My friend the Recruiting Animal has challenged me to a duel, and he did it right out in the open, in front of all my peers. OK, I’m not sure that any of them want to be considered my peers, but heck he includes a bunch of noted Internet personalities along with me.
Just to bring you up to speed, The Animal is convinced that the recruiting bloggers have no influence. To that I say balderdash. Not only am I influencing the candidates and clients within the restaurant industry, but the influence of this blog has spread to at least two other industries (that I know of.) My article on customer service “What can broken eyeglasses teach us about customer service?” was made required reading by the manager of a call center (who just happens to be a resident of BC, a fellow countryman of the Animals’ and therefore a sterling source of evidence) that employs over 250 agents. And recently I found out that my article was featured in a prominent blog in the funeral industry – Final Embrace. So Animal, I can ask them for a discount for you after our grudge match on Wednesday. 😛
For those of you who are interested, the radio show will air at 12 PM EST on Wednesday March 7th.
The Segment ID is 14974 and the call in number is (646) 652-2754.
I’m not sure when the pay-per-view will be scheduled, but I’ve heard that Animal is in discussions with DirectTV and OnDemand. Hope to see you there!
Hi! It’s Tim from Final Embrace.
I’m sure my readers will be happy to provide a “healthy” discount to the loser of your match.
Your blog has had an impact, at least on my site. I’m always looking for bloggers who speak clearly and intelligently about important universal subjects. And I strongly believe that almost any piece of “Business Advice” can be applied to my industry (funeral home management) and any other.
Of course, if I still ran a quick service restaurant (night manager of a Miami Subs after college) I’d be writing about how to handle a customer who complains about their burger, rather than someone upset about their loved one’s cremation.
Are the two the same? Surprisingly, YES. While someone who has experienced a death is emotionally raw, they still react well to a sincere apology.
Bottom line: people make mistakes, regardless of the industry. But consumers are forgiving when the mistake-maker (is that a word?) is genuine.
My goal, in blatantly stealing your ideas and linking to your site, is to encourage funeral professionals to think outside the box (oops – no casket pun intended) about the ways other industries handle customer relations.
Gee Whiz, Carlton. Is that all ya got? Tell the Mrs you might not make it home on Wednesday. And bring a lot of friends.
Tim, I’m very happy to have folks take my ideas and run with them. As I blogged in my follow-up post, customer service is a universal imperative… even in your business.
Thanks for reading and thanks for commenting. Hope to see more of you. -Carl
Carl,
You’ve already been an influence to me….and I’m not in the food industry. Sounds like a challenge you can win…shouldn’t be any harder than some of the stuff you went through over 30 years ago on the banks of the Severn.
Pat
Pat, you should call in too. I’m hungry.
Carl,
I’m a manufacturing/process industry guy and your blog has had an influence on me most assuredly. (Lousy grammar on my part, but you get it.) I am sending your series on “Ten Ways to Make Recruiters Love You” to all my job search friends (none of whom is either a recruiter or a chef).
Kent
Hey Kent! Thanks for letting me know. Glad the thing will be useful. -Carl