Mar 5th, 2010
by Susan Hamilton.
Did Stuart Smalley Have the Right Idea?
“I’m smart enough, I’m strong enough, and gosh darn it … people like me!” ~ Stuart Smalley played by Al Franken on Saturday Night Live
Maybe it dates me, but the old Saturday Night Live skits were pretty funny. My little sister makes fun of my positive attitude with this quote all the time. I know it was a skit that mocked people’s addiction to 12 Step classes, but is it possible he actually had the right idea? Do you psych yourself up in the morning with positive affirmations in the bathroom mirror? Do you talk yourself up in the car on the way to a sale? I have definitely told my discouraged teenagers to take some time to encourage themselves before they face a difficult time. It’s really not bad advice. Even in business, we need to be keenly aware of what is going well.
Apr 23rd, 2009
by Susan Hamilton.
Customer satisfaction, you’ve heard of it. We stand behind “the customer is always right” to the point of ridiculous on many occasions. Whether they are a pleasant, easy-going customer or the grumpy, hard to please type, we treat them with respect because they do matter to us. We have a zillion reasons they are valuable, [...]
Aug 18th, 2008
by Shari Voigt.
That little yellow padlock icon at the bottom of your Internet browser window may be giving us a false sense of security.
I made an online purchase today via a customer update form on a secure Web page. The URL included “https” and the little yellow padlock icon was definitely there, at the bottom right of [...]
Jun 19th, 2008
by Shari Voigt.
We ate dinner at a local restaurant last night. It’s not something we do very often. Dinner out is a luxury, especially for a self-employed couple with two growing businesses!
It didn’t start well. We waited over 20 minutes in a not-crowded restaurant for a meal that was presented poorly. The 7 oz. sirloin was accompanied [...]
Apr 11th, 2008
by Shari Voigt.
We’ve been Nextel customers for ages … switched over to them years ago because their local customer service was phenomenal. I met with a Nextel rep over coffee and she sent demo phones home with me – one for my husband and one for me. We tried them out, loved the direct connect feature and [...]
