If you are selling paperclips or pizza, this article may not be very relevant, but an increasing majority of US workers sell a service or a product plus the service to support it. When service is a significant part of the customer or company relationship, not all customers are created equally. Not all customers are […]
Read More“Slow to hire, quick to fire” is one of the countless philosophies on how to staff a business. As much as we have an official hiring policy here, it’s at the very least to hire slowly. Every candidate goes through a series of interviews with a variety of staff members, tours the office space, and […]
Read MoreMost of us have jobs that involve customers and customer service, even if that is not in your actual job title. My question to you today is when is it appropriate to do something extra-ordinary? Chances are, “Do something special for customer,” is not on any forms at your organization, unless you work at Zappos […]
Read MoreOur name is on a lot of stuff: stickers, hats, shirts, lanyards, and of course, pens. It’s also on some pretty niche stuff: Klement’s beef snack sticks (“Nice to Meat You”), VIN decoding mousepads, beer mugs, bobbleheads… and we come up with new, interesting stuff to brand all the time, partly because our favorite customers, […]
Read MoreThe dual Christmas and New Years holidays serendipitously fell on two consecutive Monday and Tuesdays. This meant: 4 day weekends, slow work weeks, and lots of time to celebrate and relax with my family. For the first time since my maternity leave, I had a lot of quality time on my hands with my son. Email notifications […]
Read MoreI recently moved. You know the story: packing everything I own, finding a day I could coordinate everyone I needed to help at the same time (and a truck, and a trailer), cleaning crevices in my house that haven’t seen daylight for the better part of two years (who cleans the top of the molding […]
Read MoreI recently was given a pair of roller skates, and they’ve been hell on wheels. I did not ask for these skates, and they were skates I did not want. Still, they were given to me. Roller skating is terrifying. Just getting to stand up is a task, let alone moving around. They are uncomfortable […]
Read MoreThis article is NOT about basketball. It’s about YOU. It’s about your shop. It’s about your business. And, arguably it’s about your life. It’s how about to get the most out of everyone you interact with. It just so happens that today’s lesson came from a basketball player. A professional one. A really famous […]
Read MoreThis week has been a homecoming of sorts. Sadly, tragedy struck the family of a childhood best friend and a funeral brought some old friends together for the first time in several years. We’ve attended each other’s weddings, texted birthday greetings, celebrated milestones at a distance, but the three of us have not spent any […]
Read MoreThe holiday season brings family together, rewards some of us for enduring cold weather, and carries on traditions. It’s the most wonderful time of the year… especially if you are a football fan like me. Football is a tradition and a passion among many in my family, with my coworkers, and with our customers (right, […]
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