Consumer Maven

DTV Converters and DVD/R set ups

I've never been a fan of waiting until the last minute, so I redeemed my DTV Converter coupon and purchased my converter box.  Now for any of you who know me personally, you are no doubt rolling your eyes and wondering how anyone so into high tech gadgets and having geek DNA could possibly want to continue using 'rabbit ears,' but that is my preference!

Setting up the converter box was relatively easy, although I should remind anyone reading this that is planning to do the same, that they need to purchase audio visual cables.  Radio Shack has them in stock as would most stores that sell electronic equipment.  The converter I purchased, by Philco, came with an antennae cable which I appreciated, since I've had problems in the past finding them.

The main point of why I am writing about this is that there seems to be a dearth of information out there about the other side of our forced compliance in going with HDTV signals.  It's called compatibility.  While the TV part of the connection, passing through the DVD/R,  went well there was a problem when we tried to view the television using the DVD/R.  When I hooked up our DVD/R and tried to get a television signal through it, it looked as if we had no antennae whatsoever.  I checked the connections multiple times, called Philco's tech support and all I could say was that between the two of us, we beat it to death and could only say that it was connected properly.

This morning I did some online research on and discovered that I needed to get a DVD/R that either had upscaling abilities or one that could handle HDTV.  The one I had could only handle ATSC, so the HDTV signal coming through the wire was basically useless.   So for those of us who actually need to record TV programs, come February 2009 we will have needed to have switched to cable or purchased a DTV converter AND purchased a new DVD/R if our current one only handled ATSC.  So for us, this required format conversion is not just costing us a converter box but an additional expenditure of over $200 for a new DVD/R, and that is NOT covered by any government converter coupons.

Resources:
http://hometheater.about.com/od/dvdrecorderfaqs/f/dvdrecgfaq14.htm
Solid Signal.com (Digital Converter Boxes)
JR.com (HDMI/HDTV upscaling technology DVD/Rs)

I've personally dealt with JR.com many times and have always been pleased with their service and the knowledge level of their sales people.  Solid Signal I discovered as a result of needing a Digital Converter Box.  Their customer service is very good and their tech support was also very good.  We would definitely shop at either again.

Cliptomania Clip on Earrings: Revisited

I love businesses that not only try to "get it right" but do things so well that they create customer evangelists.  I've written about Cliptomania before, but after a recent experience with them, I felt it only appropriate to revisit this small and growing company.

We recently  interviewed Candy Santo, one of the owners of Cliptomania and would like to share our interview with you.  For the uninitiated, Cliptomania is the place on the Internet to find ear rings for us girls who do not have pierced ears.  They not only have a stellar selection for all ranges of budgets, but an equally interesting selection in terms of colors, gemstones, and fashion needs.

Consumer Maven:  Can you tell me more about when and how you got started?  What was your inspiration for  starting your business???

Candy Santo:  The idea for Cliptomania arose from my husband's attempt to find me  nice earrings for our 30th anniversary in 1998.  We were living in the New York metropolitan area and not only could he not find anything, but they laughed at him at Macy's.  He thought that maybe this was a need that an Internet store could fill.  Our oldest was already out on his own and our daughter was in college and he thought a small Internet business would be a good counter to the empty nesting. 

After a year of study and planning, we opened our online store on Thanksgiving Day 1999.  Looking back, we were so naive that it is a miracle that we are still in business!  Had we tried it just 2 years later when online selling had taken off and start-ups were much more difficult and expensive, we're pretty sure it wouldn't have worked.   It helped that neither of us quit our day jobs and business was light enough then that our daughter could help while continuing her studies. One of our best assets, however, was my several decades of non-profit management which provided a good knowledge base for growing our little business.

Consumer Maven:  Are you in  partnership or sole proprietership?  What are your overall goals in terms of business growth?

Candy Santo:  Where we are now with a customer base of approximately 20,000 is something we never imagined and on most days more than half our customers are first timers so it looks like there's more growth ahead.  In addition to the 3 owner/operators (Christy & I are now full-timers & then some) Cliptomania - an LLC - employs 2 full-time and 5 part-timers.

Our primary goal is to be the Kleenex of clip earrings.
Secondary goals are:
... to provide a range of styles that makes it possible for a customer to find at least 2 pair of earrings they want to buy whenever they come into our store; 

... to image and describe the earrings in such a way that the customer gets what they expected (that this goal is being attained is demonstrated by the fact that less than 5% of what we sell is returned to us.)

