Author Archives: kubeans

Comparison of Customer Service in New York and Hong Kong

I had a bad customer service experience recently at a “brand-name” clothing store (meaning I expected more) here in NYC and while walking home, I started thinking about the customer service experience I had in HK vs NYC.  There are no absolutes because every experience is different and if you’ve visited both cities, you may not have the same experience I had but I find that with certain types of shopping, like clothing shopping, HK has it hands down.

Shopping in Hong Kong

  • Clothing – Most clothing stores like Giordano and G2000 open till 11:30pm. And even at that time, the sales clerks are attentive and perky and genuinely helpful. Every time I’ve been in a clothing store in HK, I was greeted with a smile (not a bored smile or a fake smile but a smile, that if faked, appears to seem more warm and genuine than most) and a “Hello, welcome.” As I look around, a sales clerk may come up to me after a few minutes and offer assistance and it is done in a subtle, non-pushy way.  Their hands are politely clasped in front of them or behind them as they explain the latest sale.  The clerks help with sizes and even hold your purchases at the register so you can continue shopping. They are attentive and ask if you want to try something on and if you seem hesitant (as I often do because I hate trying things on), they gently guide you to the fitting area as if to say, “in case you change your mind, this room is set aside, just for you!”
  • MTR (their subway) – I had to interact with the MTR customer service agents regarding my Octopus card (metrocard) and what did I encounter? Great customer service! It wasn’t effusive but the clerk was attentive, greeted me and thanked me. It helps that the MTR doesn’t smell like anything and it is clean and well run.
  • Restaurants – ok this is hit or miss depending on where you go. The local diner? Yah, you are going to get diner service (which in HK can be quite abrupt — better know what you want to order when you get in!)  But when we went to the dim sum restaurant on the 20something floor of the iSquare building? Good service.

Where am I going with this? For a long time, I’ve been immune to the NYC level of service (some call it rudeness, for New Yorkers, it is business as usual) but maybe I need a break from it. I’ve grown up in it and maybe I’m getting old but I welcome a little “niceness,” especially if I am about to fork over some hard-earn money!   And maybe having visited HK and Iceland recently and having experienced top-notch service, I’ve become fed up with NYC customer service where the employees are constantly chatting (joking, laughing) with one another as if that’s the main reason they came to work today.  If you need help, you have to stand in front of them (when you can find one who is “free”) and then repeatedly ask, “Excuse me? Excuse me..um, sir, can you help me please???” Then you may get a roll of the eye and a tone of boredom as the reply comes, “What? What do you want?”  Wow, like sorry that I interrupted your hearty conversation.

I get it – working retail isn’t easy and it’s very tiring physically and emotionally to be on your feet and folding clothes and dealing with all kinds of customers — foreigners, unruly entitled or picky, indecisive customers.  But isn’t that part of the training or management? The goal of retail is to get people to buy and come back and buy more right? Well, I couldn’t find other articles comparing NYC customer service but does anyone feel differently?

I wish all running shoes had a 30 day tryout and return policy

I’ve been wearing Nike Frees for the last few years. I’ve had Nike Free, Nike Free+2 and recently, bought a pair of the Nike Free+3. I’ve had no problems with the first two versions — they felt comfortable from the start and barely need a break-in period. I liked them because of the wide toe box and the sock like fit. But sadly, the Nike Free+3 is a revamped version of the original and many reviews have said that it is tighter around the toe box area.

Against some reservations around the new design, I bought a pair and it is definitely more snug around the toe box. The older versions did not have a separate tongue but this one introduced the tongue, which I don’t like as it keeps shifting to the side. I took it out for a short walk and it was ok. I spend some time breaking it in for a week and while I do like the new sole (which seems firmer than the older models that wore out quickly), the shoe hurt my arch.

After a 3 mile run, I got two blisters, one per foot, right around the inner edge of my feet and that wasn’t fun.  I took a week off and then tried it with 1-2 mile walk/runs on the treadmill and it seemed ok. Then I took it out for a run on the road again and felt the blisters come back. It’s just slightly tighter than the older model around the toe box because after my blisters healed, I took the old Pinkies for a 5 miler and that was great – it was a comfortable and fun run and I didn’t have to limp back.

It’s still new (still in that first 30 days) so I’m hoping that it can be further broken into and “widen” up. I would be disappointed to know I spent $100 on a shoe that ends up hurting my feet more than helping my run.  I need to retire the black ones soon (as much as I don’t want to because that pair is super comfortable) because the heel is so worn away that it affects my posture.

