Outstanding customer service comes from an outstanding company

Information & Education, Life & Living
“If you take the approach of “earning” your customers’ business every day and treating them well, they’re less likely to try someone else.” ― Marilyn Suttle When my wife and I purchased our second home, we were fortunate enough to get everything on our wish list – including a modestly sized, open front porch. Although on the smaller side, it still provides a cozy space for the two of us to relax after a long day. And what goes better on an open front porch than a pair of rocking chairs. Like most other homeowners today we began doing our research online based on price, quality, appearance and comfort. Who knew there were so many outdoor rocking chairs on the market! After narrowing it down, we found something that fit…
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Valentine’s Day has very little to do with true love

Information & Education, Life & Living, Love & Relationships
“To love is to accept a soul entirely, not wishing that the person was otherwise, nor hoping for change, nor clinging to some ideal past.” — Richelle E. Goodrich, Smile Anyway: Quotes, Verse, & Grumblings for Every Day of the Year For the majority of us, we’re only given one chance to fully experience a genuine, honest love with another person. The sad reality is that far too often time makes us unconsciously forget just how memorable, how valuable, how immeasurable that feeling truly is. Though definitions vary, love has commonly been defined as “a strong, complex emotion or feeling causing one to appreciate, delight in and crave the presence of another”. The ability to give and receive love has little or nothing to do with an exchange of gifts, and yet…
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How a little boy reminded me that I have all that I need

Life & Living, Love & Relationships, Youth
Last night, after my two-year-old nephew headed off to bed, I heard him calling from upstairs, “Crait!” You might be asking what “Crait” means. As he continues to learn pronunciation and language skills, he’s having a little trouble with the letter “G”. Therefore “Crait” means “Craig”. I don’t mind really, though sometimes I don’t realize he’s calling me – such was the case last night. His mother yelled down, “He wants you to read him a book.” So I asked the adorable little boy, standing at the top of the stairs in his striped blue PJ’s, did he want me to read to him?  He quickly replied, “Yeah!” How could I say no. Every night before he goes to sleep, his mom and dad read to him. It’s so great…
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A lesson about making quick judgements while in the Home Depot

Information & Education, Life & Living
As anyone who’s visited a Home Depot knows, many now feature self-check out lines, which are a great time saver when you’re buying nothing more than a handful of screws, a light bulb or a roll of duct tape. Typically there are four stations – two on the right, two on the left and a station in the middle for that helpful store representative when the computers begin acting up. Logically speaking, one might assume that two lines would form on each side – customers passing through one right after another, not crossing lanes. But maybe I’m wrong on this one, as I found out today on a recent trip to the home improvement giant. I was on the left hand side waiting for a station to open up. Directly…
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Bettering ourselves means respecting the differences all around us

Life & Living, Youth
The other day I was re-reading some of my previous posts and came up with the following conclusion – I have a hell of a lot to say about pretty much everything. Admittedly I’m not a psychologist or a life coach. No, I’m just an ordinary guy in his late 30’s who often tears up during sappy movies, loves pizza to a fault and cringes whenever he hears the words “man cave” uttered.  On my journey to identify, appreciate and accept the person I am in the world today, I’ve also come to learn the things that truly matter in life – things I’ve tried to share in each post that I write. Each one of us is capable of reshaping the world we inhabit regardless of race, status, age,…
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