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Im a coffee drinker. Period. It doesnt matter if it’s in the waiting area at Jiffy Lube, in the parking lot at Dunkin’, or at a vibey Indie mom-and-pop café that harvests their Arabica. If there’s hot bean water, I’m having a cup (or three).Obviously, I’d rather my coffee not taste like it’s been sitting in a pot for the better part of the dayslightly burnt and watered down. In a perfect world, or in a world with perfect coffee, it should jolt you from grogginess and at the same time, be bursting with flavor. I want my coffee strong and hot (I swear were still talking about coffee). A dash of milk, too, please. Oh, and I also want my daily morning bev to be undeniably good for me. You can’t always have everything when it comes to your morning drink. Its just coffee, after all. Its not a winning lottery ticket or a miracle drug, you know? Bulletproof coffee is seriously upping the bean water game and making me rethink so many hundreds (thousands!?) of subpar slurps. Bulletproofs founder, Dave Asprey, wanted to create a cup of coffee that offers more than a quick jolt of energy. After learning about the benefits of combining caffeine and fat while drinking butter tea in Tibet, he created a brand that would do just that. Bulletproof Coffee, which contains coffee, MCT oil, and grass-fed ghee (clarified butter), was born. Now, arguments have been made over the years (arguments Ill gladly cling to) that coffee, when consumed in moderation, is actually fairly healthy. It may be especially good for heart health. However, Bulletproof coffee attempts to take the coffee is healthy argument to a whole new level. In addition to the Bulletproof butter recipe, the individual flavors have a variety of different ingredients that may offer mind and body benefits, like MCT oil, which is supposed to support focus and mental clarity, and feeling full for longer. Some Bulletproof Coffee flavors have additions like prebiotics, which research has shown can support gut health, along with slippery elm bark, B vitamins, and lions mane, which has been shown to help with mood. In June the company launched a rebrand, where it introduced two different packaging optionsone for its Enhanced line and one for its Artisan line. The Enhanced line is about energy, focus, and gut health and comes in white packaging. The Artisan line features coffee thats focused on taste and clean ingredients, and comes in black packaging. “This rebrand is about more than just a new look, it’s a reflection of where we’re headed,” said Andy van Ark, CCO of Bulletproof in a statement. “We’ve evolved alongside our consumers, and today’s Bulletproof is focused on energizing and empowering consumers to own their day. In the spirit of owning my day, I tried three different Bulletproof coffees: the Original, the High Achiever from the Enhanced line, and the Mentalist from the Artisan line. First up, was the Original, and it was love at first sip. The flavor is smooth, yet bold and robust. I knew I could spend every morning with this same brew and never get bored. It also seemed to provide steady energy, meaning I felt focused for longer than usual. Next, I sampled the High Achiever, which is especially formulated to help with both energy and focus. I wasn’t expecting to notice a huge difference from the Original flavor. But wildly, I felt super focused through my entire work day, and beyond. While I’m usually a three-mugs-a-morning kinda gal, I found myself zipping through work, organizing my office, and only requiring one cup to do it. I mean, I still had two, but I didn’t need two. Notably, I didnt hit an afternoon slog, which is pretty common for me after my morning caffeine wears off. Instead, I felt energized all day, which my dog especially appreciated because it meant she got an extra long walk. Last, but definitely not least, came the Mentalist. Like the others, I’d gladly drink this one every day, but in terms of flavor, it was the winner. It has the exact flavor I’m always looking for in a cup of coffee, with hints of cherry, almond, and caramel, and while, no, I didn’t pick those all up myself, (I read them on the package), they came together perfectly. Like the original, I felt focused for longer than usual, too. A 12-ounce package of ground coffee runs about $16.99, a bit higher than budget brands, although subscribe and save options on the site can shave off a few dollars. Still, I do think it helped my focus and energyespecially the High Achieverpretty undeniably. If you’re looking for a cup of coffee that tastes really great and has even better body and brain-boosting benefits, Id recommend not sleeping on Bulletproof. After just one cup, you’ll be so full of energy, sleep will be the last thing on your brain anyway.
