I wanted to share a recent exchange with a Customer we will refer to as Bob.  Today he sent a number of emails to my team with feedback centered around the web design of one of our websites.  I read the emails while I was at my aunt’s funeral.  They were colorful, but showed the passion this Customer has on the topic.  Although web design is not something I see changing immediately, the feedback was valuable.  Based on the specific content of the emails I chose to respond directly.  After his third email I responded with:

“I do want to thank you for all the feedback. We would be happy to share it.”

Customer’s response was:

“And I, in turn, want to thank you for your condesending attitude, which I too, will be very happy to share.  Oddly, you don’t seem to be such shit head on your blog.  Condescending, yes, but less of an asshole.”

Wow!  I really don’t get paid enough for this!  I was actually shocked  because this was certainly not the intent!  In addition, I never thought of myself as either condescending or an asshole.  I was stunned!  Okay, in retrospect, maybe I have been one of those when I received poor service.  You can decide which one.

There is no doubt that emails can easily be misinterpreted.  With the exception of SCREAMING emails, there is no way to clearly convey tone or emotion in print.  In today’s blackberry world, we are all emailing and texting as quickly as possible, aren’t we?  To avoid further miscommunication, there was only one thing to do.  I picked up the phone to speak with this Customer.

We had a productive conversation.  We discussed many aspects of the Customer experience, and how web design has an impact on this.  I explained my thoughts on sharing feedback and the manner companies respond to that feedback.  Occasionally decisions will be made that Customers will never like.  To me it then comes down to the way it is presented and discussed.  Bob’s feedback was regarding online ads.  There is always a delicate balance regarding revenue and impact to the Customer.  I explained that I was not sure the ads would go away, but what he was pointing to was more in design.  Hopefully as design is updated, something can be changed to make it less of a pinch point.  This is something that will take time.

At the start of the conversation he confessed that he was less angry with me and was developing a connection through reading this blog.  Specifically he connected to a story I related in a post “Frank, Where Are You.”  The story was about Lily pouring bleach all over my clothes.  I told him he should check out the Desitin story in the post “So is it Time to be Frank.”  In service the best interactions always have a personal touch.  I cannot tell you how often I hear, “How can you put yourself out there in social media?”  Many even say that they would use a different name.  People tend to be afraid of their Customers.  If you are afraid of Customer, how can you ever connect with them?  I have had strange things happen, including someone that bought my domain name as a “gift.”  He pointed it to the original Gia website, but since then he changed it to point to negative website about the company I work for.  Even with something like that, I still try to connect with Customers.  If my feeling ever changes, it will be time to look for a new career path.  That to me is what service is all about.

I have talked about it before, but Customer Service across all businesses has been changing, whether it is known externally or internally.  First and foremost the Customer has changed.  I always credit this to the popularity of Amazon reviews, Ebay ratings, and Google in general.  Beyond that the typical Customer Service workforce is changing, they are now filled with the Gen Y, Millennial Generation or whatever the name is today.  This is a group that prefers a more flattened approach.  They want to share their feedback, and they will provide it to whoever will listen, no matter the title of the person.  They are not out to impress, but they will drive their point home.

So what does this all mean for businesses?  The approach for everyone needs to change.  Lets start off with the Gen Y group, they want to be a integral part of the decision making process, they want to fully understand the reasons why decisions are made and they want to be able to provide clear feedback regarding how the business is being run.  Internally it is important to provide tools to allow team members to be able to take this bottom up approach.  Engage them in decisions and take the time to teach them why certain decisions are made.  They are eager to learn, and they will be even more dedicated to the company when they feel involved.  In my observations, I have noticed the baby boomer generation to be more accepting of leaders decisions.  I remember at my prior employer, when I started you would always hear “it is what it is.”  You are not going to change it, so accept it.  Well that was never my style!  Anyway, the Gen X’ers, of which I am a part of, will question things but usually in the end support the decision and move on.  That has never been my style, but for all groups I am generalizing, and I know there are people with other styles.  For companies to better run, and have a cohesive team, it will be important to better explain and involve all levels.  The other thing to realize is if you do not, Gen Y is very resourceful, and will find ways to move the needle in their favor.  I have seen many stories of this, so this will definitely be an important aspect to managing.  They will communicate with friends (“rally the troops”) or even engage the topic in public via social media.  But the good news is, they are really striving to do what they think is right for the company, and, actually in many cases, the Customer.  I have been in Customer Service management for many years and I have seen this many times.  Have you ever had a call and thought the representative was not up to par, maybe even down right rude?  Many times this is not because of the agent, but because they disagree with the policy and they are sending a message to the company through you.  Trust me, in my prior company I managed quality assurance, and I did it by evaluating the company as well as the representatives.  You learn a lot when you start to dig into what is occurring.

