TRUE STORY: How to Not Win Customers

Next year we’re celebrating our 30th wedding anniversary. That is, if she’ll start behaving soon. (Camera cuts to me pleading, “No dear, I didn’t make any snide remarks in a public forum. May I peel you more sunflower seeds?”)

Since we’re going like way out of town, I headed to the post office to update my passport. Funny, my kids have been to Europe twice since my passport expired. Something is seriously wrong here.

And something is equally wrong with the United States Post Office. Yes, I realize they spent all their lunch money when Reagan was prez, but if you’ll look at this stupid sign at the entrance, you’ll see this is one of dozens of things very rotten about their message. And this same thing applies to you in your business. Check out the dumbest greeting sign ever…

The parking lot, by the way, holds 80 cars, and I never see more than 5-6 there. And are the words, ‘…or less’ really needed here?

Imagine this idiotic sign in front of any place that might want customers. Or might want them to linger. Can you imagine Starbucks doing this? There’d be bedlam in the social media streets. Baristas would leap from drive through windows.

So, they have serious sales problems, and are doing their best to curtail their nonexistent customers to 30 minutes. Got it.

I pick on this sign, not for the lunacy it is, but as an indicator of systemic failure. Yes, the problems persisted indoors.

The place looks shabby. Soaked ceiling tiles, half drooping. Hand scrawled signs haphazardly taped to walls with friendly notes like, “Don’t let your children play on the rails,” and “Stand behind yellow line until next teller motions.” (Motions? Motions for what… a pardon?)

This Conversation Actually Happened

ME: (After being properly motioned), “I’m renewing my passport and…
ZOMBIE LIKE PERSON in grayish blue, to match her blood: “He’s not here. He’ll be back at 1:00”.
ME: “Uh, he? (I’m struggling already.) “He, the Passport specialist?”
ZLP: “Yeah. He takes the pichers. He’ll be back at 1.”
ME: “It’s 5 after 12. Can I get the forms to fill out and come back?”
ZLP: “You can do that and take it to CVS or Walgreens. They’ll do the photo. You pay them the $35 fee.”
ME: (Thinking) Did she just send me to the competition?
ZLP: “Here’s an envelope. I think they’ll sell you the postage too.” Yells in back. “Hey Mike! Won’t they sell him the postage after they take the picher?”
Mike, avoiding the menace of photography during lunch: “Yeah, they can do all that.”
ME: (Dumbfounded that photo-boy was there the whole time. I’m sent away without a passport, photo, or postage from the very place you’d expect THAT at a minimum.)

I leave stunned, with a touch of zombie-itis setting in as I pass the stupid sign on the way out.

At the CVS, there was no customer repellant signage. No “he” eating an egg sandwich, unable to help. A very helpful 4 minutes later, my photo is taken, the form reviewed, postage affixed, and process begun. I bet every CVS trainee in America can click the camera button, especially for the $35 Passport fee, plus the $110 for the processing, including $8.90 for the postage. How much did CVS keep?

Then she kindly asks for an upsell: “Do you want to look at some travel-size toiletries while you’re here?” That type behavior will probably get you kicked off the Customer Repellant team at the Post Office.

A Question that leads to Wealth:
Are you adding or reducing friction with your customers?

With every customer contact, you’re doing one or the other. The Post Office was solid friction. CVS was like ball-bearings with Z-max poured on them.

• Is your CSR trained to advance the call? Or to put people on hold? My friends at CallSource tell me that the average appointment set rate for contractors is a painful 64%. That’s like 36% of the people being sent to the competition, eager to buy.

• Are your techs versed to advance the sale or relationship? How many mention the Maintenance Agreement and the discount they could’ve gotten? Do they ask for a positive online review? How many mention your other services?

(Two different consulting clients told me this month that their ‘other’ services fall behind when one is super busy. My question: “HOW CAN THIS BE when they are in MORE HOUSES?” Blank stares and silence ensues.)

• Does your follow-up contact ask about satisfaction? Referrals? Other services they wish you offered? Gather the email address? Bump to an Agreement?

• Does your outbound marketing only tout ‘sales’? (Fastest way to lose credibility.)  Only 55% of your marketing balance should be Direct Response, and I’m aggressive. The other should be Image, TOMA, and Retention. (Call your coach.)

• …Or vague generalities, with nothing unique?  “We’re fast, reliable, and honest!” Oh really? My clients are slow, unpredictable, and steal constantly.

