More Reading

I'm still travelling a lot for the Day Job, which means I still have a good amount of time conducive to reading.

This time around, you can see I've been focused on motivation.

I didn't care much for Drive or The Bully at Work.  The topics are relevant and useful, but each of these books were longer than they needed to be and I got impatient with the non-value-added portions.

With respect to The Bully at Work, I got especially frustrated.  The authors stated that they were using the word "target" instead of "victim" because they didn't want to reinforce the idea of victimization, but the book was still mostly written from the "you poor victim" point of view.  Although I do have to say that to be reading about the different bullying tactics with our current president's behavior, his treatment of CNN, and especially Jim Acosta was quite interesting.

This is a good reminder that changing words is the first step in changing thought process and behavior.... but if behavior doesn't change, the key words don't matter.  We see this all the time, especially with respect to "servant-leadership."  Servant-leadership is more than just drawing the organizational chart upside down.  Some people do it well, and others are just using the key words.

I mostly enjoyed reading Delivering Happiness.  It captured my attention and I looked forward to the next time I could pick it up.  But a lot was left out...  The stories were presented primarily as Tony Hsieh seeking the next adrenaline rush without working too hard, rather than a driven process with a long-term plan.  There was so much focus on the euphoria that I found myself asking "How does he not have a substance abuse problem?"  The book was longer than it needed to be, but Tony is a good story teller and it's worth the read.

One wonderful thing.... I had left the Bullying book on my inbound plane.  I didn't realize until the next day and hadn't finished reading it yet.  So I filed a lost item report online, thinking I probably would never see it again.  Then about 10 days later, I got an email from SWA.  They had found my book and were willing to mail it to me, and I was able to finish reading the book.  That's pretty awesome customer service.

Of course, being without that book meant I needed to find a new one for my ride home...  I found several at this new, well-curated, independent bookstore next door to my cousin's first coffee shop.

I will continue travelling, frequently and indefinitely... so I have plenty of future time for reading.  I'm loving the dedicated time to make a dent in my stash of books.

Happy Reading!

What happens when the Internet goes out for 4 days?

We got hay delivered, went to the Farmer's Market, canned some peaches, saw an old friend, went to the county fair and watched some of the Olympics coverage... and since I do most of my Day Job and a lot of our farm-related work online, I also watched my To Do list pile up.

This Week

This week has gone by so fast.

Actually most weeks seem to go by fast these days.

It must be a sign of getting older, or at least of doing too much.  But also the days are getting shorter.  It's dark before I'm finished for the day and I'm no longer being woken up by the sun.


The view from our back stoop on a recent morning.


Wonton (aka LGD#1) has been on house arrest for the last several weeks with a broken toe.  She has one more week to go.  So she's been waking me up at the appropriate time, but as soon as she's back to work, I suspect I'll be needing an alarm again.


This dog is not spoiled at all.  Nope, not spoiled.


It's been a tough summer with hail storms, broken toes, surgeries and broken equipment.  So I thought I would share some good news from this week.

Unfortunately it's not cria... yet.  Both maidens are still pregnant.  Daisy seems to be progressing.  I thought for sure she was going to have her baby yesterday, but it seems s/he needs to bake a little longer.

Last evening's exam indicates Daisy is further along than Frieda now, but I know these things can always change.

Same photo as earlier this week, because everyone is still pregnant.


The good news I have to share is that my client has offered another project.  Yes, that makes me very happy.  :-)  Also, my current project is progressing.  Development is nearly complete which means integration testing is starting shortly.

So my current project is going well and my new project starts up next week.  We have babies coming and puppies being puppies.  Canning season is ramping up and work is happening on our basement.  So I will continue to have more than enough to keep me occupied (as if that is ever a problem).

The real good news is that I will continue to have regular income and continue to have interesting work to do.  It also means that I will continue to travel to MSP for at least one more winter.

Relationships

I think it's starting to sound cliche, but building a relationship is probably the single most important thing you can do with your customer or really, anyone.

The relationship takes time and dedication.  It takes listening and understanding and compasion.

Good relationships don't happen instantaneously and they don't happen because you have a Facebook page, or blog or tweet or whatever the latest social media/web 2.0 thing is.

Good relationships happen because you invest yourself and you truely care about your customer as an individual.

Today, I am thinking about our veterinarians.  We love them.  All of them.  Our dogs' vets and our alpacas' vet.  The techs and office manager at our dogs' vet office.

The gratitude that I have for these people and the time and energy that they have all put into having a relationship with us...  All of us...  Hubba, me, three dogs and thirteen alpacas... The gratitude is overwhelming.

The people at our vet clinic saved our dog's life yesterday.  They saved her life because we all knew something wasn't right.

