Excellent VS Poor Customer Service

So what separates excellent customer service from poor customer service?  I’m the first to acknowledge that things don’t always go as planned.  Things happen.  It’s how a company reacts that separates excellent customer service from poor.

Example:  Last week, an AirTran Flight I was scheduled to fly on was delayed for 5 hours.  Not only did a representative call personally to inform, they offered a free round trip ticket good for one year any place AirTran goes.  Didn’t ask for it.  They just did it.

Contrast this to tonight where I’m writing this from Orlando as I sit and await Spirit Air.  This flight has been delayed twice. They knew it at some point and didn’t call, no contact until we checked our bags.  To make matters worse, it’s very late at night.  So far, no offer of a free ticket, refund, hotel accomidation, no coffee, meal voucher …. NOTHING!

So, in a world where Facebook, Twitter and a blog can spread the word as fast as you can hit “publish”, a company should realize now more than ever the importance of excellent customer service.  I just don’t get it.  Having taught courses in marketing, media and public relations for years, I can tell you that poor customer service is like a wildfire and as such is very hard to contain once it spreads.   You can spend millions of dollars telling everyone how “good you are”, but it means nothing if you can’t back up the claims when it really counts.

Oh, and I have a radio talk show I can also use as a forum. Hummmm.  Wonder what my topic will be on the next show?

Three Quick Lessons I Learned From The Super Bowl

1.  Just because you’re down, doesn’t mean you’re out.  The game isn’t over yet.

2.  When you get the chance, grab the ball and run!

3.  The pundits are often wrong.

Love the real life stories that teach us never to give up or give in.  I’m blown away by the fact that we have a God who every day gives us a chance to start fresh and live a life full of His presence and peace if we only turn our lives over to Him.  In life, God is on the sidelines of whatever you are facing.  He is cheering you on and wants only the best for you with the ultimate goal of conforming you to be more like His Son Jesus.  He tell us in the book of Jeremiah 29, verse 11, “For I know the plans I have for you … To prosper you and not to harm you, to give you hope and a future.”

What is he doing?????

I don’t understand. Why would the President of the United States bow to the mayor of Tampa, Fl.  I’m serious.  Why?  Any thoughts?

A Teleprompter? 6th Graders?

As one of my children would say, “Ahh come on!!!”  And they made fun of President Bush talking with school children?  This is unbelievable!

The Air Is Let Out Of America

Word that Air America is going dark.  They never really were a viable operation, although you wouldn’t know it from the news release on their website.  They have struggled from the very start and yes these are tough times to be in the radio business, but when you combine poor economics will programming almost no one wants to listen to, the combination spells disaster.   Although I’m a Conservative radio talk show host, I do enjoy a good debate and listening to opposing points of view.  I like to hear what others (even those with whom I disagree) believe.  But the plain truth is that Air America was anything but clever or cutting edge talk and as the rating showed across the country, a failure. So, good bye Air America.  Don’t look for a wing in the museum of broadcasting anytime soon.

Nail In The Healthcare Coffin

If last nights Massachusetts miracle isn’t a wake up call for Democrats, I don’t know what is.  Republican Scott Browns decisive Senate victory should leave little doubt in the minds of those in charge in Washington that even liberal Massachusetts has had enough.

Most people agree that there does need to be changes in the way we deal with the issue of healthcare in this country, but the current plan which would most certainly lead us down a road toward socialized medicine is not the answer.

Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi can talk all they want about Republicans setting up roadblocks and the will of the people being thwarted.  But you can’t ignore the facts:

• The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just 38% of voters nationwide now favor the health care reform plan proposed by President Obama and congressional Democrats.  That matches the lowest level of support yet.  Fifty-six percent (56%) of voters oppose the plan.
• Now as of last night, the GOP has gained an important Senate seat in a state that hasn’t seen a Republican Senator for decades and the very seat previously occupied by the man who championed the current healthcare reform measure.

When it comes to the current healthcare bill to borrow a phrase; Do not ask for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee.

