Boerne

Marketing Can't Erase Bad Customer Service

Cindy — Tue, 18 May 2010 21:47:03 +0000

Marketing Can't Erase Bad Customer Service

Cindy Tue, 05/18/2010 - 4:47pm

Customer service is the process of taking care of a customer before, during, and after the sale. While the level of service may differ with the value or cost of the goods or service, the outcome should be the same: a pleasant customer experience that reinforces perceptions gathered through marketing materials, referrals, etc. That's the theory, at least.

The Marketing Department can do a stellar job of broadcasting "core values" and "company culture," but it is in the details, no matter how small, that a company improves on customer service and creates a pleasant customer experience. That's the reality.

Recently, I had the opportunity to experience the harsher side of that reality; one of our vehicles started making a whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, noise (yes, that is a technical term) somewhere around the rear wheels. The diagnosis: the repair would require a proprietary piece of equipment to fix the ailment. Now I had to venture out of my comfort zone of local experts.

I asked around and received referrals to the local dealership. This particular dealership has a good reputation in the community and was my next stop. The only person not talking on the phone assured me he was a service tech and could handle my request. From his somewhat reclining position, he gave the appearance he was listening, but returned a blank stare. After a few taps on the keyboard and a long awkward cell phone call, the service tech nonchalantly informed me it would cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $700 for labor and several hundred dollars for parts because they really didn't know what it would take until they got in to it ... but ... if I would give him my name and the Vehicle ID number he would schedule my repairs for first thing in the morning.

Needless to say, I was not feeling all warm and fuzzy about leaving my vehicle with this tech or this dealership. I decided to search for dealership that would be a little more forthcoming with estimates and at least give the appearance they wanted my business. This was not a stellar experience.

Next, I phoned a dealership in San Antonio and was greeted with an automated phone system. After pressing several entries, I was routed to a live person who informed me that I reached the wrong department ... click! Persistence paid off; I successfully reached the service department. The tech was prompt, courteous, attentive, and was able to give me an estimate range within minutes. After a bumpy start, this encounter ended positively.

As we started for San Antonio, it was decided that another call to the local dealership service department might—just might—yield a better outcome and save transportation time. This time, the service technician was attentive, courteous, prompt, and thorough. In a matter of minutes I had a repair estimate and knew the time needed to complete the job and that the necessary parts were in stock. I was assured the he would let me know the actual costs before any work would be performed.

Wow, was this the same dealership that I had visited a few weeks earlier? I had said nothing of my previous experience. After leaving the vehicle, I received the promised call and confirmation of the original estimate. Several hours later, I was able to pick up my repaired vehicle and paid the exact costs I had been quoted. To my surprise, the vehicle was delivered washed. After much frustration, the dealership was able to redeem itself and provide a pleasant customer experience. Still ...

Several days later I had the opportunity to have an in-depth conversation with with the service manager and relate my experience (the good, the bad, and the ugly). Thing is, that conversation—the bad and ugly parts, at least—shouldn't have been necessary. This is a reminder to all of us that have interaction with customers and clients. We must pay attention to the details.

Lamenting the Loss of Portfolio Pieces

Zachary — Wed, 12 May 2010 21:30:39 +0000

Lamenting the Loss of Portfolio Pieces

Zachary Wed, 05/12/2010 - 4:30pm

In case you haven't noticed—and judging by the attendance, you haven't*—we made a few changes the other day over at our portfolio. We're not talking major renovations; I simply added three items and removed two. However, the experience left me with a touch of melancholy.

The two items I cut from the list—the Boerne CVB and the Cibolo Nature Center—were jobs performed for local clients with whom we've had long-standing relationships. Those relationships aren't in jeopardy, incidentally. For one, we simply wanted to show off some of our recent work; additionally, one of those websites was built on a platform we no longer use or emphasize.

Part of me should rejoice in having to remove those two sites, as it means (1) we've been around a while and (2) we've grown up. That said, looking back is, in many cases, a useful exercise before moving forward. Having done so in the course of our content audit and in simply being here for almost two years, a few things have struck me.

We are indebted, and committed, to our community

Since our 2001 founding, Digett has taken an active role in the Boerne community whenever possible. Indeed, the two sites I removed are hardly the only local projects in which we've had a hand; we've built sites for local organizations and businesses like the Boerne Chamber of Commerce, Boerne Rotary, ADKF, Mint, and Flying Circle Bags. That's not to mention several others in the Hill Country or San Antonio areas.