While pondering the New Year, make some new changes to reduce friction everywhere you can. You’ll find far more business will slide your way, along with referrals, reputation, and more reasons your customers will grow blind and deaf to the competition.

They’ll be the ones eating the egg sandwich, wondering where all the customers went.

- See more at: Sales&MarketingInsider.com

HVAC Marketing Year at a Glance

Plan by the Calendar 

We work with over 3,000 contractors a year, and the number one problem we help solve is “marketing control.” You’re a contractor. You control job flow, costs, time, design and personnel… but you often have no control of the marketing that generates the leads and sales.

Take control and get more customers in less time at a lower cost. Higher income and less stress are the natural results! Use these monthly snapshots to guide your marketing in the year to come…

January

Coming off a Christmas lull, buyers can be hard to shake. Yet your New Year’s resolutions should be to never let a marketing opportunity pass. Your marketing plan and budgets should be in place, spending around 4-6% of projected sales on marketing depending on your marketing personality profile. (You can get aMarketing Budget Calculator, based on your goals, at no-cost at the end of thisarticle.)

The weather should be bringing you enough service leads, but no need to wait around. Send letters/emails or make calls to “non-closed sales” over the last 90 days offering added incentive. Send postcards to larger groups touting your service benefits with a New Year’s Gift Discount. We’ve found $20 off to be the best combination of incentive and profitability. Post the discount opportunity to your Facebook page, with the link pointing to your main site.

February

Winter’s chill is lessened in warmer states; still frozen in cooler ones. Thus for warmer climates, prepare an “end of season” direct response replacement offer as appropriate. Colder states continue pumping selected service groups to build customer database. All states can consider a “Buy a New System at Last Year’s Price” offer to stir reluctant replacement callers.

Accessory/add-on sales can include a direct response thermostat replacement, furnace upgrade offer, or humidifier. Use social sites to post benefits of each accessory; not to ‘sell’ but to educate. Use your main site to sell.

The strategy during February is to gather more names for your hottest list. All calls – prospects, demanding service, and quotes – should be on your list to mail for your customer retention push coming up next month. This is critical. Watch for your zip code response penetration. Those who respond most have elements of “commonality” that is important for future targeting.

March

March is the beginning of your customer retention push. This means sending newsletters to your active customer base (activity within the last 48 months). Pre-season tune-up and preventive maintenance offers can begin in warmer climates. Cooler climates need their “End of Season” or other direct response promos out. Final call for getting winter’s “non-closed” sales to respond! Make your offer compelling, with the primary benefit stated in the headline.

April

April is big for IAQ and a continuation of tune-up plus maintenance agreement sales. Better to “cast a broad net” for tune-ups, then go for maintenance agreements in one step. The only place you can sell an agreement effectively in one step is in your newsletter. Use ads and postcards to spread the message.

We like Facebook posts that educate followers about benefits of IAQ, and agreements. Many are tempted to “sell” on social sites, but the “85/15” path of advice to selling is far more appealing for long-term gain.

May

According to plan, your newsletters went out last month, right? So, May begins another prospect acquisition phase that should continue through summer.

May is also the end of school, beginning of vacation and warm weather. Capitalize on this with massive “Pre-Season” replacement offers and last-minute tune-up or preventive maintenance offers.

This is the time to snatch leads and sales from competitors who are “waiting on the weather.” If you miss sales now, they’re out of the market for a long time. Be very aggressive. Use your hardest direct response ads now. The two best performers in our Marketing Powersuite are rebates that can be used toward vacations, and “trade in” offers on old systems.

We also advise using the 2-Step Lead Generator for web-based leads. First step is to post a very strong, very persuasive promotional offer on your site. Second step is to send a short email to your entire target list, with a link to that page. The next “adjustment” to that offer is a short post on social sites with a link to the landing page. Our recorded results for this method have generated 4 times the traffic in 14 days. Get the details in the 2-Step Lead Generator

June

June has hit us with the distraction of vacations, outdoor activities… and hopefully some hot weather. Your techs are the key to more replacement and HVAC upgrade leads.

Train techs for these “green lights.” Repairs over $400 or on 8 year-old systems should be replacement prospects. Recession-weary consumers will be interested in financing offers or incentives, so make sure your techs are well-versed. DO NOT let “declined repair” customers go without hearing from your salesperson or CSR to close the deal post-visit.

