Free Estimates

Free Estimates.

This phrase has always intrigued me. Frequently seen adorning the side of labourer's vans: Free Estimates.

Is this really a unique selling point?

To be honest, if the best you can do is only "estimate" the price, and you're the professional, then surely I shouldn't be expected to pay for that?

Is there anyone out there who does charge, I wonder?

Is there Ever an Excuse for Poor Service?

Feedback on yesterday's blog post Trust Games has got me thinking: is there ever a legitimate excuse for poor service?

It intrigues me that more than one person (on and offline) has defended Tesco's "security led" approach, claiming it "makes sense" that they protect their store and their goods on offer from petty thieves and serial shoplifters. I don't deny that it does make sense.

My customer "experience", as one of the many millions of law abiding, big spending Tesco customers, however is continually tainted by this security led approach. The first person who greets me, for instance, in the Tesco store is the security guard.

It is possible, however, to run a major retail business with multiple lines and stock with good street value without making the customer feel like they are entering some sort of homogenous police state. Ask Marks & Spencer: they've been managing it for years. Anyone noticed Morrisons' security team? I haven't. How about Asda? Nope.

They are there in all three cases, but they are not "present" as part of the customer's retail experience.

So, back to my original questions - is there ever an excuse for poor quality service? Does the old trio of "Quality, Price, Service: Choose Two" still ring true? Or can we have all three?

I believe we can, and without much extra effort or cost. So how could Tesco improve?

Well, the changing rooms are easy: Pop a person on clothing to man the changing rooms - it's what all the other fashion retailers do.

The automated tills are easy too: weigh the customer's bag before they start packing. That way they are not trying to juggle car keys and their shopping at a set of tills that have clearly been designed by men who also haven't sussed that women carry handbags (that's a story for another day).

The CD cases, again, I think are easy: HMV seem to manage with a simple, unobtrusive, stick on alarmed bar code sticker.

So when it comes to quality, service and price, I want all three.

And I don't think security is a valid excuse for not delivering on them.

Trust Games

I'm going to pick on Tesco. I know it might be an easy target.


Not unlike many British people, I spend a lot of money in Tesco. In fact, taking groceries, petrol and clothing all into consideration, my average monthly spend probably hovers in the region of £500 (or, for arguments sake lets call it £6000 per annum).


Now, if I was spending six grand on a business purchase, I'd have certain expectations. I'd expect quality. I'd expect good service. I'd expect there to be a level of trust between me and the supplier.


Tesco seems to take a different approach.


Want to try on clothes? You need to ring for an assistant to unlock the changing room first.


Want to go through the self service checkout? God forbid you have anything in your own canvas shopper apart from fresh air.


Want to buy a £3 DVD? Make sure it gets taken out of its security box at the checkout first.


Perhaps I'm missing something, but if you spent £500 a month with your local Prada store (not that £500 would go terribly further than a couple of pairs of shoes and maybe a scarf), they'd be serving you with champers upon your arrival every month, and waiting on you hand and foot.


So. Every little helps? I'm not so sure.


Very little helps. Perhaps.

Why Advertising Sales Reps could Learn from Online Dating Sites

I'm one of those lucky people who receive regular (by which I mean several calls a day) from a variety of advertising sales reps.


This is, in essence, a good thing for my business. I buy a lot of media so it makes sense that I know about opportunities and the various different media that are out there.


It is interesting to me, however, that many people who work in advertising "sales" have a lot to learn about how to sell. And there are a few lessons they could probably take on board from some of the leading online dating sites.


The first one is to know what your target is. Boys or girls? Agency or client? If you have no idea who you're selling to, how on earth are you going to appeal to them? This may actually involve looking at their "profile" or, in my case, the company website.


The second is knowing what you have to offer to the other party. Good sense of humour? Loving and caring? If you want someone to care about you (or your product) you need to know how it's going to benefit THEM, not you.


The third is knowing that you ain't going to do it on a first date. To be honest we've barely even got to know each other at this stage. If you want me to spend £500 over the phone, without having even seen (or in some cases heard of) your publication, it would be fair to say you're not all that trustworthy and you're likely to run out on me at first light, taking my money and never calling me again. Heck, in some cases I'll be lucky if you even remember my name.


