With so much time spent flying between Europe and Asia and being having to accept bad airline service since I didn’t have a choice, I somehow manage to thinker and contemplate on how can we as individuals or organizations predict future technologies. Of course it is fair to say that predicting the correct technology in the future for a particular application or service is very very hard… and in this case only a few manage and become very very rich… Now I know of a man called James Martin, considered by many as the father of modern IT having been responsible for the “outbreak” of information engineering and have accurately picked technologies in his future. If we can only do that we can perhaps anticipate the next big thing… The question is how? Is there a method to the madness? Is it an art? Or is it pure luck?
We have seen a handful few in our lifetime achieve such a feat, Bill Gates and Steve Jobs are shining examples so as a few others. How do we emulate them? It is a gift? A skill that we learn or a knowledge that we adopt? Or is it a product of our own creativity and in some cases a moment of insanity?
Is there anyone out there who can give a single clue on how to invent the future, without having to charge a huge amount of money for doing so? There are a few people that lays claim to such talent but then again they want you to pay for their insight whether it is buying a book or paying huge consulting fees, which by the most large companies do.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Defining Customer Service
I am currently flying over Asia at around 10000 meters as I write this entry. It’s been a while since my last entry due to a very busy schedule of getting the Wireless Explorer released to very important customers, on-going trials of several clever applications and development of new and exciting technologies… and of course running the business in its entirety. The Amanzi Wireless Explorer now have more than 140 networks using it, trying it or have tried it, which is phenomenal considering the first customer release was just a bit more than 6 months ago. With all this advancements in the company one thing we shall and will never forget or get tired of is delivering excellent customer services that exceeds our customer’s exectations.
Talking about customer service, I was asked by an airline attendant why would I travel to Jakarta for a few hours of meetings. The attendant reasoned that my travel time (more than 50 hours in total) is longer than my stay in Jakarta (less than 24 hours). My answer was simple… Customer Service, that’s how we provide customer service. The attendant mentioned that the airline I am flying with provides a similar level of customer service, although my expectations were not high since I have taken the same airline before over long flights and the service they provide is not even close to an acceptable customer service based on the AmanziTel standard.
Anyway after waiting a few minutes to board the plane I was greeted by a smiling and friendly flight stewardess…. The first time for this particular airline.. so there is hope that I will enjoy and relax on the flight. Well what I wanted to do on the first leg of the flight is sleep to synchronize myself to the time zone I am going to… After about 30 minutes in the flight I was woken up by a stewardess asking chicken or beef and without any trace of smile on her face. To my astonishment and bewilderment I was given beef before I can answer. Being polite I gladly accepted, after downing what constitute to be my dinner I went on the business of sleeping. Arriving at the first stop of a 2 stop flight the gangway is broken so we have to take a bus to the terminal with no guidance or explanation from the crew. Again the same observation I had, none of the ground crew or air crew produce a genuine smile. They all seem to pout while assisting every passenger… Now I wonder where the customer service went... Same story on the flight, all meal services was provided with no smile, no courtesy and stewards that seem discontent with their work and who feel like they are far superior than the passengers they are serving. Now in AmanziTel this is not tolerated, we extend our services by going the extra mile to ensure our customers are truly satisfied with our deliveries.
Why am I on the way to Indonesia, it is because we value our customers and we would like them to feel the find of service they will be getting from us, it could be that a high level executive address their requirements or it could be one of our developers… the service will always be the same, that is best-in-class, the diamond standard…
Talking about customer service, I was asked by an airline attendant why would I travel to Jakarta for a few hours of meetings. The attendant reasoned that my travel time (more than 50 hours in total) is longer than my stay in Jakarta (less than 24 hours). My answer was simple… Customer Service, that’s how we provide customer service. The attendant mentioned that the airline I am flying with provides a similar level of customer service, although my expectations were not high since I have taken the same airline before over long flights and the service they provide is not even close to an acceptable customer service based on the AmanziTel standard.
Anyway after waiting a few minutes to board the plane I was greeted by a smiling and friendly flight stewardess…. The first time for this particular airline.. so there is hope that I will enjoy and relax on the flight. Well what I wanted to do on the first leg of the flight is sleep to synchronize myself to the time zone I am going to… After about 30 minutes in the flight I was woken up by a stewardess asking chicken or beef and without any trace of smile on her face. To my astonishment and bewilderment I was given beef before I can answer. Being polite I gladly accepted, after downing what constitute to be my dinner I went on the business of sleeping. Arriving at the first stop of a 2 stop flight the gangway is broken so we have to take a bus to the terminal with no guidance or explanation from the crew. Again the same observation I had, none of the ground crew or air crew produce a genuine smile. They all seem to pout while assisting every passenger… Now I wonder where the customer service went... Same story on the flight, all meal services was provided with no smile, no courtesy and stewards that seem discontent with their work and who feel like they are far superior than the passengers they are serving. Now in AmanziTel this is not tolerated, we extend our services by going the extra mile to ensure our customers are truly satisfied with our deliveries.
Why am I on the way to Indonesia, it is because we value our customers and we would like them to feel the find of service they will be getting from us, it could be that a high level executive address their requirements or it could be one of our developers… the service will always be the same, that is best-in-class, the diamond standard…
Saturday, March 13, 2010
To accept VC investments or not to accept VC investment.... that is the question....
A friend of mine asks me a few days ago whether to take an investment offer or not. It’s a question very hard to give the right advice considering that her company has gone through up and downs and been looking for investment for sometime now. However when the investment offer came they also managed to receive several customer orders at the same time.
Let's look at the alternatives. She can take the investment and share about 40% of the company to the new investors. By doing that the company's immediate future is secured and she can take that long awaited pay day. On the other hand she can turn down the investment and try to progress the company from the customer order it have and find other ways of financing the gap between customer payments and while delivering the order.
Which ever path she takes she needs to consider multitudes of reasons and different scenarios most importantly the best possible way to grow the company she founded in blood and sweat. Now the question is what is the best way?
Let's look at the alternatives. She can take the investment and share about 40% of the company to the new investors. By doing that the company's immediate future is secured and she can take that long awaited pay day. On the other hand she can turn down the investment and try to progress the company from the customer order it have and find other ways of financing the gap between customer payments and while delivering the order.
Which ever path she takes she needs to consider multitudes of reasons and different scenarios most importantly the best possible way to grow the company she founded in blood and sweat. Now the question is what is the best way?
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