Michael Phelps; World Champion
One day Michael Phelps was beaten by Germany’s Paul Biedermann in the 200 freestyle. Unacustomed as he is to losing, the next day he responded by setting the world record in the 200-meter butterfly.
This is how champions respond to losing.
We see the same thing on the sales floor when a top seller has a bad day or misses a sale to a tough customer. The truly good ones bounce back with a big sale or a record day.

It Only Takes One
We have all heard that one rotten apple can spoil the bunch. As a big Apple fan I was really taken back today by the lack of diplomacy and tact shown by one Apple “genius” at the Kahala store.

The Story
When I bought my MacBook Air almost a year ago I blogged about how impressed I was with the salesperson taking me from a $1,700 “easy sale” up to $3,300 by suggesting several add-ons. One of those was their one-to-one coaching program. As I recall, I paid about $100 for a year’s worth of weekly one hour sessions to teach me about the Mac computer. The salesperson did the arithmatic, dividing 52 weeks into $100. How could I refuse? Well, I found out after the fact that “one year” meant “one year” and not 52 sessions. This meant that I got nothing for the weeks I did not take a class. I only went two or three times in the year and just discovered that I have only one month left. So, I signed up for an hour today to get some coaching on how to use iMovie.

“HELP!”

Because of my low skill level I invited one of my more “techie” clients to come along and observe in order to help me later. About 10 minutes into the session another employee in a dark blue shirt (I think that means “genius”) came by and told my client that he had to leave, because “one means one” and he could not listen. I argued briefly, but to no avail. I thought that there would be some empathy for my misunderstanding, and avoid embarrasment for both me and my client as compared to making us feel like we were stealing something that I had paid for. It would have been cool to say, “Hey guys, the rules are… so next time… okay?” That would have been the “Apple Way.” So here I am at home trying to figure out what I learned today and realizing that the session was a waste. I guess you get what you pay for. Will I still send people to Apple? Probably, but perhaps to a different store! As for me, I am going to hire a geek to teach me how to use iMovie, or maybe Windows Movie Maker.

“A” For Service
One thing all Apple Stores have in common is traffic. Regardless of how busy the mall or street may be there’s always a crowd in the Apple Store.

It’s Not Coincidental
The Apple success is not coincidental, nor is it without reason. I visited the Apple Waikiki Store today to buy an extra charger for my iPhone. I was greeted and helped instanly. When I presented my credit card the salesperson swiped it and then asked, “Is it still okay to e-mail the receipt to at…” and stated my e-mail address. I said, “Yes.” She handed me my charger and thanked me. I walked to my car and as I was getting in the car my iPhone received the receipt as a PDF with the message saying, “Thank you for shopping at the Apple Store.”

“I’ll Be Back”
Now that’s the kind of service I would like to see everywhere. It will keep people coming back again and again.

Beware of “Too” Easy
We have a large wild pigeon population in Honolulu. There’s a lot of food for them to eat all around us. Sometimes they find food on a condo lanai. Many people enjoy attracting them to their homes and the more food the more birds.

“Hey, I’m Hungry”
Sometimes a benevolent condo occupant moves, and the new resident doesn’t put out food, but some of the pigeons keep coming. They have become spoiled by the prior occupants. They feel entitled to the easy food and forget how to look for it. I never read “Who Moved My Cheese,” but I sense that may be what it was all about. It’s okay to take what comes easy, but never forget how to get it on your own.