I like to sit and work in the cafe in my apartment building. It's spacious and fairly quiet. There's some rather ghastly muzak of course and these tiny somewhat annoying tv's blinking in the background. But all in all it's not too shabby.
I like Turkish coffee but I don't like it strong. I usually have 1/2 the amount of coffee that they would normally use in each ibrik. The other day chef was there instead of the usual waitress and he suggested same amount of coffee and twice as much water. This is perfect for me. Lasts me longer and tastes just great. And means one coffee lasts me per session of working in the cafe instead of two coffees. And they don't lose out on revenue because now I go sit there twice a day instead of once and sometimes I buy a croissant the second time.
It's good customer service and makes up for the stupid tv and music in spades;-)
13 October 2010
11 October 2010
The Customer is king? No it's the accounts department and Interior Designers.
I live in a serviced apartment. Quite a nice one. Bijou one might say but actually plenty big enough for the two of us who are avid couch potatoes. Perhaps a couple of larger sofas to veg out on but that's all we'd need. But we have a balcony of sorts, a big ole TV with many channels, internet, decent kitchen with all the appliances and a nice clean bathroom with a powerful shower. And by local standards it's well priced.
The only thing the apartment really lacks is style. It's furnished in some kind of nasty mass produced imitation of 19C English wood furniture - too much of it really for the available space. And the cheap prints on the walls are framed in even cheaper frames and hung crookedly;-)
The thing is there are 4 different kinds of decor in the building. Two are ugly and two are ok to my eyes. But they are all different. And they are again all different from the decor in the public areas.
The property was only partially open when I moved in. I was told the 'brand' for the property was to be modern Arabic - a dry hotel/apartment block where Muslims in general and Arabs in particular would feel at home and comfortable. A theme of 'bayti-baytek' or 'mi casa es su casa' was envisaged. And no cliched camels and sand and tents.
But I guess some commercial imperatives got in the way. As we've headed towards a proper opening a lot of the concept has fallen by the wayside in a rush to get the doors properly open.
Bayti - baytek? I asked for some of the excess furniture to be taken out of my apartment so I can make better use of the limited space available. I was told in no uncertain terms that Company Policy does not permit removal of furniture. That's fair enough corporately but it's hardly allowing me to make it 'My Home" is it?
We've just had the public areas in the lobby decorated in readiness for the public opening. Furniture has been decked out quite nicely. But in a fairly standard modern Indian style in the front lobby and a more old fashioned Arabic style in the back lounge. In colours that are different from the other areas of the property and that clash with each other. Sadly the front lobby looks like a furniture showroom display in its over the top detailing. The One or Ikea would be very pleased.
And the rear lobby is set out for style rather than comfort. Pre-opening the seating was arranged as pairs of sofas or chairs facing each other. It was quite comfortable to sit and chat. But now a lot of furniture has been removed and sofas are set out in L shapes with a coffee table. It looks airy and spacious but it's uncomfortable to just sit and chat. And as it's a 'dry' property you can't even sit and drink;-)
There is a vast gym that would make any Californian proud. But it's so stuffed with equipment you can barely move - so it feels crowded and empty at the same time.
And so on and on...
The point being that it has all been laid out and set up piecemeal with no thought about either the theme or the actual users. It's been strung together section by section by 'designers' and operations people to look nice and work as efficiently as possible.
In Branding terms its really backwards. If you're creating a Brand you need to have in mind the effect you have on your customer. What thoughts you want to engender and feelings you want to induce and what behaviours you want to encourage.
You use the tools and techniques of Branding and Brand management to shape these thoughts, feelings and behaviours in line with your marketing plans and then sell to them. You do it to make customers feel right with your product and maximise your profits.
The colours, the graphics, the shapes, the way staff are trained, even the furniture and lighting are used to create the desired effect and keep it in people's memories.
If you do what my apartment/hotel has done you get something different. You DO create a Brand but it's one over which you have no control. People are buying into your product for reasons you don't expect. And in so doing you are certainly missing proit opportunities. Possibly alienating some as well.
In our case instead of attracting Muslim and Arab travellers and families they are attracting international corporates because of the good pricing, 4* quality, convenient location, large scale which means large groups at short notice and good facilities for sports. So...Western businesses find it a good place for temporary staff, longer term senior staff and convention groups.
