July 16, 2010 - Late yesterday evening I was involved in a series of phone calls that have me up at 4 am writing this piece, hoping to put my mind at ease. I found out that former long-time employee, Dave Brackney was found dead in his condo.At this point, I know little about the facts of his passing, but this is more to celebrate his life, than to commemorate his death.For those of you who have been

There have been several instances that have come up over the past several years that has really made me ponder some major questions. The point of many of these articles is to not get a true answer, but to make you think about the issues at hand. The one that keeps coming to mind is this: Who determines the rules that we must play by, and why do some companies get to play by their own rules, while others

For those of you who know me, then you probably know that I am a serious Techno-Geek. I love technology, I love what I can do with it, and I love how it simplifies my life. I am what is called an “early adopter”, and I generally do not live on the “leading edge” but more of the “bleeding edge”.I get this trait very honestly from my father, who lived on this bleeding

I am certain most of you do not know that I am left handed - nor should you care. However, I believe all of us left handers deserve a reward for making it in right handed world. There are tons of things that we put up with that righties take for granted.For example stick shift cars -right handed. Chain saw - right handed. College and high school desks - right handed. Most musical instruments -

This is a simple word that means a lot of things to a lot of people. In this case, I want to talk about the business related versions of caring. You know, caring about your job, or caring about your customers. The things that keep you in business.From where my office is in the building, I can hear most of what my Customer Sales Representatives say on the phone. I can hear instances of exceptional customer

This month I am going to say a few words to cover a bunch of different topics quickly.RAVE: The U.S. wins more medals than any country has EVER won in the Winter Olympics. I watched a total of 30 minutes of the games, but I still think that is a very cool achievement.RANT: The outcry over the Canadian Women’s Hockey Team drinking beer and smoking cigars after their Gold Medal win. Girls just

There are many businesses who base their business model on the kickback. For those who do not know what I am talking about, it is the idea of bribing a customer for business with cash, gifts, or favors in return. We have competitors who live this way. They buy expensive gifts for their “customers” in hopes of keeping them “loyal”. I have never been a big believer in the kickback.

A situation came up just recently that really made me think. Now I am not sure if I want to laugh or I want to cry, but it sure does make me wonder about people sometimes.This is a story about a longtime "customer" of Restylers' Choice. This customer doesn't buy much from us anymore. In fact, I know he buys most of his products from a competitor. We have always been there for him and helped his business

We have been building our Wings Direct program slowly and steadily over the last 10 years. We have worked hard at designing and building a state of the art production based system. Earlier this year we opened our completely new paint facility that has allowed us to triple our capacity. We have also reworked and rewritten our work-order management system to be more efficient and more informative. This

This time of year we are reminded to be thankful for those things that we have. During tough economic times it can be very difficult to find things to be thankful for. Sure - business may be down, paying your bills may be harder than ever. Your prospects for your business may be bleak. We too have felt the “pinches” of a tight economy. We understand your pain, and while our customer base