Nothing is ever as easy as everyone would have you believe. Telephone systems that are supposed to efficiently route our calls will soon necessitate adding another key pad to the average telephone to accommodate all the possible choices. Fast food is no longer fast and by the time you get through the drive-up window at the bank you've missed a payment on the bills you were putting the money in to cover.
I recently received a gift certificate to Barns and Noble (the certificate was from Vocus, an excellent product, check it out). When I got the certificate in an email my first thought was that I was caught in a fishing expedition. After I checked it out and found that it was in deed a real gift I went to the Barns and Noble site to put it to use. When checking out the B&N system took the certificate number but didn't show that the gift was deducted from my total purchase and asked for a credit card. Now I would have bet that I was the victim of a trick or had just bitten the hook.
To ensure all was still well I tried to call the B&N number provided on the check-out form. As you may have guessed I got a recording and the opportunity to select from a number of choices. The first set of numbers led to another set but with a little perseverance I finally got to talk to a human who ensured me that all was on the up and up (I didn't need the credit card) and that I should call later to verify that the certificate had been applied,
After waiting the allotted time I called back, went through the options drill to get through to a human, and that's where the second half of the fun began. I was asked to supply the order number, my name and address, the billing and shipping addresses, my email address and the name of something on my order. I would have offered a DNA sample but figured that after that verification fiasco I would probably be too old to read and couldn't pay someone to read to me because my money was still being processed by the bank.
Yesterday, I tried to set up things so that notice of my blog entries would be posted to my Twitter account. That simple and easy procedure took over two hours and never verified that it had been done correctly.
I think I liked a lot of things when they were harder to accomplish.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
It's Never As Easy As They Claim
Monday, September 21, 2009
A Little Education Can Be A Painful Expereince
I completed a Price To Win class presented by Shipley Associates last week. It was definitely a good class that provided useful information. The instructor, David Murphy, presented the information is a clear and concise manner. Unfortunately I couldn't help thinking some of the folks in the room were being set up to experience a whole boatload of pain and aggravation.
It's the same old story. Most will go pack to their respective companies with this new found knowledge and they'll want to apply it. Too bad they didn't hear the part about gaining senior management support, begin the process well ahead of the proposal and continue supporting the process between proposals.
The problem isn't Price To Win and it isn't Shipley. I am a vocal advocate for the Shipley Proposal Process, all ninety six steps. The problem rests on the desk of the very senior manager that we're looking to for support. It manifests itself as finite resources chasing infinite opportunities and internal organizations allowed to focus on themselves rather than on the company. You can try to institute the 96 Steps, Price To Win, Inventory Control or the latest best accounting practices but no process will reach it's full potential or return the greatest value until it becomes part of a totally integrated organization.
To play a broken record and pound a familiar drum; the greatest return on investment can only come with a return to the very basic foundation taught in every business school:
Without an integrated approach those you educate will continue to face a frustrating work-life and you will never find the real weak link.
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