Sunday, March 21, 2010

To Willard Wigan, "small acts" create BIG returns

In accordance with my Sunday ritual, after having breakfast with my father I came home and watched CBS' Sunday Morning. A feature focused on Willard Wigan (www.willard-wigan.com), an AMAZING artist. While we often read about or see large works of art, he has gone to the other extreme creating sculptures on the heads of pins and in the eyes of needles. His tools are not paint brushes or chisels held in his hands, but his own eye-lashes or even the hair from a fly. You must view his art through a micro-scope. And he is being paid about $100,000 per piece.

Small act but a tremendous reward.

He is a modest man. He openly states that he hates doing the work but takes great pride in having done it. I really like this guy.

So why am I bringing him up? Well, it seems to me that Willard can teach us a few things about working with our members and team mates. Primarily, small acts pay great rewards. We make a promise, we keep it. A member calls, we listen and offer respect and concern to satisfying their complaint or observation. This may seem small, but it will reap huge rewards like increased renewal rates, increased product sales and increased word of mouth advertising which impacts member acquisition.

We may not like the customer service training or the extra time it takes, but we'll be proud of what we've accomplished.

Have a great week and check out Willard Wigan when you can.

No comments:

Post a Comment