Category: General Information

 

I was talking with a friend recently about some troubles she is having at work. She works for a larger company who promotes their “open door” policy – if an employee is having a hard time or needs guidance on handling work situations, they are encouraged to contact corporate to get the help they need.

 

Sometimes, while thinking the door is really open, it can be only partially open and jammed from the other side it seems.

 

As the story goes, there was an issue at work. My friend had a conversation with her direct manager and the issues went unresolved. After another attempt, she went to the store manager for help, again with the same result. Time passed, and, not quite sure what to do from here, remembered the company’s open door policy and wanted to try that route.

 

What happened next was interesting. She went to the company website to send a form (she prefers email and content put into writing) and found the information about the open door policy. It took a little digging, but she was able to find the area to submit her request. So far, so good.

 

The first step asked if she was an employee, customer, or other (not sure what other would be though). After choosing employee, there were three options: 1) I have an issue regarding my work and need help, 2) I have a concern with something that is happening at my location, and 3) I have a general employment question. When choosing the first option, she was met with a statement along the lines of “thank you for your concern. Please talk with your direct supervisor first. If that does not resolve your issue, please go to your store manager.” That was also the case for the second option. If someone selects the third option, they could continue completing the form.

 

Now, I completely get this; being a larger company, I’m sure they would get a myriad of requests that could likely be handled at a lower level. However, this can send the wrong message – had there been an additional line that said, “If you have already tried the above and still have concerns, please click here to continue” it would have been better.

 

Essentially, employees in a similar situation could walk away with the feeling that if they follow the proper channels with regard to chain of command, so to speak, and are still having problems, the company really doesn’t want to hear about it. That may or may not be true, but this is how it could be perceived.

 

Think about your company’s employee policy – is the door wide open, open just a bit, or jammed shut? Take a look at it from an employee’s perspective too, to make sure that you are making the process as simple as possible, while alleviating the need to handle issues that aren’t relevant at this level, but also to make sure you’re sending the right message to those employees who are having difficulties. This can go a long way in employee satisfaction and perception.

 

 

Claire’s has found a great way to connect with their target demographic – teens. The company recently realized a decline in sales in this demographic, and realized that they needed a new approach.

 

Welcome to YouTube! Not only did they realize that this demographic spends a lot of time on the site, but they’ve gone a step further and connected with popular “YouTubers” or “vloggers” – these are internet sensations that have a massive teen following.

 

According to a recent article, Claire’s has partnered with AwesomenessTV as well as some internet celebrities to promote their brand. Below is an example of TheVamps, a popular group with 1.1 million followers, who did a book signing at a Chicago area Claire’s store:

 

 

 

To take it a step further, anyone visiting the Clarie’s YouTube page will see the “featured” channels, which feature accounts that are popular and fall in line with the demographic, further increasing their “cool” status.

 

As a parent of a daughter in this age group, I can attest to the popularity of these groups. She is quite obsessed with a group of young men and women whose main career seems to be posting videos, writing books, and other seemingly simple activities. Some are most known for playing Minecraft, a popular game among this demographic, and videotaping themselves playing along with running commentary. To me, this seems like a silly thing, but among this demographic, it’s gold. As I learned more from my daughter, I realized the reach of these individuals, and Clarie’s (and other companies), have been smart to partner with them. With the sheer number of subscribers and devoted ones at that, this is by far the best means to reach the masses in this demographic while instilling the “cool” factor into the brand.

 

There is another one I’ve gotten wind of, mainly through my own teen demographic experience:

 

Pizza Hut has partnered with CaptainSparklez, a popular vlogger with 8.6 million subscribers. Fans can purchase a “CaptainSparklez” Pizza as part of a promotion.

 

 

 

Vloggers are akin to the “Mommy Bloggers” back in the day – their influence is wide and powerful. What may seem silly to us adults is some serious business to this demographic, and marketers should pay attention. Claire’s made a smart move here; it’s a good marketing move, and one that others should take note of.

