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]
shmula
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
5S Shadow Board Example: Rastafarian Style
We know that 5S is an important foundation in any implementation of Lean. Within 5S, there are many ways to apply its … [More]
9 Emotions Only Kaizen Event Leaders Understand
Kaizen Leaders - this article is for you. For those that have led and facilitated Point Kaizen Events, you have … [More]
Visual Management at a Hotel
Don't you hate it when you attempt to get a fork from a condiment stand, but end up picking up a spoon? Has that ever … [More]
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]
Graphical Representation of Data
Graphical methods includes boxplots, stem and leaf plots scatter diagrams, pattern and trend analysis, histograms, normal probability distributions and Weibull distributions. This premium article for … [More]
Suppliers, Inputs, Process, Output, Customers (SIPOC Diagram)
A SIPOC is a high level process map that includes Suppliers, Inputs, Process, Output, and Customers. The Premium HD Video below explains SIPOC and shows several examples from real world Six Sigma … [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]
History of Six Sigma: Main Influencers and Their Biographies
Below are just some of the well known quality pioneers, their brief background, and what they contributed to the foundations and History of Six Sigma. Remember, this is a sample of the influencers of … [More]
The Project Charter in Six Sigma
The Project Charter in Six Sigma DMAIC Project is one of the most important artifacts that will keep the team on the same page, stakeholders aware and communicated to, and will help the Black Belt … [More]
What is Six Sigma
σ sigma is a letter of the Greek alphabet. Mathematicians use this symbol to signify standard deviation, an important measure of variation. Variation designates the distribution or spread about the … [More]
Standard Work in Lean Six Sigma: No Standard, Then No Kaizen
Standard Work in Lean Six Sigma is a very misunderstood topic. We explain Standard Work in this video and show you how to begin applying this principle today. Taiichi Ohno is credited with having … [More]
The Pareto Principle
The Pareto Principle was named after an Italian economist who discovered that 80% of the wealth in Europe was concentrated in 20% of the population. This discovery is also known as the 80/20 rule or … [More]
Check Sheets
A Check Sheet is one of the Seven (7) Basic Quality Tools. A Check Sheet is a simple tool for data collection. In this post, I'll show how to create and use a Check Sheet and provide some basic … [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