"My Spotify drains my phone battery", she said. "Do you listen to it on streaming or offline?", I asked. "Why, yes I do listen to it on streaming!" "So you see both the 3G access you are using and the app itself use battery. You can see battery use by app and make choices accordingly … Continue reading The age of un-empathy
Tag: customer service
Luxury’s other heritage challenge
"You never actually own a Patek Philippe. You merely take care of it for the next generation.” This well-known Patek Philippe tag line tells its customers that the brand's heritage could be part of their own as they bequeath their Patek timepieces to their future generations. (Patek Philippe's famous next-generation ad (c) Patek Philippe) One … Continue reading Luxury’s other heritage challenge
Authenticity, genuineness and the luxury brand
A friend of mine is a genuine, passionate Porsche fan. Awaken him from deep sleep and start asking him about the Porsches he has owned through the years, and you begin to see how deep his fountain of knowledge, and his genuine affection for and attachment to the brand run. (Porsche North America customer welcome … Continue reading Authenticity, genuineness and the luxury brand
Designing for ubiquity
When I first heard the term "ubiquitous computing" almost 25 years ago, it sounded magical. Computers then, I admit, didn't make it easy to imagine such a world. I frequently found myself daydreaming of the films ET and Escape To Witch Mountain (I did say it sounded magical, didn't I?) It evoked a vision of … Continue reading Designing for ubiquity
Respectful design, contemptuous design
Conversations with many friends, who are building communities for social businesses or are in other customer-facing roles, reveal a shared frustration. It appears that community builders and customer facing persons, and designers in a business are singing from different hymn sheets. Often, once the beta or whatever the business deems a shippable version of the … Continue reading Respectful design, contemptuous design
Customer service stories from America
I just got back from a few days in the Mecca of start-ups. They do things differently over there. Well they used to, till globalisation made us all the same. SCRIPTING FOR PRAISE Last week, while making a cardholder-not-present transaction with an American business, my card was declined. Twice. I told the customer service person … Continue reading Customer service stories from America
Pretty and other things about tech wading into luxury
I see a lot of chatter on Twitter about how some lollipop/ icecream/ sundae update on Android doesn't work on this device or that from different manufacturers. Then there are the workarounds, the fixes that one needs to learn, and consequent boasts on Twitter. And the many exhortations to do factory reset and start from … Continue reading Pretty and other things about tech wading into luxury
Is care in design exclusionary and elitist?
The monograph last week generated much conversation. And some observations that caring in design and craftsmanship was all about expensive pieces made for the few, not for the masses. Seeing the examples that I cited, it is not entirely inconceivable to think of caring and craftsmanship as the preserve of the few. But that couldn't … Continue reading Is care in design exclusionary and elitist?
Caring — an antidote to mindless consumerism?
I disagreed with a few things that Jonathan Ive said in his talk at the Design Museum. But there was one thing he said with which I agree fully: "It’s made better. There is an integrity there. I really truly believe that people can sense care. And in the same way they can sense carelessness. … Continue reading Caring — an antidote to mindless consumerism?
Digital (and the) luxury consumers
The web, as I see it, is Ginger Rogers to the world's Fred Astaire. Just as she did everything he did, but backwards and in high heels, the web does/ has everything the world does/ has but visibly, frictionlessly, faster. But then those two too were role-playing. In the make-believe world of celluloid. With its … Continue reading Digital (and the) luxury consumers
