Now that I have a lot more flexible schedule these days, I’m getting more of the annoying life tasks done during the week so that Erin and I can fully enjoy our weekend and not have to run a bunch of errands. For example:

(1) Fixing my laptop (good) My laptop crapped out recently, so I took it over to the Apple store on Michigan Avenue. I like the Apple store because there is always a lot of cool gear to dork around with and try out, and they have a walk-up service counter on the second floor to help you diagnose any issues. The service technician (or ‘genius’) quickly diagnosed that my power chord had fried and that i needed another one. Problem solved. He was knowledgeable, helpful, and thoroughly explained the issue - which helped me minimize any of my frustration. While waiting, I overheard that Seu Jorge, a Brazilian actor/musician famous for his roles in ‘City of God’ and the ‘Life Aquatic’ would be playing an in store performance in 10 mins. Sweet - my problem was solved and got to see a musician that i really enjoy perform for 30 minutes - a great customer experience.

(2) Fixing my car (bad) My brakes recently started to shake when approaching stop signs and while slowing down after exiting off of the expressway. Erin made an appointment to take the Jeep into Napleton’s, a dealership off of Western Avenue pretty close to our house. When i got to the dealership, I explained the situation to the service technician and asked him why I would have an issue with the brakes being that the car is only a few years old. He went on to say “it’s a pretty well known fact that Jeeps have horrible brakes” and that had i done “any amount of research I would have known” this. So he talked shit about his product, and then he belittled his customer for not knowing that the car I paid 30k for two years ago has less than stellar reputation for it’s brakes. Lesson learned - I will never buy another Jeep again, and i’ll go out of my way to avoid Napleton. I’d sell the car, but prefer to keep my monthly cash outflow to a minimum while starting up the business since the car is paid off.

It’s all about the customer - if you treat them like shit, they’re not going to come back to you. there will always be another product or service to help solve their problem or fulfill their need, so you better treat them like they’re important.