Who I Am... What I Do...

Robert Stanke is an Interactive Community & Social Marketing Professional in Minneapolis, Minnesota.  Stanke currently works for Life Time Fitness in Chanhassen, Minnesota.

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Friday
12Mar2010

My Personal Code of Ethics as a business professional and blogger

As a business professional and blogger, my purpose is to serve the greater good by bringing people and resources together to create value that no single individual can create alone.  Therefore I will seek a course that enhances the value my services can create for society over the long term.  I recognize my decisions can have far-reaching consequences that affect the well-being of individuals inside and outside my businesses and that of my employer, today and in the future.  As I reconcile the interests of different constituencies, I will face choices that are not easy for me and others.

Therefore I promise:

  • I will act with utmost integrity and pursue all my works in an ethical manner.
  • I will safeguard the interests of my shareholders, co-workers, customers and the society in which we operate.
  • I will manage my professional career in good faith, guarding against decisions and behavior that advance my own narrow ambitions but harm the community and the societies it serves.
  • I will understand and uphold, both in letter and in spirit, the laws and contracts governing my own conduct and that of my businesses and employer.
  • I will take responsibility for my actions, and I will represent the performance and risks of my profession accurately and honestly.
  • I will develop both myself and other around me (co-workers, colleagues, and competitors) so that the profession continues to grow and contribute to the well-being of society.
  • I will strive to create sustainable economic, social, and environmental prosperity worldwide.
  • I will be accountable to my peers and they will be accountable to me for living by this oath.

This oath I make freely, and upon my honor.


Thursday
11Mar2010

Evernote's customer service is a big disappointment

I don't do stuff like this very often, and in fact have questioned in the past whether or not consumers do more harm than good on social sites as they rage against companies.  But this case has some good business practices that are failing for one company and I felt were important to point out.  So here goes...

Many, many times on this blog I have professed my love for Evernote.  One of the top search engine queries that drives traffic to my site are strings containing the word "Evernote".  I have stated many times on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn about how I have made a home for my GTD life within Evernote.  But regardless of all of that, Evernote has let me down.  So while I was once a champion for the service, now I have to question their customer service practices.

Some might say, "Well, com'mon, Evernote is a free service.  What did you expect?"  Evernote was not free for me.  I chose the premium service from Evernote a few months ago, which amounted to $5.00 a month.  Sure, that is not a lot of money, but because I like what Evernote did for me, I chose the pay-to-play option as opposed to choosing one of the hundreds of other free services out there.  Now I am going to completely leave Evernote and never return.  Here is how it all went down...

On March 5th, I received an email from Google Checkout informing me that Evernote was billing my credit card $5.00, just like every month before.  I proceeded to use Evernote, just like normal.

Then yesterday, I received an email (out of the blue) that Evernote was downgrading my account to the free option because they couldn't charge my card.  At this point, I lost some major pieces of functionality that I rely on by using the premium option.  My guess is because I received a new card last month, so my expiration date changed, but this makes no sense because all of my other auto-bill pays are working just fine.

So, no big deal, I thought, I will just contact them to get this all figured out.  Perhaps I could just re-register my account and set-up the pay option, but how about a little customer interaction so I can understand why they opted to just shut me out as opposed to maybe contacting me first and allowing me to update my credit card information.  No, they just flipped the switch with no attempt to contact me first.  Well, there is absolutely no way to contact Evernote.  It is non-existent!  I even dropped them a note on Twitter and Facebook - but no response.  A simple Twitter reply would have kept me as a customer, even if it would have meant that I would have had to re-join Evernote, but now I think I am just going to bail all together.  Why?  Because relationships and customer service are more important to me than anything the service can provide me.  I want to have a relationship with each and every vendor I pay my money to for use of their service.  No phone support?  Fine, I can deal with that, but you can't provide an easy way for me to email you and get a reply?  What if I would have had a major issue with my data?

A big disappointment for a service I really enjoy.  I am sure my $60/year is small peanuts to them, but maybe it is time for all of us to get back to the fundamentals of relationships in business.

 

Wednesday
10Mar2010

Website Usability and Content Survey - Your participation is appreciated!

Tuesday
09Mar2010

Find your passion, because it is in you

I don't do very many video blog posts, but late last night, during my walk, I felt inspired by some of the things that are going on in my life right now.  Hence this video about finding and executing your passion and how I am on my way to fully living it...

Monday
08Mar2010

Thank you

I have been spending so much time lately engrossed in ideas and creation, that I almost forgot a very important part of what makes me who I am today... you.  I wanted to take a few minutes on my blog today to really thank you for taking the time out of your busy day to read and sometimes comment on my content.  Words cannot express the true feeling a blogger, journalist, news reporter, or any other type of content creator gets knowing that someone has taken the time to read our thoughts, opinions or whatever else might hit the keyboard.  The time you take to read my material is overwhelming to me sometimes, and I want you to know that I value everyone - new visitors and frequent ones - each day.  Corny and cliche as it sounds, it is very true.

The traffic to my site has quadrupled since just six months ago.  My RSS subscribers have tripled in that same time frame.  The feedback I get is almost always positive.  I don't state these facts to boast at all.  I say them to myself often, because I am proud of what I have accomplished.  These numbers make me work harder to continue trying to bring you one person's view of his small world.  I will most likely never be able to thank you enough for helping make myself proud of what I have done.

Blogging and maintaining this site takes time.  A lot of time.  Perhaps there are opportunities I have missed due to this damn site, and the time I take logged into it.  But on the other hand, it has also created opportunities.  I have met many people through my blog who I am now happy to call my friends.  My blog has even made me money.  Significant money.  I am not talking about Google AdSense money.  I am talking about opportunities for my services.  It has landed me contracts and jobs.  Some might look at a blog and wonder why someone would take such time to write what seems like wasted words.  I tell them, "No, my friend, a blog is much more than that."  My blog has opened doors, and none of that would have been possible without you.

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog.  I truly am grateful for your time, because I know just how valuable it is.