Google me this or why Google hates customer service

Google maps for business seems like a great idea. That is unless you have to use it. Until recently I had no idea that Google map spam was such a huge problem. Its such a big problem that they have a Google Group assigned to it. Too bad no one seems to be helping anyone there.

I have had a problem for weeks and no one has responded. Under our domain, in a Google search, there is an address for no apparent reason. It has nothing to do with our company. So you think we should be able to get rid of it right? Well Google doesn't seem to care. Because there are hundreds of others with the same issue. The issue is random spammers taking over addresses, domains and other portions of your business information on Google.

My favorite recent post topic: "This forum is a waste of time" with the following post "I guess google really doesn't care about spammers taking advantage of google maps if they cared something would be done already Maybe we should stop using google"

Google loves to make new products but if seems they to hate support them. If you ask for help they tell you there is a help page. Google, like most companies, isn't perfect but there is a lot they could be doing that they aren't. It's not a tough problem to solve across their many product lines they just need to get the right team put together and make a real effort. Otherwise they'll become another huge tech company that we all love to pick on (Microsoft anyone?).

I read the news today oh boy...

Why are newspapers going out of business? Because they always seem to be years behind everyone else.

If I ran one of the major newspaper companies like New York Times, Hearst, McClatchey, MediaNews Group, Lee, etc. I wouldn't operate out of fear or be reactive--I'd be proactive. At this point what do newspapers have to lose? They are already losing.

There are no instant fixes for newspapers but here are a few thoughts:

1. Newspapers won't print on paper forever. Why aren't these newspaper companies coming together and investing in companies like Amazon, which owns the Kindle, or investing in epaper? It would save them billions of dollars a year by not printing on paper and the cost of investing in this future technology wouldn't cost anywhere near that. Even better, give the new epaper product to current and future subscribers. You'd still be saving money as a collection of papers and probably find the one thing newspapers can't find now: new subscribers. Just sign them up for a 3 year subscription in return they get the epaper reader.

2. Why do newspapers concede ownership of news aggregation to the likes of Yahoo, Google, MSN, AOL, Digg, etc? I'd create a newspaper coalition and buy or build a portal property and become the owner of my own destiny rather than hoping that your story gets picked up and you get Dugg. Within that newspaper portal I'd create the best news search engine.

3. Build better classifieds. Video, audio, and more. Craigslist is the minimalist's answer to classifieds so make them better. Not just better, make them great. Then, print the classifieds. Craig can't do that.

4. Create a newspaper site that allows the users to build their own section. If I like crafts then let me build a crafts section. Even more niche would be a sewing section under crafts. Let the user build the section and we'll filter the stories from around the world of interest to people who sew. It's not impossible to build niche sections--Ebay does it. Newspapers need to stop deciding what people want and let them show us.

What do we really want from a company? (Volume 1)

It depends on what side of the fence you are on. Are we talking about employment or goods and services?

Let's think of this is in two volumes. First is what does an employee want.

I was lucky enough to visit Google's Mountain View campus. I was able to get two full meals while there and enjoy their mini kitchens, or whatever they call them. I was floored by that alone. Than you throw in free bus rides to work [San Fran is a long haul from Mountain View] to work, laundry, campus bikes and electric cars etc. and you have the formula for work utopia. Yes it does benefit Google because those employees will work harder and probably longer. But if Google goes overboard for its employees you only have to step back and look at other companies who are overboard in the other direction.

Every company wants to save money but it shouldn't come at the cost of a strong and happy workforce. Google gives you all the perks in the world and free coffee and bacon are great but most companies forget the fundamentals. And don't think for a minute that Google doesn't have turnover--two of my friends are no longer employees... but that's a discussion for another day.

One fundamental tool that can destroy a corporation is when everyone sees themselves as part of their own departmental team. Infighting will destroy even the best companies. If your employees don't believe everyone is working in the best interest of the company there will be trouble and turnover at all levels. This can't be covered up with free cookies.

The next biggest problem is when upper management, your corporate leaders, don't listen to their employees. This has many levels. When you have brilliant employees who offer ideas and no one listens that is a big enough problem. But everything is magnified ten fold when upper management doesn't listen to the advice of their lower level leaders. Once the fractures forms in other levels of management it will spill over into their departments. It's impossible for disheartened bosses to hide their pain forever. And when their associates feel their boss' frustration they often fear their boss will leave and they end up leaving first.

Who's the boss? If management has to ask that question then there is really big trouble. Theoretically, everyone knows who their boss is, but when they can't get decisions made because someone else is to blame that question must arise.

Another frustration is the lack of tools given for a team to compete against their competitors. No one wants to sit in a meeting and hear how well their competitor is doing against their company knowing that they aren't competing on a level playing field. The best employees are competitive but if they aren't given the ability to compete on the same level eventually they will find some place to compete where its a fair fight. Even worse, they might go to the place that continues to hand them their hat.

Employees wants are simple: a fun place to work that challenges them and allows them to the chance to thrive. If we were to list all the things that frustrate employees we'd be here for years, but as much as we think about our small daily bickering the above issues are the types that fracture companies from the top down that aren't easily fixed. If Sarah hates Kate because she doesn't pull her weight the solution is easy--you can fire someone. But when your C suite executives don't see the forest through the trees and let some of the above issues fester they will lose their best talent often without ever knowing why.

