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"Life is now. There was never a time when your life was not now, nor will there ever be." » Eckhart Tolle
Be Kind, Rewind
Every now and then, I have to laugh at myself - which isn’t hard to do, since I give myself plenty of reasons - especially when I catch myself needing to follow my own words of encouragement.
I recently found myself having one of what I call my VHS Moments.
It’s a story I’ve shared with hundreds of banker groups over the years.
It happened about three months into my first banking job as an in-store branch manager.
I truly believed I was the man. My branch was crushing its goals.
It never occurred to me that maybe bank leadership had set our goals too low because they didn’t expect all that much from me.
But, hey, I was enjoying being the belle of the ball at manager meetings.
One day, I returned from one of those meetings, still “feeling myself.”
Then, a customer walked up to our counter and tried to return a VHS tape.
You see, our branch was located where the video rental department used to be…oh… 4 months ago.
Mind you, she had rented the tape in a different part of the store just a few days earlier.
But to her, we were still the video department.
I thought she was joking. But it quickly became clear she had no idea we were a bank. And mind you, she was a well-put-together, clearly intelligent person.
My store manager later told me they regularly took videos off our counter in the evenings because customers were “returning” them there.
There I was, convinced the entire city - nay, the entire parish - knew what a phenomenal branch we were.
Yet many shoppers in my own store still thought we were a video rental counter.
That story rang in my ears recently after I gave a keynote address at a large conference.
I sorta-kinda felt like a big deal.
A senior bank leader approached me afterward and asked if I ever worked with or spoke to individual banks.
It was my VHS moment all over again. I paused and smiled.
Yep, they were serious. It almost…sorta-kinda…hurt my feelings.
What we think is obvious is often anything but to much of the world we’re hoping to connect with.
While some may find that discouraging, I suggest it’s actually a positive thing.
It’s a reminder that untapped potential to reach, to educate, to influence, and even to turn “familiar” folks into customers, is right there in front of us every day.
A Cool Business Philosophy
We recently returned home after nine days visiting Alaska and Canada.
Let’s just say the average daily temperature in those places in June is juuust a bit lower than in Houston.
Upon our return home, I learned that our upstairs central air conditioning unit was not operating.
In the overall summer crisis handbook in Houston, a non-operating A/C is right below a hurricane churning in the gulf.
We had been fortunate not to need an A/C repair in five years. Thankfully, I had saved “AC repair guy” in my phone.
I called and left John a voicemail (it was nearly 7 PM.)
To his credit, he called me back within 30 minutes.
That’s when I remembered why I made the effort to save his number.
He was a nice guy who, as I recalled, did good work at a fair price.
But there is no lack of A/C repair services in the Houston market.
Come to think of it, A/C repair is one of the most advertised services on local radio and TV this time of year.
I can cite several big company names off the top of my head.
But, as I remembered, John responded quickly and personally.
He did it five years ago, and clearly, he still does today.
He shared how booked-up they were with calls and asked if he could send his son to my house in the morning.
I joked that he could send his whole family if they knew how to fix a central A/C unit.
John laughed and said that his son was indeed certified, but still a new technician.
He just wanted me to know he and his team were “on it.” Sure enough, his son arrived early the next morning.
He was a personable young man who quickly diagnosed and fixed the problem.
As he wrapped up, we chatted about the fact he was learning their business with the thought of eventually taking over for his father.
I assured him that an A/C repair company in the Houston market was not going to be outsourced anywhere or taken over by AI.
I then suggested that while some businesses rely on expensive promotions, there’s a lot to be said for simply being the most responsive competitor and following through on your word.
Regardless of a business’s size, lasting relationships are earned as much on responsiveness and reliability as price.
In our ever more competitive industry, make responsiveness and reliability your own calling card.
"Character consists of what you do on the third and fourth tries." » James A. Michener
The Advantage Letter by Dave Martin
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Good people win.™