Category:
E-Commerce
Poor customer service can hurt your business. But just how badly might surprise you. Just ask United Airlines. In 2008, musician Dave Caroll and his band Sons of Maxwell were traveling on United Airlines when the airline allegedly broke Carolls $3,500 Taylor guitar. United Airlines refused to pay for or replace the guitar, so Caroll and his band did what musicians do best. They wrote a song about the incident called United Breaks Guitars which details Carolls frustrating experience with the airlines customer service reps. The song went viral on YouTube with 25 million views (and counting). Travelers who came across the humorous video took to the internet to vent, recounting their own poor experiences with the airline industry, with United Airlines bearing the brunt of the criticism. It may be a coincidence, but a week after the video was posted, United Airlines lost 10% of its stock valuea value of $180 million. In todays age of sky-high digital connectivity, the need for companies to deliver remarkable customer experience has never been more important. While not all customers will be creative enough to record a viral music video detailing their experience with brands, customers can leave product and service reviews on sites like TrustPilot and Yelp, or take to social media and with just one post, share their experiences with thousands, hundreds of thousands, or even millions of followers. And, as we have seen with the examples of United Airlines, those negative reviews can have an impact on a companys bottom line. And even though research shows that consumers are more likely to share negative experiences through social media (49%) compared to positive experiences (38%), many companies such as Zappos, Southwest Airlines, and Ritz-Carlton are renowned for their remarkable customer experience. Despite acknowledging that their level of customer experience can make the difference between their companys success and failure, many companies still struggle to provide even mediocre service to their customers. The reason is that these companies treat poor customer service as a core problem to be solved, when poor customer service is actually a symptom of something much more dangerous to their businesses. That something is poor employee engagement. Treat the cause, not just the symptom Each year, companies invest billions of dollars in workplace training. According to Statistica, U.S. companies alone spent US$101.8 billion on training in 2023. And for some pretty good reasons. When employees receive practical and effective customer experience training, they gain valuable skills needed to successfully manage a range of customer interactionsfrom problem-solving customer concerns to answering complex customer queries, resolving issues in a timely manner, and salvaging negative customer experiences and transforming them into positive ones. While customer service training can provide employees with valuable clarity on how they should engage with customers, if the organization treats its employees poorly or has a toxic work culture, much of the training will fall on deaf ears. As Sybil F. Stershic, author of Taking Care of The People Who Matter Most, notes, The way your employees feel is the way your customers will feel. And if your employees dont feel valued, neither will your customers. Simply put, companies that invest in customer experience training but dont treat their employees well will often find that their investments result in minimal improvement in their customer experience delivery. Remember, if your employees dont feel valued, neither will your customers. On the other hand, companies that focus on building a highly engaged culture, treating their employees fairly, and valuing their efforts are more likely to benefit from customer experience training. Why? Because when employees are fully engaged and feel valued, they are more likely to want the company to succeed and will do their part to help the company meet its business goals, objectives, and targetsincluding delivering the type of remarkable service that turns casual customers into raving fans of their organizations. This idea that engaged employees deliver better customer service is backed up by research from Gallup, which showed that companies that scored in the top quartile of employee engagement saw 10% higher customer loyalty/engagement compared to companies in the bottom quartile. These companies with higher levels of employee engagement also benefitted from 23% higher profitability. Treat your employees better If your organization is struggling with delivering poor customer experience, the best way to deal with the issue is to focus on both the symptom and the problem with equal measure. Yes, you should most definitely provide your employees with customer experience training, but you should also invest in employee engagement programs that help ensure that employees feel valued. Always remember this simple adage: Your customer experience will never exceed your employee experience. Want to improve your customer experience delivery? Then be relentless in finding ways to treat your employees better. Here are a few examples of how you can make your employees feel appreciated for the work they do: A simple thank you goes a long way towards making employees feel valued. Publicly thank, recognize, and (If necessary) reward them for a job well done. Or, if more conducive to your workplace culture, write them a meaningful thank you note or email. Give them the opportunity to make recommendations on how to make your business stronger. Listen to their ideas and give them credit for any suggestions you decide to implement. Be sure that your employees pay and benefits package is commensurate with the value they bring to the organization. Pay attention to their workload and give them the opportunity to achieve an appropriate work/life balance that reduces the chances of burnout. Treating poor customer experience as the problem rather than the symptom will produce, at best, a temporary increase in customer experience delivery. Only by treating both the symptom and the cause will you achieve the customer experience results your company is working towards. And that starts with treating your employees better.
