Life

Catching up

/ hsoi

I just spent an intensive 4-days in Kathy Jackson’s Cornered Cat Instructor Development Class.

I’m tired, but enriched.

I’ll have a write-up on it soon.

This also serves as my training log for today. Should be a squat day, but I’m opting to rest. I’ve got some pain in my legs. In part it’s from all the standing over the 4 days, but the large part is actually from sitting! Folding chairs, trying to remain comfortable, would extend my right leg, and between balancing it upright in my boots, my other leg crossed over it, etc., the slight hyperextension at my knee and all that “back-pressure” placed on my knee… things just aren’t too happy.

Best not to squat right now.

I’m bummed because it’s now 2 weeks in a row of not squatting (I never thought I’d say that), but it’s better this way.

Anyways, returning to the Land of Daily Routine, so I’ve got a bunch to catch up on.

chewy.com – props to you!

/ hsoi / 6 Comments

It’s important to share good customer service experiences.

This one is about chewy.com

Never heard of them before, but Google pointed me their way because they had good deals on dog food. The fact they had the best price, coupled with free shipping (on orders over $49, which mine was) made it worth trying them.

I placed my order.

Shortly after placing the order, I decided to cancel the order. Nothing with chewy.com, but rather I changed my mind about the food I had purchased (Blue Buffalo Wilderness; ended up reading about their lawsuit and sorry, just not sure I can trust that). Alas, I saw no way to cancel the order from my account order page.

I used the Live Chat service and spoke with the rep. She attempted to cancel the order, but said that it was “pulled” meaning it hadn’t truly shipped but was in process of, so she was going to try to contact shipping to get them to fully stop it. Alas, I ended up seeing the charge to my bank card. I contacted chewy.com through Live Chat again. Apparently the order still hadn’t shipped (holidays), and that rep ensured I was given a refund. She also said that she’s pretty sure the order didn’t ship, but if it did to just refuse the shipment.

So I did see a refund to my bank card. So all money is squared up there.

But today? The shipment actually arrived. I wasn’t able to meet the FedEx man at the door, so the box was left and I was unable to refuse it.

Once again, off to Live Chat. The rep looked into things and said not to worry about it. That I was still refunded, that I wasn’t going to be charged, there was no need to return the food – just donate it to a local shelter.

Consider it done!

So while things weren’t exactly perfect, chewy.com made it easy for me to contact them. They were responsive, friendly, helpful, and worked to resolve things. And the fact they just said “donate it” and ensure some furry friends get to eat it… well, how can you beat that!

And that is how you win customers.

The Big Departure – more relevant

/ hsoi / 2 Comments

Jack Webb’s monologue in the 1967 Dragnet episode “The Big Departure” feels like it could have been made today.

Actually not entirely true. Some of the generational references are things that today’s generation has no clue about, such as the references to The Great Depression. So listening to this becomes a good perspective-giver, for more than its original reasons.

Some of the things people complain and get outraged about? It’s only enabled by the fact we have it so good.

Don’t let “them” win

/ hsoi

Did you ever think that getting angry, that causing us to lose our compassion and empathy, is exactly what they want?

There are a lot of contexts and topics on which this applies, both current events and past ones (and certainly future ones, at this rate).

And there are a lot of people/groups that classify as “them”. Even groups you may identify with.

I’m not saying: don’t be angry, don’t be frustrated, tolerate everything. What I am saying is to keep love, compassion, and empathy as your guiding force – not hate, not anger, not resentment, not guilt, not envy, not greed. To think and make decisions with a clear, informed, and thoughtful mind (not a knee-jerk, pandering, emotional, nor irrational one).

Don’t let them play you. Don’t give them what they want… else, they won.

How often do you inspect your equipment?

/ hsoi

The title says it all:

How often do you inspect your equipment?

It doesn’t matter the context. If you have equipment you rely upon, it should get some sort of periodic inspection.

When was the last time you checked the air pressure in the tires of your car? Or the oil? Or the washer fluid? How about if all of the exterior lights (turn signals, brakes, backup lights, etc.) work?

How about the fire extinguisher in your kitchen? The smoke detectors in the house?

The backup system for your computer (e.g. Mac OS X’s Time Machine). When was the last backup run? Is everything in order?

The list can go on.

I’m far from perfect in this. I’m like you: busy, with a lot of things on my plate and in my head. I can’t remember everything, and things do slip through the cracks. For example, I wear a kydex pouch on my belt to carry my flashlight and a spare magazine. A few weeks ago I realized that one of the belt clips had started to crack. I’m glad I caught it because it wasn’t too long before it fully broke. I was able to get a replacement ordered in time.

Funny thing tho? The replacement wasn’t properly made so I had to send it back (they did correct things; a topic for another time). Thus I was without the pouch for a little while. I used my rotary tool to cut off the broken parts and whittled it down to just a flashlight pouch. But what to do about carrying a spare magazine? While I do have other mag pouches, it would have made EDC cumbersome. So, a DeSantis Mag-Packer to the rescue. It was good to have some sort of equipment redundancy.

Friend of mine had a similar issue with the flashlight in his car’s glove compartment. The bulb fried somehow, and SureFire is going to take care of it. But better that he found out now instead of when he was stranded roadside at night needing to change his tire.

Any equipment and things you rely upon, inspect them. Fix them. Replace them. Do whatever is needed, so when you have to call on your equipment, it’ll be there.

Breaking bread

/ hsoi

If we can’t have at least, a conversation with them, sit down, break bread– about where we are going and how we are going to get there, there is no hope at all.

– Anthony Bourdain

Full article.