... to provide outstanding customer service, giving customers the feeling they are shopping in a good local jewelry store

We couldn't meet these goals - particularly the range of products offered - if we were making them ourselves. So at any given time I'm dealing with at least 40 manufacturers, importers and designers.  I have a core group that have been key parts of our success as they have been willing and able to provide products that meet the unique needs of an Internet store.

Thank you Candy, and thanks for a great shopping experience!!

Cliptomania:  http://www.cliptomania.com

The Consumer Maven isn't the only fan here!  Check out the Tamale Chica Chronicles for another customer evangelistic perspective.

How was your shopping experience?

A few weeks ago I was at my local Whole Foods when, at the checkout, the cashier looked at me and said, 'And how was your shopping experience?'  I nearly dropped my organically raised produce when he said that.  Oh ohhhh, have I been busted???  Because the Consumer Maven is all about assessing the customer's shopping experience, it almost seemed like a kowinkydinky moment.  Ironically, just a month before this they had this one woman cashier who had the personality of a twice dead zombie and the warmth to go with it.  I dealt with her once and vowed never to go through her line ever, even if it there were no people in it and every other line was 20+ deep.  Fortunately she seems to have left for the night of the living dead.

So back to the question, "How was your shopping experience?"  Lately at "my" Whole Foods, it's been very good.  In the past, what struck me was that while the seperate service areas such as fish, meats, supplements, etc. were very service oriented, the customer service and cashier areas had been somewhat spotty and occasionally unpleasant.  So far whatever changes that had been made about half a year ago seem to be, with the exception of the zombie woman, providing a good customer service level, one that we'd expect for a store whose claim to fame is higher standards.  In fact, my last few experiences at the customer service desk were great, as have been the cashier areas. 

It is interesting that this is a question that some stores and business should dare not ask unless they are truly prepared to stand behind change.  At least at Whole Foods, they had the guts to ask it.

Robbins Brothers Jewelers Lincoln Park

A friend of mine has a family member who was hired by a jewelry company that opened up three stores in the Chicago area.  Two are in the suburbs and one is in the city.  When my friend’s family member was first hired, this person was enthusiastic, excited and passionate.  This is about the days that led to the dying of this passion. 

From what I was told, of the three stores, the Lincoln Park location was expected to be, no pun intended, a crown jewel.  A jewelry store in Lincoln Park would easily be expected to fit that billing, considering the high income level and demographics of that neighborhood.  When Chicagoans think of Lincoln Park, they think of young, upwardly mobile professionals, people with high incomes and a good amount of disposable income, and those who are able and willing to spend money on luxury items.  When we Chicagoans think of Lincoln Park, we think of north Halsted, Clark street, and in the general fashionista districts  close to DePaul.  It is that walkable area best served by high foot traffic. 

Herein is problem number one:  location, location, location, or rather, lack of it.  Their  "Lincoln Park" is actually not in the Lincoln Park that we think of, but on the 2100 block of North Elston.  This is an area best reserved for those planning a big box retailer trips by car.  Location wise, this is not Lincoln Park in terms of Trixies and the trendanistas and people who normally walk to their boutique stores. 

This leads into problem number two.  Besides their obviously stellar poor choice in geographic location, there appears to be a problem in effectively reaching the demographic of 'buyers of engagement rings.'  I was told that they were advertising on stations to reach 20-30 year olds.  This is an interesting choice, since people get married at all ages.  WE also know that the boomer market is graying and this segment is in the remarriage market.  Also, people delay their marriages, often focusing on developing their careers first, creating a demographic segment that easily ranges from 30-40 plus.  In marketing WOM (word of mouth), one doesn’t just want to reach the end consumer, because brand awareness is important for 'influencers' as well.  Influencers can be parents, friends, mentors, relatives, as well as consumer experts, etc. 

I was told that they did do “something” in the area of public relations, so I agreed to take a look at it for this person.  If they are spending money on marketing for the Chicago store, it doesn't appear to provide any long range benefit (read: brand building), nor does it appear to have any strategic focus.  It appears to have been done just for attention, otherwise known as publicity.  This included publicity during their opening day (Lincoln Park), and ramping up some attention getting aspects for Valentine's Day.   One shot publicity events are not brand builders.  Effective marketing is all about creating the customer experience, which also goes to creating an atmosphere by employees.  If employees are unhappy and disgruntled and are treated unfairly, or there is a perception that they are being treated unfairly, this creates a pallor.

