I was shopping with my youngest son today for a basketball and our total was $8.01. I counted out a five and three ones, handed it to the cashier and reached in my pocket for a penny. Surely I have a penny I told her as I produced a handful of change. Quarter, quarter, quarter, dime, nickel, dime – no pennies! I couldn’t believe it but pulled out a nickel to finish paying. She smiled as she dropped a penny in the register, ignoring my nickel. Impressed, I gave her my change anyway to help out future shoppers. As we were leaving the store, my son shared my appreciation of that customer service focused moment. He said something similar had happened to him at one of the fast food restaurants and how good it made him feel when the cashier did the same thing when he was paying. All that good will for only one cent! In today’s highly competitive marketplace, companies spend untold amounts of money on customer loyalty programs, in essence bribing us to feel better about their service or product. Unfortunately, this only works until someone else comes along with a bigger or better bribe. Instead of going bigger, focus on the customer and go smaller. Empower your employees to give away a penny. Encourage them to connect with the customer. Look at your business and figure out your “service pennies” – those opportunities to build customer loyalty on the smallest scale. A twist on the old adage could be “Take care of your customers (pennies), and the business (dollars) will take care of itself.”
I got to see these guys last night in Charlotte and I can sum up their show in two words – Awesome show with great singing and lot’s of laughs! Okay, so it took me more than just two words to describe it but this show has been over 16 years in the making and deserves more than just two words. Straight No Chaser started as a group of guys in 1996 singing A cappella at Indiana University to, in their words, meet girls. Members of the group eventually graduated and went their separate ways. Then in 2006, one of the guys put a few videos of the group onto YouTube as a way for the guys to reminisce about their glory days. One of the videos, The Twelve Days of Christmas, went viral with over 7 million hits. I remember getting the link from a friend when it went viral and I probably watched it a dozen times. Fortunately for the group, one of the 7 million viewers to watch the video was the head of Atlantic Records. The rest, as they say, is history. The group has 4 albums out with another one to be released in May in addition to a full concert schedule that criss-crosses the country. Last night’s show was their second show of the day in Charlotte. Starting at 8pm, the audience was treated to a brief video offering a behind-the-scenes look at the group. We got up close and personal with the guys. Within minutes, however, the video ended and the lights dimmed. The announcer gave gentle instructions to us to cut off the ringers to our cell phones and extinguish our children. Then the voice said, “The use of cameras and video recorders during the show is extremely . . . encouraged! This is a Straight No Chaser show after all!” That set the tone for the rest of the evening. The live show started and the guys ripped through the first hour. As good as the guys sound online and on their albums, it’s nothing compared to the live show. The sound was simply incredible and I found myself sitting in awe several times during the performance. In addition to their remarkable voices, these guys were also hilarious. Part of their humor was rehearsed, the rest was totally ad lib. Regardless, they made you feel like you were more than an observer, that you were a part of the performance. I couldn’t help but get the feeling that these were normal guys that I could have been friends with if the situation had been different. After a brief intermission, we launched into the second hour which was just as good as the first. For two hours, I forgot about the world outside of the theater and sat transfixed as the group that I had only seen on my computer sang their hearts out. They ended the show (after their encore) but letting us know how grateful they were to be able to sing for us. Give them a few minutes they said and they would come out into the lobby to meet everyone. Straight No Chaser is truly a class act in my book and I can’t wait to see them again. (If you have never heard of Straight No Chaser, I encourage you to visit their website or look them up on YouTube. You can thank me later for introducing you to their music.) (A very humble attempt at poetry) The winter wind came sweeping in, if only for the moment. Bringing a chill that reminded us still to long for our atonement. Covering the ground, the snow falls down and slows the hands of time. My tracks clearly show the path where I go as white erases the grime. Although Spring is near, Winter’s still here and causes us to pause, To