The MV Kalakala and Reinventing Your Business (blog.inphonite.com)

(Created for Inphonite, LLC on May 18, 2010.)

Growing up in Bremerton, Washington in the 1960’s, I often saw the green and white Washington State ferries sailing to and from Seattle. One ferry, however, stood out from among the rest due to its silver color and aerodynamic, Art Deco design. It was the MV Kalakala. “Kalakala” is a Chinook word meaning “flying bird.”

I only recently learned that the Kalakala has a fascinating history. Thanks to Kalakala.org, here is a partial time line:

•    Launched as the steam ship Peralta in 1926.
•    Burned to the main deck in an arson fire in 1933.
•    Launched in 1935 as the Kalakala, the world’s first streamlined vessel.
•    Welcomed to the Washington State Ferry fleet in 1951.
•    Retired from service in 1967.
•    Converted to a crab-processing vessel for Dutch Harbor, Alaska.
•    Converted to process shrimp and floated onto a pre-made bed of sand at Gibson Cove, Kodiak Alaska.
•    Repaired, refloated and returned to Elliot Bay in 1998 after a 32 year absence.

Today the Kalakala is moored in Tacoma, Washington and is sadly in need of repair. Steve Rodrigues, president of the Kalakala Alliance Foundation is walking across America in hopes of visiting President Obama, U.S. Interior Secretary Salazar and Director Jarvis later this month to nominate the Kalakala as a National Landmark.

The lesson I take away from the Kalakala is the need to constantly reinvent our products and services, our businesses, and even ourselves. I wish Mr. Rodrigues and the Kalakala Alliance Foundation much success in their efforts to reinvent the Kalakala. Much like the mythical Phoenix, the Kalakala literally rose from the ashes 75 years ago. It has figuratively risen from the ashes several times since. I hope to see this “flying bird” do so yet again.

Social Networking – The Virtual Stammtisch (blog.inphonite.com)

(I created this blog for Inphonite, LLC on April 2, 2010)

Stammtisch is a German term referring to a table at a restaurant or tavern where people meet at a set time, usually weekly, to discuss topics of common interest such as hobbies, local politics, or philosophy. I have never attended a real Stammtisch, but I have always been a big fan of eating food and talking with friends.

It occurs to me that social networking sites such as Facebook or LinkedIn allow you to establish a 24 X 7, virtual Stammtisch with friends, family, customers, and business associates. You can share ideas, photos, and web links – a Stammtisch without the calories! For example, Facebook helps me keep in touch with friends in places as diverse as the UK, the Czech Republic, Chile and the Philippines.

Closer to home, we recently created a Facebook Fan Page for Inphonite. I welcome you to become a Fan (and join our Stammtisch)!

If you have thoughts on social media, please share them with us.

Superior Customer Service: ServiceArizona.com (blog.inphonite.com)

(I created this post for Inphonite, LCC on April 15, 2010)

As today is Tax Day, it seems only appropriate that I should write about the government and customer service. I would like to share an example of how the government is providing excellent service.

As a citizen of Arizona, I am pleased to tell you about the great customer service provided by the Arizona Motor Vehicle Division (MVD) with its ServiceArizona.com website.

Without trying to sound like this is a MVD commercial, let me tell you that this website saves Arizona residents time, money and frustration. Here are some of the things you can accomplish online with ServiceArizona.com:

• Register to vote
• Update your address
• Order and pay for a duplicate drivers license and even express delivery
• Renew your car registration
• Request a Restricted Use 3-Day Permit online and print it on your home computer. (A Restricted Use 3-Day Permit allows the operation of an unregistered vehicle for purposes such as vehicle inspection or emissions testing.)

The homepage is clearly laid out to help you get to the exact service you need. And you can access all of this from the comfort of your Wi-Fi connection. (Now this IS starting to sound like a commercial.)

While MVD may have borrowed this line from American Airlines, I like it: “Online means no line.”

This is my third blog post regarding a government entity that provided excellent customer service. The other two posts were about Kartchner Caverns and Zion National Park. If you have examples of excellent customer service (in either the public or private sector), please share them with us.

Exceeding Expectations: The Bonsai Collection at Elandan Gardens (blog.inphonite.com)

(Created this blog post for Inphonite, LLC on October 20, 2009.)

Elandan Gardens is located just off Highway 16 near Port Orchard, Washington.  The six-acre site that is now Elandan Gardens was once only a landfill created on the shores of the Puget Sound in the 1930’s.  In 1993, the Robinson family brought in 30,000 cubic yards of sandy fill dirt and 800 tons of boulders to begin the creation of these impressive gardens.

