The students in my Sport Management class are reading Moneyball. One of the points made in the book is that attendance is more strongly correlated with wins than with payroll. I created the motion chart below to illustrate these relationships. But it looks as though things might have changed over the last 10 years or so. The correlation between wins and attendance is less than the correlation between payroll and attendance. Probably a variety of explanations. And, yes, I know I need to use regression with a bunch of control variables. But, hey, I'm learning Google Motion Charts, so give me a break. Change the horizontal axis to "Time" and change color to "Unique colors" and it makes more sense.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Monday, January 17, 2011
New MBTI Types
The web is buzzing with news of the changes in the Zodiac signs. But the gravitational pull of the moon has produced another change as well. "Changes in the astrological signs will be accompanied by similar changes in personality and people's MBTI codes", says Buzz Flewhart, PPD. The world's most popular measure of personality, the Myers Briggs Type Indicator, assigns people to one of 16 types. And just as a 13th astrological sign has been added, a 17th MBTI type has been added: PENG. "PENG is the label for people who act like penguins," says Flewhart. "It may take a few months for these changes to really show up. If people do not observe changes in their personalities by April 1, 2011, they should see their doctor, therapist, shaman, or state representative."
| Old MBTI Type | New MBTI Type |
| ISTJ | ENFJ |
| ISFJ | ENFP |
| INFJ | ENTJ |
| INTJ | ENTP |
| ISTP | ESFJ |
| ISFP | ESFP |
| INFP | ESTJ |
| INTP | ESTP |
| ESTP | INFJ |
| ESFP | INFP |
| ENFP | INTJ |
| ENTP | INTP |
| ESTJ | ISFJ |
| ESFJ | ISFP |
| ENFJ | ISTJ |
| ENTJ | ISTP |
| New Type: PENG | Penguins |
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
The Total Bedroom Makeover
The Internet has opened up amazing opportunities for people all over the world. I love the fact that people with very meager resources can put up a website and compete on a level playing field with larger retailers. The one who offers the best value will win.
Over the last week, I've discovered a couple of these businesses that will fall by the wayside. Their founders will be baffled because they aren't aware (or aren't involved enough to care) of the terrible customer service offered by their hired help.
A few months ago my wife and I decided to surprise my son with a "Total Room Makeover" while he was away at his grandparents. This handily coincided with his birthday. We decided on a Cincinnati Reds theme and planned ahead so that we could order everything we needed and be ready to spring into action as soon as he left with his grandparents.
The Furniture
A local furniture store advertised a "Going Out of Business Sale" so we stopped in there about one month ago. We saw a perfect baseball-themed bedroom suit, but we didn't really like the dresser it came with and the price seemed a little high. So I whispered to my wife "Let's see if we can find it online." I did.
TheBedroomSpace.com advertised the bed and 5-drawer chest (which we preferred over the dresser in the picture), so we placed our order on July 6. Man was I proud of myself for ordering so far in advance!
On July 14 I received an email from Elaine Hogan who told me that the trundle unit we ordered would not fit under the full-size bed. That seemed odd since the one on display I saw was a full bed with a twin-size trundle. I told her to go ahead and send the trundle anyway. Now we're getting excited because they must be preparing the shipment!
Wrong.
On July 22, I contacted Elaine to find out if they had an estimated arrival date. TJ is due back home on July 29. Elaine responded that day:
I have just received word from the manufacturer that this bed has been discontinued and there is no stock available. Please check our website and see if there is something else that you would want to order in place of the Holland H0use Alex’s Room Youth Four Post Bedroom Set. I apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. I will understand if you want to cancel the order completely. In either case, please let me know via return email.
Needless to say, I was not happy. I thanked her for the offer to order something else from them, but passed and asked for the CEO's email address. She referred me to corporate@rjdstores.com Looking around on the Internet I found three people listed as the founders: Joel Kornbluth, David Fingerer, & Raffe Lahav. I sent an email to the corporate address with a request that it be forwarded to these three. I never received any sort of response.
The next day we went furniture shopping again, trying to find something before TJ returned. Interestingly, we stopped at a Badcock store and found the same baseball-themed set in their 2008 catalog. I asked if they had it available even though the manufacturer had discontinued it. It took 30 seconds for the guy to find out that they had three beds in their warehouse, but no chests. It took him 30 seconds to do something that TheBedroomSpace.com couldn't do in two weeks.
