The Message in a Maze

Sometimes inspiration comes from the most unlikely places…well, like aisle nine of the local supermarket. It’s not that I was looking for inspiration…in fact, I was just looking for a magazine to pass the time in the midst of a Sunday afternoon family shopping trip.

However, I was interrupted in my journey by a maze of shopping carriages that were dumped directly in front of the magazine rack. Not only was I deprived of reading about Taylor Swift and John Mayer’s ill-fated romance or the latest news about the tightening noose around the neck of Michael Jackson’s doctor, I couldn’t even navigate my way to the frozen food section that seemed to beckon me with its promise of tacos, breakfast treats and moon pies.

That traffic accident of shopping carts didn’t just symbolize a lousy way to market magazines, it symbolized a business that didn’t care enough to even make a half-baked attempt at proper store presentation. After all, the carts just didn’t get there in five minutes, they accumulated over the course of an hour or so and not one store employee could be bothered to return them to their rightful place.

The larger issues here were care and pride. Without those two things, you can’t expect to operate a top quality business. You see, the little things do matter, perception is reality and yes, someone’s always watching. If you don’t sweat the small details, you won’t have to worry about the larger details because your customers will find someplace else to go.

I contrast the supermarket fiasco with the feeling I experience every time I encounter Richie Gesner from the Music Connection in Manchester. Richie, who was featured this week in our “First Class Business Segment” that runs during Jack Heath’s “New Hampshire Today” program on WTPL 107.7 FM, has been running an independently owned record store in the Queen City for 22 years. Whether you’re looking for Sinatra on vinyl or Nirvana on CD, chances are that Richie can run it down for you.

Richie is the type of guy who would call a record company or canvass an international list of collectors to land a hard to find item for a customer. When my wife was looking for the immortal Terri Gibbs’ chartbuster “Somebody’s Knockin,” (Don’t ask me why – I’m a metal fan) after a fruitless Internet search, Richie was able to land a copy within minutes.

Richie, whose store has survived the onslaught of mega retail stores and online competitors, continues to thrive because he cares….and as a result, his customers care. He is an expert at his craft, takes pride in answering the unanswerable and goes to extreme lengths to see his customers smile. Those who come to him with special requests become lifelong customers and friends.

What Richie Gesner possesses isn’t magic, but it just seems that way because of his absolute zeal towards customer service. And maybe that’s the lesson for us all – that whether you’re spanning the globe in search of a perfect pressing of The Beatles’ White Album, collecting shopping carts at the supermarket or coordinating public relations activities for the Division of Economic Development, you need to care about what you’re doing and you need to lead with your passion. That passion is what makes our companies strong, it’s what drives our economy and it’s what makes us want to get up in the morning. When you don’t have that, you’ve joined the ranks of those are watching the clock, punching a card and walking on a treadmill when they should be running. Who wants that????

Steve Boucher is the Communications & Legislative Director at the New Hampshire Division of Economic Development and always returns his shopping cart to its original location. You can visit me on the “No Bull Business Blog” at blog.nheconomy.com, sign up for our Twitter feed at http://twitter.com/Nobullblog, check out No Bull TV at http://www.youtube.com/user/nobulltv or become one of our Facebook fans at www.facebook.com/nobullbusiness.