I’m hoping to use the new shoes for a race in Sept but let’s see how they feel in another month. I wish there was a Road Runners Sports store in NYC because they are the only running store that lets you return your running shoe within 90 days, even if you have worn it before — no questions asked! (Granted, you have to join their VIP club, which cost $2 the first year and $24.99 every year after that but they have good discounts for VIP members. The Frees would cost $70-80 instead of $100 if you are a  VIP.) Looks like they have the Nike Free+2 on the Endangered list! It’s $83 and $75 if you are a VIP!!

I bought these at Sports Authority and if there were a policy where I can return the shoes despite having worn them a few times, I would totally return them right now.  But since I can’t, I will just have to hope they get more comfortable over time (or that my blistered feet get so callused it wouldn’t matter anymore).

5 Ways to Onboard Your New Project Manager

You hired a new PM – great! Just remember that it doesn’t matter how wonderful your new PM is, you still have to spend some time showing him or her the ropes in your organization.

1. Review general org chart with your new PM
Most organizations these days don’t have a definite org chart because people are moving in and out too quickly or there are too many re-orgs for anyone to lock the hierarchy down. But that doesn’t mean you can’t try.  You should let the PM know the main players in each team and who rolls up to whom — especially those he will be interacting with — and if there are any “special” characters (hey, every office has those brilliant people that you need to treat with kid gloves to get things done). Introduce them to key folks in Product Management, Design, Software development, Marketing/Sales, Editorial, Customer Service and Business Development.

2. Process Walkthrough
The process from project inception (whether through formal project charters or just some higher-up saying “Let’s do this!”) to discovery (requirements gathering) to construction (development) to testing and launch is different from firm to firm (and sometimes even team to team) so it is important to give your PM a run down of the project process and methodologies (agile? waterfall? lean? hybrid?) used at your firm. Diagram and outline the various environments the developers work in, how code is moved from one place to another,  what the project request and requirements gathering process is, and how to work with the creative teams.  If you can, give your PM a list of all the dev, stg, qa, production links and a login for all the systems he will be monitoring and testing, as well as all the ticket request links (if he needs to request a workorder from the design team or the tech support team or file a bug).

3. Don’t expect your PM to jump into running meetings on Day 1
Most PMs are capable of running from the start but you should bring him around the office and introduce him to folks, let him sit in on meetings he will eventually be taking over, and send a fun introduction note to the company so they know a new PM has started, what he will be working on and here are some fun things he likes to do outside of work.

4. Set Expectations with your PM
Explain to your PM why he is in this role. Is this a troubled team or product and you expect him to turn things around? This helps the PM adjust his approach.  Set some 30, 60, 90 day goals before setting the longer term 6-12 month goals. Also make sure you set up weekly one-on-one time with your PM.  It is important that you do all you can to ensure your new PM gets out of the gate in a good light and gains trust and respect among the team and the other teams he will be interacting with.  The moment a PM is tagged as “ineffective,” “useless,” “clueless,” then it becomes hard to overcome that reputation.

5. Provide some insider tips for the PM
No, not the stock buying kind. It may have taken you 5 or 10 years to learn how to maneuver the political battlefield in the office, or how to get around certain corporate systems or gain favors with the operations team but it doesn’t hurt to relay some of these tips to the new guy. Send over some links to useful intranet and wiki sites that he should bookmark. The diligent PMs will ask lots of questions anyway and jump right in but any tips to the fast track are always appreciated. If you want your PM to succeed and be effective, help him out!

3 Ways to Get People to Read Your Emails

We all send and receive a lot of emails. What makes you read one email over another? And how do you increase the chances of your recipients actually reading your emails?

Meaningful Subject Lines
Please do not send any more emails with subject lines of “Re: Re: Re” or “<no subject>” or “Hey” or other meaningless terms and phrases.  The subject line is like the headline of an article — your article — make it lively and relevant!  Put in the essentials:

  • Project or Topic or Event email is referring to
  • Any action required? Is this a FYI (meeting minutes) or a “Please review” or “Your Approval needed by 5pm”
  • Add a few at-a-glance key terms that summarize the gist of the email

Examples:

  • DB2 Migration 5/2 Dev Mtg Mins: Action items for Jack and George by 5/8
  • FYI- Agile Training Vendor Vetting Session Findings
  • PCI Audit Review: We passed audit but 5 major asap items for 8/1 follow up mtg
  • Free ice cream at Corner Deli on 49th and 5th from now till 6p – coupon attached

Use Bullet Points
The email is not your great American novel or the draft of your speech. Watch out for long sentences and heavy paragraphs and extraneous words.  Get to the point in under 5 seconds! Try to keep your email above the fold, or at least keep the important details on the top, like the lede in a news story or the thesis in a term paper.  Put the action item assignments in the beginning of the email and leave the minutes and other FYI details lower in the page.