Owner Dan Robinson has been called, “the Picasso of Bonsai” as well as, “the Father of The American School of Bonsai”. Today Elandan Gardens provides a spectacular display of flora as well as silvery dead wood, lichen-covered stone, waterfalls, and a pond.  This setting provides the perfect backdrop for Dan’s world-renowned bonsai collection.

During my visits, Elandan Gardens has never failed to exceed expectations:

• Each bonsai tree is a living object lesson that overcoming adverse conditions can result in stunning beauty.
• Dan is not afraid to challenge traditions in the pursuit of artistic creation.  He even introduced the use of power tools to the art of Bonsai.
• Although he clearly has a vision and plenty to do, Dan is always willing to take a moment to speak with you personally and answer your questions.

Dan has a passion for nature and the art of bonsai.  That passion had its genesis in Korea almost five decades ago when he began collecting Black Pine seeds. Elandan Gardens shows us what can result when one shares one’s passion with the world.

Superior Customer Service: Bug Zoo (blog.inphonite.com)

(I created this blog post for Inphonite, LLC on September 14, 2009)

As a marketer, my goal has always been to “Delight the Customer”, “Exceed the Customer’s Expectations”, or (a la Seth Godin) create a Purple Cow.  As a consumer, however, I find that only rarely are my expectations exceeded.

My expectations were far exceeded last year at the Bug Zoo during a visit to Victoria, Canada.  This is a particularly amazing accomplishment given that our other Victoria stops included Buchart Gardens and the Victoria Butterfly Gardens.  My daughter and I entered the Bug Zoo and joined a tour that was already in progress. 

I don’t think we were in the Bug Zoo for more than 10 minutes before I was holding an Emperor scorpion in my hand!  After that, I was hooked.  (OK, not literally.)  Later in the tour, I found myself volunteering to have a 400 leg millipede placed on my forehead.  One of the children on a previous tour commented, “It feels like a dancing toothbrush!”  Luckily the cockroaches and the giant tarantula remained safely in their respective displays.  Cockroaches are too fast and this particular tarantula was too big and fragile to be handled safely.

We expected our visit to the Bug Zoo to take about an hour.  We were still happy to be there over two hours later.  What made our Bug Zoo visit extraordinary was that our guide, Steve:

• Got us involved by allowing us to hold almost all of the bugs that were on display.
• Was very knowledgeable on the subject of bugs (insects, spiders, and other arthropods).
• Took time to answer every question
• Clearly loved his job.

I invite you to share an example of a product, service, or organization that has exceeded your expectations

More Lessons in Superior Customer Service: Zion National Park (blog.inphonite.com)

(I created this blog post for Inphonite, LLC on August 5, 2009)

Zion National Park is known for its breathtaking red and tan sandstone canyons carved by the Virgin River.  My family has been hiking, camping, and swimming at Zion almost every summer for the last 10 years.  My favorite activity is the hike to Angels Landing.

The National Park Service faces an ongoing challenge at Zion, “How do you accommodate nearly 3 million visitors annually, while maintaining the delicate ecosystem of this national treasure?” I believe they provide a great example of superior customer service:

•    In 2000, a propane-powered shuttle system was instituted and cars are banned from the upper canyon for seven months out of the year. This has minimized traffic congestion as well as reduced air and noise pollution. This free shuttle system also services the nearby town of Springdale, Utah.
•    The Zion Visitor Center incorporates energy efficient building concepts such as clerestory windows, a Trombe wall and a cooltower to limit energy consumption and reduce operating costs. Take a look in more detail, it's fascinating!

•    California Condors, wild turkeys, and Bighorn sheep have been introduced to the Park. The wild turkeys can often be seen by park visitors riding the shuttle.

Lessons in Superior Customer Service: Kartchner Caverns State Park (blog.inphonite.com)

(I created this blog post for Inphonite, LLC on May 11, 2009)

I recently took the hour drive from Tucson to Benson, Arizona to enjoy my second visit to Kartchner Caverns. This trip was a lesson in providing superior customer service.

(Full Disclosure: I am acquainted with a grandson of the Kartchners as well as several members of their extended family.)

The caves are still “living” in the sense that calcite formations continue to form and grow. You may even be lightly struck by a “cave kiss”, a drop of mineral-rich water, during your visit. Also, the caves are a summer home to a colony of bats.

The Park came to be because of the cooperation among the original discoverers of the caves, the Kartchner family, and the State of Arizona. Here is a link to the park’s history. As a result of vision and this cooperation, the delicate ecosystem of Kartchner Caverns is preserved, while simultaneously, thousands of visitors are able to enjoy this geological wonder each year.

