thoughts from a london window

customer service? I'm your customer but where is your service?

Sat, 07 Feb 2009 05:14:11 +0100

London, February 2009. Woolworths: gone! Adams Children's wear: defunct! Zavvi: going!
Many people in the UK have been surprised to see such institutional retail names disappear
From their high streets and shopping centres forever!

The crunch of credit, of course has a lot to answer for,but
Retailers big and small must consider the shopping experience
They offer to their bread and butter,you and I,the consumer.
Although somemay miss certain shops from their town centres and the
Likes, it is very unlikely that they will miss the service they received.

I am sure they are fed up with the unhappy faces that greet them from
behind counters; fed up of being followed unnecessarily around stores
by bored security guards; fed up with shopkeepers rushing and guesteri
For payment with cupped hands and fingers moving rapidly back and forth
As if to say "hurry gimmie money".

Sales assistants are supposed to assist you, not tell you all
Sizes are on the shop floor and the store room is absolutley empty
(I know you are too lazy to check, I used to work in retail too).

So if you work in retail take note of a few of my dos and don'ts:
1. Do not slam change on the counter. It is just rude especially if the
Consumer has their hand out stretched in plain view;
2.ifca consumer greets you be polite enough to greet them baCk.
Fake smiles do not cut it. It is just bad manners.
3.try to give all customers equal service. I cannot count the amount
Of times when the person before me in a queue was treated impeccably
And immediately after that customer has been servedcwith a smile
I am greeted with a dropped smile. What did I ever do to you?
4. Do not be difficult for difficult's sake. We know when you are
Doing it.
5. Don't assume that small tips are always left by stingy customers.
Before you point the finger think about the service you gave. Did you
do any one or more of the above?

I am teaching my primary school aged daughter
what i feel is a very valuable lesson: if you do not get the service
You deserve as a paying customer, they do not deserve your custom.

Retails and their staff must remember who pays their wages. The
Pound is becoming very difficult to come by for many of us. Do not take
us for granted. The collapse of Woolworths has shown just how much
Power the Customer has. Be careful who you employ and the training you provide.

If you do not want to give good customer service, do not work in the service industry.

Comments

Obama's Symbolic Victory!!!

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 12:07:48 +0100

Oh my gosh!!!! I cannot put into words the euphoria I feel at this historic time. I thank God that i have been blessed to witness this. Whether you agree with Barack's politics or not no one can deny the impact that he has already made. What a powerful image it is to see a black family in the white house. I cannot imagine the positive effects this will have on my daughters vision of herself and her future aspirations.

My partner and I discussed how Bill Cosby was criticised for portraying an "unrealistic" vision of an African American family in the Cosby Show in the 80s. I know what impact The Cosby show and A Different World had on me growing up. I cannot imagine what those critics are saying now some 20 years later. I hope this is the beginning of the downfall of the 50 cent and Lil Wayne image that has been relentless over the past decade.

Well done to Barack. I wish him luck in the years to come. Lord knows it will be very tough but somehow I know he will do well.

Comments

tube etiquette

Wed, 24 Jan 2007 00:18:26 +0100

I know you have all read it before but i feel totally compelled to write. This is a user manual for all users of London Transport, AKA the tube or the underground.

I am fed up of travelling on the tube in London during the rush hour and having my journey disturbed because my fellow travellers do not adhere to the following simple rules. It may be due to lack of knowledge or due to the fact that they are selfish and just do not care. Please take note and it will guarantee that the your journey and that of your fellow commuters will be much more tollerable:

1) Always have your ticket ready when you approach the ticket barriers.
2) Always stand on the right hand side of the escalators to allow room for those who wish to walk on the left hand side.
3) Always allow the passengers to alight the train before boarding.
4) Always move down inside the carriages so that the others behind you can get on to the train too.
5) Contrary to what you may have heard it is OK to speak on the train, just not too loud.it is a conservative place often comprising of people going to and from work either preparing themself for the working day or reflecting on their day at work. They need the quiet time to deal with their day so please be considerate.
6) Being quiet also means that other commuters do not need to hear your Walkmans, MP3 players or phones playing music. not everyone in London appreciates your choice of music.
7) When you reach your destination do not alight the train and stop. please move to the wall on the platform before you look to see which direction you need to go to the way out or the way to the interchanging line. This stops those behind you from getting off the train and causes delays for those who want
8) do not hold the doors open when they are closing. threre is likely to be another along in 2 minutesThis will cause delays to the train timetable and may eveb cause a train to be defective and cause further delays.
9) Should you ever come across a fellow commuter struggling with a pushchair,wheelchair, large luggage or a child and luggage, assist them.using the tube is difficult at the best of time help your fellow passenger as next time it could be you.
10) Do not leave packages unattended. those who have been using the tube since the days of the IRA have had good practise for this new terrorism era. you know it can cause whole lines to be suspended and make your journey hell.
11) Show you appretiation for authorised buskers (Leicester Square, Piccadilly circus and Central London generally) particularly if they are good as they often help your journey to be that much more pleasant.
12) Smile. you may make someone's day.