The best advertising sales people build relationships. It's a bit old fashioned, but I'm an old fashioned girl and I like to be romanced.


You just can't do that over the phone.


When it comes to media, I am ultimately looking for the perfect match.com.

I'm Just the Messenger

It only takes a couple of minutes to fully ruin someone's night. And watching it happen can be just as upsetting.


That's what I discovered last night on a trip to the theatre.


We arrived early. Time for a pre-theatre drink and a natter.


But within seconds of arriving in the bar, we knew something was amiss. Staff were thin on the ground, those that were there were playing an admirable game of avoiding eye contact (you know: when they deliberately look everywhere, appear alert, but yet somehow never manage to scan the room in your direction?).


And then it happened. They arrived.


At first they waited to be noticed. And waited. And waited.


Then there was the kerfuffle with whether they had booked or not. We know there was a kerfuffle because we heard the manager ask the waiter loudly, and in a tone of voice that could only be regarded as irritated, "Have they booked?"


And it would appear they had.


So they were kept waiting. And waiting.


Then the manager announced (again loudly enough for us to hear, and therefore their waiting guests) that they "were late".


The unfortunate waiter was despatched to deliver the news to the couple.


They weren't happy. But they didn't go away (as I suspect had been hoped) but waited to be seated. And waited. So the waiter deferred to the manager to "have a word" with them.


The manager, possibly understanding the difficulty of the situation, left the room. And the couple waited. And waited.


After a while, the manager came back and explained to them, forcefully, that they were late. That they couldn't have their dinner (note this is 50 minutes before the performance begins) and that she was "just the messenger".


And I wondered: who's in charge here anyway?


Have restaurants lost the ability to feed people in a 50 minute window?


After being reluctantly seated, and pushed to hurry their order (and yes, I was now watching proceedings with great attention). The couple got up and walked out.


With a flourish they stood up, whipped on their coats and loudly dragged their chairs back.


Regrettably. The manager didn't seem to care.


The couple's night was undoubtedly ruined. But more so the theatre restaurant's reputation.


We were, as you can imagine, not the only witnesses.


So, in future, if you're "just the messenger", make sure you know what message you're sending. And to whom.

Social Networks Have got the Upper Hand

Networking is an interesting concept. At it's heart is socialising, with maybe a bit of business thrown in.


Now. Cards on the table: I used to run a business network for entrepreneurs. So, when it comes to networking, I've pretty much been there, done that and got the T-Shirt.


I have run hundreds of events for thousands of entrepreneurs up and down the UK.


But, despite all this experience in the "face to face" arena, I have to say: Social networks have the upper hand.


So what am I saying? Facebook's better than your local Chamber of Commerce for generating business?


Well, in a nutshell. Yes.


When people join a social network, they join primarily as themselves (not some flashy business person they are pretending to be, Monday to Friday, nine till five). So you get to meet and interact with someone wholly three dimensional.


When people attend a face to face networking, and I've been arguing for years that this is entirely the wrong way to approach it, they come with a "strategy" and have adopted a "business-like" persona that fits said strategy. Is it therefore any wonder that people find face to face networking a somewhat fruitless task?


So, for all those "business networkers" out there, the next time you go to an event, go as yourselves.... and get to know your fellow networkers are people, rather than as "targets", you never know it might just make all the difference.


Meanwhile, the rest of us will be getting to know each other properly (and in depth, I might add) on Facebook (or Twitter) and doing business with people we know, like and trust.

£3.79.... And do not pass Go.

Visiting the supermarket has become very much like a game of monopoly. Except it's no game.


Not for the customer, anyway.


If you're unlucky enough to have enough in your trolley to warrant going to a manned checkout, you will first be subjected to a diverting (or perhaps that should be disturbing?) discussion with a 16 year old who is pretending to be genuinely interested in what you have planned for the weekend...... Or worse, later tonight.


I often toy with the idea of telling the truth during these interludes. However, that would just be cruel. So, with a bit more effort on my part, I make something up. Something banal that pleases both me and the checkout operator? Our "duty" is done. They've followed the script and created a "magic moment" for me. I've played my part.


More magical for me, however, would be instilling the basic "P's and Q's" in these checkout operators. Rarely, if at all, do they ever say please, and I can't recall the last time they said "thank you" for my business.


It's surely not too much to ask. Is it?