Looking to the East
Well, it's been a fun couple of weeks on Wall Street, no? Was it really just a week ago that I blogged about the AIG fiasco?
There's plenty of blame to go around now for what could turn out to be, to borrow a phrase of Tom Brokaw's, the Greatest Depression. (What was so Great about the 1929 Depression, anyhow?) Depending on who's doing the talking, the fault for yesterday's failure to pass that $700 billion bailout can be attributed to the president's ongoing inability to convince anyone he's doing the right thing in any circumstance; to Nancy Pelosi's promise that new leadership in 2009 will solve these problems (yeesh, what a crackpot); or to the fact that the American public doesn't understand that the "bailout" is not, in fact, a bailout, but is an infusion of liquidity. (There; feel better?)
Personally, I don't think it helped when some Treasury Department spokeswoman told Forbes.com that the computing of the $700 billion sum was "not based on any particular data point. We just wanted to choose a really large number." What was that about new leadership again, Nancy?
Anyway, with all this sturm und drang going on, it's reasonable -- if not downright expected -- for companies to start panicking and burying their heads in the sand. But there's a glimmer of hope on the other side of the world, and it's the home of some 1.3 billion people.
A New York Times story in yesterday's business section, understandably buried by the general Chicken Little tenor of the day's other goings-on, noted that several airlines -- airlines ! -- are realizing the profit potential of expanding both their routes to Asia and the amenities contained therein. "I am quite happy as a clam flying business class on Cathay Pacific, slurping roast duck noodle soup, sipping a French claret, then getting a good solid sleep,” it quoted one traveler. “It’s all so civilized now.”
That China's slowly emerging from its sleeping-giant status is hardly news, but it's worth keeping in mind that the Shanghai Stock Exchange 180 index was one of the few yesterday to actually close in the black. Various entertainment firms, media companies, and CPG concerns are busily negotiating the Gordian knot of Chinese regulations to set up shop there in a major way.
Obviously, what's good for the Chinese markets doesn't necessarily translate to bullish times here. But what if the airlines started catering to domestic clientele in a manner similar to what they're doing for their Asia-Pac travelers? What if other companies started doubling down on their customer-service bets, realizing -- as we've been preaching for some time now -- that great customer service can be the very differentiator they need to wow their shoppers?
Of course, by this time next week the $700 billion plan may be as distant in the mirror as AIG's troubles are today. In which case I'll be trying to sell you apples on the street.
But you can bet that I'll be giving you a brighter smile and a heartier "Thank you" than my many competitors.
Related Entries
- Guest Blogger Joseph Jaffe: It's Better to Be S.A.F.E. Than Sorry
- Hoffman's Hot Seat: The Chief Customer Officer: Building a Customer Strategy
- Guest Blogger Ralph Heath: What Has Happened to Customer Service in America?
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