It’s that time of year again when it has become necessary for me to switch from shorts to pants, and I couldn’t be happier. I had almost forgotten the comfort, warmth, and security that wearing pants provides. It’s just like getting a hug of sunshine, but without the searing heat and life-threatening melanoma. The reason […]
Customer service means never saying “no.” I went into a sweets store at the mall this past weekend to buy a gift basket for a visiting client. As I browsed the store’s shelves, I noticed the goodies in the baskets looked less than appetizing, so I asked Jeff, the customer service representative, if he could […]
By the late 1970s, Journey was pretty much finished. The band had recorded three albums, all of which had been critical successes but market failures. They had managed to sell several hundred thousand albums cumulatively, but in the recording industry at that time, selling one- or two-hundred thousand units per album was pretty much like […]
For just a moment, forget about productivity. Forget about making your company more money. Forget getting a better performance review. To me, good customer service isn’t really about any of those things. To me, providing good customer service is about the person that I want to be. Think about the last time you were provided […]
Have you ever noticed that so much attention is given to training employees, but so little to training customers? You are, at this very moment, training your customers. Every time you interact with your customer in your business, you are communicating something about yourself and your business. In every interaction, no matter how small, your […]
I can hardly get through the day without bumping into a Reel or TicTok video lauding the benefits of quiet quitting. Even worse, there are other videos that give you point-by-point instructions about how to do it. The quiet quitting philosophy argues that if you aren’t getting the recognition and monetary reward to which you […]
Allow me to introduce myself. I am a customer. I am the person that makes the economic engine turn. I am the reason you take home a paycheck. I am the reason you are able to feed your family, pay your mortgage, go on vacation, buy a car, and contribute to your church or synagogue. […]
One summer day when I was 10 or 11, my dad pulled our family car up our driveway and parked in the carport. While he had been out running errands, some neighbors had stopped by and were visiting with mom. I was playing in the front yard with some other kids and saw my dad […]
September was rolling along just dandy-like until the 21st. I came home from a lunch appointment and told my wife that I didn’t feel right and was going to bed. Two days later, I tested positive for C-VID. We immediately called a home healthcare company and they began treating me with every medication known to […]
I once heard Jerry Seinfeld say that the audience decides whether or not a joke is funny. The comedian can love the joke. He can believe in it and deliver it flawlessly, but if the audience doesn’t laugh, then guess what? It’s not funny and has to be cut from the routine. That seems like […]
