If you want an example of how to create loyal customers, check out a company called Bushwacker (http://www.bushwacker.com).  They get it!

My wife put fat tires on her Jeep Wrangler and found that because they stick out way beyond the fenders and we live on a muddy county road, her Jeep was always covered with mud.  She decided she needed some wider fender flairs and after shopping around settled on Bushwacker’s Extend-A-Fender type flairs.  We purchased them from a Bushwacker on-line dealer and were quite happy with the price and delivery time.

The flairs came with a rubber molding that is to be attached around the edge of each flair where it meets the vehicle body.  For some reason we received only enough of the molding to trim three of the four flairs.  I called the customer service rep at Bushwacker in hopes of getting some more molding.  Here is what transpired:

1)  I got a real, live person on the phone within less than 2 minutes.

2)  She was very polite, pleasant, apologized for the shortage and offered to ship out additional molding right away.

3)  Without being asked she offered to ship it FedEx and include some additional hardware, just in case I should need that as well.

4)  Less than 48 hours later the additional parts arrived at my house.

And that AT&T is how you develop and keep loyal customers.

If Customer Loyalty begins with Employee Loyalty then it stands to reason that the surest way to drive customers away is to disrespect your employees.  I have watched the morale among AT&T employees steadily decrease post Cingular merger and this is now translating into disrespect toward their customers.

Case in point:  many folks purchase the popular Blackberry devices because it allows them to combine a PDA and a phone into a single device.  It syncs nicely with the data contained in Outlook on their desktop machine and means having to only sync and carry a single device when away from one’s desk.  AT&T has decided that everyone who purchases or has already purchased a Blackberry device must pay an added cost monthly “unlimited data” plan whether they want/need it or not.

For those who need instant email on the go the data plan is a necessity.  For those who simply wanted a phone with the built in convenience of a PDA, but don’t need instant email, they just got the shaft.  This change in policy was made with little consideration of their customers and without warning.

Disrespect for employees leads to disrespecting customers which leads to a lack of customer loyalty.  So, AT&T how’s your ‘”churn rate” looking these days…….

Think about what you think about!

Are you obsessed with the economic downturn?  Worried about an out-of-control government?  Just waiting for that pink slip?  Do you dwell on the things over which you have no control?  How much time do you spend wishing things were different?

Our thoughts rattling around in our heads have a significant impact upon our attitudes and our performance.  Often times they become self-fulfilling prophesies.  If you are frequently entertaining negative thoughts CHANGE THE CHANNEL.

Control Your Thinking

If the thoughts in your head are starting to sound like CNN replace them with the Outdoor Channel.  If you aren’t an outdoor person try the Muppets.  A little comedy would certainly be better than a bucket full of doom and gloom.  Make a deliberate effort to focus on the positives in your life.  Be still and take stock in your many blessings.  Find ways to reach out to others.  Appreciate the beauty that surrounds us all.

Take a moment and think about what you think about.  Are you feeding your mind Steak, or Potato Chips!

We can learn a lot about life by observing our animals.  My black lab Liza is always happy.  She never worries about whether or not she is going to get fed tomorrow.  She spends not one moment wondering if she is going to have a roof over her head tonight or if her health insurance premium is coming due.  Dogs, like most animals, live in the moment.  They have no concept of past or future.

I contend that many of the problems that humans encounter are the result of our not living in the moment.  Our need for security, stability, and most of our fears, all stem from dwelling on the past or worrying about the future.  That said, what sets man apart from the rest of the animal kingdom is our ability to aspire to be better.  Think what we could achieve if we could let go of the past, only look to the future with positive thoughts, and stay focused on the here and now.

If you watch the Dog Whisperer on the National Geographic Channel, you’ll find that Cesar Millan doesn’t train the dogs.  He trains the humans.  It is amazing to watch a dog who has exhibited unacceptable behavior, often for years, change in a matter of minutes.  The dogs behavioral issues are often the result of an owner thinking about something that happened in the past and assuming it would happen again in the future.  Once the dogs owners start living more in the moment the issues with the dog vanish.  The dogs behavior is directly tied to the behavior of the people around it.

So here is my hope and challenge for you today.  Watch 3-4 sessions of the Dog Whisperer so that you can see for yourself how changing a dog owners behavior so drastically changes the behavior of the dog.  Then think about your relationships with other people.  You know, the relationships that could be better, more productive, or more rewarding.  Then ask your self this question.  What behavior(s) of mine could I change that would improve this relationship.

2 weeks ago we received word that some friends of ours were closing their local business. A week ago, we said our goodbyes to another couple who sold off most everything they owned and left town to go live in a borrowed house in another city. We continue to watch helplessly as close relatives teeter on the edge of financial ruin.

