Customer service? Where?!

Greetings to all far and wide. I have returned from the United States of somewhat sugary. Los Angeles...a strange place - the feeling of somewhere very hot, and yes even in October it hovers around the equivalent UK temperature of early-mid June. Sunset Strip feels as fake as one might expect, and rather an anticlimax after the tales of bands such as Motley Crue, Guns n Roses, Van Halen, The Doors and the myriad others who are fabled to have marched the golden pavements in search of their fortunes. No fortune awaited us, however, apart from extreme exhaustion from an 11 hour transatlantic flight.

That was Thursday dealt with. Friday was our day to soundcheck and I was blessed with a lovely Yamaha Stage Custom Absolute to play with, which even came supplied with DW 9000 pedals! Heaven. Very nice indeed, with a lovely warm tone, although I'm not a fan of the ball-joint system, it's always struck me as a little unreliable. Nonetheless, a great kit and a pleasure to play.

The gig went well, and was made more fun by our raiding of the prop stores backstage (my apologies to the local theater group, I promise we didn't damage anything! Lucky we didn't use the trees!) where we found a number of polystyrene tombstones, painted in authentic fashion, which we scattered around the stage with much glee.

I believe most of it has been filmed, photographed and recorded so im certain there will be some interesting snippets on offer shortly.

From LA, TC and I caught an internal flight to New York to see my brother and family who live there. And this brings me to part one of my title story - customer service. Legend has had me believe that a certain airline, while not necessarily the cream of the United States airline crop, aren't too shabby and could pass off a decent in flight experience.....

....don't be fooled. It was uncomfortable, shabby and the cabin crew left alot to be desired. I couldn't sleep, the seats were terrible, there was no in flight entertainment, and when I was woken up by the air hostess with the southern drawl and asked "Wanna drink sir?" which needless to say was met with an expression of questioning confuddlement, and a very British mumbled "err....ye....umm...yes, yes please" she simply looked, as if to the heavens and held her arms out as if to say 'well, what do you want then...duh!' which I found a little outrageous!

To cap it all off some idiot was chewing cinnamon gum behind me, I felt awful, and it was a red-eye so my experience of the airline was.......well.....it was pants. I do not reccomend flying with them.

Our time in New York was pleasant enough, and went by far too quickly, apart from of course the one day where I was laid up in bed with an evil virus. The sweating, delerious, dizzy, tossing and turning kind that leaves you all achy and sees you through a fever of 101. Great!

The second part of my customer service rant occurs today however, now back in the UK and catching up on various pressing issues such as my earplugs, which I ordered from a reputable high street retailer before I went away to the states. I was told they would be ready in seven to ten days, which puts their maximum production time somewhere in the middle of last week. I called today, to ask if they were ready....

...one assumes that when a delivery is made, the customer name is clearly stated and all of the deliveries end up in one place....so why was it so difficult for one woman to get off her backside and go and look? It never ceases to amaze me how people in England are so disnegaged and disenamoured with their work that they do anything they can do get out of actually doing their job.

I find that many service based industries pride themselves on what is a common myth - customer service. I'm sorry, but the clue is in the title. If your job is customer service, that means serving the customer. I don't necessarily think that going beyond the realms of reason, decency and taste are required, but certainly doing more than passing the buck over to a senior member of staff and claiming ignorance should be the norm.

I'm consistently disappointed by people in service level occupations failing to meet the grade. Being polite, alert, switched on, and at least frugally helpful isn't much to ask, especially when you're being paid. Maybe it's born out of a severe hatred for the management, and if the management don't take time to look after these staff is it any wonder??

I may be on a one man crusade to end all ills to the consumer, (not that I entirely agree with consumer culture) but don't say it's customer service when you're clearly talking rubbish, and all it is is a limp-salad-leaf attempt at making your evil scheming money-making operation more personable. I'd be happier if you just robbed me.

What can we do to change this? There is a general hanging depression about the British people and the British public. A sour-mouthed underlying malnourishment which seems to underpin all of our actions. Why? What is it about being here that turns everyone into such a......bastard! We don't have to be nice and all dance around with daisies in our hair but since when was it so reviled to say "Good morning" and MEAN IT. Or when was it so bad to enjoy your job and be happy with it and just get on with it without having to conform to some middle-management dour sensibility.

Even some of the people who claim to be forward thinkers are backwards. Actions speak louder than words.

In summary, I think we are due a change. I just hope that there are more people out there who are prepared to try and make life slightly better for everyone involved instead of just giving up and being as miserable as they possibly can. How does this relate to A Different Beat? Well....the whole company was based on an idea that would help people take a closer look at their relationships and understand why they behave the way they do, and how that behaviour affects others, in the hope that it makes their time together prosperous, productive and happy for everyone involved in the equation. What could be better? I just hope it works....

Viva la Revolution! Or something like that.....

After a great session at the Luton Hoo Walled Garden on Sunday 19th July, I thought I'd write another post here. This time I'm philosophising about the symbiotic nature of business.

When I was younger people would mention business to me and all it conjured up was images of men in Bowler hats and pin-stripe suits, wandering up and down London streets with intent purpose, or men in red braces talking loudly into a telephone while stomping around a big office with a sizeable Cuban cigar in their mouth. The stereotypical public face of business, to me at least, was cold and unashamedly harsh, somewhat grumpy and stuffy, and certainly not for the free willed, free spirited and fun loving creatures of the world.

More recently however, having come to terms with the necessity of using the term 'business' in all its many guises, I have noted that many things are made what they are not by their true nature, but by the perception and opinion of those who are viewing that object at that particular point in time. Don't worry I'm not about to embark on a Hawking-esque visionary journey into the world of particle phsycis, but am merely taking steps to point out that....as with my own initial perception of business, the way in which one describes a certain activity, object or event can have dramatic consequence on how that person views that activity, object or event.

Therefore it seems sensible to conclude that an idea, business model or venture is only as good as the opinion of those who are aware of it. Since personal and public opinion is easily swayed by the use of clever terminology, good phrasing and ultimately the social skill of the person directly linked with that product, it is never actually the product which is on sale, but the people involved with it.

People don't really buy products or services, they buy people.

It is with this in mind that I have embarked upon a new strategy of being a thoroughly nice bloke to everyone I meet, whether it's 'business' or just buying some stamps. And by jove it's working! Since the entire ethos of A Different Beat is to encourage people to work more effectively together and to understand each other more, this further underpins the simple points which I make while running my sessions whether it is for school children, businessmen, or community groups - the baseline behind all of human communication is understanding and careful thought. Think about your actions, your words, your standpoint - understand it, then think about how it affects the people around you. This is the basis for effective communication.

Think on!