High image marketing helps support high margin replacements. All service calls – every single one – should be offered a maintenance agreement.

 

Okay, that list can get you through the first half of your year in good order. Save this post as a reference tool.

Just as in your contracting jobs, your marketing results are better when you have a plan. Catch a glimpse of the future, and let it become clearer by following a proven path. Share this vision with your staff to make it even more real.

It’s up to you to make this your best year ever.

Get a free “2015 Marketing Budget Calculator” by emailing to freestuff@hudsonink.com. You can also call Hudson, Ink at 1-800-489-9099 for help or visit www.hudsonink.com for other free marketing articles and reports. Remember to follow Hudson, Ink on Facebook and LinkedIn for more marketing tips and tricks.

Marketing Trends for 2015

Remember your ABC’s? Well today, A is for app, B is for browser, C is for content, D is for default settings, E is for Egads, please just make it stop.

Unfortunately, this letter line-up reveals a problem many contractors are overlooking. The marketing plan that worked in the past is not the marketing plan that is working now. So if you don’t keep up, adjust, learn and apply, your marketing results will yield a big fat F.

Not kidding. Each day we get calls, emails and desperate pleas of “My marketing’s broken” only to find the contractor staunchly believes it’s still 2008. The world was different “way back then.” What worked okay for the two decades leading up to that fateful year, is not working today. 

So let’s look ahead to changes taking place, and how to proceed from here.

Budget – Had to start here since that keeps many of you up at night. We adjust the HVAC Media budgets a bit each year, but if you’re stuck using a budget, say more than 5 years old, some of those numbers have been halved. Some doubled. (Same overall budget, just vastly different percentages per media.) I don’t have room to discuss all 12 media, so ACCA members can get a 2015 Budget Calculator here. <PUT IN TINY URL OR HOW THEY CAN GET IT HERE>.

Marketing Integration – Listen for this term. Those who ignore this trend will continue scratching their heads at the “leads that once were.” Integration means focusing one message throughout several media. It is a simplification of messaging, which gets a loud hallelujah from me and weary, ad-blitzed consumers everywhere.

When you have one offer in the mail, another online, another from the manufacturer, another as a bill stuffer and a radio ad that hasn’t changed since 2010, that is NOT integration. You are forcing people to be confused, your message is muddied and no one has the brain space left to figure out your core cause. Get focused, get a message and intensify that message through the media.

GEICO? Apple? ESPN? You seeing 32 different messages from them? Nope. We’ve been pushing marketing integration for 3 years and the contractors who are crushing it are doing this –

1.      Secured their local listings, using a standardized set of messages, images, links.

2.      Created keyword-rich websites, filled with ‘baited’ content that drives SEO, encouraging customer reviews.

3.      They maintain social media profiles – while balancing these online opportunities with the consistency and target-ability of…

4.      Direct mail, which holds the same images and messages, but fortunately goes straight to the home with laser-like targetability. (Direct mail has made a huge comeback of late. Even vaunted Google has diverted “in the tens of millions” toward Direct Mail due to “online message saturation.” If it’s so for them, it is so for us.)  

5.      Electronic media with the ever-repetitive recollection of a great radio campaign and its more costly visual brother, television.

Integrated marketing requires consistency across all platforms. That means email headings look similar to your landing page. Your banner ads have the same look and feel as your vehicle wraps. The number of places where your image and your customers connect is exploding. So the impressions your company is making should be recognizable no matter where they’re seen. Force recall, don’t fragment it.

Social Media Missteps – Mark Zuckerberg has made billions, but maybe you’re lagging slightly behind from social media sales. That’s because (for you) social media isn’t the place for lead generation, but for building relationships. Do not miss that point. It’s a cocktail party, not a trade show.

Social media (plus reviews) are the new word of mouth. If your customer service is great and you have a Social media presence, you’ll get “likes” and praise. But if your service is lacking, you’ll likely get a smacking. (I may put that to music.)

Monitor social media channels. If a customer complains, respond positively and proactively. Those who ignore invite others to pile it on with ill-considered opinions, and this platform can devour an age-old reputation like a fasting piranha. When you address customer issues, you build relationships, which builds your image.

Better Lead Generation – Things are a-changin’ here too. What I’ve learned recently: Sales cycles now require more of an “acclimation” period. The one-call, one-hour sales call for contractors now has multiple steps and phases, and over 80% of your calls check you out online first. For this you need a clean updated, optimized website, fully optimized Local Listing and a strategy for customer reviews.

