I’ve always been a fan of “artificial intelligence,” starting with an elementary robot that looked like an erector set in motion. I was a small child, and my next-door neighbor had discovered a way to repurpose the robot to function as a TV remote. Pretty cool and heady stuff back then. Today’s technology is both […]
Time was, big ad agencies held sway over consumers with grandiose claims of product and service excellence. Quite often, the claims were exaggerated or downright false. But, until a groundswell of consumer sentiment hit the headlines, a grassroots activist went on the warpath, or an investigative reporter uncovered falsehoods, the ads, PR campaigns, and promotional […]
Winston Churchill said, “We are masters of the unsaid words, but slaves of those we let slip out.” Words matter both for what is and isn’t said, and how. Donald Trump provides a high-profile reminder of the impact of words, and the consequent critical effect they can have on our lives. Trump, whose behavior often […]
Am I reading this correctly? Did the US President actually ask during an immigration meeting with Senate and House members, “Why do we want all these people from ‘shithole countries’ coming here?…Yes, he said ‘shithole countries’ — apparently in reference to the fact that immigrants from places like El Salvador, Haiti and Africa were being […]
by Mark Lusky Originally published in Label and Narrow Web, April 2017 Between CRM technologies, customer-facing protocols verging on obeisant, and attempted customer service upselling, the customer service mindset is getting really confusing. There are data mining, tracking and training challenges galore. And that’s just for the customer service workforce. The poor customer often is […]
by Mark Lusky Originally published in Label and Narrow Web, October 6 2017 Most of us know the drill. We donate once to a “worthy cause,” then are bombarded with pleas for additional contributions via emails, snail mail, text or a combination of the three. What started out as a satisfying gift often turns into […]
I have just returned from a lovely 6-day tropical paradise, topped off by one of the most enjoyable flights (if not the most enjoyable) I’ve ever taken. Southwest Airlines gets it. That’s why they continue to fly sky high while many other airlines flail and fail. That’s why I’d rather pay to fly on Southwest […]
Recently, I came unglued when I found a small dog locked inside a car with all the windows up. While the dog seemed fine, I couldn’t fathom who would be stupid enough to do this in hot weather. When the owner appeared, I berated her for her stupidity and committed to calling the cops if […]
People who try to do the right things are finding themselves penalized time and time again, while lying, deceitful misfits get away with murder—sometimes literally.
That’s the standard set by Donald Trump, and it’s being emulated in businesses and interpersonal interactions across the land. Of course, this is nothing new. For example, how many times do you ask a question of a retailer and get an accurate, complete response? But, it’s indicative of a deeper malaise—lack of regard for the […]
