It's not a surprise that most call centers are very cost focused and not completely customer focused. There's an upside and a downside to this approach: on the one hand, call centers are traditionally … [More]
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Customer Experience, Lean and Six Sigma, Leadership
Customer Experience
How to Game the Net Promoter Score
Among other philosophical questions you've pondered, I'm sure you've also asked yourself "How to Game the Net Promoter Score?". Well, I'm here to answer that question for you. How to apply an … [More]
Where’s My Pizza? Behind The Scenes at Domino’s Pizza Tracker
Domino's Pizza Tracker Process - A Behind the Scenes Look at what actually happens in the Domino's Pizza Kitchen and how the steps in the kitchen connects to the steps in the Pizza Tracker - the tool … [More]
Customer Service Awkward Moments: Live Human is Busy
Have you ever experienced an odd customer service moment? That was a trick question - of course you have. We all have. And, I just experience one yesterday. So, I'm naming this article "Customer … [More]
Developing Customer Personas To Create Customer Journey Maps
Developing Customer Personas are a critical step in building Customer Journey Maps. Keeping in mind the purpose of the exercise is key: We develop customer journey maps in order to gain empathy for … [More]
Applying Continuous Improvement to Service Delivery with Adam Ramshaw
We're please to host Adam Ramshaw today, a Customer Experience consultant with more than 20 years of experience in helping organizations improve their service delivery. In this article, he shares with … [More]
The Rackspace Customer Experience Secret Sauce: An Interview with Rackspace COO Mark Roenigk
I am very excited to present this interview with Mark Roenigk, the Chief Operating Officer of Rackspace. For those who may not know, Rackspace is a hosting and cloud computing company, that has grown … [More]
Ignore the “Net” in NPS: Manage Promoters and Detractors Independently
Mobilizing an entire organization to a single number, such is the benefit of the Net Promoter Score. But, doing so can be misleading and can lead to behaviors overly-focused on the score and, moreover … [More]
Shep Hyken on Customer Service, Customer Experience, and Leadership
I am very excited to present to you an interview that I conducted with Shep Hyken. He is a recognized thought leader and expert on customer service, known worldwide for his insights on customer … [More]
Lean Manufacturing
Ever Wonder What Kaizen and Shaving Have in Common?
At first glance, there's no relationship between Kaizen and Shaving. But, like most things, it takes creativity and insight … [More]
Lean and Six Sigma Is Not For Lovers. Until Now.
You are a murderer of Love; A Reject of Romance - have you ever been accused of being either of those before? Yeah, me … [More]
What a Coffee Cup Taught Me About Poka Yoke and Human Errors
One can learn a lot about Poka Yoke and Human Errors. This is a story about what a coffee cup taught me about how poor design … [More]
What Does It Mean to Be Lean? An Infographic Explanation
"What does it mean to be Lean Six Sigma?" is a common question asked by curious folks interested in Lean or Six Sigma, but … [More]
5 Whys Technique in Market Research
The 5 Whys technique, from Taiichi Ohno, is an effective technique traditionally used to arrive at root causes of a problem. … [More]
Standard Pig Game
Standard Work is a foundation of Lean. Yet, it's a concept that's not understood well and, even worse, is often ignored by … [More]
High Value Low Cost Lean and Six Sigma Training
I usually post a few articles per week on a topic related to Lean or Six Sigma. But, for the last several months, I've been … [More]
Lean and Six Sigma in eCommerce – A Presentation and Case Study
In looking at my old files, I found this old presentation of the time I was at eBay. There, I was responsible for … [More]
The One Skill You Need to Solve Any Problem But Probably Aren’t Using
Yes, the title is a bit dramatic. But, I'm trying to make a point as well as liberally applying some creativity to my … [More]
The DMAIC Framework
Six Sigma is a business improvement methodology that was developed at Motorola to systematically reduce or eliminate defects and reduce variation. Six Sigma typically follows the … [More]
Value Stream Map Symbols [video]
For Premium Shmula.com members, we've provided two videos for you that shows you how to create a value stream map. The first video is 4:41 minutes long and the second is 4:27 minutes long. You can … [More]
Seven Quality Tools
In this 4:46 HD Premium Video, you will receive an introduction to the 7 Quality tools. Specifically, you'll learn the following: What are the 7 Quality Tools? What are their benefits? How to … [More]
PDCA and DMAIC Comparison: Similarities and Differences
Integrating or reconciling the PDCA framework from Lean and DMAIC from Six Sigma is the topic of this post. How is the PDCA Cycle similar or difference from the DMAIC of Six Sigma? Since both … [More]
SIPOC Diagram: Metrics? What Metrics?
A SIPOC Diagram helps us to determine which metrics matter and which metrics we can afford to ignore. This article discusses the metrics for which a SIPOC Diagram can help us identify. To learn more … [More]
The MEASURE Phase
The Measure Phase is the second phase in the Six Sigma Define-Measure-Analyze-Improve-Control (DMAIC) methodology. In a previous post, we discussed the Define Phase in the Six Sigma DMAIC Methodology … [More]
FMEA Template and Practical Example
In this article, we provide an FMEA Template, a Practical FMEA Example, and a premium training video showing you how to create an FMEA in excel. This video runs 4:45 and can be viewed by members only. … [More]
Lean History and Timeline
This article shows a timeline and video of the History of Lean Six Sigma Toyota. As with most things, The Toyota Production System (later to be called Lean in America) has been influenced by … [More]
Purpose of CTQ Metric and How to Create a Critical to Quality Tree
The purpose of Critical To Quality trees is to convert customer needs or wants to measurable requirements for the business to implement. This approach assumes that the customer can articulate what … [More]
Toyota Floor Management System
Want Lean Training like the one Taught at Toyota? [1. Disclaimer: This course material is not endorsed by Toyota. This material is inspired by my time at Toyota.] Learn the Toyota Floor Management Development System Learn and Implement Real Lean For only $299 $199.99 You Get Lean is Simple, but many overcomplicate it. Lean is a Management System that is … Learn Today
Management Consulting Templates
PowerPoint Presentation Business Templates Downloads Save HUNDREDS of hours and Deliver Professional PowerPoint Presentations You and I are a lot alike. You are likely a professional or an MBA student that wants to deliver amazing, professional presentations. But, you have a few obstacles: You don't have the time and your PowerPoint skills may not be up to snuff. That's okay. I'm here … Pricing Details
Queueing Theory
DMV Queueing Properties: Waiting in Line at the Local Department of Motor Vehicles
No matter who you are - rich, old, poor, young, famous, infamous, or not known to anybody - there are a few things that unite … [More]
Poka Yoke
What a Coffee Cup Taught Me About Poka Yoke and Human Errors
One can learn a lot about Poka Yoke and Human Errors. This is a story about what a coffee cup taught me about how poor design in our products and systems invite human error. Many years ago, I had to travel to Dublin every few months for work. I had team members there and part […]
Leadership Interviews
Leadership Interviews | Innovation and Thought Leaders
This page contains a comprehensive list of interviews Shmula.com has held with business leaders, innovation thought leaders, and customer experience practitioners. It's my hope that the words found in these interviews may be helpful to you in some … More
About Shmula
My name is Pete Abilla. This website is my take on the Customer Experience, eCommerce Operations, The Toyota Production System / Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, Queueing Theory, Operations Management, building software, Customer Service, and you'll