Trip to Boulder Junction

Have you ever gone into a situation with very low expectations and come out surprised beyond your wildest imagination? That just happened to me this past weekend.

Sunday night September 16^th, I was booked to be the keynote speaker at an annual sales meeting for Uline, a company that specializes in shipping and packing supplies.

The meeting was being held at a corporate retreat named The Red Crown in Arbor Vitae, Wisconsin. Where’s that, you ask? Turns out it’s in the wilderness of northern Wisconsin. You can fly into either Milwaukee or Minneapolis and then take a REALLY small plane to Rhinelander. I have been a road warrior for over 21 years and I have NEVER heard of Rhinelander. From there it’s another 45 minute drive to the meeting facility.

My speech was scheduled for 7:30PM Sunday night. Normally, when I’m speaking that late I just fly in the same day and leave the next morning. However, considering how out of the way this place was, I decided to fly in Saturday and leave Monday. As you know from reading this blog, I try not to place a lot of trust in airlines, especially when I know I can’t fly Southwest. But then this created a problem.

There was no room available for me at The Red Crown on Saturday night. There was another corporate meeting going on there that day and it would only be available for the Uline meeting starting on Sunday.

The Uline people told me they would make other arrangements for me and ended up finding a room at The Big Bear Hideaway in Boulder Junction; about 10 miles from the Red Crown. They told me I could move to the Red Crown on Sunday or just stay at the Big Bear both nights. I chose the Big Bear and, oh man, am I glad I did.

Don’t get me wrong The Red Crown was nice; beautiful setting right on a gorgeous lake; fantastic staff who couldn’t be nicer; but in the rooms, no TV; no internet access and no phones.

Now I’m not quite sure what I was expecting from the Big Bear Hideaway, but it wasn’t much: boy talk about never assume. This place was beautiful. They call it a Bungalow Retreat, but it’s much more than that. The bungalow I stayed in had two bedrooms, a full kitchen; living room; and dining area and that’s just the downstairs. Upstairs was even bigger and just as nice. In every unit, the refrigerator is stocked with drinks; there is a basket loaded with all the kinds of snacks you love, but shouldn’t eat; a full stocked wine rack, a big screen TV (where I got to watch the Giants embarrass themselves against the Packers): one of three TV’s in my unit and free wireless internet.

The Main Lodge had a fully stocked bar, with premium liquor. I ordered a shot of 21 year Glenlivet and when I asked “What do I owe you?” Bill, the manager said, “We don’t have a liquor license, so we don’t charge for drinks.” Now I’m not much of a drinker, but I know people who could put a real dent in their budget.

Jeff is the owner, but Bill the manager took care of me as if he’d known me my whole life. He picked me up at the airport Saturday and drove me to The Big Bear. He drove to The Red Crown on Sunday and picked me up after my speech. On Monday morning he was up at 4AM to drive me back to the airport for a 6AM flight. There is no request too big at the Big Bear; they have 24 hour concierge service.

As for Boulder Junction, it’s beautiful. Lakes everywhere; great kayaking; fishing; hiking; boating; biking; terrific place!

Now for the biggest surprise: Saturday night, I asked Bill to recommend a restaurant in town for dinner. He mentioned “The Outdoorsman." I asked what kind of restaurant it is and he said, “Upscale.” Now I’m a born and bred New York City boy and real picky about restaurants; I like good food. I never expect much when I’m in a place like Boulder Junction: WRONG! WRONG! WRONG! Let me tell you about The Outdoorsman.

If this place were in New York City there would be a line out the door. The food was amazing. I had duck as my main course. Now I’m not saying it’s the best I’ve ever had, but I sure as hell can’t remember ever having better. I even had dessert (homemade blueberry pie) which is something I hardly ever do. Not only was this one of the best restaurants I’ve ever eaten in, but the service was great, everyone was so nice (not surprising when you’re in the Midwest), and the prices more than reasonable.

I’m ashamed to say, like so many other people in this world, I assumed and prejudged. I felt so stupid about my attitude; I was so narrow minded and agenda driven I could have been a member of the mainstream media.

So if you’re ever up in Northern Wisconsin, or looking for an out-of-the-way place to kick back and relax, check out the Big Bear Hideaway in Boulder Junction, Wisconsin and don’t forget to eat at The Outdoorsman; guaranteed you’ll love it.

Great Salespeople Are Not Rip-Off Artists

Dan Giese has been a professional baseball player since being drafted by the Red Sox in 1999. But until two days ago, when he was called up to the Major Leagues by the San Francisco Giants, he had spent his entire career in the minor leagues.

In 2005, dealing with the frustration of not making it to the big leagues and having to support a family (his wife was pregnant with their first child), Dan Giese quit baseball and went to work selling cars at a Honda dealership in San Diego.

Unfortunately for Dan he found sales even harder than playing ball, which is why he’s back playing ball. However, a big part of Dan’s problem was that he had no conception of what it takes to be a good salesperson, or even what a good salesperson could be. Here’s what he had to say about his experience:

“I think I sold maybe five or six cars in two months, so I was probably going to get fired anyway," he said. "I was telling people, ‘This isn’t a good deal at all.’ Usually Honda buyers are young, like my age, so you know how much money they make. I couldn’t rip them off. I’m just not a salesman, I guess."

