I read an article yesterday of how a well endowed P.R. firm based out of Vancouver recently shut its doors, collapsing its business with what it called "a family of 3000" in terms of clients, with direct blame passing to social networking via the internet. Now don't ask me where I read it or even if that statement is 100% true, regardless in my mind, I'm contributing to the shattering of large corporations through the sharing of my activities through this blog. Dayum I'm good! Heh.
Maybe this blog IS my beginning into social engineering, that I am trying to conjugate your daily patterns to always bring up my business name into the topic of conversation... Or maybe I just want to add a little personality into a very impersonal corporate North America. I'm leaning towards the latter.
Food for thought. I bank at a local credit union in our small town consisting of a few thousand people. I have been banking there since I was a young'un, when I would scrounge pop-bottle savings together to put in my bank account so I could get myself that cool pirate Lego ship with the added island feature. So, according to that description I've been banking there for two weeks. Heh, poor humour; I know. Anyways, corporate North America has made it so that instead of depositing or withdrawing from "Dan Plugboers account" I am stamped a number. Now these tellers whos sons I was a camp counsellor for when I was 16 now know me as "Account Number 443-3321" (that's not my account number by the way... sorry).
Everyone hates Wal-Mart right? Well, almost everyone (except it's stupid amount of customers daily). Well Wal-Mart, apart from its stupidly cheap sweatshop shoes and rock-bottom priced donkey anus "hot dogs", have something which I kind of admire. They put greeters at the doors of their stores which in my mind is brilliant! What better way to have a shopping experience then to wander into a store and someone goes, "Oh, hey there! Welcome! Check out our sale on donkey anus' on isle 3!" Ok... Maybe minus the donkey anus bit, that is a very inviting atmosphere; almost an experience.
I'm a musician. I've been playing musical instruments for over a decade now, nearing two decades if I don't watch it! Yikes I'm old... Anyways I HATE shopping at music stores, mainly ones that sell instruments. The atmosphere is awful! I've yet to wander into a music store where I got anything even resembling customer service, nevermind an appreciation of the customers interest in their goods. These stores always have some jackass guitarist/drummer (those are the worst!) sitting behind the counter tightening up some drumskin or stringing some guitar, chatting with some regular customer about how he didn't care for that concert he saw the week before cause it was too "mainstream" or they used too much dropped-D power chording... Gah!
I guess what I'm saying is I want customers to really enjoy their experience with OneSixPix and EarthLoom Creations. I don't want them to be willing to settle for sweatshop cheapery or guitar stringing snubbery. I'd love for all our customers (or potential customers... or anybody for that matter) to be able to toss me an email, or look me up on Facebook, or say, "Hey Dan! I'm flying out from Aruba tomarrow and I should be in Houston on Thursday. Got time for a coffee?" (I ALWAYS have time for coffee).
Looks like I'm just trying to follow in my fathers footsteps. He's one of those guys who's a loud, bolstering, friendly man. The type where you always hear him before you see him, and not just because he's short. But he is a very likeable fellow and very easy to get along with. And he knows EVERYONE! It doesn't matter what town your wandering through in British Columbia, he's bound to know someone there.
So this blog isn't really about social engineering, account numbers, sweatshops, or even dropped-D power chords. This blog is about myself and Bizz chatting it up about what we do and who we are, about our passions, about our goals, about whats important to us. I hope that this blog is also a way for us to be able to share what important to the readers as well.
So to finish it off, share with us something about yourselves. Just leave a comment, doesn't have to be about anything important. Heck, it could even be, "I like Cheese!" (but expect to get picked on in the next blog if that is what you shared).
Until next time!
Dan
OneSixPix
Hey Dan, cool blog intro. I like it. The photos are a great touch! Since you want to know something about me, I love books. I love how they feel, how they smell, everything about them really. I love going to bookstores and I buy one every now and then(a book not a bookstore). Except I DON'T READ! I just can't do it. I sit down with every intention of reading, but a few pages into it I just lose interest. The only thing I can tolerate is a funny autobiography, or self-help new age stuff. As for everything else, I think to myself, "If ever there's a movie made about this I'll watch it."
ReplyDeleteJoannie
I do like cheese! And I love your blog. The photo series is absolutely wonderful, by the way! So down with drop-D chording. Down with Walmart. But most importantly.... Down with a good cuppa coffee, man! I love ya, Dan. And I'm so glad to have you in the family (again)! Keep on being yourself. You're a wonderful and amazing young man.
ReplyDelete.
I'd like to say how enjoyable this read was and I like credit unions having worked at the "big" one for 11 years and my husband still is...26 years and counting! Great blog, I'll enjoy following you on your journey!
ReplyDeleteHey Dan, I have to agree with you on the importance of making the shopping experience fun. I've worked retail for over 15 years, (as a custom framer, so retail, but a bit more interesting to do) and it has always shocked me at how many people comment on the great service and how often that leads to sales and repeat customers. I've just found that the "payoff" may not be instant, although it sometimes is, but it is real. Enjoying what you're doing and sharing that people makes a huge difference!
ReplyDeleteAt one time, I was the first woman president of our company's credit union. Now that I think about it, I still hold the record.
ReplyDeleteFun reading, look forward to more.
Great blog! Love how you write what you think, or is it think how you write..... or think about writing, or write about thinking....
ReplyDeleteI will definitely tune in to hear/read more!
I do like cheese and chocolate and red fabric and big fat books, and traveling(at least dreaming about traveling)
Looks like this is going to be a fun read :) Like Joannie, I also like cheese and books. In fact, I went back to school because I like them so much - books that is, not cheese. I'm also very fond of the color orange and I'm always up for Indian food and a pint or two. And I have a long list of shops and restaurants here locally that I will no frequent at because they don't understand the meaning of the term "customer service"
ReplyDeleteI really do like cheese! Someone once gave me cheese as a gift.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you about the Wal-mart vs. music store feeling. Except replace comic book shop with music store. My son is totally obsessed with Batman - okay, me too - and we have to go into every comic store we see to check out what they have. I've never even heard a friendly "Hello" from the staff. Why are they like that?
It's a good thing we have Etsy. A lot of sellers are more polite and friendly in emails than some people will ever be in person.
I have to disagree with you, love, about the wal-mart being good customer service thing. I find the greeter to be rather fake. Good customer service should mean that all the staff says, "Hello, How are you? Can I help you find something?" Every time I go in there, I start in the craft section, have a question, go a few isles down to find someone and end up in the men's clothing section to finally see a rep stocking tighty whiteys. They end up calling someone to head to the place I started. I get back there and no one ever shows up. Big box stores are usually just too big to focus on the customers. I much prefer a small business where you get to know the owner by name after just a couple visits. But I definitely get the same vibe from music stores.
ReplyDelete