Now on to the Customer.  From what I have seen the Customer is tired of companies telling them what they like or dislike.  Amazon reviews (I know there were others prior, but it really took off from there in the US) started shifting that power.  Today if a product is bad, a Customer is going to try to tell as many people as possible.  This can be done through Amazon, but now with the popularity of places like Facebook and Twitter there are now many places to do it.  Companies have to recognize this and make sure their products are at the levels they would want to represent the brand.  Now, more important then ever, service will be leading the way.  Companies have depersonalized interactions through self-service.  There will also be a shift to personalize service again.  Measurements will shift, and in many places already have, from handle time to first contact resolution and Customer satisfaction.

Beyond all this Customers are going to demand more support in ways not noticed before.  How many people have called their internet service provider and the trouble was reported to be the router.  Well from experience I can say it may be, but companies are going to have to find ways to help with all aspects.  This is not easily done, but what I foresee is working with the entire web community to build help that is used with Customers on calls, and for someone surfing the internet looking for help.  I am in the process of designing a way this could be done across many spaces.  Customers will be a part of the answers and they will have the opportunity to help others.  This is not new, but really has been limited to help forums.  But in the future this will be part of the help through all communication channels.

I also think Customers will have a greater say in the service they received.  We have already seen this through all the surveys companies are doing, but I think involvement will go from teaching representatives, to talking with senior leaders.  A lot of the future involves a theme I have always said is the most important part of management: “Listening.”  The funny thing is when I interviewed for a management role at a former employer, Vanguard, I provided that as my response.  The feedback I was given was management was much more than that.  The funny thing is I used the same response for a different management role at Vanguard a few months later and I was hired.  To this day I still believe it is the most important aspect.  Many people around you, including Customers and staff members know so much more.  It pays to listen.

It seems to me that the word converging is used to describe so much that is happening right now.  At Comcast we have used it to describe the combining the way people use products like phone, internet and TV.  But in general we hear it throughout business, especially when we hear about mergers or new partnerships.  We also hear about it in politics, global news and within social media.

A little over a year ago I told a large group of PR people that the best thing about me is that I was not one of them.  This was not done in a negative way, but used to point out that people within social media do not like to have spin or the corporate line.  They prefer dialogue.  Of course I was wrong, and I have grown a lot since that time.  I have learned that we are in a converging world.  PR and Customer Service have a lot in common.  Ultimately good service is good PR.

Last night I received a phone call from a head hunter (probably not a politically correct term, should probably say executive recruiter or something like that).  That was not the first time, but what was interesting was the position was a leader in marketing for a major company.  I am sure I know many people that would be good for the role, but what really shocked me was how I have accomplished many of the goals in a very short time.  How can that be?  I have never been in marketing.  As I say all the time “I am a simple Customer Service guy.”  I guess nothing is simple in today’s world.  Things are changing including the approach to marketing and the shift to conversational marketing.  This is the first time that I could really touch it in a quantifiable way.  My eyes continue to be opened wider each day.

In this online world, it is about dialogue, not dictating the conversation.  It is not about spin but listening and asking questions.  These are both common in good Customer Service experiences.  Worlds are converging everywhere and the real winner is the Customer.

So this morning I received this email (I edited the email address out but remainder is the same):

From: Martine Paris
Sent: Sun Jun 14 02:03:30 2009
Subject: Plug on Content NOW from TWTRCON

I reviewed the post.  It is about the recent TWTRCON event in San Francisco, which was excellent.  During my panel discussion on Customer assistance on Twitter, Francine Hardaway chimed it with a fun story of how I helped her with trouble with her Apple router.   The story with Francine is one that I will never forget and she will be a friend forever (well doesn’t that sound so teenage like).  What basically occurred was our conversation shifted from social media to phone.  This does happen at times because the phone can be useful to walk someone through many steps in fixing something.  This same thing happens when someone needs assistance via email and more questions are necessary.  After we were able to fix things I received a call on my cell and it was a hotel that found her phone.  I was able to tweet francine on exactly where she could find her iPhone.

