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Geriatrics, Bedpans, and the Customer Experience

by Ian Clayton on July 20, 2010

As Fred ended the call Susan was interrupted by the panic button being pressed by Mrs. Hitchcock in bed 13. Fred noticed staff ignored the inventory system and checked the bedpan store first – it was empty. Over the next ten minutes the worst-case scenario played out as staff located a bedpan and helped the patient as best they could, to the embarrassment of all involved…

This week Ian looks at how the willingness of a single individual to think customer first can rescue and change dramatically the customer’s perception of the quality of service they are receiving from their service provider.

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Every Cloud has a Silver Lining – for ITSM

by Ian Clayton on May 26, 2010

Cloud Computing is a seismic event, and likely the ITSM industry’s ‘big one’. Prepare. In this article Ian explores how the cloud computing is affecting perceptions and reality in the realm of IT Service Management projects and the use of the ITIL framework.

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Canary in a Coalmine

May 10, 2010
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The purpose of this article is to continue my attempts to protect any existing or planned investments in the ITIL framework, and to remove whatever sharp objects I can from the IT Service Management room, by offering my decipher of Service Portfolio Management (SPM)’.
(Originally posted at http://www.itsmportal.com on May 9, 2010)

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ITIL® – “Batteries (Best Practices) not Included!”

May 7, 2010
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In this article Ian deciphers the ITIL guidance on incidents and service requests and explains why ITIL is not the source of best practices as claimed by so many experts in ITIL, at least not on this topic.

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“IO… IO… Its Off to Work We Go!”

May 5, 2010
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Key Indicators You Might be Thinking Inside-Out (IO)
In this article I look at some of the key indicators your organization is thinking ‘inside-out’ and failing the customer…

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Monty Python and the Holy Grail – The ITIL Do Over

April 26, 2010
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This piece of humor is derived with humility and total homage from Scene 35 of Monty Python and the Holy Grail movie script. They influenced my life more than they will ever know.

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‘Undercover Boss’ – The Key to Becoming an Outside-Inner?

April 26, 2010
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Recently I was asked, “If thinking inside-out means I risk failing the customer, how do I become an outside-in, customer centric thinker – an ‘outside-inner’?” My instinctive response to that question is simple. Start an ‘undercover provider’ program…

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It all depends on your definition of is… up

April 18, 2010
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The term ‘inside-out’ is associated with the genetic trait of some organizations and individuals to focus on the work in front of them, ahead of who they are doing the work for, and why.  Inside-out thinking is generally blamed for failing the customer, placing an undue bias on internal processes and measures at the expense [...]

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Calculating Moments of Truth

April 8, 2010
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As discussed elsewhere on this site, a day at the office for a service management professional, especially one working within an IT organization, is riddled with ‘moments of truth (MOT)’.  For a service provider organization the MOTs are embedded, hopefully deliberately and designed, in service encounters that manifest themselves as service requests.

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The Service Management Moment of Truth

April 8, 2010
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For those of you active on, or considering a service management initiative, or transforming an IT organization to operate as a service provider, consider prioritizing your ‘process’ design and improvement efforts on the service encounters, the moments of truth they contain, and the customer experience.  The evidence is this approach will [...]

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