Here’s the best of the week’s reading:
- CopyBlogger’s 10 steps to becoming a better writer is just that - and let me summarise it for you here: write, write, and write some more.
- Jeri’s five great posts for Friday - apart from mentioning my piece on Blogging with a heart, she’s introduced me to some other great blogs. Every referred post is worth reading.
- Jen at Domestik Goddess has a piece about these crazy Nomex oven rack guards - at any given time, I have one or two shiny new burn scars on my fingers from the front of the oven racks. I’m really interested in finding out if anyone has these in Australia yet (could be a market opportunity there for an enterprising kitchenware retailer!).
- Zern talks about sending strangers to your home - where personalised service becomes intrusive and wrong.
- Contrast Zern’s post with 45n5’s Are you an ungrateful link getter? on the “customer service” aspects of sharing the link love.
- And a different angle on customer service - Steve Collins writes on
TakingMaking it easy. Here’s an excerpt:
…we went into the very excellent Borders bookstore here in Canberra. We all found things we wanted to read, and I suggested we go sit in the Gloria Jeans coffee shop inside the store. Alli was a little concerned, coffee on expensive books and all. The store assistant that happened to be standing near us overheard and responded with very friendly words to the effect that, “Take what you like into the coffee shop. Getting coffee on books happens. It won’t worry us.”Fantastic user experience!
Now here is the challenge: using reframing, what could you make of the customer service angles that run through most of these posts that would work for your blog? What could you be doing better?
“What could you be doing better?”
I could be using email to thank people for the link as well as saying thanks in a comment (thanks for the link btw). I could also find ways to reciprocate people that link to me. Just a couple thoughts.
Cheers, Mark
While it’s important to cook/eat and keep your strength up for blogging, Andrew, for heavensake don’t burn your keyboarding fingers!
And if there’s an AUS source of oven rack guards, I’ll try to track them down for you Thanks so much for the link, it’s nice of you to notice!
Thanks Jen,
I appreciate your concern
The Nomex oven rack guard is one of those simple elegant solutions that will make a lot of difference to a lot of people, and spreading the word about it is the least I can do
Best regards, Andrew
Hi Mark,
thank you for your comment
Interesting you should mention emailing people who leave a comment - a friend of mine (Maria from BA Rocks received a form email last week from someone whose blog she’d left a comment on - one of those plugin-generated things inviting the commenter to subscribe to their RSS feed. Nothing wrong with that, but the body of the email didn’t quite make sense. While it would take more time (possibly more time than that available), it might be worth considering customising the emails to add context. I think it is definitely worth doing.
And as for reciprocation - agreed, it is a wonderful way of saying “thanks”. That said, saying “thanks” in a comment is a wonderful way of saying “thanks” too, and you are welcome
Best regards, Andrew
Andrew - thanks for the link. Your group of great post finds is also well worth reading - I’ve gotten insight from each one!
that’s interesting having an autobot send a thanks for the comment, might be something cool if it made sense, at least for first time commentors.
Hi Jeri,
you’re welcome. Your “five on Friday” posts are always welcome, I’ve found several good blogs that way that I now read every day.
Best regards, Andrew
Hi Mark,
I think that it is all about context. Where there is something that relates it to the original comment, or explains that this is a bot-generated email sent automatically, there is context for the recipient and hence no confusion.
Like yourself, I think it would be cool if it made sense.
Best regards, Andrew