A great deal of our initial and ongoing success has come from our involvement with these clients, and we are thankful to have relationships with them. The sphere in which we work allows us to have a clientele that is thousands of miles away, but we relish the chance to meet face-to-face with our local partners.

Our client roster is pretty impressive

I say that in reverential, not haughty, tones. In fact, part of what initially drew me to Digett was the list of heavy hitters for whom the company has worked. That list includes Churchill Downs and the Kentucky Derby, entertainment superstars like Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young and Jackson Browne, H-E-B, Schlumberger, Arizona State University, and more.

Those are good names to have on a resume, though we maintain that each client is equally important and impactful. If anything, our work with those above reinforces our belief that people and organizations of almost any size may benefit from our expertise and insights.

Digett's portfolio is just the tip of the iceberg

We only list a small handful of our work on that page, and that's for a number of reasons. For one, you come up against diminishing returns pretty quickly; nobody's going to page through hundreds of projects. Additionally, as I mentioned above, we've grown. Some of our previous work doesn't reflect our current capabilities. Digett continues to evolve, and our focus on producing measurable insights rather than as a service provider is becoming clearer.

That said, we still recognize and appreciate every project we've tackled since 2001. We have great hopes and expectations for the next decade.

* The first part of that sentence is, indeed, a tribute to Harry Doyle.

Submitted by Mark Figart on Thu, 05/27/2010 - 4:15pm

Thoughtful post, Zach, and a fun read. I'd like to add a thought of my own regarding Digett's community ties. In addition to the "corporate" involvement you mention, some of us at Digett are also seen amongst our communities on any given day (or three) of the week—during, and after hours—serving to effect positive change. And the biggest contribution by Digett to Boerne, I would propose, is that through enterprise we are able to carve a living from things we love doing, around people whose company we enjoy, and thus bring some amount of prosperity, peace and goodwill to our population. That's something we should all be proud of, since the whole team's a part of it.

In With the New : A Fiddlin' Frogs Story

AMac — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 05:00:00 +0000

In With the New : A Fiddlin' Frogs Story

AMac Wed, 07/30/2008 - 12:00am

A few months ago, an eager business owner walked into Digett looking for a new identity. Not as a person, but as a company—Fiddlin' Frogs, to be exact. Fiddlin' Frogs was, at the time, a small boutique in Boerne specializing in trendy, wearable clothing, unique furniture, and some other merchandise you'd have to see to believe.

With the mounting success of the business came a need to grow and expand beyond Boerne's Main Street, which prompted the purchase of a luxurious new storefront in Leon Springs, just up the highway toward the big city.

The Problem

A change of scenery provided Fiddlin' Frogs with an opportunity to rebrand the company. The owners had felt for some time that their original logo was "too juvenile" and didn't capture the spirit of the unique blend of merchandise sold in the store. With competition like Neiman-Marcus, Anthropologie, and large furniture chains, their cartoon logo did little to attract that type of customer. A new logo was a must-have and at the heart of this project.

Although the company would need a logo, the name Fiddlin' Frogs was a keeper. There continues to be a great deal of recognition of the store's name; even one-stop-shop tourists remember "the frog store."

The Challenge

With a better understanding of the client's goals and my goals as a designer, my challenge became clear: Design a unique, sophisticated, and expressive logo for Fiddlin' Frogs that would better represent the company and what it has to offer its customers.

The Process

I began this task as I do most, seeking inspiration. I browsed through hundreds of logos, trying to extract reason behind why some were more sophisticated than others. Clean lines, plenty of room to breath, and a censored color palette seemed to be common themes.

With some tentative guidelines in place, I began “sketching” logo concepts; I use my computer to sketch. Some ideas were literal—a frog playing the fiddle, for example. Others were more abstract. I thought it best to start with a wide range of concepts and use client feedback coupled with collective opinion to drive the logo in a certain direction.

The Solution

The batch of concepts I presented yielded a bumper crop of logos the client liked. The ones they didn't care for, they said so, which I appreciated. It's important to me that clients be completely honest with their feedback because I think it's the only way the project can
move forward with all parties content.