Eventually we went back to the "Going Out of Business" store and bought their set.
Lesson learned: Buy local. And whatever you do, don't order from TheBedroomSpace.com
The Comforter and Valances
If it didn't have something to do with sports, I would never order a comforter or valances. But we thought it would look cool, so we looked around for a Cincinnati Reds comforter and valance. If you do a Google search, you'll find the same Reds comforter and valance advertised everywhere. I finally ordered both from http://www.domesticbin.com/ on July 11. On July 13, they informed me that the valances were not available, but the comforter was shipping that day. Not a big problem because I still had plenty of time to order the valances elsewhere. I would definitely order from domesticbin.com again.
On July 13, I looked around and found the valances at http://www.sportskids.com/. Just to make sure, I emailed help@sportskids.com to ask if the valances were in stock. I received a quick reply from priyankainfo@sportskids.com that the valances were in stock, so I placed an order. They were nice enough to provide an "estimated shipping date" of July 20-22. Perfect timing.
Wrong again.
On July 27, I emailed priyankainfo to inquire about shipping. No response. On July 28, I sent another message to help@sportskids.com. No response. I tried their live online chat-based help. No response. I called the toll free number. No answer.
On July 28, I tried the online help again and actually got a response. They "checked with the manufacturer" and discovered (you guessed it), the item is no longer available from the manufacturer. When I told the entity on the other side of the chat what I had been told, it quit the chat session. So I called the toll free number and actually talked to a live person. He wouldn't tell me his name, so I'll call him "Surfer Dude". Surfer Dude also "checked with the manufacturer" and told me the same thing as the chat entity. When I expressed my displeasure, he kept to the script: "I'm very sorry. It's the manufacturer's fault." Eventually he hung up on me.
Lesson learned: Never order from www.sportskids.com
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Exceeding Customer Expectations
Originally published Aug. 10, 2008
In my last column I wrote about the family trip to Pigeon Forge. When the hotel staff was unwilling to change a light bulb, it didn't ruin our trip, but it did leave a bad taste in my mouth.
I had a very different experience in Pigeon Forge a few years ago. Within minutes of arriving at Splash Country, I lost my keys.
As an aside, the locker rental they offer is a pretty good deal after all.
I lost my keys in the landing pool at the bottom of one of the water slides. I asked one of the 16 year old life guards if there was any hope of recovering them. He told me they would have to close down the slide and dive for them. If they turned up, he would take them to the lost-and-found office.
To be honest, he sounded as interested in finding my keys as I would have been at 16 - not very. I spent the rest of the day wondering how I would replace each key.
Late in the day I decided to visit lost-and-found, just in case.
When I told them I was looking for lost keys, someone opened a desk drawer with about 20 sets of keys. Much to my amazement, my keys were there.
I really don't know who found the keys, but I was pretty impressed for several reasons. First, I know it was my own fault, but Splash Country had a plan in place for handling customer mistakes. The light bulb incident was frustrating because the hotel did not have a plan for dealing with its own very simple problems.
I was also impressed that the teenagers who run Splash Country actually used the plan. I know it's wrong to stereotype, but I really didn't expect much help from anyone at Splash Country. At the hotel, however, the staff looked grandmotherly. When I asked for a new bulb, I almost expected them to bring some homemade cookies along with the bulb.
In these two simple examples, there's a pretty important message for companies. Research on customer service shows that customers are satisfied when their expectations are met. When their expectations are exceeded, however, customers become loyal devotees of the company. When customer expectations are not met, they become ex-customers.
At the hotel, I felt like my very low expectations were not met. At Splash Country, I also had pretty low expectations, but they were exceeded.
Several companies have become very successful by exceeding customer expectations. Every day, employees at Ritz-Carlton hotels around the world gather before their shifts to hear "Wow" stories. These are stories about hotel staffers who go above and beyond the call of duty to help customers.
But you don't have to be the Ritz-Carlton to make use of this principle. Most people have pretty low expectations when they go into a fast food restaurant. On a visit to the Ritz-Carlton, Chick-fil-A founder Truett Cathy noticed that when he thanked anyone on the hotel staff, they always replied, "My pleasure." That's why you get the same response and outstanding service from Chick-fil-A employees.