There are several competing and conflicting theories as to why the dinosaurs went extinct. The one thing that the scientific community seems to agree upon is that a dramatic change occurred and the dinosaurs failed to adapt in a timely fashion.

So - how well do you adapt? How do you react to the unexpected.

If we have learned good adaptive behavior skills, we react to unplanned events or destructive situations in creative and constructive ways. If you are an adaptive individual, you refocus your mind in new directions and make new choices based upon your desired outcomes. You will not only be open to change but readily embrace it.

Talk to anyone who sails and they will tell you that it is not the direction of the wind that is important but rather how well you have adjusted your sails. If an infectious disease is making the rounds, do you isolate and hope you don’t catch it or do you become proactive and seek an antidote? In our current economic downturn, are you choosing to simply tighten your belt and hope for the best, or are you seeking creative ways to be even more successful?

As a Leadership Coach, you might wonder why I’m blogging about politics. Simple! I have this old fashioned idea that leaders should have some idea what they are talking about. I am tired of seeing Senators and Congressmen stating that we live in a democracy. Hogwash! Most of our elected officials don’t even know what a Republic is. Most of our teachers don’t know either and certainly don’t teach it. If a leader is so ignorant that they don’t know where a path is headed, do we really want to follow them down that path? Why are we letting them lead in the first place.

Our founding fathers never intended this to be a democracy. It was supposed to be a Republic. Ask 10 people to tell you the difference and 9 of them will fail. Creating a Republic and not a Democracy is the single best thing our forefathers did for us and yet most people don’t even know the difference. Shameful. If you are one of those who don’t know the difference between a Republic and a Democracy I beg you to go view this video.

The American Form of Government

As Walter E. Williams, a nationally-acclaimed economist of George Mason University so eloquently stated,
Democracy and majority rule give an aura of legitimacy to acts that would otherwise be deemed tyranny. Think about it. How many decisions in our day-to-day lives would we like to be made through majority rule or the democratic process? How about the decision whether you should watch a football game on television or “Law and Order”? What about whether you drive a Chevrolet or a Ford, or whether your Easter dinner is turkey or ham? Were such decisions made in the political arena, most of us would deem it tyranny. Why isn’t it also tyranny for the democratic process to mandate what type of light bulbs we use, how many gallons of water to flush toilets or whether money should be taken out of our paycheck for retirement?

The founders of our nation held a deep abhorrence for democracy and majority rule. In Federalist Paper No. 10, James Madison wrote, “Measures are too often decided, not according to the rules of justice and the rights of the minor party, but by the superior force of an interested and overbearing majority.” John Adams predicted, “Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There was never a democracy yet that did not commit suicide.” Our founders intended for us to have a republican form of limited government where the protection of individual God-given rights was the primary job of government.

When you look at all of the truly inspired leaders that founded this country, and then look at the total lack of selfless, competent leadership today, one must ponder where we went wrong. Leaders aren’t born, they develop. But they develop out of a solid foundation based on core values such as taking responsibility, a love and respect for others, and a conviction to do what is right. Until we, as a country, can restore such basic values, we will continue to find ourselves with politicians instead of leaders. Politicians who will continue to push us toward democracy because it pads their pockets.

If you don’t fear a democracy let me ask you how you would feel if the majority decided tomorrow that blue-eyed blonds shouldn’t be allowed to drive. Or that anyone over the age of 70 should be put to sleep because it costs too much to care for them. Think it can’t happen. Look around at the changes that have taken place in just the last 10 years.

One of the major elements to surviving difficult circumstances is situational awareness. A realistic, real time appraisal of the conditions you find yourself in. Refusing to let go of the past, or delusional dreams of the future, will not contribute to your ability to survive. What is required is a blunt, honest assessment of your current circumstances and resources.

Are you betting your future on our economic model returning to what it used to be? Are you sure that job you used to have will really come back some day? Are you sure that if it does return that you even want to keep doing what you were doing? Do you believe that if you simply keep your head down and tighten your belt that the good times will return?

Have you truly grasped the significance of the exponential growth of Social Media and its impact on traditional marketing? If you really understand that shift, how does it impact your way of doing business or looking for a job? If Wikipedia, which has become one of the largest and most accurate of encyclopedias, was written by folks who, for the most part, never even met each other, what does that say about our need for offices and factories going forward?

In his book “Tribes”, Seth Godin states: “In unstable times, growth comes from leaders who create change and engage their organizations, instead of from managers who push their employees to do more for less”.

What are you doing, either as an individual or a business, to assess the changes that have altered the very fabric of our society? What are you doing to adapt? What are the real odds of your survival?

Would you like to find out how well equipped you are to survive these difficult times? Go to The Survivor Club, and click on the Recession Survivor IQ link.