Enthusiasm and passion are energies that translate from employees to the store and create 'atmospherics.'  There are other things that create atmospherics too, but employee 'energy' is a big part of it, and if it's faked the customer feels it, which encourages them to flee.  That creates negative "word of mouth," and no business strives for that.  This is a company that really need to invest money in developing a marketing strategy and public relations (not publicity) campaign and implement the type of programs that will make their company stand out and give people a reason to go to the Lincoln Park store.  The way things look right now, it's NOT a destination store.

Why are we writing about them?  Because a business that opens up effects not only the people that work there, but their families and the community is serves.  In this one example, a family member of a dear friend of mine was affected by their poor decision making.  Their errors in decision making led to downsizing and people losing their jobs, which in turn has effected their families.  We are also posting this blog on the oft chance that someone who is in their corporate headquarters is not well informed about what is going on here in Illinois, and wonders why a store in a supposed "hot" locale is yielding cold sales.

John Okumura

I was sad to hear about John Okumura, a man who lived honestly, honored his committment to quality and was one of the best of his generation of architectural woodworkers.  We recently found out about a memorial website that was done by the family, and we'd like to share it with you.  The beauty of the work that he produced is more than evident, as he put his energy and life force into all of his creative endeavors.  He is, as one of his past employees commented, considered the "Mr. Miyage of Japanese architectural woodworking."  Click here to check out the memorial website of the work of John Okumura.  Our heartfelt condolences to the family.  Because of what he did for a living, we are grateful that there is certainly one of his works, the Japanese wood joinery and gate at Osaka Gardens in Chicago's Jackson Park, that we can all enjoy.  The beauty and splendor of traditional wood joinery, right here in Chicago...who knew???

Chicago Police Officer Mike Mette Defense Fund

For those of you who haven't seen my blog on what happened to Officer Mike Mette you can catch-up.

For those of you who want to help, check out the Mike Mette Defense Fund.

For those of you who just need to know the short version:  this man was unjustly ruled against and given an amazingly preposterous jail sentence that defies common sense and human decency.  I encourage all of you to read what happened to him.  If it happened to him, it can easily happen to any of us. 

How do you define justice?

This morning I came across John Kass's column in the Chicago Tribune, "Finally, wronged cop gets some support."  Admittedly I've been a very, very busy girl, dealing with some major family issues, deaths in the family and 'life' in general, so I remember reading his earlier column and then forgetting about it.  John, thank you for today's column. 

Part of John Kass's column is here:  " Last Sunday I told you about Mette trying to repeatedly avoid conflict, being chased down the street, then getting pushed hard by the drunk "two or three times," according to the judge's own ruling, before punching the drunk once. And for that he gets 5 years?

"To all the people who read your column, words can't express how it makes me feel to have this much support," Mette said. "Everybody is calling. It's in the news now, and it's tough to describe how good the support makes me feel. I just want people to know that I appreciate them."  So many of you have called and written, I figured it was time for an update. But Mette doesn't have much time.

He's losing his job as a Chicago police officer. If something isn't done, he'll report for prison Nov. 9 and meet the inmates, who'll know he's a cop. 

And what do you say?   "I say I can't believe this is happening, either. But I'm going to prison for defending myself, for landing one punch on somebody who attacked me with both fists? That's what I can't believe."

A defense fund has been established, the Michael Mette Defense Fund, at Northwest Community Credit Union, 7400 N. Waukegan Rd., Niles, IL 60714. And Chicago's Fraternal Order of Police -- the police union -- has come to his side."

Originally I noted the link for the full article by John Kass, but it has been archived.  The Second City Sarge blog has listed reproduced Kass's article here:  http://secondcitysarge.blogspot.com/2007/10/mike-mette.html

I for one, will be both making a contribution and putting in my prayers.  For those of you who are more into praying than donating, please ask that those who are in a position to help Officer Michael Mette be inspired to do so.  In my prayers and thoughts, this includes all who have made errors in judgment...may they be big enough as human beings to recognize what they have done and to turn this around and make it right.

While many of you probably wonder why I am writing this in my Consumer Maven blog, the answer is simply this.  We are all consumers of police protection.  I have friends who are Officers.  Okay, so my current boyfriend is one.  Does that make me overly sensitive about stories in the media involving police officers??  You bet it does, but only because I hear both sides now.  And yes I've had run ins with traffic cops who in the past were less than nice, but I've also (before my current connections) had some incredibly kind officers whose humanity helped me get through some tragic events in my life.  It is the latter that I will always remember, and which helped me have a huge measure of respect for the men in blue, the Officers on the street of the Chicago Police Department.  Yes, there are bad apples - we all know that.  Because these men are in uniform, we expect and hold them to a higher standard.  But because they are in uniform, I know that they deal with unfathomable amounts of seeing human misery, of death, of violent crimes, of things unspeakable that most of us would reel from if we had to see one of them.  Most of these officers see a lot of this, and often daily.  For this, for what you all do and your service to us all, I thank you. 