I'm not sure I'm ready to put it entirely out there.  So, if we're friends on Facebook, then you can see there essentially what happened.

What you do and who you do it with may not be a life or death situation, but it's important to those you do it with and for.  I urge you to slow down and spend some time.  Get to know your customers and the other important people in your life.  Get to know them in a real and meaningful way.

I can't even begin to describe how grateful I am that we spent the time.

Loyalty and Service

I've written about brand loyalty and good customer service before.  Loyalty is certainly something any brand would want, but a lot of companies forget about the customer service part.

Today I have a story of customer service that has adjusted my loyalty in a positive direction.

Yesterday I travelled to Minnesota as I do quite often.  After work, I stopped at the grocery store on my way to the hotel and my credit card was declined.  I thought it was because I forgot the notify the company that I was travelling.  So I called them from the grocery store parking lot to straighten it out.

It turns out someone had gotten our numbers and were using them to buy things we wouldn't normally buy.  Chase froze the account instantaneously and waited for me to call them.

Once they established who I was, they told me what happened.  We closed the account and they overnighted a card to me.

I proceeded to my hotel and told them my card was coming... tomorrow.  So I wouldn't have a way to guarantee the room charges until then.  They let me stay the night and said not to worry about it.

Certainly it's a good thing that I have been staying at this hotel regularly for quite some time.  So we know each other a little more than just customer and supplier.

Of course there are other options, fancier options, newer options, even slightly less-expensive options.  Some of the guys I work with have been trying to convince me to try another place, but I stay at this hotel because the staff is so great.  They honestly do the little things that make the experience better. 

They remember me and are genuinely happy to see me.  They remember me on the phone.  They always fix anything that needs fixing.  I never have to ask twice.  It's not just me, they are nice to everyone.  Perhaps it's a Minnesota thing, but the staff at the same brand in Tucson was just as great.

So this is really just a reminder that this Customer Loyalty - Customer Service thing is a two way street.  When you give your customers great service, they will reward you with great loyalty.

I have had a love-hate relationship with Chase Bank over the years.  I can't say I have been in love with them, but the like part has outweighed the hate part, so we have continued to use them.  Today though, I like them significantly more than two days ago.

The big story here is with the Residence Inn by Marriott.  I love them way more than two days ago.  Of course big part is because of the people at my particular location, but I can tell you that I have had great service from the Residence Inn in Tucson as well as whenever I've wanted to redeem points.

Great Customer Service

Earlier today we had a power surge.

I noticed only because my computer screen changed slightly and then the garage door opened on it's own.  Which really freaked me out.

After the dog and I checked it out and verified nothing malicious was going on.  I figured I should accuse our neighbor of pulling a prank on me but he wasn't around.  It was then that I realized our Internet service was out and put the pieces together.

Fortunately with today's technology, I was able to get online with my smart phone and check for known outages.  Nothing was listed.

So I made this tweet.

Within a few minutes Qwest responded

and within an hour they told me what was going on.

I call this great (and I mean GREAT) customer service.

Thanks Qwest.  I do appreciate it.

Landing does not equal Arriving

Last week I got stuck on an airplane.

The flight attendants were very proud that we landed 30 minutes early.

Yes, landing early is necessary for arriving early and it's a good thing when I can get off the plane early.  But, because we were early our gate was not available.  Which means we waited in a holding area a short distance from our gate.

The Captain said the other plane would be pushing back soon so we should only have to wait a few minutes.

Then a storm came through.

The ramp employees can not be on the tarmac when there is lightning in the area.  I don't disagree with that, but it meant the other plane did not push back and we stayed in the waiting area.

We waited for an hour just a short distance from the gate.

We landed 30 minutes early, but arrived 30 minutes late.

The airline sent an email the next day apologizing for the situation which I appreciated.  They also sent a voucher toward future travel which I also appreciated.  I fly this airline a lot and feel they are the best domestic carrier out there.

But,

My point is this... it happens a little more than occasionally where we land early and arrive late.

Tipping

I don't fully understand the idea of tipping when placing an order or reservation.

A tip is a reward for good service.  If you tip ahead of time, what's the incentive?

Great Customer Service

I went to two hardware stores today and received excellent service from both of them.

First I went to The Home Depot.  I was looking for Diatomaceous Earth and Rain Gauges.

The young associate in the garden department's eyes popped open when I asked for help finding the Diatomaceous Earth.  Clearly he had no idea what I was asking for, but agreed to look it up and find someone who knew what it was.

Turns out, The Home Depot in our town does not carry diatomaceous earth but one associate knew exactly what I was asking for.  She told the associate who was helping me that one of the Ace Hardware stores had it.  The agent who was helping me called the local Ace Hardware to ensure they carried it and had it in stock.

