Yesterday Questar announced the capability for our current and future clients to seamlessly integrate sentiment and text analytics into their customer experience measurement programs. And we couldn't be more thrilled, to tell the truth, because this is no small announcement. Why, you ask?   Well, let me tell you a little more about Questar's new friend, Clarabridge.   Where to start...how about here: Clarabridge is the leading provider of text analytics solutions to track and improve the customer experience. Period. They provide Global 1000 companies with the ability to automatically collect classify and apply sentiment analysis on text-based verbatims found…

Here I am, Tuesday night at a major retailer. I'll be in and out in a jiffy, I tell myself—just need one thing, that's all.   "Can I help you find anything, sir?" a young employee asks me as I enter the store. "Nope. I'm good. Thanks." "Can I help you find anything?" another employee asks me twenty seconds later. "Nope. I'm good. Thanks." "Can I help you find anything?" Another employee. "Nope. I'm good. Thanks."   It was at that moment—thirty seconds before another "Can I help you find anything?"— that I asked myself "can there really be too…

Every encounter with a customer – whether it is face-to-face, over the phone, through the mail, in email, etc. – is an opportunity to build company credibility and put to rest any post-sale jitters that sometimes come with making a large purchase.   I recently bought a new vehicle. Putting on my customer experience management hat and reflecting on what I encountered, there were soooooo many missed opportunities to positively engage me as a customer. The whole experience turns out to be a great case study in how NOT to cultivate a positive relationship with a new customer and gain…

A few weeks back, Joe Stanton wrote a blog entitled "Return...I Don't Think So." He told us two stories of recent shopping experiences, one he had while returning a stuffed toy and one his friend "Mike" had while returning a blue ray player. Both returns were done at different national retailers. Mike had an awful experience with his return while Joe had a great experience. Would they shop at these stores again? Mike claimed he would never shop at the store where he had the poor return policy experience. Joe, on the other hand, said he would definitely shop at…

Note: stick with me here in the beginning. I know what you'll be thinking in a second: quit with the sales pitch. I only do it to provide a context for my experience from the other day. I promise. Well, sort of...   At Questar, we measure the customer experience. We help our clients deliver a consistent, superior experience for their customers, because consistent, superior experiences breed customer loyalty. And loyalty equates to sales growth.   It's what we do.   In our industry, customers are typically invited to provide feedback through transaction-based invitations, meaning that you purchase a good…

Fad (fād) n. A temporary fashion, notion, manner of conduct, etc., esp. one followed enthusiastically by a group.   Every year begins with such promise for new ideas and new ideals, a new way of life we fondly refer to as New Year's Resolutions (So what's yours this year? Mine: lose ten pounds, what else?) And every year ends with fads...most of them being that year's resolutions; sorry to burst your bubble so soon. But some fads do go on to become trends. Some of them stand the test of time. Think iPod and YouTube in 2006; Facebook and Poker…

A Jaguar. A Mercedes. A BMW.   Can you guess where I am? A high-end car dealership would make for a very logical guess, but you would be wrong. Sorry. Maybe a Simon and Garfunkel reunion concert at the Excel Energy Center? That would be a more creative guess—and creativity counts for something, I suppose—but wrong again. How about a Minnesota Timberwolves game? Possibly, if this were five years ago when people went to the games. Give up? I'm actually standing in the parking lot of a discount retail chain.   Once I started digging into this phenomenon—it's a retail…

Today is a very exciting day for Questar as we launch not only our new website but also our new blog. It is our hope that this blog will be a casual setting to discuss the newest findings in customer experience management, employee engagement, leadership and many other topics that can help make your business more profitable and successful. We would like this blog to be an interactive experience for our readers. Our experts will be responding to your questions and comments, taking your suggestions for future blog topics and posting surveys.   As you can see, below we have…

Recently the FDA warned consumers not to eat Nestle Toll House pre-packaged, refrigerated cookie dough and this got me wondering what responsibility retailers have for product safety.   http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm167908.htm   As a concerned parent I did not check if my batch of Nestle Toll House dough was affected, I just tossed it all.   The typical consumer reacts to a product recall with concern and worry but no action. A recent Rutgers' Food Policy Institute (FPI) study showed that many Americans fail to check their homes for recalled food products. Only about 60 percent of the studied sample reported ever…

This is a true story. My friend Jane runs a small business and recently experienced the following:   Jane's phone rings. Jane: Hi, this is Jane with company xyz. Sales guy: Can I speak to your manager? Jane: Who is calling? Sales guy: I just need to speak to your manager. Jane: Who are you and what is this in reference to? Sales guy: This is Mike. I have an important call for your manager. Jane: What is it regarding? Sales guy: None of your business. Now just connect me to your manager. Jane: I don't think so. Sale guy:…