The Fun Theory

Anyone read the book called Fish! ?



This fishy book talk about the real-life Pike Place Fish Market in Seattle, made famous for having FUN workers who throw fish around (and even invite the customers into the fun). Because the staff give so much attention to the customers, it was big business for the market and fun for everyone. And also a fictional story about how the Fish! philosophy was applied to a manager's company to improve both productivity and morale.

It is interesting to note that the people working at the Pike Place fish market actually felt disgusted with the book, but hey, it is nonetheless an interesting book.

If only all our companies can be just as fun, we can achieve great results.

To prove my point, take the look at the social experiment below, on how fun can actually make people take the stairs instead of the escalator.

(Please turn on the volume)



Now, how do you convince your boss that having fun is good for the company?

Great customer service starts at the top

Everybody needs an idol, someone we can look up to, someone who can inspire us to make a move in the correct direction.

And my Idol? Well, I have a few, and Sir Richard Branson, the flamboyant founder of Virgin Group is one of my favourite.


Mr Branson was a self-made millionaire with a chain of mutually exclusive businesses, ranging from airlines, mobile phones, trains to soft drinks and space travel. He was never shy about making a joke out of himself (like being fully naked with a Virgin card placed strategically to protect his modesty), or to put tongue-in-cheek advertisements on national newspapers to challenge rival companies.

Having been through tons of failures in his search for success, he has written books and articles, which I am a great fan of.

Today, I shall copy and paste an extract from one of his article entitled “Great customer service starts at the top”.

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Let's look at another story that clearly demonstrates the importance of every link in the service chain - this time involving Virgin Atlantic.

An Upper Class customer's free limo failed to connect with him at his New York City hotel. (It turned out the customer had been waiting at the wrong door.) He jumped into a cab to Newark Liberty International Airport, a fair distance from the city. Rush-hour traffic was bad; by the time he got to the airport he was very angry, running late and panicking that he'd miss his flight.

The first Virgin agent he located immediately seized control of the situation. She calmed the fuming customer, apologising profusely and assuring him that he would not miss his flight. From her own pocket, she refunded the taxi fare he had paid, then she rushed the passenger through a staff lane and got him to the gate with 10 minutes to spare.

Truly a job well done. Like the leather jacket incident, it demonstrates how great customer service can convert a negative into a positive.

WHEN THE CHAIN BREAKS

Now we come to the part of the story where the chain breaks. During the post-flight debriefing, the agent told her supervisor what had happened and asked to be repaid for the US$70 ($96) cab fare. Rather than congratulating the agent on saving the day, the supervisor asked whether she'd gotten a receipt for the fare.

When her answer was, "There was no time for that," he actually chastised her. He said, "No receipt, no reimbursement. You'd better take more care next time."

Clearly, the supervisor was more concerned about rigid adherence to accounting practices than about employee initiative. While fiscal accountability is important, especially when an outlay of cash is involved, there will always be occasions when an asterisk needs to be marked on the balance sheet.

One thing was certain: Any Virgin employees witnessing their supervisor's scornful reaction to their colleague's exemplary deed would be unlikely to display the same resourcefulness. Which means that the customer loses - and so does the entire company.

Happily, the story came to the airport manager's attention and he quickly took steps to redress the imbalance between company procedures and customer service. He advised the finance team that he'd approved the cash shortfall, while the supervisor got a quick refresher on how important we at Virgin think it is to "catch people doing something right".

Eventually I heard this story, and it truly impressed me. The next time I flew through Newark, I made a point of seeking out the agent who had made us proud. I remarked: "I don't have a taxi receipt, so you probably can't help me."

Her astonished smile said it all.

No company can train its front-end people to handle every situation, but you can strive to create an environment in which they feel at ease "doing as they would be done by".

Good customer service on the shop floor begins at the very top. If your senior people don't get it, even the strongest links further down the line can become compromised, as the story shows.

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Pardon this copy and paste job, because I will love to have paraphrase this story, but no one tells it better than Sir Richard Branson himself!

To end this post, I will love to hear about who your idol is. It doesn't have to be business or work related, just anyone whose words carry some weight and bring some positivity to your life. Now tell me. ^_^

About the Author: Shingo T once wanted to write a letter to the Virgin Group on why they should hire him.

