Thinking Ahead.
Customer experience, loyalty, and the AI era.
A new post every week — drawn from Joseph's current research and the ideas shaping his presentations.
1139 posts in the archive
Earlier writing.
Page 53 of 57
- Sep 20, 2011
Wounded but Alive - Surviving Zappos Fun Experiences
I was at Zappos HQ today delivering an advance copy of The Zappos Experience book to Tony Hsieh and colleagues (the book will hit bookstores by Oct 15th). Honestly, I was minding my own business when I became a casualty of an errant foam dart flying…
- Sep 17, 2011
Give Them the Water
I was satisfied by my old dry cleaner but circumstances prompted a change, so I was in the market for a new one. I stopped at several local businesses but most did not accept my preferred form of payment. Finally, a dry cleaner that accepts American…
- Sep 12, 2011
Experience in an Environment of Fear
Since 2001, I have travelled many times on September 11th. This weekend, however, my travel felt different. From my origin location Denver International Airport through my connections and ultimate destination, travelers appeared anxious and/or…
- Sep 10, 2011
Caring for or about your customer?
It is a subtle but powerful distinction - do you care for or about your customers? I'm not suggesting that you can't do both but I am asserting that most businesses struggle to do the former let alone the latter. The "caring for" dimension…
- Sep 9, 2011
Why you have to earn trust!
I recently had 3 contractors give me bids on a minor home improvement project. The three bids ranged from $350 to $10,500. WOW - did these three building professionals actually bid the same job? Upon receiving these bids, I wasn't sure if the high…
- Sep 8, 2011
Tell me a Story - Amplify and Humanize
I will make a bold assertion. To be an effective leader YOU MUST be a consummate story teller. The art of inspiring people to engage in consistently extraordinary service behaviors begins and ends with stories. While I can teach many transactional…
- Sep 1, 2011
Why your staff won't think or act!
Ok, I know the blog title is harsh but today I observed a defining moment in staff disempowerment. I was in an airport (which shall remain nameless) watching a staff member at a food cart take complaint after complaint about a non-functional coffee…
- Sep 1, 2011
A Tasty Meal of Strategy - The Triumph of Service Culture
My new book The Zappos Experience is at the printer and should be in stores thanks to McGraw-Hill, as scheduled in October. During the time I worked with Zappos, I often heard the company's CEO say "Culture eats strategy for lunch." I always loved…
- Aug 31, 2011
She held her brains in with her hands - Misperception Abounds
I was drawn in by a story that was shared on the radio by a typically reliable source. The announcer shared that recently a couple went to a business establishment and the wife waited in the car as the man engaged in an extended appointment. Upon…
- May 15, 2011
Back from Sabbatical:Product OR Experience?
It is terrific to be back from my "blogging sabbatical!" During my absence, I have been blessed with the opportunity to complete two customer experience book projects. Both books will be published this year by McGraw-Hill (one about UCLA and one…
- Jan 23, 2011
Who's in Charge? The Customer or You
not I see it all too often but today the confrontation was epic! Let me set the stage in my best boxing ring announcer voice.... "In the red corner, a loud, brash, entitled customer and in the blue corner a poorly selected and ill-trained…
- Jan 22, 2011
Zappos - Workplace Culture Not Perks
This week Zappos soared to #6 on the Fortune Best Companies to Work For 2011 list! Just one more case example of the empirically demonstrated correlation between happy employees and happy customers. But here is something that might be missed, in…
- Jan 21, 2011
Lessons from the Road
I have been traveling and consulting a great deal lately and each day serves as an amazing learning lab. Here are some random lessons from my journeys, which I hope will relate to your business: 1) A man in a coffee shop started talking to me about…
- Jan 20, 2011
Starbucks Trenta - Can your experience get "too big?"
I knew "Trenta" was coming but I continue to be amazed at the media storm and second guessing Starbucks receives. In case you missed it, Starbucks launched their new 31oz drink size option (named Trenta ) in 14 states this week including Virginia,…
- Jan 18, 2011
Building the road with hope and positivity
A new Gallup poll suggests optimists outnumber pessimists 2 to 1 - at least when it comes to expectations for the US economy in 2011. Given that data, I have a series of questions for you and your company: Do you share optimism for 2011? If so, how…
- Jan 16, 2011
An honest letter from YOUR customer. Do you dare read it?
I KNOW that my brain works in strange ways. But for some reason, I started thinking about what a customer would say to owners and leaders about their honest wants, needs, and desires if they wrote them in a compact letter. Here's my take.... Dear…
- Jan 14, 2011
How much permission do you have? Lessons from Zappos and Clorox
Something smells around here! Ah yes, it's the distinct aroma of Clorox! I just finished the first draft of my new book The Zappos Experience (which will be released in the fall) and was revising a section concerning the Zappos brand platform. So I…
- Jan 12, 2011
AT&T vs Verizon - A seriously improved customer experience?
Much will be written about the battle of the titans - AT&T vs. Verizon! Thanks, of course, to AT&T's lost monopoly on the Iphone . AT&T will argue they have a "faster" customer experience and Verizon will suggest they are more "reliable." In the…
- Jan 7, 2011
What to learn from Starbucks' new logo
Wow what a logo! As the author of The Stabucks Experience I have had many people ask about the NEW STARBUCKS LOGO! The principle questions I've fielded since the announcement earlier this week are variations of the following: 1) Why replace an…
- Jan 6, 2011
Listen - All Business is Personal
In most of my books (including two to be released later this year about Zappos and UCLA) I find myself touching on a theme that sounds something like " all business is personal." I think I am attracted to this message because well-intentioned…
Joseph Michelli
Bestselling author of twelve books on Starbucks, Ritz-Carlton, Mercedes-Benz, Zappos, Airbnb, UCLA Health, and One Medical. Top 5 Global CX Thought Leader for ten consecutive years.
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