Who are then often disappointed because the TV in the rooms is focussed on Arabic visitors and there's no bar and few business services. The staff can't, for example, call a guest on his mobile to inform of business visitors because they are not permitted to make overseas calls. But Russian guests are likely to have Russian mobiles no? Outside visitors (i.e guests' customers) find it hard to get past security to get to the car park and into the public areas of the property. Good for keeping the family safe but not so good for commerce.
The wonderful large pool and deck is attractive to sunbathers. So full of near naked men and women together. Fine for me. But not an attractive proposition to a conservative Saudi family on holiday.
The few local guests are bemused. It looks odd - mix of generic Western Hotel, Indian Lobby and Arabic lounge area. It's full of Europeans and Americans. There's only international fare in the French named cafe or Asian food in the restaurant with a gimmicky English name. The prayer room is tiny and hard to find. There's no broadcast call to prayer.
Mixed messages abound and confused guests do NOT maximise their spending. This is silly and unproductive. And it's happening because the management is listening only to accountants and pushy shareholders who don't trust them to do the job they're paid to do.
Listen to the customers you want. Make the Brand work for them and the accountants and shareholders will be a lot happier.
In this case neither the proposed target group not the actual guests is being fully served by the Brand offering and so the profits are going to suffer.
The only thing the apartment really lacks is style. It's furnished in some kind of nasty mass produced imitation of 19C English wood furniture - too much of it really for the available space. And the cheap prints on the walls are framed in even cheaper frames and hung crookedly;-)
The thing is there are 4 different kinds of decor in the building. Two are ugly and two are ok to my eyes. But they are all different. And they are again all different from the decor in the public areas.
The property was only partially open when I moved in. I was told the 'brand' for the property was to be modern Arabic - a dry hotel/apartment block where Muslims in general and Arabs in particular would feel at home and comfortable. A theme of 'bayti-baytek' or 'mi casa es su casa' was envisaged. And no cliched camels and sand and tents.
But I guess some commercial imperatives got in the way. As we've headed towards a proper opening a lot of the concept has fallen by the wayside in a rush to get the doors properly open.
Bayti - baytek? I asked for some of the excess furniture to be taken out of my apartment so I can make better use of the limited space available. I was told in no uncertain terms that Company Policy does not permit removal of furniture. That's fair enough corporately but it's hardly allowing me to make it 'My Home" is it?
We've just had the public areas in the lobby decorated in readiness for the public opening. Furniture has been decked out quite nicely. But in a fairly standard modern Indian style in the front lobby and a more old fashioned Arabic style in the back lounge. In colours that are different from the other areas of the property and that clash with each other. Sadly the front lobby looks like a furniture showroom display in its over the top detailing. The One or Ikea would be very pleased.
And the rear lobby is set out for style rather than comfort. Pre-opening the seating was arranged as pairs of sofas or chairs facing each other. It was quite comfortable to sit and chat. But now a lot of furniture has been removed and sofas are set out in L shapes with a coffee table. It looks airy and spacious but it's uncomfortable to just sit and chat. And as it's a 'dry' property you can't even sit and drink;-)
There is a vast gym that would make any Californian proud. But it's so stuffed with equipment you can barely move - so it feels crowded and empty at the same time.
And so on and on...
The point being that it has all been laid out and set up piecemeal with no thought about either the theme or the actual users. It's been strung together section by section by 'designers' and operations people to look nice and work as efficiently as possible.
In Branding terms its really backwards. If you're creating a Brand you need to have in mind the effect you have on your customer. What thoughts you want to engender and feelings you want to induce and what behaviours you want to encourage.
You use the tools and techniques of Branding and Brand management to shape these thoughts, feelings and behaviours in line with your marketing plans and then sell to them. You do it to make customers feel right with your product and maximise your profits.
The colours, the graphics, the shapes, the way staff are trained, even the furniture and lighting are used to create the desired effect and keep it in people's memories.
If you do what my apartment/hotel has done you get something different. You DO create a Brand but it's one over which you have no control. People are buying into your product for reasons you don't expect. And in so doing you are certainly missing proit opportunities. Possibly alienating some as well.
In our case instead of attracting Muslim and Arab travellers and families they are attracting international corporates because of the good pricing, 4* quality, convenient location, large scale which means large groups at short notice and good facilities for sports. So...Western businesses find it a good place for temporary staff, longer term senior staff and convention groups.
