Ombudsman? What does it mean? Here's what Wikipedia says:
n ombudsman (conventional English plural: ombudsmen) is a person who acts as a trusted intermediary between an organization and some internal or external constituency while representing not only but mostly the broad scope of constituent interests. An indigenous Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish term, Ombudsman is etymologically rooted in the Old Norse word umboðsmaðr, essentially meaning "representative". An ombudsman is an official, usually appointed by the government or by parliament, who is charged with representing the interests of the public by investigating and addressing complaints reported by individual citizens. Modern variations of this term include "ombuds", "ombudsperson", or "ombudswoman".
Usually appointed by the organization, but sometimes elected by the constituency, the ombudsman may, for example, investigate constituent complaints relating to the organization and attempt to resolve them, usually through recommendations (binding or not) or mediation. Ombudsmen sometimes identify organizational roadblocks running counter to constituent interests.
The Corporate Ombudsman - My Story
Back in early 2004, I was handpicked by TigerDirect's VP of Creative to make an almost immediate impact on the website by writing product ads. I was hired on a 30-day trial. After writing about 250 ads in two weeks, my boss said: "Let's make this arrangement permanent." This fellow (the VP of Creative) lived and breathed customer service., As co-founder of a company that eventually became part of a Fortune 600, 2-billion dollar a year technology giant, he knew that without fiercely loyal customers Tiger would be swallowed whole by the competition. This VP would come to work every day at 3 or 4 in the morning, painstakingly approving each and every customer review. After working with him for a couple of years, he said: "Why don't YOU do this instead of me?"
I took my new responsibility seriously;.
Not only did I approve the reviews - hundreds every week - I acted upon the negatives and responded to the positives. If a manufacturer, distributor hadn't treated the customer like a King or Queen, I took it as a personal insult and notified the company officer in charge of customer service, the individual who purchased the product for us, and often a particular customer service representative. We attended to every complaint!
But what about the weird title?
One day my boss emerged from one of his weekly executive customer service meetings, beaming like a proud daddy:
"You're a rock star!" he said.
"Huh?" was my response.
"You solved more than 100 customer service issues this week! The CEO wants you to become our Corporate Ombudsman!"
And that's what I became... And while I'm happy that I wrote more than 5000 ads, created countless informative articles on almost every aspect of digital technology you could imagine.. I get goosebumps when I think of how many customers I assisted each and every day I worked for this marvelous company.
On these blog pages, I'll share my secrets, collaborate with our Ombudsmen and Ombudswomen, and provide a place where all of us can exchange ideas and create bold new strategies and tactics to build brands by delivering extraordinary service to each and every customer.
n ombudsman (conventional English plural: ombudsmen) is a person who acts as a trusted intermediary between an organization and some internal or external constituency while representing not only but mostly the broad scope of constituent interests. An indigenous Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish term, Ombudsman is etymologically rooted in the Old Norse word umboðsmaðr, essentially meaning "representative". An ombudsman is an official, usually appointed by the government or by parliament, who is charged with representing the interests of the public by investigating and addressing complaints reported by individual citizens. Modern variations of this term include "ombuds", "ombudsperson", or "ombudswoman".
Usually appointed by the organization, but sometimes elected by the constituency, the ombudsman may, for example, investigate constituent complaints relating to the organization and attempt to resolve them, usually through recommendations (binding or not) or mediation. Ombudsmen sometimes identify organizational roadblocks running counter to constituent interests.
The Corporate Ombudsman - My Story
Back in early 2004, I was handpicked by TigerDirect's VP of Creative to make an almost immediate impact on the website by writing product ads. I was hired on a 30-day trial. After writing about 250 ads in two weeks, my boss said: "Let's make this arrangement permanent." This fellow (the VP of Creative) lived and breathed customer service., As co-founder of a company that eventually became part of a Fortune 600, 2-billion dollar a year technology giant, he knew that without fiercely loyal customers Tiger would be swallowed whole by the competition. This VP would come to work every day at 3 or 4 in the morning, painstakingly approving each and every customer review. After working with him for a couple of years, he said: "Why don't YOU do this instead of me?"
I took my new responsibility seriously;.
Not only did I approve the reviews - hundreds every week - I acted upon the negatives and responded to the positives. If a manufacturer, distributor hadn't treated the customer like a King or Queen, I took it as a personal insult and notified the company officer in charge of customer service, the individual who purchased the product for us, and often a particular customer service representative. We attended to every complaint!
But what about the weird title?
One day my boss emerged from one of his weekly executive customer service meetings, beaming like a proud daddy:
"You're a rock star!" he said.
"Huh?" was my response.
"You solved more than 100 customer service issues this week! The CEO wants you to become our Corporate Ombudsman!"
And that's what I became... And while I'm happy that I wrote more than 5000 ads, created countless informative articles on almost every aspect of digital technology you could imagine.. I get goosebumps when I think of how many customers I assisted each and every day I worked for this marvelous company.
On these blog pages, I'll share my secrets, collaborate with our Ombudsmen and Ombudswomen, and provide a place where all of us can exchange ideas and create bold new strategies and tactics to build brands by delivering extraordinary service to each and every customer.
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