What’s more, consumers self-educate faster which means they’re no longer impressed with how well you speak your foreign technical language. More than ever, sales come from being an “advisor” instead of a “promoter.” 

Also as important, sales and marketing should work together toward a common goal of serving customers and increasing revenue. Companies that qualify leads, instead of sending them all to Sales, have a higher return on lead generation investment.

Be aware too, your target audience has grown up since the “graying of America” (those 55 years plus) and has 40% of the population but a staggering 80% of the wealth. Target these people with marketing that is sensitive to them (24% still use Yellow Pages by the way). You can depend on the Depends crowd… and that fact speaks to this trend:

Old School Media Comeback – Direct mail is – ironically – more viable the less people use it. Seriously, your mailbox is your least crowded inbox. Your mail gets noticed, has to be physically handled, stays on the kitchen counter longer – all useful for well-timed offers. You can’t get the same from an email that reaches an overwhelmed inbox – whose owner is trigger-happy with the delete key. The mailed sales letter still rocks. We expect this trend to continue.

Retention, Referrals and Reviews – You could sum those “R’s” up with a fourth R: relationships. The greater proliferation of marketing messages (we see thousands every day), the more we rely on relationships and word of mouth as the best way to make choices for our homes or anything else.

Customer Retention Marketing has grown up to include automated email “nurturing” pre- and post-sale. Having an “inventory” of push-button emails, texts, social posts is the #1 marketing trend for automating better business results. But also remember what others are posting…

Customer reviews greatly impact your SEO and your customer’s decision-making. How can you move this forward? One way: request customer reviews by asking, “Was our service today good enough to earn a positive review?”

Then hand them a certificate for $20 (or restaurant, movie coupon, whatever) with the URL of your listing plus short, sample, positive comments. The $20 certificate is a discount on their next service or they can pass it to a neighbor or friend. That doesn’t matter, but a great review DOES matter because now they will appear and direct traffic to you… or away from you.

If you see a negative review, don’t panic, and definitely DO NOT get defensive.  Be polite, responsive and resourceful. Admit any mistakes, correct inaccuracies, make good on your guarantees and move the conversation offline.

Plan Now – Before you get carried away with new trends, remember this old truth: fail to plan; plan to fail. The best way to make 2015 successful is to make a plan. Specifically, get your marketing plan in place to guide you through your seasons of opportunity and challenge. Follow it, monitor it, and as the months ensue, be ready to respond to any reality that shows shifts in the trends.  

Marketing Lessons from My Dentist

Like many who are fond of their teeth, I go to my dentist every 6 months for a check-up. Basically, this is a $320 detail job and they don’t even shampoo the carpet.

The dental hygienist lady has a habit of referring to me as “we”. She’s either aware of my multiple personalities or lives a parallel life as a pre-school teacher. “How are WE doing today? Are we having any trouble with our teeth?”

Worse, she half sings these questions, which is – or should be - punishable by death in many states, all of which I’d like to now live in.  Soon she has at least three hands in my mouth, and I can barely make out ‘Don’t Worry Be Happy’ straining through a 5” speaker covered in tooth dust.

Then she says this, which is a lesson in sales and marketing of the highest order. (You may want to floss before reading.)

See, I used to dread the dentist. As an 8 year old, I hid behind a sofa until my appointment had long passed. Then, incorrectly assuming the coast was clear, was spotted by my frantically searching mother. My rear-end took the pain originally intended for my molar regions. It was a good swap.

I mean, dentist dude had seriously hairy arms, a syringe borrowed from the zoo, and a drill that sounded like mosquitos on crack. He focused all his activity in my mouth, which was just fine when it was me and the Three Musketeers. But no, Der Drill Meister had to spoil my fun and talk about gumlines, flossing, and keeping my teeth. What a killjoy.

As a result of my dental defiance, by age 12 I had enough silver in my mouth to effect the currency market in Bolivia.

Yet by college age, modern dentistry was here. Gone were the torture rituals of old, no longer did they use pulleys and horse drawn carts to extract teeth. “Oh darn Mr. Crumpley! Wrong one! We’ll just saddle ‘er up again to get the right one. Here, chew on a bullet.”

The bullet, I might add, remains preferable to the People Magazine featuring anyone who has known or married a Kardashian.  

