Call meJeffrey

Talking Your Customers In Circles 101

Yesterday someone graciously pointed out to me that both of my tail lights were out. Fearing there was some more major electrical problem going on (especially because it’s a brand new car and I already had my A/C overhauled a month ago because it wouldn’t turn on), I took the earliest service appointment they could give me. I brought my car to the dealer this morning and had the following conversation with the service manager…

Me: My tail lights mysteriously stopped working, and I’m concerned it’s an electrical issue – especially because of the A/C problem I also recently had. It’s a new car.

SM (service manager): I doubt it’s an electrical issue because your middle brake lamp still works. Your tail lamps probably burned out.

Me: Both of them at the same time? That seems pretty odd.

SM: No, not really. I see this about a hundred times a week.

Me: A hundred times a week? Wow, that seems like a pretty major issue!

SM: Not really, it’s a pretty common problem.

So, what did we learn today folks? Apparently, common problems aren’t problems at all! Granted, I’m sure the “hundred time per week” was a little exaggerated, but even if it was only ten times per week I’d hope the repetition of the issue was being reported back to the manufacturer. Seems like a silly problem to ignore when “a hundred people per week” seem to be having it.

Jun 14 2008
0 comments

Show ‘em what you got… but why?

I usually have no issue with how people spend their money, but there’s something about the notion of conspicuous consumption that is totally baffling to me. Case in point: Louis Vuitton sweatbands and towels.

If there’s one place where it certainly doesn’t matter who you are, it’s the gym. Everyone is there for the same reason, and there’s something nice about a place that levels life’s playing field. I can’t imagine why someone would find it necessary to spend that kind of money on something your body is just going to make disgusting, much less feel the need to quietly convey your “status” in a place where no one cares anyway.

If I was in charge of product development for Louis Vuitton, I’d see how far I could push it. If people are willing to drop large sums of money on “high class” versions of everyday items, I’d take it all the way and add items like cotton swabs, tampons and toilet paper to next season’s line! At the very least, my customers would have the metaphorical experience of seeing where their money is going.

UPDATE: Apparently the product developers at Louis Vuitton read my blog!

Jun 12 2008
4 comments

Not bad company to keep

Tom passed me this great article about asymmetrical competition, written by Umair Haque. The focus was on Obama, but he was kind enough to mention Threadless in his examples.

So where do we see asymmetrical competition happening in the corporate world? The real question is

Jun 05 2008
1 comment
  • Some call me a tattooed metal-head with a mind for innovation, an eye for design and nose for tomfoolery. I call myself a tireless design enthusiast, a lover of community and food, a maker of things. As for you, just call me Jeffrey.
  • Stay in Touch

    • via Email
    • via DailyBooth
    • via Facebook
    • via Twitter
    • via Flickr
    • via Formspring
    • via Dopplr
    • via Last.fm
    • via LinkedIn
  • See me Around

    • Culture Unleashed – "Scaling Culture Panel"
      Sep 10 2010
    • Tahoe Tech Talk 2010
      Sep 30 2010

    View all events

  • Guilty by Association

    • Graphicly
      www.graphic.ly
    • Mission Bicycle Co.
      www.missionbicycle.com
    • SimpleGeo
      www.simplegeo.com
    • Threadless
      www.threadless.com
  • Most recent Tweet

    • Welcome to your dirty 30s, @rsarver! 2 days ago
    • More updates...

    Follow me on Twitter

  • Recent blog Posts

    • How Not To: Give advice about scoring design jobs
      07/18/10 – 12 comments
    • Getting home
      07/06/10 – 7 comments
    • Jack of all trades, master of none
      06/22/10 – 5 comments
    • The folly of youth vs. insight from experience
      02/05/10 – 4 comments
    • My Ten Favorite Albums of 2009
      12/16/09 – 2 comments
  • Powered by Lijit


  • More to Read

    Friends

    • AJ Vaynerchuk
    • Brad Feld
    • Burton Rast
    • Chuck Anderson
    • Craig Shimala
    • Dave Pfluger
    • David Cohen
    • Dustin Henderlong
    • Dustin Hostetler (UPSO)
    • Emptees
    • Gary Vaynerchuk
    • Grayarea
    • Harper Reed
    • Jake Nickell
    • Josh Spear
    • Matt Galligan
    • Micah Baldwin
    • Michael Galpert
    • Nicholas Scimeca
    • Ross Zietz

    General interestingness

    • Behance
    • Better Living Through Design
    • Club Mumble
    • Coudal Partners
    • Design*Sponge
    • Desire to Inspire
    • Faesthetic
    • Geekologie
    • Layer Tennis
    • Portable Content
    • Signal vs. Noise
    • TechStars
    • The Brilliance
    • Vitamin
    • YayHooray!
A Gentlemanx27s Gentleman download movie Assault on Precinct 13 download movie Arctic Tale download movie Dimples download movie Episode list for"Coupling" download movie For the Birds download movie Assault on Precinct 13 download movie Arctic Tale download movie Dimples download movie Episode list for"Coupling" download movie For the Birds download movie buy cialis online with paypal

Archives

  • July 2010
  • June 2010
  • February 2010
  • December 2009
  • November 2009
  • September 2009
  • August 2009
  • July 2009
  • June 2009
  • May 2009
  • April 2009
  • March 2009
  • February 2009
  • January 2009
  • December 2008
  • November 2008
  • June 2008
  • May 2008
  • March 2008
  • February 2008
  • January 2008
  • December 2007
  • October 2007
  • September 2007
  • August 2007
  • July 2007
  • May 2007
  • April 2007
  • March 2007
  • January 2007
  • December 2006
  • November 2006
  • September 2006
  • August 2006
  • May 2006