After that story, Dave McClure chimed in to say this story proves social media service is not scalable.  This led to a little back and forth regarding the scalability.  In my opinion he is incorrect, and we have proven that you can have a multiple people within social media, especially a place like Twitter.  Today we have 10 people on Twitter and we are also in many other spaces on the internet.  As I discuss in the post “The big question for @comcastcares is: How will they scale?” it is really about the tools that are being developed.  My big question for those that do not believe it would scale, what would you recommend companies do, ignoring commentary has not worked?

I know many would respond to that saying that companies need to improve traditional service channels, and I wholeheartedly agree.  This is a new time and Customers are more in control and companies must recognize that fact.  At the same time I will tell you that there will be a large percentage that will still request help online first.  In fact I would guess that most people are like me and google something before calling (in fact a Gartner study shows this is 50% and growing).  I can also say that the majority of people that we assist never called, emailed or entered into chat.  The other trouble is with many products, like internet, trouble can be with many other devices not controlled by the provider, such as router, computer, or even servers throughout the net that a company does not control.  We have to find a way to converge support to help with all these areas, and the web offers perfect solutions for this (I will save this for another post because I am developing a project on this topic).

This brings me back to the purpose of this.  In the post in the email it offers a synopsis of the talk and ends with the following statement about me:

“But for all that talk, Dave McClure was right, at the end of the presentation, Frank was not giving out any business cards. So much for accessibility.”

They are right, I did not bring business cards with me.  I did respond to the email with the following message:

That is interesting that you felt not having business cards proved that social media efforts were not scalable, yet you were able to contact me via email, could also do the same via Twitter.

Maybe the world has not changed as much as I thought if we are still looking for, even expecting, business cards at an event about Twitter.  I think the benefit to Twitter is how close it brings us all together.  It make the world a much smaller place.  I guess I was wrong about that.  Actually the fact was I did not go in the office during the week leading up to the trip and did not want to go in just for business cards.  So I do feel bad if anyone that wanted my business card did not get one, so I am offering it here for anyone.

Those that have read my blog know my passion for excellent Customer Service.  Most companies strive to provide good Customer Service but it does not always go as intended.  This can be due to so many factors, including: policy, personnel, systems or believe it or not, the perception of the person calling.  I have 2 major pet peeves when I call a company I deal with:  overdoing security on the account and selling when not appropriate.

In the past I have mentioned companies I really look up to regarding service, like USAA and Vanguard Investments.  I used to work for Vanguard, so I have heard calls that were not up to par, but we would coach the person immediately.  My most recent calls to USAA have not been at the level I have been used to.  As an example I logged into my accounts on Friday and I noticed pending charges that were not mine.  I wanted to call immediately so they could take the necessary action.  It was 7:30 in the morning, and I really needed to be out the door, but this would only take a few minutes so I called.  I went through the phone system entering my member ID and pin number.  I then get through to the agent.  She asks me to verify name, address, credit limit, credit card number number on back of the card, and something else, but to be honest I lost track.  She also asks me to set up a password, which I do.  I explain that the authorization that were pending and the card is compromised.  I am asked something like “are you sure you are not in Argentina.”   The attempted transactions were at Cheap Tickets and a hotel in Argentina.  Since I worked in the credit card industry I knew Cheap Tickets was a way to test credit card number validity used by many unscrupulous individuals because they do not check all aspects, such as the CID number.  She verifies with me that I have the card, of course this is silly since she can check the transactions and see they are probably not swiped.  At this point she begins the process then says she will need to transfer me.  Before transferring me she begins to “sell” me on using the mobile web.  Well at least she did not try to sell me on using the website since she knows that is what prompted the call.  My issue with this is my reason for calling was not even fully cared for yet.  Also if they tracked such things, they would know I have used the mobile website too.  In fact my feedback for that is way too many clicks to get to information, but hey that is for a different time.

I am transferred (and I should say it was quick and so was getting to the original agent, no queue!) to the fraud department.  He begins the conversation with verifying security on the account.  I immediately asked if he knew this was done already.  He explains that he has to make sure it is me because people sometime try to manipulate the system.  I respond that USAA has gone down in their focus on the Customer.  He then asks me for the password on the account.  I immediately laugh and explain that was just placed on the account with the other representative.  Of course this causes him to ask all the other information too.  He then also asks to verify the work phone number.  Of course I have no clue which number is there, so I rattle off old work numbers and cell numbers and offer to log into the website to look.  Believe it or not, I actually understand the reason for security, especially when canceling a credit card number, which can create havoc.  At the same time it is important to look at risk factors.  I am not asking them to mail the new card to a different address and I am reporting common fraud transactions.

