Today I experienced the joys of my bank’s IVR (Interactive Voice Response) system. I had a simple question about why my email alerts were not working but trying to get through to a real person was, well, like trying to break into a medieval castle. I, the customer, am getting irritated. OK, I’ll cool off […]

Enter the Pissed Off Scale: a new way of quantifying the degree at which customers can be dissatisfied. Suppose we want service for something that we just want to get over and done with. Perhaps it is getting a tax return completed from your accountant, getting reimbursed, getting a reservation, an installation, a status update, […]

The title of this article is First Contact. Star Trek fans know that this is clearly something that needs to be done carefully. After all, contacting an alien species for the first time is the only chance to make a good first impression. Will the first contact be responsible for an all out war or […]