. It’s good that Dominos chose to react because something like this can seriously ruin the management of their brand.

Let’s just hope that employees at local fast food and restaurants we visit don’t have employees that do this kind of thing. It’s just another example of how it’s necessary to have a manager present at all times. For a business to function properly there has to be at least a bit of pride in the business you are working for. Or they used to call it having manners. Or perhaps just a little overall business training?

Leadership development and leadership training can seem like something not worth company or personal dollars. However, anyway you can further your education is going to make you more marketable in today’s job market. Here are some tips from businessball.com on leadership development, methods and tips. Because leadership is easy to explain but it’s hard to practice and put into action.

Leadership skills can come from customer service training, but it can also come from common sense.

1. Ethical leadership is more important than ever today. Because the world is more connect to one another than ever, leadership training needs to focus on leadership skills in the global economy.
2. People have to be able to connect well for this type of training to be effective.
3. Be consistent with the goals the company is looking to achieve.
4. True leaders are able to extend their leadership training skills beyond the workplace and make it work for everyday situations.
5. Everyone has different ideas of leadership. It’s important to find a common ground with everyone who is having training.
6. To make people follow, the leader has to make sure that those meant to follow believe in their mission.
7. As a leader, don’t isolate yourself, it will make it more difficult to relate to other employees.
8. Be your own best example, people follow others who exemplify their own values.
9. If you make a mistake as a leader it is best to admit your mistakes right off the bat, being honest goes a long way.
10.  Always be willing to talk, be a problem solver.

Remember that leadership skills are something that can be worked on. As long as you are honest, patient and willing to learn leadership training will just be a supplement to your already good values.

Next Day Blinds is dedicated to providing excellent customer service. To quote from their web site:

“At Next Day Blinds, our commitment to customer satisfaction is un-compromised. It is because of this commitment that we use only Company employees to perform all of our services from sales, measuring, and manufacturing to installation. We believe that controlling the process from sales through installation adds value and provides the best possible experience for our customers.”

Next Day Blinds also seeks out only the highest quality materials from which to manufacture their products, as they would have nothing less for their highly-valued customers. Another quote from their web site:

“Because we manufacture the products we sell, we are able to integrate many premium features that improve aesthetics and functionality into our products’ designs, without adding the premium price. Many of these features are similar to those found on the most premium national name brands.”

The Columbia, Maryland company also offers low-price guarantees on most all their products, including premium wood blinds, premium plantation shutters and more. Next Day Blinds aims for absolute customer satisfaction in every aspect of their business. Shop Next Day Blinds online at http://www.nextdayblinds.com/index.asp and discover a stylish, classy line of blinds, shades, top-notch service and more!

Forty-Six years ago Thio Keng Poon started the Malaysia Dairy Industries in Singapore.  What began as one company with a profit of one million dollars, has grown over the years into an industry with four companies and $800 million in profits each year.  Throughout this time he has become well known for his entrepreneurial spirit, and no one contends, and Mr. Thio has even been quoted as saying he put his blood, sweat and tears into creating a viable and very profitable family business.  He remained dedicated to his original ideas and philosophies concerning the creation of healthy products, from simple mild and dairy, to yogurt drinks, organic jams, and fruit juices.  The loyalty of the customer base has been outstanding, due to the continued adherence of Mr. Thio and his companies, to the philosophies he believed in and the consistent quality of Malaysia Dairy’s products.  Mr. Thio entered a Singaporean court last month, in attempts to save what he has created.

Two years ago, Thio’s family removed him as chairman of the company.  He has been charged with over-claiming travel expenses, charging the company for reimbursement multiple times for single stays at various business hotels, Singapore restaurants, and airline tickets.  It is alleged that he over-charged the company by more than $40,000.  He hired attorney,Vinodh Coomarasamy, and has filed counter-suits against all four of the family businesses , all six of his children and his wife.  They are being charged with oppression.  He is now, as a result of transferred most of his financial holdings over to his family, just a minority stock holder in the company that he built.  And as Confucian Filial Piety states, a philosophy he was taught by his father, the children must remain faithful and loyal to the patriarch.  So even though he doesn’t ‘own’ most of his company, he believed that his children would still respect him as the leader of the company.  Mr.Thio answered when questioned about it, that it is an unspoken understanding between a father and his children, but that unfortunately for him and his companies, his children do not follow the old philosophies regarding the respect of one’s elders.  This court case began in March of 2009 and is expected to continue into April.

