Skip to main content

criticism always caustic?


The "social sphere" was blowing up this morning mentioning our WeHelpU service company.  When influential Irene heard the news she was ecstatic; "our efforts are finally paying off"! Irene began to sift through the myriad social channels, skimming the posts and tweets.  It did not take long for her feelings of jubilation to shift to absolute horror as the context of their newfound "viral" popularity had flooded the Internet.  Apparently a customer had started a thread of conversation regarding one of our field workers, for now let's call him dumb-a** Dan. Dan had been hired a couple of months ago and nothing seemed out of the ordinary. However with the new liberation in the state of California, Dan was observed by a customer toking away in the parking lot. Our customer's tweet read "my highly skilled field technician is in the parking lot getting high before working on my facility, wonder how this will turn out"?



So it started, in this age of "pathetic social pile-on" , the news of Dan is spreading faster than the bubbles rising from his crack pipe.  In the past this incident, which was clearly wrong, would have been isolated to a small group of individuals.  Service organizations have always solicited customer feedback and welcomed criticism, all part of the learning process.  Resolution came in the form of hitting the problem head-on, and in most instances provided an opportunity for us to strengthen client relationships.  Irene pondered; in the age of digitally connected distance (see past post "digital distance"), could it be that the reach of this "social wildfire" is controllable?  Is the excuse, "I can't control the social environments" really a cop-out?  Does criticism, at least when it gains exponential momentum, caustic?  



Overwhelmed Oscar, whom heretofore had been hiding under the desk, jumped up and exclaimed; "we can't control what people say; however, we can continue to build strong relationships and trust with our clients". 



-----

Next post:  who's data is it?

Labels

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

resilience, do you believe?

Seeking out the closest spot to the door of the office was not a common practice; however, at 07:00 on August 24th, 2022 the temperature was already 96' and 98% humidity.   The building would have a hell of a time keeping up today, rolling black-outs and brown-outs would be inevitable.   It likely won't be an outright equipment shut-down, instead we will have to endure the impending "brown-out" conditions, a slow, low voltage and high amperage stressing of our electrical infrastructure and connected systems. Our deliberate and continuous leverage of Industrial IoT (IIoT) technology and the companion AI prescriptive models have positioned us well. It had to be around the year 2018 when we invested in IIoT.   Heck, most were comparing our endeavors to the "Nest" thermostat, a pioneer (yet very fundamental) entrée into home-based IoT.   Naysayers were laughing that we would never see the benefits; however, our fragile National infrastructure and Mothe...
Post a Comment
Read more

is your "score", you?

Avid Andy begins to wonder if he may be schizophrenic.   Or could it be a sign of true genius when he can see a problem from all sides? Andy was reflecting on a service meeting that happened last week.   Conversation was around our ability to objectively measure things and make better decisions. At the center of almost any measurement environment are the fundamentals of math. To determine priority or influence, it seems logical when dealing with inanimate objects like sensors, assets, and sites in a portfolio to move towards "point-based systems". The real dilemma for Andy seemed to comes when we begin scoring humans and letting pre-determined algorithms establish an individuals path. Our service meeting quickly changed from tactical to philosophical discussions and one of the technicians, Pragmatic Paul, made mention of a black mirror program (Netflix) named "Nosedive".    In this futuristic episode, an individuals score dictates their behavior and those ...
Post a Comment
Read more

In$pired

As the steam from Avid Andy's coffee fogged his glasses on this crisp January morning, he reflected on last year and thought enthusiastically about the year ahead.   Sometimes the noise of business is deafening, we rarely take the time to contemplate our moves, instead are often thrown one direction or another.   Hey, face it, if you are reading posts to gain perspective you fall in the group of folks who pride themselves as obsequious hoop-jumpers.   We live to help others and expect that all of those around us feel the same way.   I just love Influential Irene.   Okay, it is out in the open, she is an inspiration for me and so many others.   Irene reminds folks every year, without fail, these three statements which she fondly refers to as "the punchline" (although this is no joke).   Businesses, of any size, will be successful if they remember that it is people that make a company.   Put this advice into practice, today: Sincerity |...
Post a Comment
Read more