Each July, DH (darling hubby) and I have a simple and loved tradition, we join several other families blueberry picking at a long-forgotten blueberry patch.
Developers have mowed down the bushes only to have them spring back up again more fruitful than ever.
This weekend, like the last several, we donned our blueberry-picking outfits (pants, hats and baskets), hoping they’d be ripe and ready. They were, but we came home with empty baskets.
You see, when we pulled into the field, a man yelled out “Are you with the church?” DH indicated that we’re not and the man rose his arm and pointed for us to leave immediately (no words, nothing, just “the point”).
The property was sold to the South Shore Community Church, as indicated by a big sign (there aren’t any “no trespassing” signs) and, despite construction not yet having begun, we’re shunned from the blueberry fields which make up a portion of the area.
So the blueberries sit and rot as local families are turned away by a church which declares one of its core values as “community: doing life together”.
You may be wondering what this has to do with helping your business and client retention. . .it has everything to do with it:
- Do you know how representatives of your business (your team) are treating prospective customers and what that says about your business?
- Do you recognize how much harm one ill-treated, whether intentionally or not, person can do to your reputation? It’s said that we tell an average of 5 people when we’re happy with something and 35 people when we’re not. While I wish the numbers were reversed, they’re not and it’s a reality we have to face.
- What policies do you have in place and what reflection do they have on your business and on you as a person?
- Do you have any company-identifying info on your car? Think about that when, and how, you drive.
Our businesses come in contact with prospective clients several times a day – some we know about and some we may not immediately recognize. You want to be sure that your business shines, no matter the situation.
What situations have you run into where a business has either done a great, or not-so-great, job representing itself?