embrace the cold as it’s foretold and give Mother Nature applause. I got my first $2 bill when I was still in elementary school. It was a birthday present from an uncle I think. He told me as long as I had it I’d never be broke. I know that’s a little corny but it is true. Unfortunately, I spent it on something that was broken and thrown away a long time ago, but I’ve always remembered the $2. The $2 bill is unique and I used to think rare. They’re not rare – in fact, the US Mint printed over 230 million bills in 2006. That sounds like a lot, but it’s just a drop in the bucket. Even though it’s estimated there’s over $1 billion of the bills in circulation, that’s only 1% of all US bills in circulation. I think one reason why $2 bills are considered rare is that most end up in sock drawers or shoeboxes stuffed in the back of the closet. In other words, they’re only rare because everyone thinks they are rare and hold on to them. Fortunately, you can go to most backs or credit unions and pick up as many of the bills as you want. Like most people, I’ve got a bunch of the bills stuffed in my sock drawer but I’m getting ready to change my ways. Is it because I want to launch a personal campaign to reinvigorate the use of the $2 bill? Do I have suffer from OCD and can only use even denominations, i.e., $2, $10, $20? Nope! I’m going to start paying for things with $2 bills because it messes with the cashiers. There’s no room in the cash drawer for $2 bills. Even better, most cashiers have never seen a $2 bill. How do I know? A couple years ago I paid for a drink with a $2 bill - the bill had its corners trimmed for some reason and I thought that had ruined its collectibility. At first the young girl handed me back change for a $5. She gave me more money back than I gave her. I told her she had given me too much change since I had only given her $2. Then I spent the next five minutes convincing her it was real and not play money. Cars were backing up behind me in the drive-thru as I relayed the history of the $2 bill. Eventually, the manager had to come over and approve the bill. For ten minutes, I shut down their drive-thru by doing absolutely nothing wrong. Imagine how much fun I can have at Wal-mart? It happens to me occasionally. Not often, just once in a while. It’s embarrassing – a sign I’m getting old I guess. I think it happens to everyone eventually. You know, you’re writing an email, make a point to say that you are attaching a file and then forget to attach it. You have to follow your email with a quick “oops, I forgot to attach the file – here it is.” Your follow-up email has to be quick, too. It’s even more embarrassing to get the “I couldn’t find your file” email from the recipient. It never happens on unimportant emails either. It’s always the super special one to your boss or someone else that you are trying to impress. It almost happened to me recently. I say almost because as soon as I hit the send button a little window popped up saying that I had written in my email I was going to attach something but didn’t. I was stunned! When did Gmail start hiring online email editors? Was this a free service or would I get a bill? Were they going to read and edit all of my emails? I wasn’t sure I liked this new service, too much like “Big Brother” if you ask me. I didn’t want some guy in digital space looking over my shoulder, correcting my mistakes or criticizing my writing. We have to draw the line somewhere in the new digital frontier. As I was looking up Google’s irate customer hotline number, a friend of mine called and I told him about the Gmail conspiracy. There were no online editors he assured me. It was simple programming that recognized the word “attach” in my email. He explained that hitting the send button before attaching a file triggered an automatic popup window that would delay the sending of the email until a file was attached. He gave a convincing argument, seemed to understand the necessary programming and wasn’t worried in the least. Maybe he’s right and Gmail isn’t reading my emails. That’s an invasion of privacy that I’m just not ready for in my life. That’s almost as bad as companies tracking my online whereabouts in order to market directly to me to increase their profits. And we all know there’s no company that would stoop that low. I’ve always liked the old adage – take care of your pennies and your dollars will take care of themselves. The same is true in providing world-class customer service. If a company can provide world-class customer service in the smallest service it provides, then the larger activities will take care of themselves. Need an example? Think about the last time you visited the drive-thru of any fast food restaurant. Did you order a drink? If you did, it’s a good chance your cup had liquid down one side from where it was filled. Now you have a wet hand and a wet cup holder, at least until you