Add Links to your Emails
If your email is referencing an event or a project update or some news topic or vendor findings, and you are asking for feedback and opinions, then please add some links! Don’t write some three paragraph email about a subject and expect your reader to go searching in the intranet or internet for the relevant sites.  Throw in the links to the project wiki, the latest project schedule, the vendor website, the vendor’s API site, the event site, or links to white papers or wikipedia pages about the research topic.   If you don’t, chances are, the reader will not get around to doing this research and you will never get the feedback you requested.

 

Hello world!

This is the default title set by WordPress. Why “Hello World”, you ask?  Every programmer’s first assignment is to write a “Hello World” program. It is the easiest and uses the most basic function in any given language: the print statement. It’s a way of saying, “Hi!”

In Ruby, it is puts "Hello World!";
In PHP, it is echo "Hello World!";
In VisualBasic, it is Console.WriteLine ("hello world!")
In SQL, I suppose it may be SELECT "Hello World!" from TABLE
In Javascript, it is document.write("<b>hello world!</b>");
In ColdFusion, it is <cfoutput>Hello World!</cfoutput>
In Perl, it is print "Hello World. n";
In Java, it is System.out.println ("hello world!");
In C, it is printf ("hello world! n");
In Pascal, it is writeln("Hello World!");
In Turing, it is put "Hello World"

(A long while back, I used to write code for work.  This is in order of the latest language learned to the earliest language learned. Regrettably, I do not remember most of the syntax of any of these languages though I have a fondness for Pascal and can still do some JS.  I learned Ruby for an interview last summer and funny enough, I actually passed the tech interview and landed the job for a Ruby developer/tech lead role.  But I didn’t take it — I don’t see myself programming fulltime anymore. I leave that to the passionate hackers and experts out there.)

10 signs you got a bad project manager

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When people claim they don’t need project managers and say that project managers are overpaid, useless and not needed on a software project team, this is because of poor experiences those people have had in the past with technical project managers. Here are the red flags alerting you to a situation where you need to talk to your PM, mentor her, or fire her.

1. The Tech PM doesn’t seem to understand general software engineering terms or principles, or even technology. She should at least have a general understanding of the following: database, CMS, OS, versioning system, MVC, front-end vs back-end work, html, css, js….and she doesn’t have to code anything but know the basic definitions and concepts.

2. Your PM seems to take notes in the meeting and is not really facilitating the conversation or actively curbing sidetracked conversations (put extraneous items on the parking lot!), and all the meetings seem to run over time without any perceivable action items. This is known as the secretary PM who is just happy to help set up meetings for others, book conference rooms and sit and take notes but isn’t really setting agendas, leading and driving the conversations and follow-ups.

3. Your PM calls for a lot of meetings but the project seems to move at a snail’s pace…and oh, your team is complaining to you about spending over 50% of their days sitting in pointless meetings without agendas or action items.

4. Your PM is fairly silent and doesn’t attend or run meetings, doesn’t talk to the team members much and just asks the team what they are doing every week so she can pull together a status report.

5. Your PM gets flustered easily and can’t seem to do more than one task at a time. She is constantly behind on e-mails and gets annoyed when you show up at her cube with a question. PMs are THE multi-taskers. If she can’t do at least 5 tasks at once, she’s toast. PMs usually can run a conference call, while reading and filing emails as they come in, checking IMs, silently mouthing to a person who just popped up at her cube and also take notes for the conf call she is currently on. (Probably not good for the short-term memory business but that’s part of the job!)

6. The PM repeats what other people said in order to sound like she knows what is going on. She will repeat the tech guy’s words to design and repeat the designer’s words to the editor and so on. In the end, she is just playing telephone and probably mushing up the message and in the end, the various team members can just meet with one another and cut her out of the loop. This kind of thing gives PMs a bad name because real PMs do not do this.

7. The PM is too rigid and mired into the tools and not about how to use the tools to help the team and keep the project on track. “Well, I haven’t talked to the team yet because I’ve been busy working on this MS Project plan. It’s almost done. I’ve got about 500 lines of tasks…” when in fact, your project is only 3 months long and is scheduled to be released in two-week sprints and she is staring at a project plan and gantt chart 50 pages long. Remember that project management is very fluid and organic and in the end, it is about working with people to get things done: the how and the when. You can’t be married to a process and instead you should constantly be checking w/ the team to make sure the tools aren’t adding extra overhead to their work — tools should be useful, not cumbersome and being used just for the sake of being used.

