Number 88: February 16, 2005

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This week in Katydid:

• Inside Stories
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Inside Stories
We have learned that the internet is a great place to collect data from our customers. Informal user groups rise up and if we seek them out, we can learn a lot about how our products are used or perceived. Sometimes, however, it works the other way. People can use the internet to gather stories about their customers.

For example, restaurants should pay attention to sites like Bitter Waitress or The Stained Apron that gather stories from waiters and waitresses about bad customers. These sites provide a way for people in the food service industry to vent their frustrations. It can also be an eye-opening experience for managers.

That there could be hostility between a server and their customer is not hard to imagine, but the degree is astounding. I've always considered myself a good tipper, but after skimming through some of these horror stories, I was convinced not only were these people not paid enough, but also that it would be wise to stay on their good side.

[A side note on the whole tipping issue. Having grown up in Las Vegas, I have some insight into the hospitality industry. For jobs that are traditionally paid through tips, employers are allowed to pay less than minimum wage. In some cases, there is no base wage at all. In the United States, the Internal Revenue Service has a table of estimated tip rates for every applicable industry. It usually doesn't matter if the employee accurately reports their tips, if the reported tips fall below the estimate, the employee often pays taxes on the estimate. The result is that if one stiffs their waiter, they're going to have to pay taxes on the tip the IRS thinks you should have left. Additionally, the server is also tipping those bussing the tables or filling drink orders. The result is that a 10% tip is barely break-even, 20% is considered fair, and anything more than that is generous.]

Nearly every industry, such as sales, or even nursing has their own horror stories. The Internet is self-selecting for extreme content. Vengeful people who need to vent will find each other. But these sites give you the other end of the spectrum of behavior. You know how your customer service representatives behave while being watched, but sites like these will give you an idea of how they behave when they think they're alone. In a way, they act as self-reporting surveillance cameras.

As you develop new products and services, your product marketing group should be seeking web sites and blogs from employees. HR would have their own reasons for doing so, but you may discover there are good ideas out there that aren't getting through normal channels. True, you may only discover that your employees share a more than healthy need to don Star Trek costumes, you may also realize there's an opportunity to head off a serious problem before it escapes the blogosphere and finds the mainstream media. 

Finally, for organizations that develop solution-oriented sales, these kinds of sites will help you identify problems that need solving. For example, you may decide to create a restaurant that eliminates the stress of tipping while maintaining a high service level. Or you could go the other direction and create a restaurant that makes tipping a fun or unique part of the service by drawing attention to the practice. Solving small problems in a big way is certain to make your product or service remarkable; these underground web sites can point you in the right direction.

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Kind regards, 
Kevin Troy Darling

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