Tech in the Trenches

Carl T. Holscher fights for the customers.

Author: Carl Page 79 of 152

The Despotic Clown

By

On March 25, 2015

In Links and Quotes

Now that I have given you nightmares… Taco Bell has launched a propaganda campaign against the Routine Republic.

In the three-minute centerpiece ad below, McDonald’s affable but intrinsically creepy mascot is reimagined as a sunken-eyed Stalinist clown (though perhaps bearing closer resemblance to Mao). He rules over a small army of look-alikes and an oppressed proletariat in a decrepit, cloistered city with a beefy security apparatus. Run-of-the-mill breakfast sandwiches are his preferred method of subjugation.

The three-minute video is worth watching, even if it is just an ad for Taco Bell.

The print work for this campaign is marvelous and I want to print and mount the entire set. Here’s a taste.

Same Breakfast

To see the rest of the print work head on over to Adweek.
Ad of the Day: Taco Bell Launches Cold War Against McDonald’s With Propaganda Imagery

Friday Thought

By

On March 20, 2015

In Briefs

 

Banana gun via http://gratisography.com/

MacBook Perspectives

By

On March 17, 2015

In Links and Quotes

I enjoy reading different views on the same thing. I like hearing diverse viewpoints from intelligent people. As much as I’ve avoided the Apple chatter, I like hearing what people I follow online think about it. Those who aren’t tech journalists. They’re not getting paid to churn out 500 words on The Next Apple Thing™.

Recently Conor wrote about his dislike in the direction Apple is going. He wants more power in a portable. He wants a Pro Portable.

conormcclure.net: Thoughts on the new MacBook(s)

I myself am a college student, but am also an “adult computer” user—I want power, speed, and possibilities. Last week’s updates to the MacBook Pro line were indeed “modest”, if not “half-assed.” I’m not eager to upgrade my computer given Apple’s latest advancements. They’re focus on portability and other silly features (Force Touch?) have neglected the other spectrum of MacBook power users who want massive speed and battery. (I’m not even talking about the Thunderbolt vs. USB-C fiasco. Make up your minds, for our sake.)

And Rob wants just the opposite. He’s enamored by the new, gold iPad Plus. He wants an iPad with the full power of the Mac OS behind it.

The new MacBook — RM

The iPad is what I need in a mobile computer. The new MacBook is the first computer that made me even consider changing that. It’s super thin and light — two things I love about the iPad. It has the high resolution screen that would be easy on my eyes. And it has the full power of OS X behind it.

Like Conor, I have a 2010 MacBook Pro. It’s served me well and I don’t know what my next machine will be. When I think about what I want, it’s a powerful portable with an integrated graphics card. But when I think about what I actually use my machine for, it’s a writing tablet. It’s a place to browse the web and like Rob, I need more power than an iPad, or at least a full operating system. I don’t think I need a Mac Pro Portable.

I don’t work with video. I take a pile of photos (and struggle to do anything with them). There’s a lot of lust over new hardware, but I am also very wary of the first rendition of anything Apple makes. As a current owner of the first iPad and former original MacBook buyer I’ve seen the slew of issues with the new devices. Or the major gains in the second version of the device. And I don’t have the money to throw at Apple. I’m content to sit and wait. I’m happy to pickup someone’s used machine once they’re ready to move on to something new.

via Gratisography.com

Be Personable

By

On March 16, 2015

In Observations

When you work in tech support, you often don’t know who you are talking to. You don’t know if they’re high-powered or the new intern. You don’t know their level of technical ability or their patience.

But one thing you do know is they are human. So talk to them like it.

So many times, I get an email back from a tech and all it says is “This account has been deactivated.”

That’s nice, computer. I am happy you processed my request in an efficient and timely manner. But it would have been even nice if I knew you were a person too.

Now let’s compare that to:

Good Morning Monica,

I’ve deactivated the account for John Morris effective immediately.

Is there anything else I can do for you today?
Thank you,
Carl T. Holscher

  • I address Monica by her name.
    She is a person. I am a person. There’s no reason I can’t address her by her name. It’s add a little humanity to our interaction.

  • I told her exactly what I had done.
    That way, she knows immediately what this request is about. It doesn’t rely on her to remember what she had asked me for. She’s busy. She doesn’t have time to sit around and wait for me to get the work done. She is doing other things, so don’t make her guess.
    It also verifies to me that I have made the correct change. It’s easy to make a mistake, especially when dealing with a large number of requests. Repeating back the action I took helps me to double-check myself.

  • I used my name.
    I am not a team. I am not a group. I am an individual and I did this work for her.

Whenever I am about to send an email to someone, I ask myself if this is the email I would like to receive.

If it is, I hit send. If not, I take a moment to improve upon it. Spending those extra seconds can make a big difference in how you come across to your customers.

It’s hard to be as warm and friendly over text. But it is easy to impart some humanity in your words. Use them.

Sweet Themes are Made of These

By

On March 16, 2015

In Links and Quotes

Even if you’ve been using Slack for a while, you might not know about the Sidebar Theme feature in Preferences, which is a good way to keep your different Teams visually separate.

Sweet Themes are Made of These is an unofficial resource for Slack sidebar themes. I actively participate in two different Slack rooms and I use the sidebar themes to keep them straight at a glance.

There’s a brief how-to if you don’t know how to change your Slack sidebar theme.

I’m using the light and dark Solarized themes and think they look great!

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