Category:
E-Commerce
The controversy surrounding Soham Parekh, the software engineer accused of secretly holding multiple jobs, has sparked a predictable backlash against “overemployment.” Parekh’s methodshe reportedly misled multiple employerswere clearly unethical, but this shouldn’t obscure a broader question: Is it time to rethink our antipathy toward employees holding multiple jobs? A double standard? Parekh’s case notwithstanding, there’s a deeper structural issue at play. Why should it be acceptable for some CEOs to hold leadership roles at multiple companies yet unacceptable for a talented marketer or software engineer to have multiple jobs? The world of work has fundamentally changed, and limiting people to one job is an outdated idea that doesnt benefit anyone. Startups have embraced fractional executives; CFOs, CMOs, and other senior positions going part time is now standard practice. However, large corporations continue to address similar needs exclusively through consulting arrangements. This highlights a significant gap in how organizations approach talent acquisition and utilization. This disparity provides valuable context for understanding why employees may resort to undisclosed secondary employment. By establishing clear policies and frameworks for multiple job arrangements, organizations could provide more transparent alternatives to the current trend of covert moonlighting. The gap between evolving work patterns and traditional corporate structures points to an opportunity for more adaptive talent management strategies. The inevitable shift Workers don’t have it easy today. Fresh graduates worry about their job prospects as entry-level roles shift to AI. Warehouse workers face replacement by robots. Large corporations continue to outsource jobs to cheaper sources of labor. We need to tilt the scales back in favor of workers and create an environment where talented and productive people can make a better living. By removing the taboo of overemployment, we would create an environment where honesty is rewarded over secrecy. AI is only going to make performing multiple jobs (a lot) easier. We should get ahead of this trend and bring it out into the open instead of pretending it won’t happen. How many other Soham Parekhs are out there today, perhaps working at your own company? We really have no idea, but there are likely to be more of them moving forward. Toward mutual benefit This isn’t just about employee flexibility; it could be a win for employers who are struggling to retain talent amid strict return-to-office mandates (another antiquated idea). It would allow enterprises to become more agile, tapping into top-tier talent only when needed. Furthermore, this shift would encourage a focus on outcomes and productivity rather than just managing hours in the office. The root cause of overemployment isnt that its unethical, its that were forcing it underground. The real scandal isnt workers maximizing their earning potential; its employers clinging to the primitive concepts that they own their employees entire productive capacity. Transparent overemployment could actually strengthen the job market. Imagine if companies had to compete not just on salary, but on being the kind of workplace that actually cares about the employee experience. While we can all acknowledge the shift in traditional corporate jobs isnt going to be easy or happen overnight, we must also accept that the current system punishes honesty and rewards deception. Weve turned competent professionals into corporate double agents. This isnt sustainable, and its certainly not efficient. The question isnt whether overemployment will continue, its whether well legitimize it before the whole charade collapses under its own absurdity. The industrial age is dead, but were still using its rule book. While AI copilots and agentic workflows obliterate the tedious grunt work that once consumed entire careers, were clinging to antiquated notions of what constitutes a full-time commitment. The math is brutal: If machines can handle the repetitive tasks that fill 40-hour weeks, why are we pretending humans still need to be chained to single desks?
Category:
E-Commerce
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