By Emily Mathews, TSSA Director of Education & Meetings

I’m a frequent customer of Starbucks, but I think their coffee is awful.
It’s too strong.
Actually, it’s downright bitter.
It tastes like it’s been sitting there for days.
The employees are too cheery.*
And we all know it’s grossly, offensively, insultingly overpriced.

But they’ve got a stranglehold on me and my wallet. I’m there at least a couple of times a week, trying to improve my cup of yuck with lots of cream and Splenda. Why do I do this?

It’s the power of branding. Branding might not be what you think it is (it’s not about your logo) and I’d like to let my acquaintance, marketing guru Jay Ehret of The Marketing Spot in Woodway, TX, take the idea of branding further (see below). But first allow me to explain why a coffee chain with crummy coffee has me and will likely have me for life.

You probably guessed it: It’s the experience, man. It’s the smells. It’s the sounds. It’s the jazzy music playing (I love jazz). It’s the cushy seats (actually, those are sort of movie-theater-seat gross, but that’s okay. I usually grab a table anyway). It’s the fact that I can get any caffeinated concoction I want, exactly as I want it. It’s a place to which I escape, and that’s a huge part of the experience.

It’s great for rare “me time.” When my son is finally asleep and my husband is playing a nerdy computer game, I just grab a huge fashion magazine and I am OUTTA there. Hunched over Vogue with my white cup with the green logo, I’m in heaven (though I ought to work on my posture).

It’s a time killer while I’m waiting to meet with a hotel sales rep (many hotels now have a Starbucks in the house, including - YAY! - The Omni Fort Worth, our convention hotel).

It’s a destination I can walk to from my house, when I need some exercise (which is always). At the end of a long walk that hurts my feet, it’s a reward.

But it’s lunacy to reward oneself with something gross.
It’s nuts.
It’s insane.
Yet it’s fun.

That’s how much they’ve got me.

Now, I know it’s silly to compare Starbucks with your storage facility. People are not likely to come to your office and read fashion magazines, even if you have a comfy couch (well, I might), and even if you have coffee available. And unlike Starbucks, you’re not on every corner. But I’d like to entertain the idea of making storing with you an experience. Like I said, I know it won’t be some kind of treat or escape for anyone. Moving stinks, and storing can be hard work! But think about how you can be a place about which people say to friends and family, “Yeah, it was a pain moving last weekend. But the place where we stored our stuff made it much easier. It was strange, in a good way; it didn’t feel like a storage place, you know?” You get the idea.

I also know that this is not a new concept to you, the fact that the lure of a brand can be so strong that people will overpay for bad coffee, or literally not be able to leave a Target store empty-handed (the price of admission to Target is about $60. If you’ve ever spent less, I want to know). All I’m saying, in a roundabout way, is this: have you given lots of thought to the “tenant experience” at your facility? Have you really got a hold on your customers? Go get ‘em.

Now take a look at What Is a Brand? by Jay Ehret. You can also catch Jay at the TSSA convention this October!

*Actually, there’s a Starbucks near my house with an employee who literally will not smile (or if she does, it looks like it pains her). She is my personal project: I am going to get this woman to genuinely smile and laugh if I have to die trying.

by Silvia Pendleton, Director of Marketing and Membership

I recently heard a comment that stopped me in my tracks. The comment was something along the lines of “I’m doing more marketing than ever. Marketing has overtaken advertising.” Huh? As a marketing professional, I take exception to that kind of thinking. Perhaps that’s why so many people find marketing to be such a challenge and something to be avoided and seen as a last resort.

Let me try to clarify. Advertising is a component of marketing. Marketing is a process that encompasses many activities, including advertising, public relations, sales, promotions, and all communication activities. If you narrow your scope and idea of what marketing is, you’re missing out on the full benefit of what it can do for your business.

Marketing is anything that either helps you rent a storage unit, sell boxes, rent trucks, or keeps you from reaching that goal. Is your sign visible from the road? Is your facility hidden behind another building? At night, is your facility well lighted and visible? Is your phone number visible? Do potential tenants have to drive through a construction zone to get to you? Are they guessing about your office hours? Are they reaching an answering machine every time they try to reach you? Does your office look abandoned even in the middle of the day?

The list could go on and on. These are the things that either enhance or detract from the renter’s experience when they try to rent or buy from you. What you do to enhance or remedy the situation is the marketing process.