Who are then often disappointed because the TV in the rooms is focussed on Arabic visitors and there's no bar and few business services. The staff can't, for example, call a guest on his mobile to inform of business visitors because they are not permitted to make overseas calls. But Russian guests are likely to have Russian mobiles no? Outside visitors (i.e guests' customers) find it hard to get past security to get to the car park and into the public areas of the property. Good for keeping the family safe but not so good for commerce.
The wonderful large pool and deck is attractive to sunbathers. So full of near naked men and women together. Fine for me. But not an attractive proposition to a conservative Saudi family on holiday.
The few local guests are bemused. It looks odd - mix of generic Western Hotel, Indian Lobby and Arabic lounge area. It's full of Europeans and Americans. There's only international fare in the French named cafe or Asian food in the restaurant with a gimmicky English name. The prayer room is tiny and hard to find. There's no broadcast call to prayer.
Mixed messages abound and confused guests do NOT maximise their spending. This is silly and unproductive. And it's happening because the management is listening only to accountants and pushy shareholders who don't trust them to do the job they're paid to do.
Listen to the customers you want. Make the Brand work for them and the accountants and shareholders will be a lot happier.
In this case neither the proposed target group not the actual guests is being fully served by the Brand offering and so the profits are going to suffer.
10 October 2010
Go Pats...
I know it's Saturday but I live a long way from Boston and indeed from Miami which is where the Pats played the Dolphins last Monday. And I don't get sent the recordings till later in the week. But at least I'm getting them this year.
It was a remarkable game with the Pats getting a fine win after making plays from every piece of the playbook. Blocked punts, interceptions, rushing, brilliant passes from Brady and the remarkable Woodhead hopefully receiving a well earned sizeable bonus. And this from a team playing 14 newbies - rookies or second year players. And a surprising number of those players NOT coming from the draft.
I think it's a remarkable testimony to the very special talent of Bill Bellichick. He finds skills where others didn't. And he makes a team pull together and shine as a team in double quick time.
While we were watching I mentioned to my wife that part of it was the team doesn't have divas or prima donnas among the players just a bunch of superstars. "No," she said, "the TEAM is a Superstar and every one of them knows it."
And she's spot on. The team is a discrete entity and IT is a Superstar. It shows in their game. Hell, Brady said in an interview that two weeks ago he didn't even know Woodhead's full name. He does now and they look like they've been playing together for years.
Imagine if you took this skill and applied it to a business. If Bill could come in and fill your company with the heroes no one else noticed, weld them into a team with a shared Vision and a willingness to give whatever it takes for the team to shine.
Most CEOs/MDs probably think they do this. But they don't. There are few companies that are as together as a single entity as the Pats at their peak. But it's doable. It's not even very complicated - just incredibly difficult.
Look at the skills people actually display. Not the ones listed on the resume or suggested by the current job title. See what they actually CAN do if give the space. Then give them the space. Reward people for individual excellence and reward them even more for group excellence. Let 'em have fun. Listen to everyone. Draw firm boundaries but give them freedom within. Let them call most of their own plays under your tutelage. Know that sometimes you do have to yell but mostly you don't. Know that occasionally you have to punish but mostly you don't. Know that sometimes you have to let people go but mostly you don't.
Always remember that journeymen have a valuable place and it is just as valuable in the long haul as a star QB. But less visible. Let 'em all go to Disneyland. This year.
It was a remarkable game with the Pats getting a fine win after making plays from every piece of the playbook. Blocked punts, interceptions, rushing, brilliant passes from Brady and the remarkable Woodhead hopefully receiving a well earned sizeable bonus. And this from a team playing 14 newbies - rookies or second year players. And a surprising number of those players NOT coming from the draft.
I think it's a remarkable testimony to the very special talent of Bill Bellichick. He finds skills where others didn't. And he makes a team pull together and shine as a team in double quick time.
While we were watching I mentioned to my wife that part of it was the team doesn't have divas or prima donnas among the players just a bunch of superstars. "No," she said, "the TEAM is a Superstar and every one of them knows it."
And she's spot on. The team is a discrete entity and IT is a Superstar. It shows in their game. Hell, Brady said in an interview that two weeks ago he didn't even know Woodhead's full name. He does now and they look like they've been playing together for years.
Imagine if you took this skill and applied it to a business. If Bill could come in and fill your company with the heroes no one else noticed, weld them into a team with a shared Vision and a willingness to give whatever it takes for the team to shine.
