Yesterday was a big day at MetLife Stadium. Our vendor/sponsor Verizon held an event for their 'Public Sector' customers and clients. My job was to invite as many of our NYDLA.org | NADLA.org members from NY/NJ/CT to the event. Mission Accomplished.
OK, great day. Fantastic day. AMAZING DAY. Especially if you are a big fan of the NEW YORK FOOTBALL GIANTS like me. Bottom like it was a perfect day. Weather was great. I even got onto the field and kicked an extra point. And I have video to prove it.....
And then, at the end of the day..... as we were leaving.... it happened. They grabbed me and my VIP guest (the guy who drove me) to ask a two-question survey. Sure, done. "OK, thanks. Now you both can go over there and get your prize - an autographed football." WOW! Can this day get any better???
Scanned my badge. Scanned my friend's badge. Oh, sorry. You do not qualify for the gift.
In Jaws (1975), the famous "Get Out Of The Water" scene contains a dolly zoom that focuses on Martin Brody's shocking realization of a shark on the beach. If there was a camera on me at that moment, you would have a perfect dolly zoom moment.
In that moment, just those few seconds, my mood went from THIS IS AMAZING! WHAT A GREAT DAY!!! to... this sucks.
A totally amazing day at MetLife Stadium - thank you Verizon!!!!
A quick 2 question survey on an iPad as we are leaving - cool!
Great, here now get in this line to get your VIP gift - oh boy!
Sorry, no soup for you....
Guess what we talked about in the car, the entire ride home? The big fat NO from MetLife stadium staff. You could tell from the look on their face - they all knew this was not cool. Someone made a rule, and that rule was being enforced by stadium staff. Making a VIP guest feel terrible upon exit of an AMAZING event? Why? A totally unforced error. How many other people were told "No, sorry, no gift for YOU...." Is that the LAST memory that you want your guest to have for the day? I think not.
Ok, I write this at 8:00 AM the day after. I am slowing forgetting about the faux pas. But at any time, in any situation, there can be an unforced error right around the corner. Everyone (including Verizon) can and should learn from this. Don't be Lucy with the Football (Charlie Brown).
FLAG! Personal Foul. 15 yard penalty, and loss of down.
About Thomas A. Capone | CEO | NYDLA.org | TAC-USA.com
About: Thomas A. Capone Servicing 300+ of the Fortune 1000 Since 1983 in all areas of voice, data, wireless and wireline services. Specialties: Audio, Web, Videoconferencing, Voice, Cloud, Data, VoIP, TEM, Managed Services, BPO, SaaS, Wireless, eCommerce, SEO, Hosting, Security, Consulting, Social Media, Mobility.
Key Specialties: SaaS, IoT, mobility, cloud solutions, solution selling, commercial and enterprise sales, channel development, strategic partnerships, global market experience, collaboration solutions, commercial and large volume sales programs, product planning, target marketing and segmentation, market development; project operations, launch strategies, lead generation, client satisfaction and performance based leadership. Email: CEO@NYDLA.org
