- April 10, 2018 -
Technology...love it, hate it.
Mid-morning yesterday, Cheryl texted me with "I think I'm having a stroke."
I've learned that when a woman tells you she's having a heart attack or a stroke, it's not a good thing to tell her she's NOT. lol
All kidding aside, I knew what the issue was...
For months, her computer has been running slow and tabs were needing to be closed when too many apps were being used at once.
So when I got the text, I called right away so as to avoid appearing as if I didn't care...another way we guys get in the dog house.
Long story short...her available disk space on her computer was close to nothing.
Running on fumes.
She'd been up until 3 am working with a reputable company with 24-7 availability to free up some space.
They had remote access to her computer, and she was able to watch what they were doing...
...but she had no way of communicating with them once they'd turned off the chat.
It was clear from the way they were navigating and deleting programs she had expressly directed them NOT to delete...that they had little clue what they were doing.
By the time they were done, she had less disk space than before.
Morning rolls around, she's on the phone with them again, I left for the office...and I get the text that a stroke is imminent.
+ yes, we should have had a backup computer in place.
+ yes, we need to upgrade.
+ yes, we should have anticipated the outcome and acted ahead of time.
But when you're in crisis mode...shoulda coulda woulda isn't a viable option.
We needed a lifeline, a fire hose...something quick to stop the bleeding.
It was Monday (all crises happen on Monday's and Friday's, right?) and she had online meetings lined up, deadlines to meet, etc.
Taking her computer to a Best Buy and waiting for their Geek Squad to diagnose, make a recommendation, and schedule a fix wasn't going to cut it.
But calling the owner of a small local shop was a completely different experience.
Within 40 minutes of her call, the shop owner himself...
...had jumped her in front of 6 waiting jobs.
...remotely accessed her computer to avoid a 10 minute drive for Cheryl.
...recovered space that few technicians even know about and...
added an extension to give her a buffer of about 10 gigabytes.
He's her hero and life goes on 🙂
The whole point of these daily emails are to share business lessons that just happen randomly in every day life.
So here you go...
1) Build relationships instead of burning bridges.
You never know when you'll need help from a previous client, previous employee, etc. So I try to treat people with that in mind.
Not always easy for a no b.s. sort of guy who talks loud when he gets excited. LOL
Cheryl has known Tom, the owner for several years. He's sent us business referrals and we've sent referrals to him.
She never takes advantage of the business relationship and has never called in a favor outside of yesterday. She even told him to bill us for his time plus "crisis" time.
His response? He gave us a 40% discount on his hourly fee for the time needed to put a quick fix in place.
2) Pull out a fire hose instead of bringing in the National Guard.
If your model is for you or staff to interact with prospects before they become customers, listen and read between the lines.
Don't be in such a hurry to put together a package worth thousands when someone who reaches out needs a tourniquet first.
After the bleeding has stopped, resume the conversation.
I guarantee you'll now have a raving fan rather than a victim...who you could have taken advantage of during a time when they were most vulnerable.
As soon as Tom quickly got Cheryl up and running, he said:
"Call me when your meetings are over and we'll get a plan in place so this doesn't happen again."
That's being a hero. I like being someone's hero 🙂
If you need help whether it's applying a quick Band-Aid or putting a more comprehensive plan in place, then set up a free consult with us.
Make today great!
[leadpages_leadbox leadbox_id=14555ac46639c5] [/leadpages_leadbox]
