Lindsay Casey

A Look Back on the Derby Days

CTYou know me as Lindsay Casey, but let me introduce you to my former alter ego, Cookie Toss #44, Captain of Chicks Ahoy Roller Derby.

Ever heard of the TXRD? They’re a badass group of chicks from Texas, and they were the inspiration behind one of my biggest achievements to date. About eight years ago, a bunch of us sat down with some beers and hatched a plan for roller derby domination. None of us knew how to skate, but we didn’t care. We were going to the the Toronto Terrors and we were going to kick ass.

A couple weeks later, armed with some mail order roller skates, we had negotiated practice space at an old roller rink in Mississauga. We found some coaches and figured it out. Within a few months we went from a bunch of beer swilling punk rockers to lean, mean, violent skating machines. Well, we kept swilling beer, but hey, roller skating burns a TON of calories!

We had no other team to play with and weren’t ready for a travel team, so we held tryouts. The response was amazing and we soon had 6 teams running in Toronto! I was chosen co-Captain of one of the fledgling teams. We named ourselves Chicks Ahoy! Bitches That Don’t Crumble and set out to be the best team in the city.

We were the party team, the underdogs, the fun ones. We were the fun ones that everyone thought were slackers, but we practiced as hard as we partied and kicked everyones asses. We lost the championship the first year the league held a proper season but came back swinging to take it the next year. Chicks Ahoy! have duelled the Gore Gore Rollergirls for the coveted boot every year since.

The Toronto Roller Derby League is now the largest flat track roller derby league in North America. I shattered my right knee in a motorcycle accident a few years ago so I no longer skate, but I’m proud of the impact my four years in the sport, from founding member to team captain to PR committee to alumni, had on both the league and myself. Just goes to show that if you build it, they will come.

Want something in your community? Don’t see it? Build it yourself. It feels awesome. 

Lindsay Casey

What Makes Me Awesome (Seriously!)

Man, it’s tough to write about yourself. Can’t lie, I don’t feel comfortable doing it, but I am taking this Digital Communications class for a reason, and what good is learning if it doesn’t take you outside of your comfort zone? Anyhoo, here we are so I’m going to bite the bullet and tell you what makes me awesome.

  • I’m super resourceful. I like to build things and make my own solutions to problems.
  • I’m independent. My mother aways said “you could drop my kids anywhere in the world and they’d survive.” She was right and I thank her for that.
  • I have lived in four countries and traveled a lot. My mind is wiiiiide open.
  • I can’t stop learning. My brain doesn’t like sitting still.

I’m savvy but scrappy, I know my sh*t, I’m a news junkie. I love digging into a challenging project and will do whatever it takes to deliver, but there is another side of me. That side is a truck driving, motorcycle riding country girl who often prefers animal company to human. She can build and fix things. She’s outspoken, dedicated to her causes and, if I wasn’t talking about myself, I’d say she’s kind of a badass. (Hey-o! See how I snuck that in there?)

Professionally, recommendations on my LinkedIn profile tell me that my colleagues think of me as someone reliable, willing to go the extra mile to get the job done. They commend me for my creativity and my ability to connect with clients on both a personal and professional level.

I’m working on finding the happy medium between tech obsessed social web geek and hillbilly recluse. I suppose live tweeting a demolition derby last weekend isn’t it but hey, a girl’s gotta have fun! My friends and colleagues may laugh at my love of engines and puttering around with crafts but they always come to me when they have a question about social media or anything tech/web related.

Eek! Now to run and hide my head for writing such a shameless post! Do you have a hard time writing about yourself? What makes you awesome?

Lindsay Casey

Westjet: A Social Media Case Study

In just 16 years, WestJet has grown from a small company serving five western Canadian airports to a successful international airline that flies to 85 destinations in 15 countries. Social media plays a large part in their continued success.

A few statistics:

Facebook: 385, 169 likes

Twitter: 192, 355 followers

YouTube: 2,145 subscribers | 2.935, 619 video views

From WestJet’s website: “This social media presence allows us to make meaningful connections with guests, and potential guests, even when they are not traveling.”

 

Greg Hounslow, WestJet’s social media advisor, approaches WestJet’s social media strategy with common sense. The airline is not active on every network out there, sticking with Facebook and Twitter, along with a well-curated YouTube page.