Oh well, I guess every company can have bad interactions at some point.

Over the past 18 months, some would say that I am living within the groundswell, but since Friday I have truly been witnessing it first hand.  I have always felt that groundswell typically would be large scale and involving social media, but in this situation I have learned that it can happen wherever multiple Customers can communicate with each other.

I should start the story off by saying parents, including myself, become very attached to really good care givers for their children.  For me it takes a lot, but this is the story of one such exceptional person.  Her name is Sam, and until Friday she was the director of our daycare, Children of America.   I am going to try to stay unbiased in this because I am really trying to share a story about a groundswell.  The daycare has been very good to us, and I am sure many would take credit, but to me it was how our center ran, which I credit Sam.  We have reported issues to her, and they were immediately addressed.  Including 2 teachers that were no longer there shortly after we gave the feedback.  Anyway the story starts last Thursday.  We arrived later then usual and in our mailbox was a notice that Sam would be leaving effective the next day.  They would have a party 7-9 in the morning.  The letter was signed by the regional director.  It also stated the district director would be taking Sam’s place until a new director was identified.  We did not realize it, but there were 2 problems with the letter.  First Sam does not work at 7 on Friday’s, she works at 9.  Second, the letter was not placed in mailboxes until after many kids were already picked up.

So I am thinking there are a few key components  to a groundswell:  passion and a negative Customer experience, like poor communication

But there is another key component, means of communication.  The next morning it all began.  Early in the morning an email came through asking about a rumor that Sam was leaving.  I did not realize it, but many of the family members were connected via email.  Based on the review of the emails, everyone was irritated that they were not informed ahead of time of Sam’s departure.  I think I know what the issue here was.  Sam was leaving to be a regional director for a competing firm, so following procedure the company is paying her for the 2 weeks and asked her to leave.  I can not take offense to this because I have implemented this elsewhere.  At the same time, if it were me I would have tried to find a way to retain this employee (in my opinion she is that good).  So the emails continued and calls started to the regional director.  Then discussions started about the district director that was planning to work at the center.  Needless to say they were not complimentary about either of them, words such as demeaning, condescending, intrusive, and creepy.  I have never really met either, so I am not sure but these emails are my first impression.  I hope people remember that this is due to the passion people feel for their children and the best possible care for their children.  The statements are not personal, just the passion coming out.

The next thing I know emails are now flying to the CEO and other leaders of the company.  It led to some good conversations, but then a response was sent to the list from one of the leaders, Jim.  It was really a bulleted list of talking points and not a conversational email, but it was an attempt to provide the companies position.  The email even included a phone number to call him over the weekend if there were concerns.  They also made sure the regional and district manager were at the location when it opened today on Monday morning.   This may have helped a few, but it further agitated some on the chain.  So then the one person decided to call Jim.  According to the many emails on the topic, lets just say  the conversation did not go as you would have expected.  Obviously I was not on the calls but perception is reality and the group was provided a certain viewpoint.  According to the one email he yelled at the Customer and told her to follow Sam and leave.  Needless to say things were blowing up much further and truthfully control was lost.

Groundswell can happen wherever there is passion, negative experience and communication among a group.  The control is not there and you may not even have a say in how it plays out.  What this taught me is everyone has to be on top of their game when dealing with any Customer.  They need to create the right experience.  When passion is there, be careful what you say, and listening may be the best recourse.   In an email I sent to Jim on Friday night was a recommendation that they apologize to the families for the miscommunication, and I thought it would also be a good idea to invite the families to be a part of the hiring process.  This may not be the usual approach but based on everything I was reading this seemed to make the most sense and would start to diffuse the trouble.  Unfortunately with the emails today about the phone conversation, it may be lost cause.  It is really sad to see because the teachers at the school are great, I love the fact that they supply lunch, and are opened during many of the holidays.  But this little activity over the past 5 days will change the feeling for many, whether due to real circumstances or not.  This was a large groundswell for a relatively minor issue that will define this brand for a long time, especially among the families at our location.

I am hopeful for recovery, but it is so much harder when a brand loses control over the situation.  It is interesting to watch.  Have you ever seen a groundswell?

