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Hey, I just made a post about an awful customer service experience with TheKnot and WeddingChannel, and than it occured to me that I had just read Rich Schefren’s report about the very same thing! In this well written report, he talks about how truly horrendous customer service has affected even large companies, to the point of bringing them to their knees. That’s not my goal here, but it’s interesting that in this day and age, bad customer service simply doesn’t pay off.

For as long as I can remember, we’ve always treaded all our customers as friends. That means speed service, always a refund when asked, etc … do whatever is necessary to keep the customer happy (and that’s not always easy). Some customers can be quite hard, and quite hard to deal with, so I hired people to do this for me. One crazy customer can ruin your day, so I no longer do it myself, but the thought remains - do whatever you need to do to make sure people are happy. Live life in a positive way, and do business in the same vein.

Have we lost money treating people as well as we do? Sure we have! Has my temparature skyrocketed when I believe I’m being taken advantage of? Sure it does! Will it stop me from treating our customers as freinds? Likely not!  Customer wins, end of story. We go so far out of our way to have happy customers that we’ve often lost money doing it. It’s just the way it has to be. Didn”t you ever see the Secret?

We get very few returns, since we have stellar products, but we still get some!  Crazy as it sounds, some of these returns have turned into our greatest fans! If you haven’t seen the Internet Marketing Attention Age Doctrine I do recommend reading it. It’s free, and an interesting comment on where the world of business and marketing is heading!

In the report, he gives an example of 5 companies that were truly affected by Web 2.0, and bad customer service.

Now that’s funny. This blog has not been approved for the BlogRush network! I have no idea why not? Is it because we’re a marketing related blog? A business blog? Haven’t been around long enough? Well, there’s only one way to know, and while I’m not realy in love with BlogRush yet, and I think it’s completely umproven, I must admit, I didn’t see this one coming, from a mile away.

I’m perplexed as to why would not be approved. We’ve been around for years, have a fairly massive email list for not having anything ot sell anyone, and actually provide a free, useful, and honest service. Perhaps I need to be selling something?

Well, there’s no way to know, so I’ll send an email to BlogRush Network, and see why we got the axe.

Let me tell you one thing it’s not… It’s not straightforward.  Honestly, I really thought it would be. Make money on autopilot, work when you want, travel the world…sounds great doesn’t it?  Yes, I do all those things. However, with newfround freedom, comes newfound responsibility. Ok, that’s a movie line (name that movie), but what I mean is, there’s a certain lack of day-to-day foundation and structure that I am totally lacking.  Wanna hear something wierd?

The more successful I get (and I am gretting crazy successful), the more I’m feeling that there is complete lack of structure in my life. So, why haven’t I updated my blog for months? Well, I travelled for several months in China and throughout Asia (yes, running the business from my laptop, and when that broke, from my Blackberry of all things), but it’s more than that…

I haven’t updated my blog, not because I have nothing to say, but because I have too many things to say. It’s overpowering. I am lost in a sea of success.  So, as I embark to yet another gorgeous destination, Sydney, Australlia, and will do all my internet marketing wizardry from over there, I also feel a distinct lack of grounding, and find myself in a strange way, envying the day-to-day mindless office drones, knowing each and every day where they will go, what they will do, when their lunch is, who their co-workers are, and how they are going to spend their day.  No, I’m not complaining, but I’m acknowledging something I will talk about in the course, and that is… freedom. What it means to you, how you’ll use it, and the feelings you’ll go through once I actually start teaching people how to be successful on the net.

I must sound completely rambling, and perhaps I am rambling a bit.  I became an Uncle 2 days ago, and I think it threw me for a loop. Made me question my crazy life and my nomadic wandering. Made me wonder why I haven’t sat down and started helping everyone make their businesses better.  Come out with the course already, will ya? I’m working on it (kinda…well, no, not really).

This year, I’ll be travelling to Sydney, New Zealand, Hawaii, throughout the Caribbean, Miami (South Beach baby), and all throughout Eastern Europe. All of these trips ar extended, multi week (if not multi month) adventures. So, perhaps this year is to travel, and continue to grow the business. Luxury this, luxury that, fast cars, fast women, fast, fast, fast…or perhaps, I should slow down and try to focus?  Naw, not yet…I’m going to hop on board those brand new first class "cockpit" seats to Sydney, and continue to be the youngest guy in every five star restaraunt in town.  Geez, I gotta hit the gym.

Anyway, no special promotion this email. Just checking in…Hope your Holidays are treating you well, unitl next time.