8.The PM seems to not involve the right people in the meetings and things keep revealing themselves in the 11th hour, with everyone running around in a panic. The PM has to manage scope-creep and if you have a PM that is saying yes to every and anything that is coming in from the client, upper management or just any person who opens their mouths, then you have got a project that will not be done on time (or it may be done on time with a burnt out team ready to quit): “When did that become a requirement? But we are code freeze in 24 hrs! Are the designs even updated to reflect this requirement?”

9. The PM isn’t asking questions often, and early, which leads to #8.  The PM should always be asking “Why” as in why is this important, why do you need this, why is so and so involved; “When” as in when is this needed by, who is driving each requirement, what are the priorities or core requirements that need to go out first; “who” as in who can I talk to about XYZ, who is the subject matter expert for this system or that product, who is the key decision maker and approval giver; “what” as in what are we doing? what are the business objectives and requirements from the product team? what are the technical or resource or time constraints? what are the risks and issues? what are the measurements for success?; and “how” as in how can we get this done in three months with our current resource pool? how should we approach this to be most cost-efficient yet delivering clean code? how do test the system and how do we deploy this?

10. You can usually tell — just ask your team and ask the stakeholders and sniff around. If a PM isn’t really doing the job, you will see the signs.

10 reasons you need a project manager on your software project

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1. The developers and editors and designers don’t want to schedule and set up meetings.  This involves a lot of back and forth between calendar shuffling and conference room re-booking, running meetings, assigning and following up on action items, nagging people and sending out brief but useful meeting notes. They just don’t want to deal with all that. Great PMs do all this effortlessly so that team members can just show up to the meeting, participate and leave and get it all summarized in a nice wiki page or email or basecamp message.

2. No one wants to handle the interpersonal conflicts and confrontations.  Conversations are often needed regarding team members not performing, vendors not doing their work, stakeholders who ignore multiple requests for design approvals or attendance for prototype demos, or clients who refuse to play by the established project process, etc.

3. Your PM is the glue that keeps every project team member on the same page and keeps them on schedule with their particular task. The PM is also the oil that keeps the machine moving, keeping an eye out on dev tasks being worked on, while making sure work is staggered and assigned correctly so the QA team also has work to do by established QA dates, and that the designers and the tech writers and so forth are getting the necessary input and sign-offs from the right people to get their work done. Your PM is the supreme juggler who knows what to toss first and what to toss last – the balls, flaming torches, knives and live rabbits never fall and that is why the project comes in on-time.

4. The PM is used to doing all kinds of grunt work. Any work that any team member deems, “That’s not my job,” the PM almost always will simply, quietly do it for the team. The only exception is WHEN it is actually someone’s work that they are just not doing out of laziness! I’ve met PMs who have done everything from running meetings, to creating customized reporting for various upper management and clients, to photocopying to on-boarding new hires to coding and testing and writing copy to buying and delivering food and drinks to a team working late.

5. The Tech PM has the added advantage of having been a developer before and hence knows, generally, how long certain dev tasks take and it is less likely the tech team can pull one over her. “No dude, I KNOW it does not take a month to build a 3-page static site. Seriously. I can do it right now in 3 hours. Want to revise that estimate for me?”

6. Your PM is the face of the project and will deal with all the prickly and bossy and curious people no one else on the team wants to talk to: marketing folks, senior management, other non-project team folks on other projects who are just nosy.

7. Your PM can summarize the project into interesting bits that are targeted to the right audience. If the PM is talking to Operations about setting up a midnight release, she will use the right words to make sure Operations knows why it is important for them to get the coverage for that night. If the PM is talking to editorial, or advertising sales or customer service, she will deal in the right lingo, tasty nuggets, and enticing descriptions to get those parties on board in just the right way.

8. Your PM religiously looks at calendars months ahead and can tell you the dates of every monday of this month or who is on vacation three weeks from now, and how many resources will be free or busy in any time frame. Two of the PM’s responsibilities is resource management and time management — do you want your other team members splitting up these tasks?  Your PM has both an aerial and on-the-ground view of the project at any given moment.

9. The PM’s door/cube is always open. Sure, she may have just returned to her desk for the first time today after having had 5 back-to-back meetings and no lunch yet but if you show up with a question about a bug ticket or a work breakdown task, she will greet you with a smile, say “Sure, I’ve got time to talk,” pull up a chair and dig up that item for you on the wiki, all ready to answer your questions. You are her priority and she is never too busy for you…even if this is the fifth time she has answered your questions about the same issue.

10. The PM gets people together. Things do not languish in email threads or unanswered IM messages or voice mails. She will grab the offending parties, bring them together in a meeting, a conference call, the office pantry, or for after work drinks and work this out once and for all. Because nothing is more painful for her than people on the same team who can’t seem to understand what “working together productively” means.