Do public complaints make a difference? I’m always intrigued when people take to Twitter or other social media platforms to complain about a product or service. Firstly I’m wondering, does this actually make a difference? Do things improve? Secondly, if that person is a ‘Big-Wig’ in an organisation, I’m led to thinking… ‘I wonder if […]
Desire Paths and Helicopter Dog Walking. Where is the User Centred Design?
Public Sector Dog Walking Service? Hands up who’s seen the picture of the dog being walked using a helicopter? Apart from being a brilliantly surreal situation, it often gets used as a metaphor to illustrate badly designed services – usually in the public sector. Take a simple service delivery objective – exercising the dog: …..to […]
Don’t spend any money on NHS Jargon Busters – it’s sorted! Download the Apps.
I’m not ashamed to admit my naivety and ignorance. In the last post I was astonished to find out there was a book available called ‘NHS Jargon Explained’. I was just scratching the surface….. On the basis that jargon is “the specialised or technical language of a trade, profession or similar group”, and the NHS […]
“Every CEO should try to access the services their organisation delivers using a mobile phone, at least twice a month”
I wish I’d thought of that. It was actually said by Jon Beech (@_jonb) on twitter and sparked a conversation about how senior officials could test the ‘lived experience’ of service users by trying to access their organisation’s website using a mobile phone. It’s been rattling around inside my head for a while and found […]
Email Read Receipts. Does the misuse of minimum effort technology undermine trust between colleagues?
Do email read receipts make your spirits soar…….? Not mine. Why do people send them? Many people I’ve spoken to have, like me, been on the receiving end of read receipt misuse. Pointless, irritating and questionable behaviour. I must admit that when I get one, particularly from repeat offenders, I’m sorely tempted to just delete […]
Pulpo á Feira – Party Time! (Unless you’re an Octopus)
Some things are inevitable, death, taxes and peer pressure from your cycling companions to eat octopus when you get to Santiago de Compostela. I knew it was coming from about 200km outside of Santiago when “Pulpo” started appearing on menus. When my travelling companions shifted their enthusiasm for strange land based animal products to scary […]
@ArrivaTW- twitter love is a Long Train Runnin’ (without love) at the minute
How to read this post: click on this link, let the soundtrack start, come back here and start reading……. I’m sending some Twitter love to Arriva Trains Wales (@ArrivaTW). They are trying hard to engage with customers through Twitter but aren’t fully feeling the love yet. It’s also an opportunity to link to some music from The […]
In the face of petty officialdom sometimes you just have to pucker up and take the pain.
Here is an irritating situation. It’s 11.30pm on a Friday night in Cardiff Bus station. You have a 7am flight from Heathrow and the coach driver is getting all chesty about putting your carefully dismantled and beautifully bagged up bicycle into the luggage compartment. Apparently it’s in the small print rules of the online booking […]
Why us Welsh make the best guides at German Museums
Recently I visited 3 Berlin museums in a single day, impressive I know, 6 hours of intensive learning and culture. These were all good learning experiences; however the best one was delivered by someone Welsh, Shaun from Aberystwyth! I’m not being biased here, there are good reasons I’ll explain. I’m not going to give you a […]
Freaking out won’t get you your phone…….. How to be a bad customer
So, I’m standing in the queue waiting to pick up a package for my son’s birthday that has been lost by the delivery company for 7 days. Its 4 days before Christmas and his birthday is tomorrow. The guy at the head of the queue is absolutely freaking out. He’s got it all going on; […]
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