Training your employees to answer all calls before the second ring is part of the process. Teaching them how to close the sale is also part of the process, as is making sure your sign is working and visible. When a customer walks in the door, a simple greeting and acknowledgement might seem like common sense, but if it enhances the customer’s experience, it becomes part of the overall marketing process. If this one step is left out or ignored, all the advertising in the world will not make up for it.

Keep this in mind the next time you’re going to the bank wearing your facility’s logo on your shirt, or driving your vehicle with your facility’s name on the doors; you’re part of the marketing/advertising process. How you interact with the tellers at the bank is as much of an advertisement about your business as your ad in the phone book. And, it’s more memorable too.

If you find that you’re getting better results from one marketing effort over another, then you can concentrate on doing more of that particular activity. Perhaps that’s the meaning behind the comment I overheard. More than likely, the activities such as face-to-face meetings, civic involvement and sponsorship of community events produced better results over traditional advertising. All of these activities are part of marketing. Don’t neglect one over the other without careful tracking and analyzing.

As for me, I’ve learned my lesson. Next time I hear someone commenting on their marketing efforts, I’m either going to ask more questions, or I’m going to turn up the volume on my iPod and keep on walking.

Today is an extra-busy day for me (I’m sure you can relate!). We’re getting things ready for the very first TSSA Executive Retreat in San Antonio! Exciting stuff, and lots to do. So please don’t think I’m being lzay here by using (with written permission, of course), someone else’s blog post. I’ve sincerely always wanted to share with as many people as possible the musings of one of my favorite writers, Larry Winget, aka “The Pitbull of Personal Development.” I love this guy, but he’s not for the faint of heart! He definitely goes for the jugular. You’ll either love him or hate him. Even I don’t agree with every single word he utters. But the guy gets me thinking. Let me know what you think.

Emily Mathews, TSSA Director of Education & Meetings

What’s REALLY Important?
By Larry Winget

Seems like such as easy question to answer. The average, normal person would quickly say “my kids,” or “my family” or “being healthy” and so on. I bet those answers are about what you came up with when you first read the question too.

It’s just that I’m not buying those answers. I’m not calling anyone a liar who recites those quick and easy answers, it’s just that I don’t buy that’s what is really important to most people. Why would I say that? Because there isn’t too much proof to suggest those answers are the truth.

One of my basic philosophies is that your time, your energy and your money go to what is important to you. So if kids and family and being healthy was as important as most people say, it would follow that is where people would focus their time, energy and money. Follow? Well, it isn’t happening. Look around and you’ll see that people are clearly not putting their actions into the important things in life. People are putting their time, energy and money into lots of things but more often than not, it’s the temporary, the mundane, and the instantly gratifying. The ridiculous occupies people’s time, saps their energy and seduces the money from their fingers. And the media helps with that fascination. But I don’t blame the media because they only give us what we beg to see. It’s not their fault they are capitalizing on our preoccupation with the stupid; it’s our own. Watching stupid stuff on television is voluntary participation. No one forces you to sit there and see who the newest stupid celebrity is and what he/she is doing. You choose to do that. People choose to participate in things of no importance and neglect what is really important.

Are there exceptions? Of course there are so don’t get all fired up and write me a bunch of comments about how wrong I am and how my premise doesn’t apply to you. Fine. You may be the exception. Read this and be satisfied with how none of this applies to you and find some satisfaction in pointing the finger of blame at everyone else.

“I get it, Larry. So what is important?”

Your obligations are important. What does that entail? Your relationships, your family, your bills and other financial commitments, your employment and your health. Don’t just say “of course” to this statement. Look closely at each of these obligations and consider that the word really means that you are obligated to do take care of these things to the very best of your ability. And I don’t mean with your words, but with your actions!

You are obligated to do the job you were hired to do. It’s not important that you be happy or enjoy it, it’s important that you do it. That was the agreement you made when you took the job, so do your job and be thankful you have one because millions of people don’t.

You are obligated to be as healthy as you can so you can live as long as you can and not be sick and become a drain on your family physically, mentally or financially. You owe good health to your family and to yourself.

You are obligated to pay your bills – on time and as agreed to. That is money you gave your word you would pay when the goods or service was extended to you, so pony up and do what’s right. Even though we are in a recession. Even though money may be tight. Pay your obligations before you do anything else. Don’t go to the movies, out to eat, or buy anything other than what it takes to survive; instead, pay your obligations no matter what it takes. That’s the important thing to do.