In the last year, Chick-fil-A has been recognized by Zagat's and Business Week for their outstanding service that exceeds customer expectations.
It's interesting to think about what might have happened at my hotel if Chick-fil-A employees had been working there. I'm pretty sure the response would have been, "It's my pleasure to change your light bulb."
In my last column I wrote about the family trip to Pigeon Forge. When the hotel staff was unwilling to change a light bulb, it didn't ruin our trip, but it did leave a bad taste in my mouth.
I had a very different experience in Pigeon Forge a few years ago. Within minutes of arriving at Splash Country, I lost my keys.
As an aside, the locker rental they offer is a pretty good deal after all.
I lost my keys in the landing pool at the bottom of one of the water slides. I asked one of the 16 year old life guards if there was any hope of recovering them. He told me they would have to close down the slide and dive for them. If they turned up, he would take them to the lost-and-found office.
To be honest, he sounded as interested in finding my keys as I would have been at 16 - not very. I spent the rest of the day wondering how I would replace each key.
Late in the day I decided to visit lost-and-found, just in case.
When I told them I was looking for lost keys, someone opened a desk drawer with about 20 sets of keys. Much to my amazement, my keys were there.
I really don't know who found the keys, but I was pretty impressed for several reasons. First, I know it was my own fault, but Splash Country had a plan in place for handling customer mistakes. The light bulb incident was frustrating because the hotel did not have a plan for dealing with its own very simple problems.
I was also impressed that the teenagers who run Splash Country actually used the plan. I know it's wrong to stereotype, but I really didn't expect much help from anyone at Splash Country. At the hotel, however, the staff looked grandmotherly. When I asked for a new bulb, I almost expected them to bring some homemade cookies along with the bulb.
In these two simple examples, there's a pretty important message for companies. Research on customer service shows that customers are satisfied when their expectations are met. When their expectations are exceeded, however, customers become loyal devotees of the company. When customer expectations are not met, they become ex-customers.
At the hotel, I felt like my very low expectations were not met. At Splash Country, I also had pretty low expectations, but they were exceeded.
Several companies have become very successful by exceeding customer expectations. Every day, employees at Ritz-Carlton hotels around the world gather before their shifts to hear "Wow" stories. These are stories about hotel staffers who go above and beyond the call of duty to help customers.
But you don't have to be the Ritz-Carlton to make use of this principle. Most people have pretty low expectations when they go into a fast food restaurant. On a visit to the Ritz-Carlton, Chick-fil-A founder Truett Cathy noticed that when he thanked anyone on the hotel staff, they always replied, "My pleasure." That's why you get the same response and outstanding service from Chick-fil-A employees.
In the last year, Chick-fil-A has been recognized by Zagat's and Business Week for their outstanding service that exceeds customer expectations.
It's interesting to think about what might have happened at my hotel if Chick-fil-A employees had been working there. I'm pretty sure the response would have been, "It's my pleasure to change your light bulb."
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Customer Service Matters
Customer Service Matters
I probably shouldn't admit this, but I spent last week trying to take advantage of the alleged economic recession. The Timmerman family packed up and headed to Pigeon Forge. I assumed that, since the American economy is collapsing, we would be the only ones at Dollywood.
It seemed like half the people in the US were in line ahead of us at the Old Mill Restaurant. Apparently, when the going gets tough, the tough go out to eat $18 fried chicken.
I was especially amazed at the number of out-of-state license plates I saw in the parking lots. Pigeon Forge isn't just a recession destination for Tennesseans. People are coming from all over the United States.
But this trip will be memorable for another reason. It was a small incident, but one that will stick with me.
After spending the day standing in lines, we returned to the hotel about 5:30. When we turned on the light switch, it seemed as though we were in a disco from the 1970s. The fluorescent light bulbs in the room were going bad and flickering like a bad strobe light.
No problem, I thought. I'll just call the front desk and ask them to send someone to fix it. But the person at the front desk simply said, "Sorry, we won't have anyone available to fix it until tomorrow morning."
I wasn't sure what to say. Is this hotel incapable of changing a light bulb at 5:30 on a Monday afternoon? I offered to fix it myself if she could simply find the bulbs. She told me that she would see if she could find them and let me know.