UPS and FEDEX service decline?

Since last fall, I noticed that UPS stopped ringing my doorbell when they deliver, and worse yet, they would just 'drop' the packages in the foyer.  Since I live in the city, I always preferred UPS deliveries to the Post Office since they would hand delivery everything and it wouldn't just sit out in the open.  In the past, we've had packages left in the foyer stolen by passersby, so the drive and dump mode is not a good thing here. 

We had a great UPS guy before.  In fact, we had a great substitute driver that took over his route part of the time when our regular driver changed routes.  I was talking with one of my neighbors, a retired UPS Supervisor who commented that FED-EX was doing the same thing, and we thought that perhaps it was driver specific.  Then a friend of mine in another neighborhood commented that the UPS driver was also doing the drive and drop delivery method, as well.  Since I appreciate a driver ringing my bell and bringing the darn thing upstairs (especially when it involves a case of printing paper), I was dismayed to experience what seemed like a decline in service levels.

Last week I called UPS at one of their operations centers.  It turns out according the the UPS person I spoke to, IDOT (the Illinois Department of Transportation) reduced the amount of hours that a driver can be on the road per day, from 12 to 11 hours.  Anyone who ever knew a UPS driver knows that they work long hours, that they hit the road very early and that they have to be back by 8pm so that their packages can be unloaded and processed and retransported to whatever hubs they need to go to.  So basically, the drivers have to do what they did in 12 hours in 11 hours, or some semblance of that.  Now if that is true, I can understand why the service level went from personalized delivery to what my postman does, which is to drop it off in the hallway. 

That being said, today my FEDEX delivery guy rang my bell and schlepped up a heavy box for me.  Truck to driver to recipient package delivery isn't all dead yet, Hallelujah! 

Finally, Asian Americans as Real People!

 

A "shopping experience" that I've not touched on in the Consumer Maven is the subject of entertainment, particularly what is brought to the masses.  Because most ethnic subcultures tend to live in urban and metropolitan areas, the perceptions of minorities by the general population is strongly influenced by what the media shows.  Because the entertainment media has been very slow to include Asian Americans, Native Americans and Latinos as they live and breathe as 'real' people with 'real problems, emotions and experiences and growth' (just like 'everyone else'), I find it even more important that they take responsibility in how minorities here are portrayed.  African Americans, who have also long fought the way they have been portrayed, have been finally getting better programming options.  These have not necessarily come from the major networks themselves, who seem to be a few beats behind and continue to do the 'same old' same old.  Those options have been opened up by African Americans themselves, many of those shows being on the CW.  It's been refreshing to see how successful African Americans are sharing their success in improving the quality of entertainment programming for all Americans.  Personally I've been a fan of the shows that the Waynans have produced, and I look forward to more diversity as that door gets opened wider and wider.

    

     In that spirit, I want to share that I just saw Eric Byler's film short entitled, "My Life Disoriented."  Eric Byler, whose ancestry is half Chinese, brings a unique perspective.  Though short, it has to be his best work to date. I was very disappointed that PBS in Chicago (WTTW) rescheduled the air date for 2:30 am, but thankful that I could record it. The film centers on an Asian American family that has to relocate from San Francisco to Bakersfield, where there are far fewer Asian Americans. Byler and writer Clair Yorita Lee address issues head on that Asian Americans across the country face, and issues that ALL teenagers experience.  The film deals with how we face our issues, grow from them, find a sense of who we are, develop our concience and our sense of conciousness, and learn who we are in this world and who we want to be.  Byler's film covers all the important emotive areas that shape our lives from teenagers to adults.

     It is also with great relief that Byler, along with his generation of Asian American film makers, are bringing to the American public films that are rooted in reality. For most Caucasians, they see themselves reflected back in the entertainment media and have done so since television first aired entertainment, and since they can probably remember seeing a film. For Asian Americans, it is an entirely different and wondorous experience to finally see people who they can relate to visually, but are also not forced stereotypes with accents and boilerplate situations.  I was excited to see this on television, even if it was at the UnGodly hour of 2:30 am. 

