If you don’t know him, he filmed “Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead” - a documentary about his return to health through a self-developed juicing program. (also a successful entrepreneur and investor).

If you haven’t seen it, a synopsis: During the filming, he broke silence on what most people would find deeply personal. He was fully transparent about his weight, his health condition (including a skin disorder and types and dosage of pills he was taking), as well the choices that got him there.  He also proactively shared his story with many folks along the way - including a guy by the name of Phil Staples – who coincidentally had the same rare skin disorder  – and who weighed over 400 lbs. Phil agreed to invest the time and Joe helped him to start his own juicing regimen. It saved Phil’s life.  Now, Phil helps others do the same.

Phil’s results would not have happened without Phil’s determination…But not before Joe’s inspiration.

Joe could have easily stopped with his own diet. The world would never have known or cared.
He could have even stopped with the film. A few would have known and a few may have tried.
Instead, however, he reach out – shared himself and brought others along on his own journey. He saved a life. That’s remarkable.

 Who can you inspire?

• Gigabyte Intel x58 ATX DDR3 2200 LGA 1366
• Intel Core i7-960 Processor 3.2GHz 8MB Cache
• 1.25TB Western Digital Hard Drives (2 total)
• 24GB Kingston HyperX RAM
• Antec 1200 Gaming Enclosure
• Antec HCP 850 Power Supply

Two laptops go bad this month. Both are under first year warranty. One is mine. One belongs to a friend. Each laptop comes from a different, leading brand.

My friend’s experience first.
Hard disk error repeatedly comes up on the screen. She calls the vendor’s technical support and is rerouted to a 3rd party service provider.
She is asked to pay for escalation services on the spot (she panics) and in a pinch dispenses a couple hundred dollars over the phone. They have her enable remote access and install multiple diagnostic tools onto her machine. They ultimately determine that they have found a temporary fix, but that they would need to replace the hard drive. She spends more money (prepays) for a local technician (representing the vendor) to come to her location to replace the hard drive. Did I mention this machine was under warranty? After several days, she had not been contacted regarding the replacement. She calls the service provider to cancel the order. Rather than immediately refunding her money, she is badgered to keep the appointment and the representative insists that they would prefer to provide more services rather than makes refund. They also insisted that ‘once she experiences their service, she would be more than satisfied.’ She escalated. And escalated. And finally got the refund. Wow. Absolutely horrific.

My experience.
My CPU goes bad. I call tech support and speak with a representative for about 10 minutes to diagnose / offer preliminary information. He let’s me know that he needs to transfer me to his manager who has to authorize repairs. I speak to the manager for about 10 more minutes. By the time we finished, he had thanked me for my business at least 10 times, had confirmed that they would repair the machine and that we would do this via commercial shipping service, had given me an option to pay for expedited shipping – then WAIVED IT after I selected the option, and finally, had walked me through the entire procedure for the round-trip repair. WIthin about 10 minutes of hanging up, I received an email confirming those details along with a tracking number for the service order. I’m in mid-stream on an expected 5-7 business day turnaround.

The experience matters and it can make or break a brand relationship rather abruptly.

Granted, these are two data points which may be completely unique.
But one experience left the customer’s blood boiling.
The other, so far, has left the customer elated.

We’ll each remember the experience and will definitely remember the brand that ‘did it’ to us…

If anyone happens to stumble onto this, I would be interested to see if you have a thought as to which brands I’m referring to? Maybe a simple litmus test to see if reputations are accurately depicted here…

As a kid, I programmed on an Apple IIe and had one of the first Macintosh Computers (black and white, 128K, external floppy drive). I continued to work on Mac’s into the early 90′s in college and always found Apple’s technology to be ‘above and beyond’- you know…bleeding edge. I parted ways for a few years and inadvertently landed on Windows 3.1…then 95…then 98…and so on. I had picked a path and was forever bound to the world of PC’s…So much so that I ended up programming in .NET for awhile and landed at Microsoft.

Nevertheless, I always respected Apple – hated to see their downturn – and was glad to see the rebound. Newton was the first indicator for me – ahead of its time. Then the iMac in the late 90′s – We had one at work and I loved it. Now we’re seeing the fruits of a lifetime of unfathomable commitment, passion, and vision as the ‘i series’ (Pod, Pad, Tunes, Phone, Cloud) continue to redefine the experience of consumer technology. Still above and beyond. Still magnificent.

Steve, thanks for pushing the envelope and making a difference.

…So for friends and family in the North Cobb area, stop by Acworth Martial Arts – they’ll let you try a class for free. And if you’re curious about Krav, check out the video here or vist the site for more info.

They’re buying customers.

And when you consider that people who stop by convenient stores are willing to pay a premium – this seems counter intuitive. Its a race to the bottom against the guy on the other corner.

So…?
One thought…

If they’re willing to lose a little bit of money on purchases anyway, why not keep prices the same but invest a little bit elsewhere to improve the experience? What better time to set the tone for ‘new management’?

Perhaps a “manager’s brew” every monday morning while supplies last – Free cup of coffee to start the week? Or a sucker for the kids. Banks made that work. Nothing big necessarily, but a token. An invitation to connect personally. And when folks come in – make sure your staff is being personable. Big smiles. Friendly. Curtious. Helpful.

People will remember feeling good when they leave your shop. That’s the ticket to loyalty.

Not surprisingly, many are frustrated because – for all of their effort – business isn’t where it should be and they have no idea why. Granted every business ebbs and flows, but if yours isn’t meeting your expectations, here is one thing to try.

Find a few of your best customers and take them for coffee or lunch. Plan to ask a few questions then spend a lot of time listening. Find out what they love about ‘what you do’ and, most importantly, why they love it. Have them also tell you what they would suggest improving to make your business even better. And definitely find out why they come back. Put yourself in their shoes and experience your business from their perspective. Through these interactions you should find a handful of top priorities to either keep doing (or do even better) and things you might re-think or re-work.

And while advertising and running specials have their place, it is undoubtedly the personal touch that makes small businesses thrive. Give your customers a reason to speak highly about your business to their friends and colleagues. Continue to ‘check in’ with your best customers and give everyone else plenty of ways to give you feedback (don’t forget, bad feedback is also helpful). And when you open your doors every morning, don’t focus on the numbers – focus on the experience that your customers are receiving. Are you simply meeting expectations or are you delivering something memorable? it’s the latter that drives repeat business. If you’re unsure, however, one way to start is by simply asking.

Businesses need this too.

I’ve participated in teams of all sizes. Some were well tuned and functioned extremely well as a cohesive whole – the total was truly greater than the sum of the parts. I’ve been on the other teams as well. The total seemed to be dimished because focus, emphasis, priorities were all being driven by ‘individuals’ not team members – no ultimate goal was being achieved. There was no ownership of role. There was no service orientation. Every man for himself.

If you observe this, or worse, are a part of it – think about what rule you might change to improve teamwork. What are your rewards tied to? Where could rewards be better applied? As one example, my team has an award every year for ‘making others great’ given to an individual who literally gives of themself to help others exceed their goals. If you are participating, what can you do to better ‘own’ your role? Play it better? Be more service oriented? Set the example? Raise the bar?

Teams succeed because individuals learn to give and contribute, not own and expect. Play your role. Be service oriented. Do your absolute best and trust your team members to do the same. The results will be amazing.

Still icy outside and snow on the ground after Sunday storm. Note under-curvature of metal frame. I forgot to take the cover off of the canopy. It used to curve up…in the opposite direction. Of all things to break…that was a particular pain to put together. ugh!