Just (still) not getting it

By this time you’d think that pretty much everyone would get it. Get what? Well, get the fact that your customer isn’t going appreciate it they are charged for the (numerous) efficiencies and benefits that you gain from their using an online channel to do business with you.

In fact that will rather feel like they are being fleeced.

This is certainly how I felt yesterday when I went online to book some tickets to see a movie last night. The site of my local (national chain) theatre has thankfully improved greatly in recent times – for the longest time it was an embarrassment and the source of much amusement (when not cursing at it), it was that bad. Anyway, back to the point, I selected the movie and proceeded to checkout only to find that I was going to be charged a “service fee”. Admittedly it wasn’t a big amount, but that’s not the point. The point is that Ster-Kinekor greatly reduces their cost by having me book online (no cashier required, no handling of cash onsite which in ‘ol SA can produce its own set of challenges, and so on) AND – this is the part that most people miss – they are also able to run their operation a great deal more efficiently as, in this case, they know what bookings they will have for the show well in advance.

So whose stupid and short-sighted idea is it to charge more for booking online than at the cashier? Probably someone who views the online channel as another cost centre to maintain rather than an opportunity to drive greater efficiency and value through the organization.

Another painful example of this is most banks (who to their credit are beginning to get it, SLOWLY as banks do) who charge more for doing an online transaction than doing it in a branch (which has all its attendant overheads), taking up some teller’s time (who has to be paid) etc. The cost to the bank of me doing everything online is infinitesimally small compared to doing it at a branch (not to mention the customer service improvement, but that isn’t something that banks worry about in any case). Yet I am charged MORE for transacting online?!

Wake up, and you might be welcomed into the 21^st century.

Best Companies to Work For (or not is probably more correct)

Ok, so I’m going to be pretty biased about this sort of thing, but after hearing repeatedly from those that work at Open Box (as well as a lot of those that either used to work at Open Box or would like to) that we are the “Best Company to Work For” I thought that it would be interesting to be seeing how we’d rank against others that are rated (supposedly independently).

First stop, www.bestcompaniestoworkfor.co.za, supposedly the definitive guide on these things. Much lauded by those on or near the top of the list as well as frequently referenced in the media, I would have thought that this would be a good source of these things.

How wrong I was to be.

Firstly this is run / sponsored by companies that have interestingly appeared fairly high up the list in the past. I have noted that the companies that sponsor a year aren’t on the list for that year, but that doesn’t mean that they weren’t the year before (or won’t be the year after). Independent then? No.

Secondly, and to my mind most importantly, it is not about the best companies to WORK for, but rather about which companies have the best HR department. Yes, the HR departments and their workings are what is examined. The happiness of the people who actually work there? That isn’t important it seems. I don’t know about you but if I was working for one of these rated companies (and I actually have in the past) I’d be more interested in the how the company fosters the happiness of the staff, the growth prospects for all personnel and so on, rather than the “role of HR policy in driving business strategy” or “their HR strategy success”.

The sad thing is that a lot of people get suckered into thinking that these are good (or the best) companies to actually work for, by things like this. Although I suppose if you are in HR they probably are.

I guess I just focus on different things. I’m ok with that.

Disclaimer: we have not entered into this so this is not sour grapes.