Most CEOs/MDs probably think they do this. But they don't. There are few companies that are as together as a single entity as the Pats at their peak. But it's doable. It's not even very complicated - just incredibly difficult.
Look at the skills people actually display. Not the ones listed on the resume or suggested by the current job title. See what they actually CAN do if give the space. Then give them the space. Reward people for individual excellence and reward them even more for group excellence. Let 'em have fun. Listen to everyone. Draw firm boundaries but give them freedom within. Let them call most of their own plays under your tutelage. Know that sometimes you do have to yell but mostly you don't. Know that occasionally you have to punish but mostly you don't. Know that sometimes you have to let people go but mostly you don't.
Always remember that journeymen have a valuable place and it is just as valuable in the long haul as a star QB. But less visible. Let 'em all go to Disneyland. This year.
01 October 2010
Consiglieri
It looks like Scott and me are turning into commodities brokers. Well I say Scott and me but he does all the hard stuff. I do what I do. I meet people. I connect people. I know people who know people. I have ideas. So does Scott...but then he gets on the phone and does his magic and suddenly those connections are talking to each other and ideas are becoming deals.
At the moment these ideas look like closing a deal on jet fuel, another on a bunch of oil tankers, some gold and some diamonds. People keep offering us other stuff. And we keep making connections. It's a classic broker situation.
But better than that it's a celebration of teamwork. None of these deals could have come about if any one of us in the cloud were absent. Not only do we all bring different knowledge but we bring different skills and different attributes to the party. An HR trainer would have a field day. Belbin would have us under the microscope. We're a jigsaw puzzle made flesh.
Hopefully we'll be a solvent one too soon:-)
http://www.belbin.com/rte.asp?id=8
At the moment these ideas look like closing a deal on jet fuel, another on a bunch of oil tankers, some gold and some diamonds. People keep offering us other stuff. And we keep making connections. It's a classic broker situation.
But better than that it's a celebration of teamwork. None of these deals could have come about if any one of us in the cloud were absent. Not only do we all bring different knowledge but we bring different skills and different attributes to the party. An HR trainer would have a field day. Belbin would have us under the microscope. We're a jigsaw puzzle made flesh.
Hopefully we'll be a solvent one too soon:-)
http://www.belbin.com/rte.asp?id=8
First world veneer on a third world country
6 months ago we were living in a nice but basic apartment in the back streets of Ajman. I rather liked it. I'm not really a 5* kinda person and fortunately neither is Yvonne. But we had no work and were struggling and ultimately failing to pay the rent. Even after a lot of help from amazing friends.
So we had to stay with friends for a while. And this was when we discovered we were not alone. I have at least two other close friends in a similar position and they also knew people who also knew people. The recession has bitten really deep here and affected every level of our society.
Things are improving and I have a little work now- somewhat irregular but it covers the modern basics. I have an apartment again in Dubai. A nice one thanks to a good client and some smart negotiation.
I'm a highly privileged white European. Apart from the top tier Emitatis themselves - only about 20% of the population altogether and perhaps 20% of them in the top tier - we are the peak of local society with high salaries, fancy accommodation, good top level jobs in all manner of public and private enterprises. We're incredibly lucky.
And we're suffering too. Laid off; no jobs; facing eviction and facing deportation and in many many cases being jailed briefly for debt. If you don't make the payments on the Porsche you can't declare bankruptcy; you'll go to jail.
Imagine what it's like at the other end of the spectrum.
This week I read about a group of 30 odd Filipinas bought over as contract domestic staff. Maids. They live in a villa designed to hold a single family. 6 or 7 people max. Their employer has shut up shop. Gone broke. Their bills in the villa have gone unpaid as have their salaries. If there were any jobs they would not be allowed to take them. They are cut off from utilities - no electricity means no air-conditioning or fridges or lighting or cooking; no water for drinking or bathing. Sewage disposal is becoming problem as is garbage.
It's still 40C plus outside in the day and 33C or more at night. They sleep on the roof to try to get some relief from the stifling heat. They survive on handouts from friends and strangers. They can't even go home. Their now vanished employer has their passports and how could they pay for the tickets their employer was contractually bound to provide normally?
In some ways they are worse off than people in rural poverty in Africa or India or the Philipines. Because they have no experience of living like this or any of the survival skills needed. They are modern city dwellers returned to the stone age.
