Base Camp

 

 Hi, planning an event is not my strong suit. I tend to over worry every aspect and always fear the worst. So when I saw the weather forecast for the weekend I had the perfect excuse to go into a tailspin! To their credit Fletcher and Christine insisted I ‘harden up’ and reminded me that he was never going to be one again so his party was going to fly rain hail or shine!

As you know when you fear the worst the end of the world doesn’t eventuate and things work out well in the end . This was definitely the case this weekend with Fletcher’s first birthday celebration and on reflection I think this milestone is as much for the parents reaching that point as it is about our dear wee dust mite getting there.

Reflecting more after a lovely event where our guests and the weather both overwhelmed us with their warmth and generosity I realised yet again how lucky I am.

Lucky to have met Christine and to now have Fletcher but also to have family who accept and love me unconditionally and  supportive friends who also accept us for what and who we are.

Whilst the heading of this intro is ‘keeping up with the Joneses’ we will let you into a little secret, we don’t try to upstage anyone, our life is lived looking out for each other first and foremost and if there is anything we do or experience or think is cool we share it with others. We also like to hear what you and yours are doing that is cool or fun and then we can experience that too, we think that is far more important than trying to be all things to all people. If there is one thing we have learned along the way that is you will never please or keep up with every one.There will always be someone who will be bigger,better,faster or have more….why waste the energy worrying about competing, better to concentrate on what is good in your life and on enjoying it and making it better!

Yay, All Blacks are on the campaign trail next week , cant wait to see King Richie back in black.

I hope you had a cool, fun weekend with family and friends, have a great week, cheers Jonesey!!

 

Harry and the Hendersons are the experts when it comes to unconditional love !

 

“Customer satisfaction is worthless. Customer loyalty is priceless.” Jeffrey Gitomer

Customer service is something that is dear to my heart and as such I have developed the habit of always trying to exceed my customers expectations.

So as a customer I notice when people exceed my expectations and I also notice when they don’t.

Sadly I have to say that I notice poor service far too often and whats even worse when I complain I notice that a lot of businesses don’t seem to care or want to do anything about it. If we ever get a customer complaint I make sure we investigate fully and always get back to the customer with the outcome of our investigation, a follow up action plan and a gratuity or good faith gesture in an effort to make ammends or at the very least an apology.

Case Study; I love my morning coffee, it is a treat and as such I am willing to pay a premium (aka small fortune) for it. Recently my favourite café chnaged hands and a  number of staff  left. I continue to support this café however the attention to customer service and their loyalty coffee card system has slipped noticeably in my view. As a loyal customer I have pointed this out online.

I have not received an acknowledgement of my comments nor has there been any attitudinal change at the coal face or any effort to reward my loyalty by actively working their coffee card process.

This has disappointed me greatly to the point where I have now carried through with my threat to take my business elswhere? I know this probably wont worry them but if enough of their regulars do this then they will soon realise the ‘goodwill’ component they paid heavily for in the purchase will soon dissipate like ‘sand in the hour glass of time’!!!

I now visit a café where the owner appreciates my business and rewards me for supporting him with good service and a free coffee after vigilantly working his coffee card loyalty system. He is an owner who realises how important my business is to him and makes sure I know that…..not hard really is it?

“You don't earn loyalty in a day. You earn loyalty day-by-day.” Jeffrey Gitomer