There are so many stupid assumptions in that quote, it’s hard to know where to begin. The first thing that jumped out at me was that Dan Giese believes a good salesperson is someone who rips people off. If you’re a regular reader of this blog you know that the most successful salespeople do it on repeat business and referrals. How much repeat and referral business do you think you’d bring in if you were ripping people off?

The second dumb assumption is that “Honda buyers are young, like my age, so you know how much money they make.” It’s obvious that Dan Giese didn’t do his homework (like great salespeople do). Off the top of my head I know three Honda owners who are my age or older (not young) and are in the upper income brackets. And here’s another question: Why does Dan assume that just because these people are young they don’t have very much income? Not everyone is a minor league baseball pitcher, struggling to scrape together a living. Some young people coming out of college make very substantial incomes; just the other day I heard of a hospital that was paying first year nurses $80,000 with a $20,000 signing bonus.

Honda has cars like the Fit and Civic that start at under $15,000. They also have cars like the S2000, Pilot and Ridgeline, which start at around $30,000.

There are far too many salespeople who only sell what THEY can afford, and assume that’s all the client can afford. Maybe, instead of assuming, Dan Giese should have talked to the prospects and asked questions about how much money they have, how much they earn, whether or not they believe their income will be going up in the next couple of years and then put them in a car that fit their income and cash flow. That’s what a great salesperson does.

I hope Mr. Giese works harder at succeeding in baseball than he did at sales. Otherwise his stay in the Major Leagues will be just as short as his time with Honda.

Follow Up to The Northworst Experience

A little while back, I wrote an entry about a bad experience I had flying on Northwest Airlines. What I didn’t mention in the article was that I had, at the request of the gate agent, filled out a feedback card detailing my complaint. I didn’t want to fill it out for one very good reason: they all go to the same address! 1 Garbage Can Drive!

But the gate agent told me that the CEO of Northwest reads and responds to every one of these, so I filled it out. You would think, after 21 years as a business traveler I would know better than to fall for that, but I am an eternal optimist.

I really want to believe that there are crappy companies out there who do want to get better. In fact, I’ve seen it happen. Citibank, Direct TV, Food Lion, and Verizon are just some of the companies who at one time or another, in my experiences as a customer with them, were awful, but managed to significantly improve their service to the point where I like doing business with them.

Unfortunately, Northwest Airlines continues to be Northworst. Naturally, I have never received a reply from my comment card and I sincerely doubt I ever will, since it’s been over 6 months from the time I sent it in. Oh well, I guess some things never change.

A Customer Service Story: The Ritz-Carlton Way

One of the most visited articles on my blog (so I’m told) is a piece I wrote a few years back titled, "Customer Service: The Ritz-Carlton Way." It discusses the six steps that make Ritz-Carlton customer service so exceptional and unparalleled.

Well just last week, I received a call from a good friend of mine who related a wonderful story about Ritz-Carlton. Dennis Lacognata is a partner in a company called Prompt Mailers in Staten Island, NY. They are a full service mail house and if you’re looking to put together a great direct mail campaign visit their website.

The great story Dennis told me was about his daughter, Annemarie.

About a year ago, Annemarie and her husband spent their honeymoon at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Hawaii on the island of Kauai. Naturally, they had a great time.

A few months ago, Annemarie received a phone call from someone at Ritz-Carlton. Being a smart organization that prides itself on service and follow-up, Ritz-Carlton knew that Annemarie and her husband would soon be celebrating their first anniversary. Figuring they would want to celebrate in style, they offered her a terrific package deal to stay at one of their hotels in the Caribbean. Naturally, Annemarie booked it immediately.

No sooner was the reservation booked that Annemarie received a call from the concierge at the Ritz-Carlton where they’ll be staying. The concierge asked if there was anything he could do to make this occasion even more special.

Annemarie said there was nothing she could think of at the moment, but was there anything special he had in mind? Did he ever!

The concierge told Annemarie they had a beautiful package that would allow them to renew their vows in a setting that was romantic, and Ritz-Carlton would arrange for everything: Limo, a setting on the beach at sunset, the priest, music; all top drawer. You couldn’t say no.

So Annemarie and her husband bought the package and sometime this month they will fly to the Caribbean to celebrate their first anniversary, Ritz-Carlton style. Why?

Because Ritz-Carlton:

When was the last time you received a phone call from a hotel or resort who felt that you were important enough to keep as a customer? And it wasn’t as if Annemarie and her husband had been longtime steady clients. As a smart company, Ritz-Carlton knows that if they can do a great job for this nice young couple just as they’re starting out in life, then they will have a place in their hearts for a very long time.

Many years ago, I received one of the best pieces of advice from a great speaker named Joel Weldon. He told me: “If you want to be successful, look at what everyone else is doing and do something different.”

That’s what Ritz-Carlton does everyday.

11 Things Every Client Wants

With the proliferation of consumer choices and companies dropping their prices everyday, buying has become increasingly complex. Who do you buy from? The first one who asks? The cheapest? The one that rises to the top of Google search? In this episode, Warren gives you 11 benefits that every salesperson should offer in order to radically differentiate themselves in the market place of the 21st century. At the same time, clients should be using these benefits as a litmus test for whether or not they BUY from you or your competition. The sword cuts both ways. Clients, consumers & salespeople of the world listen in!

Sixty Second Sales Tip #2

In this clip, from the sales training video "Make My Life Easier," Warren explains his “I Do Nothing” buying policy when dealing with salespeople. Don’t miss it!

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