Then they helped me find the rain gauges which of course I purchased from the Home Depot since they were so generous in helping to locate the other product from their competitor.

Then I went over to the Ace Hardware found someone to help me with the Diatomaceous Earth right away.  They knew exactly what I was looking for and why I was looking for it.

Tremendous, helpful and happy service from two stores today.  It was a pleasure.

What does your Customer Care About?

With airfares going up, most airlines charging for checked luggage and now one charging for carry-on bags, I wonder if the airlines have forgotten who their customers are and what they care about.

Now I'm just one person who uses airline services regularly, but my husband and I fit three types of customers.

1.  Business Traveller - frequent flyer, frequent customer program member, travels two or more round trips per month.
2.  Business Traveller - travels eight to ten round trips per year
3.  Vacation Traveller - one to two round trips per year

As a type 1 Business Traveller, I want inexpensive, safe, friendly, easy conveyance between my home and client office.  When I visit my client's office, I am there for at least four days.  I bring clothing and hygeine supplies for the duration of the trip as well as the information and tools required to support the work I have been hired to perform.  I do not check my bags because it adds 15-20 minutes to the begining of my trip and 30-45 minutes on the end.  Multiply this by two for each round trip and it's a huge time suck.  Because of that, I carry as little as possible and carry everything on board.

As a type 2 Business Traveller, my husband wants inexpensive, safe, friendly, easy conveyance between our home and the races he competes in.  A domestic race usually requires a three day visit, clothing and hygeine supplies, a racing wheelchair, an everyday wheelchair and supplies for wheelchair maintenance.  He checks his bag and racing chair so he can carry on his wheels.  This means the same 15-20 and 30-45 minutes of wait time at either end of the trip as well as an additional 20 minutes waiting for the chair to be brought to baggage claim.  Our prefered airline used to gate-check the racing chair, but this has become a huge hassle.

As Vacation Travellers, we want inexpensive, safe, friendly, easy conveyance between our home and our vacation destination.  Again clothing and hygeine supplies for the duration of our trip, an everyday wheelchair and supplies for wheelchair maintenance are necessary.  Checking bags is no big deal because we want to relax and time spent waiting at the airport is less of an issue.

In the rare event that I have a business meeting where I can complete my round trip in the same day, I still have a computer with me.

In all cases, we bring something on board to read, work on or listen to.

In fact, I have been trying to think of a situation where someone would take a trip that requires the service of an airline and not have the need for luggage. I haven't come up with any.  Perhaps you have an example?

Airline travel used to be special.  It used to be about customer service.  It used to be fun.  Which makes me wonder... When did the airlines decide they are not enablers of other buisness or activities?

Conveying luggage is part of conveying people.  You don't get one without the other.  It's like ordering pasta for dinner then having to pay extra for marinara sauce.

It's every company's responsibility to decide who their customer is and figure out how best to give them what they want and need.  I think most airlines are failing in this regard.

Using Prince to Teach

Check out Brian Clark's latest post on Copyblogger.

If I'm looking for dog breeders, I'm not looking for miracle weight loss solutions

Today I am looking for dog breeders.

I performed an ordinary search in my favorite engine and found a site that looked promising. I clicked on it. The first thing I saw was a huge color picture of a woman's torso and thighs. She's a bit out of shape. She's wearing a g-string. What!? I'm looking for dogs.

As I scroll down in disbelief, I see there is a little content regarding the breed but the ads are huge. The ads are all over the place; large, full color, big red font. The content is in small grey text. The content is basically invisible.

In my opinion, the ads shouldn't even be there. However as a website owner, if you insist on having advertisements, please ensure they are relevant to your content. Please ensure they are not more important than your content.

So what's the point here? I'm definitely not going to explore this site further and I'm not going to share the URL. I don't see any reason to drive traffic to this site and these folks just lost a customer.

Lead by Example

I've been seeing a lot of posts lately about how to become a leader, or to be seen as an expert at something, or a step-by-step formula for how to make 6 figures by the end of the year. Blech.

What I would really like to see is more of these people/companies who profess to know the solution actually demonstrate it in something other than a loosely veiled money making scheme. It just feels like the next great weight loss shake and doesn't make any sense to me.

It's truly is a very simple 3 step formula, available here for free:

1. Be honest
2. Understand your customers' needs and wants
3. Be good at what you do.

It takes time to build a great reputation. I think even longer these days since we're conditioned to think someone is trying to rip us off.

If I'm not already aware of you, or if you haven't been recommended by someone I already trust, it will take time before you gain my trust and subsequently my available dollars.

Period.