     Perhaps someday, a major network will also grow up and carry a series the likes of Byler's "My Life Disoriented." For now, we can only hope many, many people of all races and ancestry see this fabulous film short. For those who don't have Asian American friends, this may be their only shot at really 'seeing' and experiencing Asian Amercians in all their complexities, their family situations and their mixed race relatives, who for once are also given a voice.

My thanks to my good friend, Cultural Edge for sharing her comments with me.  For a clip of the film check out My Life Disoriented on YouTube.

Lovemarks, Love Bytes and Law Office Software

The study of consumer behavior fascinates me.   Doing field observationals on how people shop reveals physical behavior patterns that help understand the purchasing process.  Understanding why and how people buy is important to getting sales.  Despite this, it is customer satisfaction with the product that can make or break a company’s long term success.  Customer satisfaction isn’t just a survey at the end of the purchase cycle.  It is so much more than that:  it is the sum total of the buying or shopping experience.

For business software, usually the shopping experience is about finding the right software, installing it, and learning how to use it with varying degrees of success.  If another package hits the market and we’re not enthralled with what we have, we often look to see what else is out there and often we replace what isn’t completely working to our needs.  Of the business software on the market today, there are few that were the leaders when they first were released.  For anyone who used the predecessors to MS Office Productivity Software in the 1980s, we all remember multitudes of programs that no longer exist today.  The same can be said for most other user applications. 

An exception to this is Needles, a law office case software program designed to manage cases.  The Needles software was first launched in 1985 under the name PINS, which stood for Personal Injury Negligence System.   Chesapeake Interlink, Ltd., a company already familiar with the application needs of business users, was approached by a group of attorneys who wanted customized software for their practice.  The PINS software was the first case management software to hit the market.  Ten years later, when many software companies disappeared from this application’s landscape, the firm launched Needles, which runs on a PC platform.  In 2005, the company celebrated its 20^th year of business in providing attorneys and law offices a product that they love.  Yes, I said LOVE. 

There are few things more unlikely than to think that attorneys and their staff can find love in a byte, until I heard about the Needles experience.  Customer experiences with one company become a sum of memorable events.  When it comes to software, not all companies can provide consistently positive memories.    In February of 2005, Chesapeake Interlink, Ltd. sponsored a contest  in which customers were asked to finish the sentence, “I love my Needles because…”  Clearly Chesapeake Interlink, Ltd. and Needles have earned much customer love.  When I was given a copy of the book of over 180 responses, (Needles has about 400 client testimonials in total and that number is always growing) I was intrigued at the type of comments. 

Written primarily by attorneys or their paralegals, Needles users proclaimed their love for the software and for the Company.  Apparently the system is so well designed in serving the needs of law offices that it has the ability to capture all pertinent information related to any case and provide any information on any case with relative ease.  Their to-do list, the heart of the system and the love of any calendar aficionado keeps a practice humming and on schedule, without concerns that missed deadlines or statues will be blown.  Needles was frequently credited for: ‘getting my life back,’ ‘being able to provide superior client service,’ and ‘knowing what I need to know when I need to know [it].”  Other comments included outright proclamations of love for Needles, because “Needles loves me back.”  When was the last time you said that about your office software?

In his book titled, “LOVEMARKS,” Kevin Roberts, CEO Worldwide of Saatchi & Saatchi, refers to trademarks that have emotional connections and love. Roberts also makes it clear that where love and products are concerned, love must be also earned.  I was struck at how much of what defined a LOVEMARK also defined the Needles software experience.  Roberts states that companies must be passionate, involve their customers, celebrate loyalty, tell and retell great stories and accept responsibility.  All of these define Chesapeake Interlink, Ltd. and their relationship with customers.  

The firm gives superior customer service in many areas.  The sales staff doesn’t push to “sell” their product.  They help prospective customers understand how Needles can help make their practice better.  The training department doesn’t provide mass training for groups of users, but helps law offices, insurance companies and other users so that the system is set up for their business requirements.  Needles is highly customizable; user configurations then become highly personalized.  Not surprisingly, while Needles has converted customers from other case management programs, they have never lost a customer to a competitor.  Calls to the company will never leave you in voice mail jail.  Are you ready for this??? A person, yes, a living, breathing human being answers all calls and makes sure you get taken care of.  Needles upgrades come primarily from the input of their client user base.  The firm has a Customer Advisory Board.  How much better than that can you get?

You can check them out either at their corporate website, Needles Case Management Software for Law Offices, or their press site, which includes several customer stories about attorneys who love their case managment software programs.