Musings from the CU Suite

Written by Anthony Demangone, Powered by NAFCU

Long drives demand breaks. Five hours is my range, but my wife needs a break after three hours or so.

When we pull off the highway, we’re looking to stretch our legs. Use a restroom. Perhaps grab a cup of joe.

What does perfection look like? It turns out, not that much

• A clean bathroom.
• Friendly service.
• A neat, bright space.
• A decent selection of snacks or drinks.

That’s about it. That doesn’t seem like a lot, but consider this…

• A disgusting bathroom.
• Rude service
• A poorly lit space with stains and spills and overflowing trash cans
• Picked over items that seem stale.

Any one of those things will ruin the experience.  And that’s why it is hard to provide great service. It isn’t rocket science. It is a combination of many things that all must work. Miss one, and you’ve missed the mark.

It all matters.

Now, on to this week’s reading pile.

• Have you heard about the 85% rule? I hadn’t either. It makes sense. (FastCo)
• Tools that want to be our masters. (The Irrelevant Investor)
• The slog, the hobby and the quest. (Godin)
• Interesting data on marketing costs at banks. (FB)
• What is good customer service? A detailed guide. (Salesforce)
• 12 things the worst leaders do that you can learn from. (Dan Rockwell) I call these negative audits.  Look at the list, and make sure you aren’t guilty!
• Roblox orders staff back to the office 3 days a week – or resign. (BI)
• United Airlines is letting window seat flyers board first. (Entrepreneur) The general reaction is – what took them so long? But do we have these same opportunities in our industry?
• Amazon is testing drone delivery of prescriptions. (FastCo) Every time someone ups the ante in customer delight, it raises the bar for all of us.
• 30-year mortgage rates hit 8%; California home sales down 21.5% YoY in September. (Calculated Risk)
• Does how or where you consume info affect your view? (The Big Picture)