The owners wanted some time to think about the logos they liked and to share with friends and family. They returned a short time later with the field narrowed to just two logos. After some thoughtful discussion, we came to an agreement that one logo was a perfect fit. And, it was done—the logo had been chosen and all parties involved were excited to implement the new design. Interesting note: the logo chosen was the second out of about 20 I sketched.

The Reveal

It's now been several months since the logo was chosen and great things have happened. The client was given a style guide that presented them with their new identity, complete with tag lines, business cards, stickers, letterheads, and envelopes. These collateral pieces are the first step in implementing a new brand identity.

The big payoff for me as a designer came when the new Fiddlin' Frogs storefront was adorned with an enormous, neon-lighted sign of the new logo. I was there on the day they installed the sign, and it was certainly an impressive display. It was very rewarding to see my hard work pay off in such a big way—and I mean big. This sign is colossal and something you should see for yourself, in person. So if you're in the neighborhood, drop into Fiddlin' Frogs and tell them Andrew sent you. You'll be glad you did.

Presentation to Commissioners Court Evokes Public Response

Mark Figart — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 05:00:00 +0000

Presentation to Commissioners Court Evokes Public Response

Mark Figart Thu, 04/12/2007 - 12:00am

"I bet there's a lot of margin on that deal," said an acquaintance, somewhat sarcastically, at a business mixer on Wednesday afternoon. He had read the piece in the Boerne Star that reported my proposed fee of $1,000 to supply the County with a new web site, along with a $75/month "maintenance" fee. To be more accurate, the $75/month is a management fee, which, I explained, does not include any sort of routine site maintenance beyond what we do to keep things running smoothly. My acquaintance seems certain that $1,000 would represent an obvious loss on Digett's part, should the County decide to take us up on our offer.

What I wish my acquaintance understood is that there is, indeed, a margin on that deal. In other words, Digett can profitably deliver such a web site. What Digett has done is to create a highly configurable template that can be significantly customized through the browser. This means that within minutes we can create and deploy a brand new web site with a unique look-and-feel. Granted, we're working within some pretty tight constraints when it comes to customization of appearance. But what we're trying to do with our Government Solutions program -- rather than to create the next visual masterpiece -- is to provide a highly-functional platform with an attractive appearance that empowers small government organizations to more effectively and efficiently serve their constituents through the web.

What I wish my acquaintance understood is that Digett deploys practically all of our web sites on Drupal, a popular and incredibly powerful content management system that provides (1) years of service, (2) a high return on investment, and (3) more flexibility and capability than most folks realize is even
possible.

What I wish my acquaintance understood is that the $1,000 gives us, Digett, more than ten hours of time to help the County develop an effective information architecture and to train the County's designated content managers on how to use the system to easily and frequently add
important content -- agendas, emergency notices, events of interest to the public, etc. Is ten hours enough time? Well, we'd prefer to have a few days to perform these tasks. But for this modest investment the County will end up with a web site that is better than most counties with ten times the population of Kendall County, Texas, including that of its largest and nearest neighbor.

What I wish my acquaintance understood is that Digett has been in the business of delivering high-end content management solutions -- along with solid web marketing consulting and top-notch visual design -- since our beginning. Going on six years now. We weren't this good when we started. Truth is, we've a long way to go. What we have developed is a team that has become to be in high demand by clients from New York to San Diego. What we have developed is a methodology that allows us to build highly capable and visually stunning sites in minimal time. What we have developed is the understanding that if we are not profitable, we cannot continue to provide the service about which we are so passionate.

So while it's true that I've taken a personal interest in small government solutions largely in the pursuit of providing a public service, and while it's true that I've always felt frustration at not being able to deliver an affordable site to small, deserving entities, it's also true that Digett can supply Kendall County with a more effective web site for $1,000 than any regional competitor could likely provide for five times that amount. I'm sure about that because I know what such delivery entails. Importantly, I know we can do it profitably. We've got a good thing going on at Digett. I hope our County officials will take dvantage of it. Maybe the City should follow suit.

For a look at our very first Government Solutions web site, check out The Sheriff's web site.

Boerne

Marketing Can't Erase Bad Customer Service

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Lamenting the Loss of Portfolio Pieces

We are indebted, and committed, to our community

Our client roster is pretty impressive

Digett's portfolio is just the tip of the iceberg

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In With the New : A Fiddlin' Frogs Story

The Problem

The Challenge

The Process

The Solution

The Reveal

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Presentation to Commissioners Court Evokes Public Response

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