successful home working
Posts tagged customer service
Home workers’ views Central to these plans
14
Just before Christmas I had a chat with James Layfield of Central, which he describes as ‘a new kind of workspace. It’s for anyone who is out and about and wants to touch down to do some work. We’re super flexible and we’ve got no minimum contracts, so you can come in for 10 minutes or 2 years’.
James knows he’s not going to get everything right from the word go, which is why the logo currently contains the word ‘beta’. He’s being refreshingly open about Central’s plans and is sharing everything – from layouts to furniture and lighting – in an attempt to make it as close as possible to what users want and need before the first Central opens in London in April. He’d like you, as home workers, freelancers, Jelly fans and occasional coworkers to let him know what you think of his ideas, and what you’d ideally like from a space like his.
Don’t be put off if you live miles from London, either, James has plans for rapid expansion, so Central could be opening in your local town sooner than you think!
Have a look at the plans on the Central site or Facebook page and leave your comments there, or here as usual, or you can e-mail me or James if you’d prefer not to go public. How often do you say of a new business “Well, it’s good, but it could be so much better. Why don’t they just ask the people who are going to use it?’ Well, now’s your chance to influence what happens at Central.
I’ve already mentioned a couple of points about people being welcomed in off the street and whether mobile phone calls will be allowed in all areas. Have you got any likes/dislikes about working in a coworking space that you think James should know about? He’s looking forward to hearing them.
Moving in more ways than one
2
It’s been a long haul, but I’m now established in another home office, complete with broadband – yay! When I think about moving house ( which I hope I won’t have to do for a while now) I always think about packing up all our stuff and moving the furniture. If only that was the extent of it. As my Twitter friend @HeatherBestel has pointed out, it’s getting all the systems sorted out that takes up so much time and energy.
A dealt with the broadband provision, as an ex-BT man who speaks the lingo. In the end we got connected a day before their estimate, but by that time he felt like he’d crawled up the road dragging the cable himself.
A smooth-talking individual at Southern Electric persuaded me they would organise a flawless transfer of services at the new property. In fact they have messed up everything they were supposed to do and now are ignoring my repeated requests to call me back with a courtesy update. I might as well stand and shout into a big pit until I’m hoarse for all the impact my many phone calls have had.
And you have to learn about so many new things – which keys fit which doors, where to put everything, how to set the timer for the boiler when there’s no manual (and you’re not yet online). Have you noticed your body has a memory? In a familiar house you sleepwalk downstairs in the morning and your body automatically carries out the regular breakfast-making tasks, reaching for the bowls, cereal, coffee and spoons. In a new house it wants to continue the same actions, but everything’s in a different place, so it lurches around and jolts me into grumpiness, never a good start.
But the good news is that now we’re into our second week here and so the newness is wearing off and I’m starting to pick up the threads of working life and make contact with people again, via email and on Twitter. And it’s people who make all the difference, regardless of how well your household systems are working.
The customer’s revenge
4Ever felt on the point of exploding with rage and frustration when a faceless bureaucracy keeps you hanging on the line listening to inane music, only to cut you off just before you get to the top of the queue, or refuses to deal with a minor request because ‘that’s not how the system works’?
Dave Carroll, a Canadian musician, didn’t just get mad, he got musical and wrote a catchy tune, accompanied by a comic video, when his guitar was broken by careless baggage handlers on a United Airlines flight:
After a year of trying to get the airline to accept responsibility, he posted the film on Youtube and it’s now had over 4 million hits. And you know what? United have offered to pay for the repairs. Not only that, but the song is now one of the most downloaded iTunes in Canada. Internet revenge is sweet.
What do you think of ‘My Bank Took My Money and Left It in Limbo for More Than Two Weeks Before Paying It to Barclaycard Late’? Could do with a little more work perhaps.
Customers in Your Home
22 years ago
Maria and Anne have recently posted comments on the subject of customers coming into the home, and this morning, as I was tidying the kitchen in preparation for some associates of A’s coming for a meeting, I was reminded of an experience we had that might be worth passing on.
I have always aimed to be ready by the time of the appointment, which seems fair enough. Even so, despite your best intentions, it can sometimes be a scramble to get the house tidy before the client arrives. You prepare what is needed for the appointment, whether it’s paperwork or materials, and then realise the carpet needs a quick vacuum or the bathroom is scuzzy!
But what if the client is actually early? And not just a couple of minutes, but seriously early, when you are still shoving things into cupboards or finishing the washing-up. For some reason it had never occurred to me it might happen. I suppose I just assumed that if someone driving to see us was that early, they would pull off the road and make some calls, read the paper or something. It’s not like going to an office, where there is a reception area, or the doctor’s, where there’s a waiting room. This is our home, and even friends don’t turn up that early when they’ve been invited.
But looking at it from the client’s point of view, they are coming to see a professional and if they happen to be early, then they expect the professional to accommodate it in some way. They are concerned with their business, or their health, the reason they are seeing you, not whether the kids have been packed off to nursery yet or there are still cups on the breakfast table.
So now, I try to be ready at least 15 minutes before the time arranged, to avoid that heart-lurching moment when the bell rings and you think ‘No, it can’t be…’
