I Trust You Today...But Will I Trust You Tomorrow?

So the Prius has a mind of its own and accelerates out of control. Yesterday my blog was highjacked and redirected all visitors to other sites because of a widget I downloaded from Google. Case in point...both failures were delivered by up to now World Class companies. Toyota earned more accolades for quality than any other car company and Google wrote the book on how to build a global quality company. We consumers trusted both companies above all others in their respective areas of expertise. Trusted that is until we experienced a failure.


Now don’t misunderstand me. I am not equating sticking accelerators that have caused death and destruction to my malware issue. The damage to life and limb from faulty cars is extremely serious. What I would like to discuss is how quickly reputations can change. How instantly Toyota’s seventy years of brand building is wiped out. How two days ago I was singing the praises for Google and today I say how did they let that happen to me? Or another example; how Enron was marked as an evil empire when in reality it was a handful of greedy executives whose bad deeds branded tens of thousands of valued employees and the entire company.


When companies we trust let us down the public’s reaction is usually swift and widespread. We refuse to do business with them. We make them pay for their sins by withholding our dollars. Retribution is meant to be catastrophic and final. Make them pay.


When we lose trust in a company we are done, but when we lose trust in an individual we generally give that person a second chance. In fact, we have built much of our societal values around giving people a second chance. Learn from your mistakes, right?

So, why are we not as forgiving to companies when they make a mistake? What is your opinion? Please post a comment.

Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?

One origin of this question is obviously from the Chicago tune which bemoans the fact that most of us are rushing around too fast and furious to stop and “smell the roses”. So what does that mean to those of us in small business? As I type this question I notice that it is 1:36 AM on a Saturday night. My guess is that I am far from being alone in this activity. Most of us in small business fit one or both of the following descriptions.

A. I have so much on my plate that I seem to work around the clock.


B. I am so passionate about my business that I can’t get enough of it.

Either way, we tend to work more hours than those who “have a real job” {BTW: That phrase really bugs me!} So, if you and I are working at all hours of the day and night...how important is it be able to meet your customer’s needs beyond the normal business hours?


Remember the phrase “Bankers hours”? Yes, there was a time when banks were only open from 10:00AM to 5:00PM and not on Saturdays. Not only are banks now open on Saturday, but are inside of supermarkets with long hours or are available to you 24/7 online. Consumers have responded to the added hours and ease of access in a major way.


Jim Collins in his important book, Good to Great, shares the story about a building supply firm that created a way for their key customers to access road repair materials after hours. The around the clock access to road repair materials was a major differentiator and helped the firm outpace competitors.


What are some of the steps you can take to give your customers what they want...when they want it?


Or, as a consumer what products or services do you wish you had access to on your time schedule?


Let’s hear from you. Please post a comment.

Do the clothes make the man, or does the man make the clothes?

I am a Business Coach to a team of marketing students in their senior year at one of our State Universities. The students are working on several projects contracted by various private enterprises. While preparing the students for a first meeting with their respective clients the issue of appropriate dress came into play.

I was quite surprised when there rose a general uproar in the classroom at the mention of coats and ties for the men and the women should “dress like ladies”. Even after discussions centered a round first impressions...

"You never get a second chance to make a first impression"    Will Rogers

and, showing respect for the client/professionalism/competent image and a whole host of other reasons why the students needed to depart from their flip flop and holey jeans look when visiting the offices of the organizations that had hired them; there was still a lack of understanding why? They were saying; “What does how I look like have to do with the job I am about to perform? In other words; Isn’t it about the content?” This statement is coming from a generation that has been raised to embrace diversity and individual uniqueness, both admirable traits. And they are right about the fact the “content is king”.

So here is the question. Is it the old school approach of “Dress for Success” and “When in Rome do as the Romans do?” Or, is it as the students believe; “It does not matter what I wear, what is important is if I deliver the goods or not?”

Let’s hear from you on this issue. Which approach do you use in your business?

BTW: For you old schoolers:

“Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society.”    Mark Twain

Outrageous Customer Service, or Poor Customer Service?

Bill Gates and Warren Buffet often vacation together. On one occasion they went to China. Wherever in the world Warren Buffet travels he always brings his favorite beverage, Cherry Coke. On this specific trip Buffet and Gates left the luxury hotel they were staying at to take a rented yacht down the Yangtze River. Some hours into the cruise it was discovered that Warren Buffet’s inventory of Cherry Coke had not been transferred from the hotel to the boat. The captain radioed the hotel which immediately dispatched a staff member with a case of the soft drink. The hotel person headed down river to catch up with the boat in a rented cab. When the cab came to the end of the paved road and the boat was still further down river the hotel person paid for the use of a bicycle and quickly loaded the case of soft drinks in the basket and headed off to the find the boat. Eventually he sighted the yacht, paid a fisherman to row him out to the boat and delivered Mr. Buffet’s Cherry Coke.

Question: Is this an example of extraordinary customer service on behalf of the hotel and the diligent and resourceful staff member? Or, is this a case of poor customer service by the hotel for not transferring the soft drink in the first place?

Let me know what you think. Have you had a similar customer service challenge in your business?