Here are just a few examples of superior customer service at Kartchner Caverns:

• It is easy to purchase tickets for a given tour, either online or via telephone.
• You are encouraged to arrive one hour before your tour start time. (This is so that people like me who arrive “late” (less than 60 minutes before tour time) can still make their tour.)
• The front desk is well staffed with friendly people ready to assist you.
• There is a video presentation before the start of your tour. (This is also so that people like me who arrive “late” can still make their tour. Hint: You can see the video presentation AFTER the tour if necessary.)
• The rules you must follow are carefully explained.
• Both tours are 100% wheelchair accessible (This is quite an engineering feat.)
• The tour guides clearly enjoy what they do.

Another example of superior customer service is found at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum in Tucson. Where else can you find a world-renowned zoo/natural history museum/botanical garden open 365 days a year that dispenses free sunscreen (SPF 30)?

The key to providing superior customer service is in knowing your customer’s needs better than your customer knows them.

Learn from Vienna Public Transport and Streamline your Customer Communications

(I created this blog post for Inphonite, LLC on June 08, 2010.)

I lived in Vienna, Austria for about 12 months in the late 70s. I loved it! Vienna offered history, art, music, theater, architecture, and great food. Whether I went to see Nureyev dance in Swan Lake at the Vienna Opera House or to watch Bernstein conduct the Vienna Philharmonic, I got there using Vienna Public Transport.

Now, fast forward more than 30 years to 2010. Vienna Public Transport continues to offer access to businesses, shopping, schools, and tourist attractions.  Transportation options include light rail, subway, buses, and trams. One-way tickets are available, and passes for unlimited travel can be purchased for just 24 hours or up to a full year. With nightline buses on major routes between the hours of midnight to 5:00 a.m., Vienna Public Transport is available virtually 24 hours a day.

The Vienna Public Transport network also connects to domestic and international destinations. The airport is easily accessible by light rail, train stations are located at key points across the city, and you can even transfer to boats on the Danube River. No wonder that CNN Money recently ranked Vienna as the #1 city to live in.

Who does not want to be on the "right track" to maximum business success?  Perhaps it's no surprise that we believe that customer communications are critical to your success.  And that InphoniteVoice is critical to customer communications.

Infinite Connections
InphoniteVoice integrates with hundreds of Scheduling, Practice Management, and EMR solutions.

Many Options
Inphonite’s appointment reminder software offers options to send personalized appointment reminders via email, SMS text, phone calls, or Twitter.

Save Trees
Sending postcard reminders is slow, expensive, and wasteful. With InphoniteVoice, no trees are harmed in the making of appointment reminders.

Buy the Slice or Buy the Pie
Inphonite provides both on-premise solutions and Software as a Service (SaaS), allowing you to pay per delivered message or to buy an on-premise solution and send as many messages as you desire.

Vienna is the world’s most livable city, due in part to its transportation system. Like Vienna Public Transport, InphoniteVoice gets people where they need to be.

Superior Customer Service: In-N-Out Burger (blog.inphonite.com)

(I created this blog post for Inphonite, LLC on October 14, 2010.)

In-N-Out Burger is known for its fresh, high-quality food, spotless facilities, and first rate customer service. In addition to the standard menu, many of their customers (including me) love their secret menu. Here are some highlights:

Double-Meat, Double-Double, 3x3, 4x4 – You can order beef patty/cheese slice combinations on your burger up to 4x4.

Protein Style – Instead of a bun, the burger is wrapped in large lettuce leaves.

Flying Dutchman – Two beef patties with two slices of cheese in the middle, nothing else.

Neapolitan Shake – One shake with chocolate, vanilla and strawberry ice cream.

Raw or Grilled Onions – Self-explanatory, except that they can be served either whole (one slice) or chopped.

Animal Style – Patties are grilled with mustard, and then topped with extra spread (similar to 1000 Island dressing), pickles, tomatoes, lettuce, and grilled onions.

I recently went to In-N-Out to try their not-so-secret menu (the secret menu items print out by name on your receipt). I was already familiar with the secret menu. I doubted, however, whether they would get my order right. So I requested a Double-Double with extra grilled onions, Animal-style fries and a Neapolitan shake. Not only did they get it right, but they even offered me the shake before the rest of the meal.

OK, at around 1,600 calories, I won’t be eating *that* meal very often, regardless of how good it tastes. If InphoniteVoice had a secret menu, however, it might look something like this:

Double-Meat, Double-Double, 3x3, 4x4
Regardless of how beefed up your IVR solution needs to be, InphoniteVoice offers an on-premise edition to meet your needs – Enterprise, Server, or Desktop – and you can order as many channels as necessary.

