The other day I was at a movie theatre and like always you have to buy the ticket before you can actually enter inside. While they had the traditional booths where you could tell the person which movie you would like to see, there were also machines on the side where people could order it right there instead. What I found extremely interesting was how there were actually line ups to use the machine when the wait time was virtually non existent using the booth that had a real person in it.

That sure makes you wonder where for that business if it is just the sign of the times or if movie watchers are just being more accustomed to say watching things on the Internet that they don’t want to deal with a real person as much. I thought that was interesting too as one thing I have heard recently with various retail stores shutting down is that they simply have to offer new experiences such as having the staff greet customers as if they are in a hotel.

I suppose like in this case though you do definitely have to innovate with like how the old saying goes that if you don’t offer something unique then you will be competing against price and convenience.

I was watching a business show today and there was a good point I thought where there was a business that was failing in terms of customer service. The feedback that was given was that it wasn’t good enough for just the regular employee to apologize to the customer as the owner themselves need to do it to give the best impression and impact. Sure enough, it seemed like people were way more sympathetic and felt more special when they were talking to the actual owners.

I remember before a person told me they would never do that as it makes them look very small, so to speak. In my opinion though, this is an example on how it’s a people business and small things like this make you more down to earth where a person would be more confident in doing business with you. As well, if you seem more “human” then people will more likely understand any trials and tribulations that you are actively trying to solve too.

I was reading these opinions today on what people think a workforce is going to be like in the future. Some topics came up such as how there will be less actual people in places like stores as procedures such as self check out terminals are starting to replace the need for real humans to serve people. There was also another topic on how people are trying to specifically design their business where everything is done online so that there is no need for human interaction as opposed to the occasional support inquiries.

I was thinking if that will ever be the case where things stop becoming a people business, so to speak, as from what I have seen it’s usually the human aspect of things that makes a business die or thrive. Even when I shop online I think one of the biggest factors why people would shop at one place versus the other is the ability to see that there are other people shopping there as well whether it be through customer ratings on the site or seeing staff members give thoughts and input about topics.

I think the key is the technology should be used as a way to make things more efficient as opposed to a way to say get rid of the human factor all together.

This was new to me. Today I went to the mall and my dad was looking for hiking shoes where we ended up in a Zellers store. There he saw a bunch of shoes lined up and as well throughout the store there were these signed that said 25% off all athletic shoes. Therefore, he thought this meant the hiking shoes as well. An associate who appeared to be in her sixties or so then came by and so he asked if the shows were indeed on sale.

In a rather cranky voice she at first said no and that it was only for a particular line up of shoes. Afterwards my dad asked her how come these hiking shoes weren’t a part of the sale too. This was kind of surprising and funny I thought as her answer in a cranky voice was that there are sales on those at times but that we just never go to “her” store when there is a sale. Eventually we went to look at another place.

The first thing that came to mind was how I remembered about the news that these stores were going to be taken over by Target and so maybe she was just not trying as she figured whats the point. It’s kind of funny though as you always hear stories about “interesting” customers all the time but I guess in this business it’s the other way around. Sure makes you wonder if they even invest in any kind of say secret shopper program to see how the associates interact with people. At least it was something new for me as this is the type of stuff you expect to only see in movies or TV shows.

I thought this was kind of interesting. As everyone has seen a lot of businesses try to automate their companies with computers and machines in an effort to cut cost and to try and speed up service. There was one company I saw that they actually advertise their machines as staff members that try to select products that it thinks are good for you. Think of it as like an online e-commerce store where there are usually scripts in place to try and determine your shopping habit to then suggest items for you to buy.

I was then trying to think how many people would view that in a positive and lighthearted way and how many people would be cynical over that. I personally think it is kind of cute when companies use that type of direction especially when they actually go through the effort to try and brand it such as giving it a name and all as if it was a mascot. If it was like say a consulting firm where you would expect to have a real person in-front of you, well I guess in situations like those it would feel like the company is simply being cheap.