Customer Complaints play a critical role in any organization because they are the rawest form of interaction between a customer and a business.  Complaints, by their very nature, are an emotional reaction to an experience.  It’s visceral so it’s more about emotion than fact.  Customers who are angry, frustrated or “feel” like they have been disrespected in some fashion are more inclined to let their feelings be known.  A company should never, ever, dismiss a customer’s complaint, even if it’s proven that the complaint has no factual foundation.  An angry customer today has a multitude of communication platforms at their disposal to share their outrage.  A company who ignores customer complaints does so at their own peril.  Companies can learn a great deal from complaints and in some cases customer complaints can help an organization identify flaws in their DNA.

As the Chair of the CAAMP Mortgage Forum, I think about customer complaints and feedback, and how best to interpret the complaints/feedback.  Unlike organizations that produce a product, the Mortgage Forum is an experience.  An experience is emotional and therefore when I review the CAAMP survey I do so through a filter.  All the feedback we receive about the conference is carefully analyzed but I also remind myself that it is nearly impossible to satisfy everyone. Some people are predisposed to having a less than positive experience.

For example, some complaints are made by those who fall into the “bitter bucket”.  These are individuals who really dislike a different approach. Let me rephrase that, they hate everything.  They long for the old ways.  The simple things in life provide them comfort, and they miss that.  If the messiah himself was to appear on stage these people would say, “great…just what we need…another motivational speaker”.  The other group is the “phantom bucket”.  These are the people who go to the conference and don’t attend any sessions. However, they still share their opinions about the quality of the sessions and speakers.  I’m impressed that their telepathic prowess is not impacted by sleep deprivation and libation intake.

Irrespective of the categories of complaints they all serve a purpose.  The Mortgage Forum is a two and half day experience and the likelihood of being completely satisfied over the course of the entire conference is pretty low. The attention to detail, by those responsible for putting this event together, is the reason why the majority of delegates are satisfied with their experience at the Mortgage Forum. For the people who arrange the Mortgage Forum, it’s the little things.  Like addressing the complaint we received one year that “the bagel’s we served at breakfast were too small”.  So now when you have breakfast at the Mortgage Forum you’ll notice there are bagel instructions on the back of all the napkins: “If you believe the bagels are too small, please feel free to eat two of them“.  Just kidding, we went with bigger bagels.

Until next time,

Cheers.

It’s day two at the CAAMP Mortgage Forum and the day stated with music and a presentation on the creative process with recording artist David Usher. Hell of a way to start the day. I challenged the creative part of my brain by asking him to come up with lyrics that incorporate the words bps, OSFI, B20 and trailer fees. We might have to wait a while to hear that hit.

I have to get back to the conference.

Until next time,

Cheers.

Minus the tents, sleeping on the ground, rummaging for food and not bathing for a few days.  There will be no roughing it at the CAAMP Mortgage Forum 2012.  Every aspect of the conference is high end.  From its location, speaker line-up and entertainment.  The mortgage industry is entitled to an event which is celebratory in nature.  Our industry has been in the cross-hairs for some time now, and this conference gives us an opportunity to say to all those who viewed our industry in a negative light, We’re still here…We’re still standing…We’re still relevant.

As the Conference Chair, my wish is that all attendees enjoy the experience.  There’s nothing wrong with having fun while you learn and network.  Personally, what I’m looking forward to is talking to people.  Old school, one-on-one conversations. Less texts, and more handshakes and smiles.  Here’s to a great Mortgage Forum 2012, and I look forward to seeing you in Vancouver.

 Until next time,

 Cheers.

I think we’re all guilty of making things out to be a lot worse than they really are. It’s easy to become overwhelmed just thinking about all the responsibilities we all have in our personal and professional lives. A good dose of perspective can always shake you back to reality and remind you of what’s truly a problem and what’s nothing more than melodrama. I received a good dose perspective over the last 10 days.

It was 10 days ago when I started not to feel very well, I started experiencing chest pains. I didn’t think it was heart attack, why would a 52 year old, slightly overweight man with high cholesterol think that? To be on the safe side I went to the doctor and he put me through a battery of tests. I was right, no heart attack. The doctor wanted me to be thorough so they sent me off to get x-rays done on my chest. The next day the doctor called me and said, “Your x-ray indicated that you have a small nebular density on your lung. We believe it’s benign but we cannot rule out cancer. We’re going to arrange a CT scan on chest to get a better look, and from there we can determine what the next steps will be.”

Funny how everything changed from the moment I heard those words. (more…)

In a little over a week I get to play the part of an expected father, the birth of a massive baby;  Mortgage Forum 2012 officially opens on Sunday, November 25th, in the beautiful city of Vancouver. This is year two of the conference transformation or rebirth if you will.  The teeth gnashing and nail biting was far more intense last year.  I guess that’s because you’re never 100 per cent sure if and how the change will be embraced.  I received many compliments during the Forum last year but I had this nagging doubt that people were just being polite.  Therefore, attendees true feelings and thoughts would be captured by way of survey results.  I waited with baited breath to get the results, and what a satisfying exhale it was when the results came in.  The results were off the charts, and it was there in black and white, the changes were embraced.  Many the of the survey respondents commented, “How are you going to top it next year?”  All modesty aside, we’re going to do it. (more…)