It is evil that this incredibly wealthy country that survives on the back of the indentured labour of people like these brave ladies will provide no help or support for the abandoned poor who are stuck because of the economic downturn that has me worrying if I can afford my internet connection and them worrying if they can get a drink of cold safe water. I should celebrate my good fortune. Instead I despair for their misfortune and help them out as best I can. It's not enough.
Our government should be helping too.
It validates what I was told early on after I arrived here. "Never forget, Martin." I was told by an old hand, "This is just another Third World country, but it's sheathed in a First World veneer". He was right.
So we had to stay with friends for a while. And this was when we discovered we were not alone. I have at least two other close friends in a similar position and they also knew people who also knew people. The recession has bitten really deep here and affected every level of our society.
Things are improving and I have a little work now- somewhat irregular but it covers the modern basics. I have an apartment again in Dubai. A nice one thanks to a good client and some smart negotiation.
I'm a highly privileged white European. Apart from the top tier Emitatis themselves - only about 20% of the population altogether and perhaps 20% of them in the top tier - we are the peak of local society with high salaries, fancy accommodation, good top level jobs in all manner of public and private enterprises. We're incredibly lucky.
And we're suffering too. Laid off; no jobs; facing eviction and facing deportation and in many many cases being jailed briefly for debt. If you don't make the payments on the Porsche you can't declare bankruptcy; you'll go to jail.
Imagine what it's like at the other end of the spectrum.
This week I read about a group of 30 odd Filipinas bought over as contract domestic staff. Maids. They live in a villa designed to hold a single family. 6 or 7 people max. Their employer has shut up shop. Gone broke. Their bills in the villa have gone unpaid as have their salaries. If there were any jobs they would not be allowed to take them. They are cut off from utilities - no electricity means no air-conditioning or fridges or lighting or cooking; no water for drinking or bathing. Sewage disposal is becoming problem as is garbage.
It's still 40C plus outside in the day and 33C or more at night. They sleep on the roof to try to get some relief from the stifling heat. They survive on handouts from friends and strangers. They can't even go home. Their now vanished employer has their passports and how could they pay for the tickets their employer was contractually bound to provide normally?
In some ways they are worse off than people in rural poverty in Africa or India or the Philipines. Because they have no experience of living like this or any of the survival skills needed. They are modern city dwellers returned to the stone age.
It is evil that this incredibly wealthy country that survives on the back of the indentured labour of people like these brave ladies will provide no help or support for the abandoned poor who are stuck because of the economic downturn that has me worrying if I can afford my internet connection and them worrying if they can get a drink of cold safe water. I should celebrate my good fortune. Instead I despair for their misfortune and help them out as best I can. It's not enough.
Our government should be helping too.
It validates what I was told early on after I arrived here. "Never forget, Martin." I was told by an old hand, "This is just another Third World country, but it's sheathed in a First World veneer". He was right.
24 September 2010
Opportunity knocks
I got a mail today from a great friend in the UK who among others helped bail me out when things got really rough here. You need the occasional reminder of just how cool your real friends really are. And how much you owe them beyond just cash.
In replying to him though, I began to list the opportunities I have in the pipeline and I was rocked by how good it all looks compared to even a month ago and if looked at in the light of, say, last Xmas then it's a stunning advance.
I have some paying work. Enough to keep the wolf from the door at least by the looks of it.
But more importantly there are deals in the pipeline that are real and solidifying fast. If 20% come off then all my financial and legal problems go away. If 10% come off I can eat and put a roof over my head for a year.
We're establishing a slew of new businesses - consulting and training oriented, trading and broking and even the manufacture of a simple product in Malaysia. There's even an investment fund in there if we can get our act together. If effort were a measure of success...well eat your heart out Bill Gates.
We have a strange economy here in Dubai. There's massive government interference in licencing and bureaucratic nonsense but little actual regulation. It's a pretty much free market economy - largely unfettered capitalism. If you don't make it as a business you fold. If you owe people money you go to jail. Generally - unless you're a local of course. Or the Government who are the worst payers and biggest debtors...but that's a whole other issue. The important thing though is the activity in our local market reflects the world as a whole pretty much unfiltered. And it's getting better.
New businesses are starting and old ones recovering.
Real estate and hospitality are still a mess and real estate in particular is probably in for worse yet. Hotel rates are still falling but more slowly and peak season is kicking in.