The past few days I have taken a true vacation from work and it feels good!  Not that I do not miss my team or being engaged, but we all do need a rest at times.  Since we began the digital care initiative at Comcast I have worked 7 days a week and all hours of each day.  But now we are at a time where this effort, and the ability of my team is now shining.  I am so proud of each of them.  Through these efforts we have been in numerous media publications, such as:

NY Time – Griping Online? Comcast Hears and Talks Back

ABC News – Still on Hold? Twitter Can Rescue You From Customer Service Line Waits

Business Week – Comcast’s Twitter Man

I realized a few weeks ago that we have really changed the entire Customer Service industry.  It is amazing.  I have received emails and had calls with many companies as they work to replicate what we have done.  But what is it we really accomplished?  Based on feedback from our followers on Twitter we have really made Customer Service more personal again.  Customer Service started to shift to a “self service” model in the `1990′s.  This was great for companies to reduce costs but it did take away from the personal connection that happened when you knew the person you were meeting with, or the personal conversation on the phone.  Around the same time companies shifted to measuring things like handle time, schedule adherence and other numbers that did not reflect the intent of service.

Today best in class companies are measuring things like Customer Satisfaction and first contact resolution.  This is what service is about.  Handle time is good for broader measurement for planning purposes but it is not appropriate at the agent level.  It brings the wrong focus by the agent.

What else have we learned?  Customers, just like most Customer Service agents, are craving real time, unedited information.  If something is wrong they really want to know what it is, what is being done and when it will be back.  We are working to create that environment at Comcast.

A year ago I was presenting to many people from our communications team.  I made the mistake to say that part of the success was that I was not one of them.  But really in this new world order, marketing, public relations and Customer Service are really becoming one.  It is all about talking with, but not at, Customers.  So yes, I admit, I was wrong (but please do not tell my wife!).  This has been a learning process that you have to learn from every interaction, whether it is to many or more one on one.

We have done so much in a short period of time, but I can not help but think what is next?  At Comcast Rick Germano and his team have been working very hard to improve the Customer experience.  The senior leadership staff revamped the corporate credo to ensure everyone was working on the goal of creating the right experience.  It is not something that will happen overnight, but will happen.  I am proud of what we accomplished up until now but I look forward to achieving all our goals.

But beyond Comcast, how can we further improve the Customer Service industry?  What are the next big tasks to tackle? Where do you see Customer Service industry going?

Now it is time to get ready to go to @ComcastBill‘s wedding!

I worked from home today because I traveled all day yesterday (I was out of the house at 4:30 AM and returned around 11 PM).  Needless to say I was tired.  I still got up at 6:30 and I drank lots of coffee.  Since I was not motivated to get dressed I never did get the girls to day care.  By the time I got around to it, it was already 11 AM.

This did not take away from the work I had to do.  While I was working, Lily and Robyn were playing on the floor.  At one point they were in the kitchen “making dinner” at the little play kitchenette that we have.  I have to say they were really cute.  At least until I looked around and realized the mess that was all over the family room and kitchen.  Toys are everywhere.  

Lately I have been thinking a lot about CRM or Customer Relationship Management and believe it or not, it really fits with the way my house looks today.  There has been discussion on the net about CRM and social media, especially regarding Twitter.   Well on Sunday I will be traveling to Bonita Springs, FL to talk at the Frost and Sullivan Customer Contact 2009 MindXchange.  So this is why it is on my mind.

I will not get into all the other discussions on the internet, but here are the posts that may be of interest to you.  The first one I read was by Paul Greenberg  on ZDNet called “Is Twitter Social CRM? Nope.”  I do agree that Twitter is simply a communications channel, just like phone or email.  I also feel there are many other channels such as blogs, forums, Facebook or numerous other social networking websites that are also communications channels.  In his post he also links to Jeremiah Owyang’s post “The Future of Twitter: Social CRM.”  I agree with Jeremiah that a good way for Twitter to monetize itself, “if they were to take the challenge” is to sell the data being collected by people answering the question “What are you doing.”  Companies already spend a lot of money to learn how people use their product or interact with their business.  And this information is readily available on Twitter.  The other post Paul Greenberg mentioned is one by Brian Solis “Twitter and Social Networks Usher in a New Era of Social CRM.”  My favorite quote from Brian is:

“Twitter is forcing the next level of reinvention for how we identify, track and respond to online conversations that are pertinent to brand perception and resonance. Twitter is the catalyst that will spark the change for how brands truly engage across the Conversation Prism a.k.a. The Social Web.”