 

 

Move over “Jake from State Farm” and “Alex from Target” – there’s a new favorite in town, at least for me.

 

That would be Kristy from Sprint.

 

I love good customer service – this woman went above and beyond. I already let the company know directly, but she is a great example of how to do customer service right.

 

Back story: Sprint allows customers to upgrade their phones a few months before their contract is up. I love this feature and, because I’m not really particular about my phones as long as they work (I just gave up my old Blackberry a year ago if that tells you anything), I’m good with getting an older phone for a great deal and adding another two year contract.

 

One of my lines was eligible for an upgrade on February 1st. Unfortunately, I was unable to upgrade at that time. When I went to the website mid-March to upgrade, I saw that my upgrade date was pushed back until June. I immediately started a chat session to find out why, and was told that this change was made on March 1st and was stated on my bill. Hmm….went to look at the bill, and sure enough it was there in small print. Completely my fault.

 

Fast forward to last week….my daughter’s birthday is this week, and she is a good kid who never wants anything. While that is great in so many respects, it’s painful when it comes time for birthday gifts. Remembering she has a very old phone, I thought a new one would be a great idea, until I realized that my upgrade didn’t happen for a few weeks after her birthday.

 

I visit Sprint’s site and go to their chat. While not verbatim, it went something like this….

 

Me: I would like to know if there are ever exceptions made for phone upgrades. I was originally due for an upgrade on 2/1, but was unable to do so at the time. On 3/1, the upgrade policy changed and I was pushed back until 6/1. Is there anyway this could be pushed up a bit? I’d love to surprise my daughter with a new phone for her birthday.

 

Rep: I would be happy to look up your upgrade date. May I have your information to review your account?

 

Several seconds pass….

 

Rep: Congratulations! Your line is eligible for an upgrade on 6/1. For future reference, you can log into your account to check your upgrade date. Is there anything else I can help you with?

 

Me: Thank you. I did log in to check my upgrade date. I wanted to find out if I can move that up at all given that I was originally eligible in February.

 

Rep: Let me check…..Great news! You can upgrade early if you switch your plan and payment method. If you switch to our newest program, you can upgrade now.

 

Me: Thank you, but I would like to keep things as they are. Is there any way the upgrade date of 6/1 can be moved up to mid-May?

 

Rep: I’m sorry. As sales and service, we have limited options. Please call our customer care center at xxx-xxx-xxxx.

 

So there you go. I figured it was a moot point and almost gave up, but thought I’d call anyway, just to see what happens. And that’s when I met Kristy.

 

She greeted me in a warm, pleasant manner. I explained the situation and she listened to what I had to say – this was getting exciting! To add to it, she even empathized with my situation, saying that she is a mom herself and understands when we want to surprise our children.

 

She looked up my account history and confirmed some information. She then explained the reason that the policy was changed, which made perfect sense but I was not aware of it prior to this, and then stated that she would see what she could do. She asked me to hold for a moment

 

When she returned to the call, she said she would have to ask her supervisor, and apologized for the fact that it might take some time, as they were a bit backed up that day. She assured me that she would find an answer for me and call me back as soon as possible, though it might be up to 24 hours. I was completely fine with that and told her I appreciated it very much. She then went on to confirm the number to call me back at AND said that when she called, if she got my voice mail, she would be careful to keep the message as generic as possible in case my daughter picked up the message so that, if it is possible to move up the upgrade date, the surprise would not be ruined. That last little bit was above and beyond as far as customer service!

 

In the end, Kristy did leave a voice mail about an hour later and left a generic message stating that the upgrade was backdated to 5/1 so I was all set.

 

Even if the outcome were different, and I was stuck with my upgrade date of 6/1, I would have felt the same way about my overall experience. This representative went out of her way to show empathy and do what she could to help me with my request. I appreciated the fact that she listened as well – this was not my experience with the online chat, and it almost kept me from calling at all. Had I not, I would have never experienced the exceptional customer service I did from Kristy!