Out of The Loop?
Call Centre (Photo credit: The Poss)
The term “Jobsworth” was coined long ago and people who are inflexible in their decision-making at work when they really could be are everywhere but today’s nationwide and worldwide companies are making it worse by making it institutionalised. The problem with centralised customer services and computerised operations and logistics systems is that a person cannot make an on-the-spot decision to make things easier.
This is true of many things including transport, the prices of goods – where once staff have to jump through hoops to give a bit of a discount for a slightly damaged item for example, or loans where decisions are mostly made by computers based on credit scores.
There can’t be a grey area, decisions are yes, or often as the Little Britain sketch goes “computer says nooo”. I have another parcel on a courier (Yodel) and they tried to deliver it while I was at work twice and then according to their website the only option then was to collect it from their depot, twenty miles away, that’s only open when I’m at work. I rang them and the customer service person gave me the option to have it redelivered – when I’m at work. I had to ring Amazon to change the delivery address to my work one – Catherine at Amazon was very nice and helpful. What happened next was that I looked at Yodel’s site on the Saturday and the parcel was out for delivery – on a day that, according to their site and the customer service man, wasn’t even an option; he was only able to look at the same data I had access to. I was at home, I didn’t know whether Amazon’s request had gone though, whether they were delivering to my home or the work address I wasn’t at. My parcel was in danger of travelling around more than January’s camera.
This inconvenienced me but it shouldn’t have; if I were able to call the local depot, talk to a person who has the parcel in front of them, someone who could say “we do actually deliver on Saturday, will you be at home then?” I’d say yes and they’d schedule one more delivery attempt, I wouldn’t have had to ring Amazon. I had stuff to do but I couldn’t because now I’ve got to wait in, if I’d known I could have done these things the day before as, being Good Friday I was off work – as were Yodel.
This reliance on computer systems is fine if the person accessing them has all the relevant data they need but often they don’t and these systems don’t often allow any flexibility whatsoever in the decision-making process. “The computer says Tuesday so Tuesday it is, except it could be Saturday but because I’m two hundred miles away from the depot I don’t know that they have a van going out on Saturday and I wouldn’t have the authority to ask them to deliver on Saturday if I did anyway, and they might even just try again on Saturday even though the computer says you’ve got to fetch it yourself.”
Our company, and other small firms we work with have that flexibility, we can slot extra jobs in dynamically because not everything is set in stone. Admittedly that can work the other way and things have to be rearranged. It’s not just computers though that cause the problems, so many companies have inflexible rules that don’t allow people to give a little to provide good service.
If you can say to a customer who’s not got quite enough money with them “it’s only 20p difference, I’ll take what you’ve got there” or give them a little something for free whether it’s a bookmark, a pen, a handful of tacks or whatever it makes them feel that you’re doing something to help them, it gives them a warm feeling inside and makes them more likely to come back. Not being able to bypass a rigid system, or not having the right information because of rules or “yes and no” computers makes the customer feel like they’re fighting a battle to get what they want.
Sometimes there’s no choice, as I’ve said before about warranties and the time it takes to make things but where a little flexibility is possible it shouldn’t be held back but allowed to make everyone’s life a bit more pleasant.
Lunch At One
Birthday Cake (Photo credit: Will Clayton)
With today’s Lunch we’ll be nibbling a slice of birthday cake. It was a year ago, at midnight on 1st April 2012 that I flicked the switch and released this blog to the public of the internet. It was a nervous moment for an introvert like me – will anyone even look at it, will anyone like it, will I offend anyone? I remember when I got my first follower a few days later and as I wrote shortly after it felt great and awesome to know that someone on the other side of the world had seen my words, liked them and wanted to read more.
It’s been an interesting year and I’ve learned much, there’s still much to do though.
Before diving into some of what I’ve learned I’d like to thank those who have liked my posts and followed my blog. As others have said the WordPress community is a great one and I’ll look forward to seeing more of other bloggers’ work in the future too.
The Tools
I’ve begun using Evernote to organise information to put into future posts, using my Nexus 7 tablet to write up notes and posts while I’m watching tv or am otherwise away from the main computer. I’ve bought a new Logitech wired keyboard because I can type faster on it – sometimes it’s the simplest things that can make the difference.
I’m using the WordPress app on my Nexus to read posts on other blogs I follow as I can instantly reblog them or send them to Pocket for commenting of referencing later.
The Time
I’ve told myself to set aside a bit of time each day to do this otherwise I end up with a long list of unread posts that seems too daunting to tackle before more turn up the next day – I have the same problem at work, feeling like new tasks turning up will prevent me from finishing the ones I’ve already got, leaving me feeling anxious, stressed and overwhelmed; but that’s another story. The fear of the so-called information overload, a decidedly 21st century ailment, has stopped me looking for suitable stories about modern life elsewhere too, ironically.
The Confidence
I’ve learnt to be honest and say how I feel, to not agonize too much about what to say and not to put off writing a post if I have all the pieces right there in my mind – one problem I have is I too often over-think a post, or to put too many things into one post that could perhaps be spread out over many.
I still get a buzz when I see the notifications telling me that people have liked my posts, I don’t feel I’ve failed if a post gets no likes at all. Most of all I just enjoy writing these articles, gathering information, articulating thoughts and sending them out into the world. I still though hoard more information, more bit of what could become posts than write actual posts. Procrastination is still a problem; the feeling of sitting down and not feeling able to write anything (which is still, for me, a lack of confidence in my own abilities) is still a problem. But I’ve researched and found solutions to these things which I will be outlining soon.