Drinking problem

Got this from a friend.
(Left click on picture to magnify it)



The Man Above gave us two ears and one mouth for one simple reason - so that we can listen twice as much compared to what we talk.

The little problem with saving up

I didn't know the virtues of saving when I was young. During my primary school days, I will spend every single cent I have. If I had some loose coins by the end of school session, I will buy pencils, sweets, snacks, ice cream etc, or treat my friends.

As such, my piggy bank was almost always empty. My sister on the other hand, was thrifty and has lots of coins in her piggy bank. And I helped myself to it when I was short of cash. =p And when I so often got caught red-handed in the act, my sister will beat me. Ouch!

One day, my mum suggested that she help me to save part of my allowances, so that upon accumulation to a bigger amount, I can buy something I liked.

I had my eye on some toy vehicle (Anyone seen the cartoon Mask?), and so I agreed. Day after day, I started to make do with the reduced allowance. We were poor, and I didn't have much toys, so this thought of saving up to buy my toy definitely excited me, as I inch closer and closer towards saving the amount needed.

So the day came when I finally manage to save S$50 (US$20). With the $50 note in my pocket, I happily took a bus by myself down to the toy store. Only to realise that the money has dropped out of my pocket after I reached the store. =(

I didn't cry, but I was hugely disappointed. And nope, mum didn't gave me another $50 to make myself feel better, because she probably wants me to learn a lesson. And $50 was big money for us in those days.

Growing up, I started being more thrifty (Wifey calls it stingy), while my sister became much more generous. My mum will point out the irony of this (how our spending habits become opposite) sometimes, as she's worried my sister will not have enough savings at the rate that she's enjoying herself.

In life, there are times when long term planning is important, and we should bite the bullet in the short-term for the purpose of bigger things to come. Stuffs like staying away from fast food for the sake of long-term health. Or staying away from expensive hobbies so that you can save more for retirement.

But then there are also times when the opposite happens. If you eat the noodles first and leave the fishball (the best part of the meal) to the last, what happens if after eating the noodles, you finally get to eat the fishball, and the fishball slips off your chopsticks onto the dirty table?

Do you guys live for today, knowing that tomorrow is a question mark?

Or live for tomorrow, knowing that there are many more days to come?

Tagged by Foongpc and Nino

Some time back, Foongpc and Nino have tagged me with some new awards.

So let me do the tags first before it slipped off my mind.

Foongpc (aka the man with the hairy legs) has tagged me with The Versatile Blogger Award.


List 7 things about myself
- I once joked to my colleague that he was being henpecked, because he did the housework for his wife. He told me it's called loving the wife. And now I find myself doing the same thing that he did, for the same reason. I ain't henpecked.
- I believe alot in being punctual. It kind of deteriorated ever since Wifey came into the picture. As with all gals, they wanna look their best before they go out. And I'm still trying to earn back that punctuality credibility.
- I love the rain. Even when I'm outside, but only if I am equipped with an umbrella.
- I feel weird without wearing a watch. It just feel so so not right.
- I'm paranoid about the supposedly radiation that handphone can cause to our health. I try not to put handphone in the pocket unless neccessary, and I don't like it when people point their handphone at me.
- I avoid body contact between me and any other guys on the crowded train and bus. And that includes shoulder to shoulder.
- I like to give praise when it's due. And I appreciate honest feedback.

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As for Nino's tag, that is an interesting award called the Super Comments Award.


And accepting the award means answering the question - What are your thoughts on blog commenting? Any funny observations?

I have always enjoyed commenting on people's blog, partly to give my related opinions about the post, and partly to let the blog owner know that "someone is reading your blog, and he wants you to know that you are not writing a diary that no one sees".

Just like how I enjoy reading comments on my blog, I also hope that people enjoy reading my comments, so I refrain from using patronising comments. If it's a post I disagree with, I will not feel shy to post my comments, though I will put it politely as my opinion. After all, who am I to say that I'm always right?

Funny observations about comments? Nope, not really. But my least preferred comments are those advertisement spams. =p

I won't be arrowing the 2 awards to anyone, not because that no one deserves it, but chain tags has to end somewhere, and it ends with me.