Would a under reported tiny flaw in a product usually qualify for product improvement? Well in the case of toilet paper, flaws in the product are probably not high on the users concerns and not really worth complaining about, and yet Toilet Paper is a excellent example of Observational Improvements theory. Asda’s own brand Shades … Read more
As the sun shone over Glasgow this weekend many people took to their cars and headed for the great outdoors, however as people travelled further than just to and from work, I am betting they noticed the atrocious state of the roads. While many newspapers and news programs have already pointed out the costs of … Read more
Amazon has just taken ownership of Lovefilm.com and I am looking forward to Love Film becoming a much more customer friendly and intuitive website just like Amazon. While I love using these sites I am reminded that usually I have no person to person contact whatsoever, even my personalised recommendations are done by very cleaver … Read more
Apparently cupcakes are so 2010, it seems that colourful Macaroons are the sweet treat for the trendsetter in 2011, or at least that is what Homes & Gardens Magazine is saying. Just one question though… — What will happen to all those cute little cupcake shops? Last week I visited my favourite, Cup in Glasgow’s … Read more
Walking behind two Glasgow University students on their way to buy their beer, I listened to their conversation. Excited by big night ahead the chat was lighthearted and fun, when it turned to the inevitable morning after, I hear those words I know I uttered when I was in their shoes years ago… “Yes I … Read more
I love to write in beautiful notebooks, and I love the feel of the pages of a brand new diary, but most of all I love crisp white paper. Give me a simple piece of plain white paper and a standard pencil and my creativity is unleashed, not in the conventional way, I don’t draw … Read more
Do you window shop? Many years ago shops had windows which display the actual products you would find, that is, if you had the money to actually walk through their door. Today many big retailers have replaced these real window displays with high quality posters. These posters can show very carefully taken product photographs or … Read more
Oh that deadline always comes up fast, and I am one of the many people filing there tax return this week. I have used those unintelligible help files I have waited on the Self Assessment helpline and finally got my questions answered but to hang up and realise the next page I need to phone … Read more
Shine some light so I may see, Whens the next bus cometh to me, I’d take a photo to show my plight, But heavens above only be by starlight, On time or way past due, how would I know, Question is do I wait or do I walk? Tonight I stood at an unfamiliar bus … Read more
Excite a child with more than words… It seems that authors and book publishers are breaking all the rules to bring pre-schoolers an exciting introduction to reading. From Snuggle Bunny books with full sized hand-puppets that bring the book to life with a soft and cosy rabbit. To Waddle the Scanimation picture book where the … Read more
My local McDonalds can’t be bothered to say ‘welcome’ to their drive thru customers… That’s entrance use to tell every driver ‘welcome’ to McDonalds. However for months now that road has just said ‘we’. While ‘welcome’ on a drive thru road surface may seem irrelevant to many of us, indeed perhaps even to McDonald’s own … Read more
There are some things that sell regardless of how ‘old’ they are. And an ice cream van sound is as old school as they come. With that horrible scratchy sound going slowly up the street, you can clearly hear that there isn’t a digital revolution going on in that truck. Yet it works, even with … Read more
Watching a proficient and enthusiastic sales assistant serving a customer I wonder what is their future… Many of these wonderful assistants are promoted into the retail management programs, leaving the customers with this: An army of unhelpful, disinterested, and can’t be bother sales assistant to help the frustrated customers. This seems so wrong, is it … Read more
Do you have the capacity and creativity to introduce a premium service for your customer? Often we leave it to our competitors to think of good ideas and then we copy them, however this means we are usually playing catch up forever after. What about changing this trend, with just a little thought you can … Read more
Are you letting your brilliant ideas melt away like the polar icecaps? Standing in queue with many, many other people I listen to a few outspoken individual as they share their simple but genius ideas to the strangers beside them. Yet as I watch them reach the counter and get served I notice that the … Read more
After yesterday’s discussion about Dairystix packaging I thought it very timely when I found this in the post today… “Certified frustration-free packging”, although who ‘certified’ I will probably never know. Received it from SanDisk International Ltd and am happy to report that it is indeed frustration free, at least to me that is, others may … Read more
Reading blogs you find all sorts of information… Just now, I read a blog about someone who has signed up to the WordPress Challenge 2011, where people sign up to “Post A Day and Post A Week” As part of being better than yesterday Oi jumps up and Says YES to the challenge of Post … Read more
I am a definite fan of Dairystix’s, however recently I was reminded that even this excellent product could do with a little improving. Used in probably millions of workplaces everyday, these little sticks of milk have a longer shelf-life and save on packaging, however using them recently, I observed a few problems with these little … Read more
The core principle of the Oi Theory is that we should all strive to be better than we were yesterday, and we believe this is not as hard as it sounds. This fundamental idea is nothing new, it can be found somewhere in most self help books, is woven into many religions, and even found … Read more
Ever read the small print on TV Adverts that have those claims that ‘X out of Y people would recommend it to their friends’…It usually reveals that the number of people in the survey was tiny. Alternatively have you watched those ads that state that Such and Such magazine readers voted X products as ‘product … Read more