Using London Transport is not all bad, we all know that it becomes increasingly more expensive year in year out but it can be insiteful, entertaining, educational and enjoyable. If we all follow these guidelines we can all help to make it a much more pleasant journey.

Comments

Black Hollywood

Thu, 18 Jan 2007 00:45:29 +0100

I cannot help but notice the amount of Hollywood films with Black actors top billing that are on general release. In all my years of following film there has never been so many at one time.

They are

Deja vu - Denzel Washington
The Last King of Scotland - Forrest Whitaker
In the pursuit of happiness - Will Smith
Dreamgirls (to be released) - Eddie Murphy, Jamie Foxx and Beyonce Knowles.
Each of the above have received great reviews at a time whrn the planet's facination with Hip hop and black music appears tobe waining.
Maybe this indicates a shift from music to film. maybe we will see more black actors winning oscars as Denzel Hallie and Sydney all did coincidently in the same year in 2002.

Comments

Big Brother Racist?

Wed, 17 Jan 2007 23:43:18 +0100

big brother racist?
Current mood: aggravated

This accusation of big brother being racist is interested on a number of levels. Firstly 10 plus contestants stuck in a house is supposed to be a reflection of the society that we live in, a social experiment. There is traditionally one gay, one black, one Asian contestant and the rest of them a mix of white female and male contestants from North and South of the country.

Celebrity big brother 2007 is no different. there is a cross section of society albeit from different countries of the world but once again you have the gay, black, Asian and northern and southern white contestants.

unfortunately racism is an integral part of society so why is the country surprised that racism exists in the house?

2000 complaints of racism were received by Ofcom. Viewers were unhappy with the treatment that Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty had received from the other housemates.

Females in the house have called her dog, she has been eferred to as the Indian because her name proved too difficult to pronounce or remember. for me the most hurtful and frustrating example of the racism is the Ostrasising of Shilpa by Jade, Danielle and Jo.

Racism has been an issue in every house since the beginning of big brother from Davina's interview of Macozie to Barrymore's abusive behaviour towards Dennis Rodman. So why has it been such a major issue on this occasion.

Shilpa Shetty is a Bollywood queen. Although she is Indian, the Bollywood industry is embraced Pakistan, Bangladesh and other South-Eastern Asians alike. Within their individual communities Asian communities are very close knit. The appreciation of Bollywood is a common denominator that brings them all together. The fact that Ofcom received over 2000 complaints and the fact that the issue is to be raised in the House of Commons by MP Keith Vaz is a clear example of how the Asian community have come together and have voiced their disgust at her treatment.

Racism takes many forms. One may be a victim of direct racial abuse or racially motivated physical abuse. But Institutional racism can be so underlying that even the perpetrator is unaware that what they are subjecting the victim to. The nation may pass it off as bullying but that us only because they probably have never experienced it themselves to know what it is.

Their grouping and bitching about Shilpa is classic example of Institutional racism that happens in the classrooms and offices of the country. I have experienced this exclusion from my white peers from primary school straight up to the office in my last place of work. there is a way in which one is felt that the reason that they are not privy to their conversations is because they are not worthy and not because their difference is a threat to these bullies as their ignorance and arrogance may be exposed.

Shilpa Shetty is a Bollywood queen. Although she is Indian, the Bollywood industry is embraced in Pakistan, Bangladesh and other South-Eastern Asians alike. Within their individual communities Asian communities are very close knit. The appreciation of Bollywood is a common denominator that brings them all together. The fact that Ofcom received over 2000 complaints and the fact that the issue is to be raised in the House of Commons by MP Keith Vaz is a clear example of how the Asian community have come together and have voiced their disgust at her treatment.

Racism takes many forms. One may be a victim of direct racial abuse or racially motivated physical abuse. But Institutional racism can be so underlying that even the perpetrator is unaware that what they are subjecting the victim to. The nation may mask it as bullying but that us only because they probably have never experienced it themselves to know what it is.