You print a what?

Why are newspapers in big trouble? And why don't they look like they are ever going to get out of it? Because they still think of themselves as news-papers. Not media companies.

Google is Google. Just try to define them. Software company? Wrong. They sell hardware. Internet company? Wrong. They create green products. People don't realize it but Google is what GE wishes they were but claims to be. Newspapers are newspapers. They aren't much more. They still make a newspaper online with some code written around it.

Why do they do it? Centuries of expectations that only exist in the minds of entrenched newspaper employees. They live by the rules of journalism and paper and ink. So what comes of the day when people forget what paper and ink feels like? Well those days are now.

What can newspapers do?
1. Stop paying lip service to being web first and do it. Make an investment in technology (this includes people and hardware/software).
2. Train all over your employees to understand the web. Not optional training.
3. If you want to be Google you have to think like Google. Launch many products in their alpha/beta stage and learn as you develop. This means creating diverse products which are promoted by the newspaper website.
4. Write stories that appeal to ever niche in your region: mothers, towns, cities, religions, music tastes, ages, etc. If you can't be more local than Google, AP, Reuters, etc. then why are you in business?
5. There are companies who barely exist today that get angel investors and venture capital to invest in their future--why aren't newspapers?

Sometimes the wrong move creates an opening for your worst enemies

A few days ago Google released their browser Chrome. It's got some neat features but you have to wonder if this doesn't create an opening for Microsoft or Yahoo.

I understand that it looks like it could go the opposite direction--after all it is a direct jab at Microsoft. However it also takes a jab at a company that has been a huge advocate of Google: Mozilla. (Mozilla is the creator of the Firefox browser)

I'm using Firefox right now and right at the top right of my browser is a Google search. If I'm Mozilla I have to start questioning my relationship with Google considering the great real estate they own in my browser. If I'm Microsoft or Yahoo I'd be on the phone with someone over at Mozilla wondering how much it would cost me to take Google's spot and reminding them how Google has basically stuck it to them.

Sure, Microsoft has a browser too, but they were in the game before Firefox. The best chance really is for Yahoo who doesn't have a browser but does have a search engine.

Google joining the browser market in my opinion is actually good for Microsoft because the tech savvy users are going to adopt Chrome--the same people who use Firefox. The 80% who use Internet Explorer do so mostly because they don't even know about Firefox. Microsoft might still be at 80% a year from now with Firefox only owning 15% of the marketing and Google with 5%. Or some other variation. The funny thing is this reverses the roll of Google search verses Microsoft search. Microsoft should revel in their new found dominance of Google, but MS better get it right with IE8.

How AAA might go to A minus

In a time when companies are finding their market shares being eaten by online monsters like Google the best thing isn't to try and duplicate the lack of features they offer but offer more features.

I was a AAA member, no longer. Why do I need them when I have Google? Sure, they offer auto coverage when I get a flat tire, but I use them most for maps for trips. Google has devastated that market. So what does AAA offer? Trip Tickets that look like they were printed on my aunt's ink jet. These are worse than subpar. Instead AAA could offer me the best, most detailed maps and reminded me that Google can't compete with them. AAA has not only ignored quality products it has given up a market they owned for decades when they don't need to.

Here is one more reason AAA is no longer a company I subscribe to. When I took my kids to Disney Land we went to a highly recommended hotel by AAA in Anaheim. We stayed there long enough to find one of the worst hotels on the strip. We moved down the street to the Courtyard by Marriott and into a hotel that was nearly a condo. It went from a possibly horrible vacation at AAA three star hotel to a wonderful vacation at a great hotel.

The hotel might have been nice in the 1960s but not in 2008. What year did AAA last visit that hotel? When the company,AAA, that you rely on to give you recommendations no longer has any credibility then they are in even deeper trouble. Consumer Reports is one of the most respectable companies in America regarding their recommendations and that is because they constantly check these products and test--what about AAA?

If I was AAA I'd do the following:
1. Quality maps and services for travel. Don't just cede to Google the mapping game. Also, GPS trip planning is another option. If I have a GPS system have your service agents program my GPS trip and all the stops from gas stations and recommended places to eat and sleep.

2. Start incorporating deep reviews by users. Not just stars and ratings. Get the ratings from members and every time they go or stay some where give them points for rating everything possible and change the actually AAA ratings based on a cumulative rating. Also, put users photos in the books and on the site--including video. Wouldn't it be great to have member travel videos about their trips and what they did? AAA shouldn't take reviews from non-members--that way they aren't skewed by hotels, restaurant companies and/or their friends.

3. AAA should release their reviews internationally based on their internal reviews and member reviews. AAA should become the Consumer Reports of hotels, restaurants, family entertainment and recreation. This would then allow AAA to charge yearly travel fees for reviews, etc. only ala Consumer Reports.

4. AAA has to makeover their entire website and rethink their web approach. Customer service isn't a bad thing so don't only expect your users to just go online and do all the work. Older members don't even get online. But the web is the only way to get new members. There are lots of people out there like me who do a lot of research for trips and don't want to be disappointed.

Moral: AAA isn't defeated yet, but if they don't move quickly they'll find themselves in a long line of companies like newspapers who are trying to figure out how the future came and left them wondering how they missed the boat.