Yet we all learn that Preventive Maintenance is key. And it leads to…

Salesmanship for Non-Salespeople

Today I am in a comfortable chair (like a La-Z-Boy with handcuffs and a rinse cycle) while micro-abrasive cleaning tools gently erase a subtle hue of coffee and red wine. “We” are being sung to, sort of, and I’m caught by the following –

“And todayyyy…”, sounding like she’s about to announce recess, “We’re due for our X-ray as part of our routine.” I make a noise like I have a whole baked potato in my mouth which she correctly interprets as approval.

Soon, a machine suitable for Darth Vader selfies is aimed at my check, a gentle buzz emanates, and she says, “Now we’ll do the other side”. ZZZap. In 40 seconds, I’ve just spent another $240. But remember, this is part of our routine.

“So while we wait for the Doctor, let’s get your appointment scheduled. I’ve got you down for 6 months out, and I see you prefer mornings, right?”

“Yes, that’s right”, I mumble, rinsing out the cleaning cocktail in the little swirly sink.

“And what day of the week do you not prefer, knowing that we don’t take Friday appointments?”

“Uh, Tuesdays and Thursdays are fine.”

“Okay, we’ve got you down. If there are any changes, let us know ahead of time. Here’s your written slip, plus we’re sending you an email and a text reminder to put into your Outlook calendar.”

I’ve just committed a morning 6 months from now to spend a few hundred more dollars having “our” teeth media blasted. The scheduled visit after that? “We” get our X-ray.

There was no selling, only assumption. There was no, “Do you want to do this again? I sure hope so! Mandy will send a card then call you to set something up.” None of that.

Are you listening, oh ye filled with ‘How to sell and renew Maintenance Agreements’ woes? Go re-read her script.

There was no scheduling meltdown.  No, “The office will get back with you later.” It was scheduled plus Alternate of Choice.  a) It’ll be 6 months. b) Morning or afternoon. c) Which day of week. Oh, and they don’t do Fridays. Smart limitation, creates mild scarcity.

There was no upselling “Do you want me to (check ductwork leakage; adjust your water heater; do a fuse panel test)?” It was, “As part of our routine, the X-ray (upsell) is included.”

Here’s an assumption for you: Your customer has you out. You tell them Preventive Maintenance is the cure for the equivalent of their painful drillings and fillings. You tell them of your automated routine, happens like clockwork, they don’t even have to think to keep their home system maintained and working like new. Just check here, you’ll get a reminder, plus a call as it nears.

Too many contractors give too many customers the “option” to opt-out. To forget. To intend to call you again, and to use you next season, but – by darn – they got busy and didn’t. Now they use someone else. Or Mandy calls to schedule the appointment this week and you know, the darn washing machine went out, so we’re going to have to wait. Until never.

See folks, this “Retention Mission” I’ve been on is not just some esoteric marketing mantra. It is a way to virtually eliminate competition, to reduce the rigors of ‘selling’, to quit having to prove and reprove yourself every time. And I’ll not turn this into a commercial; I’ll accept a nod of agreement. In fact,

Every home with heating, cooling, plumbing, and electrical should have an agreement. Just like those of you with teeth might want that twice a year check-up. Don’t we?

Adams Hudson

1.      Do you have a Maintenance Agreement Program? 

YES, works perfectly.      

YES, has some issues    

NO, but I’d consider one    

2.      My Agreement program ‘Auto Renews’?  YES    NO

3.      I offer an Agreement to every customer.   YES    NO  

4.      I’d like to learn more about Maintenance Agreements in an upcoming Coaching Call.     YES      NO

8 Ways to Stand Out This Holiday Season

‘Blending In’ may be fine for cake mix, but it’s terrible for your marketing. Why? Because you’re spending money to be different, unique or to stand out from the crowd. Copycat marketing is perhaps the biggest waste of money in all of contracting.

All the institutional and manufacturer supplied ads start looking the same, and customers can’t distinguish one from another. This adds to cost while reducing the lead count.

Be bold during the Holidays with your unique edge. Get standout recognition while your competition is fighting amongst themselves, and do it for less. Here’s how…

§  Sales Letters (in a Direct Response format) should be sent out prior to December 10. Rebate and deferred payment offers work well during this season.  Do not send any sales offers between December 10 and January 12 or you’re wasting money.