Shilpa Shetty is a beautiful, successful, classy, strong young lady who highlights the ugliness and stupidity of the likes of Danielle, Jo and Jade and has provided the country with a illustration of the institutional racisim that unfortunately is endemic in this country.

Comments

I am the greatest!

Mon, 27 Feb 2006 01:01:10 +0100

Is it so wrong to admit and claim ones greatness? The phrase in question, made famous/infamous by Mohammed Ali in the 1950s/1960s was not something the masses expected a negro would even have dreamed of thinking let along telling the world.

Ali was of course the greatest heavyweight boxer of the world at that time, regardless to who believed he was out of his station.

We Brits are often taught that modesty is the best policy and as a matter of class and good British manners we should let our achievements speak for themselves.

Too often have I heard American artists proclaim that they are "on top of their game". The Grammy and Brit awards winning rapper, Kanye West, springs to mind as he is often quoted as being egotistical and arrogant for saying just this.

Interestingly enough at the recent Brit awards, Chris Martin, of Coldplay kneeled down and declared to the world "It's hard for us sometimes because we are English and we do not like to admit that we think we are great, so tonight we would like to agree with you for giving us this award."

Furthermore, he later went on to thank Kanye West, albeit for his gold ladies, but I think that maybe Martin has been influenced by West's mantra.

In my own personal life, my partner and I are also reaping the benefits of admitting that we are great at what we do. Admitting ones greatness does everything for ones self esteem. it allows you to nurture your skills and aim for bigger and better things. Admittedly, one must be able to admit ones failings but focusing on them does not allow much room for inner success and happiness.

So ask yourself how great are you?

Comments

title-593369

Sat, 25 Feb 2006 23:27:32 +0100

Man reading the broadsheets on the tube in the morning what image does this conjure in your mind? Are the contents of these broadsheets any better than that in a tabloid? Since many broadsheets are now tabloid does that mean that the content has also downscaled? Does the content really matter or is it the size or name of the paper that matters? I was forced to answer those questions to myself as I sat in a coffee shop drinking a hot chocolate and reading the Sunday broadsheets.

I picked up a particular Sunday supplement for women. A popular female singer songwriter featured on the front cover, not someone I particularly knew but as the front cover shouted that it was for women I thought that there maybe something of interest and maybe something educational, inspirational.

I was initially confronted with an article about females writing about their one night stands which introduced a new genre of female written literature. Other articles included a story of a born again ex stripper who was now preaching to the Adult Industry; Argentina’s richest and most popular cosmetic surgeon, men wanting six-packs as women were no longer interested in what they have in their wallets and oh let’s not forget fashion.

Included and in between these articles were photographs, pictures and images of women of all with flowing shiny long locks, excessively made up faces flaunting bodies that look like they have returned from a visit from the Argentinean doctor.

I was reading the broadsheets wasn’t I? I checked the front of the magazine to be sure. As a middleclass British female the broadsheets are supposed to stimulate me intellectually, offer me food for thought, suggest another way of thinking that is to challenge my understanding of a topic and of the world, give me inspiration as a women to help me better myself, show me what my fellow females are doing paving the way for us to be just as successful in our right and way. Show us to be great role models for our daughters and nieces and hey, how we can look and feel good as well.

This particular supplement did not do any of these things. It did not have anything within its pages that pertained to me? Was I not the writers and publishers target reader? As young women, lawyer, mother, long term partner, daughter and sister there was nothing in that magazine that was any relevance to me, my life, my ethics, my aspirations believes and there was no one in the whole magazine who even looked like me.

Are broadsheets aware that intelligent women read their papers? Are they aware that we want to see women that look like the rest of us? Or does this mean that we intelligent women are also interested in these types of topics and images? Women are losing their voice. In this ?Heat/OK generation there is a great dictatorship that is robbing women of discovering who they are and being comfortable with themselves. We are being forced to believe that women regardless of their class, race, age or intelligence should aspire to be like the chosen few that even those in media aspire to be. We must all eat the same things, like the same things, read the same books, like the same type of men, have the same values, aim for the same life styles.

There needs to be a shift in the world’s attitude to women and their interests and women need to demand more. Are interests span more than wanting to look like those in the videos, sitcoms and Hollywood movies, we are well rounded mothers, daughters, wives, sisters and aunties who have genuine interests, some of s have careers and we want to read about ourselves and our peers.

I think next week I may just read a genuine Sunday tabloid, I may be pleasantly surprised.

Comments