Here is the most important thing and your biggest obligation: your kids. We are a world in crisis. I know it and you know it too. There is no other decent way to describe it: we are in a mess! How did we get in this mess? The mess happened because we either didn’t care enough to keep it from happening or we weren’t involved enough to know it was happening. Either way, we allowed it to happen. We are to blame. And we have to take responsibility and fix it.

The best, long-term solution to turning our world around is to create a society that knows how to be honest and do the right thing in every situation. No more situational ethics but real ethics based on honestly and integrity. We have to create a society that knows how to earn money, save money, be charitable, invest and enjoy their money as well. We have to raise kids that grow into adults who know how to give their word, mean it and keep it. Who do their job for no other reason than because they said they would. Who know how to treat people fairly and be healthy and take care of the environment. Who become involved in their communities and in their world to fix the problems we face. Who know how take action and work to create change instead of sitting on their butts and griping about the way things are. Raising kids to be and do their best is our obligation as a society. But it is also every parents obligation. To fail at raising your kids and teaching them how to succeed is the ultimate failure as a person. Good parenting is the most important thing any person can ever do. Nothing will make a bigger difference in our world than people raising kids who will become responsible, productive adults.

This message has become my primary focus and my purpose. It is impossible to fix the problems surrounding business and money without addressing the primary cause. I can’t help businesses do better in the future until we create a society that believes in honesty, service and takes their job seriously. It does little good to talk about money and credit obligations until parents teach their kids about how to earn, save, spend and honor their commitments. That’s the problem right now with people and their money, they weren’t taught the things that really matter. That has to change. My work can have no lasting impact on society without going to the source of our problem: bad parenting. That’s why I wrote my newest book, Your Kids Are Your Own Fault: A Guide For Raising Responsible, Productive Adults. This message is what’s important for me. It means everything to all of us that we turn our world around and that is clearly not going to happen with the adults we have in charges of our businesses, our schools and our governments right now or in the foreseeable future. Which means, it changes with our kids. It changes with your kids.

I ask that you stop now and take your obligations seriously. How will you know if you are doing that? Measure the amount of time, energy and money you put into an activity and that will tell you whether you consider it to be important or not. Pay attention to that especially when it comes to your kids. Need a guide for doing a better job? Check out my new book, Your Kids Are Your Own Fault: A Guide For Raising Responsible, Productive Adults. It’s the most important thing I have ever written. And if it helps you raise a more productive, responsible person, then I have done an important job.

Emily S. Mathews, CMP, Director of Education & Meetings

“Ring, ring, ring, ring,” rudely insists the phone at my house.

“I don’t want to talk to anyone!” I grumpily shout across my very small domicile to my husband, Bill.

Maybe I’m playing with my kid. Maybe I’m totally engrossed in a trashy magazine or – yeah, right – a household chore. It doesn’t matter. It could be my sister (whom I love). It could be my mother (whom I love but who sort of bugs me). It could be my father (whom I love and who doesn’t bug me per se but who asks too many questions and makes me feel 12 when I’m…not 12. I know, I know…that’s what loving fathers do). It could even be Brad Pitt! But, see, sometimes I just don’t want to talk to anyone! Not even Brad Pitt (who looks a little gnarly these days anyway. What’s with the braided beard? Blech).

It’s odd. Isn’t it? (I mean me not wanting to talk to anyone, not the beard. Well, the beard, too).

Now, here at TSSA I’m very happy talking to our members. Yes, work is my job and I “have to” talk to people. But I don’t see it as a pain. Customers are not a pain (at least, TSSA’s aren’t). They keep the lights on (and, thank goodness, the email. I’m all for email. I wholeheartedly embrace email. If you email me, I’m gonna email you back. I’m not likely to just “pick up the phone and call you” unless you ask me to. I’ll go with whatever medium you choose, but I’m quite fine with email).

Is my semi-reclusiveness normal in this crazy day and age? Maybe. But if it was already there, has The Information Age made it worse? I think so. I conduct complex and successful contract negotiations via email. I have Facebook “friends” I‘ve never met in person, and never will. Just a few hours ago a hotel called, and since I didn’t really have a reason to speak to them and I was very busy (perhaps using email), I asked our admin, Holly, the following: “Would you ask them to just send me an email?” Yikes! What’d we do before email? It’s always amusing to think about…if you can even remember.