About thirty minutes later, I was walking near the front desk, so I decided to stop in and check on the search. That's actually when the search began. Both the receptionist and someone in an office behind the desk said that they didn't know where the bulbs were stored. That's when she looked at me like I was supposed to go away.
I was still baffled, so I offered to remove bulbs from an unoccupied room. The receptionist told me that they only had two empty rooms and they really weren't supposed to swap bulbs like that.
That's when I went from bewilderment to disappointment. I was the one coming up with possible solutions to the problem. They were making up excuses that really didn't make sense.
Finally, when I didn't go away, she offered to call "Walt" and find out where the bulbs were stored. A little while later, someone who obviously wasn't very happy with me showed up to change the bulbs.
I'm glad that the problem was fixed, but it still left me with a bad taste in my mouth. Obviously, my problem could be fixed. But until I persisted, no one wanted to help.
This incident stands out because customer service is something that can really separate any company from its competitors. There are 10,000 hotel and motel rooms in Pigeon Forge and to me they're all pretty much the same. I've stayed at this hotel many times, but this tiny incident has pushed me to shop around on our next visit.
I wonder if there's a hotel that offers room service from the Old Mill?
I probably shouldn't admit this, but I spent last week trying to take advantage of the alleged economic recession. The Timmerman family packed up and headed to Pigeon Forge. I assumed that, since the American economy is collapsing, we would be the only ones at Dollywood.
It seemed like half the people in the US were in line ahead of us at the Old Mill Restaurant. Apparently, when the going gets tough, the tough go out to eat $18 fried chicken.
I was especially amazed at the number of out-of-state license plates I saw in the parking lots. Pigeon Forge isn't just a recession destination for Tennesseans. People are coming from all over the United States.
But this trip will be memorable for another reason. It was a small incident, but one that will stick with me.
After spending the day standing in lines, we returned to the hotel about 5:30. When we turned on the light switch, it seemed as though we were in a disco from the 1970s. The fluorescent light bulbs in the room were going bad and flickering like a bad strobe light.
No problem, I thought. I'll just call the front desk and ask them to send someone to fix it. But the person at the front desk simply said, "Sorry, we won't have anyone available to fix it until tomorrow morning."
I wasn't sure what to say. Is this hotel incapable of changing a light bulb at 5:30 on a Monday afternoon? I offered to fix it myself if she could simply find the bulbs. She told me that she would see if she could find them and let me know.
About thirty minutes later, I was walking near the front desk, so I decided to stop in and check on the search. That's actually when the search began. Both the receptionist and someone in an office behind the desk said that they didn't know where the bulbs were stored. That's when she looked at me like I was supposed to go away.
I was still baffled, so I offered to remove bulbs from an unoccupied room. The receptionist told me that they only had two empty rooms and they really weren't supposed to swap bulbs like that.
That's when I went from bewilderment to disappointment. I was the one coming up with possible solutions to the problem. They were making up excuses that really didn't make sense.
Finally, when I didn't go away, she offered to call "Walt" and find out where the bulbs were stored. A little while later, someone who obviously wasn't very happy with me showed up to change the bulbs.
I'm glad that the problem was fixed, but it still left me with a bad taste in my mouth. Obviously, my problem could be fixed. But until I persisted, no one wanted to help.
This incident stands out because customer service is something that can really separate any company from its competitors. There are 10,000 hotel and motel rooms in Pigeon Forge and to me they're all pretty much the same. I've stayed at this hotel many times, but this tiny incident has pushed me to shop around on our next visit.
I wonder if there's a hotel that offers room service from the Old Mill?
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
The Value of Freedom
Originally published July 13, 2008
Like most good red-blooded Americans, I spent last weekend celebrating freedom by shooting fireworks made in China. We celebrate freedom because it is one of the foundations upon which our country was founded. Freedom is still one of the pillars that separates good countries from oppressive ones.
Oddly enough, freedom is also one of the things that often separates good organizations from bad ones. For the last two years, Fortune magazine has named Google as America's Best Company to Work For. Aside from their free food, one of the hallmarks of Google's culture is known as 20-percent time.
Google expects all of their engineers to spend 20 percent of their time working on projects of their own choosing. These projects are usually creative ideas that an engineer simply finds interesting. Some of Google's most successful products, like Gmail and AdSense, are the result of this freedom to experiment.
