thatblog

Great Customer Service - Using Twitter!

I have a great story to share with you about how one company used twitter to make me (personally) very happy.. and when your customers are happy they twitter about you, and blog about you, and tell all their friends. Isn't that what you want? 

On Valentines day my sweet husband ordered me my favorite flowers, Sunflowers. We had grown increasingly unhappy with where we ordered them from previously, so he found a new company. (Obviously I knew nothing about this - it was a surprise) He found a company called SunflowerGuy and ordered me a beautiful, but simple bouquet. The arrive in a box (in a free vase) and open beautifully within a few days. I was most impressed with my husband, and with the flowers. On the Monday morning my husband got a phone call from Sunflower Guy asking if we were happy with the service and the flowers. He was impressed!

I noticed that SunflowerGuy was on twitter and so I started following him, and raving about his service. (I like to spread good news).. yesterday the FedEx man delivered a new bouquet with a message saying 'thanks for the twitters' - How AWESOME is that? 

I think companies that do stuff like that should be talked about - and they do some other great stuff- like donating 15,000 sunflowers to Scripps hospital. Thank you SunflowerGuy - you rock. Your service and your product are the best. 

When nature sends wind - build a windmill.

Another TED lecture - this is so inspirational and so simple, makes me realize that sometimes I let stupid things hold me back.

Genius. Elizabeth Gilbert on Genius

I love the TED series of lectures, this is the one I listen to most at the moment:

Body Language - quick tips (8)

If you mean what you are saying you shouldn’t have to think about your body language at all. It will all work seamlessly If you are thinking about your body language it will come across as fake.

Body Language - quick tips (10)

You body language should match what you are saying (be congruent) or people will ALWAYS believe what your body is saying, rather than your words - even if they have to guess the meaning of the body language. 

BE YOU quote (quotes to inspire and remind us to be ourselves)

“Be yourself. Above all, let who you are, what you are, what you believe, shine through every sentence you write, every piece you finish"

John Jakes

Stupid Ways to Start a Speech (part 6)

Please bear with me.. 

This is going to be boring.. 

I'll be as quick as I can.. 

I know you are hungry.. 

I know you don't want to hear this.. 

The moment I hear the words "please bear with me".. I know something bad is coming. 

Stupid Ways to Start a Speech (part 5)

Any excuse.. 

I wasn't meant to be the one speaking to you today.. 

I didn't have time to prepare as much as I would have liked.. 

I only found out I was giving this speech last night.. 

I lost my notes.. 

I can't even count how many excuses I have heard as introductions.. please stop it!

Stupid Ways to Start a Speech (part 3)

I was going to talk about.. 

Unless this is a clever ploy to introduce a subject we didn't expect and play with our subconscious then we (the audience) really don't care what you were going to say... or even worse we may wish you'd said it, and you have only given us a teaser.. 

"I was going to tell you this really amazing story about how I got here today, but I figured I should stick to the facts.."

(This would make me go arghhh, I always want to hear an amazing story over facts)

"I was going to start with a joke but I realized I wasn't funny.. " 

(thanks for pointing that out, now I really want to listen to you!)

You get the hint.. not the dramatic 'I must listen to this' audience reaction you want. 

How big could you grow in the right environment?

This week I read a news story on the BBC about the fossilised remains of a snake that had been found - and it was huge! The snake would have been 13m (42ft) long - about the length of a bus and as high as your hip. Impressive or scary- depending on your feelings towards snakes I guess. 

The thing that struck me about this story was:

"So snakes had the opportunity to evolve and grow as big as this one did in a way that they probably wouldn't today."

This got me thinking - how we thrive and grow is dependent on our environment, how is yours working for you? 

Most of us are lucky to have a fair amount of control of the factors around us - are we making the best of it? How is your diet, your attitude, your work ethic, your other ethics ? Given the right environment we can thrive and grow. That snake has a lot to teach us. 

If you want to read more about the snake click here.