§  Postcards and Self-Mailer Letters sent first-class are faster and less expensive than enveloped mail. Plus, since you’ll receive the ‘undeliverables’ back, this is a perfect once-a-year clean up of your mailing list.

§  Low-Cost Holiday Cards can do all of the above and can be sent from Thanksgiving to New Years. Send to your entire database, but do not use a sales message or the effect is ruined. These are the #1 Customer Retention pieces during the holidays.  

§  New Years Calendars can be a good idea, but limit them to only the top purchasing customers in your database. Customers get many calendars each year, so only the most attractive will make it to the wall, which means only the costliest. Be careful here.

§  Red and green streamer tape in 2” width can visibly distinguish your service vehicles from Thanksgiving forward. For less than $4 per vehicle, you can be a standout in traffic. The tech with the best decorated truck should get a little gift from Santa.

§  Your “on-hold” message should reflect the season and mood. Have separate messages for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years.  You must speak to customers in the language of the season. This costs you zip.

§  Your phone greeting can also change for nothing. Use ‘Merry Christmas’ or ‘Happy Holidays’ instead of the standard. Be consistent in your greeting message or you sound unprofessional.

§  Use bags of red and green ‘Kisses’ to give to all customers during the Holidays. For about 4 cents a customer, you bring a smile and greater reception to your message.

Not many contractors will make these small, nearly free changes. But, the ones who do will ‘stand apart’ from their competition. They’ll be the ones who are remembered and referred over the rest, isn't this what your marketing should do anyway? 

Seminar Impacts Total Strangers Hundreds of Miles Away

 It seemed like a normal seminar. Dozens of PHCC contractors piled in to get a seat at Adams Hudson’s marketing seminar to gain a lesson. They got a bit more than that.

“Plumbing contractors may not think of themselves as heroes, but I do, and so do all who’ve ever had a water heater die on them,” said Hudson. “They can save the day with the twist of a wrench. Maybe this is a hero complex, but we wanted to have a positive impact too.”

That’s what led Hudson, Ink to donate proceeds for each PHCC member who accepted a marketing package to Habitat for Humanity, a foundation dedicated to eliminating substandard housing.

“Habitat helps less fortunate citizens, plus it puts local contractor volunteers to work,” said Hudson. “It’s a great way for plumbers and other contractors to get involved in the community. Aside from the charity, it’s feel-good marketing at its finest.”

From this seminar, 28 PHCC members helped push donations to nearly $300; over time, Hudson, Ink’s donations from seminars have exceeded $10,000.

“The experience has been great for everyone involved,” said Hudson. “We hope to continue our relationship with PHCC and Habitat for Humanity for a long time.”

For more information about Habitat for Humanity, and ways you can support the cause, go to www.Habitat.org.

Hudson, Ink, Corp. is a marketing firm that creates and distributes online and offline marketing and information programs for in-home service contractors, helping them market more effectively with turn-key marketing programs and strategy. For more information, call 1-800-489-9099, email info@hudsonink.com or check them out online at www.HudsonInk.com or on Facebook and LinkedIn.

Special thanks to the 28 contractors who helped support Habitat for Humanity at PHCC Connect 2014:

3rd Generation Johnson Plumbing	Mark Johnson
A. J. Lyne, Ltd.	Andy Lyne
Al Bourgeois Plumbing	Carl Bourgeois
Bell Mechanical	Keith Bell
Brian MacDonald Plumbing & Heating	Brian MacDonald
Central Plumbing & Heating	John Cersosimo
Dial One Sonshine Plbg, Htg & A/C	Dave Marquez
Doug Turner Plumbing Co.	Doug Turner
Earl's Plumbing	Greg de Veer
Enhanced HVAC	Joe Brooks
Esposito Plumbing & Heating	Al Esposito
Feddon Mechanical	Dave Feddon
Gino's Plumbing	Gino Burgio
Jack Dolan & Sons	Mike Dolan
Jeff's Plumbing & Repair, Inc.	Jeff Voss
Jiffy Plumbing, Heating & A/C	Allan Luke
John Stevenson Plumbing Heating & Air	John Stevenson
Long's Corporation	Michael Hurt
Milton Frank Plumbing Co. Inc.	Patty Frank
Modern Plumbing	Josh Hollub
Owen Geoghegan Plumbing & Heating	Owen Geoghegan
Powderhouse Plumbing	John Macone
R.E.C. Industries	Randy Hunter
Scott Harrison Plumbing & Heating	Scott Harrison
Silverado Rooter & Plumbing	Art Cake
Terry Plumbing Co.	Terry McCarthy
Tri-City Plumbing	Todd Billiot
Williston Plumbing	Ron Doughty

                              

So a guy walks into a Pawn Shop…

After our move, my drive to work went from a 6-minute meandering to a 45-minute commute. In Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, my commute is called “A mere hop.”