The world is finally going green.  One way this is being demonstrated is in the deconstruction of abandoned buildings in the city of Manhattan.  Many cities around the world have set up energy and conservation programs, such as the desalination plants in Singapore, the wind-energy plants in Southern California, and the energy efficient traffic lights on the island of Mallorca of the coast of Spain.  The city of Manhattan offers a part in the conservation of the environment in the way buildings are now being constructed, as well as destructed.

Green building of businesses and New York hotel suites, restaurants, and apartment flats means that anything newly construct must meet certain standards of energy and water conservation, among other various categories.  This has been a huge step noted and in the spotlight, but now, what is of concern is the tearing down of buildings.  Disposing of waste, the concrete, metal, and wood that would have otherwise been transported to landfills, a challenge for waste management in the past.  The discarded material now accounts for over sixty percent of the solid waste for the city.  About 20,000 tons of metal and steel and stones is produced per day.  And that does not include the 20,000 tons of wood and asphalt and glass that needed to previously be disposed of, moved from one location to the other via small trucks, then bigger trucks.  This causes negative effects in other environmental arenas such as air quality, traffic pollution and landfill limitations.

Demolition done green, is the process of deconstructed the buildings in the manner that they were originally built.  Instead of bulldozing and sweeping it all up, buildings are being meticulously taken apart.  Systematic and orderly torn down.  Construction workers are now taking the buildings apart and putting the various materials into piles.  Piles of material that are sorted at the site, to either be re-used on the spot, or re-used and recycled in other locations.  This has the combined effect of not only saving money, but it reduces the usage of smaller, then bigger trucks…reducing air pollution.  And since materials are being re-used, they are not ending up in the landfills.  It is estimated that ninety percent of the materials can be used to build again. Ninety percent!  That is such a huge percentage.  This is an incredible idea and an incredible achievement for a city already known and experienced in the process of rebuilding.

The next global food industry event will be the Thaifex – World of Food Asia 2009, scheduled for May 13-17,2009 in Bangkok, Thailand. Billed as “the leading trade platform for the food and beverage industry in South East Asia” the event seeks to provide “one-stop” shopping for everything from ingredients to processing technology for food and beverage.

Organizers expect over 2,100 booths featuring exhibitors from across Thailand as well as around the world. Leading food entrepreneurs are confirming their flights and reserving rooms in hotels in Bangkok Thailand to attend the event.

This year’s event will focus on three main areas: “Coffee & Tea,” “Hospitality & Foodservice,” and the all-important “Food Technology.” Innovative and eco-friendly food packaging will be highlighted as will food safety. Special attention will also be paid to “Food Catering” and consulting will be available in “Retail and Franchise.”

Seminars and demonstrations are an important element at the event. Some of the featured seminars include “Growing Trend: Healthy Food,” and “Today’s Market & Challenges in Import/Export.” Large audiences are expected for the Coffee Barrista contest and the cooking competition.

In 2008 nearly 22,000 visitors from 127 countries attended the show, which featured exhibitors from 32 regions and countries.

After the amazing success of the 2009 Dubai International Boat Show, the organizers have announced that they will expand next year’s show even more.  The Dubai International Marine Club and the Dubai World Trade Centre are promising to provide more berths for so-called “super yachts” in 2010 as well as to provide more marina and land exhibits.

The 2009 five-day event saw attendance soar, in spite of the stalled global economy.  Thousands of returning visitors and exhibitors were joined by numerous new participants.  In the wake of this resounding success, companies in the high-end leisure marine industry are already requesting spots for next year’s event, leading to the recent announcement regarding the 2010 show.

In addition to providing the additional berths, organizers are looking to increase the available space for both marina and land displays.  They also plan to provide greater accessiblity by reconfiguring the exhibition area.

The CEO of the Dubai World Trade Centre, Helal Saeed Almarri, issued a statement saying “The Dubai International Boat Show has firmly placed Dubai and the UAE on the world map of the leisure marine industry.” The appeal of the show is its ability to bring together international sellers with regional buyers of these elite products.

Dubai has become somewhat of a playground for the super rich. With miles of coastline, artificial islands, and numerous attractions, the region is ideal for yachts and other leisure vessels.  Those who prefer to stay on dry land can choose between a luxury Dubai beach resort or a five star hotel in Dubai City.

This year’s Boat Show saw a nearly fifty percent increase in super-yachts on display, with nineteen vessels on site.  Numerous super-yacht builders exhibited in the event and were pleased with the response. Next year expect that number to rise again.

The 2009 Dubai Boat Show was held from March 3-7, 2009 at the Dubai International Marine Club.