Delta Assist

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I’ve mentioned it before and I’ll mention it again – I really appreciate the recent migration of major companies towards giving users a seamless/preferred contact method to inquire about, make updates to, or generally assist with any existing orders (be it in a retail/sales environment, with your hotels/airlines, etc).  My latest success story is another with Delta’s twitter @deltaassist.

In a few short minutes (as you can tell from the graphic – actually 9 minutes from first contact to be exact, of which 90% of my time was spent elsewhere multitasking as I awaited their response) I was able to have them add a traveling companion’s itinerary to mine and have them placed in the seat next to me.  Traditionally, I would have either had to call in (and wait) or get to the airport early to check in (and wait).  This removed all of the waiting and allowed me to quickly and painlessly manage the situation.  I know this is a costly thing for these companies to build and manage, but the ultimate reward in customer experience/satisfaction is truly invaluable.

Cheers to you, Delta!

Til Next Time,

Michael

Twitter Insights

I know Twitter isn’t for everyone, but I think we all owe it to ourselves to at least see what people are saying in this vehicle as it is really a powerful platform which many industry leaders, visionaries, and highly intellectual people go to for their most personal, unabridged, and raw thoughts.

That being said, I would like to offer a couple great follows on Twitter:

  • Tim Ferris: the man behind the 40 hour workweek and all things productivity-centric
  • Richard Branson: the CEO of Virgin Air and a true visionary in technology and society
  • Mark Suster: a technology entrepreneur-turned-venture capital guru who has authored a very popular blog Both Sides of the Table
  • Cindy Ratzlaff: a marketing expert with great insights on creating buzz for your brand (perhaps I should heed her advice more?)
  • Jason Fried: Co-Founder of 37 Signals (a Small Business software) and author of one of my favorite books: Rework, for which I, sadly, don’t get commissions upon referrals 🙂
  • Sheryl Sandberg: Facebook COO and visionary for the advancement of women in the professional environment
  • Malcolm Gladwell: best-selling author of several of my other favorite books including The Tipping Point, Outliers, Blink, and his newest – David and Goliath among other professional accomplishments (and, lesser known fact, he’s a big sports enthusiast)
  • Mark Cuban: a professional idol and consummate businessman/entrepreneur (and owner of a sports franchise, the Dallas Mavericks, another profession on my to-do list)
  • Steven Colbert: talk show host and all-around funny guy; hey, we need someone to add humor to life events every once in a while right?

Anybody you follow that’s worth paying attention to?  Drop me a line, would love to hear!

Til Next Time,

Michael (clearly I am more of a follower than a poster on Twitter, unless pushed 4square checkins count!)