So, what’s wrong with me? Can anyone relate? I know you’re out there! When did I become such a techno-hermit? The worst part is that I know better! Here’s where I must give a shout-out to the power of the TSSA Annual Convention & Trade Show*: I know that face-to-face meetings build trust and relationships. I know that education and training are most effective in a live setting. I know that seeing people in person facilitates problem solving and an effective exchange of ideas. I know it even creates jobs and powers the economy!

But I still don’t want to talk to anyone (okay, I’ll talk to Johnny Depp if he calls).

Don’t get me wrong in terms of how wired I am. I don’t even have an iPhone or a BlackBerry. Just a phone with a little slide-out keyboard for the texting I’d rather do than talk! But still, am I perhaps too wired even if the equipment I use is Jurassic? Are you too wired? Have you stopped talking to people? Is the “personal touch” missing from your life? A little? Give it some thought, is all I ask.

At a recent board meeting, one of our directors made a great comment. He said, “In the 1800’s, everyone sat down and put their guns on the table. Now, we put our phones on the table.” It’s true! Look around at your next gathering, business or otherwise. Hi tech is fine, but how about a more personal touch sometimes…Hi touch! Members and friends, will you help me? Call me once in a while, maybe? Give me a little push?

I promise not to shout, “I don’t want to talk to anyone!”

*October 17-20, 2010 in Fort Worth.

by Emily Mathews, TSSA Director of Education and Meetings

This week I want to share with you something that my good friend Jeff Gelona wrote. Jeff is with The Virtuoso Group in Ardmore, Oklahoma, and is the most outstanding sales expert I’ve ever known (I get no kickbacks for saying so), and every time he speaks for TSSA - four times now - he gets outrageously good reviews from our audience.

I love what he has to say here, about the…challenges of the potential tenant who seems to care about nothing but price. You have to make some decisions about that “suspect” and about what your facility “sales culture” will be. Read and enjoy!

-Emily

In today’s economic times, I’m getting more and more questions about working with the “price shopper.” May I share some thoughts? When dealing with the “suspect” who is truly price shopping you have several options.

There is not one “right way.” You have to determine which is the best use of your “sand.” You will also have to determine your facility’s CAP. Are you growing or just maintaining? Are you focused on sales or just service? Are you a climber or a camper? This will require you to keep accurate records of closing success ratios and time exhausted in the sales flow.

Here are your options:

1. If you know you have the best price around right now, then go for it and make the sale. HOWEVER, you must set quick rules before you quote. Are they taking other quotes after yours? Is this the final decision maker? Do they have any concerns at all? Why are they shopping in the first place? If cost is really the issue, then renting NOW will reduce their frustration, time lost, and cash ultimately spent shopping around.

2. You can take a very hard line and just tell the “suspect” that you don’t do business that way but would love to visit and find out why they believe that the MOST important issue in buying storage is COST. You will run off some of the low-end buyers with this approach, which is for the best. But the bills have to be paid…it’s your call. If you take this approach, use a “closed question” first, to force the suspect into a corner, then come back to open-ended questions if they start to open up more.

3. You can just not take these calls at all. REFOCUS your marketing plan and be sure you are being proactive, not sitting back waiting for the phone to ring.

What we are talking about is your Customer Aquisition Plan (CAP). How are you going to do business…or have business done to you?

What is critical is to keep records. If you don’t know your numbers (like closing ratios), then you are GUESSING at what type of sales system best fits your facility. Again, your call. This was brief but, I hope, helpful.

Good luck and good selling!
Jeff Gelona

By Ginny Sutton, TSSA Executive Director

Have self-storage operators embraced the Internet as the great be-all and end-all source for information when it comes to running their facilities? Do operators prefer to Google their question rather than pick up a phone?

In 1997, when I was hired as the executive director for the Texas Self Storage Association, our phone used to ring continuously throughout the day with calls from self-storage operators needing help. With only three of us on staff, answering these questions consumed much of our days.

My, how the the Internet has changed things. Now answers are available 24/7 with our online Ask the Experts feature at www.txssa.org, in Members Only. With more than 400 common (and some not-so-common) questions about self-storage legal issues in the searchable database, along with answers from our attorney, help is just a few clicks away.

We also post articles from our magazine, Self-Storage News. So, when a member is dealing with a tricky situation, he or she can bone up on the solutions, using these online resources.

In late 2009, at board member Brad Young’s urging, we also created an animated lien tutorial featuring characters Tex and TeSSA as a way to make the foreclosure process less intimidating and–be still my heart!–even made learning the steps fun.