So onto year two, with clear plans, determination to overcome what stops me writing and keeps me watching TV instead, a bag full of Cadbury’s Cream Eggs and one more day off work.
My Stereo’s Three Lives
KMNR’s extensive CD collection (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
I have an old Philips stereo, it sounds lovely with crisp, crackle-free audio, it used to be my alarm clock and saw daily use playing CDs but has languished in my living room, underused, being merely decorative for many years. It has a cassette deck along with the CD player, it doesn’t have an iPod dock or even a 3.5mm input jack. First the cassettes gave way to CDs and now MP3s are the norm, perhaps it could have been the end for my humble stereo.
But no, I was not prepared to give up its audio abilities that easily. Now it is an amplifier, with some adaptors and a bluetooth receiver attached to its rear it has a new lease of life. I have just about finished uploading my 6,300 track music library to Google Play Music and as such can play any of my collection via my Nexus 7 tablet over bluetooth onto my venerable old stereo. The old Philips now effectively has a touchscreen remote interface and access to six-thousand searchable tracks, all of which sound as good (to me at least) as they did when I first listened to them on that same stereo on the days I bought the CDs.
I am still awed by what modern technology can achieve with these powerful mobile devices and cloud services. Especially when I can rope in my good old tech too.
Another example of how many things these days fail to be what you thought they were.
In the recent and In the many years I have been in the community around me, I have always heard people talking negatively about themselves and age, and they have said that, I am too old to learn anymore, I am too old to do things, but no on the contrary, everyone learns everyday and don’t even realize it. Everyday passing day we learn something new about ourselves, we learn about something new in the world, we learn about our loved ones, and about what all of us love to do. You are never too old to learn things. People always put themselves down and that should not happen. Each one of us are different in how we learn, some learn by listening, some learn by doing, some learn by following instructions in a manual. Each and every one of us learn in our special ways. Some of us are…
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I’m Just Not a Twitterer
Chick (image courtesy of Serif)
It seems like everything’s “social” these days, no marketing campaign is complete without “find us on Facebook”, follow us on Twitter for exclusive news, competitions and stuff, and to make sure all your friends know what products you like. I remember competitions including the line “put your answer on a postcard” but more and more the only method of entering is by tweeting your answer to @most-social-media-aware-company-evar. Email isn’t an option, Facebook’s sooo last year.
I have Google+ because it was there, with my Gmail, I did enter a competition via that and Facebook today because it only involved clicking two buttons. The third one was to enter via Twitter. I didn’t because I can’t. I don’t use Twitter, don’t even have an account, I have enough information coming at me as it is and I don’t want to have to remember another password.
It is, however, becoming unavoidable. Presenters on radio shows say “is it snowing where you are? Let us know.” You think, yes it is, I’ll be part of this. Then he says “tweet me to let me know.” And a feeling of being left out makes you start to type twitter into your browser. It’s not just unfair to those of us who don’t want to tweet but to those who don’t have the technology or the knowledge to sign up to these services. Competitions and surveys should be open to anyone.
I haven’t given in yet, but it feels like it’s only a matter of time before I have to.
[Edit – March 2016]
Ok, I have given in, I was bored last week and decided to see what the fuss is about, also I thought I’d grab the same twitter name as my Flickr account. @AndyByTheTrent. I’ve followed a couple of people but not really done much with it. #stillcantseethepointyet.
In my life, one of the most joyful and satisfaction I receive is when I cook, bake and enjoy my time in the kitchen with all my favourite kitchen appliances that make my cooking a lot more enjoyable and fun at the same time. I was 8 years old and I remember cooking rice for the very first time. It was the best feeling in the world when my mom taught me how to wash it and cook it. Now with my mom’s supervision she watched me as I cooked and she said, great job and it was my first time doing it. I got so excited. From then on, I started cooking a lot for my family and then as soon as I turned 14 years old, I did not need supervision anymore, and I could do everything on my own. I learned how to make lasagna, chicken soup…
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Amazon Roulette
English: Amazon warehouse at Glenrothes (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
When it comes to buying things that are non-essential I tend to follow my gut instinct and be patient, waiting for the best deal and usually I get a bargain. Sometimes this is because I’ve waited for the thing to be replaced by “next year’s model” and is discounted in a local clearance store or on Amazon, but many of these bargains have been through the wonder that is Amazon Warehouse. I don’t know if other countries have this but we do in Britain.
I’ve had a slightly dinged Acer Netbook for half-price, £35 worth of ring binders for £2.76 which had only had the box opened it appears and a souvenir London 2012 notebook which only had a slight mark on the spine for a couple of quid. High-street shops have been selling these “shop-soiled seconds” for decades as many people won’t buy things at full price if the packaging or the product is slightly damaged, or has even been opened. Amazon’s back-room though is a treasure trove and it’s given me a little game you can play.
The prices of everything on Amazon can vary and you can use “Your Browsing History” to keep track of stuff you want and watch the prices, including the Warehouse prices which come under the “Used” pricing. Recently I’ve been watching Sony Bluray players and the three models that have built-in iPlayer etc have been up and down like the proverbial yo-yo in the Warehouse for weeks. First the basic model was cheap, then it shot up for no good reason, then the mid-range did the same, then the best one suddenly dipped below the price the basic one had initially dropped to – less than half-price for one with “slight cosmetic damage”. I clicked “buy” and deleted them all from my history so I don’t see if they went even lower – if you are of the masochistic or pessimistic nature however you could keep watching.
Bargain spotting, 21st century style. Just remember, in shopping as in life, patience is everything.
Longfellow's 21st Century Lunch 
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