Brian you are correct that Twitter is going to cause companies to reinvent how they respond online.  First the space is easily searchable, unlike Facebook.  Also the costs of entry are virtually nothing.  I would expect companies to do just that and for those that don’t, their employees will do it for them.  

Now lets tie this all together and put the pieces of the puzzle into a nice form.  Literally as I write this I am doing that with items on the floor.  Today CRM is highly organized data used by most organizations to measure phone, email, chat, mail or self service options, but it excludes a key component:  social media. Companies understand regular interactions but social media interactions are not done by many companies or, when they are, they are not tracked as well as they could be.  Many companies are still trying to determine how social media fits in and how they would measure it.  It is not hard to search the net, or even ask around to find debates on who should own the social media strategy.  Usually the debates are between marketing and PR departments, but Customer Service should be in the mix as well.  We know that click through rates on ads are weak and going to a blogger with a press release probably does not work.  At the same time marketing and PR do a great job at measuring sentiment on the web and the overall Customer base.  Customer Service departs usually do well at measuring the Companies need to figure this out. 

My advice is all areas in a company need to work together and define a strategy.  There is plenty out on the net and with a good plan in place you can create a great Customer experience with solid performance measures.  Twitter might be a great place  to start because the cost of entry is cheap and information is readily available via Twitter search.  But the keys are understanding where your Customers (or prospective Customers) are and what are your goals for being in the space.

Now to the other pieces of the mess.  I have always struggled with the term “Customer Relationship Management.” I am not sure a company can manage the relationship as they have in the past.  They can strive to know as much as they can and track interactions but as social media has shown, the true control is shifting to the Consumer.  I think the groundswell on this is still small but growing  stronger with each Amazon review, tweet, blog post or Facebook mention.  With the limited amount of management taking place we need to think more about the relationship as the key component.

Over the past 20 years the key message was self service and limit the relationship building.  Things like handle time were implemented to keep calls short and complicated IVR’s were put in place to try to answer questions without an agent.  Today the trend is growing to want to talk to Customers, especially those that may leave.  Most companies are no longer reviewing handle time on an agent level.  Instead they use Customer call backs and Customer survey data to determine success.

Within the posts by Brian, Jeremiah, and Paul there was some discussion regarding CRM tools.  Well I think at times people should stick to what they do best.  CRM companies can continue to make CRM tools and companies like Radian 6 can make there social media tools.  I would then recommend that they work to integrate the 2 allowing for the best of both worlds.  I would not expect Radian 6 to know all about CRM and contact center management, and I would not expect a CRM company like Salesforce.com to know all about social media.  Companies do not have to be every piece of the puzzle, but if you make tools that play nice with other, your Customers and their Customers will win.

As Companies look to take a fresh look at CRM it is so important they they clean up and organize first, including all the components that exist today.  It is also imperative that they include the sentiment on the web and look for ways to personalize that relationship.  Part of this will be no longer waiting for Customers to call but finding ways to proactively reach them.  Review your existing CRM goals and work to tie them into an overall social media plan.  It will not always be clean but it will be a start to some great relationships with your Customers.

This has been a fun filled week for me on a number of fronts. The week started with the usual fun from Lily (see prior post “So is it Time to be Frank” for prior antics). On Sunday I had to clean the bathroom, something I have been procrastinating on for a long time. I finally got to work on it. Little did I know but so did my dear Lily. While I was taking a break for a couple minutes, Lily woke up from her nap and decided she wanted to help out. She went into the bathroom and poured a whole bottle of bleach cleaner in the tub. We are still trying to figure out how she opened it (had a child proof cap on it at the time). So when I ended the break I went upstairs. I went to get one of the bottles of cleaner, but realized the bottle was empty. Needless to say I was confused (not too unusual for me). We had a bunch of clothes in the tub because that was not being cleaned yet and we did not get to the wash. Well I noticed the clothes were wet. As I went through the pile I started to watch the color of every item run off. After going through everything in my head, I could not figure out how this happened to the clothes. I then called Lily (having a heart attack in my mind) I asked her if she was in our room. She said yes. I then worried that she drank some so then asked a number of questions on that. It turns out she was trying to create a bubble bath in the tub. I then realized many of my favorite clothes were now the wrong color. So it was good to see Lily helping the economy as I spent a lot of money at Kohls, Walmart, and LL Bean replacing some of the lost clothes. This was the start of a good week!

