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.

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…….

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!

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.

I recently purchased a product called a Squeezebox Duet. This product is made by Slim Devices, a part of the Logitech family. When my Squeeze box showed up I encountered several issues with it and contacted their customer support line. I was on hold for less than two minutes and then put through to a very considerate analyst. He didn’t take me down some forced march with a canned script but rather did an outstanding job of troubleshooting my situation. When it became clear that the issues I was having were more than he could handle he transferred me to their second level of support. When he made the transfer he stayed on the phone to make sure that the hand off went smoothly.

Within a fairly short period of time the second level analyst (Tyler) determined that my unit was faulty and would need to be replaced. He gave me the option of returning it to Logitech or to the vendor from whom I had purchased it. I told him I’d contact the vendor before making a decision. He contacted me the next day to find out what my decision was and I told him I was going to return it to the vendor. While I was waiting for the replacement to arrive, I was contacted again by Logitech wanting to know if the replacement had arrived.

When the new unit arrived it worked much better than the original unit but I was still experiencing some minor networking issues (not caused by their device). Before I had an opportunity to contact Logitech I received a phone call from them. Do you see a pattern here? They called me!

I’m not going to drag this story out any further but will end it by saying that the new unit is working way beyond my expectations, Logitech was very proactive in making certain that my expectations were exceeded and their analysts were highly trained technically and very focused on providing an outstanding experience.

I do not know if this level of expertise is unique to the Slim Devices portion of Logitech or if it is indicative of the company as a whole. I do know, however, that this was one of the best customer support experiences I’ve ever had. Customer Loyalty is much more that simply doing the right thing when asked to do so. It is proactively seeking ways to go beyond doing the right thing and treating the customer like a respected friend in the process.

I am now much more than a satisfied Logitech customer. I love that company. I love the way I was treated, and going forward will no doubt be more understanding of snafus than I might otherwise have been. And most importantly, I’ll be preaching their goodness to anyone who will listen.

And that is what Customer Loyalty is all about.

So what do you think? Are we heading toward a future that is going to be radically different from the past? Are there new skills, techniques, or mindsets that are going to be required to be successful? And if so, what are they and where would one obtain them? What are you personally doing to prepare for the future?

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?

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.

Well, first you must have a dream.  Sounds silly to say that, but many people don’t take the time do envision the future?  Next, one must set aside any past perceptions of inability to obtain the dream.  In other words, adjust one’s attitudes.  Thirdly, one must then chart a course of action and work to obtain the dream.

Does it work?  If you ever had a doubt watch this video.  Then be brave enough to pursue your own dreams.

Susan Boyle

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.