The Illinois PM Department “WOW!” our customers by maintaining the integrity of the cable system and keeping a constant watch over our system at all times; day /night and rain/snow we “WOW” our customers without them even knowing. We often are working behind the scenes to provide superior reliability to our customers, so when a customer picks up the telephone there is a dial tone, when they turn the television on their favorite programming is available and when they open their laptops they have access to the world. We also provide customer escalated maintenance with same day resolution and work diligently to resolve issues to completely satisfy the customer and leave them with a positive “WOW!” experience.
Archive for December, 2009
Some last tips on buying an HDTV
Over the past several weeks, we have discussed a number of technologies associated with the newer LCD HDTV sets. I hope this has been or will be helpful in cutting through the sturm und drang of the video store experience. The good news is there is a lot of great equipment out there, capability is up, prices are down, and better video is within the reach of almost every household.
After all the technical discussion (and specifications are reflective of the quality of design and manufacture), I think it’s important to note that ultimately your eye is the best judge of overall picture quality and should be given significant weight in the final choice. HDTV sets have evolved to the point that slight differences in specifications don’t generally translate into discernible differences in the produced image, and that’s important to remember in the final purchase decision.
In actual fact, there is more perceived differences in sets on display in most “big box” stores simply because they have been adjusted differently. If you like a particular set, but aren’t crazy about some aspect of the picture you’re seeing, ask the salesperson to adjust it. This has the dual purpose of not only tweaking the picture to your taste, but also to demonstrate the usability (or lack thereof) of the set interface. While most menu changes are reasonably straightforward on most mainstream brands, some are inherently more intuitive than others, and over the lifetime of the set can be a significant factor in your satisfaction with the product.
If the big box store isn’t your cup of tea, there are video salons in most suburban areas that are staffed with knowledgeable folks who can be very helpful in this process. Unlike a big box store, most salons take pains to adjust each of the demonstration sets to their optimum picture quality, allowing some real comparison to take place rather quickly. My prior advice holds in that you should still get a demonstration of the menu interface and tweak the picture if something doesn’t suit you. The down side of using a salon is that you will typically pay more for the same product–but usually that comes with an extra level of support that the big box stores simply can’t match, and that can be worth the difference in price.
If you’re quite sure of what you want, there are reputable on-line vendors as well for equipment of this type. For example, Amazon offers “white glove” delivery and set up for high end sets, and gets pretty good reviews for customer service and support. Prices can be very competitive from an on-line vendor, but if you shop on line for the best price only, prepare to have a frustrating experience. Some vendors have chosen to exploit the “arms-length” customer-client relationship inherent with internet business to the detriment of their customers. Read customer reviews of the online vendors and take them seriously.
Whatever you do:
1) do a little research before heading into the store,
2) don’t be rushed into a decision, and
3) take sales talk with a grain of salt.
See you next week.
Accountability the WOW! Way
Accountability is one of the four core values at WOW! and therefore it is one of the most important influences on our company culture. It’s a big word and if you Google it, you will get an explosion of concepts and theories being marketed by trainers and consultants with labels such as ‘Employee Accountability,’ ‘Personal Accountability,’ ‘Team Accountability,’ ‘Leadership Accountability,’ and so on. At WOW! the concept is simple and it’s personal: Own your part of any situation and work toward a solution.
We’re not taught a lot about accountability as kids. We had responsibilities, like chores, homework, cleaning our rooms, and we were accountable to do them. If we didn’t, there were consequences or punishments such as no allowance, being grounded, or losing TV privileges. At the end of the penance, we got a fresh start to be good again. As we transition to adulthood, however, responsibility becomes more connected to accountability. In a work environment adults have job duties and responsibilities and when there is a failure to execute, there’s usually a negative business impact, sometimes with a rippling effect. Do we get grounded or sent to our rooms? No. If we aren’t accountable – if we don’t ‘own’ our failure to the boss and the boss finds out some other way, the consequences can be serious. There may be coaching or formal discipline for the failure and a string of such failures can lead to termination.