Another company on Fortune's list of Best Companies is the convenience store chain QuikTrip. Convenience stores tend to be quite dangerous places to work. So I don't typically think of them as being great places to work. At QuikTrip, however, employees report that the company provides them with the resources they need to be successful, and then they are left alone and trusted to do their jobs.
The value of freedom can be seen in non-profit organizations as well. In a nationwide survey of public school teachers, researchers from the National Center for Education Statistics searched for the strongest predictors of job satisfaction. They examined background characteristics like demographics, experience, and school size. They also looked at working conditions that might be under the control of school administrators.
The background characteristics had virtually no relationship with job satisfaction. Higher paid teachers were only slightly more satisfied than lower paid teachers. Two of the strongest predictors of job satisfaction were the teacher's influence over school policy and the teacher's control in the classroom.
In other words, teachers (like everyone else) are more satisfied when they are given more freedom to make decisions that influence their work.
So if organizational leaders want to offer more autonomy, where should they begin? Pretty much anywhere. One idea floating around lately is that employers should offer four-day work weeks. Aside from saving on gas, moving to a four-day week can offer a number of advantages.
Back when I worked at the underwear factory in South Carolina, we moved to a four-day work week only after the employees voted on it. Even though they were still working the same number of hours, this one move produced the biggest morale boost I've ever seen.
I'm still convinced that the morale boost came more from the vote than from the outcome. They simply appreciated being asked and having an influence.
You can probably come up with a number of reasons why a four-day work week won't work in your company. Sounds like another great opportunity for employee involvement. Ask your employees to overcome your reservations.
Any leader worth their salt should be able to come up with other opportunities for employee autonomy.
Organizational leaders then face the following choice. They can either provide their employees with some good ol' all-American freedom and reap the benefits. Or they can rule their company with the iron fist of a Communist fireworks manufacturer.
Like most good red-blooded Americans, I spent last weekend celebrating freedom by shooting fireworks made in China. We celebrate freedom because it is one of the foundations upon which our country was founded. Freedom is still one of the pillars that separates good countries from oppressive ones.
Oddly enough, freedom is also one of the things that often separates good organizations from bad ones. For the last two years, Fortune magazine has named Google as America's Best Company to Work For. Aside from their free food, one of the hallmarks of Google's culture is known as 20-percent time.
Google expects all of their engineers to spend 20 percent of their time working on projects of their own choosing. These projects are usually creative ideas that an engineer simply finds interesting. Some of Google's most successful products, like Gmail and AdSense, are the result of this freedom to experiment.
Another company on Fortune's list of Best Companies is the convenience store chain QuikTrip. Convenience stores tend to be quite dangerous places to work. So I don't typically think of them as being great places to work. At QuikTrip, however, employees report that the company provides them with the resources they need to be successful, and then they are left alone and trusted to do their jobs.
The value of freedom can be seen in non-profit organizations as well. In a nationwide survey of public school teachers, researchers from the National Center for Education Statistics searched for the strongest predictors of job satisfaction. They examined background characteristics like demographics, experience, and school size. They also looked at working conditions that might be under the control of school administrators.
The background characteristics had virtually no relationship with job satisfaction. Higher paid teachers were only slightly more satisfied than lower paid teachers. Two of the strongest predictors of job satisfaction were the teacher's influence over school policy and the teacher's control in the classroom.
In other words, teachers (like everyone else) are more satisfied when they are given more freedom to make decisions that influence their work.
So if organizational leaders want to offer more autonomy, where should they begin? Pretty much anywhere. One idea floating around lately is that employers should offer four-day work weeks. Aside from saving on gas, moving to a four-day week can offer a number of advantages.
Back when I worked at the underwear factory in South Carolina, we moved to a four-day work week only after the employees voted on it. Even though they were still working the same number of hours, this one move produced the biggest morale boost I've ever seen.
I'm still convinced that the morale boost came more from the vote than from the outcome. They simply appreciated being asked and having an influence.
You can probably come up with a number of reasons why a four-day work week won't work in your company. Sounds like another great opportunity for employee involvement. Ask your employees to overcome your reservations.
Any leader worth their salt should be able to come up with other opportunities for employee autonomy.
Organizational leaders then face the following choice. They can either provide their employees with some good ol' all-American freedom and reap the benefits. Or they can rule their company with the iron fist of a Communist fireworks manufacturer.
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