get a chance to safely dry everything. Aggravating isn’t it? Occasionally though, I have gone through the drive-thru and been pleasantly surprised to see the person wiping off the cup before handing it to me. A little extra effort on their behalf made a lasting impression on me. Here’s an employee that will not accept anything less than providing the best customer service possible in every circumstance. In their mind, the delivery of my order - handing a bag and drink out of a drive-thru window – is important and can have a huge impact on the customer. Unfortunately, this activity is typically the result of a customer-focused employee and not customer service driven training by the company. This is apparent because the next time through the line usually results in a dripping wet cup being handed to you. Why the change? It’s simple actually – a different person is working the window. Remember, not every employee is a natural at providing customer service, but thankfully everyone can be trained. One of my favorite drive-thrus is Chick-fil-A. At the end of my order, the employee on the other end says, “Please pull around to the window. It’s my pleasure to serve you.” I always get the same message regardless of the location because the employees are trained to say it. They are trained to sweat the details. It also becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. The more times the employee says it, the more focused he or she becomes on providing excellent customer service. You can apply this same tactic in your business. Take a look at the services you provide for your customer, break them down into their smallest increments and make each increment as good as possible. Share this information with everyone providing this service – in other words, train, train, train! Remember, you are judged at every contact point with your customer, no matter how small. Take care of your service pennies and the service dollars will take themselves. (The following is a true story.) Everyone loves the circus. We’re amazed at the spectacle of the wild animals. We’re fascinated with the kaleidoscope of colors and textures. We’re entertained by the performers and amused by the clowns. Everyone but me. You need to keep the clowns away from me. Clowns are scary, even the so-called “happy” clowns. My extreme dislike for clowns goes way back, all the way to my early childhood. I’m not sure how old I was but I still remember the day, the exact moment clowns turned evil for me. I was 5 or 6 years old, a happy little boy. I don’t want to sound too Forrest Gumpish, but I liked to run back then – I think that’s pretty common with little kids. One of the phrases I remember hearing constantly from my parents was “slow down!” I also heard “don’t eat that” and “shut the refrigerator door” a lot, too. My mom loves to tell the story of the numerous times I ran through the screen door. Basically I would miss the handle for the screen door as I tried to open the door and run through it at the same time. (Side note - I’m not sure why we called it a screen door since it had a big pane of glass covering the screen. We should have called it the “thousands shards of painful death” screen door.) I ran a lot. I would run into the kitchen – I would run out of the kitchen. I would run into my room – I would run out of my room. All that changed one night. Unknown to me, my mom had left a surprise for me in my room. Earlier that day, she put a large poster-size wall hanging of clown – a special glow-in-the-dark clown. She told me she had left a surprise in my room, go check it out. So I ran into my room, missing the light switch as I entered the room. In a split second I ran out of the house that was my fortress against ghosts, thunder storms and those scary as crap flying monkeys from the Wizard of Oz and I ran into a house of horrors. Deep in my pitch black room, I came face to face with a crazy, glowing clown that I swear laughed evilly as I skidded to a stop. I couldn’t get out of my room fast enough as I backpedaled quickly. Even though my dad took the evil clown down immediately, my room was never the same after that night. And that’s why I hate clowns. (Here's an article I wrote last year. I'm writing - just didn't get finished.)Chronic Obstructve Pulmonary Disease, or better known as COPD. You probably know someone who suffers from COPD. Over 5% of the population has been diagnosed with this condition. Another 5% of our population has COPD and doesn’t realize it yet. Chronic Obstructve Pulmonary Disease is so widespread and devastating that it has been recognized as the fourth leading cause of death in the United States. So what exactly is Chronic Obstructve Pulmonary Disease? COPD is a progressive (gets worse over time) disease that makes it increasingly more difficult to breathe. Developing slowly over time, the symptoms of COPD worsen and severely limit an individual’s ability