Here’s what I notice most on both Twitter and Facebook:

  •  Immediate responses to inquiries and concerns
  • Personal interactions, no canned responses
  • Willingness to go above and beyond to solve problems
  • Sense of humour
  • Genuine respect for customers

WestJet’s social media presence is more than a sales tool. It’s a culture of sharing and WestJet customers share more than most. Logon to Twitter on #wingletwednesday and you’ll see enthusiastic travelers sharing their view with Westjet and the world. Use #BlueTag for sweet deals. If you’re looking for a job, #WestJetJobs will let you know when the airline is looking for a new owner.

Basically, they’re on top of it. They even beat the press when something does go wrong.

I flew with Westjet for the first time this January and experienced their amazing customer service first hand. Our flight was delayed by more than four hours but the crew were incredible and made everything tolerable. I’ve never seen a happier crowd on a flight, let alone a late one leaving the Caribbean for a Canadian snowstorm!

Have you ever flown with WestJet? Was it a good experience?

Lindsay Casey

Customer Service: When is it time to fire your clients?

I’ve been thinking about customer service a lot lately. As someone who bends over backwards for my clients, I’m realizing that I sometimes feel taken advantage of.

Most of the folks I work with are interesting, creative people who I enjoy spending time with and don’t mind going the extra mile for. I love my clients and I relish making great things happen for them. However, the law of averages must prevail and they can’t all be your favourite. I also value my sanity and have learned that losing one or two demanding clients along the way is not the end of the world.

It’s very difficult to reject business, especially in this economy, but sometimes you need to draw the line between great customer service and abuse of your time and efforts.

5 ways to tell you may need to cut the cord:

  1. They’re always right. If your client is always disagreeing with you  and you can’t seem to say anything right, maybe it’s time to suggest they find someone else who’s opinion they will respect more. The customer is NOT always right.
  2. They’re not profitable. This person’s business is costing you money. Do the math; how much time are you spending on this client vs. the amount they are paying you? When it stops adding up in your favour, it’s either time to approach negotiating a retainer or time to move on.
  3. They’re wasting your time. You are in contact every day, whether you’re working on a current project or not. This person doesn’t value your time. Are you becoming too emotionally invested? Unable to focus on other projects? When your client is draining you this much, it’s time to let them go.
  4. They’re rude. They’re constantly threatening to pull their business and comparing you to your competitors. Dump them. It’s not worth it. If they think someone else provides your services that much better than you, they should take their business to that person.
  5. They’re never satisfied. Even after you’ve lost money, waived deadlines, delivered stellar work and gone above and beyond, they are still not happy. Lose the complainer. It’ll give you the time to find a new client who appreciates the work that you do.

The bottom line is, it’s not easy to break up with a client, but sometimes you have to put your foot down. There is a fine line between providing amazing customer service and being abused. If the latter is happening, your business can’t afford the dead weight. Even if you don’t have another client waiting to take their place, dropping the nightmare client gives you the time to focus on your business plan and find new customers who will value your services.

Have you ever fired a customer? How did you approach it?

Lindsay Casey

Digital Storytelling

When I pick up a novel, it’s ok if the first page doesn’t immediately grab me. I’m committed to at least a chapter or two before I give up on it. Not so when I check out a blog post. When I click a link to your blog post, you have approximately 100 words in which to woo me and make me read your whole article.

The key? Make all your words matter. The ancient Egyptians didn’t carve long, flowery hieroglyphics out of self indulgence and they got their point across just fine. It’s all about the editing.

There is no great writing, only great rewriting. – Louis Brandeis

Some bloggers have such a distinctive voice they barely need to sign their work. I’m thinking of Scott Stratten, Corbett Barr and Seth Godin. But they all have two things in common:

1. They write with an active voice.

2. They don’t publish unnecessary words.

Take a look at Scott Stratten’s latest blog post on The Farce that is Google+ (I’m in complete agreement, but that’s for another day). As I read it, I feel like I’m having an animated conversation with someone across the table. Someone I’m comfortable with. Someone who doesn’t waste my time. Scroll down to the over 140 comments and you’ll see I’m not alone.

Scott doesn’t have to encourage his audience to interact and share, it’s the natural next step after reading one of his posts.

Check out these sharing stats to see how many people this post engaged.

The hardest part about storytelling for me is focus. When I’m in trouble, I like to reread Leo Babauta’s tips here. His 7-Step Method to Finding Focus for Writing helps to cancel the noise.

What are some other key tips to writing engaging content? What makes you hit that share button?