Quality Service Marketing

Year End Reflection & Tribute

Earlier this month, my husband & I enjoyed a brief pre-holiday respite at Mohonk Mountain House. My husband took these incredible photos there during the first-in-a-series of ice storms that hit the northeast.

These breathtakingly beautiful images evoke serene beauty and wonder, and I feel a similar sense of wonderment – as well as pain – as I reflect on this past year.

2008 has been a most difficult one for me personally as I managed to get through the first year without having my beloved mother in my life. She passed away one year ago today, and my life will never be the same.

So I look forward to the New Year knowing that I survived the emotional pain of this past year and hope the heartbreaking memories of her deteriorating health will begin to fade and be replaced by better memories. I’m not as emotionally raw as I was earlier this year, but the emptiness still remains and I miss her more than ever. A dear friend of mine told me what she learned about coping with such loss: “You never get over it, but somehow you get through it.”

I’m getting better in accepting the many triggers that evoke sadness (and, increasingly, smiles) as I appreciate the wonder of having had her in my life for a little over 50 years. In the new year and those to come, I want to focus more on happier memories and the profound impact she had on me … an impact that continues as she lives in my heart.

Best wishes for a happy, healthy, and peaceful New Year.
_{[Photos by Michael Stershic]}

A Special Anniversary Calls for Thanksgiving & A Special Offer

This year I’m celebrating my company’s 20th anniversary. It was 20 years ago this month that I officially registered Quality Service Marketing as a business and, thanks to my many clients and colleagues, it’s been an incredible experience.

Perhaps this longevity is the reason I’m not panicking over the current economy, even though my business has been affected this year. I’ve made it through difficult economic times before.

Reflecting over the past 20 years, what has changed the most? Two things stand out:

1. Technology and its impact on the workplace – in extending my communications reach (e.g., blogging) … in providing faster, more expedient ways to communicate with clients and colleagues … and in providing instant access to an overwhelming amount of information. I can remember working off a large, non-portable desktop computer with a bulky monitor and dot matrix printer. Technology has made a major impact on how we all work these days, not to mention how much!
2. I’ve also changed – I’m older, wiser (not to mention a little wider), and more confident in my abilities and value as a trusted business advisor. In addition, I’m delighted to have added “published author” to my credentials.*

What hasn’t changed since I’ve been in business?

1. The need to take care of employees and customers. Given a global economy with more competition and more choice, it’s harder than ever to attract and retain customers and effectively engage employees in the process. A “high tech-high touch” approach is still relevant.
2. My respect for and relationships with my clients, past and present. It’s a mutually beneficial relationship where we learn from each other. I feel privileged to have worked with so many wonderful people, many of whom I’m still in touch with regardless of whether we worked together for many years or on a once-and-done project basis.

What I’m thankful for

In honor of my business milestone and in the spirit of Thanksgiving, I’m thankful for many things:

• My clients – for the opportunity to serve them + grow both professionally and personally in the process. 
• My colleagues – for their peer mentoring, advice, and sharing of ideas. 
• My blog readers and fellow blogging buddies – for their continued interest in internal marketing & communications and inspiring new posts. 
• And my family – for their continued love and support.

Best wishes for a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!

*In honor of this 20th anniversary, and in time for the holiday season, I’m happy to offer a special 20% discount off the purchase of my book, Taking Care of the People Who Matter Most: A Guide to Employee-Customer Care, from now through Dec. 31, 2008, when you order online from WME Books. Be sure to enter special discount code QSM109 in the coupon code box.

Bad Bosses - Good Teachers

This isn’t an April Fool’s joke – bad bosses have a lot to teach us (especially by example). And you don’t have to go very far to learn from them.

Bad bosses are a hot topic these days. Witness the best selling book, The No Asshole Rule, Zane Safrit’s “Worst bosses of the Year … so many choices” and Management-Issues’s “The Search for World’s Worst Boss.”

I’ve had my share of bad bosses. Fortunately, none would have been contenders for the World’s Worst list. In retrospect, I learned some valuable lessons from them – mostly about how not to treat employees.

Here are my top three lessons learned:

1. Do not treat employees as minions whose sole function is to bolster your ego.
2. Do not give employees assignments without all the proper information they need (either because you’re into power trips or because you really don’t know what you want, but you’ll figure it out as soon as they finish the assignment – at which point you’ll change your mind and direct them to do it differently.
3. Do not assume your employees have no life outside the office and are available to help you 24/7. (I had one boss in particular whose mantra could have been: lack of planning on my part will constitute a constant emergency on your part.)

If you’ve worked for a bad boss, please share what you learned as a result.