On Monday I was starting in a leadership program at work. This is an intense one year program for selected people within the organization. It is really amazing to even be considered and even more amazing when you meet the others in the program. There are some really great people that earned the same recognition. This first 2 day session concentrated on changes at Comcast, meeting top leaders and becoming a community leader. In fact my first project will be leading an effort centered around our “Comcast Cares Day” on April 25th. No it is not recognition of the work of my team, but rather a community event where Comcasters, family and friends get together and do projects to improve the community in which we live. I will have more to come on this because I can really use everyone’s help in meeting the goals of my first project for this leadership program. Thank you in advance.

During the leadership program I also had the wonderful experience of meeting a few people from a charity called “City Year.” As part of the leadership program, members of the charity participate. This allows us to learn about leadership in community organization and they learn from our business experience. This organization works within schools and the community to mentor, tutor and become role models to our youth. They are really transforming themselves and the communities they serve. If you have a moment check them out.

My team really started to take the lead in places like Twitter and working to take over the efforts that we have started this year. I have to say I was never more proud of the great members of my team and their efforts to make sure our social media efforts are fully operationalized. So if you have not seen me on Twitter, I have been there, but my team has really been taking the reigns. This will allow me to concentrate on strategies and improving the overall experience for our Comcast Customers. My other team members on Twitter are @ComcastBill @ComcastGeorge and @ComcastBonnie. I also have to recognize my other team members because they have been doing the same in the areas they participate in: Sherry, Kim, Mark, Detreon, Vinisha and Steve. They helped myself and Comcast lead the way into social media for businesses, but now they are helping me become a stronger leader. This is why it all starts with people!

So that is what has been happening with me. I hope I can count on your support and help for my upcoming project for “Comcast Cares Day.”

Driving in today I heard an associated press report that really had me concerned.  Many businesses have tried to find ways to change perception about their brand, sometimes going as far as creating fake reviews, such as the Belkin example.  But now some doctors are trying to influence reviews by making it part of their contract for care that patients can not rate their service.  Read the story “Docs Seek Gag Orders to Stop Patient Reviews.”  I think I feel a groundswell coming!

Do you see a day where everything we buy comes with a contract or terms of use forbidding talking about the business?  What if it was changed to say you can only say positive things, but not negative?  Is this going to change the game?

This practice will cause multiple issues for businesses, including doctors.  Lets look at a few:

• Not Allowing the Positive Groundswell – If you are doing things right, your own Customers will come to defense of any negative commentary.  By having a rule like this they would be afraid to
• Negative Commentary will Still Happen – If someone had a bad experience they will want to tell the world and rules like this will not stop it.  The web can be a very anonymous place.
• Groundswell Just for Having the Rule – What I think will really happen is people will start tracking organizations that create rules such as this and advise everyone not to use them

This is a slippery slope.  I am not surprised it is being done, and I am actually surprised it has not been done by others.  This is being done by people who are short sighted and uninformed about the groundswell within social media.  If there is a fear of this discussion the best options are to create the right experience the first time, but also find ways that Customers, oh I mean patients, can provide feedback to your business.  Then take this feedback and take action to improve when possible.

This is personal for me because I have used the web to share thoughts on medical care and my child.  I elected not to share all the negative stories, to which we have many, but that was my decision and not one forced on me.   There are great organizations to help families share the course of treatment on the web, such as Caringbride.org.  Will policies like this be so restricted that families would not be able to communicate in the way they prefer? Or will it censor what they can say?  Could a website like Caringbridge.org be sued because someone said something negative about a doctor?

To the defense of the docs, they are not permitted based on the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (better known as HIPAA) to discuss private patient information with anyone except the patient (and their insurance carrier) without written consent from the patient.   So they most likely would not be able to defend wrong information being written about them or clear any misconception.

I think it is time for some people to get past their egos and stop trying to prevent what will occur no matter what the legal mumbo jumbo has to say.  What do you think?

UPDATE:  While I was writing this the Consumerist posted “Warning:  Going to the Doc? Be Sure You Don’t Sign A Gag Order.”  In the post they talk about how RateMDs.com will create a wall of shame for doctors using the gag order.  Let the groundswell begin