to do normal, everyday tasks. As the disease progresses, simple activities like walking, light housework, cooking or even getting dressed become almost impossible to accomplish. In the US, the most common cause of COPD is smoking. Breathing other kinds of irritants for prolonged periods of time may also cause COPD. The best way to avoid developing COPD is to avoid the irritants. If you smoke, stop. If you don’t smoke, don’t start. The two main conditions most commonly associated with COPD are emphysema and chronic bronchitis. When the individual suffers from emphysema, the tissue that supports the shape and function of the lungs is destroyed or damaged. This causes a reduction in the gas exchange in the lungs. With chronic bronchitis, the lining of the airways is constantly irritated and inflamed. Thick mucus forms in the airways causing difficulty in breathing. Unfortunately, most people who have COPD have both emphysema and chronic bronchitis. COPD is usually diagnosed in middle-aged or older people and there is presently no cure. Although damage to an individual’s airways or lungs cannot be reversed, specialized treatments and lifestyle changes can slow the the progress of the disease. Do you think you know someone who may have COPD? The symptoms to look for are:
If you or someone you know are experiencing one or more of these symptoms on a regular or prolonged basis, inform your doctor. If you are diagnosed with COPD, your doctor can prescribe medications or treatments to help you manage your symptoms so you can feel better. The sooner you get diagnosed the sooner you can be managing your condition and minimizing the damage to your lungs. (Today's writing is an experiment. I'm trying my hand at children's stories. Let me know what you think.) It was Monday. Marge loved Mondays. Marge was a large aardvark and she always went to the market on Mondays. Marge loved to buy melons and mangoes at the market. She liked marigolds, too. “Hey Marge,” said Bryan the lion. Bryan had worked at the market for almost two years. He had been expecting Marge all morning. It was Monday after all. “Hey Bryan, how was your weekend?” “I had a great weekend! It was Pepper’s birthday.” Bryan was talking about his dog, Pepper the German Shepard. “How sweet,” said Marge. “I’m sure you two had a good time.” They talked a little more while Bryan put her groceries in the bag. “Bye Bryan!” “See you next Monday Marge!” Marge left the market and started for home. She lived a couple blocks away on the corner of Main Street and Martin Avenue. Her house was modest but she liked it. She had a white picket fence around her yard. In each corner she had planted marigolds. Marge put her bags on the kitchen table. She unpacked each bag and put her groceries away. She put up macaroni and cheese, milk and marmalade. Just then there was a knock at the door. It was Claire the rare polar bear. What made Claire so rare? Claire was black, not white like most polar bears. Marge didn’t care what color Claire was. Claire was a good friend and that was all that mattered to Marge. Claire sometimes felt out of place since all the other polar bears were white. All of her clothes were white and she even wore a white hat and scarf. “Hey Marge,” said Claire. “Did you remember to pick up some marshmallows at the market?” “Hello Claire,” Marge sang out. “Of course I picked up the marshmallows. They were on my list.” “Wonderful! I’m ready for our camp out tonight!” “Me too,” agreed Marge. “I put the tent up in the backyard before I went to the market. The s’mores will be great!” “Some more what?” laughed Claire. That was Claire’s favorite joke. Marge heard it every time they made s’mores. “Okay Marge, I’ll put my sleeping bag in the tent. Are you coming out soon?” “I’m almost finished putting up groceries. I’ll be out in a minute.” Marge walked back inside with a smile on her face. She had a surprise for Claire. She had made a special treat – meatballs! She carried them outside in a covered dish so Claire couldn’t see them. Claire was standing by the fire she had started in the fire pit. It had been a beautiful day and it was turning into a beautiful evening. The sun was setting and the sky looked like a painting, going from bright yellows and oranges to reds and eventually dark purples. Marge and Claire watched the sky as they sat in their chairs by the fire. Neither one of them said anything for a while. They were content to watch the sky change gradually from one painting to the next. Stars slowly spread across the sky. “I have a surprise for you, Claire,” said Marge. “Tell me what it is,” begged Claire. “You know I love surprises!” “I’ve got something special for dinner tonight,” shared Marge as she uncovered the meatballs. “Wonderful!” exclaimed Claire. “You remembered how much I love meatballs.” “Of course I did,” said Marge. Marge loved doing special things for her friends, and Claire was