Tree Dude

We scheduled the tree dude to come out to look at -  guess what -  trees. That's what tree dudes do. He arrived at the agreed upon 9 O'clock, but exactly 4 days past the one we originally scheduled. His excuse, and I quote: "I was busy." Shockingly, I wasn't shocked.

Please make note of the "expectation" level in your trade, and how to summarily trounce it. In tree dude's case, "showing up" equates to a Nordstrum level of service.

And yes, in case you wondered, he was in a decade-old white GMC work truck, with the faded logo of the former company who had it. Transmission fluid leaked at a transfusion-like rate on our brick pavers. Whatever. It'll save me on Round-Up for my between-brick weeds, but what if I actually didn't want Trans-Medic flowing down my driveway?

He points at the 80 year-old pine tree leaning precariously over my house, which prompted the call. "That's a big 'un." I had noticed that too. He rubs his stubbled chin, paces around the base of the tree, looks at its neighboring trees, then re-surveys the driveway. "How we gonna get that outa here?" he says to no one in particular. He paces back toward the truck, leans against it, looking upward and mutters, "I can't take that down unless you get approval from the ARB."

Oh my. The dreaded ARB.

In our historical/hysterical neighborhood, the ARB is supposed to be the "Architectural Review Board" but was renamed "Always Ranting Badly" since they are content to debate the finish on the screw heads of your fence until the original need for the fence has dissipated. Again, note the expectation. (What is your perceived reputation? True or not, perception is a customer's reality.)

Don't forget your next Coaching Call, Wednesday, November 9, 2011. On this coaching call Adams will take you behind the scene for the Hottest Holiday Marketing Techniques this season. You'll see...

• How to win instant goodwill and popularity just by pulling into the driveway
• The 10 second change that boosts your credibility and holiday image
• What promotions are hot - and which ones are not - during the holiday season

What's the deal with social media?  Some of the names may be more familiar to you than others - Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc.  But the question you may still be asking is, how can it possibly have an application for contractor marketing? 

We had WAY more people trying to get into the Next Level Event than we could accept. Some were not that happy about it, but I'm not the Conference Call company, nor did we expect this size crowd. 

First thing to know is that every marketing case history from the dawn of time suggests that "Customer Base Marketing" (that is, Customer Retention) prevails in down economies. Contrary to this advice, we have actually had a few electrical contractors terminate their retention marketing to "wait and see". A forgone conclusion perhaps, but all the proof you'll ever need that human beings are just plain weird.

If all the people at "Occupy Wall Street" would shift into "Occupy a Job", would the debate be resolved? Discuss.

I suppose there's something to be said for clarity...

Holiday Cards from Hudson, Ink. What better way to thank your customers for....being your customers!