We do still get the calls, however, though not at the same volume as in the past. And what’s interesting is that many callers have the same questions. Granted, once a month or so, a member describes something we’ve never heard of before, but generally, Holly, Kay, and Marissa, who all answer the phone here, tend to hear many of the same questions over and over. So, I’ve created a set of FAQs in layman’s terms (sorry, lawyers!), and will be posting them here in the coming weeks, grouped by their general category. This is just the first of several categories, including Foreclosure/Lien Sales, Access Rights, Evictions, Selling Vehicles, Abandonment, Collecting Sales Tax, and Miscellaneous.

I hope these are helpful to operators, especially you newbies out there. If you have questions you’d like addressed, post them as comments here, or better yet, post them on TSSA’s new discussion forum, Self-Storage Online Community. Other operators can be a great source of practical tips.

Common Foreclosure Questions

Foreclosure Sale a Must?
Q. A tenant stopped paying me. I would rather throw away or donate the items in the unit than pay for advertising and deal with the hassles of a foreclosure sale. Am I required to have a sale?

A. Chapter 59 of the Texas Property Code requires you to have a public sale after providing the tenant a notice of your claim, and after following the other steps detailed in the Lien section of the Goldbook©.

On occasion, items in a unit may actually be abandoned by the tenant, but the definition for abandonment is quite restrictive (see paragraph 26 of the TSSA Rental Agreement). If the tenant agrees to authorize abandonment of the unit contents in writing, you may dispose of the goods. (The TSSA Authorization and/or Release by Tenant form, shown on page 352 in the Official Forms section, is useful for this purpose, and may be ordered from TSSA.) Otherwise, a lien sale or judicial eviction are your only legal remedies.

Dumpster Looks Good Right About Now
Q. When I opened the unit, I found mostly old clothes and various furniture items of questionable value. Why can’t I just throw the stuff in the dumpster and be done with it?

A. Chapter 59 is silent on the issue of the value of a unit’s contents and how it affects your rights as a lessor.

The age-old saying, “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure,” springs to mind. The fact that some things can be considered antiques or collectibles can also muddy the water. Bottom line: If there is anything of value—even minimal value—consider either 1) cutting a deal with the tenant to allow removal of the items (see the collections article on page 157 of the TSSA Goldbook©); 2) having the tenant abandon the contents by signing the Authorization and/or Release by Tenant form; or 3) proceeding with the foreclosure or eviction process. You will always have to use judgment when running your business, and sometimes trash is just trash. Should you choose to throw away the contents of any unit without a concerted effort to make sure they were abandoned, or especially if you have no regard for the value of the contents, know that you may be exposing your business to a liability risk.

How Long to Wait
Q. How long must I wait after the tenant quits paying before I can seize the unit and start the foreclosure or eviction process?

A. Chapter 59 is silent on a minimum amount of time that you must wait, so this will always be a judgment call. Though it may not be wise to rush into foreclosure, there is also a down side to waiting too long (more debt that the tenant may not be able to pay continues to accrue while your business loses rental income). TSSA always recommends working on collecting the debt before beginning the foreclosure process. Find a process that works well for your business.

Certified Mail or Proof of Mailing?
Q. Do I have to send the claim notice for a foreclosure using certified mail? I would like to send the notice via First Class Mail, with proof of delivery, as this is less expensive and will produce a receipt proving the item was delivered. Is that okay?

A. At this time, Chapter 59 still requires the notice of claim be sent via certified mail. With other methods for mail tracking becoming less expensive and more sophisticated, TSSA plans to lobby for changes to the statute in the 2011 legislative session. In the meantime, TSSA recommends mailing the claim notice via certified mail. The green “Return Receipt Requested” card gives you further proof that you notified the tenant, though it is not required by the statute.

See more about requirements for notifying tenants in the Lien section of the Goldbook©.

Notice of Claim Returned
Q. The notice of claim I sent was returned by the post office as undeliverable. Can I still foreclose, or do I have to prove that the tenant received the notice?

A. Chapter 59 requires only proof of mailing (a receipt from the post office) sent to the last address provided in writing by your tenant. If the properlymailed notice is returned as undeliverable, you should retain it in the tenant’s file. Of course, there is nothing wrong with continuing to look for other ways to notify your customer about the impending sale. As long as you are careful about sending the notice to the tenant’s correct name and address, and mailing it as required (via certified mail), you will have met the statutory requirement for notification. (See the step-by-step process outlined for regular, vehicle and boat foreclosures in the Lien section of the Goldbook© for all required steps.)