What happens however, if we are Accountable by WOW!’s definition? We will be the first to tell the boss about our failure and we will offer to work toward a solution. (This doesn’t mean we always have the solution.) Most likely the boss will appreciate being told rather than surprised, the boss will be more likely to forgive the failure than issue discipline, and the boss will be more likely to support us and empower us to take corrective action.
Being accountable also builds trust into work relationships. When a member of a team ‘owns’ an error or a missed deadline without pointing a finger at someone else or at an external factor, the other team members start respecting and trusting that their teammate is honest and intends to be reliable… in spite of the failure.
‘Leadership Accountability’ at WOW! means management keeps employees current with the state of our business. Leadership Accountability credits our successes to the employees who make them possible, and shares profitability with the employees whose performance drives our growth. Finally, Leadership Accountability means the management team is first to openly admit their mistakes and drive Accountability by example.
At WOW!, holding employees accountable and having a leadership team accountable to employees eventually led to one of the company’s most frequently repeated mantras: Learn Faster, Execute Better. This little motto provides room for people, teams, and managers to make a mistake and move past it, with a focus on improved performance in the next effort. Learn Faster, Execute Better does not mean discipline never occurs, rather it is tightly tied to Accountability. Those who own their mistakes get a chance to correct them and those who don’t reap the consequences.
Accountability IS a big word, and at WOW! if you have it, it contributes to your success.
Football + Finger Foods/Appetizers = Happiness
I always get a little sad as we approach the end of December because it means that football season is almost over. Every Sunday I prepare our favorite appetizers that we munch throughout the day. January 1st is one of my favorite days because it seems that there is a never ending supply of finger foods that magically appear in front of us. How does that happen? No, not by the food gnomes but by having some staple recipes that I have collected through the years. For those of you searching for some quick easy to make finger foods, here are some of my favorites with links to the actual recipe.
Corned Beef Dip - I love corned beef and don’t just enjoy this delicious meat on St. Patrick’s Day. This recipe is super easy to make and takes all of 10 minutes to put together. I would suggest preparing it before you go to bed because it is best enjoyed in a more solid form. Also, add one or two tablespoons of sour cream to the mixture to make it a little smoother. If you love onions and corned beef, then you will definitely love this recipe. I find that the dip is fully enjoyed with a bag of potato chips, preferably the ones with ridges.
Pigs in a Blanket (Mini Style) - Who doesn’t love hot dogs rolled up inside a warm crescent roll? I prefer the mini style. What is mini style? Mini style uses either the Oscar Mayer Little Wieners or Hillshire Farms Lit’l Smokies. I like the Little Wieners over the Lit’l Smokies but it is just a matter of taste. All you need is a package of the dogs or smokies and a container of the crescent rolls and you are good to go. This is another receipe that takes maybe 10 minutes of prep work and about 10 minutes of cook time for a delicious finger food that will get gobbled up almost immediately. You can serve them with ketchup or my favorite is Cheez Whiz to dip them in.
Taco Dip- Yet another dip to my list of finger food happiness. I love dips because they are pretty basic. My mom found this recipe years ago and is a must have when we all get together. I find that using the shredded lettuce that you can pick up at the store is the best way to go. If you decide to add it to the top of the dip, be warned that once you put it back in the refrigerator, it tends to get soggy.
Buffalo Style Meatballs – My mom and I actually discovered this recipe when crusing through our local Sam’s Club one Saturday afternoon. When we tried the sample, we were hooked. The recipe is pretty basic:
- 1 bag of frozen meatballs (I like the Sam’s Club Italian Meatballs. The seasoning gives it some added flavor)
- 1 packet of dry buffalo seasoning
- Dipping – Your choice of Ranch or Blue Cheese
Grab your crock pot, throw the meatballs in, add a little bit of water, spread the packet of seasoning over the frozen meatballs, mix it so that the meatballs are coated and set the temperature to the desired cook time. If you need them sooner rather than later, set it to high which usually cooks them within a couple of hours. Occasionally stir them so that you spread the seasoning around. Once they are cooked, just set it to warm and voila, a tasty twist on a traditional finger food.
What’s your must have finger food or appetizer?
Create a WOW! Commercial Contest
A few years ago, we asked our customers to create a WOW! Commercial. Here is one of the entries.
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