Rents have a way to fall yet. I'm glad I don't depend on rent from apartments for my living! I have a friend whose current rental income doesn't equal the service charge from the developer - Nakheel, a government entity in deep shit who doesn't understand that screwing over the landlords is destructive to its long term survival.
Final assessment? Recovering but government needs to respond more openly and stop protecting its collective arse. Help the economy as a whole and you'll all benefit.
In replying to him though, I began to list the opportunities I have in the pipeline and I was rocked by how good it all looks compared to even a month ago and if looked at in the light of, say, last Xmas then it's a stunning advance.
I have some paying work. Enough to keep the wolf from the door at least by the looks of it.
But more importantly there are deals in the pipeline that are real and solidifying fast. If 20% come off then all my financial and legal problems go away. If 10% come off I can eat and put a roof over my head for a year.
We're establishing a slew of new businesses - consulting and training oriented, trading and broking and even the manufacture of a simple product in Malaysia. There's even an investment fund in there if we can get our act together. If effort were a measure of success...well eat your heart out Bill Gates.
We have a strange economy here in Dubai. There's massive government interference in licencing and bureaucratic nonsense but little actual regulation. It's a pretty much free market economy - largely unfettered capitalism. If you don't make it as a business you fold. If you owe people money you go to jail. Generally - unless you're a local of course. Or the Government who are the worst payers and biggest debtors...but that's a whole other issue. The important thing though is the activity in our local market reflects the world as a whole pretty much unfiltered. And it's getting better.
New businesses are starting and old ones recovering.
Real estate and hospitality are still a mess and real estate in particular is probably in for worse yet. Hotel rates are still falling but more slowly and peak season is kicking in.
Rents have a way to fall yet. I'm glad I don't depend on rent from apartments for my living! I have a friend whose current rental income doesn't equal the service charge from the developer - Nakheel, a government entity in deep shit who doesn't understand that screwing over the landlords is destructive to its long term survival.
Final assessment? Recovering but government needs to respond more openly and stop protecting its collective arse. Help the economy as a whole and you'll all benefit.
13 September 2010
Well...people are kinder than you expect.
And it shows in little things. My phone ran out of credit while I was at the airport today and I couldn't buy any more till I got home. But I did have free wi-fi. So I whined about my running out to a friend by email. And she promptly stuck some credit on my phone for me from a distance and demanded a call back cuz I sounded 'down';-) Cool friend.
The staff at the hotel where I stayed recently greeted me one morning with a breakfast plate and asked me to try it before they offered it in the restaurant the next day. Why? Because they said if it was horrible I would tell them truthfully but not yell at them. And if it was nice I would be appreciative;-) Made my day. It was good btw and will be on the menu from tomorrow.
The staff at the hotel where I stayed recently greeted me one morning with a breakfast plate and asked me to try it before they offered it in the restaurant the next day. Why? Because they said if it was horrible I would tell them truthfully but not yell at them. And if it was nice I would be appreciative;-) Made my day. It was good btw and will be on the menu from tomorrow.
08 September 2010
Eid brings on philosophy
I'm good at people though I don't like them very much.
I love the wilderness though I live in the city.
I'm fond of the ice but I crave the sun.
I make money though I am unable to keep it.
I don't believe in Gods but I admire their creations.
I love the wilderness though I live in the city.
I'm fond of the ice but I crave the sun.
I make money though I am unable to keep it.
I don't believe in Gods but I admire their creations.
I've been working on a project to re-brand a hotel cum apartment block. And it's been a disaster of total misunderstanding between the consultants and the clients.
So, to us the branding is a deep thing. It represents everything the business stands for and it covers how people think, how they behave, how we approach the guests and residents, how we make decisions, what we do to make them feel good, how we decorate the building, what kind of restaurants we put in the building, what kind of uniforms we put the staff in, even the age and cultural mix of the staff, how we greet the guests, what we do differently for guests or residents, what words we use in our communication,s what colour we paint the walls, what kind of signage we use and where we put it and so on and so on through every detail of the operation and communication and interaction with staff and guests.
It's a mix of psychology, semiotics, graphics and financial analysis. It's where art meets behavioural science meets interior design meets accounting.
To the client it means a new logo and some new headed notepaper.
So to the client it's an exercise in quick and dirty graphic design. We the consultants spend a great deal of time thinking and planning and looking at every detail. One is fast and trivial. The other is slow and complex.