And while it might be in the context of guns, it holds for pretty much any and all conversations society seems to be having these days. Rather… they aren’t conversations at all, which is the problem.

This one weird trick to save you some money (I always wanted to use a clickbait headline)

/ hsoi / 2 Comments

Yesterday I went down an unexpected road, but I’m so glad I did. You should consider doing it too, as it won’t take you long but will probably save you a lot of money.

Oldest has to be added to my auto-insurance policy. I called my current carrier, answered the questions, and found out that adding him would more than double my premium! I expected some increase because 1. additional person, 2. that demographic is one of the worst from an insurance perspective. So the rate increase was expected, but I didn’t expect double.

Naturally, I was motivated to shop around.

Long story short, after about an hour on websites and telephone, I now have my auto AND homeowners insurance with a different company (both the old and new are reputable, national companies). Both new policies have increased coverages. My homeowners premium went down almost $100/year. My auto premium went up only about $250/year, which IMHO is quite reasonable.

Drastic savings, better coverages, and only took about 1-2 hours of my time.

That’s not atypical. Companies are changing pricing and service plans all the time. We just get in the habit of paying the bill, and who knows how much money we’re throwing away. About a year ago my cable modem got fried in a thunderstorm, and when I went down to the service office to get a replacement, the lady there switched me to a service plan that gave me the exact same Internet service plus basic cable for less than the price of just the Internet service. Granted I still don’t use the cable TV part, but I’ll take the lower price (saved me about $120/year).

Next time you’re doing bills, before you pay the bill get on the phone with their customer service. See what can be done with your rate. It’s possible nothing can be done (not sure of any electric/water/gas companies that do this), but if there is competition (cable/satellite TV, phone, Internet, etc.), see if there are better rate plans. Sometimes their “customer retention” people will do things like drop your rates for 6 months — better to get less of your money than none of your money.

All sorts of things, and for just a little bit of time on the phone.

 

Which part do you disagree with?

/ hsoi

Which part do you disagree with?

The steps in the proof?

Or the conclusion?

If you agree with every step of the argument, but the conclusion leaves you angry or uncomfortable, it might be time to reconsider your worldview, not reject the argument.

From Seth Godin.

It’s not over

/ hsoi / 2 Comments

It is not over until it is over. You cannot be disappointed if you don’t plan to stop until the fight is over. You never know how far you can go until you push beyond self imposed limits.

An excellent bit of advice. You should read the whole article (don’t worry, it’s short). (h/t Greg Ellifritz)

It doesn’t matter what it is that you’re dealing with – keep fighting until it’s over.

When will it be over? You’ll know. If you’re not certain it’s over, then keep fighting.

Ignorance, incompetence, mechanical breakdowns, bad weather and enemy action can not be avoided, but you can control your reactions. Confidence in your self and training can keep you calm when others panic. Sometimes the winner is decided by nothing more than who stays on the field.

When you’re dead, you’ll be dead; until then, keep fighting.

10,000 hours

/ hsoi

People often discuss the notion of how long and how much work it takes to master something.

Malcolm Gladwell popularized the notion of “10,000 hours” of practice being needed to master something. I just read an article written by Jay Jay French, founder and guitarist for the band Twisted Sister. Jay Jay writes about The Power of 10,000 Hours.

Recently AJ Pero, long-time drummer for Twisted Sister, passed away. Of course, this caused much sadness and unknown in the Twisted Sister camp. But as they say, “the show must go on”. Twisted Sister has been around since 1973, and with all the shows, all the rehearsals, they’ve got much more than 10,000 hours of practice under their belts.

Jay Jay reflects:

The truth is, these days, we only play about a dozen shows a year, almost always between May and August. It means that we are off doing other things the other nine months of the year. We usually only run over the songs once at a rehearsal. I am always feeling just a little queasy and unsure. That’s why, before we go into our first rehearsals, sometime in April, I’m gripped with anxiety. But this time, I was also anxious about a new drummer who had only three rehearsals to learn not just the music but also the pacing of the show; the fact that we were doing a live recording for DVD; multiple bands being on the same bill with us (their equipment changes can always cause problems); and special effects, flames, sparklers, and explosions that will possibly light you on fire if you stand in the wrong place. Plus, I’m not just a guitar player–I’m the manager of the band, with a long mental checklist. More important, I was really sad that A.J. wasn’t up there with us.

Here is my confession. There were just too many unknowns this time. Too many potential areas of disruption. Too much emotion. Because it was the first show of the year, I just couldn’t get lost in the performance. My mind was overwhelmed by the confluence of information. And I was still dealing with my own emotions about this first show without A.J.

So what did I do? I consciously let go. I set my brain on autopilot and let the songs flow out. I kept in the back of my mind an idea of what I would need to do if something really went out of control. But I tried not to think about it, and instead, I relied on my ability to do something I’d done for more than 10,000 hours.

And … nothing bad happened. The show went on about as smoothly as I could have hoped.

This is what separates the big boys from the also-rans. The confidence–in our case, forged in the fires of the live club circuit — that we could always deliver, no matter what was thrown at us, is burned into our DNA. As long as we want to do it, it will be done at the highest levels.

The same is true for companies and entrepreneurs. For you or your company to be great, nothing can ever present an obstacle to excellence. You need to practice until you’ve got muscle memory. You can’t stop Twisted Sister. And you can’t stop a great company when you have a great foundation.

So, get to practicing.

You won’t get better overnight. It’s going to take a lot of time, dedication, and discipline. But if you really want to master something, it’s what it takes, and it’s worth every bit.