her best friend. The two friends cooked their meatballs over the fire, talking and laughing about their friendship. They had been friends for a long time. For dessert, they fixed s’mores and Claire told her joke again when Marge asked if she was ready for s’mores. “Some more what?” laughed Claire. Claire laughed so hard she snorted. That made Marge laugh, too. When they sat back to eat their s’mores, the sky had turned black with hundreds of stars twinkling in the sky. “If you could be anywhere in the world right now,” asked Claire, “where would you want to be?” “I’m right where I want to be,” smiled Marge. Marge sat back in her chair and watched as the stars twirled over her head. She was exactly where she wanted to be. According to Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary, one definition for idiot savant is “a person who is highly knowledgeable about one subject but knows little about anything else.” That’s me when it comes to crafts. I’m very good at a few, select crafts. Let me refine that statement – I’m very good at three or four crafts and suck at the rest. At first I was envious of those folks who were considered “crafty” – you know who I’m talking about. We all have that friend who can make anything. Give them some glue, a hammer and glitter and they’ll hand you back a personalized photo frame with a portrait of you made out of macaroni. These expert craftspeople can knit, sew, crochet, macramé, paint, sand, scrapbook, paper-mache, calligraphy, stencil, carve and a couple of cool things that haven’t even been named yet. They make birthday presents and Christmas presents. And my absolute favorite, the hanging dish towel that goes on the refrigerator handle. I can fold them, but that’s about as much as I can do with dish towels. So what can I do? I can make one heck of a snowman out of marshmallows. That’s all I can make out of marshmallows, besides s’mores. They’re great at Christmas time. I guess they would be good in the gift shop of a ski lodge, but that’s about it. You can probably put a hanger in Frosty’s head and turn him into a tree ornament. I’m also a great painter. Well, great may be stretching it a little. And painter may be exaggerating just a little, too. I can paint little flowers on black rocks. I tried to paint a lot more than just flowers. I tried to paint the rocks so they would look like lady bugs and pandas. Not so good. I’m not sure how I happened to paint my first flower, but I’ve painted hundreds of them. I gave my mom a bowl full of flowered rocks and her first comment was, “Where did you get the black rocks?” It really doesn’t matter how bad your craft or project looks, moms are required by federal law to “oooh” and “ahhhh” over everything their kids give them. My mom still has a green glob of dry clay with a six inch briar stick poking out of it. To me it looks like something a young Tim Burton (Nightmare before Christmas) would have made for his mom, but my mom still has it. Needless to say, my flowered rocks are a definite improvement. I’m also a master jewelry maker. Okay, I may be taking a few liberties (again) saying I’m a master jewelry maker. I can make a really cool bird’s nest pendant . . . and that’s it. I’m selling myself a little short now. I can make a ton of variations on the pendant. I can make them big or small with lots of different kinds of beads for the eggs. I can change the color and the gauge of the wire. I’ve tried making other types of pendants – I think I better stick to the bird’s nest. My favorite craft of them all is probably the button flowers. I first saw them in a craft emporium in Asheville. They looked simple enough to make so I went to AC Moore and bought a bucket of buttons. Looking simple does not always mean they are easy to make. Just let me say that the woman in Asheville is extremely talented. You can look her up on Facebook – The Button Florist. Even in the world of button flowers, I am limited in what I can create. My flowers are smaller than The Button Florist and, to my eyes, more uniform in color. I still like them and a few special people have received button bouquets. I’ve even had a small shop in Monroe ask me to set up a display and sell them. Maybe I can set up a small shop to sell my crafts. I can call it the “Snowman, Flowered Rocks, Bird’s Nest and Button Flowers Shoppe” if I can afford that many letters in the sign. I’ve already found my next craft I want to try – cufflinks. If they turn out well I guess I’ll have the “Snowman, Flowered Rocks, Bird’s Nest, Button Flowers and Cufflinks Shoppe.” Be sure to bring a friend! |
Sam Murray
Award-winning Graphic Designer and Writer Archives
February 2015
All stories, articles and poems appearing on this site are the property of Sam Murray. They are protected by U.S. Copyright Laws, and are not to be reproduced in any way without written permission. Copyright 2013 Sam Murray All Rights Reserved.
|