There's a cultural difference too. We've been concentrating on getting every detail right and setting into place processes to make sure it happens. They've been going with the flow and mixing and matching and buying at the lowest possible price at every opportunity. Value equals cheap. Quality means cheapest. Best means cheapest.
We've been talking 'Green' and 'Sustainable' and they've been buying polystyrene cups.
It's going to be a total train wreck. And it will be our fault. We're the consultant. We're the professionals. We should be able to find a way to get out ideas over to the client. We knew for ages they were lying to us but we let it ride. Now it's all going to come crashing down.
And who will suffer?
The Guests and residents. That includes me: I live there too. Shame.
So, to us the branding is a deep thing. It represents everything the business stands for and it covers how people think, how they behave, how we approach the guests and residents, how we make decisions, what we do to make them feel good, how we decorate the building, what kind of restaurants we put in the building, what kind of uniforms we put the staff in, even the age and cultural mix of the staff, how we greet the guests, what we do differently for guests or residents, what words we use in our communication,s what colour we paint the walls, what kind of signage we use and where we put it and so on and so on through every detail of the operation and communication and interaction with staff and guests.
It's a mix of psychology, semiotics, graphics and financial analysis. It's where art meets behavioural science meets interior design meets accounting.
To the client it means a new logo and some new headed notepaper.
So to the client it's an exercise in quick and dirty graphic design. We the consultants spend a great deal of time thinking and planning and looking at every detail. One is fast and trivial. The other is slow and complex.
There's a cultural difference too. We've been concentrating on getting every detail right and setting into place processes to make sure it happens. They've been going with the flow and mixing and matching and buying at the lowest possible price at every opportunity. Value equals cheap. Quality means cheapest. Best means cheapest.
We've been talking 'Green' and 'Sustainable' and they've been buying polystyrene cups.
It's going to be a total train wreck. And it will be our fault. We're the consultant. We're the professionals. We should be able to find a way to get out ideas over to the client. We knew for ages they were lying to us but we let it ride. Now it's all going to come crashing down.
And who will suffer?
The Guests and residents. That includes me: I live there too. Shame.
01 July 2010
Customer comes first?
We've had to engage with a solicitor in the UK of late. This is no mean feat since we live in the UAE and have a 3 hour time difference as well as different local working hours. So while our working day begins at 0730 here I can't speak to anyone in the solicitors' office before 1200.
So this means if I want to get anything done I need to be able to work fast and in what amounts to 1/2 a day. And of course Friday is a weekend here and Sunday a normal working day. Not so in the UK.
You'd think they would understand. It's not hard.
So I wonder why they NEVER return calls. Why they always disappear to lunch and leave no means of contacting. Why they don't make files available at least for their assistant so someone can tell you what's happening. Why they won't share their mobile number with anyone. I wonder in fact if they don't have their corporate head up their corporate fundament. Or maybe they just hate me.
They are the ones who offered to do this work on a contingency basis; I didn't ask. So they get nothing if they don't sort it out.
And I sit here thousands of miles away fuming. There's not a hope in hell I'll ever give them my company business now or point a client of mine at them. In fact I'll tell anyone who'll listen ant every opportunity what I think of them and why they should be avoided.
Gaahhhh...they make me unfeasibly cross and all it would take is to return calls when they promise and perhaps once or twice be a little pro active and not wait for me to chase and hustle!
So this means if I want to get anything done I need to be able to work fast and in what amounts to 1/2 a day. And of course Friday is a weekend here and Sunday a normal working day. Not so in the UK.
You'd think they would understand. It's not hard.
So I wonder why they NEVER return calls. Why they always disappear to lunch and leave no means of contacting. Why they don't make files available at least for their assistant so someone can tell you what's happening. Why they won't share their mobile number with anyone. I wonder in fact if they don't have their corporate head up their corporate fundament. Or maybe they just hate me.
They are the ones who offered to do this work on a contingency basis; I didn't ask. So they get nothing if they don't sort it out.
And I sit here thousands of miles away fuming. There's not a hope in hell I'll ever give them my company business now or point a client of mine at them. In fact I'll tell anyone who'll listen ant every opportunity what I think of them and why they should be avoided.
Gaahhhh...they make me unfeasibly cross and all it would take is to return calls when they promise and perhaps once or twice be a little pro active and not wait for me to chase and hustle!
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