Listen

When your customer gives you the opportunity to make corrections, you shouldn't argue with them about how you're right or how it's someone else's fault.

Take the opportunity to have a dialog. Listen, collaborate and correct.

If your customer gives you the opportunity to make corrections it means they're unhappy, but still want to do business with you.

Of course, you don't have to make the requested corrections. If you choose not to and your customer fires you, there is no reason to be angry.

Don't call me, I'll call you

Today I received two robo-calls from the same number. Both calls were my "second and final notice" regarding the upcoming expiration of something I don't have. Both calls were the same script but with different voices.

I received the same "second and final notice" about a month ago.

So, that's three "second and final notices" and zero "first notices" for something I don't have or want.

These recorded voices did not identify themselves or their company. They asked me to press 2 to be removed from the list before they asked me to press 1 to speak to an agent.

In all three cases, a recorded voice called me. This person/company is not interested in wasting their own time when their wasting mine.

Why would I do business with a company like that?

How about option #3? Don't call me and go buy any of Seth Godin's books. I recommend starting with Permission Marketing.

I could not have said it better myself

Sasha Dichter describes The Catch.

It's all about the Customer

Have you ever thought, if the customer would just leave me alone for a little while, I could really get some work done?

I must confess that I have; now my customers have gone away.

My customer is a company that recently furloughed most of it's staff. The staff is supposed to come back, eventually. My job is to support that staff so they can do their jobs.

We're still working. Which I am grateful for. But, it's really weird not having the customer around.

Now, I have the time and quiet I wanted to prepare for a project we've been trying to do. I could not get the preparations done before since supporting the individual customers occupied most of my day. Of course if they don't come back, there's no reason to do this project.

Remember to always be grateful for your customers. They are the reason you are in business. They give you purpose.

Credit Due

The Rock 'n Roll Arizona Marathon results were posted on line Monday. The Wheelchair results are still not there.


If you had just raced 26.2 miles, wouldn't you at least want your name in print with everyone else?


I talked a little about our experience at this race this year in How would you feel?


Does this bother you? If so, please let them know here.

How would you feel?

The Rock 'n' Roll Race Organization puts on several annual marathon and half-marathon events in the US with huge able-bodied participation.

We have been working with them for some time to increase wheelchair participation. After today though, we're not sure why.

First a little history:

My husband, Bradley Ray, is a top US Wheelchair Marathoner. A marathon is 26.2 miles, regardless of how you do it.

He has finished in the top 10 of most big US marathons. He competes well internationally. He was the top American in Boston in 2008 and the 3rd American at the 2008 US Paralympic Marathon trials. He has completed over 30 marathons and I support him in these endeavors.

As a general rule, race organizers collect participants' belongings at the start, keep them safe and deliver them to the finish. Some organizations do this very well. And some, well here's what happened today...

Today:

Today, my husband won the wheelchair division of the Rock'nRoll Arizona Marathon by 8 minutes. After being congratulated for wining the race, he asked where his chair and bag were so he could get out of his sweaty clothes and call his wife.

They could not find it.

Finally, a contractor said he saw the chair and bag of personal effects at the start about an hour after they had packed up and moved everything to the finish, but he left it there.

Somehow a race staff member learned the chair was at a homeless shelter and told Brad to go get it. Brad politely told her it was their mistake and they should fetch the chair because it had been left in their care. This was their opportunity to correct the situation.

The race organization refused.

The race organization refused to collect my husbands everyday chair and bag of personal effects which they already admitted to leaving behind!

There's was a fair amount of discussion and voices being raised. Finally, the police agreed to pick it up and deliver the chair to Brad's hotel.

In the meantime, we learn the bag of personal effects is not with the chair. So working from home in New Mexico, I cancel our credit card and cell phone. Learning that with the holidays it could be a week before these are replaced... but I digress.

A Ranger finally came with the chair. The Ranger was very upset to be waisting her time delivering wheelchairs to paraplegics. I don't disagree with her, it was RnR's mistake.

Total time without mobility today = 5 hours and 45 minutes.

Future:

As for continuing to work with this organization, I don't think we will. There is a laundry list that needs to be addressed, but basic customer service is basic. Clearly increasing wheelchair participation in not a priority.

Honestly! How would you feel if your legs had been stolen for nearly 6 hours?

picture credit: Brad after the 2008 Oita International Wheelchair Marathon, Kathryn Ray

Movies

It's been a while since we've gone to the movies at an actual theatre. Normally we rent from Netflix. However we went a couple of times over the Christmas Holiday.


I was surprised to find that tickets are now $10 each. There are no employees behind the the snack counter. The popcorn is already popped and bagged and not hot.


If the movies weren't considered the best of the year, I would have been really disappointed.