Brit Hume & The Case Of The Double Standard

When Fox News’s Brit Hume says that Tiger Woods might be best served by turning to the Christian faith instead of Buddhism, the fire storm erupted from the left.  How dare he?  Who does he think he is? He has no business.  Why is it that when someone invokes Christianity into a conversation, the loons go batty?   Well, clue number one, the man who started it all said it best when he told his followers that if they hate me, they’ll hate you.  By the way, those are the words of Jesus.  So it really should be no wonder that it goes on.

But when I read comments like that one at  TheHill.com , I really have to question the logic.  In the column, author Terence Kane quotes Ingrid Creppell, a political theorist who he says writes on what religious toleration means in a modern republic.  Apparently Creppel, who is a professor at George Washington University, argues that members of the media have a special responsibility to refrain from what Kane and Creppel call proselytizing: “of course the public sphere ought to tolerate a vigorous debate about the distinct merits or offerings of religious beliefs. The issue is not about what ought or ought not to be floating about in public discourse, but what this particular person’s perch enables him to do.”  King says that because Hume is a former news anchor, he should have thought twice before expressing his religious views with regards to Woods.

First of all, Humes comments were in the context of opinion and clearly stated as such and second of all there is clearly a double standard here.  News anchors, reporters and other “journalists” pepper their copy or comments with personal views, ideologies and beliefs all the time.  The difference is they don’t tell you ahead of time and try to mask what they interject as fact or “just part of the story”.

There is no danger at all in what Brit Hume did on Fox News Sunday, the real danger are those on the left who interject their personal opinion and ideology into a news story day in and day out and it’s so subtle, you never catch it.

Good Bye America As We Know It?

If President Obama signs this United Nations Climate Change Treaty  in Copenhagen this month, we might be witnessing in our generation, on our watch, the beginning of the end of this country as we know it.  Please take a look at this video. Does it trouble you as much as it does me?  We’ll talk about it on The Jeff Whitaker Show on WOND 1400 AM today at 3.  Join in and let me know your thoughts.

Who Is Obama Rooting For Anyway?

When President Barack Obama bowed this week to the Emperor of Japan, it was just the latest sign of a man who really doesn’t get it.  Earlier this year he bowed before the King of Saudi Arabia.  There is nothing wrong with showing respect to other world leaders, but the lengths this President goes to “show the world that we are not the bad guy” actually show another character trait instead.  Weakness.  When you travel the globe apologizing to world leaders for the actions of this country, when you send a signal of weakness and indecisiveness in the area of national defense, it undermines the credibility of the United States of America.  We as a nation are far from perfect, however the more I hear and see from this President, the more I wonder if he wouldn’t be happier living in Europe somewhere or anywhere for that matter than the country he finds so much fault with and must constantly make excuses for.  I find myself increasing asking the question, Who’s side are you on anyway?

Healthcare for Illegals – Told You So!

Despite the fact that a new poll shows support for President Obama’s healthcare hitting an all time low, a handful of liberal leaders on Capitol Hill are pushing for Illegals to at least receive some healthcare coverage.  They argue it’s just unfair to deny them.  Unbelievable.  California Democrat Representative Michael Honda has been joined by more than 20 of his colleagues laying out their demands which includes the coverage.  The Dems say must take a stand now.   According to The Washington Times, Mr. Honda and his allies say illegal immigrants should be allowed to pay for insurance if they can afford it, even if it comes through a government-established exchange.  Is it harsh for me to say the only thing illegal immigrants are entitled to is an escort back across the boarder and to the country to where they came from until they can come here legally.  What’s so wrong with that?  If we have laws, shouldn’t it stand to reason that we enforce them?   The fact is, we are a compassionate nation and if anyone walks into a hospital we will not turn them away.  That’s not who we are.  So to say that we won’t cover illegals is just not true.  Dare I say, it’s a lie.   The fact is the problem of illegals in this country represents the downfall of this Republic and sadly as well it also represents the best hope for the future of the Democrat Party.  There in lies the problem.  Is there anyone on Capitol Hill with guts to take on this issue without regard to their own political future.  Don’t hold your breath.