Anyway, the drive begins in a neighborhood on a lake, then gets a little country, then a lot rural and – depending on my route – winds through a pretty desperate-looking area. Let’s just say the burglar bar salespeople do okay there.

That’s my route today. It’ll make whatever you were complaining about seem small. The area is a curious mishmash of businesses and homes that scarcely make the definition; lots of broken glass, far more broken dreams. “Vacant” applies to many things here. Looking up from my coffee, I see a sight that’ll flat-out get your attention. Like, now.

A youngish clean-cut man is heading into a Pawn Shop, with a toddler in one arm. And a gun case in the other.

It’s about 9 am. The adjacent liquor store is doing a brisk business already. A rattling bass seems to thrum through the streets, with little hint to the source. The man and child seem purposeful amid those who clearly aren’t. He’s got on well-worn work boots (construction variety), dusted with the whitish clay that lines this river lowland.

He’s a worker. A father. Probably a survivor. And – for the moment – a little desperate. I’d venture his Halloween had frights few of us know. Thoughts flash into my mind; I pull into the parking lot across the street.

There’ve been times in my life I thought I was desperate, or it felt so. And like the “commute versus the hop,” it’s all relative. I remember nervously twirling my new wedding band under a very long walnut table among humorless bankers, denying me a loan to finance a half-rented property. The ghouls of my memory make them bloodless and cold. The truth was that it served me right; the property was a pig and I didn’t deserve the loan.

From that hardship, I didn’t even look at another piece of investment real estate for 15 years, only then scrutinizing it like an Amish father over his daughter’s first date. The next several properties over many years performed well. Desperation is a merciless teacher, but the lessons stick.

I sometimes wish I could feel what desperate immigrants felt, leaving their homeland with little money and a lot of hope when they first saw the Statue of Liberty. Now that was a commute. It meant something. Freedom. Opportunity. Yet, entitlement?

The word hadn’t been invented yet, but if it had, every immigrant on that boat would’ve beat it up. The Italians would’ve ground it into a paste for sauce, the Germans would’ve sprinkled it in beer, both savored during the first “It Is Up to Me” Victory dinner.

I believe desperation can be a good thing, shedding fluff, reducing you to your core. I’ve said before – and it’s no more popular now – that the ‘R’ word we began in ‘08 was largely healthy. Taught us to cut out waste and any indulgence of marble-lined idiocy. Those who felt that storm first-hand are changed people. Probably some bitter ones in the bunch, but all are wiser for the experience.  

I wish every ‘My-latte-is-getting-cold’ youth in America had gotten a taste of it.

Probably’d do ‘em good in the long run. They’d likely not walk into job interviews 20 minutes late, asking how many days off they get. Would probably not don the earbuds when meaningful lessons were inches from their purview. Neediness has a place.

It’s good to need instead of just want. It’s good to be denied, instead of being insatiable. It’s good to make-do with what you have, rather than make-believe for what you don’t.

Though extreme, the Great Depression gave us a pretty darn good group of Americans. It triggered more start-ups, more millionaires, more patriotism, more thriftiness, higher family values and more eventual optimism than was ever rightfully expected of any Nation. (Capitalized on purpose.) You think the recession scared them? “A mere hop” they’d say.

                                                                

How would you treat your job and family if they were truly all you had? Would you care more, try harder, complain less, reach farther? I imagine that all progress, all customers, all relationships and any small victories would make you indescribably grateful. Not a bad attitude to have, and likely contagious.

Rattled from my thoughts, the young man emerges from the pawn shop. This time, no gun case, but he’s holding the boy’s hand as they walk toward a dented truck. He lifts his son into a car seat and carefully straps him in. He gives him a little hair tousle as he departs to his side.

I imagine the boy will remember the day daddy sold his hunting gun.  It’ll be years before he finds out why. Here’s hoping their desperation won’t last, but the lesson will.

As we enter a season of thanks, may you feel a twinge of desperation, followed by a wave of gratitude.

Adams Hudson