What's It Going To Be?

The Earful - February 2013
By Tim Underwood
www.thewebvoice.com

I'm grateful our forefathers didn't share our society's entitlement attitude. If they had, our country would've waited tirelessly for someone else to build it.

Instead of venting, try inventing. Edison did. Zuckerberg did.

They did while you're thinking about doing, or more to the point: thinking that someone else should be doing it for you.

Harsh?

You bet.

Though far less so than the sting that complacency and bellyaching are going to cost you in the long run.

To be fair, the world is not always the rosy land of Utopia we'd like it be. There's sickness, poverty, racism and stuff that should make any decent persons stomach turn.

Amidst that bigger backdrop is government corruption, irresponsible citizens and kids that smirk at the thought of harming an animal.

Innocent people die...

LIVE.

Take a walk, talk to God and leave someone better than you found them, even if all you have for them is a smile. Resist the temptation to wallow in pity. Start small. Take the time you normally spend complaining and try...just try turning it into something that's at least one iota better.

Our ancestors did. And that's why we celebrate engineering feats like Hoover Dam, dreamers like Dr. King and Sally Ride and the determination of a certain 1980 hockey team.

Write that thank you card, optimize your search engine rankings, make a splash, move a mountain.

The Constitution was once a blank piece of paper.

The pen is yours for the taking.

What's it going to be?

Can, Will, Do vs. Can't, Won't, Don't

The Earful – July 2011
By Tim Underwood
www.thewebvoice.com

A customer asks:
"Hey...you guys have any openings next week?"

A business answers:
"Nope and unfortunately we won't until the following week."

A customer asks:
"Hey...you guys have any openings next week?"

A business answers:
"We can get you in the following Monday bright and early at 8 o'clock...will that work for you?"

In essence, the question was answered the same way in both scenarios.

Though one of the two responses certainly sounds less off-putting than the other. If you chose the second example as the more welcoming of the two, good for you!

It's a little rule I have and insist that my employees follow - telling clients what we CAN do for them versus what we CAN'T do for them.

Your business won't always have the right light bulb or be able to accommodate that last-minute repair; restaurants inevitably run out of their Catch of the Day and the dentist isn't always readily available after the sticky taffy was.

It happens.

So, when you're responding to a customer, take note of how many times the words can't, won't and don't appear in the transaction. Then, the next time the situation presents, try substituting can, will and do.

It's a very subtle change that WILL help turn short-term disappointment into long-term satisfaction.