Comments for Naomi Simson's Blog

Comment on Trappings of Success by Kathy Muhlhan

Kathy Muhlhan — Wed, 23 May 2012 01:29:07 +0000

I guess having a uniform like a hoodie or a red suit makes sense in terms of saving the precious commodity ‘time’, and is probably then a sign of being hyper successful. To me it says, “I do what I do so well that I don’t have to bow to the normal conventions of dress to be heard.”
I look forward to seeing some of the effects of billionaires giving away half their wealth. Wouldn’t it be great if everyone did that – not just the billionaires?

Comment on Customer Intimacy by Naomi Simson

Naomi Simson — Sun, 20 May 2012 23:53:20 +0000

Hi Di,

Is ‘satisfied’ enough though – if we are building a brand based on shared stories… delighting, surprising… and ultimate intimacy is the game

Comment on Customer Intimacy by Luke

Luke — Sun, 20 May 2012 22:17:40 +0000

Think the proverbial nail has been hit in these comments — what does a Ferrari salesman do for instance when I take his car for an *ahem* extended test drive and want to ring it back without charge?

That said, two things you can do if you haven’t already are:

- Ensure your staff are coached to create connection on every interaction ( not just “build rapport”) and;
- Monitor those interactions somehow so you can create learning opportunities and potential mastery for the individual.

Doubt either would have helped in this example though!

Comment on Customer Intimacy by Di Phillips

Di Phillips — Sat, 19 May 2012 23:25:40 +0000

Fear not, Naomi… 1.4M happy and satisfied customers can’t be wrong! Happy Days

Comment on Customer Intimacy by Naomi Simson

Naomi Simson — Thu, 17 May 2012 01:30:12 +0000

Thanks Kathy – yes I believe consistency is important too, which is part of integrity. Our values are always what drive us – in someways they make it so much easier to make such choices because we have a ‘guide’ namely our values to assist us.

Comment on Customer Intimacy by Kathy Muhlhan

Kathy Muhlhan — Thu, 17 May 2012 01:26:09 +0000

I like how you’ve responded to this challenge Naomi. Obviously not everyone will be 100% happy with their experience of your business (just the nature of people), but by focusing back on your core values and procedures you can accept that maybe everyone won’t be happy, but you can give everyone the same high level of service.

Comment on Customer Intimacy by Jonathan Martin

Jonathan Martin — Wed, 16 May 2012 10:20:02 +0000

One of the worst fallacies out there is that old adage “the customer is always right” don’t get me wrong, I always try and give the customer what they want, but sometimes they have unfair, or unreasonable requests that make the relationship unbalanced. I believe you need to set clear expectations, under commit and over deliver, respect clients and always act with integrity and ethics, if you do all this and the customer is still not happy, then you have an incompatible relationship, which renders the efforts of the provider inadequate. i.e. it doesn’t matter what you do, the client will never be happy. But I always sleep at night as integrity and a commitment to customer service wins out (almost most of the time)…

Comment on Trust takes Time by Dane Westo

Dane Westo — Wed, 16 May 2012 09:15:35 +0000

Congratulations Naomi,

Whilst most employees are out to try and screw the young, your building relationships with them. The experience of working at Red Ballon will stay with them as they grow and mature. I’m sure one day in the near future your nurturing will directly or indirectly benefit you and your company.

Comment on Trust takes Time by Kasey

Kasey — Fri, 11 May 2012 00:56:11 +0000

It is really alarming that the simplest of values does not exist in many workplaces –even today! Without trust, there is no foundation for great leadership, great workplaces and great results. Thanks for sharing Naomi, we absolutely need more leaders that are authentic, with themselves and their teams.

Comment on Trust takes Time by Naomi Simson

Naomi Simson — Fri, 11 May 2012 00:26:25 +0000

Hi Kate,
Thank you so much for taking a moment to share. What a shame we cannot have more school leavers – to come to RedBalloon, learn how easy it is to be a part of a great workplace – so that they can go off an multiply….