Hungry for more legal knowledge? After you read your Goldbook©, check out the archived legal webinars in the Members Only section of the TSSA site, or come to the convention in Fort Worth on October 18-20. At least four hours of legal training will be offered there.

Guest blogger: Colleen Trimble brought her powerful presentation, “Heart of Money,” to the TSSA Annual Convention in The Woodlands. Colleen’s goal is to help you chart a course for understanding the emotions you’re feeling about money, and how to use it as a tool for achieving your heart’s desires and life purpose.

Hi All - wanted to say thank you for the opportunity to speak at the TSSA Annual Convention in The Woodlands. For those of you who heard me speak, you might recall my presentation entitled “Lessons from Wall Street.” For those of you who didn’t attend the morning session, it was an attempt to bridge the financial crisis with personal lessons. This past week, I had the opportunity to experience lesson #5, “Our personal best inspires the whole,” up close and personal.

I was asked to give a “Heart of Money” presentation to a local bank who offers “lunch and learn” sessions for employees. Upon entering, I was quite impressed with the “look and feel” of the bank. Instead of walls, there were large glass panes giving clear view to 3 floors. Near the ceiling of the first floor, were wide, white moldings with words inscribed - such as, entrepreneurial, individual, be the difference, unique, community, better off, and authentic.

After my presentation, I had a discussion with the Chief Administrative Officer in which I told him how lovely the building was, and that I was particularly touched by the words. He shared with me that it is the bank’s mission to positively impact everyone who has contact with their organization - in other words, to leave them better off.

I was inspired and “made better off” simply by experiencing the spirit of this organization. Our personal best does inspire the whole!

May we both inspire and be inspired during 2010!

Coleen Trimble

Jackie Ramstedt, CAM, CAPS, CAS ~ Owner, CMO Chief Motivational Officer ~ Ramstedt Enterprises, Inc. ~ Austin, Texas ~ 800.925.5169 ~ www.JackieRamstedt.com

On October 26, I had the honor of speaking to TSSA members for the first time at the annual convention in The Woodlands. My background is in the multi-family housing industry, and I specialize in management performance, sales, resident retention, and customer service training. I have always said that any time you have a product or service to sell, customers who will buy those products, and employees who have an immediate influence on those customers, you have a “common bond” of customer service challenges.

So when I was asked to speak to self-storage managers, I was a little apprehensive at first, given that I had never personally managed a self-storage facility before. So I had no first-hand experience from which to pull from as to your specific issues, since your customers (hopefully) don’t live in their units as they do in the apartment industry!

But I have to tell you, I was incredibly moved by the warmth, friendliness, and openness of every one of your members ready to embrace my suggestions. I soon realized that our two worlds were not so far apart. I began to feel at ease and comfortable with the research I had done on the self storage industry; in fact, during my seminar, I remember saying to myself, “These are definitely my kind of people!”

My seminar was on customer service, which seemed to be a theme throughout the day. During my session, I was thrilled to see the room filled to capacity—probably half who wanted to actually get some new ideas and the other half out of sheer curiosity about who this new speaker was. No matter; I think everyone had a great time, including me!

The last few minutes of my seminar focused on giving your customers what they REALLY want, and I would like to share some of those thoughts…

1. Be available for your customers when THEY need you. Remember they are the ones “voting with their dollars” every month, and their needs come first.

2. If you have a feature—call me silly—it should be working! Broken access gates, lights out, etc. just remind the customer of the level of professionalism and attention to detail (or lack thereof) you are displaying to them.

3. Ask them for their own solutions. Many times we think only on one level when managing our stores. Great solutions can be created by soliciting ideas regularly from your customers. Not only does the problem get solved, but those whom it affects most will feel they have had their say in the matter and therefore will “buy into” that solution.

4. Hire happy people to work at your store! Because you may not see every one of your customers every day, it makes it even MORE important that when they DO see the staff, they are HAPPY! Remember, as I illustrated at my seminar, everyone needs to be on that “Happy Bus” for that first impression AND throughout the customer’s time at your store.

Don’t forget to be a Customer Service Asset….with the acronym of ASSET meaning:
A - Amazing
S - Service
S - Satisfaction
E - Eliminates
T- Turnover!

Running a business isn’t really difficult if you remember this: great product quality and an effective system of good communication with your customers, coupled with positive “happy” attitudes of the staff = Outstanding Customer Satisfaction!

So how was your time at the convention? Mine was PRICELESS!!!