It’s time to talk about good customer service.  While on my trip to CES in Las Vegas this week we ate at The Cheesecake Factory.  And even though they stole my idea of a hamburger coupled with macaroni and cheese they did a good job with what could have been a customer service fail.  The table placed the orders and all seemed fine.  We then got our meals and instead of my order I got a something completely different.. definitely not macaroni and cheese.

Unfortunately most companies these days would have put in the correct order and called it a day.  The manager did what should be expected but is rarely done anymore.  He quickly came over to the table and apologized.  I know it sounds silly and simple but you just don’t receive this type of reaction these days.  He also gave us a free piece of cheesecake for our trouble which wasn’t expected but appreciated.

More companies should work harder to go back to the old days where people take responsibility for their mistakes and make sure the customer is happy.  It is so easy to do the right thing, we all need to work harder at it.  Most people work harder to get out of confrontation when it is usually nowhere near as bad as they think is.  Attaboy Cheesecake Factory!

I will post more technical review on products as I dig in as the week goes.  Here is a quick update on some non technical items that I saw today.

Here is my next Audi.

Here was a cute little robot that could balance itself even when completely still.  Very impressive.

This video tells us all we need to know about why the United States is going to be relegated to playing backup quarterback in the future.  Now I am not an expert in construction or unions  (which I am not a fan) but..  Building a 30 story building in the United States would take months if not years.  The costs for a project like this would probably be 100x the amount as well.  And with the exception of a few projects there is no way work would go 24 hours a day.

China built this in 15 days… 15 days!  I know it is modular but that is ingenious not cheap.  It’s called efficiency and speed.  I don’t think all buildings should be built this way but there are plenty of projects where modular design makes a whole lot of sense.  That’s not what this is about anyway.  This is about work ethic, having a goal, getting your entire country on track etc.

Now the question is… will we continue to plod down the road until we are a past super power or will we learn from them and start innovating again?

Normally I don’t care about college politics and power.  In this case I can’t stop thinking about the Jerry Sandusky situation and Penn State.  By this time we all know the details about how Sandusky molested young boys and how Penn State and Joe Paterno knew about it but did nothing.. other than allowing him to retire a hero etc.

I think the higher ups at Penn State will eventually get what is coming to them along with Sandusky.  Now the debate is should Paterno continue to coach.  Today he decided to retire at the end of the year and in his words “with dignity”…  What?  He knew that his friend and long time co-worker was molesting a 10 year old boy on the Penn State campus.  He did the legal minimum by telling the powers that be at Penn State about the incident.  Why is he allowed finish the season “with dignity”?  I will say it again.  He knew what was going on and he didn’t call the police.  At most colleges the football coach doesn’t have that much power.  Penn State isnt’ most colleges.  Joe Paterno is a god at Penn State.  He is also responsible for setting an example for the kids he coaches.  In my opinion he is morally bankrupt for what he allowed to happen to other children because he didn’t do the right thing.

We all make mistakes but this is one that he should pay for.  He should be fired right now and kicked off campus.  He should not continue to be revered based on what he did.  He should be made an example of what he he didn’t do.

Here is a great short video about being happy from the man.. Gary Vay-ner-chuk!

“I will never stop learning. I won’t just work on things that are assigned to me. I know there’s no such thing as a status quo. I will build our business sustainably through passionate and loyal customers. I will never pass up an opportunity to help out a colleague, and I’ll remember the days before I knew everything. I am more motivated by impact than money, and I know that Open Source is one of the most powerful ideas of our generation. I will communicate as much as possible, because it’s the oxygen of a distributed company. I am in a marathon, not a sprint, and no matter how far away the goal is, the only way to get there is by putting one foot in front of another every day. Given time, there is no problem that’s insurmountable.”

From Gina Trapani of Smarterware.org

For those that know me they know I am a big fan of standing desks.  Here is another great story about them with some information on where to get one so you don’t have to have one built like I did… enjoy!

Being A Desk Jockey Makes You Sick.  Design, To The Rescue

While watching some recent TED videos I ran across the Khan Academy.  Initially I was a little disappointed Ricardo Montalban didn’t walk onstage but I got over it pretty quick.  Here is the TED Talk explaining what the Khan Academy is.

When you run across a great idea you should share it.  Pizza is one of the two or three food groups in our house so needless to say we eat quite a bit of pizza.  Now that is it clear that I am a pizza expert I wanted to share something.

Not only does the Great Value brand from Wal-Mart taste good their packaging is the best by far.  They make it so easy to just peel the top right off the plastic wrapping so your cheese and pepperoni don’t get messed up.