I’m excited to announce that I’ve launched a site dedicated to my passion for speaking about the importance of building relationships with our customers.  Customer Relationship Speaker is a site that provides detailed information about each of the programs I offer; keynote addresses and workshops.  I’ve been on “stage” entertaining and informing audiences since the summer [...]

We talk about customer service and earning customer’s loyalty but when push comes to shove – which came first: The quest for sales and profits? Or Customers? My experience has shown that it is a rare company indeed that puts customers first at every level of the company – from the owner/founder to the board [...]

Reports that the economy may be turning have begun to give us hope; the light is almost visible at the end of the tunnel.  Yet, businesses are still cautious with their purse strings, banks are careful and the employed are (for the most part) grateful. Is this the time to start a business? Dan Bish(a [...]

I need to move two pieces of furniture from the basement to a room on the first floor.  I can’t do it alone and my son has gone to college.  The last time I moved I used Two Men and a Truck and wondered if they would come and help me out. Conveniently they have [...]

I have a widgit on my iGoogle page that shares a daily leadership quote.  Today’s quote is: The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. ~ Max DePree That quote says it all.  Hopefully part of the defined reality is putting the customer first.  Whether the [...]

Do you ever get so bogged down with the day-to-day business of …well, of business, that you lose track of the fact that you are making a difference in the lives of your customers?  Sometimes a less than satisfied customer can set us off and color what we do and we look in the mirror [...]

I had the pleasure of taking a class “The Anatomy of a TV Script” from Emmy nominated television writer/co-executive producer, Ellen Sandler.  Ellen worked on such popular shows as Taxi, Coach and Everybody Loves Raymond. The two-day class covered a brief overview of the key components of a successful script, using the script entitled No Fat [...]

You’ve seen them, haven’t you?  The signs that shout out all of the rules before you even say hello? Once you enter, you might find more signs: No refunds No credit cards No personal checks No substitutions or exchanges No, No NO! You wonder if they will say no to cash. Signs like that set [...]

I live in a small town that is blessed to have a variety of swimming options.  In Ohio we don’t get many sunny days but when we do – the opportunity to take a dip in the pool is welcome. Most homes don’t have private pools but there are neighborhood and community pools to which [...]

I took a ride on the Chautauqua Bell steam boat today.  We toured the north end of the lake and had an energetic, well-informed speaker providing continuous commentary as we tooled through the waterway. We came to this house, owned by the Lenna family – a philanthropic family who have donated millions to the community [...]