Flying Dutchman
If you prefer an on-premise solution and your messaging needs are very basic, InphoniteVoice Lite is the solution for you.

Protein Style
If you want all the features of InphoniteVoice, but without the carbs (IT overhead), InphoniteVoice SaaS is your solution. With no long-term contract required, InphoniteVoice SaaS costs as little as $.10 per delivered message.

Neapolitan Shake
If you want to send standard vanilla messages, our Technical Support team will assist you in creating a Message Template and automating your data import. If you want to shake things up, InphoniteVoice includes a pallet of 14 telephony controls like voice prompts, record message, text-to-speech, and call transfer. Simply drag and drop these widgets onto the Message Builder to create powerful, customized message templates.

Grilled or Raw Onions
No major effort is required to peel back the layers on this one. InphoniteVoice supports your connectivity requirements – be it analog, VoIP or digital.

Animal Style
Do you want more good stuff on top of your voice reminder calls? How about email and SMS text messages with linkbacks, or direct messages from Twitter?  

In Summary
In-N-Out has the recipe for making great burgers. Their secret sauce is a total focus on customer satisfaction. If you can describe what you want and they have the ingredients, the folks at In-N-Out will try their best to make it for you (the possible exception being the 100x100).

Inphonite can assist you in delivering customized messages, whether it's vanilla appointment reminders or 1000's of emergency notifications per hour. With the ease and power of drag and drop telephony controls, you can even create your own secret menu!

Ice Cream and IVR (blog.inphonite.com)

(I created this blog post for Inphonite, LLC on January 6, 2010.)

My favorite ice cream comes from Tichy Eissalon in Vienna, Austria. Their hazelnut ice cream is arguably the best on the planet. Tichy’s offers a wide variety of other yummy flavors, even fiocco (whatever *that* is). I was a regular customer of Tichy’s in the late 70’s and go back whenever I can.

Important ingredients in Tichy’s recipe for success also apply to creating a winning Interactive Voice Response (IVR) solution:

1.    Important Connections

Tichy’s is located next to the Reumannplatz metro station on Vienna’s U1 line. It is also very close to Favoritenstrasse, a popular pedestrian shopping zone. These connections provide Tichy’s its customers.

An on-premise IVR solution should provide multiple connectivity options including analog, digital and VoIP.  Of course a SaaS IVR solution simply requires a browser and Internet access.

2.    Eat In/Take Out

Tichy’s ice cream parlor has both indoor and outdoor eating areas, as well as a takeout counter. This is where they serve their ice cream specialties, including the Eismarillenknoedel (apricot ice cream dumpling). Usually, I fight my way (it’s more of a crowd than a queue) to the takeout counter to order their fantastic ice cream.  Tichy’s appeals to customers with different wants and budgets.

An IVR system should meet the varied needs of customers, whether the customer is a single doctor practice that appreciates the minimal upfront investment of a SaaS, or a hospital using an on-premise IVR solution to cost-effectively send 100’s or even 1000’s of appointment reminders and other notifications each day.

3.    Free Product

Tichy’s is open about six months of the year, from April to early October.  On the day Tichy’s closes for the season, people wait in long lines to receive free ice cream.  Everyone is served until supplies run out.  Talk about customer appreciation!

Don’t just give people a little taste of your IVR solution, provide them with a generous free sample. (Better yet, don’t make them wait in line to get it!)

For decades,Tichy Eissalon has fulfilled their customers’ needs. They prove yet again that satisfied customers lead to a great brand and, ultimately, a successful company.

Hello World!

The launch of Sputnik 1 on October 1, 1957 marked the beginning of the Space Age.

That day also marked my official entry to the Blue Planet. I was born to David and Carolyn Harris in Bremerton, Washington. Here is a picture of me at two years:

Misha, age 2

As you can probably guess from the sailor suit, Bremerton is a naval town and the home of the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. My father worked at PSNS as an electrician for 30 years.

Besides Bremerton, I have lived in Provo, UT, Vienna, Austria, Graz, Austria, Linz, Austria, Klagenfurt, Austria, Rijeka, Croatia, Belgrade, Serbia, Columbia, SC, Hicksville, NY, Maple Valley, WA, Lynnwood, WA, Wokingham, England, and Tucson, AZ. I currently live in Layton, UT.

This August, I will celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary with my wife Heather. Our five children are Rachel, Julia, Langston, Emma, and Tressa. Last August Rachel married her husband Chris in the Mt. Timpanogoos Temple.